517/By the Book

By the Book
Date of Scene:	27 September 2023
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Kureha finally learns how to reach out to other people, and all it took was panic. Rashmi guides the team, by the book. Hinata tickets a youkai for eating in a shrine zone. Erika learns that youkai hunting kinda bites. Amy shows an ancient fox the wonders of the modern world... and starts believin' in ghost stories.
Cast of Characters:	Kureha Senkenzan, Rashmi Terios, Erika Shimizu, Hinata Muramasa, Amanda Faust

---

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    It begins with a visibly distraught Kureha Senkenzan knocking on the door of one Rashmi Terios. It is quite easily the most emotion the Device-user has ever seen on her face, and the reason is given instantly.

    "Chisa has vanished. I think she's been kidnapped. I... please. I need your help."

    She's been scouring the city herself for hours. The familiar scent of darkness, the clawmarks left near where Chisa had vanished as if a calling card; they practically screamed 'come looking for her', and even if Kureha knows it's a trap, she can't help herself. And she's desperate enough to ask for help, not just from Rashmi herself, but from anyone the girl can whistle up on short notice, any familiar faces that show up, or even just anyone who sees a kimono-clad oni and a book-wielding device mage going across the Tokyo skyline and decides to ask what the heck is going on.

    As it turns out, Nicomachea can track the lingering traces of Dark Energy. The trail leads out of the mall they'd been in, and across the whole of Tokyo, allllll the way out to the far southwestern edge of Pikarigaoaka. Here where the suburbs have thinned, where things are a bit less maintained, the trail finally terminates at an old, abandoned Shinto shrine. It sits on the edge of a small patch of forest; the line between the two has begun to blur, shrubbery and the odd sapling or two creeping into the shrine grounds. The haiden has begun to crumble and rot, the honden long since divested of the divine container for whatever kami was enshrined here.

    All that is to be found in this place are dust, memories, the faded framework of a forgotten holy place... and the lingering scent of darkness on the chill night wind.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When Kureha asked for help, the request had barely been finished being spoken when Rashmi said 'I'll help,' and got down to the business of finding something trackable at the scene of the incident. While on the way to the site, her mundane phone came out, and text messages fired off to those of her known-magical contacts that seemed to be up and about at the moment-- ah. The folk from the last Onihime adventure seemed to have a green dot, perfect.

    (( Need help, following the trail of a Missing Person, expect a fight when we find them. It's Onihime's friend. ))

With help called for, Rashmi and Kureha follow the trail closely... and the Device Mage slowly touches ground as they come up to the abandoned shrine. "...Well... if the pattern follows after the last two attacks... Onihime, you know a *lot* more about mythology than I do... Any candidates?"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    *~Yo ho ho ho ho!~* ... *~Yo ho ho ho ho!~*
    Yes that is a cellphone alert.
    Yes that is HER cell phone alert specifically.
    ERIKA SHIMIZU was in the middle of doing some homework when her phone went off with a text alert. Green eyes blink slowly as she lifts the device and has a gander at the screen... Before she's suddenly a whirling rush of action, throwing on outside clothes and tugging on her roommate to get dressed and ready to go as well.
    "Come on, Hina, we're gatherin' up the crew!" She says as she busts out the dorm room door in a rush to...
    Pause.
    Erika pauses to plink at her phone screen.
    <<Right! Where be we meetin' up? *SMILING SKULLFACE PIRATE EMOJI HERE*>>
    Once she has her answer she's rushing once again, and it's not long before she's dragged Hinata with her to the abandoned shrine, already decked out in her regalia for piracy on the high seas.
    "Ye called and here we be, lasses. Jolly Roger at yer service." She says taking a theatrical little bow as she remains in a shadow and out of the moonlight for the time being.

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    Hinata looks up as Erika's phone starts going off. She opens her mouth to admonish her roommate and friend, before the sudden whirl of action has her jaw snap shut and the black-haired girl silently joining the rambunctious blonde in gearing up for 'outside time'.

    She doesn't question why, she just trusts her friend has good reason to be going so hard on getting out.

    Once she spots Onihime and Rashmi, however, she gets some of the jist.

