Cyber Dance

(This topic takes place shortly after "Running on Time," which also is in Twilight Town.)

It was a nice day.

A lot of days had been nice. The nigh perpetual twilight that so often held sway over this town was still around, people went to the beach by the trains that ran, one of which was just entering the station.

Meanwhile, a young woman, fair of skin and red of hair, a blue visor over her head, exited the "Underground Conduit" that appeared similar to a sewer. She appeared lost in thought... but that wasn't quite accurate. Rather, she was intensely focused on what was around her, on any technology she could subvert if need be. She needed to find out how she could get the quickest route to Radiant Garden. Perhaps it would allow her to find some more information on where her target, the Chilly Academic, would be.

As she walked, she passed the tracks of the tram that was working its way around the tram common without pause (for whatever reason), with it coming close to her. However, she was well aware, though not looking in its direction. Her hand still down, she twitched her wrist slightly, the vehicle slowing down significantly as it approached her... then reversing direction altogether, running clockwise rather than counter-clockwise around the shop at the center of the Tram Common.

Satisfied, Kira walked over to a nearby bench across from the Moogle's shop, and sat down, thinking on her options, her white eyes calmly scanning the area back and forth for anything around of interest.

"Well...this is it..."

The full moon posed above the serene valley. crimson blood flowers enveloped the fields and streams of glowing yet crystalline waters extended across the terrain, its patterns almost resembling the roots of a tree or the very veins of one's being. Small particles of lights separating from the rivers, carried through the winds, making them resemble fireflies over a summer's night.

"Oh, w-we're really in it now. I can't believe we're doing this, dood!!"

At the very center of said valley stood proudly a tall old-fashioned castle. A mixture of dark blue and obsidian colors amongst the sea of red that decorated its surroundings. Tall pointy towers extended upwards; The architecture ever so slightly crooked, yet still firm and sturdy-looking. The big front gate had a big entrance sculped; Shape almost like a dragon's maw.

"I know that, but--"

"I-if the Queen finds out this, we are DOOMED, dood! Our heads are gonna be mounted on the walls and the rest will just be fed to some crazy wolf demons in the streets, doood!!"

"I know that, sheesh!! But, you know how he is. Nothing can really change him once his mind is made up. All we can do is support him and try our best...for his sake..."

Two figures stood at the very end of the garden. A strange ship-like vessel, its wings shaped as one of a demon's, remained still, cloaked in the veil of darkness that the nearby trees at the very outskirts of the area provided. The taller figure sighed, moments before a third made manifest by speaking to them.

"Don't worry about it. This is gonna be a snap!"


"Young Master...are you truly sure about this?"


"Yes...there's nothing for me in this place...There's no point of me stay here...I'll find my own path and show them all!"

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Franni sighed as she recalled the memories of that day, before continuing to dust off the heavily dust-filled library at the abandoned mansion. A strange-looking girl of pointy ears and amber eyes. Her hair of a green hue, made into a pair of pigtails while her body, of a pale yet noticeable blue tone, showed the sights of sewed and patched parts around her arms and legs. All under and black and white maid outfit alongside thigh-high white kneesocks.

"Heh. See? I said we'd find us a roof for a while. Quiet, secluded, plenty of space. I'd say this is a perfect temporary hideout!" Said a male voice near her, followed by a grin.

A young man of light blue messy hair was currently sitting and leaning over a wooden chair, letting gravity be his support as it was pushed back and his legs rested atop the table in front of him. Pointy ears similar to hers but with a natural healthy tone in his skin. A red bandana adorned his forehead, with two messy traps flowing softly with the short breeze that managed to sneak into the room. A slightly torn vest, a form-fitted black shirt and a pair of crimson red small demon wings upon his back. Certainly, just like his partner, this man was not from this world...

He was in fact a Demon from the Netherworld...

"Master Haru, please take this seriously!" Franni demanded after a sigh. Turning back at him before placing her hands upon her hips. "Sure, it's a decent enough place...for now. But there's still a matter of supplies."

"Didn't you say you were taking care of that?"

"Well yes. I already send a personal request to RoseQueen Co. to set out an Amazombie network for anything we need. But that still is gonna take a couple of days, and we have nothing to eat nor anything for me to make something!" She exclaimed.

