[BitP:R] Mortal World 2

[Kayne650]

There was a hint of a smile as far as his lips could be seen.

"You COULD be more wrong. After all..."

With that, several "guns" made of shadow appeared around Cassandra. Floating around her body, her arm, her waist... pretty much everywhere. From most angles.

"...you're assuming I actually need to FIRE this gun."

It looked more like a bunch of flashlights in a cylinder, really.

Well, this was a problem.

Cassandra looked around, checking the attack points of each of the weapons. he'd covered at least most of his bases; the guy knew what he was doing. But he had one disadvantage; he was used to fighting Hollows. If Cassandra's memories were correct, then most of what ordinary human mediums fought were the basic animalistic Hollows; ones that couldn't think beyond basic instinct. He wouldn't be used to fighting human enemies. And Cassandra could use this.

"You're willing to bet that you can fire any of these before I can shoot you in the face?" Her grin grew as her bloodlust rose. As another revolver, similar to the first, formed in her other hand, she jumped backwards and flipped through a hole in the wall of guns around her, firing both of her weapons, though neither aimed for a vital area. Instead, both guns were aimed for Hakusai's ankles, though if they connected, they would only be grazing shots at best. What was she playing at?

[Graveyard]

The man doesn't stop to gawk at the dagger. Instead, his left hand shoots fort to grab the wrist of Cassandra's extended hand as he takes a quick step to cover the narrowed distance between them, his other hand aiming a punch at her gut.

He's fast and strong, for a human, but nothing Cassandra couldn't take - but should he touch her, she will feel like liquid nitrogen being spilled on her skin...

Cassandra smirked as the dagger hit the ground behind the man. Her work here was done, but she could stay for a bit longer to teach this man a lesson. She pulled her hand back from his grasp and used that momentum to start a spinning side kick that she planted directly in his face. She felt an odd sensation through her shoe, as though her foot had sudden severe frostbite, but it faded after contact. Was that the man's reiatsu? But she hadn't felt any before. Well, maybe he was interesting after all...

As she kicks the man in the face, she hears the chitter of something, and turns to see the odd ugly bug-thing. A Hollow? She didn't have time for this.

[Sucrose]

[Abel Estate]

"Ow! Owowowow! Mooom! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Val knows a bit better than to panic or try to run, so she resigns herself to the punishment, at least. However, the immediate pain of the ear-grabbing was certainly unpleasant.

Nero also knows a bit better than to say anything when Claudia is scolding Val.

Claudia sighs, and finally releases Valeria, as they arrive in the laundry room.

"...I'm sure you didn't, honey, but you need to be more careful. I have my hands full as it is, between looking after the house, cooking, and managing the finances. You probably have the time to wash it right now, since school has just started, but what if it got dirty during an exam week?"

Fully calmed down, she then gives Val a serene smile.

"And so, to give you an innate understanding of how important this is, you'll be cleaning your uniform before we eat dinner. I'll be sure to keep the pot roast warm."


She then shuts the door, leaving Val to her chore.

[horngeek]

When she found the source, she was a little disappointed. It was just a girl, no more than a teenager. Cassandra doubted that the girl had even achieved Shikai. She was speaking to a very large young man, and looked rather preoccupied. Cassandra took the opportunity to walk up to the pair.

"Pardon me, but I'm not from here. Would one of you happen to know where I could find a place to stay for the night?" Her tone was perfectly even and nice, and she seemed completely normal.

But there was just the slightest feeling that she wasn't quite right.

Izumi blinks. "Um. Well, there are several hotels in the area... do you want me to give you directions?"

[strawberryman]

[Abel Estate]

Val rubs her ear a bit as Claudia lets go, and nods timidly. "Y-yeah... sorry again, mom. I'll be more careful from now on." She gets to the task without much delay.

Nero is looking through the newspaper as Claudia returns from the laundry room. "Always the strict parent, hm?"

[Sucrose]

Claudia pauses for a moment and nods slightly, still smiling.

"Of course; that's one of the duties of the one who stays at home. The public school may be instructing her in academic matters, but I'm still one of her teachers."

With that, Claudia continues toward the kitchen.

[Kuroimaken]

Well, this was a problem.