    Onihime asked for help, so this is something she's going in with her gameface on. Jolly Roger has a slightly frowning samurai in the Shadow Shogun following after her, a tiny tengu floating beside the samurai's head in a lotus position with a tiny sign attached to its bo-staff. It has 'Concern' written in stylized hirigana.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Friends of friends of friends... Erika is called, and Erika tells Amy, and so the puella, already transformed, drops down from a nearby rooftop. "Uhh... I'm still coming up with a Magical Girl name... I guess 'Red' works as a nickname for now." She attempts to track the darkness with her soul gem. And also to make sure a witch isn't involved.

    If she can track no further... then she looks around to see what, about this shrine, will jump out to someone whose brain is full of manga.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    When Jolly Roger and the Shadow Shogun both join up along the way, the face of Onihime - etched with concern, impatience, disquiet - probably says all it needs to. The addition of Amy Faust draws a brief, wary look; but then the oni girl levels her eyes on the path ahead again, speaking a simple introduction. "Youkai Musume, Onihime. I am in your debt for any assistance you can provide tonight."

    As they arrive at the shrine, the horned girl instinctively steps to the front of the group, not even thinking about why. "Too many to name," Onihime replies to Rashmi, frowning. "I'm assuming it's whoever was responsible for the previous two attacks. The scent is the same. But the only information we have is that they sent a kappa made entirely of darkness, and transformed a bear. I hesitate to even assume it's a youkai, it could be some other monster from..." She makes a vague gesture towards Tokyo. "...some other magical girl's dealings. I don't know."

    Her steps into the shrine grounds come slow but steady, confident and graceful; fire-colored eyes dart to and fro, watching for any sign of the responsible party. "Even if it is, there's far too many who might use magic. It might be a tengu, or a vengeful spirit, or a nurarihyon, or a ki-" Something flutters in the ruins of the main building. A shadow with substance. A glimpse of ears. A fan of tails. "...tsune," Kureha finishes, her entire posture growing tense. She slides one foot back, holding her right hand open, claws on display; a few faint flickers of flame dance up along it briefly. "Be on your guard-"

    In the air above, dark purple flames pop into being, several globes of fiery darkness with a jet-black center, like will-o-wisps appearing in a broad circle. With little warning, they begin to rain down, battering the area with a short-lived barrage. The youkai chooses that same moment to explode from the remains of the shrine building, darting left and right as it makes an advance.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, that's a good point," Rashmi says to the note that it could literally be anything. "But if it took Chisa-san specifically, after the last two attacks, uh... pretty sure it's targeted to you. So..."

Which is when help summoned arrives, and the other redhead looks inordinately pleased! "Rashmi Terios," says the girl with the floating, armored book, wiggling her fingers in greeting. "Grade 10. I don't really have any other name either, but it's good enough for me."

Without any recognition of the girl she had helped take yukata shopping, she turns to Erika and Hinata, grinning widely. "Hey, you two, good to see you again! So yeah, we've traked what took Onihime's friend here, and it's probably still in--"

    ("Be on your guard.")

"OR IT COULD BE ATTACKING RIGHT NOW OKAY LET'S DO THIS."

    << *BONG!* >> << TIME-SPACE BARRIER >>

A bubble of gray-green static expands dramatically, shifting anything magical within its environs half a dimension to one side; now the battlefield is a vaguely-desaturated, empty copy of the Tokyo they live in, perfectly fine to fight in and perhaps carve chunks out of buildings, if one's powers run that hot.

"Okay, so I guess it's Kitsune Fight Time!" she says, kicking away from the ground to get some tactical positioning up in this pocket dimension.

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    Shadow Shogun nods along as Onihime explains. The mention of 'tengu' gets the samurai-clad girl to glance at her partner, who just turns the sign on their staff around to show a big red X mark with a vehement shake of its head.

    Then, the fan of tails, the sudden burst of purple flames. Blades sing as they draw from the girl's back, slicing through thee will'o'wisp Fox Fire bolts, dissipating them before impact.

    She then spots the incoming kitsune shadow, charging forward to meet it as she sheaths one blade at her hip, the other returning to her back in a flutter of sakura petals.

    Once close enough, she draws with a sharp KIAI, aiming to slice along the monsters side and open a wound to slow the thing down.

