OOC: Sigh...in the end I didn't manage to finish the backlog of personal character development posts. I guess they'll have to come later. For now, let's get the story moving...
Also, apologies for the quality of the post yet again. I rushed it, as I've got a lot of things to get done today.
The cooking contest, Saniwa Inn's Kitchen, 5.25 PM, Day 4 ??*hic*?? Mikoto hiccupped a little as the soup slowly simmered before her. Random eyes and appendages bubbled to the surface of the soup before slowly sinking once more.
??hiccups ze?? Marisa asked.
?No?rather, it?s the sake, I think.? Reimu sighed. ?The alcohol fumes are getting to her.? She said, as she casually bashed a tentacle that was creeping out of the noodles with a tenderizer hammer.
?Hehehe, so you have low alcohol tolerance, Koto-neesan?? Suika giggled, patting Mikoto on the back. Alice, meanwhile, was grappling something that looked like sentient sludge back into the oven. After kicking the oven door back shut she turned the flames to max. WHOOMPH! The roaring flames lit up her face ominously as whatever was in the oven gave out a dying shriek.
?I-I c-can *hic* tolerate a-al-alcohol?? Mikoto wobbled a little. ?I-I?m B-Bri-Brit?euh?.European??
The judges were explaining to the frustrated commentator that team FUBAR was attempting the ancient art of ?intelligent cuisine?, where intelligence was actually induced in the cuisine itself, creating a flavour with all the completeness of life, from confused birth to agonizing death, or something like that, but Mikoto was too dizzy to understand.
There were stars in her eyes, small patches of bright light dancing around in the darkness?
?.wait. Patches of light? But she?s blind. How??
Mikoto staggered a little.
?Hey, Mi-chan, are you all right?? Marisa asked. Her face loomed up in one of the patches of light. Wait?she can see?
But even with her vision back, she still had a blindfold on. How did she??
?Don?t fall over this way.? Suika said, supporting Mikoto from behind. Her concerned look flashed in Mikoto?s vision.
But?Suika?s behind her. Even if she had vision, how?d?.
?I?m?ok, I think.? Mikoto blinked. The darkness was back, as pitch black as before.
Maybe it was just her imagination? A little alcohol-induced hallucination?
She shook herself out of it and quickly resumed work. They had a competition to win. She can ruminate on this later.
She bashed another tentacle that was slowly curling around her shoulder with a well-aimed frying-pan smash, sending it hissing back into the noodle soup. Suika immediately responded by drowning the contents of the soup in more sake.
Besides, if she took her attention off the food, she might end up food herself?.
Later, during the dessert round...
?Euhh?*hic*...? Mikoto leaned against a wall for support. Her cheeks were flushed bright red.
?DIE DIE DIE!? Reimu shouted, dumping more sake into the giant cake mixing bowl. Something shrieked and hissed in agony from the depths of the batter. ?Clear!? She shouted.
Alice came up behind her holding a high-power electric whisk as if she was holding a machine gun. She stabbed the whisks into the batter, eliciting a high-pitched gurgle of pain, before turning the whisk on max, causing the batter to go ?EEEYAAAAAGHH ?ekh?.?
??.all this sake vapour?s bads for us ze?? Marisa murmured whoozily, the dizzying odour of sake filling the kitchen once more as Reimu dumped another bottle of sake into the struggling batter . ?I?m getting all dizzy-whizzy myselfs daze."
?Tie it down! Tie it down!? Alice shouted, holding the struggling mixing bowl down as Suika wrapped chains around it. ?Reimu! We need something stronger! I think the flour and butter are fighting world war III down there!?
Reimu unscrewed a black barrel coated with warning signs and a huge biohazard symbol, causing huge amounts of dense smoke and steam to burst out ominously. She reached in and brought out the sake to end all sake, the ?Heaven?s Feel? Sake.
?Oooh!? Aya gasped. ?The legendary sake! Known to give you a small taste of Heaven by actually sending you there. Some even say it?s a one way trip!?
