...The miko who came before adjusted the new outfit she was given. 'This is… hmm.'

She was currently in a changing room that she'd been directed to, staring in a mirror. 'Haven't looked in one of these in awhile. Feels sort of surreal, for some reason.'

'...And it's not because of these ridiculous clothes.'

It was curiously similar to the outfit the miko had walked in with, allowing her to replace the temporary lunar rabbit suit she'd been going around with.

She had a white leotard on, and over that was a thick cloth apron. This one was entirely black, except for a sloppily painted skull on the front, with a red X drawn through one eye.

Additionally, she had black Hakurei arm sleeves on, with white string running through the outer hems, where normally red string would be.

Her hakama came intentionally torn up, looking as if it was partially fed to a paper shredder. 'Really…'

...She stepped from the changing room vaguely sheepishly. 'This feels more than a little cheesy.'

...Rinnosuke was waiting outside, now clad in a black hoodie with a random, indecipherable but certainly intricate design on the front in a deeper shade of black. "...Uum."

Walking out of his own changing room, Marcus felt at the neon red and black robes they gave him. "I feel like an evil sorcerer! What's up with that, ah?"

In the middle of the room Reisen and Eirin watched them approach…

"...I didn't particularly choose the styles." Eirin admitted. "However, these should all grant fifty percent dark resistance, and immunity to magically-induced instant death. Really only handy against certain shinigami, but you can never be too careful."

'More dark resistance for me, huh.' Raising a brow, the miko looked down at herself. 'Not sure how that adds up. Also- you can just… prepare against shinigami scythes?'

...Reimu came out of a nearby changing room, clad in similarly monochromatic attire. "Why's it all black?"

...Scratching her cheek, Reisen explained. "Well, the modeler for the 3D sewing machine, she… got a little creative."

'My apron has a skull on it.' The miko propped her arms on her hips…

"How's instant death resistance work, exactly…?" Curious, Rinnosuke brought up a question.

'This seems a little convenient.'

...Eirin stared them over for a moment, before collecting her answer. "Normally, such is obtained through artifacts or relics. In history, there are artifacts that give their users the power to resist death; not normal causes or murder, sudden death. They're not as uncommon as one may be lead to believe, but they're not something so simple as say, water or fire relics, or proponents of the common elements.

"Celestials and hermits of today often use them." Turning away, Eirin begins to progress towards the door out. Stopping there, she focused on Rinnosuke again. "Our shinigami often don't go terribly farther than to test whether they're resistant. That, and hermits and celestials are rather messy to battle…"

'Hermits…' Sendai recalled her experiences with them. 'They're a lot of trouble. I've never had to kill one, and they're generally benign, but they're cheeky, even dangerous if you don't watch them carefully.'

With that, Eirin nods at them. "In summary, your clothes have the same properties of those scythe-defying relics."

She stepped out of the room. "That should be everything. Thank you for your time."

…

Once she was gone, Reisen moved to mingle with the party in the midst of the changing room hub. "Oh, yeah. Before you guys go…"

Moving up to Marcus, she reached into her suit, and took out something flat. "Here. It's a.. spell pamphlet."

"Oh wowie." Grinning, he accepted it, looking it over… "A spell pamphlet, huh. Don't make books like they used too!" Rotating it, he held one face-

The pamphlet fell open, revealing itself to have at least twenty or more sides. "...At what point do you write a like, mini-tome?"

Smirking herself, Reisen looked the expanded pamphlet over. "When it's efficient to carry a book around on the battlefield. Not that you should walk into battle trying to teach yourself spells, anyway. It's convenient for training."

'Tell that to the myriad of mages I've fought who've thrown not one book, nor two books, but entire libraries at me. Also- the Gensokyo Chronicle makes a mean bludgeon… as well as a laser cannon.'

With that, Reisen turned and began to leave. "I'm going to get back to… my things now. Cleaning up that mess…"

...Reimu was vaguely curious at that. "What mess?"

...Slowly, Reisen turns back-

"She dropped a nuke on us." Sendai revealed bluntly, looking over at her daughter. "It burnt all my flesh off, and then she made it grow back again."

…

Reisen giggled. "Eheheh. Now, umm… Reimu-"

Thwack- Bwamp…! Reisen retreated, her shield flickering after Reimu came up to her and hit her in the face.

"He- hey…!" Reisen fled the room, accelerating with inhuman agility-

Swinging her gohei wildly, Reimu flew after her.

...Looking over at Rinnosuke, Sendai expected him to try and mediate…

...He just kind of stared back at her idly. 'Hah. Guess not.'

"What'd I even make you idiots make danmaku nukes for!?" Reimu's yelling was heard from down the hall.

"Aaa~h!" Reisen couldn't find the moment for an intelligent response, it'd seemed.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

ARC 5 - Ancestral Battleground

STAGE 1 - Death's Jungle Shroud

...Now immediately outside the clinic, Sendai inhaled a breath of fresh air. 'It's sort of stale, in there. Too clean.'

The bright blue sky above was a contrast to the dim of the bamboo canopy, which was blocking the sun from reaching further in.

Marcus was holding the spell pamphlet up with two arms. "...Ah, yeah, this is pretty simple, actually. S'just thunder magic, 'cept a little weird about it. A lotta pages're just spent explaining the basics behind magic in general… which pro'lly only really helps their trainees, 'cause this is real incomplete otherwise!"

"Do you think it could teach me?" Glancing over at it, Rinnosuke approached the mage…

"Pro'lly not, no." Shaking his head, Marcus began folding it up. "Maybe eventually, if we had a sit down! There're some mana placement 'n' elemental concepts you'd need 'fore hand."

Holding his hand out towards a nearby bamboo clump, Marcus casted-

Zap! Zap! An orb of lilac plasma generated in the midst of the clump, giving it two brief shocks before fading out.