    This does leave her dangerously close to a vicious youma however.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Erika TOTALLY texted Amy in the blitz out of her dorm room, too, yes, that happened.
    Though Onihime looks so serious- as she should-, the pirate-themed mahou flashes a big grin. ... It's kind of eerie looking with most of her face and figure shrouded in shadow.
    "Aye, glad ta be here," she replies to Rashmi. "If there be anything I like it be good friends and a good fight~."
    While Onihime lists off the possible various youkai culprits that could be responsible, the pirate-themed mahoushoujo reaches into her coat and draws a flintlock pistol the *instant* Kureha goes tense and Rashmi raises a Barrier.
    "Har... Those be a lot of names of mystical creatures... I be but a simple pirate, ye'll excuse me fer not knowin' 'em." She says.
    Rigth before dark foxfire comes raining down.
    Jolly Roger tumbles, rolling and weaving like a Dark Souls protagonist to evade the hail before she comes to a stop on one knee, pistol raised.
    "Oh yer a fast devil ain'cha." She mutters as the youkai zigzags.

    o/` ~ "Oh, there're sober men and plenty,
    And drunkards barely twenty,
    There are men of over ninety
    That have never yet kissed a girl.
    But give me a ramblin' rover,
    Frae Orkney down to Dover.
    We will roam the country over
    And together we'll face the world!" ~ o/`

    She's whistling a merry little tune to herself as she sights down the barrel of her pistol, squeezing the trigger and causing the old world gun to jerk in her hand with recoil and a low KRAK-BOOM!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Youkai Musume? Is that a thing???" Amy blinks, realizing the stupidity of it once it's out of her mouth. "Sorry, I've only known magic was real for like two-and-a-half months."

    "Previous two attacks?" She continues to repeat words incredulously.

    At the mention of it being potentially some other magical girl's dealings, Amy offers: "It's not a Witch, at least."

    Kitsune spotted. "What exactly is this shrine *to*? Was there a local kami or other manner of spirit? Perhaps, indeed, a kitsune?"

    Manga will be no help here. Anything she's read that involved a fox spirit at an old shrine... ... ...Y'know, come to think of it, it's weird both how many times that *specific* scenario has come up in stories she's read, and the consistancy of the spirit's actions or activities. But, none of that will be any help here--

    Amy is jolted out of her thoughts by the sounds of attack! In an instant she's trying to run out of the target area, holding a large rocket launcher over her head like she's using it to keep the rain off. "Miss Kitsune!" She shouts. "We're willing to talk rather than fight, if you could just explain what's going on!"

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    The battle is joined, and there's only enough time for a few quickly-shouted responses. "This creature has been stalking me for two weeks! It has attacked me personally and also caused danger to the general public! I don't know that the shrine is connected! I have only known of my nature for a short while myself!"

    As the dark foxfire rains down around the five of them, Onihime shifts. It's a wide-area barrage; most of it comes down with no particular aim at no particular target, so just a slight shift in position avoids the worst of it. But the few orbs of dark flame that happen to be pointed in the right direction? One she simply reaches up and smacks apart with her hand, a small burst of her own fire dispersing it harmlessly. The other slams into her left shoulder; though her kimono is scorched there, the Youkai Musume doesn't even flinch. "Where is Chisa?!" Without a moment's hesitation, she turns and lunges into melee range, cracking the stone beneath her feet with the force of her charge, aiming to swing a vicious punch right into the darting youma's side. It's fortunate that the barrier has been fixed in place; there's a fair likelihood that Kureha Senkenzan is not going to be holding herself back.

    For the moment, Rashmi seems to be outside of the kitsune's attention. It's entirely focused on the Shadow Shogun and Onihime crowding into its space, and the loud crack of Jolly Roger unloading. It utters a growling hiss at Hinata, moving with uncanny dexterity as her swipe comes in - a twist, a turn, and while it doesn't manage to evade her slash entirely, the movement turns a deep slice into a shallow cut. She's saved from the inevitable followup by Kureha's charging attack; it forces the monster of darkness to once again twist and evade, once again turn a hard hit into a glancing blow. Even a glancing blow from the oni's fist is enough to send it skidding, though, and the two attacks have put it off-balance enough that Erika is able to land a direct shot, resulting in a furious yowl.