Cassandra looked around, checking the attack points of each of the weapons. he'd covered at least most of his bases; the guy knew what he was doing. But he had one disadvantage; he was used to fighting Hollows. If Cassandra's memories were correct, then most of what ordinary human mediums fought were the basic animalistic Hollows; ones that couldn't think beyond basic instinct. He wouldn't be used to fighting human enemies. And Cassandra could use this.

"You're willing to bet that you can fire any of these before I can shoot you in the face?" Her grin grew as her bloodlust rose. As another revolver, similar to the first, formed in her other hand, she jumped backwards and flipped through a hole in the wall of guns around her, firing both of her weapons, though neither aimed for a vital area. Instead, both guns were aimed for Hakusai's ankles, though if they connected, they would only be grazing shots at best. What was she playing at?

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In fact... Hakusai's most glaring weakness could be said that he's too used to fighting humans. But that gave him an advantage in this case.

As Cassandra jumped back, he didn't try to stop her - but when the first gun was to go off, she found that the barrel had been clogged. Whatever it was, it was likely to make the gun explode in her hand. The other one goes without a hitch, but the bullet disappears mid-flight - Hakusai doesn't so much as move.

"I don't have to. Better-armed men and women have tried."

Striking with intent to wound, not kill. She's trying to distract me from something.

In order to test that theory, the Ghost Mask fired a couple of laser-like shots in Cassandra's direction. They went straight at first - until she moved in any way, at which point they changed direction!

[InyutheBeatIs]

"You aren't going to strike the first blow?", the woman asks, eyes wide and befuddled. Then, her eyes roll around as if she's about to faint and it feels like the air is suddenly heavy with rai. Her form wavers and white, scaled hand seems to materialize from thin air, shooting towards Carmelia, black claws reaching for her mask...

"How very generous of you."

Carmelia manages to just barely dodge the blow, a claw clipping against the side of her head. In response, she makes a swiping motion with one of his arms, the ice talons moving to the side in an attempt to swipe at the creature's arm.

[Kayne650]

Izumi blinks. "Um. Well, there are several hotels in the area... do you want me to give you directions?"

There was a pause, as the woman looked distracted. She stared into the distance for a second, As if something in the night sky was incredibly interesting, but then she turned back.

"What? Oh, that actually won't be necessary. I think that I've changed my mind. Do the two of you live here?" Her behavior seemed to have changed suddenly, and her accent was gone.

It may be distracting enough for the kids not to notice the red line snaking from her hand to Izumi's leg...

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In fact... Hakusai's most glaring weakness could be said that he's too used to fighting humans. But that gave him an advantage in this case.

As Cassandra jumped back, he didn't try to stop her - but when the first gun was to go off, she found that the barrel had been clogged. Whatever it was, it was likely to make the gun explode in her hand. The other one goes without a hitch, but the bullet disappears mid-flight - Hakusai doesn't so much as move.

"I don't have to. Better-armed men and women have tried."

Striking with intent to wound, not kill. She's trying to distract me from something.

In order to test that theory, the Ghost Mask fired a couple of laser-like shots in Cassandra's direction. They went straight at first - until she moved in any way, at which point they changed direction!

The gun does in fact explode, but not in shards of metal. Instead, the gun blows up into what looks like bits of reiatsu, which scatter everywhere. She lands and watches as the other bullet vanishes.

"Huh. Interesting. How did you..." She stopped when she saw the beams heading for her. She sidestepped, only to find that the beams followed her. They clashed in a bright flash, and afterwards Cassandra could be seen holding two swords, having reflected the beams.

"Quite impressive, sir. Maybe you'll be some fun after all. I do think that I've underestimated you. Any more tricks up your sleeve? It's probably fair to warn you that I don't use any such tricks." She'd barely finished speaking when there was a flash of movement, and she reappeared behind him. Her movement was significantly slower than Elder's or Mayumi's but still beyond that of humans. The only trail of her passing, if she connected, would be a small nick on Hakusai's leg.

[horngeek]

Izumi, unfortunately, is distracted enough not to notice... "Um, what? Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with anything..."

Rex may, however.

