Chevaleresse

The Streets of a Former Hell Yuugi raised an eyebrow. She appraised the shield visually for a moment, before apparently making some kind of conclusion and chuckling. "Sure. I guess it'll make a nice wall decoration, or something." She made a sideways gesture at Lotus and UB-65. "You two might want to get out of the way." After waiting for them to move, she floated up off the ground slightly as she turned to IP. "You know, you've got some serious stones just challenging one of the Four Devas like this," the oni said approvingly. "Now, let's see if you've got anything to actually back it up." Status: Initiative: Hakugyoukurou Youmu watched Joan suspiciously, but switched back to Dani as the former gave up on her search to disturb the definitely-not-evil fire that certainly wasn't throwing up odd shadows. "I've been out and about all day, so I'm not sure I can really leave. There's a lot of work to catch up on in the garden. If you just continue on the road directly away from the Sanzu, though, you'll eventually cross back into the world of the living. I don't think that will be a problem?" The Palace of Earth Spirits The redhead raised an eyebrow. "You get stabbed by random girls a lot? You must be quite the charmer."

"Who knows~?" Justine said coyly. Her grin didn't fade until she caught Mim's own expression out of the corner of her eye, and she faltered slightly. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, but she didn't exactly know what to do with four now that she had it. "Anyway, er, I see you've already got your own beachwear. It'll be nice to get out and relax for a little while."

Third Form, protecting Cicivexa & Edmond Yin: 0 Yang: 1->2 Breath: 12/12

Justine barely suppressed a full-blown giggling fit at Arthur's reaction. It was better than anything she could have anticipated. "What's wrong, Arthur? Oh, did I take your coat?" She had taken it with full intentions of what she was doing now, and made no attempt to hide it, but playing faux-coy entertained her. "Do you want it back? Speaking of my swimsuit, I was using it to cover up. . ."

"Aw, I missed the fun." Justine's voice echoed from near the entrance to the store. Though she sounded somewhat disappointed, she still didn't let it put a damper on her cheer. "But this daring minstrel had to prepare for her grand entrance!" She sauntered dramatically into view, showing off her rather unusual summer outfit. "It looks like you got on fine without me, though." The coat covered anything she might've been wearing underneath, so it was impossible to tell what she had waiting to unveil. "Maybe you can follow my example, Lucy." She flashed a grin at Arthur, waiting to see his reaction.

Scarlet gave Sucrose another Look. "You really don't know anything about biology, do you?" She rummaged about in her bag for something to improvise as a container for the stuff. There was no reason to trust them, but equally no reason to distrust them as well. If all else failed, she had backups. "The 'cuties' get into wounds and kill people. Part of my job is making sure people don't die horrible agonizing deaths of infection." The ex-pirate rubbed at her head. The kinds of people this job surrounded her with. . . "It isn't pretty."

"Uh. . . huh." She hadn't exactly expected that. Despite the hypocrisy, archaeotech that fiddled with biology wasn't the most comforting thing in the world to her, something that showed in her more-suspicious-than-usual expression. "Disinfectants kill pathogens and anesthetics numb body parts." Scarlet also wasn't going to ask how she didn't know what either of those things were prior to this point. "Of course, I don't think it'll kill viruses, but those are a bitch and a half regardless."

Korinna merely grunted in a vaguely positive manner at Alunda. Now that the battle was over and her wounds were healed, she just wanted to get out of here. Worse, she'd choked at the last moment and needed to be bailed out again. The warrior gestured curtly at the passageway out, glancing back expectantly at their "fearless leader."

"I wouldn't have expected you to give good advice to a woman, Baldur." Justine made a theatrical entrance as always, though it seemed she hadn't located her beach outfit of choice yet. "Even if it was wrapped in puritanical nonsense." She turned to Lucy, still smiling. "I can help you pick something out, if you'd be willing to accept my help, of course."