    Irritated, the kitsune digs its talons into the ground, tails wavering and swaying. Its form seems to shimmer, to grow fuzzy... and then quite suddenly, it lunges in four directions at once. At Kureha, at Hinata, at Erika, and at Amy, four fox spirits made of pure darkness suddenly lunge out of the same space, uttering a hunter's cry. Only, at the last couple of meters, three of them vanish, revealing another orb of dark foxfire in their place. Jolly Roger, Shadow Shogun and Onihime had all better think fast. Meanwhile, the one charging at Amy doesn't dissipate. It's the real deal, and it's lunging in with hungry claws and teeth.

    Meanwhile, high up above, it turns out Rashmi isn't forgotten at all. Yet another orb of foxfire flares to life... directly above her. Here's hoping either she or Nicomachea are paying attention.

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    "YO JIM BO!" Bellows Hinata as she skids to a stop from her charge. She clicks her sword back into place, as her tengu ally swoops in and with a quickly uttered chant.

    "Magical fountain,
    where a common, bold crow soars,
    before the pebble."

    Sakura petals flow from the samurai, into the tiny Tengu, which expands rapidly into a full sized youkai. He shrieks like a crow, and bats the foxfire orb aside with his staff, before slamming one end down on the ground.

    Ringing of bells echos across the shrine and with a kibuki-like grace the tengu warrior leaps to intercept the charging kitsune.

    Hinata herself remains chanting, not the same haiku, but a repetitive sound in her throat, two fingers raised in front of her face with her eyes closed.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << *BONG!* >> << ROUND SHIELD >>

Nicomachea's announcement, as well as where the runic seal that makes up a standard Mid-Childan shield resolves into being -- right above Rashmi's head -- startles the Device Mage into action. Lunging into movement directly to the side, she holds up a hand to guide the Shield, keeping it between herself and the ball of foxfire aimed at her.

Which was probably a good idea, because she gives herself *just* enough space that the ball of fire only clips the side of her shield and sending her tumbling; *much* less worrisome than a head-on attack would be.

Righting herself, she looks down at the battlefield, eyes widening. << Look out, Red! >> she calls, reorienting her shield and launching toward the fireball hunting her fellow redhead.

Yes, she barely dodged one attack, and is looking to fly that defense directly *into* another. Perhaps between her and the Tengu, they can intercept it?

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    o/` ~ "There's many that feign enjoyment...
    From merciless employment,
    Their ambition was this deployment
    From the minute they left the school.
    And they save and scrape and ponder
    While the rest go out and squander,
    See the world and rove and wander
    And are happier as a rule." ~ o/`

    Jolly Roger continues her merry little tune as she tosses her spent pistol aside; the gun dissolving into seafoam and sparkles as soon as it hits the ground.
    "Ah, what're ye doing now?" She mutters as the kitsune digs its claws into the ground and then-- there's four of it.
    "Ah barnacles."
    Taking a tumbling leap, Jolly Roger eats the dirt as... The fox spirit vanishes and-- oh it's more foxfire.
    That's not what she had expected, and when her initial dodge fails, she eats a faceful of nasty foxfire scorching her for her efforts.
    She goes down without a sound and...
    Jolly Roger promptly stops everything she's doing.
    She drops to the floor.
    And starts rolling and flailing as hard as she can.
    It douses her after a moment.
    And once she rallies and realizes that the kitsune is going after-- "Ah carp! Look out, lass!" She crows as she reaches into her greatcoat and pulls out...
    That's an anchor.
    That is a full sized ship's anchor. With some chain attached to it.
    That's an ANCHOR that she hurls end over end at the kitsune as hard as she can.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy *tried* talking. The creature didn't answer.

    In the rush of combat, it doesn't immediately occur to Amy that, duh, this is a *kitsune* so those are illusory clones, not duplicates, or summoned monsters, or something. She doesn't have TIME to think. She just sees one coming at her and fires.

    The weapon she's holding.

    Which is a rocket launcher.

