Rumia Quest 7: Chasing Shadows

[Raikaria]

>...Well, that's pretty ominous. Let's grab the fragments and get back out.
>"We need to go full speed back to base, and get this rebuilt yesterday. I think our plans aren't as secret as we thought anymore. I found some enigmatic talismans implying as such. Not sure who left them, but I'm concerned all the same."
>Let's book it back to the mansion, doubletime!

> You grab the fragments, and feel something against the back of your neck.

> You feel a chill run down your spine, as the something presses harder.

> "My my, what do we have here? You couldn't possibly be hoping to re-create one of those ol' magic draining devices to try and drain me, would you~" Yuuka says sweetly.

[Hanzo K.]

>What sort of trick do we have up our sleeve to escape such a grasp?

[Raikaria]

>What sort of trick do we have up our sleeve to escape such a grasp?

> There is no grasp, just the feel of her parasoul against the back of your neck.

> It is worth mentioning you don't feel like you are in the presence of a God, meaning this is Yuuka's Gensokyo duplicate, not the 'Real' Yuuka Elly mentioned before.

[Hanzo K.]

>Step forward a few paces, then turn around to face her.
>"Now now, it's not this you, you're perfectly normal by 'Yuuka Standards'. It's the other you that's causing trouble. You know, Titania. I take it you already know about Kanako and Suwako's backfired scheme?"

[Raikaria]

>Step forward a few paces, then turn around to face her.
>"Now now, it's not this you, you're perfectly normal by 'Yuuka Standards'. It's the other you that's causing trouble. You know, Titania. I take it you already know about Kanako and Suwako's backfired scheme?"

> Yuuka lets you move.

> "While I cannot speak for the 'Original Yuuka', the sealed Titania, I am loyal to my true form, I am her subordinate." Yuuka says.

> She grins. "Oh yes, breaking the haughty Wind Goddess so she begged for mercy was fun~" Yuuka says, licking her lips, before she starts to spin her parasoul.

> "Anyway, I assumed you'd come here for those fragments, so I waited for you. Now, die." she says, charging a spark.

> Suddenly, a figure darts where Yuuka was, as she is grabbed, and thrown out of the door, with a bestial snarl from her attacker.


Ran Yakumo
Ancient Beast of Feared Legend

[Theme]

> "Time is of the essence... she is watching." Ran says. "I knew she was lying in wait for you, so I turned her trap into my trap. Now then, Rumia, the biggest difference between me and Yukari; in a fight serious fight; is this, Yukari will calculate exactly how much force she needs to use to in with the minimal effort, meanwhile I do not hold back at all."

> You feel a great amount of energy from Ran.

> "This is just a copy of her, so I don't need to worry about killing her." Ran says calmly, despite the feeling she is giving off. "Sit back, this one is my fight. I apologize for using you as bait, by the way, but you get to watch something very few have seen... the fury of the Kitsune."

[Not the first time of saying this in the Rumia Quest universe, but it needs to be said again, Badass Ran is best Ran]

[Hanzo K.]

>"I had a feeling something like this would happen. It's the original that's the problem anyways, just don't use up all your energy so you end up passing out, that was one thing Yukari was always good about avoiding. Well, until she wanted to sleep that is, but that's beside the point."
>Let's head back out and make sure everyone's alright.

[Raikaria]

>"I had a feeling something like this would happen. It's the original that's the problem anyways, just don't use up all your energy so you end up passing out, that was one thing Yukari was always good about avoiding. Well, until she wanted to sleep that is, but that's beside the point."
>Let's head back out and make sure everyone's alright.

> "Don't worry about that." Ran says, darting outside.

> You head back outside, and see everyone is OK, but shocked about Yuuka, and Ran.

> Ran is fighting Yuuka with a vicious barrage of attacks, using blistering speed you can hardly keep up with, alternating between close range assaults and long range barrages of many kinds of danmaku. It seems Yuuka is being... overpowered, she can't even counter-attack.

> "I heard Kitsune were strong, but this is insane!" Rika comments, "My eyes can hardly keep up..."

> "I don't think even my movements could keep up with Ran." Tenma says. "How strong would Yukari have been if she ever fought at 100%..."

