1813/One-Headed Orochi

One-Headed Orochi
Date of Scene:	29 July 2024
Location:	Penguin Park
Synopsis:	A mishmash of mahou join Hinata at Penguin Park. They're almost immediately accosted by an elephant-sized giant snake youma. Battle ensues and with coordination and cooperation, they group succeed in quelling the beast, and Hinata retrieves another shard of the Murasame.
Thanks to:	Everyone who attended
Cast of Characters:	Hinata Muramasa, Kureha Senkenzan, Veronica Perenna, Erika Shimizu, Amanda Faust

---

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    It's a peaceful afternoon in Penguin Park. The sun is shining, people are milling around and enjoying time after work or school to enjoy the sun. A young girl in drab grey clothes. She's using an umbrella as a parasol, and hiding under a tree to boot. Hinata Muramasa's face is impassive, but those who know her would see the trepidation etched into it.

    She asides to Erika. "It's coming, be ready." she says, tugging her charm from inside her blouse and clasping it tightly.

    A few moments pass, a pregnant pause descends... then the civilians start to keel over, as a large black snake writhes out of the trees, and emits a roar, its beady red eyes falling onto the holder of the Murasame.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    For students of Radiant Heart, it's summer vacation, but Kureha has precious few chances to enjoy it. However, today she's at least won some hard-earned relaxation; to her father and her other attendants, this is being spent at a day spa, which is... mostly accurate. But Chisa is the attendant of the day, and Chisa is covering for the Youkai Musume of Flames to take a quick jaunt to handle a certain invitation from a f... a f...

    ...oh god. Hinata counts as a friend. Kureha's still getting used to using that word.

    Regardless, that means that Onihime is here, already transformed. Specifically, she is standing atop a tall lightpost near Hinata, idly fanning herselfwith an old-fashioned folding fan. Those fire-colored eyes fall right on the serpent, eyes narrowing slightly. It's only then that she hops down, pavement cracking a little under her geta. "My, an orochi. I would say that I feel a certain kinship with a fellow monster of Japanese myth but..."

    The fan snaps closed, and gets stuffed somewhere-or-other. "...Mostly I find myself just inclined to heed my oni blood and start punching. Shall we?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
The Princess of Sarek was minding her own business, keeping greed in check the way she knew best, fighting youmas here and there and gathering noteworthy info about illicit transactions to be brought to justice. There isn't much of a chance to pay attention to communications from her allies during these operations, so it is only after she has made the rounds that she notices a message from Hinata talking about another fragment of the Murasame, a fight that is going to occur the following day at Penguin Park.

<PHONE> Veronica Perenna texts Hinata Muramasa: Glad to hear from you again, Shogun. Worry not, I will be there to lend my assistance.

The following day she shows up already in henshin, punctual as ever, right together with Erika, Hinata and Onihime. "Hey, friends, nice to see you!", she says, offering to high-five the two of them.

"That is the big fellow we have come here to fight, huh", she smiles once the snake makes its appearance. "That sounds like a great idea, Onihime. Let's show it why they are not going to hurt anyone", the Princess of Sarek tosses up the cane before grabbing it in the middle.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Hinata Muramasa isn't alone though.
    You see a one Erika Shimizu is with her, and...
    It's odd how the blonde is a bit more clingy with Hina than usua, hugging the girl's arm to her chest EVERYWHERE throughout the park.
    Right up until people start keeling over.
    "Ah? Oh carp." She says when Hinata senses something.
    Reaching into her pocket she pulls out a cursed gold coin, the glittering coin dancing in her fingers before she flips it into the air.

    "Under a black flag we sail and the sea shall be our empire! Take what you can. Give nothing back!"

    It is with that declaration that her clothes are instantly replaced with a pirate's greatcoat, blouse, breeches and boots.
    In an instant she draws a flintlock pistol from her greatcoat.
    "Aye! Punchin's good." she says when Onihime arrives and unloads her pistol shot at the snake.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    So this afternoon is going to be chilling in the park waiting for a monster apparently. Amy is sitting on a bench reading manga on her phone, when she looks over to the others. "Hey um, I just realized, I barely know you guys outside of combat, maybe we could--"

    And of course, THAT is when the giant snake appears. Amy sighs at the timing, but she was ready for this, pocketing her phone and transforming.

    "Punching, shooting, blowing holes in it is all fine." For her part, she fires an explosive at it.

    "So what exactly is this thing? You said it's an Orochi? ...Wait, so 'Orochi' is a kind of mythical snake?"

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    Onihime arrives, and the beady red eyes flick from Hinata to the Demon Princess of Flames. It opens its mouth again and extends its fangs, seeming to be preparing to spray poison at her, until Jolly Roger's and Amy's attacks slam home, knocking it off balance and drawing an angry hiss from the beast.

    Hinata takes the opening to intone her transformation phrase, clutching the fragment of katana blade in her hand.