Everyone on team FUBAR donned their welding masks and braced for impact by holding onto the most secure thing they could find, things like the refrigerator, the counters, Flandre, and other such objects.
?I want a go for launch.? Reimu said.
?You haves go for launchs, red leaders ze.? Marisa nodded, from behind the buffalo that had been rejected by team Starlight earlier. ?Ignition in T minus 3, 2??
??.Rest in peace?? Reimu whispered, before unscrewing the cap and upending it over the mixing bowl.
The contents of the bowl let out an ear-piercing scream of pleasure and agony as a huge mushroom cloud of death exploded over the bowl.
?.and then there was the empty silence following the death of an entire civilization?.
??.? Alice looked around at Suika. ?Is the oven ready?? She asked, casually.
?Ready!? Suika reported.
?Then let?s send that abomination back where it belongs.? Alice said. ??hell.?
===Later===
?Hot, hot!? Alice yelped, trying her best yet failing miserably to hold onto the hot cake pan. Unfortunately she tripped over the elephant?s foot team Starlight had left behind earlier. The pie sailed up?and up?and up?.
?The pie!?
It happened again. It was like a splash of light?but Mikoto didn?t sense it through her eyes?but rather, it was like a window had opened in her mind. She didn?t ?see?. Rather, she ?knew? where everything was around her. She could ?feel? their exact location and position in space, everything from the pepper sprinkler atop the counter to Alice?s flailing and falling figure to the spiraling noodle bowl and the spinning saucer that was the pie flying up in the air, to the small droplets of cream in the air around them.
She could catch them! It seemed so simple! If she can just move her body fast enough!
?IYAAAAAA?!? Mikoto launched herself forwards into the air?
Her fingers grazed the cake pan?
?she closed her fingers around the hot metal?They burned, but she grasped it as tightly as she could?
?and she fell, sliding headlong across the kitchen linoleum, before coming to a squeaky halt. The cake pan clattered onto the floor harmlessly, its contents intact. But just as Mikoto was about to let out a breath of relief, all the wind in her was blown out by Alice falling squarely on her back.
?.and everything went black again. That illusion of vision faded back into darkness?
===
The Yakuza Streetball game, The construction site beside Junes, 00.55 AM, Day 5Later, at the basketball game?.
?9-0!? The yakuza referee declared. The yakuza cheered as Ellen landed in a crouch after her resounding slamdunk.
??akh?we?re going to lose at this rate?.? Taihou muttered. ?What?s Jalal and Eirin doing?!? She cursed inwardly.
Kajira surveyed the rest of team Gensokyo. They were all down, partly from exhaustion, partly from despair. ?This is hopeless?? She said as the other team leaders convened.
?But what can we do? Whenever we get the ball we get the crap beaten out of us.? Owlbear muttered.
?We need a plan, a strategy, anything!? Mikoto thought furiously. ?What would Reimu do? What would?.? And then it hit her. It was obvious. Why hadn?t she noticed it before. Reimu would?ve done that from the very start.
?I think we need to realize one thing here.? Mikoto said.
?What?? Jan asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
?That there are no rules.? Mikoto said, simply.
??we know that. And?? Sakuya asked, impatiently.
??.I see. We?ve been playing as if it was standard basketball without a court. But it?s much more than that.? Owlbear suddenly realized what Mikoto was getting at.
Mikoto smiled. ?We simply have to CHEAT.?
??.ok, and how do you propose we do that?? Sakuya asked.
?Simple?.? Mikoto said. ?We just do it the GENSOKYO WAY.?
This song plays, LISTEN TO IT -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaoV8mtH2TU&feature=relatedAfter a few moments of discussion, team Gensokyo broke the huddle. ?BREAK!? Everyone walked out onto the ?court?, cracking their knuckles, rather unnerving grins on their faces.
It was enough to unsettle the yakuza, but they managed to grin maliciously back, confident in their impending victory.
The referee brought the ball out to the middle of the court. Taihou took the center, in front of the yakuza who had punched him in the gut at the beginning of the game. The Yakuza scoffed mockingly. This time, however, Taihou merely grinned a sly little grin.