> Ran tears a hole in Yuuka's parasoul, before slamming her into the river. She then takes a prayer pose, and a barrage of red and blue lasers rain into the river, like a cross-stitch. You note the Kappa in the River are being missed by the narrowest of margins.

> Yuuka comes back up, sending out a multitude of adapted plant attacks, such as spinning giant sunflower heads, sharp as buzzsaws, spears of ivy, and arrows of wood tipped with rose thorns. Ran forms a manji of light around her, which then spins, obliterating the attacks.

> "Should I keep going, or would you rather take it from here?" Ran asks you casually. "With that tear in her parasol she cannot use it as a focal point for a Spark."

[Hanzo K.]

(It's a Manji. Not a swastika. I suggest you fix that before it lands you in trouble.)

>"Hm, I'd say all she can do now at this point are those plant attacks, and her already impressive physical ability. which means right now she's like a cat without it's claws. No offense to you or Chen intended. She's also not a god at all, which means I don't have to use my sword to handle her. Besides, I still have some respect for her as one of the Big Four, even if she's a shadow of the original."
>Pass off the fragments to Ran. "Get those to Rika and Yumemi, have them replicate a small one at first, something that can be worn as an accessory that drains the wearer, limiting their power output considerably. I know just what to do with this Yuuka for the time being. I just have to knock her around enough first."
>Now that that's done, let's set up a frontal barrier of Powered Dark Energy, and rocket straight for Yuuka! And when she fires those plants again, we'll set the barrier to spinning like a drill to achieve something similar to what Ran did!

[Raikaria]

(The page I read looking for the name lied to meeeeee, fixed)

> "I'm a canine." Ran says. "And that is the Yuuka that was one of the Big Youkai."

> "Uh, they're right there." Ran says, throwing them over, with Rika catching them.

> You form a barrier of Dark Energy around yourself, and charge Yuuka. She dosen't fire any plants this time, instead, she forms a wall of modified flowers in front of herself, which slows you down enough for her to evade the attack, and get behind you.

[Hanzo K.]

>Flip the barrier so it's behind us! "Not bad, using a counter-barrier. Shame we couldn't be doing this with less at stake really. Even with your best technique lost to you, you can still put up a good fight. In a way, we aren't so different, Yuuka. I was chained by my past, and you're still chained by yours. So I'll do you a favor and free you from it."
>Let's send out a Dark Pulse from the barrier with the aim to knock her off balance! Then we'll follow-up by flipping around to rocket into her with a Focused Dark Barrier Punch!

[Raikaria]

>Flip the barrier so it's behind us! "Not bad, using a counter-barrier. Shame we couldn't be doing this with less at stake really. Even with your best technique lost to you, you can still put up a good fight. In a way, we aren't so different, Yuuka. I was chained by my past, and you're still chained by yours. So I'll do you a favor and free you from it."
>Let's send out a Dark Pulse from the barrier with the aim to knock her off balance! Then we'll follow-up by flipping around to rocket into her with a Focused Dark Barrier Punch!

> "I don't have a past. I'm a creation of plant matter bound together into the same form Titania took to slumber, to imitate the consciousness she created." The Gensokyo-Yuuka says. "I cannot speak for the other me, but she's Titania now, so, it does not matter. I am just a glorified Plant Golem, like those others roaming Gensokyo, when all is said and done."

> She forms a whip out of thorns and lashes at the barrier, damaging it, before you fire a pulse from it, making her stumble, before you make the barrier move to cover your fist, and punch the flower youkai, knocking her airborne.

> The whip wraps around your leg, and Yuuka uses your own momentum you gave her against you, raising you into the air above her, before swinging down as she starts to fall.

[Hanzo K.]

>Return the favor with a Dark Tendril made to slam her into the ground instead of us!
>"And that matters how? You're you, she's someone else. The way I see it, I'd rather have the you I'm fighting right now instead of Titania. You at least know how to make things entertaining. Her? She just goes full-tilt and doesn't even care."

