Shio's reaction speed was as impeccable as Kasumi's speed was - while that was bad for the battle, it was something definitely good to know if the two ever travelled together. Kasumi's roll would give her a brief period of grace with which to functionally avoid being blinded, but the aftereffects of the spell would still affect her - and her landing would suffer slightly for it, and she skidded a few feet past her intended destination. Using the change of posture to her advantage and recovering quickly, she sprung forwards in a low roll to avoid the knife. The conserved momentum would be sufficient enough that she'd easily leap six feet towards Shio - and in preparation for Shio casting another spell, she would use her Veil of Mists immediately upon landing, and prepared herself to cast as necessary depending on the situation.

blah blah blah mark 1s moving into sphere of mist etc. etc.

Shio

Chaining a Word of Conviction:Blind with Kasumi's leap, Shio pushed forward flinging her hand out at Kasumi's incoming body with a lunge, pushing off the ground hard. Given that each of them had forward momentum, Shio would quickly be within striking distance, however, Kasumi would be blinded by the Word of Conviction: Blind, allowing for Shio to thrust her palm at Kasumi likely unhindered towards Kasumi's body. It was, of course, to place a Nine-Spirit Seal on Kasumi, the passive ability of Shio's Gishiki school of magic. At close range, without the mist, it would be much easier for Shio to deal with Kasumi. It was a surprising move, given the previous execution of the similar tactic - this time without a projectile to aid her. Her left, offhand, close to her body, could follow up if need be, or defend her from a frontal physical assault.

It was also a risky strategy that required her Kujaku as a support mechanism, while dealing with the Mythin as well, avoiding the Mark Is with its significant distance. If Shio's movement turned sour, Kujaku's Psychic Shields would likely be the only thing protecting her. Shio also had a panic mechanism is needed, a defense to get her out of the situation herself.

[12 Momentum]

Without thought, as soon as Shio prepared the magic for her Word of Conviction: Blind, Kasumi used her Veil of Mists in order to lessen the impact that the spell would have on her, and used Mistwalker to teleport to the very edge of the mist, eight feet in front of her. This was a disadvantageous situation, as Kasumi had reacted to an incoming attack instantly and was momentarily stunned from the Blind. The additional Veil of Mists would be used due to Mistwalker, and Kasumi's being stood still would prevent her from being sensed by Shio or her Kujaku if it came closer. She allowed herself a second to recuperate from the blind before turning around to see where Shio was now that she'd teleported - given that she would now be in the mist, the ball was quite firmly in Kasumi's court, and she could plan an opportune moment to strike.

Mythin did what it had been told to do.

[18M]

Shio

Shio's gambit had ended as she has expected and she continued to exit the mist. It was likely, from the blind, and having to reorient herself, that Shio would be able to exit without concern, the battle moving to return to where it had been just a moment ago. Both had demonstrated what was likely their endgame tactics in this battle, so it was likely it would continue to stall out. Even if Kasumi could create another action in that time, Shio had her exit strategy still in play - but it was a card she wanted to avoid playing at this moment, should Kasumi turn out to be an enemy.

"Draw." Shio called, more of a comment than a question, still ready to act if she needed.

Kujaku also repeated its moves, avoiding the attacks from the Mythin.

"Done." Kasumi called out, recalling her Mythin as she did so and stepping out of the mist that she had created before it dissipated behind her. The two were obviously experienced in combat - and they both recognised when something stopped being worth the time it took. Their battle was one such occurrence. It was a learning experience for both themselves and their Natrelmon, however, and it could potentially lay the foundations for a strong (relatively speaking given how seemingly awkward the two were) relationship. Still, Kasumi was somewhat hesitant of Shio's motivations - but she did not think Shio the type to have a master plan when it came to social interaction. Still, it'd not be the first time someone had been fooled by an excellently portrayed facade, so she remained wary.

"Smart use of Restoration magic. You're better than I'd have thought from looking at you." Kasumi stated, offering the compliments in a somewhat carefree tone. As far as she was concerned, they were only observations.

