Without hesitating (and to show his use to the Samurai), Lee fires his Spirit Fire Barb while using Assassin's Misdirecting Attack.
Everyone sees a fiery bolt fly out of the cherry trees from behind the Kitsune – to just miss her form – as the woman seemed to vanish away just before impact, to reform lying in repose with her head propped up on her hand, back on the branch of another cherry tree not too far away. Kioko meanwhile, still hung from the same branch she had before, still connected to the Kitsune by a long extension of her now wildly flicking head of hair.
Had this been an illusionary image? Uncanny Dodge? Or could the Kitsune teleport away at will?
The cherry tree that got hit with the bolt in the interim, burst into flames – lighting the grove with a bright flickering light.
“So assassins; I will make you pay for your trickery!” the Kitsune growls, “But first you will entertain me with your futile struggles ha ha ha!”
Yuki meanwhile, physically boosts herself and aligns fate and chance to summon Yunikawa – knowing that he’ll eventually come out here to the grove to find her – but not knowing if it will be soon enough to make a difference in their current situation.
As this goes on, Yuki’s mother lunges suddenly at Yuki and starts swinging the knife at her with surprising agility and quickness – though her face remains expressionless and detached as she does.
Unwilling to attack her own mother, Yuki just activates Uncanny Dodge and avoids all the blows – in spite of her body not quite moving right in its strange nightmare-like rigid state.
"Mom, snap out of it! It's me, Yuki! Don't listen to that Kitsune, she's deceiving you!" She yells.
Then a long chain flies out of nowhere and wraps around Lady Shirahata’s feet to yank tight and upend her.
Outside of Yuki’s Illusionary world meanwhile, Rai holds the other end of that chain.
For her part, Yuki’s Mother seems oblivious to the chain and struggles to crawl toward Yuki, still menacing with the knife.
Not far from Rai, Roka activates both Heavy Hitter and Ki Spikes and then directs Miya and the others – “Grab Yuki and pull her away from her mother. Someone get Kioko out of that tree.”
Miya seems to be drowned in memories as she begins to aim at the spirit. but upon hearing Roka's command, she shakes it off and moves quickly over to Yuki; positioning herself between the two family members with the intent to allow no harm to either of them.
"Yuki, listen to me. We must get you to safety,” she says; “we cannot help your mother at this moment."
Miya then pushes Yuki backwards lightly – to which Yuki sees an ugly Oni abruptly rise out of the ground in front of her, which begins shoving her backward toward a now open fire pit of brimstone directly behind her…
Udo then uses an improvised entangle to grow up the cherry tree’s roots out of the ground under Kioko to wrap around her and gently pull her down from the tree branch – the Kitsune’s hair meanwhile, does not let go and a sort of tug-of-war ensues between the two.
“Let’s make this more interesting,” the Kitsune then sneers from her elevated perch; and with a wave of her hand changes the world around all of the Samurai.
---
Lee suddenly finds himself thrust back in time and now standing in the midst of eight Chinese Raiders, right in the process of dragging his mother away from his family forever!
“Help me my son!” she cries as two of the vile men are manhandling her away.
---
Yuki’s world remains the same (an Oni shoving her towards a fiery pit and her mother trying to kill her), except that now, Kioko suddenly comes into view – hanging over a huge snake that abruptly slithers out from a hole and unhinges its jaws to begin swallowing the terrified girl from the feet up…
---
Rai is abruptly transported to the Court of the Daimyo in Sendai – facing the Daimyo and seven of his most elite Honor Guard.
“You have been found traitor to Sendai and the Emperor of Nippon!” The Daimyo accuses – “And now you die!”
With that, the heavily armed Samurai flood in to attack with their drawn swords, while the Daimyo transforms into a horrifying visage of dangling entrails from a floating severed head!
---
Roka meanwhile, now finds himself in the inner sanctum of the Naga Temple in the Spirit World, looking up at the naked body of the Wu-Jen Sakura – though Keitaro (thankfully) is nowhere to be seen.
Opening her eyes, Sakura pleads with Roka – “Only you can save me Roka…”
Compelled to move forward to reach for Sakura, Roka is stopped by Lilitu the Succubus.
“No Roka,” she says, “you are mine.”
Then Jenna and the other three Vampire Samurai-ko of Yunikawa appear and pull at Roka from another direction, “no, we want him!” they say.
“He is mine!” another voice joins in – and looking, Roka can see Yone also there in the chamber with the rest.
“Take me!” They all say in unison, falling over Roka seductively…
---
For Miya, she is suddenly transported to the bedchamber of the Daimyo – where she suddenly finds herself standing over the sleeping man in his bed. He is not aware of her presence and there are no guards in the room – just Miya and the sleeping fiend that ordered her family’s death and left her with the lifelong scars…
---
Lastly, Udo watches as the roots of his entangle begin to pull Kioko too hard – as she screams in pain and looks like she’s about to be torn in half!
Then they spring up under Udo and begin to wrap around his body and neck – threatening to not only immobilize him, but to choke the very life out of him as well!
That is also when he looks around and finds that the Kitsune and all of the other Samurai are gone – It’s just him and Kioko – and she’s about to die unless he does something fast!
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Topic: Mythic Nippon Adventure IV (Read 178955 times)