Haru simply smirked and gave a soft "heh", before leaning back into the chair. Applying more weight upon it back legs. "And that's why I send Pringster to get us something to eat! As I said, I got thi-eeeeeee!!"

The wooden legs of the chair suddenly snapped, causing the young demon to fall backwards and into the ground with a loud thud. The reanimated maid simply shook her head and sighed before speaking, "And that's exactly what I'm afraid of..."

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For Twilight Town, everything appeared to be normal in this day; As normal as a day in Twilight Town usually was. And while people from other worlds that were not human was not something that its citizens minded, even they couldn't help but to look with curious eyes as even the moogles and the young ducks were watching this strange figure make his way across the Neighborhood.

Kira'd also be able to see this thing. A strange Penguin-looking creature; Its body of a purple color with a white belly that seemed almost patched in. Big eyes and a yellow beak alongside a blue bandana covering his scalp. Most unusual were the pair of pegleg wooden legs that he used to walk and the small demon wings upon the back, which were poked out from under the big backpack that he was carrying, almost the size of his own body.

"Awww, I think I'm lost, dood. But there's gotta be somewhere to steal some food here, right? Maybe some random ingredient drops? Aw, why did the young master have to put me on food duty, dood?"

... Huh.

Kira tilted her head in confusion as she watched the penguin walk by. A walking, talking, seemingly at least partially demonic penguin, so unlike the other inhabitants here. At least the anthropomorphic animals around this place were generally humanoid enough, but this one seemed to be either a penguin, or in a very realistic costume.

Her eyes zoomed in on the creature, taking in its characteristics in an instant. Someone this out of place was sure to be--

Those same eyes widened as she saw that this was not just a penguin, but a walking explosive. A hard enough impact could cause it to explode and hurt those around it. And from the sounds of things, it was also quite lost.

The natural Replica sighed and put her head in one hand while still sitting, waving off to the side. Suddenly, the neon signs around the Neighborhood pointed in one direction, arrows all pointing directly at the restaurant nearby, Le Grand Bistrot.

In another motion immediately afterwards, she brought up a small holographic screen in front of her, watching this creature as it would go about its business. She wasn't just interested in who or what it was, but also in who had sent it on what was basically a (perhaps quite literal) milk run.

It took a moment for the strange creature to notice the sudden shift in the nearby neon sign's behavior. More than expected actually, which didn't say much about his perception skills. Still, he eventually caught on and didn't really question it.

"Oh!! Just my luck!! The young master will definitely dig this fancy food, dood." He exclaimed while lifting his flippers enthusiastically. Without a moment to waste, the creature bolted into the Bistro, the clacking of his wooden legs beating against the waxed ceramic floors.

It appeared the whole situation had now ceased and Kira'd find herself back to normalcy. However, it appeared her good deed wouldn't go unpunished. Not to her, but for the people around; As a powerful shaking and rumbling could be heard from the inside of the establishment. The sounds of plates, pots, pans, and screams from the indoor clients suddenly caught her attention.

The mysterious penguin-like being rushed out. A bunch of plates and trays piled up on a tower he was basically balancing while also running for his life. It was an amazing feat alone that only a couple of meals ended up on the floor given the size of the tower of plates that the strange monster somehow managed to keep with no thumbs to speak of. Still, it was now pretty clear that this had been an act of thievery, given the Bistro's owner, a blue coat-dressed top hat-wearing old duck, had come out of the building furiously swinging his cane.

"Come back here, ye bumbling beaked bandit!!" Shouted Scrooge McDuck as the strange demon quickly made his way into the sewer passages of Twilight Town.

Kira just sat back, watching the show from the cameras around the area, one of which was pointed toward the restaurant, the signs no longer pointing in the direction of the establishment. It seemed that the penguin-shaped explosive was... not the brightest bulb. If there was trouble, she would either go help or escape as soon as she could. They couldn’t too easily track her if she was careful.

Oh, out he was coming, with quite a lot of food that was liable to fall. Great. A disaster waiting to happen. Did he--?

... and then out came the businessduck, squawking in his trademark Scroogey alliteration, so no, the bird had not paid. Kira didn't even bother to palm her face in exasperation this time, instead standing up as her screen disappeared. She considered turning invisible once more, but decided against it. On the one hand, while this creature was something of an imbecile, she couldn’t be sure of the "young master". On the other hand, she knew better than to waste resources she wasn’t fully accustomed to handling.

