~Aria~

---

Aria sighed in clear annoyance at the irritating quirks and actions of her faithful familiar. Thankfully Alice had enough sense to put the demon in her place when it came to it. As expected. Finally finishing up her paperwork for the moment, Aria moved out of her office while snapping her fingers. At once a spare box of doughnuts was floating beside her hand, having been plucked from the top most levels of the highest shelf.

“I apologize for the insubordinance of my insubordinate. Her unruliness is something that has unfortunately become unique to her,” Aria said with a glare at Ellie before settling in the seat opposite of Alice while placing the box of doughnuts down. “Please help yourself. There’s plenty to go around and I can always have Ellie make reserves.”

Then the Head Magister noticed the red card on the table and frowned. The Queen of Hearts was once again trying to challenge Alice, though it was doubtful the young Chaser would realize the full meaning and implication behind such unspoken threats. Shaking her head at it all, Aria snapped her finger, expecting Ellie to prepare the both of them cups of tea.

“I do hope Ellie has explained the situation to you. Even if she didn’t, I’m sure someone of your caliber can estimate the current status our establishment, along with the fact that the Cataloger is approaching Sonomachi in a few days.”

---

~Kiara Bastion~

---

“Yes, I did say emotion. I said emotion, not adrenaline,” Kiara pointed out, keeping from rolling her eyes as the wind blew her hair back violently. Honestly it sort of made sense; Haruka’s devil may care attitude seemed to fit her persona as a pop singer on the stage. Still, it didn’t make traveling with the bespectacled girl any less of a hazard now did it?

The ramp jumping didn’t even surprise her at this point, Kiara clenching tighter to the back of Haruka’s shirt. Truly, she could have used Syntheses to allow herself some leeway, but then it would be pointless without some sort of danger. After all, she had chosen Haruka for a reason. Who said she ever entered this relationship expecting things on the safe side?

“Shouldn’t you be more focused on beating Suzumebachi than showing off? Unless you secretly have a thing for Rui-Ling? Not that I’m judging, since I can always just make you forget about your little secret crush behind my back,” Kiara teased.

---

Alex turned the corner and paused outside the familiar café. He eyed the garnish decorations and took a moment to reflect on how crappy the place looked. "I'm back, for what its worth." He muttered to no one in particular. He lit a cigarette and took a moment to angrily puff it, as he was reminded of job he took last time he was here, that ended in disaster. His cigarette was about halfway burned before he decided that he wasn't going to accomplish anything out there. He reached for the door handle and yanked it off the hinges.

Oops.

A vein pop apeared on Alex's head and he swore in a low, steady stream. "Shitty, damn, flimsy door." He plopped the now dysfunctional door against the nearest wall, then stomped to and sat in an empty seat at the bar.

The place was a bit empty, compared to the last time he was here, before that crapshoot of a job, most of the others must been out on jobs of their own. There was the childish head magister, the bipolar lolita, the punk-in-a-mask, and one more that he recognized, but couldn't put a name to. "Sorry about the door. He muttered around the cigarette, that was still in his mouth, as he sat down. "I'll have the usual, coffee black, and strong." He propped his elbows on the table and sat in a brooding silence.

@TheWindel @KoL @Savo @Shisa

Isotta Nascimbeni

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.

The black haired woman finished muttering to herself, kissed her rosary, and proceeded down the street in Sonomachi City at a calm walk. It was hardly the first time that the robed woman had been in this place, and she was reaching the point of familiarity where she knew how to get around like the back of her hand. Of course her memory did help with that, the training that had been provided to her assisting in memorization and the like.

Still, this was a different place than where she had been before. Japan was a far cry from the streets of Europe, with their different dialects, their different cultures, and everything that made them unique. Nonetheless this place was special and she had grown into it, in order to combat and contain the Crimson Sky that hung here, much like it hung in Prague. That was her job, to serve as a liaison from the Church to the local Hunters Association, to contain the Youkai and make sure that none of the Chasers went rogue. It was not the easiest or most rewarding job, but it was one that she did without reservations.

Turning a corner, she crossed the street as she walked on in her own direction. At the moment she had nothing to do, nothing requiring her attention. It wasn't as if the church she had taken up residence at saw many visitors, given the religious makeup of the country. That was why it served as a nice cover, though it did not serve to keep her busy all the time.

At last she made up her mind, pulling out her cell phone and dialing a familiar number. It was time for her usual check in, which only happened a couple days in order to confirm that everything was happening on schedule, and with no imminent problems. She walked on, heels clicking against the sidewalk, as she waited for Aria, or someone who worked there, to pick up.

With the Setsuna Temple situation handled, Lucille tracked down her missing shoes and made her way back to her car. The Raijuu boys didn't vandalize it while she was gone, thankfully, as they too seemed to be intent on getting away from the temple. Cernia going into her berserk state probably scared them out of their wits. A year ago I would've been scared too, Lucille thought as she entered the driver's seat of her car and shut the door. Back when I was a human... Ever since that changed I haven't really been afraid like I was before. I don't fear the things humans fear anymore... She gripped the steering wheel tightly, crushing it easily in her brief lapse of awareness. Lucille recoiled slightly once she realized what she was doing, releasing the wheel immediately to inspect the damage. The imprints of her hands were pretty easy to see, but nothing a steering wheel cover wouldn't cover. Or just replacing the entire thing would work.