                                    *BOOM!*                                    

    It doesn't hit her until after that there's something weirdly familiar about shooting a rocket launcher at beasts that charge you with tooth and claw. Hm.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    With a fox charging at her, the only thing Kureha thinks to do is brace for it. To meet the charge, hauling back a haymaker to swing... right through nothing. Her eyes go wide with shock a second before the orb of darkness slams full into her chest.

    The kitsune finds its true charge intercepted by Rashmi; it slams right into the Round Shield, clawing furiously at it - only for the tengu to arrive as well. It's forced to back off from its attack about a quarter of a second before it's forced to discover what it's like to be hit in the face with a rocket. The blast blows off quite a bit of darkness from the youma, but it shakes its head, seeming to push through the daze to begin its attack again. But its new lunge is very shortly abbreviated when an anchor slams into it, filling the shrine with a yelp of extremely startled pain. And before it can even get up, Onihime charges in, swinging an overhead blow into the youkai's head that drives its face down into the ground. She immediately wraps her arm around its neck, holding it in place. "Where is Chisa?!"

    Despite itself, the shadowy creature's glowing eyes very briefly dart towards the partially collapsed honden - the small building where a shrine typically keeps the enshrined deity's object of worship - and Kureha doesn't miss it. "I see. Then I shall-"

    Suddenly, she's holding nothing at all. The fox youma voluntarily sheds some of its mass - its Dark Energy - to shrink down and break her hold, before recapturing most of what it has lost in one quick swipe. Off-balance, the Youkai Musume is vulnerable to a hard slash across her back, and the creature immediately hops backward, only to begin another illusory charge. Once again, a quartet of blurry foxes lunge out of the same place - one vaulting high and aiming to come down on Hinata, one darting left, then right, then charging for Rashmi, one leaping to the side then making a right angle, and one dropping low to scamper rapidly towards Erika.

    This time, all four of them suddenly disperse, leaving behind more dark foxfire projectiles... except that the one heading towards Jolly Roger suddenly shimmers again, revealing itself at the last second to be the real youkai, with real jaws and real bite force.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Foxfire! More foxfire! This shouldn't be to hard to dodge though as Jolly Roger braces where she stands, ready to tumble aside and evade the oncoming attack.
    ... Before is shimmers.
    "... Oh."
    Jolly Roger realizes way too late that this is seriously the actual kitsune monster coming at her when it re-forms, and those jaws descend upon her with deadly force.
    There's a moment of getting rattled and shaking like a ragdoll before she's tossed aside, landing in a heap of very dead mahoushoujo, tumbling to the ground in a heaped wreck.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Trying to hold back a snarling, clawing, be-toothed yokai does rather a number on Rashmi's nerves, but being rescued by Tengu backup allows her space to breathe a sigh of relief... *just* as Onihime tries to interrogate the thing, and gets a claw to the back for her troubles.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR HEAL >>

The space around the smol-strong is suffused with warm, golden light, blunting the pain of her injury and stilling the bleeding.

Which is about the time she eats a ball of foxfire, singing holes into her Barrier Jacket, and causing the bookworm to stumble back a few paces before falling on her butt.

Jolly Roger's fate, on the other hand, prompts... a much more *vehement* reaction. "ROGER-CHAN!"

Is she... is she *dead?!* Is she going to be all right?! , Rashmi looses one more spell mid-flight, to buy her time and space to scoop the poor savaged pirate up off the ground.

    << *BONG!* >> << RING BIND >>

A band of yellow light locks around the kitsune's hind foot. A very temporary hold to be sure, especially with the yokai's escape-artist skills, but perhaps just enough to get the wounded off the field.

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    With her focus on empowering her 'mascot' into a combat effective unit, Hinata is vulnerable. Yo-Jim-Bo is quick, but even he can't cover that distance in such a short time.

    Fox Fire washes over the samurai, knocking her down and breaking the empowerment. The Tengu keeps his shape for a lingering time, a 'battery charge' allowing him to check on his master before he shrinks back down to 'doll' size again.

    Hinata, for her part, pushes herself up, just in time to see Erika get tossed around like a rag doll, and land in a broken heap.

    She'll get up in a moment... she always gets back up...
    Why isn't she getting back up?

    Anger surges through the samurai-mahoushoujo and she summons her miko staff, the rings within rings jingling as she hauls herself up to her feet.