As such, she simply walked after him, not looking back. She was casual about it, the visor of her headpiece rotating to no longer be over her eyes, and to all who would care, she looked more or less as human as anyone else. Making several turns, she followed down into the sewer, sure not to let her footsteps be heard by the "bird" as she followed. She was all for jokes, including pranks like getting things this way, but she still had to have a talk with whoever sent this thing. The trick, both for stealth and for her own amusement, was making sure it wouldn’t notice her until she arrived to talk personally.

... Alright, she had to be honest with herself: it was mostly for her own amusement. Who said she shouldn’t have fun while she worked?

The strange creature made his way through the tunnels and eventually the forest located within Twilight Town, making his destination quite the expected one: The Old Mansion. Soft pants and huffs as he made it through showed how exhausted the poor thing wasn't, yet still was set on his task.

As he arrived past the gates, the two other individuals starred from one of the windows. Haru simply gave an enthusiastic grin at his devoted maid as he proudly proclaimed, "See? Told ya nothing would happen."

Franni simply sighed. Crossing her arms and just giving him a one eye look as she commented. "You can be so trusting, Master Haru. Still, it seems it's already food that's been prepared; Hm, is good to see Pringster trying his best to fulfill his duties rather than just slacking o--wait..."

Her eyes widened when she finally noticed the figure that was nearby, moving behind him. "Is that a human!?"

Haru moved closer against the window. Indeed, a figure was tracking the Prinny to their very location, hiding amongst the trees but not enough for it to be a fully stealthy approach. "Hey you're right...Hmm..."

"Damnit! I should have gone there myself rather than send Pringster to do the job. I mean stealing is fine; We are demons, after all. But he could have at least be subtle about it! Now the whole town may know we're here!!"

However, the blue-haired young demon appeared to be way happier about this outcome than his currently panicking retainer. Proudly crossing his arm followed by another of his trademark grins, he prompted the undead gal to half her frantic pacing. "No no, this is great!"

"What. but young Master..."

"Sure our peaceful hideout is now public knowledge. But hey, I can totally give it a good spin to this. Maybe...this is exactly what I needed to leave a mark out there!"

Franni just stared back with a look of absolute deadpan. "You're serious..."

Haru brought a fist forward as a devilish smirk formed on his face. "Alright then. If humans wanna come here to meet me, then I'm gonna show them what I'm made of!"

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Pringster simply left the tower of plates and trays on the side as he let out an exhausted sigh. "Well, guess that's enough, dood. I'm sure Franni doesn't need me on the kitchen or anything so might as well wait for the young master to show up, dood."

By the time Kira would have moved in close she would then hear a hearty laugh ringing from somewhere within the area.

"Gahahah! Well then, human. You managed to find my secluded resting spot by tracking one of my dear minions, huh? Are you expecting a show this badly to have come on your own? Well then!! You're in luck!"

A shadow leaped from the rooftops, landing atop of one of the broken pillars of the mansion's entrance. The twilight's light falling upon his, shrouding his appearance ever so slightly.

"As a challenge draws near, I make my grandiose appearance! From within my shadows, my passionate fire soul burns mighty!!"

Moving so his figure would be fully visible, he struck upon a dramatic pose. a series of sparkles and sparks of energy somehow manifesting around him as he shifted into a gallant stand while proudly proclaiming:

"Here I am, the great Cerulean Striker!! Demon Lord Haru Shadoweaver!!"

A silence soon followed...

"Oh, hay Master Haru. Dinner's served, dood!" Pringster called out, "But what the hell are you talking t--"

That's when he finally turned back to see the natural Replica standing behind him, making the minion almost fall back in shock. "W-where did this person came from, dood!?!"

"..."

A soft gust of wind made its way across the courtyard outside of the building, blowing some leaves away. Other than that, the apparent demon lord was met with silence.

Kira just stood there, a hand on her hip, as she watched the rather hammy display. She had been expecting to find a leader, though admittedly she was a bit surprised that she had not seen him on the way toward town, or away to the Mansion. Judging from the words he used, he believed a) she was human and b) she was coming with others behind her. She saw no reason to dissuade him from the first, but "Lord Haru Shadoweaver" was being so bombastic that it was hard to see how anyone wouldn't come running.