?GO!? The ball sailed upwards. So did Taihou.
?but the yakuza player failed to rise beyond 3 or 4 inches?.
He looked down in panic and found a 1 ton android maid holding onto his feet, anchoring him down with a metallic vice grip that was threatening to crush his bones. ?Desu.? She said, giving him a defiant look.
He looked back up and flailed at Taihou?.who merely stepped on his shoulder?then his head?before kicking off him and using him as a stepping stone to sail further up towards the ball.
He caught it, and, without a moment?s hesitation, threw it further up.
Up above, running single-file along a metal beam, was team Fairy Harem.
?Here! Right here!? Star shouted, skidding to a halt, upon calculating Taihou?s movements. She leaned forwards to catch the ball, caught it?and lost balance. ?Iyayayayayayaya!? She yelped in panic.
?C-Catch her!? Luna yelped, catching her by the scruff of her collar, before losing balance herself. ?Yiiiiii!? She cried.
?I got you, I got you, I waaah?.!? Sunny caught Luna just in time but began to teeter forwards herself.
??.what on earth are you three doing?? Alex sighed, catching Sunny and holding up the chain of fairies up at arm?s length.
?Alex! Alex! We got the ball!? Star shouted excitedly from where she hung at the bottom of the chain.
?They?re coming!? Daiyousei cried, pointing at the horde of yakuza trooping across the beam towards them.
?Tch.? Alex looked around. If he risked fighting up here the fairies might?.
?Leave it to me!? Sunny declared, focusing.
The frontmost yakuza suddenly found himself walking on air, the beam under him having somehow disappeared?
?AKH!? He cried, flailing about wildly. He felt the solid metal underneath him?and yet he can?t see it.
The other yakuza ran into him from behind and, together, in a furious ball of tangled limbs, they fell.
??.ouch.? Alex blinked at the mess of squirming bodies below.
?We?ve got friends up above.? Star said, sensing movement further up the tower.
?Then let?s get the ball up.? Alex said. He swung the chain of fairies, causing them to yelp in panic. At the apex of the swing, Star released the ball upwards. The chain broke, causing the fairies to float up into the air?.
?before landing in Alex?s outstretched arms. ?Well, that was easy.? Alex said. The fairies shook violently with fear, gibbering nonsense all the while.
The ball sailed up, before it was scooped out of the air by Renko, who swung out over the edge of a beam while holding onto Sanasan?s hand. She swung back right into Sanasan?s chest. The two wobbled a bit atop the beam before they regained their balance.
?Umm?.you can let go of me now.? Renko said, blushing slightly.
?Ah, yes.? Sanasan said, rather awkwardly.
The two began running along the metal beam?only to come head to head with another horde of yakuza.
?FOR THE GOLDEN SNAKE!? The yakuza roared.
??.FOR DISGAEA!? Renko roared back.
?WHAT?!? Sanasan shouted, running in front of Renko. ?More importantly, shouldn?t we turn back?!?
?Would Etna ever turn back?! Would she?! WOULD SHE?!? Renko demanded from behind.
?N-no?but?? Sanasan looked over the huge solid block of yakuza?and gulped.
?BUCKET INCOMING!? A huge bucket dropped down in a wide arch, swinging on a convenient pulley. It was Kisume?with a bucketful of sand?
She scattered the sand in the yakuza?s face, causing them to roar with agony, clutching their eyes in abject pain.
?CHARGE! ATTACK!? Renko shouted excitedly.
?Attack?! Attack where?!? Sanasan looked at the yakuza looming up in front of her up and down. Despite being blinded by sand, the man was still a solid mass of brawn. There was no way?.
?ATTACK HIM WHERE IT MATTERS!? Renko roared. ?DO I HAVE TO TEACH YOU ANATOMY!?
??.? Sanasan sighed. This was a girl?s attack?.but then again, she was in a girl form, right??
She delivered a well aimed nutcracker kick and felt a perceptible crack.
?.she was going to have to wash that foot thoroughly when she got back?