    Ofuda appear around her, a dozen, two dozen, fifty, a hundred, a thousand.

    "Echo Within Me.
    A broken bow fires no arrow
    Vanishing Moonlight."

    The slips all burst into ghostly flames, beforer launching in a tracking cloud at the shadow kitsune. Some attach, some burn, others explode. Most will miss, but those rings continue to jingle.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Is it... done? Amy's not shooting it while it's grappling...

    But the moment it escapes, she harries it with more shots! At the split, she rocket-jumps high into the air to try and avoid any coming at her, and aims for the one going for Onihime-- oh, there isn't one going for Onihime. Oh.

    While she's deciding, and arcing back down towards the ground, the fakes are revealed: Shit, it's got her piratical friend! Amy's weapon shrinks down to a little rocket pistol which fires nonexplosive penetrators -- so, basically a gyrojet -- and she fires a few times on her way back to the ground. "Roger!" She calls out. ...She's undead, she'll be okay, right???

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Down goes Jolly Roger, pitched aside by the vulpine monster with the first satisfied noise it's made all night. It has little time to revel in its victory - a strange magical snare appears around its back ankle, and its attempt to reposition is halted before it can really begin. And in the next heartbeat, a thousand flaming ofuda rain down upon the monster. For the first time, it falls under an ancient, familiar attack, and for the first time, it screams. A loud, wailing noise, seeming to warp and fluctuate between an animal screech and a disturbingly human scream. Dark Energy sloughs off as the attack begins to sap its power, to erode the darkness that comprises its very existence.

    Flailing and twisting, the youkai goes into a raw panic. More rockets slam into it, explosions tearing away yet more of that remaining power, knocking it around where it's snared. It makes a snarling, yowling attempt to free itself, finally tearing free of the Ring Bind and attempting to lunge away-

    Only to flop hard on the ground, its attempt to flee halted by a clawed hand grabbing its tail. "You aren't going anywhere."

    Onihime's kimono ripples around her, waves of heat setting the air around her shimmering. The wounds on her back are much better; far better than Rashmi's healing should be able to accomplish on its own, in fact. Without a word, she pulls back, heaves - and swings the youkai up and over her head, one-handed, slamming it HARD into the cracked stones of the shrine grounds. There, she holds it for just a moment, uttering a single, cold question. "Why have you targeted me?" Attempting to find purchase on the ground, the dazed youkai can only utter a pair of half-formed syllables, tinged with hate.

    "...Youkai... Musume...!"

    Kureha closes her eyes. "...Someone or something familiar with my kind. I see." Opening them again, she speaks aloud, for everyone else's benefit. "I don't believe it's intelligent enough to answer under interrogation. And to be perfectly forthcoming, I have a great deal of frustration towards this creature I should very much like to vent."

    Her stance shifts, and she twists again, this time swinging the youkai around with a yowl before flinging it straight up into the air.

    "Rekka Kaihou!"

    Flames erupt around Onihime, swirling and flowing, forming a spiral that all whirls itself down around her right arm; her fist clenches, and all that fire concentrates into a tight inferno, a glove of furious flame that she swings upward into a ferocious punch at the falling kitsune.

    "KANABO STRAIGHT!"

    Where the blow connects, there is an blast of heat and force, a crushing blow of searing flame that disperses the kitsune entirely. In the wake of the rapid outward rush of air, all that remains is a charred sheet of paper, cut vaguely into the shape of a humanoid, fluttering to the ground. It has odd, arcane lettering all over it... which Hinata might well recognize as some twisted form of Onmyou shikigami spellwork.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Onihime handles the kitsune roughly. "...It's not a *real* kitsune, right? Just some darkness-monster?" Amanda has the distinct impression that this oni magical girl is going to brutally execute the youma... and she's right! She winces at that. "Uh... you okay there, friend? You shouldn't have to be feeling so much rage at your age..." She pauses at that thought, then shakes her head. "You know what, I'm sure you have your reasons. I hope things can get better."