She was amused by the creature's reaction to her presence, but her priorities overrode that. Still, she also understood that she would probably want to work better at her stealth, if she could be spotted from afar. Another thing to work on, given this body.

As such, she spoke up after about one minute and seventeen seconds of silence, having done her best to figure out how to go about this.

"Nice 'ideout," she said, her words practically dripping sarcasm regarding the massive mansion. "Any reason why you sent a 'igh-explosive penguin to get your food? Could 'ave just stolen some money and paid normally."

Haru was taken aback by the silence that followed his bombastic entrance. The long silence and deadpan response were nowhere near what he hoped. "Sheesh. Seriously? I was sure I had nailed my entrance there" He spoke, crossing his arms as a sigh soon followed. It was almost as if he was telling this to himself rather than the woman in front of him. "Not even a singly awe? I really gotta workshop my dramatic intros...."

"Um, Master Haru, dood? I getting some bad vibes here. We may be in big trouble, dood!" Pringster exclaimed, an expression of worry forming in his avian face which clashed to his instinctive motion of spinning around in place in dance, probably to calm himself down.

The blue-haired demon leaped off the stone pillars and landed gracefully upon the grass. While the looks of the artificial woman in front of him seemed strange, he was not one to judge someone's looks given his world of origin. As such, he gave no exclamations regarding Kir and simply answered her questions in a rather nonchalantly tone: "Okay, first of all. Thank you, finally someone agrees that this is a cool hideout. Pretty roomy too! Secondly, that's just how Prinnies are; Ain't as he can just turn off his explodiness or something. And thirdly, I just send him out to get some food. How he got it fell on him..."

Perhaps it was the fact that he had already gotten away with it, or that his master was here to act as protection, but the purple-skinned Prinny's worried face seemed to be gone and replaced with an overconfident (and honestly foolish) attitude. "Sorry to break it to you lady, but we're demons! It's what we do, dood!!"

Of course, this bravado was simply to hide the fact he had actually lost the HL that was handed to him and had to resort to a terrible attempt at thievery to get the food...

However, Haru's attention was hardly on the food at the current moment, but on the newcomer Kira and the fabricated implications he was about to assume. "So, Given by the way you chased Pringster here and given that you're alone, I suppose you're one of those Hero-types, right? Was it some kind of mission the townsfolk send you to do? You know, the whole "Head to the Demon's Lair and slay him!" kind of schtick?"

He gave a hearty guffaw while crossing his arms behind his bright light blue hair. "Can't believe I have only been here for a day and already I'm making a reputation! This is great!" A thought brought him back into self-reflection, glancing behind him as he then muttered out loud. "But wait, I don't want to be known as some low-level food-stealer. What should be my angle? Should I go for the big bad Level Boss approach? Or the Mysterious-yet-Noble rouge Demon? Hmmm.."


Right as Franni was making her way out of the gates she could only glance in confusion as Haru scooted closer to Kira to ask, "You wouldn't know what'd be more popular, right lady? I kinda just arrive here so I don't know if someone else already took control of this place or something..."

Normally, Kira would have taken the time to either call people out on their stupidity or to have fun with the situation. However, there was reason not to do either.

First of all, she saw him as while bombastic, rather harmless. Maybe a bit annoying, but nothing too bad. Sure, he had what amounted to a demonic high-explosive penguin, or "Prinny" as he called it, but while he was liable to cause mischief, he appeared to be doing so out of a desire for showmanship, not actual malice. Not that she was going to let him hurt people, but he was a low enough threat that it didn't seem right to do anything to hurt him.

Second of all, she wasn't in the mood.

As such, she just listened to his complaints, and to the bravado of the Prinny, Pringster, and waited for a few more moments, mostly to see how he might react. Once that was done, she spoke up at last.

"I think you've got the wrong idea about me," she acknowledged. "Sure, they're probably sendin' people this way, but I'm not one of them. Any case, far as the whole 'demon' thin' goes? Second one's more likely to work long term."

That said, she looked back toward the mansion, her white eyes scanning the environment. She could see the woman coming out. Didn't appear to have any real signs of life beyond movement... Eh, not her problem. Back to looking at the mansion itself, where... no, didn't seem that there was any other threat around. At least not for now.