[Frozen_Feet]

Cassandra smirked as the dagger hit the ground behind the man. Her work here was done, but she could stay for a bit longer to teach this man a lesson. She pulled her hand back from his grasp and used that momentum to start a spinning side kick that she planted directly in his face. She felt an odd sensation through her shoe, as though her foot had sudden severe frostbite, but it faded after contact. Was that the man's reiatsu? But she hadn't felt any before. Well, maybe he was interesting after all...

As she kicks the man in the face, she hears the chitter of something, and turns to see the odd ugly bug-thing. A Hollow? She didn't have time for this.

Cassandra shouldn't let herself get distracted so easily.

The moment she had begun her kick, the man had lifted the hand aiming for her gut to catch it - the kick had still hit, and he'd likely have at least a nasty bruise near his right eye, but he's not out yet. The guarding arm wraps around her kicking leg while his other hand grabs her collar. In a split second, the stranger yanks her up slightly by rising to his full height and sweeps her supporting foot in attempt to throw her to the ground.

"Ha!"

Carmelia manages to just barely dodge the blow, a claw clipping against the side of her head. In response, she makes a swiping motion with one of his arms, the ice talons moving to the side in an attempt to swipe at the creature's arm.

The horror howls in agony as the talons gouge its arm, but at the same time its other hand shoots from the darkness and grabs Carmelia's outsretched arm. With considerable strenght, the creature yanks her towards itself while its skeletal jaws snap open and then try to bite into her shoulder...

[Kuroimaken]

The gun does in fact explode, but not in shards of metal. Instead, the gun blows up into what looks like bits of reiatsu, which scatter everywhere. She lands and watches as the other bullet vanishes.

"Huh. Interesting. How did you..." She stopped when she saw the beams heading for her. She sidestepped, only to find that the beams followed her. They clashed in a bright flash, and afterwards Cassandra could be seen holding two swords, having reflected the beams.

"Quite impressive, sir. Maybe you'll be some fun after all. I do think that I've underestimated you. Any more tricks up your sleeve? It's probably fair to warn you that I don't use any such tricks." She'd barely finished speaking when there was a flash of movement, and she reappeared behind him. Her movement was significantly slower than Elder's or Mayumi's but still beyond that of humans. The only trail of her passing, if she connected, would be a small nick on Hakusai's leg.

"I thought I told you.

If it's close enough to me, I see EVERYTHING."

Suddenly, spikes of shadow erupted as though in a wall from behind the Ghost Mask. They grew outward not unlike a flower in bloom, though the beauty of it would probably be lost on her.

"Mind if I ask why you're so interested in hurting my legs?"

Cassandra would realize that she hadn't actually hit Hakusai's leg. Somehow, without moving, he had blocked her attack.

This is the second time she goes after my leg. She wants to disable, not kill.

[Kayne650]

Cassandra quickly backpedals from the spikes quickly growing towards her, managing to avoid all but a few scrapes.

"Real pretty there, big guy. I'm getting real tired of this. How are you doing that? What's wrong, you can't fight me directly?" She had to distract him somehow. She still had no idea how his techniques worked, and until she did she couldn't fight him. He was manipulating something with his reiatsu, the pockets proved that.

Her blades morphed, becoming shorter and squat until they had completely changed into .45 Berettas, both ends pointed at Hakusai. She pulled the triggers, but the guns didn't fire immediately. Instead, the guns seemed to draw energy in, focusing power until they fired with the energy of low-end Balas. Not relatively strong, but enough to vaporise a human body. Maybe now she'd shock him into action.

Cassandra shouldn't let herself get distracted so easily.

The moment she had begun her kick, the man had lifted the hand aiming for her gut to catch it - the kick had still hit, and he'd likely have at least a nasty bruise near his right eye, but he's not out yet. The guarding arm wraps around her kicking leg while his other hand grabs her collar. In a split second, the stranger yanks her up slightly by rising to his full height and sweeps her supporting foot in attempt to throw her to the ground.

"Ha!"

Cassandra was still looking at the weird bug-thing when she felt her body lift off the ground and was thrown bodily away from her target. Huh. She hadn't expected that. As she was thrown, she shifted her weight to minimize the damage from the throw, and it wouldn't have been so bad.

If not for the gravestone in the way.