    Amanda then jogs over to Erika and squats down next to her. Quietly, she asks: "*Please* tell me you're alright. Are there any special concerns while healing you -- like, if healing magic harms you instead -- and um, do we need to heal you before you can turn back to normal? Or is your ghost body wholy separate from your living one?"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Onihime vents her frustration on the youkai. This is all well and good as the beast dissipates to nothing. This just leaves the issue of the dead dread pirate.
    Who twitches.
    It's not a 'urgh I am dead' twitch. It's the twitch of a body trying to pick itself back up as she jerks with a few bad popping noises.

    o/` ~ "If you're bent wi' arthiritis
    Your bowels have got Colitis
    You've gallopin'-" *POP POP!* "-itis...
    And you're thinkin' it's time you died
    If you been a man o' action
    Though you're lying there in traction
    You will get some satisfaction
    Thinkin', 'Jesus, at least I tried'!" ~ o/`

    That's when she jerkishly sits herself upright, the clouds shifting away from the moon... Revealing her for what she truly is as she rises to her feet. Ghastly grey complexion, deep bags under her eyes, gaunt features... Her hat and greatcoat are in tatters as she casually starts dusting herself off like nothing happened.
    She looks left.
    She looks right.
    She looks from Onihime to Rashmi to Shadow Shogun, to Red.
    "... What? I was out fer a second nappin' in the dirt. Did we win?" For a moment she stares owlishly at Amy though.
    "... Lass I'm a zombie, not a ghost."

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    Hinata, once she's sure that Kureha has the monster in giant clawed fist, drops her staff and runs over toward Erika. The staff shatters into sakura petals as soon as it leaves her grasp, which float away on the breeze.

    She skids to a stop next to the fallen pirate... and then reaches back to slug her in the shoulder as Erika picks herself back up. "Don't ever do that again! You had me worried!" she says, sounding genuinely distraught... which from the normally dour and limitedly emotional samurai is quite something.

    She then hugs Erika with a relieved sigh before looking at Amy, then over at Kureha. "Is your friend safe?" she asks, likely only just remembering the reason they're even here, in the wake of her own friend being in danger.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The ofuda popping and exploding are... actually something Rashmi is more or less used to, as she *has* been flying around in training dodging Chrono's rapid-fire magic swords. Onihime's explosive catharsis... actually brings Rashmi up short, because explosions that large *must* be witnessed.

Erika's bones re-asserting their place in her body, however, forced a startled *YEEK!* and a five-meter jump to float into the air. Because un-dislocating bones are *really creepy,* okay?

"...Wait... Roger-chan, you're a... zombie?"

Beat.

Beat.

"ARE YOU *ABSOLUTELY SURE* NOBODY FROM THAT MOVIE KNOWS ABOUT THIS CURSE?!"

But yes. Yes, Chisa's safety is the most important thing. "Onihime, d'you want backup in that shrine? Because I mean... Roger-chan *looks* okay, so we could all go cover you?"

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    With the creature dispersed, Onihime shakes out her right fist, as if to banish the lingering wisps of fire clinging to it. And then, placidly calm, she folds her hands together in front of herself, dipping into a low bow. "...I thank you all deeply for your assistance." Straightening up, she addresses Amy directly, with a slightly-arched eyebrow. "This creature has been causing me issues for weeks. It specifically targeted someone quite important to me, and it has demonstrated itself a danger to the public besides. I feel justified in removing it as a threat - and rather a lot better now that it will no longer terrorize anyone close to me. I-"

    Those demonic eyes flick over to Erika. Blink. Blink blink blink. "Wh... what... are you singing...?"

    She seems to realize she's being distracted from some very important things, and shakes her head. "N-nevermind that." There is a subtly embarrassed glance away from the Shadow Shogun's show of emotion; it's the sort of thing she feels she probably should not stare at, out of respect. But the followup question snaps her head around to Hinata again, and then to Rashmi. There's a simple shake of her head. "I shall be fine. Please cancel the barrier. The last time you used it, Chisa was not pulled in, even though I was. She will likely be alone in the smaller building behind the main one."

