The petite arcanist stopped for a moment and listened to her surroundings. There was absolutely no sign of a hollow, and the place was as still as a graveyard. For a moment, she could not hear anything but the loud thumping of her heart and her own slow breathing. Heavens, she barely escaped that jackfruit rain right there!
Yet a rustle perked up her ears. No, it wasn't the sound of falling fruits against the emerald grass below. It seemed like a rustle of feet against leaves. Not just one of them— quite a lot, if her guess was correct. Perhaps it was a hunting tribe who were sent to pick fruits to take back home, or animals to sell to the outside world. They were in a rush, and it looked like they came nearer and nearer... to her. Her defenses on alert, she looked around in a fervent search for something... anything! And as if they sensed a sign of awareness from the arcanist, they halted all activities. Once again, there was nothing but the solemn sound of the forest.
Her feet wanted to run, but she couldn't decide where she wanted to go. She barely had the littlest inkling of where the people came from— it might have been from the left, or the right. Perhaps behind or ahead of her. Worse, they could be hiding on an underground trap or up on those branches. Either way, it wasn't safe. Even though her body wanted to move, her brain didn't allow them— instinct told her that perhaps, it was better to stay.
"Attack!" A female voice called and suddenly, thirteen women surrounded her— annoying, and quite disfigured copies of her. Some were on the trees, while some opted to stay on the ground. Fortunately, there seemed to be no traps in the area, and that much was an assurance. Although their commander said 'attack', they seemed to do nothing but to stand on their spot and laugh, as if they awaited whoever would attack first. It seemed though that one of them couldn't afford to wait.
"You there, shinigami," the Yuurei with a larger bust spoke, with a rather vexatious grin that revealed rows of woody, crooked teeth. "Were you looking for us?" She cracked her neck on either side, and cackled right at the real Yuurei. Without even a single signal, she dashed towards Yuurei, with a glowing mass of reiatsu on her hands that could only suggest the active use of Yuurei's Futatsu— Talon.
Damn it! That's...! She pursed her lips in annoyance and drew out her large double-edged dao that glimmered under the flecks of light from between the gaps on the leaves. She waited for the woman, her feet planted on the spot. At least, she knew what Talon could do, yet she didn't even have the vigor to underestimate it. After all, it was one of the kidou she used to vanquish her very first hollow.
As soon as the clone came nearer, she ran towards the woman in an attempt to meet her midway. No, not directly face to face. Rather, as soon as she stood roughly ten feet from the wretched clone, she shifted a little to the left and slashed horizontally when the assailant came approximately three feet away from her. The disfigured copy almost blocked the attack, but Yuurei did not falter as reiatsu came in contact with the sword. The ebony-haired arcanist was able to cut off the clone's right arm cleanly, and the clone didn't seem to like it.
The pretender attempted to avenge her other arm by swinging her other arm, but it was too late. Yuurei ran straight where she originally headed, and she determined her next target: the bald Yuurei behind a bush, who merely eyed her with a special kind of amusement. Yuurei tightened her grip on her asauchi and she was about to slash the pretender's throat— but it seemed like she lost the opportunity. It fled away from a bush with... two horribly enlarged sparrow wings? Yes, yes, that seemed quite right. Instead of having the upper hand, Yuurei was bombarded by two attackers— one from the branch above, and another from seemingly out of the blue. The first one landed straight on her back and she fell face-flat on the forest floor. Darn, it seemed like a large boulder fell right on top of her, while the smaller one with a tousled beard and moustache combo got a grip of her waist-length tresses.
"Raaaah! We take the head out, then share the resources among ourselves!" The bulky woman on top of her shouted, and everyone cheered.
"And the hair is mine!" The hairy pretender spoke gleefully as her malice-filled eyes pierced through Yuurei's being.
The petite shinigami's hands frantically fumbled on the ground as it reached for her blade's black and gold hilt. Her slender fingers curled on the hilt and gripped it tightly, yet her body was pinned on the ground. She wriggled back and forth in a futile attempt to break free herself from the gargantuan woman's weight, but only the horror of a woman's sonorous laughter filled her ears.