Cassandra eyed the stone as it rapidly grew larger in her vision, and thought to herself, Well, this is going to hurt.

And boy, did it. Her shoulder clipped the grave, breaking part of it off and making her shoulder a great deal uglier than it used to be. She climbed back up to her feet, and most of the skin had been scraped off of her shoulder, showing...something.

It wasn't bone; instead, under her skin was a writhing mass of silver reiatsu, with what looked like random images flowing around in it. As the man watched, Cassandra held out her hand, allowing the scattered silver remnants of her shoulder to flow back to her hand, healing her shoulder. She stared at the man, angry.

"Well, that actually hurt, you **** son of a **** **** **** *****." She was quite colorful in her insults, and used several words that the man had probably never heard before. "Now I may have to get serious."

She formed two guns in her hands, classic Mateba Model 6's, and held them at the ready, pointing at the man. A second later, two bolts of spiritual energy flew at the man, aiming for his arms.

[Draken]

Graveyard

The bug-hollow sits where it was, still making its low chitter as it watches Cassandra and the man duke it out.

And soon enough, it is joined by a second such being.

-----

Furousha

One might expect a small hollow bird to appear by Viatrix's shop by now.

One would be right! Because a small hollow bird does fly through Viatrix's door.

"Viatrix Klossner? I would like to buy a gigai for myself."

[Kuroimaken]

Cassandra quickly backpedals from the spikes quickly growing towards her, managing to avoid all but a few scrapes.

"Real pretty there, big guy. I'm getting real tired of this. How are you doing that? What's wrong, you can't fight me directly?" She had to distract him somehow. She still had no idea how his techniques worked, and until she did she couldn't fight him. He was manipulating something with his reiatsu, the pockets proved that.

Her blades morphed, becoming shorter and squat until they had completely changed into .45 Berettas, both ends pointed at Hakusai. She pulled the triggers, but the guns didn't fire immediately. Instead, the guns seemed to draw energy in, focusing power until they fired with the energy of low-end Balas. Not relatively strong, but enough to vaporise a human body. Maybe now she'd shock him into action.

Nice try.

That she was resorting to more direct insults rather than making jokes proved she was in a tighter spot than she let on. When her weapons changed again, Hakusai already expected projectiles - but when they didn't come immediately, instinct alone kept him from relying on the frail defenses he put up for regular bullets, bringing an arm reeling back as he turned to face Cassandra again. Her 'bala' strike and "shatter" against something that definitely felt solid. Like a wall of some kind.

"This is the first I've had of a woman with such keen interest in me."

He vanished again. But this time he didn't seem intent on giving her the first strike. Multiple shadowy copies of himself appeared, circling around with what looked like swords of energy in both hands. They charged frantically forward.

[Kayne650]

Cassandra frowned as her bolts shattered against the wall of whatever it was the man was manipulating. What was it? It was something solid, obviously. And it was invisible, but not just spiritual energy. So, what was it? This assault had rattled him a bit, but not enough. With power like this, she had to tag him. But it's not like he was making it easy...

"I can't imagine why, with your dashing mask and stubborn personality. I would've thought that you'd have the girls swarming all over you." She said dry and sarcastically. She spun her guns absently in her hands as she prepared for his next move. Melee attacks seemed ineffective and ranged attacks just vanished. She had to figure out how he was doing what he was doing.

Okay wait, now he had clones?! What the hell was he doing? But at least he was speaking her language now. Her guns morphed back into long swords, and she prepared for his assault. All of his assaults.

He was reasonably fast, she had to give him that. It probably wouldn't have been so bad in a one-on-one fight, but there were like, five of him. That was obnoxious. They got in a few lucky blows, slashing at her arms and legs, but they never reached any vital areas, and her strikes were much more accurate. She spent most of her time blocking, but every now and again her blades would thrust out toward a clone's heart or lung, with surprising speed and strength. Those energy blades were a problem, though. Cassandra imagined that if her swords weren't reiatsu themselves, they'd be broken by now.

Wait, energy? They weren't reiatsu, and there was no such thing as lightsabers like in those movies, so what were they? They had reiatsu in them, but they were hollow. It was like they were filled with...light!