[Raikaria]

>Return the favor with a Dark Tendril made to slam her into the ground instead of us!
>"And that matters how? You're you, she's someone else. The way I see it, I'd rather have the you I'm fighting right now instead of Titania. You at least know how to make things entertaining. Her? She just goes full-tilt and doesn't even care."

> You attempt to throw Yuuka into the ground with a Dark Tendril, but fail to do so, due to your own momentum. Despite this, your force slows your impact enough that you don't smash into the ground, you actually land [Albeit, with a jolt].

> "Except I am her, a tiny fragment of her. I don't have more than a fraction of her power, so I have to get creative. Besides, all I do most of the time is Spark things." she says, as her left arm sprouts multiple thorny branches, which bind together, into a sword-like appendage.

[Hanzo K.]

>"That said, the fact that you aren't as strong as she is is what sets you apart from her in a big way. After all, fight smart, not stupid."
>Let's mirror her with an armblade made of Powered Dark Energy, then charge in to lock 'blades' with her, while keeping on the guard for any 'bonuses' she might try. Specifically, we'll counter them with a mat of Dark Tendrils.

[Raikaria]

>"That said, the fact that you aren't as strong as she is is what sets you apart from her in a big way. After all, fight smart, not stupid."
>Let's mirror her with an armblade made of Powered Dark Energy, then charge in to lock 'blades' with her, while keeping on the guard for any 'bonuses' she might try. Specifically, we'll counter them with a mat of Dark Tendrils.

> You rush at Yuuka with a Dark-energy blade, and Yuuka sneers.

> "Thorns~" she says, as they extend, on their own stalks, towards you. Tendrils won't really stop something growing, but you snap a few of the growing branches.

[Hanzo K.]

>Pull back, and get a good bit of distance. "Nicely done. But let's see how you can handle this."
>Let's manifest a few spikes from the armblade, and then rocket them off aimed right for her, and weave them through any gaps they might encounter!

[Raikaria]

>Pull back, and get a good bit of distance. "Nicely done. But let's see how you can handle this."
>Let's manifest a few spikes from the armblade, and then rocket them off aimed right for her, and weave them through any gaps they might encounter!

> You back off, and the spikes retract back into Yuuka's blade.

> You take a page out of Yuuka's book, and fire spikes from your blade. This makes the plant youkai irritated visibly.

> "What is it with people copying my moves?" she snaps, before sending out a massive storm of cherry petals towards the spikes, the gaps far too small to navigate through, and while they pierce a few blossoms, they explode before they can reach Yuuka. The blossoms then head towards you. Knowing Yuuka, they're probobly razor-sharp and tough as metal.

[Hanzo K.]

>"That just shows you're good, who'd use a trick some two-bit mook uses? Nobody but that mook, that's who."
>Let's set up a nine-layered reinforced dark barrier!

[Raikaria]

>"That just shows you're good, who'd use a trick some two-bit mook uses? Nobody but that mook, that's who."
>Let's set up a nine-layered reinforced dark barrier!

> "Mook and the whole army of them." Yuuka replies, as the blossoms rush towards you.

> They slam into the barrier you form, with nine layers of dark energy, small gaps between each layer.

> The first five layers are broken through before the blossoms are all destroyed.

[Hanzo K.]

>"..,Busted five layers, not bad. Probably couldn't handle a spark from Titania though, doubt anything I could ever make could. This just attests to how powerful the both of you are. Plus, my whole 'thing' is shadows and darkness, a spark's a lot of light."
>Let's replenish the damaged barriers, and add spikes to the outer one, then start it to spinning!

[Raikaria]

>"..,Busted five layers, not bad. Probably couldn't handle a spark from Titania though, doubt anything I could ever make could. This just attests to how powerful the both of you are. Plus, my whole 'thing' is shadows and darkness, a spark's a lot of light."
>Let's replenish the damaged barriers, and add spikes to the outer one, then start it to spinning!

> Yuuka does not answer, and instead awaits you next move.

> You try to replenish the barriers, but can only form seven, which means you'll have to generate some more dark energy to use, which happens rather quickly, but it's been a while since you went into 'Dark Energy Exhaustion'. Still, you start the seven layers spinning in front of you.