"Issa bit lighter weight than my big kaboom thunder." Stepping ahead, Marcus spoke. "Which is good, 'cause I often didn' wanna use it for fear it might fry someone! This one's more about stunning and pain, an' it's a little roundabout, but it seems pretty cool! Also, cheaper to cast…!"

"That's nice." The miko gazed into the bamboo ahead. 'It's gonna be a pain getting out.'

"...Can you guys fly?" Reimu looked everyone over as they approached the bamboo. "Don't tell me you're planning on just walking through the bamboo. How did you even get here?"

"We found a little white rabbit, and beat it up." Sendai grinned at her daughter…

"...Naturally, huh." With that, Reimu floated closer to the ground. "Well, it's definitely easier to get lost and accidentally stumble out of the woods, than it is to get to Eientei from outside."

'Yeah.' Agreeing with this logic, Sendai continued to march forward, the party moving behind her…

After a few moments within the brush, the bushes ahead rustled.

'Oh, look, a rabbit.' Sendai expected to see a rabbit youkai. 'Maybe she can lead us out…'

Instead, a stout girl with short blonde hair came through, holding a large parchment in one arm, and lugging a tiny scythe over her shoulder with the other.

"A- aah…" She seems taken aback at the amount of people she just ran into. "Ah- um…" She was also clad in a rather oversized, faded blue robe.

'...Huh.'

Reimu floated down, towards her. "Hey."

"Umm~..." The girl shied away. "...Hi~. I…"

...At the girl's unresponsive nature, Reimu landed. "What's up?"

"...I'm… looking for someone." The girl began. "I- I got lost, and…"

"Who're you looking for?" Reimu eyed the scythe…

"...We- well…" The girl held her parchment before herself. It had a thick, wooden board behind it. "We- we're scouting for, um…"

Fed up, Reimu takes the parchment.

Sendai's portrait was on the front, in monochrome. 'Oh.'

"...I see." Dryly, she passed it back to the little reaper girl.

"Ye- yeah, we have to…" The girl focused. "...Harvest, yeah. They said the job was… easy, but I got lost from- from… the team. Ah!" Suddenly, she froze up. "I- I wasn't supposed to show you~ this…!" She hugged the parchment board to herself.

...Reimu glanced back to her mother.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

"Mmh- mmph…!" The little reaper girl was now tied up and attached to a big clump of bamboo Sendai had over her shoulder.

'If that was really everything, I feel like we vastly over prepared.'

"She did say there was a team…" Rinnosuke reminded them.

Floating ahead, Reimu looked around. "From what I know, the more bothersome reapers tend to work alone. Or, at least, that's what I think."

'I've only seen a reaper team a handful of times, and never in combat. They act like regular people, from what I can tell.'

...After a moment of progressing, the party came to a river in the midst of the bamboo woods. There was a short clearing before it, enough for both sides of the river to be well-exposed, to extents. On the other end, there was some sticks set up, creating a tiny structure.

'...Huh. Cute little getaway, here.' Staring down at the running water, Sendai was tempted to jump in. 'It's a little cold for that, though.'

"He~y…"

Before the four, a red-haired woman stepped out from the bamboo-

SHI~NG! She swung a large, ridged-looking scythe wide immediately as she entered the clearing.

...Kra- Fwii~sh. The bamboo she stepped out of, among a layer along the whole clearing wall adjacent to her, all fell forward.

From behind her, three more reapers stumbled and struggled with the falling bamboo as they moved to catch up with her.

"On- Onozuka~!" A tall girl with long, blonde hair whined at the leading reaper. "We were using that bamboo, you know…!"

"I see you found Chitose-chan for us!" The red-haired woman called out to the miko's party…

"Hey, Komachi~!" Reimu called out for her. "You mind taking a hike!?"

"I wou~ld…" Komachi leans back lazily… "Today is like, classified as an easy job. We cou~ld just go…"

...Reimu blinked at this. "You're… really?"

...Smiling back, the reaper began to walk forward. "No~. You defending your mom, there?"

Drifting ahead, Reimu held her gohei ready. "Yeah? Is that a problem…?"

"It ain't healthy, sweetie…" Shaking her head, Komachi twirled her scythe around-

Thunk. -before embedding the tip of the staff part into the dirt. "She's dead."

"Not if we beat you up." Reimu contested. "Five cards."

"Aa~h, na~h…" Komachi turned away. "I'll spare ya that trouble…"

SHI~NG!

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: Komachi Onozuka and Shinigami ====

...Sendai blinked, the reaper gone.

Turning around, she saw the shinigami standing behind her, scythe extended as if she'd just swung it.

…

Slowly, Komachi turned around. "...Now, who went and gave ya death resistance…? Damn i~t. The workaround su~cks…"

'What did she just…?' Sendai felt at herself…

"Hey!" Reimu yelled, accelerating towards the shinigami. "What did you just do!?"

"...Nothi~ng?" Komachi gave her a grin. "In fact… you all have instant death resistance. Now that's fishy…"

"Look…" Rinnosuke walks forward receptively. "I-"

"Guess I'm just gonna hafta beat the crap out 'a all 'a ya." Komachi began twirling her scythe around…

"Yeah, alright." Two yin-yang orbs began to gravitate around Reimu. "Let's see a slacker like you try to take on all of us."

...Komachi winked. "Did you forget about my mates, over there?"

Click. She snapped her fingers-

fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish. The four other shinigami appeared around her, stumbling in place from the sudden movement.