The exchange happened in front of her while Lucine remained silent. She figured that everything that was to be said had been said already, and no interjection came to mind. She was glad she could help, and despite everything else that had come with it (and the anxieties that continued to follow after) she felt like she'd done something really good in the end. The magical girl had screwed up in a major way, but it worked out. That made it. . . okay? Fortunately, Frisk's appearance provided a welcome distraction from her continued ruminations, especially as the odd artifact was passed to her. Lucine turned the object over in her hands, examining it. "I think I know what this is supposed to do, but I'm not sure how. . ." She made a mental note of studying it later. "Yeah, it'd be a huge break after all this. But, um. . ." She gestured vaguely down at her shirt, which still bore an approximately .60 cal sized hole and accompanying bloodstain. "Does anyone have anything I could change into?"

"Nowhere in particular," she answered absentmindedly as the odd being began to gawk at her, more or less. "And yeah, I'm a field medic. More or less." Given the barrage of questions and statements, she elected not to answer the bit about her nanites, instead moving onto the practical bit. "I'm going to skip the part where I ask you if you know where to find death stickers and you ask me what those are. I need swaged needles, disinfectants, and anesthetics, in that order. Everything else I can improvise." Scarlet also chose not to comment on the gem's shapeshifting. She'd only seen anything like it one time, and didn't particularly care to rehash that memory.

The skipping and near-singing caught Scarlet's attention. While she wasn't generally fond of the noise, it didn't bother her unduly, and it reminded her of a friend. Plus, they might be able to help her with her current problem. The ex-pirate popped out of a nearby doorway and waved down Sucrose. "Are you excited because you found something for me to stitch people back together with?" she asked dryly. For Sucrose, Scarlet would have been an intriguing sight. Her biology was a normal human one at first glance, but there were far too many metallic somethings circulating in her body for that to be the case.

The Streets of a Former Hell "That is how a spell card duel works, yeah," Yuugi said, rolling her eyes at UB-65's comment. "I'm not gonna break you in half just 'cause I can." She turned her head back to IP. "And yeah, I'm always up for a fight. I sorta figured you'd try to get something out of it other than bruises, though. You wanna bet something on it? I'll even say that I have to fight without spilling any sake." The oni produced a sake dish from somewhere and waved it about demonstratively, before pouring herself a bit and taking a sip. "Although, the way that fairy's talking, it sounds like the fight itself is the reward." The woman didn't actually shrug, but her expression communicated the same emotion regardless. Youkai Mountain Sanae gasped in excitement at the poster, almost immediately making grabby hands at it. "Ooh, where did you get that? I never see anything that new in Gensokyo, it's been so long. Is that a limited edition, too? I'm pretty sure it is." The miko realized that she was being a bit too excitable after a moment, and forced her expression and posture into a state with a bit more decorum before taking it. "I'll have to take this back up to the shrine before I go over to Hakurei, though. With her luck, you never know what's going to happen." Momiji simply replied to Osada with a polite bow before wandering off, presumably to resume her game of shogi. Hakugyoukurou "Konpaku Youmu." She gave a quick, yet deep bow before continuing. "I don't know if there's really a good time for humans to be in the Netherworld, but now isn't really a bad-bad time. I'm just dealing with the aftermath of the latest incident is all." The girl side-eyed the saplings in the bonfire, as if they could leap out and attack at any moment. "Nothing to worry about, really." The Palace of Earth Spirits The catgirl scratched her head. "I don't know if she usually does, but it sounds like something she might do. Koishi is. . . well, I don't really want to call her dangerous, but she is. She doesn't mean anything by it. Well, she can't, really, I'm not even sure she can hold a grudge." She sighed. "Sorry you had to deal with that."

Justine had to stop herself from sighing. This whole thing had spun away from her almost as soon as it had started. Nary a chance to win over the enemy without him fighting with a charming look or a tall tale - no, they had to go for intimidation immediately. And then there was Famine; the game he was playing was surely nothing good for them, but what could it possibly be? She watched him out of the corner of her eye, keeping an eye on the dealer's men as well. She smelled more than one deception here; the question was who, what, and why? Sadly, she had never been much one for mysteries. . . but she could play in one, if it were absolutely necessary. The only outward sign the wandering performer gave of her inner thoughts was the light drumming of her fingers on the hilt of Joyeuse.

Korinna rolled once she hit, forcing herself to come to rest face down. She struggled to her hands and knees before coughing up a splatter of blood. "That's not going to be enough. . ." Another cough. "Not this time. Just need a moment. . ."