I don't want to ask her that question, I'm worried about the answer I'll get. With a defeated sigh, she turned the car on and left the parking lot. Her thoughts weren't clouded with the events with Cernia at the Temple but instead with questions about her role in the Chasers. Lucille wasn't a denizen of the Crimson Sky; she wasn't a Youkai. But at the same time she wasn't human either. What was she? Where did she fit in? Humans recognize her as a monster but most Youkai think she is nothing more than a human spirit in the body of a Youkai, incapable of understanding them. Lucille shook these thoughts from her head as she arrived back at the Dangeki. Rather than go right in she waited in the car briefly, suppressing her thoughts to cut down on the urge to ask Aria about her status. Something inside her made her feel that she wouldn't like the answer and would be better off not knowing.

With her emotions in check she stepped out of the car, carrying her purse with her as she approached the cafe. Notably the door was... gone. The vampire woman peered in carefully, finding the door was propped against the inside wall near the doorway. Other than that the place seemed about as normal as always, "normal" being a relative term. "Oh, Aria!~" Lucille called as she stepped in, quickly locking onto the older vampire. "I convinced the kids to go home and stop terrorizing the temple. There was no need for violence at all. Just a bit of motherly intuition." Ending it with a wink she had properly reported her mission as complete. Rather quickly too. Lucille was the first one back, even. But there were different Chasers who hadn't taken a job that were here.

There was Alice, a Japanese girl that was rather obsessed with England. Having lived in England for a few decades herself, Lucille didn't find it particularly amazing but at least it was a refreshing change to see someone with an obsession that wasn't with cartoons or video games or whatever other strange things Japan had. It was still weird to Lucille, but somehow less weird. Then there was Ryou, who was quite the arrogant upstart. His antics were amusing to Lucille and he never seemed to intentionally disrespect anyone in his self-centered monologues. He would definitely grow out of that eventually. Alexander was a strange case, a human who was exceptionally strong. He wasn't at someone like Lucille or Aria's level, but that's because he's only human. If Lucille were to make him a vampire who knows how scary strong he might become. Not like Lucille would give him that power with his brutish attitude. And then there was Isotta, someone who worried Lucille. As a vampire she felt wary around the girl. Her holy attributes were like warning lights. She could even feel the presence of holy water whenever she was around Isotta, which was something that could definitely hurt a vampire. Not like the girl would attack her, but it always paid off to pay attention to something or someone that could put you in a bind.

With the new rotation of Chasers in the cafe, Lucille sat back down at the bar and once again set her purse on the counter. She was about to order a drink before realizing that she was feeling a bit thirsty. Not the "wine" kind of thirsty. The survival kind of thirsty, the "blood" kind of thirsty. Oh yeah, it's been a few days since the last one, Lucille realized, bringing a hand to her chin. I should go out before I go home and take care of that... But where should I go to get blood this time? She began letting out an audible hum as she thought to herself. "Hmm..." To others it would appear she was simply caught up thinking about what she would order to drink, but the truth was much more grim than that.

"Wha-!?" The trio of Youkai attacking Vincent got surprised by the sudden crash of the coffin like container, despite the one still over the building only sparing a remark of, "A black coffin? Fit for an Executioner... I wonder if you have one that can fit you inside, for when I'm done here."

Nevertheless, as the Executioner began his merciless barrage, one of the three Youkai was hit with two shots on the torso and one last on the head, while one of the three had a hole blown into their stomach (from which crimson flames seeped, like fresh blood would from a man) and the last one avoided all shots, positioning himself at a nearby balcony. However when it looked like the headshot Youkai was disposed of, his body combusted on its own, before a huge explosion of fire and metal shrapnel would threaten to throw Vincent off his feet if he didn't do anything.

Despite the outcome, the one that still remained at the alley dashed at Vincent, using the chains to throw one of his swords like a harpoon at a nearby wall and riding the momentum to swing his body until he was face to face with the Executioner, extending his free hand with an open palm and saying, "Ehehehe... the day you chose your path, your destine was sealed. Now, taste bitter defeat and die... HUMAN!" A moment later a torrent of flames and shrapnel would wash over Vincent, unless he had another trick up his sleeve, the Executioner would probably be roasted and crispy by now.









The battle would go way more smoother than it was to be expected, after all it was four versus one and the ghost possessing the items wasn't even particularly string, to begin with.

Harumi dodged out of the way when they threw the grenade, but couldn't help but laugh when she noticed that they had actually followed the whole number till the end. She said, "You guys are priceless, to actually do something like this. Well, I think this battle is dragging on for too long, if you think you can off him, I'll keep the ghost busy. Ok?" Without waiting for further confirmation, Harumi set her plan into motion, she was the best equipped to deal with ghosts out of all of them, so she knew exactly what to do.

Dashing between the bunny's legs while avoiding a sand punch and a jet of bubbles (which, by the way, hurt as bad as being whipped with a wet towel), Harumi threw five ofuda (one of each elemental alignment) around the ghost's feet, creating a five point magic circle and yelling her impromptu exorcism spell, "Evil begone!" As she said so, using Kaguya as a focus, the circle flared to life and what looked like translucent blue magical chains came out of it and restrained the ghost.

"It's now or never, guys!" Harumi yelled once she had the ghost under her control. For how long, who knows? It was the Chasers' duty to make sure it was enough.









"Me what!?" Haruka halted all of a sudden just as she was about to jump yet another truck when Kiara mentioned her being interested in Rui-Ling, "Me and Cow Lick? Come on Kiara, you know you are the only one, immortal or not, that I would ever love. If you want me to remember you, we can do so after we get back home, for now..." Haruka moved back to the end of the cargo container and revved up, ready to do another leap, but this time her target was different.

