Corporate Espionage (Mod)

[Shirako Tachibana]

The smell of mildew, dust, and ash reached the woman's nose. It was evident, lower in the building, but, the further up, the smells of ruin were stronger. Whether it was brought about by recent conflict or through natural occurrence was the question, though it was one that she had no intentions of answering. Slow, measured, and silent steps brought her form further ahead. While the woman was no coward, she knew that engaging enemies needlessly would have only served as a waste of strength. She, honestly, did not care about the riff-raff in the ruins. They were not an immediate threat to the citizens of the city. No, her adventure was a search to find her marks. If other Shadows got in the way, then so be it.

Shirako was not one to dress to impress anymore. She dressed however best matched her needs. Her needs, at the present, included blending in with the darkness. Other than that, she needed comfortable clothes that did not get in the way. Her top was long-sleeved, black, and hugged her form pretty closely. It was loose enough to be comfortable, but tight enough that there was not enough slack for it to be caught on things by accident. Her pants matched the style and color as her shirt, were black jeans. While there was better stuff to wear and use, a mix of casual clothes made it much easier to blend in with society after an outing. As for the familiar weight at her waist, the sheathed blade that had protected her so much up to the present, it could easily be concealed and explained as tripod gear when she got back to the city.

A quiet breath escaped her lips. Plenty of things moved about around her. So long as she was careful, though, none would get in her way. She needed to find the next flight of stairs. Hopefully getting there wouldn't be an issue.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

A pack of Shadows appeared!

Riff Shadow

• Ziodyne
• Brave Blade

Absorb: Repel: Null: Rs: Wk: Pierce
Raff Shadow

• Garudyne
• Gigantic Fist

Absorb: Repel: Pierce Null: Rs: Wk: Slash

[Shirako Tachibana]

As she proceeded further through the darkness, a Shadow ripped through the wall in a manner not unlike a certain beverage's mascot. The commotion was enough for another Shadow to turn and notice the woman, as well. Well, that was certainly unpleasant. Swaying out of the wall-breaking Gigas's way, she reached for her blade. The blade hissed as it was drawn. As she took up a stance, she sent a pulse, which brought Yaksa into being. She fought slowly and meticulously. Given her health, just charging in was a bad thing. Yaksa did that for her. The entity charged forth towards the Gigas, twirling and slashing the enemy with both its blades. It was not the full moon, but Getsu-ei was still fairly powerful.

The blow seemed to be especially effective on the Gigas. How fortunate. Gigases were a natural threat for the woman, if only because of their strength and tendency to really on punching. Still, something like that did not matter, so long as she remained cautious. The giant did rush in, but Shirako was ready. With her hands and, by extension, the sword's grip, against her shoulder, elbows straight out, she maintained her stance. A hook from the right shot in. It was powerful and fast, yes. However, it was also wild and clumsy. Raw power with no skill was not a threat for someone that had practiced combat for well over a decade. Swaying out of the way without breaking her stance, she waited for that arm to be fully outstretched. Then, with a single, powerful swing, she brought the blade down, effectively slicing through the appendage in one go.

Among her styles, that was the single most potent move. Minimizing the exertion by maximizing the destructive power of a slash. Against a human, it was “one strike, one kill”. For Shadows, the standard was different, but crippling an enemy like that was always effective. The Shadow, of course, was not dead, but it stumbled back through the wall, clutching its bleeding stump. That allowed the woman to focus on her other opponent. It was an arm growing out of a mound and holding a blade. Well, that was nice. It slashed at her, but she did not even bother to try avoiding. The enemy's blade cut through air, but effectively bounced off of Shirako, as if it were a toy. While she prepared her arms, Yaksa shot in and twirled, slashing at the arm with a Getsu-ei. Once the dance of blades concluded, Shirako was prepared to put her strength into another downward sweep. With both arms raised completely, she dropped the blade like a hammer, slicing into and through the arm's wrist. The hand and its blade dropped to the ground.

Whether it could be truly considered blood or not, black ooze poured from the arm's now-gaping hole. That was two Shadows she had disabled in some way. Now it was time to finish the job. Yaksa twirled in and began to dice the then-helpless arm, putting it down after a flurry of slashes and jabs. By that time, the Gigas from before broke through the wall (again, mind you). Enraged, it charged at the woman, using its good arm to punch at her. She and Yaksa shifted to either side. Then, the two slashed across the Shadow's chest. Then it finally collapsed and “bled out”.

With all that noise, Shirako had to assume the worst. Readying herself, she waited and listened. Perhaps she'd get lucky, and have nothing else bother her.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

Success!

You defeated the enemy!
You also found: Nyafin.

[Shirako Tachibana]

The woman's breathing stabilized her pulse. That little bit of activity had given her a small rush. As the dust and mess settled, though, it appeared that there was nothing to worry about in the immediate future. Giving her blade one solid swing to knock any solid filth off of it, Shirako put the weapon away and dismissed Yaksa. It was time to go back into stealth. Fighting was all well and good, but it was not her preferred method of getting around. Hell, too much would put even her down simply due to the exertion. Regardless of her thoughts, she proceeded onward. No need to stand still and go over what she already knew. She needed to make herself scarce from there.

Even if there were no reinforcements, the signs of battle were still there. Shadows would likely be somewhat alert if they stumbled across the ruined room.