Strange Turn of Events (intro)

Mai was led through the Spooky Forest by a hooded apirition, one of her personal summons the kappa. Apparently he traced and found the location of the most recent yokai that Mai wanted, one that she had yet to get her hands on - the kasha. However, the search led her to a castle that was far too grand and, for lack of better words, spooky for the young mage's liking. Because of this, the young adolescent was hesitant to put her hand on the door, and thought very hard before she did.

"Are you sure this is it?"

"Have I literally ever been wrong? That Kasha you found was here last, saw it m'self. That thing will make an exellent addition, but first we gotta take it down, obviously. I think your trusty Kappa can do thr j-"

"Nodeppō!"

Mai dropped the doll of a squirrel onto the ground, and sprouting from it was a yellow and grey flying squirrel, and it perched itself onto the violet-haired girl's shoulder. The kappa, obviously distraught, gave an expression that showed anger, disbelief, and sadness all at once.

"It can eat fire, a useful tool against a fire elemental yokai, no?"

The kappa made a grumbling noise as Mai opened the doors to the castle, and slowly entered, being sure to survey her surroundings to find the flame cat, drawing a small dagger, but patting the nodeppō on the head as a sign that it can go off on its own. Mai could call it back at any time. So, now the two could cover more ground, and reach - and kill - the kasha in a shorter time frame.

Stranger things just kept happening within her life, for example she had recently met a living corpse and the girl who reanimated the thing, Inari and Noami. Fluffy eventually convinced them to stay, but she did not much like them, she didn't like the supernatural despite being part of it and being drenched up to her eye balls in the stuff. Fluffy would be really happy if she could go an entire day pretending she was some simple cat living with some normal owner, or even pretending she was an actual human again. However, nothing like that would ever really be able to happen. Right now, it was simply a matter or sitting around waiting for something supernatural to happen, something that would once more ensure her day entirely sucked, especially since she wasn't laying on the lap of her god.

Fluffy was pretty much sitting in the front center of the first room they would enter upon going into the 'castle' also known as the slowly deteriorating Savage Skull Guild Hall. At current? She was just hanging out there while waiting for someone she wanted to hang around with to return to the guild. At this point she would take anyone as the Kasha was becoming bored and required something to do in order to entertain herself. "When is someone gonna get back, urgh." she didn't think of the girl who walked in as much of a threat, considering she was a hell fire wielding cat. Fluffy's flames? Couldn't be eaten like normal fire could as they were dark corrupted fire, heck she was careful not to touch thing's like the ground with them cause it seemed to corrode it. Still could be eaten by those that could eat dark flames, but normal flame eaters would just get hurt by them.

Upon seeing the fire cat, the Nodeppō made a screeching sound, alerting both Mai and the kappa at the same time. The kappa gave a sharp-toothed giant smile, as it waited for the nodeppō to epicly fail as he expected it to, while Mai quickly rushed forward and pulled out a small doll, one of a red cat. This doll would be used to resummon the Kasha once it was dead, tying its Shiki to it to be binded.

"Kasha, I'll give you two choices. Attach your Shiki to this doll willingly, or I'll have to use force."

Mai made a whistling sound, and the squirrel yokai flew back to her shoulder, ready to eat any flames that the Kasha would fling at her. However, the Kappa simply laughed, and Mai turned and began yelling at it.

"Hey! What's so funny!?"

"D'ya really think it's gonna take the whole 'go willingly' route?"

"Hey! It's a possibility!"

"Did I?"

"Not everyone is stubborn like you, kappa!"

"Did the kejorō?"

"No, but-"

"Did the nodeppō?"

"SHUT UP, YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS YOU CAN'T FIGHT! A-Anyways... Choose an option, Kasha!"

What was her Shiki again, she was so new to being this sort of creature she forgot for a second what that implied. However, quickly enough she recalled that was basically a threat of murder, for some demonic sort things like herself it was good as their life force. Binding her own existence to some doll, especially when it was some weaved together looking thing like that? Was not going to happen, maybe if she was in some other state of mind today and the doll was really well made she may take that leap. After-all, she may have taken charge at the moment, but she was really mostly only here because her god had brought her to this place calling it a good place for her. Mai didn't have luck today, especially when Fluffy remembered her god believed it shameful to turn away from battles like this one!