But how was that possible? What an interesting ability! Oh, Cassandra had to tag him now!

[Kuroimaken]

"Would you rather I wear a half-mask?"

Marvelous as her deductive reasoning was, it only saw part of the trick. When she stabs into a clone, his form contorts and adapts to the thrust, trying to envelop her arm...

...and then it explodes, in what feels like a cloud of dark petals.

This just might distract Cassandra enough not to notice the large shadow forming beneath her feet.

But regardless if it does or not, the sudden, vicious giant uppercut that seems to sprout from beneath won't go unnoticed - whether it hits or not.

"Pugno della vendetta ombrosa."

[InyutheBeatIs]

The horror howls in agony as the talons gouge its arm, but at the same time its other hand shoots from the darkness and grabs Carmelia's outsretched arm. With considerable strenght, the creature yanks her towards itself while its skeletal jaws snap open and then try to bite into her shoulder...

The hand grabs onto Carmelia's arm, shocking her a bit as she's pulled towards the beast. However, in a burst of activity, the fireflies wove a rounded block of ice around her shoulder in a blink, the jaws clamping down on it instead of her shoulder. Perhaps they even slip off of it. Not wasting any time, Carmelia brings her other set of talons to bear on the creature's other arm, aiming to set herself free and fully intending to flee when she does so.

[Wahrheit]

Rex let Izumi handle most of the talking, as she was more familiar with the city than he was. He nearly missed the red thread, thanks to being at ease and slightly distracted; luckily, however, his parents had raised him like a soldier. Even when relaxed, he was more vigilant than most. The hulking Texan's eyes narrowed as he let his reiatsu flare.

"I don't reckon we can help you, ma'am. I'd appreciate if you left us alone. If you keep trying to invade Izumi-san's personal space, I may have to defend her honor."

[Kayne650]

With Izumi and Rex

Cassandra's eyes widened as Rex flared his reiatsu. She hadn't sensed anything from him, so his display of power rather surprised her. Had she potentially hit the jackpot? Excellent. Unfortunately, he was suspicious of her. Oh well.

"Excuse me, young man? Your friend here, who I might add is much more polite than you, was about to help me before you so rudely interrupted. If you would be so kind as to be quiet, I'm sure I could be out of your way before you know it."

The string continued its way toward Izumi's leg. It progress had been halted when Rex flared its reiatsu, but it was now more than halfway there. Just a bit more...

"Would you rather I wear a half-mask?"

Marvelous as her deductive reasoning was, it only saw part of the trick. When she stabs into a clone, his form contorts and adapts to the thrust, trying to envelop her arm...

...and then it explodes, in what feels like a cloud of dark petals.

This just might distract Cassandra enough not to notice the large shadow forming beneath her feet.

But regardless if it does or not, the sudden, vicious giant uppercut that seems to sprout from beneath won't go unnoticed - whether it hits or not.

"Pugno della vendetta ombrosa."

Oh, now they explode, too?! Into flower petals?! Of all the ridiculous things for them to do...

The petals confused Cassandra and obscured her vision enough for the shadow fist to clip her chin, almost catching her in a full blow, but not quite. Good thing I'm not completely reliant on sight, Cassandra thought to herself. She backed up and leapt over the remaining clones, regaining her balance. She had a good theory about what he was doing, but wasn't sure yet how to counteract it. Better to tag him now and get out.

She changed her blades back into guns and pointed them outwards, waiting for him to show himself. "Come out, come out, wherever you are..." She said in a singsong voice, casually putting bullets in the heads of the remaining clones.

[horngeek]

Unfortunately, Izumi chooses that moment to look more closely at anything Cassandra may be doing... and she notices the string. "Oh? What's the string meant to be, then?"

She flares her reiatsu... less heavily than Rex, but it is there.

[Kuroimaken]

The remaining clones do not explode, though they DO dissipate. But it seems Cassandra hasn't realized the potential threat she was in.

If she had bothered to seek out his Reiatsu, she'd be able to tell there were about five positions where he could be felt, invisibility aside. But it was hard to tell which one was the right target. The fact he didn't use his Reiatsu in pure form to attack made such detection difficult - and apparently he'd caught on that she had stopped relying on sight.