Were it a different moment, Korinna might have agreed with Asterios. As it was, there was only one thing on her mind. "You're in my way." J3, hatchet Asterios

Hakugyoukurou The girl jumped, her hand darting to one of her swords, but fortunately there was no comically exaggerated defensive response directed at the two would-be interlopers. "Ah! Oh, wait, more living people?" The girl frowned at the two, in particular the Death Weapon. "You seem. . . mostly like humans. Are you with that other bunch that just came through? I don't recognize you."

The Streets of a Former Hell "Oh, I suppose you are new here. Reiuji Utsuho's the idiot crow. Someone fed her a crow and now she has the power of the sun and the brains of a rock. Made a big stink a while back." She didn't seem too put off by the event, despite the description. "Made the spirits kinda annoying for a while." She paused thoughtfully. "Suika might be around here too, though last I heard she was bothering that celestial. Or was the poverty god bothering her?" Yuugi shrugged. "Oh, and there's Satori in the Palace of Earth Spirits. Doesn't keep good track of her pets." Youkai Mountain Osada reared back for a headbutt, only to discover just how much faster Momiji was than him. One, two, three swift strokes, the third coming almost on top of the second, and he was sent sprawling to the ground. "Well, uh, I haven't seen that style of swordsmanship in a long time, but I think you've got some work to do." The wolf tengu tilted her head slightly. "You look familiar. . . I don't think you're totally hopeless, though. You should bother Chichimura, she likes talking at people and telling them everything they're doing wrong." She flashed a toothy grin for a moment. "Anyway, I've got a shogi game to get back to, so unless you need anything else. . . ?" "Yeah, she's kinda been working hard lately. And, you know, the way some people talk about her, it gets kinda bad." Uncharacteristically serious, she put one hand over her heart. "You have my word that I won't say anything." She raised one eyebrow. "I still want whatever that reward is, though." The Palace of Earth Spirits "Yeah, that's Satori's little sister." The catgirl sighed. "She's certainly something." Her voice held a definite note of sorrow. "I even forgot she existed for a long time. It's good that a stranger remembered her, though. Maybe she's coming back?"

Justine nodded approvingly, not looking quite as distracted as she had a few days ago. The incident with Ferdiad still weighed on her mind, but she was hard to keep down for too long. "I think I can help get the man talking. Spin a tale or two, do a bit of tumbling, it'll be just like the old days." It'd been quite some time since she'd put on a real performance, but she was confident her skills in that regard hadn't gone to rust. "Anything you'd like to hear of note? Other than trying to find hints about his supplier, of course."

The power welled up inside Tsubasa as she turned to face Medusa. Having that power with which to slay demons and guard her friends from peril would be useful, but it would mean giving up her humanity for good. In other words, it would defeat the point of the journey she had taken to get here. The swordswoman turned away from the strange new feeling and back towards the warmth of who she knew she was. Tsubasa prepared to guard her newfound allies just as she had the old, calming her mind for the remainder of the upcoming battle. Second Form: Eye of the Storm. Tsubasa gains 1+Yin (currently 0) damage reduction for the remainder of the battle. Yin: 0 Yang: 0->1 Breath: 14/14

Hakugyoukurou The door they're at already looks like the front door, but being an ancient Japanese manor, it doesn't have a door buzzer. Following the path around leads to a white-haired girl in a green dress, looking concernedly at a bonfire that looked to be fueled by some chopped-up saplings. The fire was swirling about with shadows in a less than reassuring way. The girl looked like she wasn't a fan, either, judging by how her hand hovered over the two swords at her waist. The Palace of Earth Spirits The catgirl snorted a bit at Rory's reaction before smoothing her expression out to something at least vaguely resembling seriousness. Her expression became rather more genuine as she processed what the hunter said. "Blue orb? It didn't happen to be attached to her by what looked like string, did it? Or look like part of it was sown shut?" Youkai Mountain Momiji's Swift Guard activates, granting her a Basic Defense! Momiji deals Osada a swift rap with her blade, dealing [16] damage! Momiji defends. Osada strikes Momiji with a flurry of blows for [34] damage! Momiji catches the attack on her shield! Momiji bashes Osada with her shield and knocks him off balance for [20] damage! Initiative: Status:

Heidrun let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "I. . . I think I did it." She clasped her hands in front of herself and looked down, as if she were praying. "Although I didn't know your name, I hope that you can rest in peace, and find happiness in your next life." The healer stayed silent for a moment before looking back up at Navin. The brief moment of bittersweet happiness she'd found in helping the ghost began to drain away once more, replaced with the familiar creeping anxiety of the situation she found herself embroiled in. "Do you, um, think we should keep looking around here? I doubt there are any criminals hiding nearby, with that thing making this its hunting grounds."