Shio

"I appreciate your acknowledgement of my abilities," Shio responded, bowing slightly to Kasumi as her Kujaku landed on the ground next to her. She retrieved the pocket knife she had flung at Kasumi, flipping the blade back into the handle and storing it at her side.

"Your Hydromancy made it difficult for me to employ my usual strategies. I will have to train harder," Shio added, trying to return the compliment, but coming out in her awkward fashion. Despite the fair amount of physical exertion, Shio didn't seem at all phased by it. Her breaths remained even and there was almost no visible sign that she had preformed any kind of physical activity. It was a testament to her training - and her body's overall fitness level. Kasumi had been surprisingly agile, coupled with a high degree of technical skill, which was unusual in Shio's opponents.

The utilization of Hydromancy did pose some interesting problems in the future that Shio would have to figure out a solution to. Without an ability to see through the mist, there would be problems should she face another Hydromancer of Kasumi's caliber.

"The Hydromancy did its job, then." Kasumi replied, letting out a soft noise that could barely be considered a chuckle. The hue of one of Kasumi's lockpicks shifted slightly as the Mythin was recalled to its relic, and Kasumi then released it again, now a Mythari. She gave off no physical response to her happiness at its evolution, but her demeanour did indicate that she enjoyed what she perceived to be a great success.

Kasumi and Shio were probably both at very similar levels of fitness - though it seemed that Shio was more of a runner, while Kasumi had been trained in being as agile and dextrous as humanly possible. She had never learned to sprint as quickly as she should due to her magical abilites having been useful for keeping her out of trouble that she'd had to have sprinted out of before - if she was ever caught in such compromising positions. That was a rare occurrence, and it only usually happened when one of her marks or her mark's associates had the gift of Perfect Sight. Agility always came in useful in those situations.

"If you want to combat a Hydromancer, force them to move around. There are tells if you know what to look for. I'll teach you how to deal with them, if you like. Provided that you swear fealty to me, of course. I can't have my own secrets used against me." Kasumi laughed - at least briefly - before looking somewhat seriously at Shio. The proposition had initially formed in Kasumi's mind as a sort-of joke, but as the words had left her mouth they'd taken on a seriousness - and Shio would never have understood the joke anyway. It was an interesting option to consider - an alliance between the two could bear interesting fruit, but a lot of things depended on whether or not Shio wished to be shackled down. It was hardly offensive to refuse service to a greater family, after all...

Shio

"At this stage, I did not have anything I was willing to utilize to do so," Shio responded to the commentary about how to deal with Hydromancers. For the offer she paused for a bit, before replying, "While it is an honor to receive an offer from the Touhou family, I decline."

Shio didn't elaborate on her reasoning, as it honestly wasn't relevant, as the decision was made - additionally, it would have been a point she would have struggled even more to get across.

"We can cooperate with each other instead," Shio responded, after a more awkward pause. It was the rather peculiar expression of Shio's willingness to work with Kasumi in the future, as an ally. With her freedom from her family, Shio was able to actually evaluate people outside of terms of there name - at least to some degree. It was not a freedom she was keen on giving up, even if she didn't quite understand how truly free she was of her obligations. Shio could make her own decisions on Kasumi each time, rather than swear herself to an oath she would, by virtue of her training, be obligated to keep. She no longer wanted those shackles.

"Good. I'm not sure I'd have wanted you if you'd blindly accepted. You're too smart to do that." Kasumi replied, taking a mask that portrayed the likeness of a white tiger, reminiscent of Byakko, out from her backpack of stol- completely legitimately obtained items and donning it to hide her appearance from the world once more. It was nice to not have to wear the mask - and it had had unforeseen benefits due to her newfound ally, but the mask was something she found necessary. It was hard to track her movements like this, and she knew that her family - and even the other families in the East - were perhaps keeping an eye on her from afar. In a world like this one, it was difficult to ever truly escape from prying eyes. Kasumi had managed to do a decent job so far, though, and it was a success that she fully intended to continue.