"I'll show you I'm not just looks!" Screeching tires rang in the night as Haruka dashed out again, but this time she jumped on one of the footbridges (making it by a hair's breadth) above the freeway and as they crossed one of the arcs... a bath of blood red light washed over Kiara and Haruka. They crossed into the Crimson sky and the track bellow them was completely desert, just as Haruka predicted.

"See? Now we have the road just for us, while they have to avoid the trucks. My baby might be heavy, but with an open track and the time dilatation between the Crimson Sky and the Human World, we should have time to make it and still win the race." Haruka explained her plan and jested with Kiara as they ran, or better, jumped back to ther track bellow and blazed forth toward the finishing line.

After all, no one said they had to cross it on the Human World, have they?





For the ones at the Dangeki, the night was far from over. In fact, the main event had yet to begin as what came next would prove...

"No! Stay away! I don't wanna die!" A voice, a girl's voice, screamed on the night sounding all too clear next to the Chaser's hub. The cold bite of the bloodcurdling scream, of one pleading for her life shook even Ellie out of her ravings about Alice and Aria and the demoness wasted no time in getting the whole group of present Chasers ready.

"Chasers, an emergency has hit us, scramble immediately! We cannot let whatever is happening to continue!" However, Ellie also was perceptive enough to notice Lucille's 'situation', being not only a vampire, but also a succubus herself, it was actually quite easy for Ellie to spot another being like her suffering from deprivation of their main diet. "Miss Lucille, you might like a... refreshment first, right? Take this, I'm sure it'll be to your liking." Ellie said as she brought a cup filled with a crimson liquid smelling of iron and herbs (nothing more than Dangeki's special blood tea).

"I have more if you feel you need it, but for now I think it's best to check what was that scream, I felt a strong presence coming from the Stock Exchange avenue just a few blocks from here. I'm sure it's not a normal situation. Oh yeah, Mister Alex, that's one more door to your tab, expect it to be discounted from the payment from your next job." Expecting Aria to handle the rest, Ellie went to the mission board and tacked a 'Emergency Mission' badge over the Stock Avenue on the map, the little she knew was that the situation there was really far from the usual...







"No! Stay away! I don't wanna die!" A girl with mismatched eyes and a long black hair, wearing a Waloli styled black dress, stumbled through the back streets on the Stock Avenue as she tried to ran away from some unknown force.

Eventually, her legs agave in and she rolled on the ground, looking in panic as the sky turned blood read and a horde of pitch-black beings resembling four-eyed wolves in outrageous cornered her. "No, stay away, or I'll be forced to..." Orihime warned, drawing what looked like a doll dressed in fashion similar to hers with shaky hands and throwing it before the wolves were the doll quickly gained human size and assumed a fighting stance, ready to defend her mistress.

"Hahaha!" A voice mocked Orihime's efforts from the shadows, echoing from what seemed to be everywhere at once "Do you believe this will save you from meeting justice, wielder of the cursed power of the Marioneteers? For those who cross the path of the Beastmasters there only one outcome... to become prey." And, with the snap of a finger the slaughter was about to begin.

What was happening there, and... will Orihime survive the brutal disadvantage for long enough for help to arrive? This too, was in the hands of the Chasers to decide.

"THR-!" He was about to throw the ice grenade, when Katherine arrived and stole his moment.

In any other case, he would've berated Katherine about it, but well, the gag was done and the damage too.

He simply sighed and threw the other ice grenade as a follow up for Katherine's own attack. Afterwards, Harumi went on to chain the Ghost down and leave it completely open to attack it.

"Fine then! Everyone, fire at will!" Being kind of in charge of the operation, Jun decided to ravel in the joys of being the one in charge.

He trained both of his guns on the bear ghost and then unloaded all of its chambers on the ghost. Once his guns were empty, he left both of his gun to his sides.

With that much ice bullets, the ghost's arms and legs should be frozen for at least a bit, not to mention the damage on contact they did. He then put both hands up and formed several ice spears around it.

"Hurry up and disappear from here." The fact that it was made of sand or something..., made it obviously hard to punch, but freezing it over would make it easier to be done with it.

He brought his arms down and the spears came down on the ghost. The ice would then expand all over its body to completely freeze it over and make it an easier target to destroy. The fact that its attacks were water based made it even easier for Jun to use his power.

"Send it over to hell now!"

---

@Rune_Alchemist@rechonq@KoL

Alex had just gotten his coffee, and was blowing on it to cool it off, when there was a feminine scream, and the inside of small café burst into motion. Ellie decared an emergancy and rushed around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Scramble? What am I? An egg? Alex thought moodily, he stayed where he was and took anther sip of coffee. After the day he just had, he wasn't going anywhere until it was finished.

"Oh yeah, Mister Alex, that's one more door to your tab, expect it to be discounted from the payment from your next job."

Alex's hand twitched and he just managed to avoid crushing the cup in his grip. "Don't call me Alex." He growled. Angrily, he downed the last of the coffee in a massive swig. Then, he got to his feet, and laid down the payment, plus a little extra, next to the slighly deformed cup. He also snuffed out his cigaette in an ash tray. "Lets go borrow trouble." He said, as he turned and dashed out the doorway.

He could run fast, and he was at the source of the disturbance in a few moments. Still riled up and angery, he immediately grabbed the closest heavy object at hand, and gave a shout of rage as he hurled it at the pack of wolf-like creatures that were surrounding the girl. The object in question, was a freaking dumpster, and it was imbubed with a bit of Alex's power, as he grabbed it, causing it to fly faster, be more durable, and hit with a bigger impact when it landed.

@Whoever XD

Victor was tempted to call down the Sepulcher, a fitting reply to their remark, but at this point that would be overkill. He was already punching holes in their bodies easily; 30mm rounds could pierce through all but the strongest armors.