"Hi, Toriel," Lucine said with a wave, fairly certain she remembered the name correctly. "Sorry I couldn't help with the pie." The girl gestured vaguely at the large tiger man standing next to her, still marveling a little bit at his new appearance and lack of. . . well, there wasn't really much of a polite way to put that. "This is Nader, by the way. I, um, think him and Asgore should talk a little, probably?" There was no reason that conversation should go poorly, yet she had an odd feeling about it. She was acting normal for the moment, but Lucine had quite a few emotions to try and process at the moment. It was difficult to describe how much had happened to her in such a short time. Trying to save the King of Monsters, getting shot, then absorbing seven SOULS and using their power to fix (almost) everything. . . She still wasn't sure how she felt about Nader. Certainly, something had changed, but the girl couldn't really say what.

"You will try." Mitsurugi raised one arm. There was only a brief delay before the room erupted with power, magical energy flying about in a manner reminiscent of roaring winds and crashing waves. Mitsurugi herself dashed into the fray, showcasing her speed as she made cuts at each of their foes. Storm Sign centered on the Ubume, dealing 1d4+DEX damage to it, the Onryo, and the Bud Ogre!

Former Hell "Yukari sent you? What for?" The woman didn't seem pleased at the mention of that particular woman. "Ah, don't even tell me, it's not worth the effort. She gives the word 'shady' a whole new meaning. But no, there's nothing wrong with just looking around." She shifted her focus to IP. "Hoshiguma Yuugi. I'm probably... the most dangerous thing down here, if I want to be. If I don't want to be, it'd be that idiot crow." Yuugi visibly thought for a moment. "There's other youkai down here that aren't the friendliest, either. Some of the oni aren't fond of humans, and there's always the evil spirits too. And if you're wondering why I'm being a nice tour guide, it's because I'm bored." The Palace of Earth Spirits The cat sniffs Rory's hand. His continued speech seems to confuse it a bit too much for the cat to just be a simple animal, not that it wasn't blindingly obvious that this was something supernatural. The feline visibly sighs in a very humanlike manner, then steps back. Smoke swirls around it for a moment, and predictably, when it clears, a red-haired girl with cat ears and a dark green dress stands in its place. "Do you have to get in there for any particular reason? Satori's not a big fan of visitors, especially not humans. You're not quite human, but you're not really a youkai either, so maybe you don't want to go in there?" The Netherworld: Hakugyoukurou On closer inspection, they find the structure is in a Japanese style. It looks positively ancient, but not poorly-maintained. It was surrounded by a lush, well-kept garden, or as lush as anything looked in this world of the dead, anyway. There was smoke rising from the far side of the building, though not much. A simple, yet elegant stone path led around the building, and a sliding door looked like it would permit entry. Youkai Mountain "A duel?" Momiji pondered the question for a moment. "I guess the shogi game isn't going anywhere. Don't think that this means you can just wander around the mountain regardless of how this goes, though." Before she responded, however, Masako received her own Look that informed her that said bothering would be swift and relentless should she not report all the information back to the proper authorities. Then, she gave a rather more pedestrian glance to Isobel. "Thank you for letting us know. We'll be on watch for anything really strange going on. . . not that it's always easy to tell. . ." Momiji then gestured to a spot with no particular distinguishing features just to the side of the road, then walked over, waiting for Osada to take up his position. Once he did, she dropped into a ready stance, shield held protectively forward. Initiative Status Sanae stood off to the side, watching with interest. She shrugged at Masako's question. "Pretty much. I was going to watch this guy get kicked around by Momiji, but other than that, I don't have anything to do. I missed out on the incident and everything."