"Do you think it'll work, little girl?" The woman mocked as she leaned on Yuurei's ears, pressing her weight more on the arcanist's torso. "Do you think if I did this..." A large hand slammed on Yuurei's right shoulder which caused her to lose her grip on the sword's hilt and continued, "You can still fight well?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeaaahhhh!" The hairy girl sneered, "If we proceed to slash you to pieces, do you think running away is a feasible option?" The creature allowed Yuurei's smooth tresses to slip right on her filthy fingers, but her hand suddenly clenched into a fist as the last strands fell. "Say, if we had your hair, we could potentially rip off your scalp while you run. On second thought, that might be a fun sight." A haughty giggle escaped the woman's lips as she burst into a fit of laughter and rolled on the ground holding her belly. "Maybe, maybe, I'd want that. Don't you?!"
The others chimed in with their expression of utter agreement.
What should I do? What should I do? Yuurei bit her lip as her auburn eyes darted from one impostor to another, her eyes frantically searching for a sort of escape method from their might. There were thirteen of them, and there was only one of her. If each of them had a combat ability in addition to their melee skills, then she might as well be dead. I'm totally outnumbered. Without a proper footing, I can't do even a tad bit of shunpo but...
Soon, the panda spoke once more, and it seemed like her voice drowned the others' voices, their jeers towards the arcanist.
The problem doesn't lie on the number. It lies on the combatants.
So, even at the face of death you prioritize on weakening whatever I have left? I'm surprised I've gotten as rascallike you as my zanpakutou spirit. If only the panda was right in front of Yuurei, the arcanist could have sworn she'd tear up the animal's fur. The heavy woman on her back seemed to enjoy using her head as a beatbox of sorts, and it added to the pain on her body.
Pardon? I wasn't weakening your resolve, if that's what you meant. You're alone, and there's many of them. You are capable, and they are perhaps capable of what you can do, but it will be quite impossible for each of them to have all your abilities. Now, think of this. Since they outnumber you, do you think they will fight well? Look at them? They're merely playing with you! True enough, the bearded woman looked like she enjoyed pinching the arcanist's cheeks as the spirit gave her speech. But because you are alone, you feel the need to stake your all to fight with your very best; not because you're strong enough to vanquish them, but because you're fighting for your life. On the doorstep of Death, that's where you are now. And that's why you should stand up and fight back!
For the first time in her life, Yuurei actually felt what her spirit is for— but although the panda gave a thought at mid-battle, it was easier said than done. In the first place, how could she escape from the heavy woman when the latter's weight seemed to be at least thrice than hers? Yeah, right. She could have used a kidou or two to keep these mongrels away, but she had something else in place of that ability she once treasured— the ability to transport herself anywhere within a short range. Well, she just had to give it a try. She heaved a single sigh and, although she knew how her invocation would end, what was important that she did try.
"Hitotsu!"
The petite arcanist flitted from her place as soon as she clutched her sword back to her hands, and she was transported, well, approximately ten meters overhead— same spot, different altitude. She yelped in surprise as she started to fall without warning. Fortunately, the two bastards were yet to comprehend her disappearance, so it came as an advantage to her. She fell right on the bearded woman just as the bulky woman tackled her to the ground earlier; and although her head still hurt, she had to manage at least one swift attack.
And that she did.
As soon as she established her footing on the woman's flabby stomach, she gathered up all the strength on her right foot and kicked the bulky woman on the face who looked up just in time to have her kick land squarely on her face. The woman was thrown aback, but it didn't seem quite enough. The bearded woman managed to drop Yuurei back to the ground with a single, powerful heave. Surprisingly, Yuurei didn't try to keep her balance. Rather, she allowed herself to fall with the dao's tip facing down. So instead of falling down right on the ground, she managed to stab the bulky woman on her stomach area; and since Yuurei's weight was now on her blade, the wintry metal tore through the other woman's skin and flesh as Yuurei fell to the ground.
Heavy breaths escaped her mouth as her eyes settled on her next target. One down, two injured. Ten more to go.