"So let me get this straight, you want me to attack my life to such a trashy little doll without even asking my god's permission first?" her life belonged to the man she worshiped if it belonged to anyone beside herself! Anyway's, she had no intention of dying before she found some way to relieve Izayuki of her position among the living. "Well than." she snickered her words out slightly, leaping from where she had been sitting to the ground, arching her back in a stretch as the girls forces gathered. From everything she detected the Kasha was not too concerned about her opponent. However, this girl could be powerful in the very near future. "Well, for starters my name is Fluffy not Kasha, and I have a counter offer, once you get tired of fighting me to an ensured outcome of my victory, let me know you agree to join Savage Skull and than I'll take you to a Kasha you can actually best, and maybe even give away the location of a few other interesting specimens you may like including a Tanuki." the female transformed into the larger of her forms, standing six feet tall, a heavy weight who was at least twice her height in length due to her long twin tails.

Inari appeared and started speaking, Fluffy not actually looking towards the girl, but knowing she was there from hearing her. "Inari, the noise should cease soon enough. Mind sticking around for a bit, though you'll want to stand back as judging from what I know of you, well I think you may burn easily." she was a living corpse after-all, she may be emitting gases that easily flamed up and could end up with Inari getting hurt by accident if she got too close to the fight. Fluffy may not be the best person, in fact she was a pretty horrible human at one time, but she did care for the people who had come together under the name Savage Skull alongside her, so she didn't want see Inari consumed in flames. Though with Inari so close, her body felt the same comforting warmth it had felt when she consumed part of the girl thinking she was an actual corpse instead of a zombie.

"Now than, you want me, come get me. You can have first move, what's your name?"At this point? Fluffy had decided it was less of a fight and more of a beat down to make someone join, meaning she would try to interview some during the battle. "And don't worry about spending all your little pets, if they all fall during this fight before you agree to join me, I'll help you capture the other Kasha." honestly she wouldn't mind eating one of the little pets. Now? The kasha was slowly circling Mai and her party, crimson eyes glowing and flames roaring around parts of her body, a 3 meter blob of flame following her around the field.

Mai, upon hearing the Kasha - or "Fluffy" as it called itself - speak, turned her head to look the humanoid hooded figure that was the Kappa, and stuck her tongue out at.

"This Kasha will be more understanding than you'll ever be, kappa. A-Anyways, I don't know what a 'Savage Skull' is, but if you think you're gonna best me, you have another thing coming, 'Fluffy.' I was taught onmyōdō by the best omnyōji in the whole land. So, your deal is accepted."

Mai was, of course, referring to her uncle Mura, although boasting of his greatness wasn't as well placed as she may have assumed, because her uncle was the only other shaman she knew. But her uncle was definitely not a weak shaman for sure, but calling him the greatest was a bit of a stretch to say the least.

The most important part, and the only reason Mai accepted this deal semi-blind, was the offer of a tanuki. The tanuki were some of the most powerful yōkai ever, and with a Kasha being so willing to give up the location of one, Mai could not pass up such an opportunity. Plus, this yokai seemed far less mischievous, and far more trustworthy than those she's encountered in the past. So, Mai thought there would be no "catches" to this deal, as it was seemingly benifiting for both.

The Kasha began speaking to some girl, which Mai paid no attention to, then quickly offered her the first strike. Mai didn't want the first strike, however, but took it out of respect.

"I am Mai Silverheart, hunter of yōkai and soon to be master onmyōji!"

As the shaman in training said this, the squirrel jumped off of her shoulder, and released a barrage of crows to go attack the Kasha. The squirrel still hovered close to Mai, however, still prepared to defend its master should the kasha avoid its signature attack.

She would be fighting in mere moments and that sent a shrill pulse of excitement down her spine, the more time she spent on the dark time the more she realized that when she was fighting, everything rose and she felt alive. More time went by as she continued living, and it wouldn't be a stretch at this point to say these days she began to need to fight in order to feel alive again. Right now, as she pushed her issues far to the back burner instead of facing them, she couldn't bring herself to feel alive if she didn't have a solid opponent outside of herself. Honestly, that was likely why she hated Izayuki so much, not for what had been done, but because it was the only way she could keep from self destructing inward on herself.