Suddenly, one of them started to combust completely. Vincent quickly rolled, putting the drop pod between him and the assassin, flames going around the sides. From the safety of cover, he ejected the magazine, and grabbed a spare from the pod, loading it and chambering a fresh round.

The last straggler was diving towards him like Tarzan. Perhaps fortunately, he was using a flame attack instead of trying to bring the fight in close. Vincent used the pod as cover, bracing his rifle against the side of the chunk of space metal and firing off another barrage.

Alice casually grabbed a doughnut from Aria's box, and took a dainty bite. They really were quite good, though certainly not the sort of confection she would usually choose to munch at tea time. It was a commoner's pastry, whose appearance was so ubiquitous that it could never be elevated to a proper dish or even be divorced from the filthy little hovels that they usually poked their frosted, oily rinds out of. Trapped as it was in a sort of limbo of profound classlessness.

It would be irredeemable if it wasn't so dashingly western. Like cheeseburgers and apple pie.

"Yes, you really must keep a tighter leash on the girl," said Alice, shaking her head, "she's quite bothersome. If I was less mature than I am, I might have actively boycotted this establishment. Believe it or not, most patrons come to a cafe expecting good food and service, and a distinct lack of molestation."

Alice nibbled on the doughnut a bit before continuing.

"Anyways, no. Ellie explained nothing and, clever as I am, I am no mind reader. It's nice to finally get an explanation, though I don't know why we're so scared of this 'Cataloger'. That's why I was called? Well don't worry too much, Aria. I could take care of it on my own if I wanted."

Alice gave Aria a reassuring smile as Lucille, an older woman, stepped in to give Aria a report of some kind. Alice was about to continue with her pleasant tea time (if Ellie ever decided to bring their actual tea) when the succubus began raising a stink. Of course, Alice could not allow any action that lead a girl to scream 'No! Stay away! I don't wanna die!', and thus slid her chair back as one of the patrons who had just entered ran outside.

"Apologies. I must excuse myself, Aria. There are injustices to correct."

A teacup appeared in Alice's hand, seemingly out of nowhere, and she laid it on a saucer in front of Aria. It was full to the brim with a hot, steamy earl grey of the highest quality.

"For you. I shouldn't be a minute," said Alice, quickly departing.

And so she ran, quickly stuffing her face with scones of speed, to where she thought the Stock Exchange was.

But it was not. Indeed, Alice had a storied history of accidentally getting lost, and had managed to run at an inhuman pace in the exact opposite direction. Instead, she found herself looking at an incredibly large man shooting a gigantic gun at a raging Youkai. Her eyes widened in fear and amazement.

She had just walked into what looked like an American action movie.

Isotta Nascimbeni

The scream tore through the air, shaking Isotta from whatever holy musing she might have been partaking in at the moment. The plea for assistance was desperate, drawing on old memories of that night in Prague, even if she couldn't remember the exact events that had occurred. Chasers could handle it, of course, like the person who rapidly departed to deal with the problem, but Isotta felt some obligation to do so as well if only out of similar situations.

"I will be back shortly," she said as she rose to her feet and moved for the door at a swift walk, which would develop into a sprint once she exited the Cafe. Black robes flowed around her as she moved, zeroing in on the location of the disturbance and tapping into her gifts at the same time. 'Lord, grant me divine speed to overtake the enemy" Muttered words heeded result as she sped up, though skeptics could argue whether her plea had been responsible. Results could not be argued though as the sky shifted to a red, heralding her entry to the domain of the Crimson Sky.

This place, she was no longer scared of this place. She had been trained, prepared, and now she made this her domain, rather than that of the beasts. Drawing near she caught sight of the source of the disturbance, some figure on the ground, a Chaser attacking, and a horde of what seemed to be four eyed wolves. As it stood though they did not seem to be particularly dangerous opponents on their own. She would just need to thin out their numbers first.

Reaching beneath her robes, she would emerge with several pages. A muttered word and burst of energy would shift them to long swords held in careful grips. She would draw closer and then toss them in snap throws, each blade aimed for a separate youkai. They would not know what hit them, as she moved to resolve this conflict in a swift and decisive manner.

~Aria~

---

“Yes, well I’m glad someone understands. Ellie can be quite tiring to deal with on a daily occasion. Her antics can sometimes give even me a headache,” Aria said, munching on her own doughnut. “But yes, you were called because of the Catalouger and his incessant desire to steal our Treasures….or something. Luckily I can rely on you to handle the problem effectively.”

The Head Magister appreciated Alice’s assuring smile, glad that she could rely on the girl to get the job done. It was more than she could say about Ellie and even now she casted a wary eye on her familiar. Then Lucille arrived and announced her report to which Aria answered it with a smile and a nod. That was good; one mission was completed and she had a feeling the others were going smoothly. It was the right choice to have Lucille go to the temple.

She had to wonder what happened to her partner before an expression of concern flitted across her face for but a moment. It always pained her a little to see Chasers lose their way and abandon the organization but she could do little about it now. What was done was done.

But such depressing thoughts were soon stifled with a bloodcurdling shriek and Ellie screaming her head off. Suppressing a sigh to her overactive familiar, Aria blinked in surprise when Alice conjured up a cup of fresh, steaming tea. Taking the glass in her hand, she sipped it once before giving Alice a fanged smile even as she departed.

“Thank you very much Alice. Please be sure to hurry back,” she said, sipping her tea all the more. She had faith that her Chasers could handle the issue without her interference, though it was concerning that a Youkai attack was occurring right outside her shop. What strange things were at play here....