> Yuuka's arm goes back to normal. She throws a sunflower head, which glances off, leaving a small dent in the layer, and for a moment, her face shows slight worry. She flicks her wrist again, and forms another sunflower head, which withers.

> "Damnit... seems we're both a little low on energy to fuel our powers right now... I wonder who'll recover first..."

[Hanzo K.]

>"Yeah, this is a pretty good fight. I've said it before, but it's a shame we couldn't have done this without the Titania mess. But I don't think I'll need to replenish much more, this is all I'll need!"
>Time to crash into her with the barriers rotating violently!

[Raikaria]

>"Yeah, this is a pretty good fight. I've said it before, but it's a shame we couldn't have done this without the Titania mess. But I don't think I'll need to replenish much more, this is all I'll need!"
>Time to crash into her with the barriers rotating violently!

> You charge at Yuuka. However, such an obvious move is easily predicted by the experienced youkai, and she dives down, before grabbing your ankle.

> "I don't need my plant abilities to defeat you." she says, firing a close range barrage of danmaku from under you, sending you back.

> It seems despite her bravado, she was clipped by the Dark Energy Barrier, as her other hand, which did not grab you, is leaking a sap-like substance from several lacerations. You guess the damage Ran did earlier slowed her down.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Heh, trying to settle this with Danmaku, eh? Don't need dark energy for that either, so it looks like we're going to wrap this fight up old-school."
>Let's drop the frontal barrier, and charge at her again! But this time, we'll boost backwards when we're about a few arm's lengths away, and then we'll lay into her with a salvo of laser danmaku!

[Raikaria]

>"Heh, trying to settle this with Danmaku, eh? Don't need dark energy for that either, so it looks like we're going to wrap this fight up old-school."
>Let's drop the frontal barrier, and charge at her again! But this time, we'll boost backwards when we're about a few arm's lengths away, and then we'll lay into her with a salvo of laser danmaku!

> "Danmaku is a tool, especially when not restricted by the spellcard rules. Without my powers and parasoul I lack ranged attacks outside of danmaku." Yuuka says, her eyes looking at the ground briefly.

> You dispel the barrier, and charge towards Yuuka, who again, floats there waiting. When you boost backwards, she still hasn't reacted.

> You unleash laser danmaku at Yuuka, who attempts to dodge. She gets clipped a few times, but evades well, before flying towards you at speeds not usually associated with her. It is well known Yuuka tends to stay as stationary as possible in combat, moving at the last moment, and as little as she needs to, so her dashing in must mean she's confident.

> Yuuka has both her arms behind her back, and a grin on her face.

> "So, which side will it come from, Rumia~. I'll throw all my force into this attack, so you'll probobly need to block it with both arms!" she says.

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's focus our energy, and read her motions to figure out where she'll swing from. Then we'll use that energy to parry her attack and deliver a counterattack!

[Raikaria]

>Let's focus our energy, and read her motions to figure out where she'll swing from. Then we'll use that energy to parry her attack and deliver a counterattack!

> Yuuka's motions show she'll swing with both arms at once... so it comes down to a guess, but knowing Yuuka's confidence, she'll certainly use...

> You block her injured arm, and feel your arms straining to do so, parrying is pretty much out of the question, even with both your arms, as her other arm flies past in a feint. The leaking sap is pretty sticky. Yuuka's physical strength has always been known, and physical might isn't your forte.

> Yuuka is readying a kick.

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's deliver a kick of our own before she does, and take that opportunity to get a bit of distance!

[Raikaria]

>Let's deliver a kick of our own before she does, and take that opportunity to get a bit of distance!

> You deliver a lighter kick, stopping Yuuka's own, and pull yourself away from her, with some effort from the sticky sap.

> The arm she used to attack with is hanging uselessly. It seems with it's damage beforehand, that attack was sacrificial.

[Hanzo K.]

>"The stories about your physical capabilities sure weren't exaggerated. Even with my training, I was still unable to block most of the damage from even that ploy with the sap."
>Let's settle into a more defensive position, while being mindful of the sap.
>For that matter, would we be able to force it off with a little dark energy if we can call any?