"Aa- woah…!" The little blonde girl fell over. "Ow…"

...Sendai looked at her bamboo shaft clump, the shinigami now free. 'Oh.' She tossed it aside…

...Drawing a double-bladed scythe, the taller blonde reaper held it forward like a short sword despite its size. "Keep on your guard, everyone. These are two Hakurei we're dealing with…"

Next to her, a robed shinigami reached up…

Letting down his hood, he revealed his long, messy pink hair. "Their hearts shall be judged."

The final shinigami let down her hood, revealing short blue hair. Then, she drew two chain sickles, swinging the chains and by extension their scythe-esque ends parallel to one another. "Yeah, yeah, Marusha. Next time you get Chitose lost, we're using you as bait."

"So it shall be." The pink-haired reaper accepted this-

Fwi~sh! A scythe with a pink blade formed in his right hand, sakura petals fluttering off of it before vaporizing.

'Looks like a fun crowd.' Sendai cracked her knuckles. 'Reimu here'll be a good equalizer…'

"Oh, yea~h…" Komachi held up her scythe. "Me and Marshy's scythes, they don't stab, they just kill. The other scythes, though…!"

"Komachi!" Rinnosuke attempted the impossible. "...We don't-"

"Bo~y." Komachi interrupted him loudly.

…

He tried again. "Bu-"

"Bo~y." Komachi flatly bellowed over him.

Sighing, he held up his pistol…

…

'Here's the stare off.' Taking a deep breath, Sendai watched her opponents. 'That Komachi girl can move instantly.'

…

"If you guys so much as move a muscle…" Reimu enunciated the building tension-

Fwish. Marusha vanished, a tuft of sakura petals in his wake. Komachi was simply gone.

'What's with this pink guy? Is he related to Yuyuko or what…?'

"Ha~h…!" The blunette with the dual chain sickles began running towards the party-

"Onozuka~!" The blonde haired reaper stabbed one end of her dual-bladed scythe into the floor below-

Fwo- fwoa~sh! She lit up with white energy herself, although Komachi was nowhere, yet.

"Spirit Sign!" Reimu instantly announced a spell card. "Fantasy Seal!"

Fwoa~sh! Erecting a barrier, Marcus ducked towards it-

Spla- splash! Instantly putting away his gun, Rinnosuke made a mad dash across the river as the chain sickle swinging shinigami came sprinting after him. "Aa- aah…!"

'Two are missing…' Sendai was still looking for the other reapers-

Marusha appeared before her, moving to swing up and hit her with his scythe-

Bam! Lunging forward, Sendai punched him in the chest, sending him skidding back-

Fwish. He vanished into a tuft of sakura petals, again.

Fwa- fwa- fwa- bam- boom- fwam- boom! From above, Reimu's technicolor yin yang orbs descended upon the few shinigami present on the battlefield.

"Ngh…" The blonde one was only slightly staggered by the attack-

"Aaa~h!" By contrast, the stout blonde reaper was knocked out of a very long casting procedure she'd been executing in the background, sent flying.

Splash! The blunette was submerged into the river, the orbs bowling her over. "Mmgh- aghk…!"

Ba- bam- bam! Sendai felt herself thrown forward from a force behind herself. "Aah…"

Turning in the air as she soared for the bamboo, she shielded herself with her arms-

Pat- pap- bam! Thick, ring-like coins pattered against her flesh like bullets. "Ugh…!"

...Looking around, Sendai noticed that the shinigami was gone now. 'This is going to be a fun one, isn't it. The harasser types of youkai are the worst...'

...Marching out of the river, the chain sickle wielding shinigami began to spin her sickles up again, this time making for the miko rather than the shopkeeper. "He~h! You really think you can take five 'a us!?"

"Force Blizzard!" Marcus yelled out from across the battlefield-

Woo~sh! The tall blonde reaper shielded herself as a small snowstorm suddenly fell upon her. "Wha- what…!?"

Fwa- fwa- fwash! The blue-haired reaper had two instances of herself split off, three copies of herself running at the miko. "Hehehe!"

The left one only had a sickle in her left hand. "What's one…"

"Plus one!?" The right reaper flailed her sickle wide, the chain extending despite the reaper's distance-

Ducking under it, the miko ran under the chain itself-

Clink! Chains clattered together as the main one cast her two sickles straight down, trying to track the miko's movement. "Plus one!"

Woosh! The left reaper's sickle now soared straight for Sendai. "Plus one!?"

As it neared-

Sendai leapt, before accenting her arms with dark energy, and grabbing the chain-

Woo- woosh- clink! Grabbing it, she began to run towards the wielder, evading a retracting right sickle and another lunge from the main reaper as she moved-

Fwash! Marusha appeared to her right, flinging her into the air with an upward, grand swing of his great pink scythe. 'Woah…!' The attack itself felt more like push force, than being struck by a blade or even the shaft.

"Ha ha~..." He let out a laugh as he dissipated into petals again, talismans raining down into his former position from above. 'Reimu's keeping 'em suppressed…'

...Up here, Sendai kicked towards the blunette clone-

Woosh! -and began soaring towards her.

The girl crouched down-

Fwuu~sh! A geyser erupted before the miko, but she sailed through it as she neared the girl-

Closer now, the miko was able to grab the chain nearest the reaper. Reinforcing the dark energy in her arms, she tugged-

"Wa- ah…!" The clone fell along her side as the miko tugged, her legs pounding from the momentum, the landing contrasting with her pulling. 'C'mon…!'

Woosh! With a mighty heave, she began spinning the shinigami around, slowly loosening her grip on the chains so that the radius of the spin would become wider and wider…

At the edges of this spin attack were the other two blunettes, searching for an opportunity-

Bam! Sendai stopped abruptly, whipping the back end of the chain sickle she commandeered-

"Woaa~h!" The clone roared as she held on for dear life.