All of that in an instant. She looked right back to this "Haru." "You're lucky you 'aven't run into the people who come through here. Computer, library, any number of places. A good show's all well and good, but unless you're strong enough, powerful enough, or smart enough, this is a stupid place to be."

Clearly, she did not think much of him or his avian aide, but not enough to chew him out.

"Yeah, I've considered that, but I didn't left my home just to survive, but for the thrill of life. So I don't wanna just jump right away on the whole "Mysterious Charming Rouge" role without weighting my options, you know...." Haru explained casually. Despite the attitude that a demon should have been during this situation, and despite just now meeting her. He appeared to be perfectly fine talking with Kira in a casual manner.

Still, he did take a slight offense at her last remark. "Stupid? As if! I happen to fit all those descriptions you just mentioned, lady. So by that account, this is a GREAT hideout! It even comes pre-packaged with the whole eerie mystery angle with the hidden chambers and the strange laboratory underneath."

"Master Haru, I think you're missing the point of the situation. It is clear that people may want us out of this place and it may only become a bigger hassle with time." The recently-arriving undead maid spoke, following a sigh. Whenever the young demon set on something, it was always so difficult to drive him away from it.

But it was amidst this conversation that dark energy soon started to form around their general area. Or at least Haru could sense it. Spikes of energy emerging from the nearby shade. Shadowy figures taking form, gaining limbs and heads and shiny yellow eyes. Heartless had emerged from within the woods once more.

Haru's carefree expression shifted into a much serious frown. His gaze shifted from Kira towards the newborn dark creatures. A series of Soldiers and LArge Bodies were making their way towards them. The blue-haired young man simply sighed and crossed his arms, "Alas, if there's one thing I agree, is that for such a neat hideout, it clearly sufers from a pest problem..."

He brought out his arm and opened his hand, while his expression remained firm and determined. Kira would then witness how a black shape suddenly emerged from the man's shadow, starting as a mere orb of dark before transforming into a more complex shape. Once formed, it gained texture and color, revealing itself to be some kind of strange combination of an Axe weapon and a Guitar.

"These things keep popping out whenever I'm having good time, but it doesn't matter. If they want so badly to get beaten into a pulp by me, who am I to not give them an encore? So let's bring it!!"

He spin his instrument on his hand before holding it tightly in front of him. His arms rose up, holding it for a bit as the Heartless approached. Haru then brought his arm down, his hand brushing upon the chors of his guitar and let out a powerful rocking set of notes. Swirls of darkness appeared to emerge from his shadow, wrapping around his arms after doing that like if they were threads of paper. His arms now pitch black, he proceeded to held his guitar like and axe and then swung towards the ehartless, pushing the LArge bodies back and slicing one of the Soldiers in half before it disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Another of the Soldiers leaped forward, ready to claw at the demon. But Haru simply backflipped away and then brought his axe down, cleaving the dark creature from head to bottom before it too vanished from sight. His retainers appeared to step back towards the mansion's door, well aware that their master was about to have some fun with the current invaders.

Haro leaped upon one of the nearby pillars and set his sight on one of the Large Bodies. Then, after bringing his guitar close, he strung it strings once more. This time, it caused the shadows that the pillar cast to send more swirling matter towards him, landing upon part of his back. from this shadowy energy, two big arms of darkness emerged which then, following another tune from his guitars, stretched forward to the big Heartled and grab it by the head. The Large Bodie was lifted up and then tossed into the other by the shadowy constructs.

Despite his somewhat goofy introduction, it was clear for Kira that there was more to the young demon that meets the eye...

Okay, so 'e isn't exactly useless, the contained artificial intelligence admitted to herself, scanning his attacks to the best of her ability while trying to keep herself from going deaf - or whatever the equivalent would be for her.

As soon as the various Heartless appeared, she was gone. Light folded in, concealing her through its manipulation, as she became completely invisible. Her stealth field activated, she drew her rifle, Flake. The weapon expanded to its mid-ranged length, and she aimed down its sights, enhancing her already-potent perceptions.

Luckily, none of these Heartless were overly perceptive by way of other senses, so she was in the clear as far as that was concerned. As such, she saw them all gravitating toward the demon, with his guitar-axe at work in more ways than one. And in doing that, they left their backs open.