"I think I still have a hotel key for a double room in here somewhere. You're welcome to join me in getting some rest before I go out to survey the city tonight." She offered casually, though kept her voice low enough that only those in the immediate vicinity would hear. It wasn't an inherently illegal or unlawful statement, but information was powerful, and Kasumi most certainly preferred the shroud of ignorance to having her actions illuminated by knowledge.

The city was alive with colors and the aromas in the air promised great rewards to those who would follow them to their source. Fishmongers and farmers and bakers lined the streets in their carts, calling out their wares for passing pedestrians. Men and women and children flooded the streets, some rushing around in a hurry, others meandering and taking in the sights. A hundred Natrelmon could be seen, accompanying their Trainers or owners in their daily duties. The sun was rising, threatening yet another sweltering day, but a change in the winds brought cool sea air into the city, much to its relief.

Dom bit into the spiced sausage as Chelle Lee daintily attacked a sweetroll beside him. The peppers of the south were hot, and they made his mouth burn, but the sausage was fantastic. In four more bites, it was gone, the grease on Dom's fingers the only remnants of his breakfast. "Damn, Toran does have good food. Can we never leave?"

Chelle Lee swallowed her mouthful. "We'll leave as soon as our tour here is finished. No sooner, no later. And if that's the case, we need to get a move on challenging the Toran Arena."

Dom's mouth twisted. "Yeah, yeah. I haven't even used Spaz or Needle besides sparring with you, though. Not sure if they'd hold up." He rubbed the guitar picks with his thumb. "What about your Natrelmon? That butterfly thing you snagged? It any good?"

She gave a noise of disinterest. "I'm sure the thing's good enough, but I don't give two shits about it," she said. "I'm hoping to find somebody who'll want it in exchange for something better. Maybe a Naachi or something else dead."

Dom could help but grimace at his friend's morbid curiosity with Ghost-type Natrelmon. They were useful, sure, but scary as all hell. He'd leave those types to her.

The street opened up into a plaza, not so crowded as some of the others they had passed. A large fountain stood in the center, a stone Sea Tyrant coiled and rearing fifteen feet into the air, pouring water from its gaping maw. Dom led the way to a bench beside the fountain and settled down, releasing his Nakumo and Sparwire to rest beside him. If he was going to train, advertising his Natrelmon might not be a bad idea. Perhaps some other Trainer would spy him and approach for a battle.

Shio

Shio, by happenstance, was also in the same plaza. She had just returned from the forests of Toran in an effort to find more Natrelmon. It had been a successful venture, nabbing her an Albion from the forests. She had been having good luck with finding wild Natrelmon. However, Shio struggled to express excitement in her success, keeping her calm and reserved sense about her.

Shio was in the plaza to browse relics, the capture of the Albion having taken two relics from her stock, one of her D and one of her E relics had been utilized. It wasn't too big of a deal, since the Pinehearst agreement almost all trainers had yielded a rather generous stipend from the company in exchange for data about the world - it was a solid 500 N a week for doing very little, if anything at all. Shio made an effort to try to accomplish something each week to avoid feeling she was taking advantage of the company.

She was browsing the various wares of the nearby merchants. Her Kujaku was by her side, allowing her to keep close watch on those around her - in fear of potential assassination attempts. However, if it was an attempt with lasers, she would be in a very serious predicament.

Dom felt an elbow in his ribs. He shot a betrayed look at Chelle Lee as he looked towards where she was pointing. "Words work just as well, bitch. Don't have to- ooph," the air went out of him as Chelle Lee ribbed him even harder this time. Wincing at rubbing his bruised torso, he squinted across the plaza to where an ornate purple peacock strutted at the side of a young woman. The plumage on the folded tail was evident even from afar. "Holy shit," he muttered.

Chelle Lee nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I wonder what kind of Natrelmon that is. I fucking hate the color, but anything that ridiculously colored has to pack a pretty powerful punch. Go over and ask her," she commanded.

"What the hell? You go yourself. I'm not your errand boy; I'm your lead guitarist."