"Hroa~h!" Sendai put maximum leverage into her legs as she pushed and pulled with her arms-

The clone soared over her head, before-

Boom! Sendai struck the clone against the ground ahead, the other two reapers out of the way of her crash-

Pi~chun! The clone exploded similar to how a fairy would.

"Haha~!" Blue-haired shinigami rushing forward, Sendai saw her pounce towards her again, sickles in the air back beyond the girl's head and ready to impale-

Boom! Pounding against the ground with her legs, Sendai tackled her directly, grabbing her by the arms. 'Enough of that…!'

Woosh- woosh- woosh… The remaining clone was spinning her sickle up not dissimilar from how the miko had spun the other clone around…

Woosh- woosh… Sendai began spinning the reaper she was holding by the arms. 'Here we go…'

After a moment-

Woosh! Sendai let the girl go sailing towards her clone. "Nngh…!"

Eyes widening, the clone swung her sickle away to avoid hitting her master-

Wham! Their bodies collided-

Fwa- za- za- zap! Crackling with energy, the girl merged with her clone, their bodies snapping together. "O- oww~...!"

'There…' Sendai huffed. '...The answer's apparently 'none', by the way. To her riddle, that is. A little late to answer it now.'

Overhead, Reimu was hovering over the battlefield, ofuda raining down wherever the high priority shinigami were.

The blonde reaper was now frozen and crackling with electricity.

"Pu- purif- aah…!" Chitose, the stout blonde reaper, was running around her, attempting to heal her only for Marcus to round the ice block and spook her every other moment. "Purif- aah…!"

"Hoohoo~! Here comes the paddleball…!" Marcus was using a paddle ball to achieve this effect.

"N- no! Purif- aah!" Chitose ducked under a bounce of the ball that would've come short of her face anyway...

...Rinnosuke stood on the opposite shore, flintlock ready and body rigid, ready to get abruptly smashed for no reason.

...Fwish. Marusha appeared in the middle of the clearing.

"Hraaa~h!" Yelling out, he spun his scythe around over his head- "Haa~h!"

Thunk! He plunged the shaft into the grass below-

FWOAM- FWOAM- FWOAM…

Stationary, pink and black wells of malevolent magic formed around him. There were a total of three, but only adjacent to him, and while they were massive, they didn't move.

'Area denial…' Eying the writhing, violent black and pink wells, Sendai strafed around the edge of the clearing. 'The blue one seems down for awhile, Marcus got the healers. so…'

Bringing his scythe up again-

Fvhir- fvhir- fvhir! Marusha abruptly whirled towards the miko, instantly roaring across the ground akin to a saw blade with his scythe as he progressed towards her-

Drawing a yin-yang orb-

Bam! -she maximized it before punching it towards him.

Fwa- Bam! "Guh…!" He tried to continue through it, only for the orb to knock him out of his spin, leaving him awkwardly on the floor-

Fwish. He vanished into sakura petals again. 'Hah.'

...As she strafed, Sendai neared the river. 'Maybe I should leap across. That'd make all these dark pools he made useless.'

Considering this, she gazed over the glimmering, clear water-

"Boat Sign!" Sendai heard the reaper from all around her. "Flow of the River!"

Looking to her right, she saw Komachi riding across the river towards her on a small boat-

Woosh! As the miko leapt, the boat accelerated towards her almost instantly-

Clack! Her sandal clicked against the shaft of Komachi's scythe as she passed the miko by…

The charge attack missing, Komachi continued in her boat-

Splash! -which dropped into the river, accelerating down it and out of sight…

'What.' Sendai blinked at the blunt nature of the attack.

Upon landing, she saw Marusha before her again. 'Hey there...'

Woo- woosh! Spinning his scythe around, he quickly began to close the distance between himself and the miko, swinging complexly at the air in the meanwhile-

Reimu appeared out of thin air above, dropping down-

Wham! Her sandal met the back of his head. "Hua~h…!"

As he staggered forward from the blow, Sendai ran up into his personal space-

Bam! -and struck him with a normal, sudden high kick to the face.

"Guh…!" Holding his nose, he stumbled back again-

Thwa- thwack! Unwilling to spare him mercy, Reimu followed up with a spinning gohei strike to his back, hitting him twice…

"Poor Fate…" Komachi's voice echoed throughout the clearing. "Your Days Are Numbered."

SHI~NG!

"Aaa~h!?" Sendai felt an explosion of pain roar through herself.

Thwack! Looking away from the male reaper she was manhandling, Reimu gazed at her mother with wide eyes. "Mom!? What's wrong!?"

'Shit…' The miko checked her body, feeling at herself feverishly. '...Nah, I'm still in one piece. Don't feel like it, though.'

"...You have a lot of vitality~." Komachi lazily walked up from the end of the clearing opposite of where she left. "Especially for a shrine maiden. Here Reimu got me all thinking you guys were all cupcakes and smooth skin…"

Fwa- fwa- fwap! Komachi took a small barrage of ofuda to the face, before blinking away.

Zap! Their magic worked behind the two shrine maidens. "Ooo~...! Ow."

The two women whirled around to face her again, as the shinigami brushed the ofuda off.

"What did you do!?" Reimu initialized her orbs again…

"I just cut her health in half…" Komachi admitted outright. "Should make this a little easier…"

'What the hell…' The miko felt at her chest. 'Instant death resistant, sure. Half death resistant, apparently not.'

Woo~sh! A blizzard suddenly formed over Komachi, which she evaded with one step, a good distance away from it now. "You guys really aren't makin' this-"

Fwoom… Holy particles splash onto Komachi's form, before parting from her and traveling to Rinnosuke, across the river.

...Looking over at the shopkeeper, the ferrywoman smiled. Kneeling down, she pressed a hand to the ground.