?.maybe with industrial alcohol and maybe irradiation?
The man doubled up, his scream so high-pitched it was almost soundless. Sanasan followed up and leapt up, bringing her knee to the man?s face, crushing his nose into his skull, before stepping over him. Renko leapt up behind her and Sanasan gave her a boost to fly over the row of yakuza.
?RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!? Renko roared as she dug a heel into the face of one yakuza, before launching off him and running atop the heads of the yakuza. Sanasan followed closely behind, stomping as hard as she could wherever she can.
"Take...THIS!" Renko threw the ball as hard as she could at last yakuza in line. The ball ricocheted violently off his skull before flying off towards team Oniisan. Reisen deftly caught the ball with her bunny ears and passed it on to...
...Flandre...
...Reisen gulped, realizing what she had just done...
?Flandre, throw the ball towards?.? Zei began.
?Towards the hoop, right?!? Flandre giggled happily, as she reared back as far as she could go, staggering until she almost lost balance, before, with an almighty swing, threw the ball as her sister would throw a Gungnir?
?N-no! I meant pass it?AKH!? Zei cried, clutching her hair as the ball spun off course?.
...and knocked over a pile of heavy drums which, coincidently, were right on top of a horde of passing yakuza?.
?.bounced off and flew towards a pulley, breaking it, causing a huge crate of cement bags to enter freefall below it, smashing resoundingly atop Ellen and Kotohime?.
?.ricocheted in another random direction, this time towards a cement mixer, causing it to fall forwards and empty its contents over the yakuza buried under the drums?.
?before sailing on towards?.
?I GOT IT!? China shouted, leaping towards the ball?.
?CHINA! IT?S THE BLACK WHITE!? Patchouli shouted at the top of her lungs.
?Huh, where?!? Meirin looked around, obeying a reflex conditioned by years of stealthy break-ins?
?and the ball bashed into her skull, knocking her over, before sailing up towards the hoop?
?.and plopping inside neatly?
??.? Everyone gaped.
??.?
??..?
?SCORE 1 FOR TEAM GENSOKYO!? Renko declared.
??YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!? Team Gensokyo roared in triumph, leaping around for joy.
OOC: This medley can be a nice accompaniment too -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BAvLYgq5m0?The game?s still on!? Ryoji roared, as Ellen caught the ball and began her journey towards the opposing goal. ?You?ve only scored 1 goal! We?re still 9-1. Our victory is assured!?
?We?ll see about that!? Owlbear shouted.
Ellen suddenly choked as her collar grew extremely tight around her throat. She flailed around at her back, fumbling the ball.
?It?s a big one.? Amarillo said, reeling her fishing tackle which was hooked onto Ellen?s collar from atop a pile of crates nearby.
The ball bounced across the concrete until Ruukoto, Mikoto, and Alice leapt on it.
?We got the ball!? Ruukoto, Mikoto, and Alice declared. Just then, a huge shadow loomed over them, growing bigger and bigger and bigger and?.
??.ah?? They all blinked at the huge solid tidal wave of yakuza looming threateningly over them.
SMULCH?
It was a soft, wet, rather greasy squishing sound.
The rest of the team winced horribly as the dog-pile settled in a mountain of humans. A few shoes, a rubber ducky, and a tire bounced away from the heap, just because.
The dog-pile cleared as a yakuza member dug out the ball and carried on playing, leaving three very disheveled figures outlined against the concrete.
Suika ran over and started poking Mikoto with a stick. ?Umm?.Koto-neesan?you still alive??
?Get the three of them up!? Taihou ordered as he ran past. ?I don?t care how you do it! Just do it!?
??.? Suika looked at Taihou, then at the three unconscious people on the floor, then back at Taihou?.then she shrugged and did what she did best.
?Suika! What *hic* ?re ya doin? *hic*?!? Mikoto jumped in shock. Around her Alice and Ruukoto were similarly roused rather violently.