Bad idea.

One shot of hard light ripped through the air, slamming into the unprotected back of one of the Large Bodies. Another, then another. Within a few shots, it was thoroughly weakened, and turned around to try to find the source. However, by that point, she had already changed her focus to another, a Soldier who had come a bit too close for comfort. This one received a blast right between the eyes, right under the lip of its helmet. Another shot, and it was down, dissipating as a pink heart floated up into the air.

By the time that one was gone, the Large Body she had attacked was very close. It swung out one of its arms wildly, trying to aim for whatever it was that attacked it... and just barely missed her as she ducked back, tumbling a bit.

Combining the effort with her attempt to keep from being overwhelmed by the sounds and power of this Haru person, her field, still relatively new to her, flickered, revealing her location for a split second. Enough for this creature to see where she was, or at least where she had been for a moment.

"F*** me."

Another swing came down as she scrambled to her feet, sitting back and collecting herself. It swung in a circle, as if trying to make sure she could not escape to the sides, despite no intention to do so.

"STOP!" A wall of light emerged right before her outstretched hand, thin but enough to momentarily block it, to confuse it. That, too, flickered out... but by that point her invisibility was already gone.

The Large Body held up its hands, looking at them in confusion... and another blast came forth from her gun, spearing straight through between its yellow eyes, and causing it to dissipate as much as the previous one.

Kira took a brief moment, also a bit surprised she could make even a rudimentary blockade without needing too much preparation, but then steeled herself, once again losing visibility.

If she wanted to survive, she had to make sure they kept their focus elsewhere.

Haru meanwhile, appeared to be having a ball. In doing so, catching much of the aggro as the spawning Heartless moved toward him. He happily skipped from side to side as a Soldier attempted to scratch at him only to be met with a powerful swing of his guitar-axe, slicing it right across the torso before dissipating into dark mist.

But as the time passed it appeared these pests, as Haru would call them, were refusing to leave. More creatures spawned from nothingness; Three more Large Bodies followed by a pair of Soldiers and some added Powerwilds. The latter screeched angrily before leaping around, with an extra set of them popping out from within the trees surrounding the area.

One Large Large Body charged at Haru, rising its arms before bringing them down at him. The young demon catching them with his spawned shadow back-arms, keeping them steady but also keeping himself in place. The two Soldiers appeared to take advantage of this situation and quickly started to move to his sides, ready to kick him while he was stuck in place. Still, Haru was able to see them coming and quickly struck upon his guitar once more. The powerful chord caused his shadowy arms to explode in a burst of dark wind that made the set of Heartless stumble back, allowing him to leap backwards and gain some distance.

"Guess it's time to get these hands dirty, sort to speak." The blue-haired man muttered to himself. Another chord played on his guitar made the instrument vanish from his hands, dissolving into a series of black strings that quickly wrapped around his arms. His already shadow-enveloped limbs suddenly grew in muscle, becoming larger and stronger, adding more claw-like ends to the tips of his own fingers as well. "Let's rumble big guy!"

He trusted his arm forward and, to the possible surprise of Kira, the limb stretched very far, going just past the Large Body head, who appeared to have dodged it. However, Haru kept grinning. The arm reached all the way to one of the entrance pillars and then proceeded to bring Haru to it like a grappling hook. Haru went past the heartless that were just about to jump at him and, rather than simply stopping once reaching the pillar, used the motion to let himself spin around it like a merry-go-round. He built a great amount of momentum and then opened his hand, launching himself off the pillar and back to the Large Body's back like a speeding pullet; Bringing his now large shadow fist forward and slamming it against its back. The sheer force caused the big heartless to be shot from its position, despite its size and slammed hard on a wall before vanishing.

Haru seemed proud of his move, only to realize he couldn't see the strange woman from earlier around. "Huh? Where did she go? Did she just ran away? Aww, I just show off for nothing then? Yooo, weird lady. You still around?"