Slowly, a purple, blurry glow of energy began to travel across the floor, seeking Rinnosuke. In response, he put his gun away and began slowly jogging to evade it…

"Jewel Sign!" Reimu calls out another one of her own spell cards. "Orbs of Light, Cast into Shade!"

Woosh! With a cast of the miko's arms, three yin yang orbs rolled up into the air, intent on arcing down to crash down on Komachi's position-

Now above the orbs, Komachi casted, too. "Death Price. Price of Life…!"

Cli- cli- cli- cli- cli- cling…!

Coins began to roar out from the air around Sendai, the points at which the silver and copper coins shot from orbiting around her, opposite to one another.

Running with one, Sendai avoided the hailstorm of coins that pattered her area. 'Why's she throwing money…?'

Drifting up, Komachi also seemed apt to engage the miko directly. 'Here we go…'

Appearing from above, Reimu kicked down at Komachi-

The reaper was behind the elder miko, now-

Click- cli~ng! Spinning around, Komachi released a slowly expanding spread of rapidly rotating gold coins, to keep the miko from engaging immediately.

Reaching into her pockets, Sendai drew a yin-yang orb-

Fwa- fwash! Gritting her teeth, the miko doubled back as Komachi's scythe passed through her twice, each physically harmless slice draining her. 'Ugh…'

The reaper vanished again-

Cli- cli- cli- clink! Gold coins splashed off the yin-yang orb the miko created...

Discarding the orb and stabilizing herself, Sendai drew her flintlock as she moved to strafe around the orbiting copper and silver, the coins creating two vortexes around her as she strafed through them-

"Vol Fulger!" Arching back, she cast her limbs out-

Fwa- Zap- Zap- Zap- Zap!

"Oo~h!" Komachi flew back from the orb, having swung her scythe into it. "Ahaha~...! Oww~." Softly, she landed on her feet a distance from her danmaku-

Thunk. Reimu approached her out of nowhere and jabbed her gohei into the woman's side, making her cringe.

Grinning, Komachi threw her arm to the side-

Thunk! Reimu blocked the sloppy blow-

Woosh! In the next moment, the shinigami was in the coin vortex with the miko again, bringing her scythe down-

"Go to sleep!" Rinnosuke aimed his pistol at the reaper-

Fwam! A green, soft muzzle flash came from the gun-

"O- oh…!" Standing still, Komachi blinked for a moment as the energy ran through her. "Waa-"

Bam! Sendai delivered a dark-accented punch to the reaper's jaw. 'There!'

...The coins all clattered to the ground nearby, their momentum lost. Komachi herself spiralled to the floor before the miko, before disappearing prior to splaying out completely.

"You support guys are annoying…" Komachi was now walking slowly towards Rinnosuke, across the river. "I would've begged the big guys to come with me if I knew…"

Zap- Zap! Before Komachi even got to swing at Rinnosuke, an orb of plasma generated within her form, shocking her. "A- ahaha~!?"

Dropping his pistol aside, Rinnosuke raised his arms defensively. "No- now, I don't wanna hurt you…!"

Jittering from the combined electricity, Komachi reached forward at the air-

-and suddenly had Rinnosuke up by the collar. "A- aah…!?"

Splash! ...She easily tossed him into the nearby river. "I don't get paid enough fer this…!"

Zap- Zap! Marcus cast the same orb of plasma on the shinigami again, hiding behind the frozen one as he did so…

"I thought Hakurei didn't travel in packs…!" Grinning, Komachi walked out from behind the ice block, holding Marcus by the back of his robe. "Or- y'know, didn't run around with a personal army…!"

...Reimu appeared from behind the reaper, sliding in behind her-

Thunk! -and kicked her in the butt, from the floor.

"Ahp!?" Surprised, Komachi fell forward, dropping Marcus as she did so-

"Ooo- hoo~...!" He glided off awkwardly, sailing gently across the clearing…

"Aah…" Marusha let out a labored breath, beat up.

Sendai heard it come from beside herself...

Looking to her left, she saw him stumble forward out of nowhere, looking about. The wells of black magic he summoned on the floor earlier were long gone, although it took the miko a moment to notice as they hadn't got in her way anyway.

Fwish. He vanished into more sakura petals, again.

...Scanning the clearing, the miko still saw the blue-haired shinigami crumpled against a tree.

"Malice Sign…" Komachi held out a hand as she regained her balance, Reimu having eluded her. "Regretful Bound Spirits!"

Fwoosh. From all around her, a cloud of white and blue, bright spirit orbs began to drift around, before slowly convening towards Sendai…

Marusha appeared near her. "Forget Sign! Whirlwind to the Void!" Then, he cast his arm out, spinning his scythe-

Woo~sh! A small whirlwind formed, slowly homing in on the miko…

Getting back on his feet, Marcus seemed to almost trip back onto one knee-

Kri~ng! -although he actually took the moment to summon an ice spike, beneath Marusha.

"Augh…!" The shinigami soared into the air from the eight foot tall fissure that erupted beneath him, his scythe falling at his wayside. The whirlwind he summoned died, too.

Komachi sighed. "Marshy, ma~n. You owe me my next ten bottles…"

'These spirits…' Sendai tried throwing ofuda at them, but they went right through. 'I don't trust them.' Pacing about, she kept a distance from them as they tried to convene on her…

Reimu appeared over Komachi again-

This time, the reaper grabbed her ankle as her leg came down. "Move's a little stale…!"

Wham! She slammed Reimu into the floor. "Ngh…!"

Soaked from climbing out of the river, Rinnosuke held his gun up again, before aiming it at Komachi, aim shaky…

Crack! A holy molotov broke over the shinigami's torso. "Aah- ooh woah woah…" Quickly, she patted herself a little, before-

Sploosh. She took a dip in the river. "Ooo~...!"