     "Good habitation
    A luminous, dark flame eats
    because of the sword"

    Cherryblossom petals swirl, her eyes shift black and a moment later, the Shadow Shogun stands where the girl once did.

    "Be careful, its venom is corrosive... and do not aim to behead it... that will make this situation exponentially worse." she warns as she draws her blades, charging in to slash at the center of mass of the beast.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "Hmm... to simplify, an 'orochi' is to a 'snake' as a 'dragon' is to a 'lizard'," Kureha offers Amy. "One of Japan's three great monsters is an impossibly-massive Orochi with eight heads and eight tails." She side-glances at Hinata, and makes a very firm mental note not to take its head off.

    But both Amy and Erika open the bidding, so to speak, so Kureha lunges in right behind their attacks, so that as soon as the bullets and explosives land, they're followed by a fist that could knock a train off its tracks. Onihime doesn't stop at one punch, either; she throws a second and a third, hoping to land as many powerful blows to the demonic snake as she can.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Like the Hydra of Lerna, then?", the Princess of Sarek comments as she does as requested, aiming a beam of concentrated moonlight right at the thing's side, far away from the head. "Are we really sure that it won't regenerate any cut? This kind of monster is usually defeated by burns." If she concentrates her light enough, maybe that will be able to do the trick? Just how tough are this thing's scales, anyway?, Veronica wonders in the privacy of her mind, not an useful question to vocalise.

"Sorry, Red, this thing has an inopportune sense of timing, let's leave the socialising for later", the Princess of Sarek replies, keeping an eye out for the Orochi's movements, careful not to be blindsided by a sudden attack. Experiencing what a magic venom does is not on her to do list.

"Was it naturally that way, or have people happily hacked at it with no consideration for the consequences?", the girl with pale blonde hair asks Onihime.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Eight heads -- Amy pictures a Hydra -- and eight tails. ...Isn't that just eight snakes then?! Or like, eight snakes bundled together?

    "Got it. Don't behead the one-headed hydra."

    She looks at Veronica. "I think this is just a youma, not the actual... Ah well."

    Amy backs away, keeping more distance since she can fight at range, continuing to fire rockets at its body, trying not to hit the head now.

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    The snake recoils under the impacts of Onihime's fists, and its scales chip away and shatter under those fists and Shogun's blades.

    Lasers strafe across the things flanks, the coherant light cauteriizing the beasts black flesh, while Amy's rockets slam in, and cause it to 'stagger' more. The orochi then snaps out with surprising speed, its fanged jaws aiming to impale Onihime with those venomous fangs.

    "This is just a golem, its true form is a fragment of the Murasame blade, I can sense where it is, but we need to pin it down to get to it." replies the Shogun as she leaps to slash one of those fangs out to cover for Onihime.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "We don't know. The Yamata-no-Orochi simply... Was. I recommend reading the legends if you-"

    Onihime's words cut off as it snaps forward; one of the fangs is slashed at, but the other finds purchase in her arm... sort of. Some blood issues forth where the fang just manages to pierce the skin, but that's as far as it goes. The daughter of Mount Ooe is inhumanly tough, and she takes the chance to reach up with her free arm and grab that other fang in a grip that could crush steel, then pull the bittem arm off - and start punching the Orochi in the head.

    It will have to break its fang off or throw off the Youkai Musume if it wants to escape, and whatever venom it managed to get into Kureha doesn't seem to be slowing her down much.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Well, it's a good thing that the fragment isn't giving this thing the whole range of abilities. "Right, so we just keep it busy while you go for the fragment? Sounds like a plan", Veronica confirms to the Shadow Shogun. Even if the large snake is being quite lively for something they are supposed to keep at bay. That is always so much harder that just whittling away at the dark energy.

"Hey, little beast, look here", Veronica says, picking up a small rock off the side of the road and tossing it towards the thing's teeth. Right afterwards, either she jumps towards the snake's line of sight assuming its attention hasn't been diverted from the others, or if the above trick worked, she just stays were she is, and after either path, she sprays a dense twinkling mist right into the Orochi's eyes, a harmless magic that will hopefully make it harder for it to see.

"Got it, I will keep it in mind for later", Veronica nods to Onihime.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Pin it down? Hmmm..." Amy gives some thought to this. "I guess I can give it a shot!" And she starts running towards the youma!

    The puella Magi rocket jumps over it like someone in an old shooter, and fires down as she arcs over it, a long rocket with no explosives trying to penetrate THROUGH it and pin it to the ground!

    This is a bit of a stretch of how her powers work -- however that is -- but it might last for a moment before it dissipates, and help Shadow Shogun, hopefully!