?I had to get you all to wake up.? Suika shrugged. ?I would?ve used water but?all I had was sake I brought from home?.? She waved the half-empty sake bottle a little helplessly. ?err?did I do something wrong???
??.euh?ah?? Alice wobbled as she tried to get up, failed and fell, before unsteadily getting up while using Mikoto as support. ??wh-why??? She slurred.
?D-D-doesn?t *hic* matter!? Mikoto gulped. ?W-we have to??
A dull thudding echoed emptily in the air as a blurry round, orange object bounced across their vision, just a two feet in front of them.
??MINE!? They all leapt forwards, clawing for the ball.
?I g-g-got it!? Alice wheezed, launching into an unsteady run.
?Go! GO!? Mikoto urged the rest of the team onwards after Alice.
A yakuza ran up towards Alice from behind with a baseball bat, ready to mow her down.
?Awice?s in twoubles!? Suika thought. But just as she was about to shout out to her, Alice seemed to slip and fall over backwards, her back arching gracefully over the swinging baseball bat, with the basketball soaring softly over her. She somersaulted backwards a few times before catching the ball in one hand.
?L-L-Look out desu!? the words formed in Ruukoto?s mind, but before she could voice it, Alice had, rather awkwardly, cartwheeled sideways out of the baseball bat?s trajectory once more.
Without a word she passed the ball backwards. As if expecting it, Ruukoto had run (albeit a little lopsidedly) onwards into position to accept the pass.
Suika noticed two yakuza diving towards her. Again it happened. Just as she was about to warn Ruukoto, Ruukoto seemed to drunkenly trip into a cartwheel, gliding safely over the two yakuza?s tackles, catching the ball in mid-cartwheel, before landing in a kneeling position and kicking off into a run.
??this is *hic* weird?.? Mikoto breathed excitedly, leaping over another set of crates towards where she knew the next pass will come. ?I can see?but more than what *hic* my eyes normally see. And I know where *hic* everyone is and what everyone?s about to *hic* do??
?I c-can see more?.? Alice said, running on alongside Mikoto, her voice a little slurred. ??I-I think we?re s-s-sensing each other?s v-vi-viss?what everyone else is-s-seeing.?
?I know *hic* exactly what to *hic* do desu.? Ruukoto said, whoozily running drunken circles around two more yakuza, weaving the ball in and out of them before leaving them tangled. ?It?s like *hic* somebody else is *hic* guiding me desu??
?You?re d-doing exactly w-w-what I think you sh-should be d-doing...? Alice said, as Suika accepted a pass while side-stepping and tripping over a charging yakuza.
?S-Same *hic* here desu?? Ruukoto said, accepting Suika?s pass and running on with it.
?I th-think it?s the c-contracts.? Alice said, stumbling along.
?I see *hic*. So this is the so-called sync *hic*...? Mikoto suddenly smirked drunkenly. ??what say we give this a *hic* try??
?Err?.what?s team FUBAR doing??? Taihou asked, a little concerned about team FUBAR?s rather imbalanced state.
?Who cares? They?ve got the ball. Just clear the way for them!? Owlbear shouted, tackling a yakuza in the guts, causing him to knock over an entire row of yakuza like a stack of dominoes.
?Sounds simple enough.? Kajira shrugged.
?Flandre! No! You can?t throw Mystia at them!? they heard Zei shout from the other side. ?You can throw objects and yakuza, but not our friends.?
?Huee??? Flandre cocked her head to one side, a look of amused curiosity on her face as she tried to grasp this new concept. Mystia was shaking like a leaf in Flandre?s grasp.
??.probably not so simple.? Pearl sweatdropped.
As Ruukoto saw three more yakuza surrounding Alice on all sides, Alice deftly tossed the ball under a nearby set of scaffolding. Suika was already leaping into a roll under the scaffolding on the other side, as if anticipating the pass way beforehand. She caught it neatly before pulling out of the roll and into a full run down a narrow space between the scaffolding.