...Eventually, Sendai noticed the ghosts had stopped trying to form around herself-

BOOM! All the ghosts that were present exploded, becoming violent blasts of cyan energy.

"Hwuaa~h!" Rinnosuke flew overhead, clearing the river. 'Woah…! They must've stopped flanking me at the last moment… I should've read their movement!'

"Hell…!" Komachi floats up out of the river… "Narrow Confines of Avici!"

SHI~NG!

Sendai braced herself, but felt nothing. '...Hmm?'

...All around her, a wide rectangle of grass was glowing pinkish red. 'Ah.'

'...I can't move my legs!?'

"Hup!" She jumped successfully-

Woosh! ...Upon trying to kick in the air, she realized she was locked horizontally, only able to move up and down. 'What…!?'

Fwa- fwash! Up in her face again, Komachi swung at the miko safely, her blade passing through her twice again. "Hehehe~!"

Woosh! Uppercutting into the air, Sendai got up high to try and dissuade the reaper, as she dug through her sleeves-

Woosh! Komachi was right up there with her, taking swings-

Sendai threw a chunk of holy salt at her, which crumpled into mist as it neared the reaper-

"Aa- oow~!" Doubling back, Komachi held a hand to her face. "Wha- what the he~ll…!?"

'...Huh.' Sendai braced herself for the landing… 'Didn't think that'd-'

Thoom! She landed hard, kneeling. 'Ow.'

...Standing, Sendai looked around. Komachi vanished from the sky above.

"Anyone got any potions…?" The miko looked around, brows furrowed. 'Not that I need one, but just seeing…'

"Don't use any potions." Reimu remarked, glancing around as well. "We can't beat her if we use healing items."

'What…?'

"Nnn…" Appearing before the party again, Komachi rubbed her now red eyes. "I'm pooped."

"Good." Sendai looked down, realizing the ground beneath no longer locked her in place. "Are you just about done?"

…

Looking around, Komachi smiled. "Na~h." Her gaze settled on Marcus. "Hey, mage~y! No one's even hit ya yet, huh!?"

...Fwoa~sh! Preemptively, he erected a magic barrier before himself. "Ya, uh, could say that…!"

...At that, Komachi nods-

"Exchange…" She twirls her scythe back, planting the back of the blade beneath the heel of one of her sandals. "Unvalued Life, Valued Life!"

SHI~NG!

...Komachi was still where she was moments ago, the two shrine maidens tense.

Woo- woosh! A few dim globs of energy expelled from Komachi's form-

Woo- woo- woo- woosh! A cluster of bright ones expelled from Marcus's form-

Fwoa- fwoa- fwoash! They both glowed brightly as their clusters traveled to one another, Komachi receiving all of his, and he receiving all of hers.

"...O- ooh. Shit…" Exhaling, he stumbled for the nearest tree. "Wo~w…"

Komachi stretched, smiling widely. "Wa~h… for an old man, you have a lotta mana…!"

'She just exchanged energy with him…' Sendai furrowed her brows at this transgression. 'So that's why Reimu said we shouldn't heal. She's just going to keep trading health and mana with us until there's no more left and we happen to win or lose.'

"Alri~ght…!" Bubbly once again, Komachi jaunted in place… "Round two, here we-"

woa- woa- woa~h. An echoey noise came from one of her pockets, said pocket also flashing.

"Ooh…" Reaching into it, she took out a glowing, green stone tied to a frayed, rope-esque string. "Ki~nda busy actually doing that super important, quote unquote 'easy' job you sent me ta do."

...The mikos stared at her idly as she talked with the stone.

"...Whaddaya mean, 'whaddaya mean'? Y'know, fight the punch miko? Didn't tell me her daughter and freakin' extended family'd be here! Look, I- I kinda wanna hit the bar 'fore-..."

…

"Wha~h!?" Komachi yelled into the stone. "Are- are you… Is- is this a joke 'bout that 'extended family' joke? 'Cause good one! Aah… aah. Ah."

...Looking back over at the mikos, Komachi rose her eyebrows. "...So yer sayin' we're just fucked, ah? No, tha's what yer sayin'...! Whaddaya want me to do about 'em…? If I could fight like the entire Hakurei lineage, I wouldn't be a grim reaper…! I'm already havin' trouble wit' these two little headstompers over here."

…

"Alright, wh'ever. I'll see wha' I can do. Ye- bye…"

woa~h. The stone faded out, becoming a aquamarine rock.

...Komachi looked over at the mikos, and gave them a grin. "Ehe~. We're gonna hafta put a rain check on tha' whole 'kill eachother to death' thing. Ah-"

"More dead Hakurei walking the earth?" Sendai tilted her head…

"A 'course you know already." Komachi waved the miko off… "Eiki want's me to come over and help her beat up the shrine maiden who found the Hakurei barrier. I mean, look. I know I'mma amazing reaper, the Yama's gift to the shinigami squad and a super girl, but freakin'… can I make it ta the pub 'fore I have to get run the hell over by bloody… a Hakurei family reunion? Nnn~h…"

Woosh! She tossed her scythe into outer space, before pointing at Sendai. "...I'm still comin' fo' you. Just, not today. Maybe fer the next week…"

With that, Komachi casually strolled out of the clearing…

…

She returned a moment later. "Oh, right." She reached into her pocket…

Fwo- fwo- fwo- fwooshi~ng! She'd tossed a shiny yellow potion into the air, quick casting it. The liquid splashed onto all her applicable party members.

Click. She snapped her fingers-

fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish. Her allied shinigami all appeared next to her-

Thu- thu- thud. Some weren't quite ready yet…

"C'mon, lads!" Komachi threw an arm over her shoulder. "We're gonna go spend all our Mega Elixirs gettin' wasted by more undead Hakurei!"