    Already, the magical oni has turned to walk away; her wounds have further healed again, and her steps are graceful and sure... though perhaps quite a bit hurried. And true to her word, she'll find her attendant Chisa, unconscious but alive, in the smaller honden, clumsily wrapped in rope as if by a creature who only barely understood the concept. It's not even knotted.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"R-right! Right." A moment's concentration, and the Barrier dissipates before Onihime reaches the shrine's steps. The glance away from Hinata is marked with a curious look, but Rashmi clearly understands Chisa's safety must be verified before anything else. So... As Onihime sees to her minder, Rashmi turns to the rest of her allies with a bright smile. "...So! Thanks for coming everyone, seriously."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy stands up when Erika does. "...Same question." She responds after a brief pause. "Do we need to find you a healer before you can turn back to normal, and do we have to worry about healing-element stuff hurting zombies?"

    She glances at Rashmi. "Uh..." Then back to Erika. "Wait, did you become this way by stealing treasure?"


    Once Chisa is found and given a first aid look-over, there's more time to talk of lighter matters. "Did you say you're... Rashmi?" She blinks, as now she gets a close look at the other girl. "Like when we went yukata shopping, and at school? Um... I'm Amy Faust... is that enough to see through it, or does it only work if I transform in front of you...?"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "Gah!" That is the sound of Erika getting slugged in the shoulder by a distraught samurai.
    But then her arms go around Hinata in a firm squeeze.
    "Ah... Hah... Har, don't worry lass, I won't be goin' anywhere." She says gently at first. "Least not by choice." She says before releasing the other girl and standing herself up properly.
    There's a helpless shrug to Rashmi's question, "There be a nugget o' truth to every story, right?" She says, flashing a carp eating grin.
    On to more important things though. Like Chisa.
    "Aye, let's rescue the lass." Jolly Roger agrees with the others as Onihime starts working to undo the ropes... She pauses again.
    "... Y-yes..." Yes she got cursed because she stole blood money pirate treasure, it's something that makes her scuff her boots awkwardly as she clears her throat and rallies fast. "I'll be fine, I'll be fine. I'll just sleep it off and right as rain come morning, don't ye worry." Pause. "Just don't ye be touchin' me with no Phoenix Down."
    But then she pauses with dawning realization and takes a slow backwards pace.
    "Mayhap we'd best leave our youkai friend with her compatriot some alone time."
    it wouldn't do to terrify or confuse Chisa with a zombie and two magical girls along side her ward.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...I *think* so?" Rashmi says to Amy, brightening. "Okay, that's awesome! Now I can put you on my 'contact if dire help is needed,' and hey who wants to go for snacks after all this?"

Look the best way to charge up a depleted linker core is calories. That's just science.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Snacks or otherwise, I'm good for hanging out if you are. ...Wait, so are you an alien from another planet?" Amy finally remembers that Devices are from Space. Or something.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    While Chisa will undoubtedly need time to rest and recover, she has turned out to be more or less fine, this time. Onihime seems content to simply take her home, but before she does so, there is a brief pause, wherein the oni stares quietly at Rashmi, as if to decide something. She looks as if she's in debate; then there is a glance down at the caretaker in her arms, then around at the others. "...Tomorrow, your desk." Then, with smooth, elegant strides, the ogre princess carries her caretaker out of the ruined shrine grounds, and begins the return trip into Tokyo.

    When Rashmi checks her desk the next day, she'll find a business card with 'SENKENZAN KUREHA' in elegant calligraphy, and a phone number written underneath.

    ----------

    Long after everyone has departed the shrine, deep in the night, when silence has reasserted its reign over the advanced shrine grounds, a lone, half-formed figure of shimmering darkness breaks the stillness. Shuffle, shuffle, the figure crosses the courtyard, to the place where a lone, charred shikigami charm has fallen. The figure leans down to brush fingers over it, watching as it simply crumbles away. It speaks - he speaks - with a lilting, breezy voice, chattering to himself as if to mock the silence by breaking it with his words.

    "Mmmmm. This is indeed my handiwork, but I don't reca... ah! One of the little surprises I left behind to annoy the Tsuchimikado. I remember now. Such a trifling trinket, and yet it drew this much power on its own... Seimei, Seimei, what has your line been doing all these centuries? For my measly thousand-year-old toy to absorb such spite, such a grudge...! My, my, how utterly splendid. Perhaps I shall pay your descendants a visit! Turn the curses of one hated foe towards another. Mmmm! Yes, that would be a delightful diversion indeed..."