Four yakuza came down from either end of the narrow space, cornering and trapping Suika. But without a moment?s hesitation she ran on, before leaping up onto the scaffold on her right, leaping off it and onto the left, before leaping upwards to pass the ball up onto a catwalk above where Ruukoto was already in mid-run. Ruukoto caught the pass and shakily ran on, carrying the ball closer to the hoop.
They went on passing the ball to each other and dodging attacks as if dancing and whirling right through the yakuza ranks.
It was so simple, so easy. It was as if they could read each other?s minds, see through each other?s eyes. Where the ball should go next?.where the next attack is coming from?.they had each other covered.
They were relentless. The ball passed on without a moment?s lapse or hesitation, without any predictable pattern. It was like a perfectly (albeit drunkenly) orchestrated dance known only to the 4 of them.
And Mikoto was flying on wings of gold. She could see! Not through her own eyes, but through the eyes and senses of her partners! So that?s what this is! The power of the contracts has lent her 5 pairs of eyes, giving her almost perfect 360 degree vision.
?What on earth??? Aya watched, awestruck. Alice had pulled the feet out from under a set of yakuza in front of Ruukoto. Ruukoto charged on, using the pile of fallen yakuza as stepping stones to leap up onto the next story.
?40% sync.? Satori said in way of explanation. ?They?re reading and guiding each other?s movements.? She explained. As Ruukoto ran up, she sliced the ropes off a set of counter-weights, causing them to fall. Mikoto and Suika grabbed onto the opposite ends of the ropes and rose up towards Ruukoto as the counterweights fell. Mikoto grabbed a handful of sand from the counterweight?s sandbag as it sped past downwards. As she reached Ruukoto she threw the handful of sand into the faces of a set of incoming yakuza, causing them to yelp in pain. Suika, meanwhile, landed in a roll and bowled over the blinded yakuza before accepting a pass from Ruukoto and running on with the ball.
?How on earth did they achieve that? I thought they were the worst coordinated team!? Aya asked.
?Alcohol.? Satori said, simply. ?Synchronization depends on how open you are with each other. Alcohol simply removes any prior reservations and causes people to become more open. In a way it improves sync.?
??.that?s why they were so coordinated in the contest earlier?both their last dishes were sake dishes!? Aya realized.
?I guess.? Satori said. ?Though?as a trade-off, I guess they lose bodily coordination.? She sighed, as Mikoto ran straight into a pole and fumbled the ball?.which was quickly scooped up by Suika?who stumbled into a sandpit and fell face first into an open drum.
?Get the drum!? The yakuza shouted as the drum started rolling.
?Don?t let them *hic* get the drum!? Mikoto shouted.
?Awawawawawawawawaaaaaaa!? Suika yelped inside as she spun round and round like?well?like an oni in a spinning drum, with the basketball bouncing about alongside her.
?Where?s the ball?!? Hirowaza shouted, looking around wildly as she finished kicking yet another yakuza where it mattered most.
??err?over there?? Sanae murmured, pointing over at the drum that was casually rolling across the concrete with a huge horde of people following in its wake which included Ruukoto, Mikoto, and Alice. The three of them, in their drunken gait, wobbled right and left dangerously, dodging attempts at murder while pushing over and tripping the yakuza around them at random, causing disastrous domino effects.
??.errr?.? Hirowaza blinked, at a loss for words as the drum rolled back the other way across her vision with the horde following close behind.
?Ruukoto, get it!? Alice shoved Ruukoto ahead, causing her to stumble and flail her arms wildly towards the drum.
?Awawawawawa desuuuu!? Ruukoto yelped, falling forwards on the drum. Her sheer weight and momentum squeezed the drum between herself and the floor, catapulting it forwards into an incoming horde of yakuza, bowling them over.
The drum fell on its end with a heavy clang, wobbling violently, before coming to a rest, upright.
Mikoto reached it and grabbed onto it, all the while resisting the urge to vomit from all the alcohol. But before she could regain her breath, another yakuza was already charging towards her, a nailed bat brandished in his hands.
??.give me a *hic* break?? Mikoto sighed.
?Stop it!? Suika cried, popping out of the drum in rage.