Five rather large arrows of darkness manifested and shot quickly from the position of one of the presences. And then, perhaps to Cassandra's chagrin, a small number of round, grenade-like objects flew towards her from above. These burst in a massive explosion of blinding light - and as they light expanded, it turned into shadow again and sought to envelop her.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Graveyard]

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Cassandra was still looking at the weird bug-thing when she felt her body lift off the ground and was thrown bodily away from her target. Huh. She hadn't expected that. As she was thrown, she shifted her weight to minimize the damage from the throw, and it wouldn't have been so bad.

If not for the gravestone in the way.

Cassandra eyed the stone as it rapidly grew larger in her vision, and thought to herself, Well, this is going to hurt.

And boy, did it. Her shoulder clipped the grave, breaking part of it off and making her shoulder a great deal uglier than it used to be. She climbed back up to her feet, and most of the skin had been scraped off of her shoulder, showing...something.

It wasn't bone; instead, under her skin was a writhing mass of silver reiatsu, with what looked like random images flowing around in it. As the man watched, Cassandra held out her hand, allowing the scattered silver remnants of her shoulder to flow back to her hand, healing her shoulder. She stared at the man, angry.

"Well, that actually hurt, you **** son of a **** **** **** *****." She was quite colorful in her insults, and used several words that the man had probably never heard before. "Now I may have to get serious."

She formed two guns in her hands, classic Mateba Model 6's, and held them at the ready, pointing at the man. A second later, two bolts of spiritual energy flew at the man, aiming for his arms.

After throwing her, the stranger had not wasted any time - he'd started running away as fast as he could. As such, he only caught a brief glimpse of her wounds - but her suddenly pulling out firearms does not go unnoticed. Before Cassandra fires, he dives behind a row of headstones, and continues his escape by hastily crawling on the ground. The bullets smash against his cover, causing pebbles and dust to rain on him.

What the heck have I gotten myself into?


[Small road, somewhere...]

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The hand grabs onto Carmelia's arm, shocking her a bit as she's pulled towards the beast. However, in a burst of activity, the fireflies wove a rounded block of ice around her shoulder in a blink, the jaws clamping down on it instead of her shoulder. Perhaps they even slip off of it. Not wasting any time, Carmelia brings her other set of talons to bear on the creature's other arm, aiming to set herself free and fully intending to flee when she does so.

The ice shatters between her foe's teeth, but does prevent them from reaching her flesh. The creature lets out an annoyed yell as it's forced to let go to avoid its arm from being severed.

Its form blurs as it leaps back, and reappears some distance away from Carmelia. She can see it clearly now - a scaled, pale humanoid creature, taller than she is, with lower half of its face lacking any flesh. Its pitch-black eyes glare at her furiously.

Both of its arms are bleeding from deep gouges in its forearms. Its right hand is extended towards her, black claws pointing at her chest.

A clear sphere is swirling before them, droplets of black blood mixing with it and tainting its color...

Next instant, a wave of grey energy gushes forth, washing over full breadth of the street, leaving Carmelia precious little room to dodge.

[strawberryman]

Furousha

One might expect a small hollow bird to appear by Viatrix's shop by now.

One would be right! Because a small hollow bird does fly through Viatrix's door.

"Viatrix Klossner? I would like to buy a gigai for myself."

Viatrix, who was apparently in the middle of reading a magazine at the time, looks up with a bland stare. It might feel awkward after the first minute.

...Then, she bursts into laughter. "Man, I've seen some small-fry hollow, but this is a first. You aren't serious, are you? Where do you keep your money like that? Do you eat it?"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Michiko

It was later in the day when Michiko got home, having to catch a bus back to her house. She'd go out tomorrow to retrieve her bike, just tell her father that she'd let a friend borrow it for the day. At the end of the day those were...lesser problems then the ones burdening her mind already. A sort of numbness had over-taken her, seeping in to take the edge off her own grief, confusion, and anger. Something had to be done, her own suspicions had been confirmed with Soshi's murder and now...now she had the chance to make sure it didn't happen again, but she needed advice. Someone more knowledgeable about the twisted path ahead of her.