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    Its bite interrupted, the Orochi finds its fang grabbed and its face being beaten by the angry little Oni. It writhes and struggles, before finally snapping its fang off and rearing back. It's about to coil up and go for another strike, mouth closed this time, when Sarek's rock strikes it in the eye and drags its attention that way. It bellows in a very unsnake-like manner, and tries to whip around to sweep its big fat tail at the thief, even while blinded by the sparkling mist... only to have its body pinned in place by the kinetic spike from Amy's rocket launcher.

    Shadow Shogun, during this, backs off and sheathes one of her blades at her hip, taking a wide stance and closing her eyes.

    She allows the sounds of combat to bleed away, as she starts to measure her breathing.

    In.
    Out.
    In.
    Out.

    Her feet shift just a little, and with a sudden burst of speed, making it seem like she teleported, the Shogun appears on the other side of the Orochi.

    "The Approaching Storm,
    Shakes the World to its core.
    Flames Extinguished."

    As she intones this haiku, her blade is slowly returning to its sheath. As it clicks into place, the snakes body slices in two, and a tiny metal fragment floats free of it before zipping over to attach itself to the charm around the Shogun's neck.

    Rent of its power source, and mortally wounded, the Orochi quakes for a moment, its two halfs trying to reconsile their newly parted existence, before the dark energy empowering them bleeds away and the black flesh turns to smoke and wafts away in the breeze.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    And so it fades, cleft by an impossibly fast strike. Onihime takes a few steps back, and only now stops to examine her arm with a furrowed brow. "Mm. Impressive poison, to slow my regeneration..." Her frown deepens just a little. She'll have to remain transformed, at least until her body can purge the worst of it. But she can deal with that, if she must.

    "Is anyone hurt?" the Ogre Princess calls out, turning to the rest of the group. "I wouldn't recommend it, but I can carry you to the hospital if it's dire."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Dodging the beast's tail is admittedly much easier, blinded as it is, the thief having the time to jump over it as it comes, the only thing that she didn't calculate is that the thing is so fast that by the time she is ready to land, the only surface she has available is not the Orochi's tail, but the floor two meters beneath her.

"Ow", she frowns at the abrupt landing, grateful that with the Shadow Shogun dissolving the snake, she doesn't have to worry about the fact she would have been completely open. "Despite the small fall, I am all right over her", Veronica replies to Onihime, a grateful glance given to Hinata. "Your timing was excellent, the Orochi would have had a perfect occasion to strike me had you not intervened then."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Oh, nice zanzoken!" Amy comments as she sees Shadow Shogun flash-step into place before Amy's even landed from her own rocket jump! She lands and turns, her weapon changing to a gyrojet rifle as she takes aim at uh... which half of the snake does she aim at?

    And then the monster's gone.

    "Dah-dah-dah daaah daaah daaah dah dah-daaaaaah." She sings somewhat frivolously, smiing and dismissing the weapon. "I'm good. I didn't engage it in melee, but what about you? You looked like you got bit?" She looks to Onihime, quirking an eyebrow but not that concerned because Onihime doesn't seem to be concerned.

Hinata Muramasa has posed:
    Shadow Shogun straightens, walking over to Onihime. "I missed... I was aiming to take both with that slash." she says, looking at least a little contrite... as much as her stony expression can manage at least.

    To Amy and Veronica she looks next, bowing, "Thank you both... this foe would have been difficulty for Jolly-san and I to handle by ourselves."

    She then seems to remember something, and jogs off into the treeline, where the pirate mahou got flung in the chaos.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha gives her head a gentle shake. "Think nothing of it," she replies to Hinata. "I have learned that, with my blood, I am better-suited than most for weathering injury than most. It is better that it was me than someone else." It's one of the main reasons she usually takes the front line in any engagement; she's tough and strong enough to be a perfect vanguard. In answer to Amy, she draws back her sleeve, showing the wound is already somewhat closed. "If anything, this is slower than usual for me. I shall be quite fine."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Eh, you have been bit? And you are the one to ask if we need to be brought to the hospital?", Veronica frowns at the priorities she would call weird. "Well, if you have some regeneration already, all is fine, but say something if you needs assistance with how it is going slower, ok? Finding a healer shouldn't be too hard, and better to have one on hand than not."

"Always a pleasure to help, take care, Shogun", Veronica waves as she sees Hinata retreat from the battlefield.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy wonders why Shadow Shogun is running off, and then... "Oh, shit, Erika! ...She's probably okay, though." As she runs past Onihime, she comments, "I guess a surprising number of magical girls are super-tough, huh? Hey, you girls wanna go out for ice cream or a burger or something after?"

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "I will be fine, I assure you," Onihime replies to the Princess of Sarek. "And..." She starts to answer Amy, but then pauses, and frowns. "...I shouldn't. I am with someone who... knows my circumstances, but there is only so long of an absence they can cover. Another time, perhaps."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Best of luck with your absence, and if you ever want to take a longer break, I can cover for you with my magic disguises", Veronica offers. Turning to Amy, she instead replies. "I do have time for icecream right now, I have taken care of most of my business".