Obviously, it seem the young demon was not getting the idea of a stealth attack through his head. Neither appeared the Heartless, although more in the sense that they were not gonna let Kira remain hidden for too long. The powerwilds, as more primitive-looking creatures, started to leap and jump all around the area. Their decent numbers allow them to wildly swing their arms and cover a lot of space. It appears they were trying to sense and find Kira, or at least bait her out of her hidden spot. A couple started to crawl on the ground, as if they were trying to track her footing. They were around 5 or 6 of them total and thanks to the small space of the mansion's entrance, it wouldn't take long for one of them to reach her, be it accidental or not.

Okay, so he was perhaps strong, but not particularly smart, as she thought. Kira could use this.

Holding back the urge to roll her eyes, she took glanced around the area: five of those simian Heartless, one of the overweight humanoids. Luckily, it seemed the latter was more focused on the obvious threat with the guitar-axe, meaning it was not facing her. Unlike the prior case, this one did not fully have its back to her, but she still believed it best to take care of the threat before it became an issue.

Ignoring the Powerwilds for the moment, she quickly crept along the grass, trying to line up her shot. Unfortunately, every time she seemed to get it, the target would move a bit, putting it out of range. It did not seem to see her, but the incidental defense still aggravated—

A screech was audible close by, from one of those searching for her. It seemed right above her on one of the pillars, and she was barely able to step to the side and avoid as it dropped to the ground. She lowered her rifle, aiming at its head at point-blank, and fired, the blast dissipating the creature instantly.

However, not all was well. As she fired, her stealth field dispersed, her reserve power reduced to next to nothing.

"Sh**," Kira swore under what could be perceived as breath, noticing it as it happened, three of the remaining four Powerwilds turning in her direction after the defeat of their companion.

How could she fix this? She was a scout, a sniper, meant for practiced shot, not close encounters. She had been wanting to draw them away by attacking the Large Body, not—

Oh, crud.

Instinct alone was what kept Kira from being instantly knocked into seriously dangerous territory from a health perspective, diving to the side as the hefty Heartless charged at her, belly-first. When it hit the pillar, it grazed her leg, causing some damage, but not enough to leave any critical injuries, then fell on its behind, dazed momentarily. Taking the opportunity, Kira grabbed it with her free hand, slamming down with her palm on its exposed back and delivering a powerful electric shock.

She held the strike, delivering it again, and again, panic taking over. She needed it dead, couldn’t let herself be caught, couldn’t be in close with these creatures, couldn’t…

A swipe across her back caused her to cry out in pain, letting go of her onslaught just before it could finish the job, but leaving the Large Body stunned. Turning, she slammed her rifle down on the Powerwild's head, dropping it on its face before pointing down and firing through what could be assumed as its skull.

On high alert, she turned to the side, her gun up as a collection of nuts were thrown in her direction by the remaining three. Squeezing the trigger, she let loose an electrified round that pierced straight through two of the projectiles, before the speed slowed down enough to get stuck in a third, that but slamming straight in between a Powerwild's eyes.

She stepped back, vaulting up on the shoulder of the still-paralyzed Large Body, and used the leverage to jump up and balance on the pillar near her, knowing she had no remaining magic and would need time to recharge.

She was not strong, but what she lacked there she made up for in speed and accuracy, especially when not distracted.

(That’s two Powerwilds left and a Large Body that has like 5 HP maximum.)

Haru's confusion regarding the sudden disappearance of his newest acquaintance was soon dispersed at the sound of her being slashed by the simian-like creatures. Pointy ears perky and frown tightening, the blue-haired demon made his way towards her.

The remaining Powerwilds, staring at the sight of their brethren being destroyed by her shots appeared to show no care or remorse, simply driven by instinct to continue causing harm. Was a leap they rushed towards her, ready to shorten the space between them where it was clear that they possessed an advantage over Kira.

Intercepting the Heartless, Haru brought his shadowy arms in front of him, acting as his shield from the incoming scratches.

"Are you okay, lady? I can keep them busy if you need to recharge or something." Haru stated in a rush. "I think I may be able to get them on a good spot for you to finish them off, but I gotta know how long it'd take you to prep up."

He smirked, "I'm am about sick of dealing with these bozos, so if we can work together to get rid of them it'd be all the better!"

His eyes momentarily shifted towards the still paralyzed Large Body, which appeared to be finally starting to gain some of its movement back. That was enough to tell the usually boastful devil that they didn't have much time. As such, he acted quickly and rushed towards the Powerwilds; Giving them no time to react before his umbral arms grab them by their round heads and, charging up some strength in his swing, chucked them both into the air very high. The Heartless flailed their arms madly, unable to really do much as they were shot into the sky and were now going down. however, this made them clear open targets for a good set of piercing shots from Kira if she were ready...