---

~Kiara Bastion~

---

“Why did I know you would say that?”

Kiara’s question was more to herself than anyone else really as Haruka revved up the motorcycle to ridiculous levels of speed. She had to cling onto the bespectacled girl just to hold on though the use of her Synthese could have perhaps made things smoother. Still, she was surprised to find the both of them speeding along the desert paths of the Crimson Sky. So that was Haruka’s plan.

“You’re assuming the time dilation is on our side,” Kiara pointed out calmly, hair flying back as the wind buffeted against them. “For all we know it could have been weeks back in the human realm while only a few minutes passed by here. And then your showing off wouldn’t really work now would it? Of course, I suppose I could just make the world forget about us and possibly stop the time dilation…but I know how you like to take risks.”

Kiara sighed as they were so close to crossing the finish line. Honestly it was like she was answering these questions only to herself though that was to be expected when lingering around someone like Haruka. Still, the faster they could end this race meant more time for an actual date. Kiara leaned in, eyes narrowed as they sped towards the end goal of their destination.

---

@GrafRoy Zeppeli@KoL@rechonq

Waha, this was definitely fun. The ghost was a bit of a small fry, but she always enjoyed a good brawl, especially when she could put some weakling in its place. She'd always been a bit of a bully in that regard, but she had never thought much of it. So when Harumi immobilized the spirit, she was more than happy to beat it to a...err, bloody pulp. Well, a sandy...watery pulp. Whatever.

"Fine then! Everyone, fire at will!"

"Seriously, who told you ya can order me around?!"Kat shouted back at him, but she wasn't complaining. She was gonna beat this thing senseless.

She dodged a swipe from the things claw, rolling and coming to a stop a few feet to the side of the creature. She shoved her gun back into its holster, and formed several small rectangular shaped force-fields in the air around her with her other hand. With another single motion, she launched them at a high speed at the creature, sending them slamming into the now frozen creature, likely shattering it in quite a few places but she wasn't done yet.

She followed the smaller ones up with forming a much larger one. She slammed it into the creature multiple times, bringing it down right on top of it, intending to both shatter the ice and crush it under the force of her barrier.

"Haha, this is too easy!" She shouted, a large grin on her face. Really, sometimes the things she had to fight weren't even worth her time.

@GrafRoy Zeppeli@Rune_Alchemist@KoL

As Kazuki stood in the first bubble blast, the bursting orbs hit with suprising power. They seemed to have very pinpointed attacks and began to crack his glass armor, but the direction changed before anything bad happened as Harumi darted between his legs and chained the ghost with her spell. Next Jun acted with his ice to increasingly freeze the ghost. That certainly made it more brittle, but if the ghost really was made of sand then it's just made of a bunch of particles. Certainly the ice would weaken their bonds though.

This was shown true as Kat began to beat it with her barriers. The first set of small barriers blasted into it knocking out chunks of ice and sand. The body was still there, but was significantly weakened by the holes. She then created a large barrier above it's head and began beating on it, but it looked like she could have used some help.

"I really wish we had fire. Then we could make some more glass." Kazuki smiled at his statement. It really amused him at the idea of turning a ghost into glass. He'd never had a chance like this before, and he wasn't sure there would be too many chances like this again. Unfortunately no one was really fire based. All he could think of was Harumi's elemental powers, but how they killed the ghost wasn't important.

Right after making his comment, he created a long glass staff. He brought it behind his head and began to swing it forward down on the sand bunny's head. As the staff swung forward a mallet began to form on top of it carrying the same speed as the staff, but significantly adding momentum to the attack. The mallet was about the size of the bunny's body as it hit Kat's barrier. He wasn't strong enough to swing the mallet freely, but if he created it mid swing then he could get a strong and wild hit off. The mallet shot the barrier down through the bunny. Ice shattered and sand flew everywhere out from under the slam. The chains dropped empitly to the ground and Kazuki dissipated his mallet, waiting to see if that stopped the ghost or if the sand would whirl together to form another body.

A difference of 100km/h was already a pain in the ass, but now there was also Haruka going around slashing up speeding trucks, while talking about animals that were extinct in Japan?

Well, Rui-Ling did like a challenge. As long as the crazy lesbian and her slightly less crazy girlfriend didn’t damage his borrowed motorcycle, he wasn’t going to think too hard about whatever collateral damage they cause on their joyride. After all, this wasn’t about them.

This was about Suzumebachi, whose Suzuki Hayabusa was, despite his horrendously inefficient turns, still generating a hell of a lead. Narrowing his eyes, Rui-Ling leaned forwards, keeping his body profiled as he zipped on by. Unlike Haruka’s truck-hopping shenanigans, the immortal kept to the basics, making only slight adjustments as he grazed past slow trucks. While the Seaside Freeway did have a guardrail at the very edge to prevent sleepy drivers from toppling off into the sea, it didn’t have concrete dividers to prevent head-on collisions, which had been the cause of many accidents in the past.

Here, though, it simply meant that Rui-Ling could optimize his straight-forward racing style. The more times Haruka hopped from truck to truck, the more airtime she had, meaning less traction and less speed. The more times Suzumebachi showed off his mad drifting skills, burning rubber on the concrete pavement, the more seconds he wasted. Meanwhile, with no fear at all for his undying body, the immortal continued to accelerate, using both lanes to reduce how much he had to turn. With a passenger seat in the way, there was pretty much no way for him to lean in spectacularly for turns anyways.

All things considered, other than the dozens of near-accidents caused by Rui-Ling sliding between two opposing vehicles or hugging the cliffside guardrail, it really wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the other two contestants.