"Go right the fuck over there and ask the nice lady what kind of Natrelmon that is and if she has anything less fabulous to trade. Or I'll hit you in the side again." Chelle Lee punctuated her words with a smirk.

Grumbling, Dom rose from the bench. Spaz flapped his wings and fluttered around his head as Needles clinked alongside him. As he crossed the open space, he took the time to size up the peacock's owner. She was slightly above average height, quite a bit taller than Chelle Lee, though only so tall as to reach his own chin. Her hair, her clothes, her stance - everything seemed pretty normal about her aside from the ornate chains set in her ear. It looked cool, Dom decided, though a little out of place.

Adopting his wide toothy grin, Dom stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned up against the stall the woman was browsing. "Hey," he said, adding a hint of husk to his voice. The ladies always loved that. "I couldn't help but notice your fine-looking Natrelmon there," he said, nodding towards the peacock. "What's it called?"

Shio

Shio's arm muscles tensed as Dom approached, her body poised to pivot and strike should he turn out to be trying to attack her, utilizing the Kujaku's aura to sense such things. However, when he turned out to merely lean against the stall, she relaxed. Initially she paid no mind to it, continuing her browsing. However, given her presence as the only one at the stall, aside from himself and the shopkeeper, Shio assumed he was directing his comment at her.

Had Shio been a normal lady, Dom's vocal trick might have actually accomplished something. Shio, however, was not a normal lady and the effect was completely lost on her.

Turning to him and straightening her back, having been bent over slightly to look at the keeper's wares, "It is a Kujaku." While she did not express the surprise in either her ton or features, Shio was actually quite surprised - surprised that the other trainer was not familiar with the Natrelmon. It lead her to a few conclusions, some including his ineptitude as a trainer. Despite normal conventions to continue a conversation, such as asking about Dom's Natrelmon, Shio went back to looking at the wares, unaware of the potential faux pas.

The invisible form of one Kasumi Touho had been, again by happenstance, stalking the very same plaza in order to work out potential marks. She'd identified three poorly guarded stalls, a merchant whose pockets practically begged to be picked, and she'd even caught glimpses of little safeboxes kept beneath the stalls that she would easily be able to pick if she'd had more space. It was practically a buffet, but she had also noted the presence of Shio and her Kujaku, and decided against the brash actions in her presence. She might not particularly care, but her lack of understanding of social convention could have a potentially adverse effect on her cover. It was better to simply steal everything she could get her hands on closer to dusk where awareness began to slip.

Lurking around the marketplace, she was careful to keep out of the Kujaku's Psychic Aura, and by default the sight range of Shio and Dom both. Seeing the potential for a little fun, she snuck up behind Dom, knowing full well that Shio would know it was her (unless Shio was more paranoid than usual) and probably not say anything. The visual cues would be there, but Shio was not the target she intended to surprise.

"Shio's a bit awkward." Kasumi's voice would echo out as she slipped into sight, directly behind Dom with her head looking directly over his shoulder at Shio. His reaction would probably be to turn around and attack her if he had any sense, but she was prepared for that - you didn't get to be a long-lived assassin if you didn't know how to defend yourself in close quarters.

As the girl spoke curtly, Dom tried to hide a frown. She wasn't having any of his charm, that was easy to see. Maybe she wasn't into guys? Yeah, that must be it. Still, he was intrigued by the talk of the Natrelmon. A Kujaku? He tried to think back to the pamphlet he'd downloaded onto his Trainer PDA about the different species of Natrelmon, but he'd only scanned the first few pages of it. Nothing about a peacock or a Kujaku came to mind. It would be easy enough to pull out his PDA and look it up, but Dom was about learning from others. But the way the woman had turned around as if he didn't exist made him unsure if he'd get any more answers.

He was about to respond when the muffled voice came from his shoulder.

"Fucking shit!" he cried as he stumbled forward, away from the speaker. Spaz chirped in alarm and flapped high up to land on the top of the stall. As he stepped forwards, Dom's foot caught Needles and he went sprawling to the ground. Twisting as he fell, Dom managed to land on his back, the better to see the new arrival.