"Fink I got it," the woman muttered, keeping wary of incoming strikes. She was down her magic, but still was not without resources.

Perceptions were heightened due to what could be tentatively considered equivalent to adrenaline in the moment, especially after being struck. The Large Body was beginning to move, but that was easy to deal with, while the setup the fiend had made was a bit harder.

Easy was one thing, but a trick shot like that was a clear challenge, one to see if she could nail it.

Her expression still level, she took aim with the Flake rifle, and pulled the trigger once, twice, three times, four. Precise and collected, as she had to be.

Still flying upward and flailing madly, the two Powerwilds exploded into smoke, small pink hearts rising into the air before winking out of sight.

It was that moment that the Large Body seemed to finally get its movement back, jumping in annoyance from one foot to the other before lunging at her pillar, chest first. It slammed right into it, causing the stone structure to wobble slightly, but stay upright.

Her precision was not ended, looking around for a good place to move, or to fire. She looked for a good angle, for something to use… nothing.

For this last one, it seemed the demon was the best bet to finish it off, given its attention on her over him keeping it looking in her direction and exposing its back.

(Just the Large Body remaining.)

The last remaining Heartless seemed to be easy pickings at this point. Ever the showoff, Haru wasted no time in finally finishing off the fiend for good. Leaping with vigor, he stepped hard upon its helmet head before jumping behind, its back exposed for one final attack. Bringing his arm back to really focus his strength, he then brought his fist forward, his Shadow-coated monster arm stretched with ferocious sharp claws and pierced through the large creature until reaching the other side. Seconds after, the Heartless burst into a black mist like the others of its kind.

The dark magics that surrounded his arms were soon released. Like swirling ribbons, they spun and wiggled out of his body and back into his cast shade, disappearing like it was nothing.

As the battle ceased, The blue-haired demon simply grined and brought his arms behind his head, his expression bursting with excitement. "Haha! How about that! We cleared those chumps like it was nothing! Gotta say lady, for being a weird human you sure seem to be pretty good with that weapon! If the townsfolk had actually sent you to try and kill me, it'd have been one hell of a battle!"

His scarlet red eyes glanced back towards the old manor before a sigh soon left his lift. "But yeah, I think ya'all have a point. This new hideout is a total bust. No amount of cool ambiance is worth having to deal with those things over and over again."

Franni simply groaned while rubbing her undead skin's temples. "That's what I was trying to make you see, Master Haru. It'd simply be best if we find another place to stay..."

"Right right."

Suddenly something was tossed in Kira's direction. A small sack of cloth suddenly landed on the grass before her. A small peek inside would reveal a series of sparkling gold coins and small pieces of bright gemstones inside. The kind that would make the owner of certain dining establishment in the town quite satisfied...

"Say. Could you get that to that Bistro place as an apology? As I said, I do NOT want to be known as some crummy food-stealing bandit. I'm sure that's more than we were gonna pay for anyways so it should cover any damages. Don't worry. I'll make sure to pack up and leave this place too."

Despite his reckless use of his coffers, the zombie maid simply let the demon speak, satisfied with him at least taking consideration of his actions.

"Say, I don't think I really caught your name, lady." Haru then said, looking at Kira with a curious look.

Kira caught the sack with her off hand as the rifle shrank, small enough to be put back in its holster with her occupied hand. As she did, she sat down on the pillar, then slid down, landing gently on her feet. She took a brief look into the sack, analyzing the contents within.

Note to self: Haru does not seem to grasp market value beyond "money".

She looked over her wounds, mentally taking stock. She would need means of healing, even if out of combat. Some kind of repair matrix or defensive matrix, perhaps a personalized energy shield as well? Things to look into, if she was traveling mostly on her own.

The calculations were within an instant. Once they were done, she looked back once more. "Name's Kira. Yuh some royalty, den? Where from?"

She was going to hand over the funds, of course. Mostly out of not finding much use for them herself just yet until she knew how much she would need for repairs or the like. But before that, she wanted to get as much information as she could. It was her curiosity, more than anything.