Did it matter though?

Not when that boring and efficient style allowed him to diagonally cut into the Yellow Jacket gang leader’s turn, forcing the youkai to swerve out of the way and lose enough speed that Rui-Ling finally passed him.

And it definitely didn’t matter once he was ahead, using his years of experience to read Suzumebachi’s own movements and consistently block the Youkai’s attempts to pass by him, forcing the race to a much more reasonable speed of 150km/h.

Haruka can win.

Rui-Ling just wanted that antennae-haired dick to lose.
@TheWindel@KoL

"You humans are too predictable, it's almost unfun to be paid to hunt down your kind." The Youkai assassin atop the building said, just as Vincent's caused the nearest of them all to explode as well. As of now, it seemed that the Executioner was at an advantage. However, things were about to change as unexpected circumstances presented themselves in the form of a midget dressed in a Lolita style dress, running around like a kindergartner on a sugar high before stumbling face first into Vincent.

"The game's over!" Yelled the voice of yet one more of the Youkai assassins, who used the unwittingly distraction created by Alice to dash from the position he had been hiding himself for the whole duration of the combat and slash the |Executioner's weapon in half twice with his twin swords, before delivering a spinning kick that would send even a target as heavy as Vincent crashing against the nearby wall.

Luckily for the Executioner it wasn't as damaged as it seemed (For him, that is. A normal human would have been turned into a bloody paste by such force.), only serving to open a crater on the side of the nearest building and causing a few minor wounds. Alice however was defenseless before him, though the assassin ignored her in favor of Vincent for the time being, only ever sparing the time to try and kick Alice away, though if said kick connected, Alice would be sent flying a considerably greater distance when compared with Vincent.

"Perhaps, you haven't heard about me yet, Executioner. However, that's not important, dead men need no answers... die like your sister did." The three remaining Youkai said in unison as the one nearest to Vincent threw his swords at him, using the flames to accelerate them to bullet like speed, certain that this would be able to penetrate Vincent's defenses if they managed to hit.

Turning around to shoot another shrapnel-filled fireball, this time at Alice's direction, the Youkai said, "No matter how enjoyable this encounter is, I have more things to do. Just die, like the flies you are."









With the last wave of attacks, the ghost's outer shell finally crumbled, revealing the ragged bunny that Kazuki found at the theater floating inside one of the memory bubbles and still locked by Harumi's spiritual chains.

"So, that's its core, huh? That's so... unfair", Harumi said, looking like she was indignant with the ghost's true form, before softening her features and turning toward the Chasers to say, "I'll put this child to rest, now. To something like this to happen it's quite painful, to say the truth. You can stay and look if you wish, otherwise, I guess you can count your mission as complete, right?"

"Oh! Hmm... I haven't introduced myself yet, sorry." Harumi said putting one hand behind her head and laughing nervously like an idiot, "I'm Harumi Shizuka, the next in line to become the World's Strongest Mage. It was fun to work with you, so please, sent my regards to Miss Aria when you're back to the Dangeki. By the way..." Harumi flashed a grin to the Chasers, specially to Kat (because of her military-like attire) and finished her statement with, "If you see any UFOs or aliens out there, don't forget to tell me, ok?"

With that said, Harumi turned on her heels and began the exorcism ritual, that they could choose or not to watch. In case any one of them did, Harumi would be able to talk after it was complete, but it would take about 15 minutes to do so. Anyway, the mission at Amagumi park was complete, since they had found and dealt with the source of the turmoil at the park, all that was left now, was going back to the Dangeki.









"Haha! You do love pointing what could go wrong with my plans, not? Some times I think you secretly want to see me fail." Haruka said to Kiara as they ran thorugh the desert track, though, it was clearly a joke, given the tone with which she said next, "You're so cruel, Kiara..."

Anyway, since Rui-LIng was demonstrating the greatest in terms of unsportsmanship by intentionally halting his own progress just to make sure that Suzumebachi loses as well, Haruka and Kiara indeed crossed the finish line ages before the other two. When Rui-Ling and Suzumebachi arrived, they would find Haruka handing a can of an energy drink she got from a nearby machine to Kiara, before gulping on her own.

"Sorry for intruding on your testosterone fueled fun, guys", Haruka said with more than a bit of mockery discernible in her voice, "In fact, I think you two make a great couple. Obviously, I'm not one to hold prejudice, if you two ever decide to..."

"Hey, Moeblob, control that mad bitch's tongue, unless you want my boys to give you a lesson!" Suzumebachi yelled to Kiara once Haruka's provocation finally got through him, "If you want the information just take it and leave, I grew tired of playing with you. We're doing those robberies because some bigwig of Yotsuba paid us to, but I don't give a shit about what they're gonna do with all that!"

"Well then, we have what we came here for. As Kiara said, we've been tracking those guys for weeks, but now is the first time YTC's name shows up. Have a good night, Ling-Ling and sorry again about your race~" Haruka said with a cheery tone before getting on her motorcycle and waiting for Kiara, so that they could goon an actual date now.







Once Alex and Isotta arrived, Orihime's situation wasn't really that good. Her doll's dress was tattered in many places and marking of deep cuts and bites covered the artificial being's body, despite the fact that not even a single drop of blood poured from her wounds. Orihime on the other hand was bleeding and breathing in a ragged way the effort of the continued assault being too much for her.

The carelessly thrown trash container was yet another problem as it would hit Orihime along with its original targets, were not for the fact that the doll almost teleported before it, slamming it with a backhanded chop that sent the metallic contraption flying toward a nearby wall, even if it costed her an arm, revealing the clockwork-like machinery under her skin.