"Aa~h…" The blunette began to get up, brushing herself off. "Really? I feel li'-"

"Eiki's orders, yeah…!" Komachi grinned at her. "Who knows. Maybe they have a spell that makes ya drunk. Ooo- actually, we should stop a' the shrine! That oni might be there…!"

"Onozuka…" Marusha approached her, stepping closer to her. "I believe it would be in our best interest to formulate a plan of action, this time."

…She gave him a sideways stare. "Says you, mister 'I always use the same attacks all the time'. An' wha' was that wind spell back there…? Ya got your ass folded by a human mage…!"

"If you'd performed proper reconnaissance techniques, as we were instructed…"

Their bickering trailed off into the bamboo woods as they marched off.

…

Sendai looked down at her instant death resistant clothing. 'Well. That… happened. If that was an amateur shinigami team, I'm sort of apprehensive about meeting a team composed of enemies entirely as competent as that 'Komachi' one.'

"You're lucky Komachi's a big pushover when it comes down to it." Reimu landed next to her mother. "...At least, when it's both unethical and hard for her. It's pretty hard to tell, but she can be a menace if she really felt like it."

'Those were some frighteningly table-turning abilities, which she just kind of showed off rather than screwed us over with. Those other shinigami really didn't compare.'

...Glancing around at her trashed party members, Sendai tilted her head. 'We didn't really stock up, did we. We can do it at the village, since we got the shinigami situation out of the way…'

...Reimu began stepping about. "We should probably pick them up…" She gave Rinnosuke's unconscious form a dry stare.

==== Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode ====

Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==o==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==o==

INVENTORY:

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

ITEM CRASH: Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

ITEM CRASH: Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

ITEM CRASH: Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

ITEM CRASH: Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Updated Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

ITEM CRASH: Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

ITEM CRASH: It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

ITEM CRASH: Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

ITEM CRASH: Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

ITEM CRASH: Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

Eye of Truth Talisman - A talisman used for the Eye of Truth ability. The magical programming it has allows it to probably work for anyone, as long as they're not youkai.

ITEM CRASH: Unknown

Whispers Talisman - A talisman used for the Whispers ability. Crafted by Yuyuko Saigyouji through mysterious means, it allows the wearer to float on the voices of the dead.

ITEM CRASH: Unknown

Ether - A simple potion used to restore a small amount of mana. For Sendai, this is about the equal to a fourth of her mana.

ITEM CRASH: Mana Gift - Forces the potion to work on the whole party, like a Mega Ether. Sendai doesn't really benefit, since this item crash uses about the mana an ether restores anyway.

Mega Elixir - A complex, illustrious potion that instantly and fully restores all life and mana of an entire party. Very rare, and expensive to create.

ITEM CRASH: Hakurei God's Blessing - Removes healing effects of the elixir, instead giving auto-life status to all party members and blessing them for a long duration. Blessed party members are immune to status debuffs, including instant death and dispel. Auto-life status will revive party members after dying once, leaving them with critical health instead of being dead.

Invincible Mushroom - A synthesis item, which enhances physical capabilities drastically. Makes young women taller, bustier, and overall more mature. Duration is shortened by how drastic the mushroom changes the body, making it last awhile for already mature women albeit with minimal increased strength or bodily changes. Changes the user's clothing to accent their new features. Enables Marisa Kirisame to use star punches.

ITEM CRASH: Unknown

Eleven thousand, two hundred yen - Money used to purchase goods.

ITEM CRASH: Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

==o==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward ten feet.

Slide Leap - A sliding kick that Sendai can transition to if she's sliding on the floor. Only rarely useful…!

Flash Step - Unlike actual flash step techniques, this one simply lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Dark Power - Sendai can reduce damage taken, boost damage dealt with unarmed attacks, as well as micro-manage her blood flow with her dark abilities. Grants fifty percent darkness resistance.

Eye of Truth - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can observe ambient mana flow of objects. This lets her detect certain stealth attacks, hidden paths, barriers, as well as treated surfaces and all sorts of magical trickery. If used in magically inundated areas, it just makes her unable to see. Toggleable.

Whispers - With the aid of an enchanted talisman, Sendai can float on the whispers of the dead. Power of flight depends on the density of the voices. Allows the user to hear the whispers of the dead, and the dying words of the late.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Most of it is just prefabricated spells and basic Hakurei utilities.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

==o==

PARTY:

=o=

Rinnosuke Morichika, the Unmoving Used Goods Seller

WEAPON: Single-Fire Pistol - A really powerful pistol with only one bullet. Allows Rinnosuke to hold people up.

INVENTORY:

Iron Shortsword - A short iron sword. Rinnosuke doesn't really know how to use it.

Sword of Kusanagi - Priceless Japanese national heirloom. Contains exceptional wind power. Performs exceptionally on aerial foes. Boosts the power of wind skills. Very low physical attack power. Grants the wielder fifty percent wind resistance. Can only be properly wielded by Marcus at the moment.

ITEM CRASH: Wingblade - Consume half of Sendai's max mana to turn the Sword of Kusanagi into a magnetic/wind elemental blade. Powerful single target attack that inflicts dispel and magnetism, as well as cleaves through defenses. Due to high elemental affinity, is legendary on those weak to wind or magnet, while incredibly useless on wind or magnet resistant foes. Finishes by granting Sendai wings of blades, which will assault her foe and cleanse it with a pentagram of pure magnet and wind magic.

Quick Amulet - An amulet handed out by Tewi to all newborn rabbits so that they can learn how to use their body as it develops and they grow. Given to Rinnosuke because he's about as capable if not less than a newborn rabbit. Increases user's evasion and agility when they're unarmed, only up to their body's maximum realistic capacity to perform; as such, this equip only benefits the unable.

(3x) Ether - Low tier mana restoration items. More than enough for most humans.