Seeing her did not do him any favors. She - he only knew it was a female from her voice - was swathed all in black, with a mask in the shape of a fox covering her face. She was shorter than he was, but from his current position, he was looking up at her. How she had gotten so close without him noticing was beyond him.

His brows furrowed as the cloaked woman's words finally registered. "Shio?" he asked. "Her? You two know each other?"

"What the actual fuck," came a voice from behind him. Craning his neck, he watched as Chelle Lee strolled forward towards the odd group. "What are you wearing?" she pointedly asked the newcomer, putting a hand on her hip. "It's the middle of summer so I know you aren't wearing that for warmth. What's your deal, sneaking up on people?" She extended a hand to Dom and helped him to his feet. He wiped the dirt off of the back of his jeans. "I send my boytoy over here to get a little bit of lousy information and you throw him down on the ground. Again, I ask, what's your deal?

"I'm not your boytoy-"

"Shut up, dumbass." Chelle Lee had that look in her eye when a bass player fucked up. She looked like she was out for blood. Her withering stare flicked back and forth between Peacock Girl and Fox-Face, waiting for a response.

Shio

Shio was unsure of how to proceed with the current discourse and resumed browsing the goods. There was little point in commenting on her own social ineptitude, as she knew that her honest judgment would be in agreement - well aware of her failures as a conversationalist. Even if she was being dishonest, Kasumi was of the Touho family and it was not her place to disagree with her opinion.

She had already excluded Dom as a potential assassin, so her muscles fully relaxed. She had watched his tumble. The movements didn't indicate he was a threat and even a skilled actor would struggle to create such a convincing failure. The new girl was clearly in some kind of companionship with Dom, given their exchange. Despite her inability to participate in conversations, she was surprisingly adept at picking up on details between individuals - which was probably part of her problem, being too detail focused. While she hadn't eliminated Chelle as a potential assassin, the girl's features didn't indicate any form of skill on the subject. With both Kasumi and Kujaku there, she was comfortable with their being minimal threat, but she did keep her hands in a position to quickly strike out, should Chelle prove to be malicious.

Shio had considered purchasing throwing knives in order to augment her abilities. They were weapons she was familiar with, having trained with them for many years with her father, brother, and mother. However, she hadn't brought any along with her, as it was unusual for a trainer to take such a weapon. If she had, it would have drawn attention to her 'uniqueness' as a trainer and maybe given away details about her abilities that she did not want to give away. Still, the familiarity was tempting, and the usefulness was undeniable.

"Throwing knives," she told the shopkeeper, not really communicating it as a question. He pulled out a couple sets that he had. Shio dismissed the first, noticing immediate faults in the weapon. The second set was seemingly good, with no visible balance issues. Plucking one of them off the cloth, she quickly flung it through an apple behind the shopkeeper's head, startling him. Unaware to his bother, she grabbed the other, flinging it through the same apple.

"The balance is incorrect," she told the shopkeeper, not bothering to throw the third knife. Normally she would have reconsidered demonstrating her abilities with the weapon, but there was no other way to test. Few people would allow a customer to take the item to a secure room where she could adequately test the weapon, it was one social convention she was familiar with, and for the most part, understood. Back in Echo such a request may have been entertained by some of the local shopkeeps who were familiar with her family, but in Toran, where her name was unknown it was a waste of breath to even ask.

"I'm wearing clothes. Clothes for sneaking up on people. Isn't that obvious?" Kasumi retorted, turning to Chelle Lee and letting out a strained laugh. Laughing for extended periods of time definitely seemed to be something that Kasumi was not particularly good at. She made a mental note to keep to smirks, brief chuckles, and on occasion a single breathy laugh. That was probably for the best if she wanted to avoid looking any more ridiculous than she did when she attempted to laugh properly.

"I didn't throw him on the ground. He did that himself." She added, motioning towards Dom with a grin on her face. Granted, they couldn't see it, but it was one of those things that was heavily implied, and she just had to hope that they'd get it. Her hopes were not high, however, given Dom's performance and obvious lack of perceptive ability. She briefly toyed with the idea of taking his PDA or his keys or his wallet, or maybe all three, but decided against it. Chelle was a much better target - the look in her eyes was vicious enough that Kasumi was fairly convinced she could rile Chelle up enough in order to get a clean swipe of her material possessions.