"No!" Orihime cried as the attack of the beasts seemed to get ever so more intense, the arrival of the Chasers, seemingly only having been good to arouse them, even if a part of the pack turned their four eyes to Alex and Isotta, there were still more than enough to be threat to Orihime.

"Wahahaha! That's the end of the line for you, descendant of the Marioneteers!" A voice came from over a nearby lamppost. It belonged to a man dressed in dark trench coat and wearing a kitsune mask, who continued his speech in an even more exaggerated way, "The Beastmasters will never allow the existence of such an evil force, perish in the flames of despair as I summon forth my own beast... MINOTAURUS!"

With those words, what looked like a blazing meteor crashed just behind Alex and Isotta, and from it rose a gigantic man/bull creature covered in flames, swinging his massive axe down as a wave of fire washed over the Crimson bathed streets. "This is a farewell gift for you have done, Orihime Tokisada. Even your new found allies won't be able to help you now. Oh, Flaming Bull of the Heaven's, smite those pests, under the seal of command from the Beastmasters Clan!" The man said before walking away nonchalantly.

"RRRRR!" The beast roared.

The real battle was about to begin...

He looked as the shell of the ghost slowly fell apart. One of the memory balls from before, with some odd bunny inside of it. Slowly, but surely, Jun put everything together.

And it made him sad. The realization he came to was not a happy one.

He sunk his gaze to the ground and let both of his hands, still wielding his guns, fall to his sides as he was now disencouraged to even continue with this farce, or to even look at the core of the ghost they had finished off. Not everything in this Chaser business was filled with killing monsters, like he would have loved. There were times like these too.

"I'll wait outside." Jun quietly said. He had a soft spot for stories like this, when a child was involved. Bit of a trauma that Clannad left him with.

He sighed and stepped out of the botanical garden, making the trap that was set before them slowly melt into the ether.

He let out another forlorn sigh and turned his gaze to the sky then. Still, Jun decided to remain there until Harumi was done. It seemed to be the least she could do for this child they so rudely attacked, ghost or not.

"What wouldn't I give for a fucking cigarrette now." He said to himself.

He didn't smoke, but there were times like these that made him wish he did. Then again, he was probably overreacting.

The tears welling up in his eyes said as much. Sadly for the 'cool genius' Jun wanted to be, he had a real soft spot for sad stories, making a crying mess out of him in no time.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@rechonq@KoL

Carver was sucking on a lollipop as he arrived at the riverbank where these Kappa were supposed to be having some sort of rumble. “Hello? Kappa’s? Are you here...? Mustn't be late enough... I HAVE ALL NIGHT GUYS!” looking around he couldn’t immediately see anything, so sitting on a park bench, he rested the shotgun against it nearby and waited.



“God! This is utter ass! Fucking demon spawn! Why do you exist! You ugly cannibalistic shit! Why does anyone play this stupid game?!” face illuminated by his iPhone Carver shouted at it. “Dammit! Now I’m in a bad mood!” turning off his phone Carver grabbed his shotgun and kicked the park bench.

“GET OUT HERE YOU COWARDLY, RIVER DWELLING IDIOTS! TIME IS MONEY AND I DON’T WANT TO BE WASTING MINE WITH YOU!” silence answered Carver’s outburst, undeturred he walked to the rivers edge and took out his case of ice-cream sticks and dangles one over the water.

“I KNOW YOU’RE THERE WATCHING ME SO I’LL ONLY SAY THIS ONCE! IF I HAVE TO GET YOU OUT HERE, I WILL KICK YOUR ASSES SO HARD THAT YOU’LL BE TASTING LEATHER FOR A YEAR!” being polite Carver waited another minute before he dropped the stick and took a step back, covering his eyes with his arm as the entire lit up with blue lightning and two unholy screams tore along the riverbank.

As the light faded Carver uncovered his eyes and saw two scaly looking creatures with burns dragging themselves out of the water.
“Well look who decided to join me! The idiots who got electrocuted by being obstinate. From what I understand there is some kind of dumb-ass turf war between the two. Now I don’t know all of the politics, so I’m not just going to kill one of you so the other can be the alpha. Trust me, you don’t want to take that particular gamble, there’s a big chance I would get annoyed and kill you both for making me waste my night on this nonsense.” Taking out another lollipop Carver falls back into the park bench and reclines, staring at the Kappa’s.

“My name is Carver and I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Once a week I’ll show up here, on a random day of the week, to make sure nothing bad is happening. Think of it like me being your parole officer. If there is so much as a whisper of a fight between Kappa’s here... I will shoot you dead. You saw what I can do with sticks, don’t tempt me to shoot you with actual bullets. It would be very expensive for you.” getting off the bench Carver stood up and pulled out two orange glow sticks out of his bag and tossed them over “Break em and pour the glowy stuff on the burns. It will help them heal. You can pay me back in installments. I have a variety of plans, however the interest rate does vary greatly between them. You can use this account number for the deposits” handing over a laminated card to each Kappa, Carver walked off, taking out his phone and dialing a few numbers while looking around


"Hey, Tony! It's Carver, I'll remove the interest on the remainder of your payments if you go to an apartment for a couple of weeks and let me know a few things about the neighborhood. Don't worry, it's not that bad, I just need to know if the place is quiet enough to set up shop. You do this and I'll even pay you, deal?... Thanks, Tony. Just text me each morning and we're golden! Alright, I'll swing by your place to drop off the keys, see ya~!" Walking along, Carver texted Ellie "Kappa's calmed down for now. Have a friend on surveillance for the time being. On my way back. I wanna pre-buy a muffin"

Unlike Jun, Katherine simply shook her head and sighed. Certainly she felt a bit bad about what happened, but well...shit happens. Wasn't her first time getting her hands dirty, after all, and likely wouldn't be her last. Besides, the thing was a ghost, kid or no. And well, at least now it was gonna be at peace and not bother anyone any more.