(3x) Hi-Ether - Medium tier mana restoration items. Enough mana for even mages to appreciate.

(1x) Panacea - Cures all statuses.

Food and Drink - Some perishable survival supplies.

Magic Wood Wand - A simple magical instrument that Rinnosuke uses to cast his preferred spells. Not a prerequisite for spell casting, but he finds it helps. Crafted from the bark of trees in the Forest of Magic.

(sixteen slots remaining)

SKILLS:

Threaten - Threaten enemies with a gun. Increases presence in the battle and might make the unknowing weary.

Sleep Shot - Inflict a target with heavy drowsiness. Wears off after some time.

Flare Shot - Shoot a blinding flare that lowers accuracy. Doesn't work well on foes that can sense life force or don't need to aim… and also doesn't work well outside of open spaces or corridors.

Ectoplasm - Magic taught by Yuyuko. Shoot a glob of sticky ectoplasm at an enemy to slow them.

Berserk Dart - Magic taught by Tewi. A danmaku dart charged with Rinnosuke's inner rage. Berserks the target and makes them focus on only him; wears off if they successfully engage him or take enough damage. Effect is removed by water or ice damage. Negligible non-elemental damage. Does not work well on enemies resistant to berserking or ones that are already berserk.

Soul Arrow - Magic taught by Kaguya Houraisan, originally developed by Eirin Yagokoro. Holy elemental skill that takes the form of a magical attack when charged into danmaku. Copies the magically-induced statuses of the target to the user, be they positive or negative. Overwrites current statuses. Statuses wear off faster than normal. Limited holy damage. May weaken targets.

Swing Sword - Rinnosuke hits an enemy for minor physical damage. Has a chance to make the enemy bleed.

=o=

Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician

WEAPON: Various Gimmicks - At any time, Marcus carries a myriad of toys and trinkets that can act as nasty surprises. In serious combat, he goes unarmed and purely casts magic.

INVENTORY:

Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic.

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs when held in the inventory. When equipped directly, can be charged to provide immunity to incoming debuffs.

Gap Rod V-5-and-a-half - An experimental device created by Marcus Kirisame. Operating on only ambient mana, the device allows the user to teleport short distances once per day. Has to recharge using ambient mana from the atmosphere; direct infusion of mana into device causes unintended side effects and spontaneous space-elemental detonation.

SKILLS:

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

Force Blizzard - Expert ice magic taught by Yuyuko, which inflicts stationary targets with a small, powerful blizzard. High chance of freezing targets. Not to be confused with the shotgun-spread type 'Blizzard' spell series.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Electric Magic

Plasma - Magic taught out of a lunar rabbit combat pamphlet. Hits twice. May reduce the target's evade. Generates an orb of lilac plasma in their form. Basic electric magic.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Basic water magic. Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack...! Good setup for electric moves, too!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Technical magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==o==

Reimu Hakurei, Shrine Maiden of Paradise

WEAPON: Gohei - Her regular gohei. Nothing fancy, but she likes it like that. Balanced and easiest for her to use.

INVENTORY:

Reimu's Outfit - Armpitless Hakurei attire. Excellent for flying. Seventy five percent holy resistance to anyone who isn't Reimu.

Hakurei Yin-yang Orbs - The Hakurei yin-yang orbs. Keeps her from getting fat when she eats sweets. Enables the use of Fantasy Heaven.

Money - For everyday living.

Talismans - Hakurei talismans. Used to seal youkai. Deals recurring holy damage, and may weaken foes.

SKILLS:

Spell Cards - Powerful danmaku and misc. spells which confer a variety of game-changing effects. Usually unable to be used more than once per fight. Part of formal spell card duels.

Danmaku - Non-elemental play bullets that deal scratch damage. However, its magic clumps up in the bodies it strikes, slowly disabling a target. Also able to confer statuses and elemental affinities, where damage bonuses are instead translated to how powerful the danmaku's stunning effect is.

Floating - Reimu can fly free. Incorporated in her Fantasy Heaven. Allows her to teleport, too.

Fantasy Heaven - The shrine maiden's innate abilities unleashed, brought to their most powerful, logical extreme. Showers the area in devastating holy magic and unleashes a seal nuke, before rendering Reimu impossible to hit and invincible for as long as she desires. Effects unique to every Hakurei miko. Requires landing seven melee attacks to execute. Due to the nature of this attack, it cannot be dispelled.

Barrier Magic - Reimu is well versed in defensive and technical Hakurei techniques, giving her a balanced fighting style that combines blunt attacks with defensive maneuvers.

==o==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

komachi fight

a pretty relaxed and arcadic party fight

komachi planned on a war of attrition where she'd snipe a victory, but fate had other plans

she's used to easy ganks and fighting undying beasts or the occasional douchebag hermit, not hakurei

she's also normally more relentless on her own and usually doesn't let up even if it takes days to properly corner an enemy, but she also had to take her noobs back and there's a lotta stuff goin' down.

that and eirin's interfering with the hakurei getting reaped into oblivion for some reason. hmhmhm

komachi's party was somehow less competent than sendai's! then again, komachi thought that was gonna be a good training day for some of the department's noobier people, and if things had gone according to plan, she would've looked all cool going forward and instant killing sendai before running off with them and showing them how to not get bushwhacked by trees or something

instead they all got hurt and komachi was forced to slowly whittle away at everyone before eiki informed her there were in fact multiple rogue hakurei. didn't go as planned, dude

reimu also really helped because it made komachi wanna spam her teleport for fear of getting mowed down by air support for awhile; you saw how quickly all the non-teleporting guys got annihilated!

reimu won't be a permanent party fixture but she will be for this arc

she's friendly, dude

since it's winter break i have a little more time for writing things :3

as always, see you all next time!