"I don't have a deal. I like sneaking up on people. The weather isn't really ideal for it, though." She noted, pointing up towards the sky at the sun. If the pair had any wherewithal they'd realise that it was a classic ploy to shift their centre of attention so that Kasumi could become invisible again and circle around for long enough that she could surprise Chelle. Probably by stealing her stuff.

Dom raised his eyes briefly to the sky as Fox-Face motioned, but Chelle Lee did not look away. She scowled at Fox-Face's explanation. Dom knew that she was not happy with the response. Neither was he, for the matter, but there was something odd about the cowled woman that made him want to back off. He tugged on her arm and motioned to just walk away. Chelle Lee, brash as she was, paid no heed to such things.

"You're an idiot," she said brazenly. "Or maybe just weird as fuck. Either way, it's rude to butt into others' conversation unasked." Chelle Lee motioned towards the woman Fox-Face had named Shio, who was currently ignoring the altercation and testing out a set of throwing knives. "Dom was only trying to find out if she had any Natrelmon she wanted to trade for my Velare when he was so rudely interrupted."

"Uh, actually, I hadn't gotten to that yet," Dom interjected. "And the peacock is called a Kujaku." Chelle Lee turned her death stare to Dom and he felt himself wilt and quiet. "Sorry."

Taking a deep breath, Chelle Lee composed herself and turned back to Fox-Face and Shio. "Why don't we start over, without the bullshit sneaking up or pushing over or whatever the hell else did or did not happen. Mkay? Mkay. I'm Chelle Lee, and this is Dom. Dominic. Dom. We're a band from up in Armkfish, going on tour of Nerta and training Natrelmon along the way for shits and giggles."

Shio

"I like Velare," Shio commented, turning to survey some of the other shops at a distance. It was, she felt, a response many people would insert into the conversation. However, it ended there, quickly diverting to introductions, for which Shio had a long pause.

"I am Shio of the Enyo family. We are Exorcists," It was an equally dryly conveyed comment. It wasn't a dry out of boredom, but out of a difficulty of understanding how to inflect her voice appropriately for the situation.

Shio rarely listened to music and the only thing she knew about it was a few famous names, and only one female name in that list.

"Are you Saylor Twift?" she asked Chelle, considering the possibility that Chelle was using a cover name in this instance to avoid drawing attention to her fame - as she had brought up the fact she was a part of a band and on tour. Shio didn't really grasp how many famous musicians there might be,

"It's rude to tell an assassin they're an idiot." Kasumi replied, the mirth dropping out of her voice as she spoke. Her facial expression hadn't changed, and the grin was still plastered on her face, but the two of them didn't know that. Taking the cue, Kasumi entered into her invisible state again - it was an imperfect disguise at the short range they were in, but she darted backwards quickly enough that she'd be able to slip from sight completely before either Chelle or Dom could react. Despite the short time that Shio and Kasumi had known one another, Shio knew of the Touho family and specifically of Kasumi's abilities, so the sudden disappearance would likely not have come as a shock to her - and she was not socially adept enough (or she simply did not care enough) to warn Chelle of what was likely to happen next.

Kasumi would be more than content to bide her time, stalking around the periphery of the square in order to reach Chelle without her noticing, but the situation called for a more immediate sense of action than that. With the dexterity and speed of a practiced killer, Kasumi darted around the outskirts of the sight radius through which she could be seen in order to get behind Chelle as quickly as possible, and using the opportunity created by the surprise of becoming invisible, she would poise herself to strike and pickpocket the young woman's PDA, before dismissing her invisibility.

"I could've killed you, you know." Kasumi dryly noted, keeping her gaze on Chelle while she studied the PDA. Based on the previous conversation, it would be no more than a few minutes before Chelle was seeing red, and maybe then Kasumi would give her a break. Maybe.