?RAAAAAAARGH!? The yakuza slashed at Suika and Mikoto?s heads with his bamboo shinai.
?Get down!? Mikoto yelped, pushing Suika roughly back down while ducking herself. They both narrowly missed getting their heads lobbed off.
?What was that for?!? Suika popped back up, pouting indignantly.
?Get down again!? Mikoto shouted, pushing her back down roughly and ducking again as the yakuza swung the shinai back the other direction.
?UUUUUUUWAAAAAAAAAAARH!? Suika lost her temper. She popped back out and banged the basketball as hard as she could on the yakuza?s head. ?YAH YAH YAH!? She cried as she repeatedly bashed the yakuza?s skull until it was perceptibly indented.
?oh? That wasn?t Koto-neesan?? Suika said, looking down at the battered yakuza now lying at the foot of the drum.
?Did you want to *hic* kill me?! After I *hic* saved you?!? Mikoto cried in exasperation.
?Look out!? Alice shouted as another horde of yakuza charged towards them.
??.ulp?move?? Mikoto pushed Suika back in the drum, kicked the drum onto its side, and began rolling it again.
?UWAWAWAWAWA!? Suika yelped inside the drum. Mikoto followed closely behind, determined to get the drum to the hoop.
But in her drunkenness she failed to see a ledge up ahead. The drum fell over the ledge with a resounding clang before rolling on unperturbed. Mikoto, however, failed to stop and ran off the ledge, landing right on top of the rolling drum.
?Ayayayayayayayayayayaaaaa!? Mikoto cried as she ran atop the drum, fighting a desperate battle against gravity and all the alcohol sloshing about in her brain.
Ruukoto, in her drunken stupor, managed to find herself in the path of the rolling drum.
?Iyaaaaaan *hic* desu!? Ruukoto yelped as she ran for her life.
?J-JET STREAM *hic* ATTACK!? Mikoto shouted drunkenly atop the spinning drum, as the drum and Ruukoto charged onwards towards an incoming horde of yakuza.
?Ruukoto, Flash, NOW!? Alice ordered.
?F-F-F-FLASH-U desu!? Ruukoto cried. A blazing white light burst out of her eyes, flooding the immediate vicinity with a million candelas of light, turning night into day.
The yakuza roared with agony, their eyes burning painfully. Before they could recover they were bowled over by a drunkenly panicked 1 ton android followed by a drum containing a spinning oni and a crazed drunk on top.
The yakuza all sailed backwards over the edge of the floor before falling down towards what may or may not be a soft landing in a trash pile 3 stories below.
However, the drum rolled on, towards the very same edge.
Ruukoto leapt out of the way just in time, but the drum slipped just beyond her grasp. ?AH!? She cried.
?Uwaaaah!? Mikoto yelped as she and the drum both treaded air?.
But before she could enter freefall, a set of strings, courtesy of Alice, wrapped themselves around her and the drum. The strings tightened and tied her tight against the drum. ?AGH!? Mikoto cried as the strings cut into her flesh.
?NOT YET!? Alice shouted, doing her best to hold on tight onto the strings. But the weight of Mikoto, the drum, and Suika, dragged Alice skidding across the concrete towards the edge.
?Alice-san!? Ruukoto leapt out and held onto Alice, anchoring her into place.
?SWING IT!? Alice commanded, grunting against the weight of the strings.
?Y-YES!? Ruukoto heaved, causing the drum to swing back up and sail up?and up?
?towards the hoop?
?.with Mikoto tied to the side, her face flying towards the hoop?s pole first?
?AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!? Mikoto screamed?.but it was a short-lived scream. It was cut short by her getting squashed between the pole and the drum?
?I?ve had enough!? Suika shouted, popping out of the drum and slam-dunking the ball through the hoop?.
The pole shuddered violently under the combined force of the oni?s slamdunk and the impact of Mikoto?s face and the drum?
?2-9!? Team Gensokyo exploded in cheers as the drum crashed into the concrete at the foot of the hoop, marking Mikoto?s final resting place?.