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betterdenyou has entered the chat.
DefiantPotato has entered the chat.
DefiantPotato: Hullo.
DefiantPotato: Wuts new?
betterdenyou: too much, way too much
DefiantPotato: Oh?
betterdenyou: yeah
betterdenyou: too many people with 'gifts'
betterdenyou: lost new member too
DefiantPotato: lol rly?
DefiantPotato: Wut happened to dat fellow?
betterdenyou: dead
betterdenyou: cuze ghost stories are real
DefiantPotato: didn't I tell u lol?
betterdenyou: how could something like that be true? didn't believe you
DefiantPotato: well now u know
DefiantPotato: u remember what else I said?
DefiantPotato: There'll be more.
DefiantPotato: u better take it srsly now.
DefiantPotato: u seen what they can do
betterdenyou: yeah
betterdenyou: i wont make that mistake again
betterdenyou: cant risk someone being caught alone again
DefiantPotato: so u will get em all together then?
DefiantPotato: people with gits.
betterdenyou:dont have enough members to watch everyones back all the time
betterdenyou: have to
betterdenyou: advice?
DefiantPotato: u gotta make em see
DefiantPotato: so they'll believe
betterdenyou: how
betterdenyou: im not a monster like those things
DefiantPotato: don't u get it?
DefiantPotato: The ghosts
DefiantPotato: come for people like you
DefiantPotato: You get them all together.
DefiantPotato: And one will come.
betterdenyou: ...how do *you* know that?
DefiantPotato: Cause them come knocking on my door
DefiantPotato: all the time
DefiantPotato: almost like they want me to kill em lol
betterdenyou: its scary that you know these things
betterdenyou: but you still give good advice
betterdenyou: we're stronger together then we are apart and the thing I saw
betterdenyou: ...I'm not letting it get away with what it did
DefiantPotato: Yay
DefiantPotato: Just make sure they listen to you
DefiantPotato: Do whatever's necessary
DefiantPotato: Its for greater good lol
betterdenyou: why's that funny
DefiantPotato: no reason
DefiantPotato: sure they'll thank you afterwards
betterdenyou: doubt it
betterdenyou: people like me dont get thanked
betterdenyou: at best, we get ignored
betterdenyou: talk to you at the next session
DefiantPotato: ok
DefiantPotato: bai bai
betterdenyou: bye

DefiantPotato has left the chat.
betterdenyou has left the chat.

She closes the lap-top, the sound hanging heavily in the silence of her room. What now? The advice was...sound, after a fashion, but...it implied doing more then she ever had before. Her gang had only done simple and, relatively, innocent things before. This...this was a whole new step. Was she really ready to take it...?

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Tvga, want to do the quick scene with Kina so we can get the Michiko plot started?

[Kayne650]

Unfortunately, Izumi chooses that moment to look more closely at anything Cassandra may be doing... and she notices the string. "Oh? What's the string meant to be, then?"

She flares her reiatsu... less heavily than Rex, but it is there.

Cassandra blinks, surprised. She had noticed it? Well, too late to quit now. "I'm rather surprised that you noticed it. It won't help, though." Cassandra sped up the string, trying to get to Izumi's leg. If it hit, it wouldn't hurt any more than a mosquito bite. And it was moving much faster now that she had dropped any pretense of stealth.

The remaining clones do not explode, though they DO dissipate. But it seems Cassandra hasn't realized the potential threat she was in.

If she had bothered to seek out his Reiatsu, she'd be able to tell there were about five positions where he could be felt, invisibility aside. But it was hard to tell which one was the right target. The fact he didn't use his Reiatsu in pure form to attack made such detection difficult - and apparently he'd caught on that she had stopped relying on sight.

Five rather large arrows of darkness manifested and shot quickly from the position of one of the presences. And then, perhaps to Cassandra's chagrin, a small number of round, grenade-like objects flew towards her from above. These burst in a massive explosion of blinding light - and as they light expanded, it turned into shadow again and sought to envelop her.

Okay, he was being obnoxious again. With the clones gone, Cassandra surveyed the battlefield, noting five presences that may or may not be him. Cassandra couldn't tell which one though, and was quickly growing tired of this fight. Then the arrows suddenly appeared, one for each of the presences that she had felt (of course). Then, just as suddenly, the bright flash of light appeared, followed by darkness. Cassandra closed her eyes and focused.