""Oh sweet child." she chuckled at the claim of not knowing what Savage Skull was and having a future as the best of the omnyōji, little did this young girl know that she would as servant to the darkness for her goals. "I'm sorry no one taught you to not trying facing something that draws its fire from the underworld, if I was a normal kind of fire Youkai you may have stood a chance, however." She touched her flaming paw to a potted plant against the wall of where they would be fighting. While the normal burn took place, the shocking part was that the entire thing didn't just looked burn, it looked dead down to the soil and the pot was gone by the time she recalled the flames back into her body.

So Mai Silverheart was the name of her newest member, it was a good name, albeit the surname was a bit cheesy. Unlike most of the creatures the young girl likely had faced in her so far short life? Fluffy did not rashly rush nor did she treat the fight with cocky absence simply because she knew her victory would be the outcome. Instead, she followed the creed of her god and regarded her opponent entirely with every fiber of her being. Crows raced at her and she made no attempt to out right dodge them, instead her flame companion took on a shape close to that of a shield of sorts, and two flaming balls appeared at the tips of her tail. "Nice try." her purr echoed the hall as the flame ball that had been floating around her came between herself and the crows to block them. However, fluffy had a second reason for doing this as she flung her twin fire balls forward without missing a beat, sending one to the left and the other to the right of Mai almost directly at the girl.

Fluffy at this time knew she had a few seconds, the female did not know what the squirrel could do yet, nor did she know what the Kappa could do, but she had a pretty solid fight plan. She had to take one of them down as right now the fight was three against just her, but it wasn't like she hadn't face greater numbers since gaining her fire power. Fluffy went right for the kappa, as he seemed cumbersome and slow. She had started with clearly ranged attacks, she used fire which was normally a ranged element. Little did they know she was more dangerous in close combat. Fluffy would attempt to get behind the kappa, hopefully letting one tail trail along him letting the fire there burn him if it did. If she could get behind him? The kasha would let all four legs engulf in flame with the aim to pounce on him with them and take him down so than it was just Mai and the Squirrel she had to deal with.

Either way, it was now clear the kasha had extensive combat experience by now, her pelt was littered with healing wounds and she had some scars, the mark of a skull on her chest. "Anyways nice to meet you Mai SilverHeart, Inari why don't you introduce yourself to the newest member." she had clearly already 'decided' the outcome of this fight. "And the crows were a good try, but if you can direct them try hiding one of them, if one can see all five at once its easy to block them with a counter spell." she may as well give some advice to her future guild mate.

Mai didn't know what the Kasha was doing. It was attacking the Kappa, for sure, but didn't she know that it wasn't actually summoned? The hooded humanoid just stood there, as the yellow dots of eyes he had and the large sharp-toothed grin of his was all someone could see underneath his hoodie. His face was entirely hidden and shrouded with shadow, because he didn't want people to see him.

The Kasha, and in turn her fireballs as well, simply phased through the Kappa, as the aquatic spirit remained stationary with his hands in his pockets.

"That the best you got!? Keep trying, I was looking for some amusement today!!!"

The weird attack on the Kappa brought a confused look to Mai's face, but it bought her some time to pull out 4 spell tags, given to her by her uncle. These would be used to limit yōkai's movements by placing a barrier, in which they could not traverse. She threw one of the tags on the ground, but kept the other three in her hands. The tag instantly illuminated a bright blue glow, but nothing happened other than that. Mai was planning a strategy that her mother told her to use when facing stronger yōkai than herself, which would hopefully work on the Kasha.

"Your REAL target is over there, fire cat.Ya don't want me, it's a lost cause."

The Kasha should have been able to feel Mai's level of magic energy. She was but a D rank mage, and low level mages couldn't sustain more than 1 summon at a time. With that said, it should have been heavily obvious that the nodeppō was her summon, so... Why did she go for the Kappa?

"Is it stupid or something...?"

She muttered to herself.