"Oh! Hmm... I haven't introduced myself yet, sorry. I'm Harumi Shizuka, the next in line to become the World's Strongest Mage. It was fun to work with you, so please, sent my regards to Miss Aria when you're back to the Dangeki. By the way...If you see any UFOs or aliens out there, don't forget to tell me, ok?"

Kat simply laughed. UFO's, huh? A mage who believed in aliens. Now that was kind of funny to Kat.

"Sure sure. Try not to forget your tinfoil hat next time and maybe you can talk to one."

Still, Jun looked pretty beat up about it, so instead of antagonizing Harumi further, she walked off. She may not have entirely liked the kid all that much, but well...he was cute so she could at least mess with him a bit. She made her way outside, to where she found Jun wishing for a cigarette. She opened a small pocket in her vest and pulled out an unopened pack, quickly opening it.

"I don't really give people my cigs much, but damn, kid you look like you need it." She said, offering him one. "And if you're gonna cry, do it somewhere else. You're gonna look like a loser if you do that here, ya know." While she spoke, she pulled out something else from her vest. A small, rather mundane canteen filled with some pretty strong smelling alcohol.

@KoL@rechonq@GrafRoy Zeppeli

Once Rui-Ling crossed the finish line, his ears half-deafened by all the angry honking from Suzumbachi, the motorcyclist tossed his helmet into the passenger seat and exclaimed, “Wow, Haruka-chan! You’re so fast and amazing! No wonder they call you the Demon of Asphalt! Antennae-Head and Cow Lick just can’t compare to your skills, huh? You’re super lucky that you have such a dependable and badass girlfriend, Kiara-chan!”

For extra measure, he applauded her with a genuinely fake smile of admiration on his face, before deciding that he’d rather not get blood on the floor just to get rid of some dehydration. Popping out a can of red bean soup from the vending machine, Rui-Ling was going to take his sweet time enjoying his own victory, when Suzumebachi promptly broke and started talking about things that the immortal hadn’t been aware of.

So the biker gang was now into thievery? And Yotsuba Technology Corporation? Since when did they get involved? Regardless, it looked like Haruka was living on the edge once more, frying fish that were too big for Rui-Ling’s own kitchen.

As the crazy lesbians prepared to speed off, Rui-Ling finished his can of steaming soup, before letting out a prolonged, satisfied sigh, a cloud of steam blown out into the cold seaside air. “Welp,” he said, leaning against the red borrowed motorcycle, “That’s that. You know the drill now, right? Give me the keys to that Hayabusa and get your gang’s collective asses out of Sonomachi. That being said…”

With an erratic screech, Rui-Ling’s silvered hand crushed the aluminum can into a little crumpled ball. The immortal turned to Suzumebachi, his face cold and expressionless now, that of an immortal that had lived one hundred and fifty eight years without having wasted a single one of them. The spark of a soul lit up in his right hand, the heatless radiance of Claimoh Solais casting a white light on the amber-lit freeway.

“What were you stealing anyways, Suzumebachi? Honestly, I’ve tired of constantly having to kick you out of my town, as well, so, you know…please don’t lie.”

After all, even if fish was too big to fry, Rui-Ling wasn’t going to let something as big as this just go off without any personal investigation. As he waited for a response, the immortal one-handedly tapped a message to Ellie, telling her to send someone off to pick up a fancy new product for the Dangeki Pawn Shop.

"!" Vincent saw a number of heavy shells fly in front of him; the sword slicing cleanly through the receiver of his rifle. What followed was a swift kick, knocking him into a wall. Between that and his adrenaline rush, he had no time to consider the small girl who'd suddenly appeared.

Just as he peeled himself out of the wall, a pair of swords rocketed towards him.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air.

Vincent was no ordinary man. A thick layer of ultra-dense muscle tissue wrapped his body. His ribcage had no gaps. The swords had lodged a mere few inches in his chest. He wrapped his fingers around the red-hot blade, burning them as well, and pried the weapons out, letting them fall to the ground. He drew the claymore adorning his back, looked at it, and tossed it onto the swords as well. The executioner stretched his neck.

A shooting star came from the sky, crashing into one of the assassins, then dragging itself along the ground, ramming into the wall next to Vincent where it stopped. A panel opened, and Vincent drew his next weapon. This particular weapon was a brutish thing, a sword longer, thicker, and heavier than anything meant for human use. The blackened blade was nearly as long as Vincent, with a blade thick and wide. It looked plain, save for a white symbol adorning the ricasso.
Vincent shouldered the eight hundred pound blade, muttering to himself, "Executioner's Anti-Freak Sword: Guillotine."

"You're really starting to piss me off." he said from behind his mask. This youkai knew things it shouldn't, knew about his sister and who he was. He'd have to be an inquisitor as much as an executioner at this rate.
With a sudden forward leap, he grabbed the sword and with surprising speed, unleashed a powerful blow. Vincent's extreme level of strength let him swing the weapon as fast as any other sword, and its sheer weight meant that every blow would cleave its target in half.
With this in mind, Vincent began to rain a merciless flurry of blows on the two remaining assassins, aiming to mutilate them alive. There would be no time to launch fireballs at random civilians.
Of course, only one would receive killing blows. For the leader, Vincent deigned to strike only at the arms and legs. He couldn't shut him up just yet.