There was nothing but blackness now, but the arrows would come. The beams had moved, but only after she had. Therefore, if she held still, the arrows would hold their trajectory. And, as a gunslinger, Cassandra could predict trajectory easily. If Hakusai could see into the field of shadow, he would see her whirl around, pointing her guns at each of the arrows and firing a single time, just enough to redirect the arrows into landing harmlessly at her feet. After deflecting each one, she suddenly leapt into the air, firing simultaneously at each of the presences she had felt, each bullet looking and feeling like a normal one.

He wouldn't escape this time.

[Graveyard]


After throwing her, the stranger had not wasted any time - he'd started running away as fast as he could. As such, he only caught a brief glimpse of her wounds - but her suddenly pulling out firearms does not go unnoticed. Before Cassandra fires, he dives behind a row of headstones, and continues his escape by hastily crawling on the ground. The bullets smash against his cover, causing pebbles and dust to rain on him.

What the heck have I gotten myself into?

Cassandra continued firing at the gravestones in front of him, relentlessly hailing down on him. "What's the matter, human? Decided that this might be a bit out of your league?"

He might hear a slight woosh, as if something were rushing past the air, followed by a sudden presence behind him, followed by (if he's not quick enough to get away), a small pinch on his ankle, like a mosquito bite.

"Because you might just be right."

[horngeek]

Izumi starts backing away from the red thread quite rapidly, while reaching into her handbag...

Depending on how fast it is, it might beat her. Or not.

[Kuroimaken]

Cassandra had, however, underestimated the effect of the flashbangs. Their tensile strength was greater than she predicted. Though she managed to get out of its way, the blob of darkness turned into a maw and went after her one more time.

What she had probably not counted on was the fact that none of the invisible presences below was Hakusai. This becomes painfully obvious as a quick barrage of lasers shoots out of one of the arrows that been pointed her way, piercing through the darkness. They all veer away from her, then suddenly split into smaller rays, each following a twisted, maze-like trajectory towards her.

The Ghost Mask had counted on her attempts to dodge or counter the arrows even before the flashbang hit. She'd already proven her speed and accuracy before, after all. Thus, he hid in the darkness of one of the projectiles to create the illusion he was actually one of the invisible presences laid out before her.

Her mistake was to presume Hakusai wanted her injured.

[Draken]

Viatrix, who was apparently in the middle of reading a magazine at the time, looks up with a bland stare. It might feel awkward after the first minute.

...Then, she bursts into laughter. "Man, I've seen some small-fry hollow, but this is a first. You aren't serious, are you? Where do you keep your money like that? Do you eat it?"

Furousha Shop...

Is graced by the weight of a unique and terrible reiatsu, as a garganta opens behind the birdling, and Viatrix stands witness to a massive visage in the void between worlds, white plating and with a mask of great jaws concealing the face of the arrancar woman whose body makes the belly of the beast.

"I will be paying, Viatrix."

The queen of hollows.

[Wahrheit]

There was in fact a great advantage to the signature Quincy bows of the Irons clan: they could be fired one-handed at a much lesser level of personal power than traditional bows. Crimson reiatsu flowed from Rex's hand, near-instantly assumed the form of a glowing .45 magnum revolver, and lashed out in a bolt towards the small thread. He wasn't much concerned about anyone seeing it, given that anyone capable of seeing his gun would have picked up on the reiatsu flares already.

"Izumi-san, I reckon it's best if we go somewhere else." Rex kept a wary gaze on Cassandra through narrowed eyes as he pulled his keyring from his pocket with his left hand, keeping it mostly concealed under the table.

[strawberryman]

Furousha Shop...

Is graced by the weight of a unique and terrible reiatsu, as a garganta opens behind the birdling, and Viatrix stands witness to a massive visage in the void between worlds, white plating and with a mask of great jaws concealing the face of the arrancar woman whose body makes the belly of the beast.

"I will be paying, Viatrix."

The queen of hollows.

Viatrix instantly stops laughing. Though she does put on a good poker face. "...Right. My favorite customer. How goes things desert-side?"