Old Wounds (Arcadia/Takano)

Being granted the chance to return to society once more was something Lady Arcadia took as a great privilege, something which she had to prove to be deserving of - as such, during the past few weeks, she has been following the orders given to her by Mistress Eleanor and the rest of the Coven to the most precise letter. They wanted murder, they wanted deaths, and above all else, they wanted Souls - and Arcadia was willing to provide exactly that. A string of murders was her daily quota and she fulfilled it beyond expectations - the fact that mortal news networks already started reporting on a mysterious, possibly supernatural killer on a murder streak throughout the planet only confirmed that she was working well. Sometimes the targets would be easier, not even aware of their high Reishi levels and thus an easy victim to her blade, others were more difficult and required effort from her newly unlocked Fullbringer abilities.

But all of them would fall. And today was an even luckier day than ever.

The ability to sense Reishi was something which Arcadia was not accustomed in before - however, through training in the Coven, she's managed to grasp the full extent of the ability, including differentiating between mortal, Hollow and Shinigami Reiatsu. And there was an unmistakable whiff of the latter somewhere in this town... After some searching and leaping across rooftops, Arcadia finally managed to locate the signature inside one of the town's cafes...

"Thank you for visiting!" the cafe's overweight owner, replacing one of his waiters on sick leave, called out towards the departing man while shoveling the coins on the table into his hands. What an intense guy, huh? And seemingly talking to himself, too... The businessman shrugged off the thought, however - he's seen his fair share of odd visitors throughout the years - and simply made his way towards the bar, putting the cash down in the counter and finally putting down the towel. Gotta take a little break for himself, too! Have a cup of coffee, reminisce about the times when Japan was not in an eternal post-Lost Decade malaise...

Unfortunately, as soon as the man opened the door leading to the depths of the cafe building, he was met with a relatively short brunette woman dressed in black, a set of piercing red eyes glaring into his. "...Eh?" Who was this woman? How did she get here? What is she even doing here? Is the... corridor stained with the blood of his staff behind her somewhat related?

Five seconds of slaughter and screams followed, before Arcadia finally landed on her feet in the center of the cafe, the owner of the building and the few visitors inside all reduced to mangled corpses.

"My dear Mistress said she wanted me to bring her a Shinigami..." Lady Arcadia spoke, to nobody in particular, though in reality addressing the Shinigami just outside of the cafe, while resting her Asauchi blade on her shoulder. Putting on a faint, devilish smirk, the Flower glanced over her shoulder towards Takano directly. "And I'm here to make her dreams come true."

Seeing Takano stare at her with shock, find himself overwhelmed with anger at the sight, was nothing surprising or extraordinary to Lady Arcadia. In fact, she lived by shattering the hopes and dreams of her victims before putting an end to their miserable lives - and seeing that she had impact even on a Shinigami was like music to her ears. What was surprising, however, was the way how Takano addressed her. For several times, the man referred to a word "Estrella" when referring to her - even though she had never heard of that before.

"Are you... talking to me?" Arcadia muttered, blinking a few times in confusion before regaining her composure. The man certainly was, and with a warning that he will force her to take him to the Mistress for an arrest, he suddenly fired off a powerful golden energy beam from the tip of his halberd. Arcadia's instincts activated immediately - holding her Asauchi by the side in an offensive stance, she suddenly lunged forward, moving faster than the untrained eye can see and passing by the attack without difficulty. In an instant, she stopped in front of the Enkosen energy shield, her crimson eyes glaring towards Takano and the tip of her Reishi-infused blade brushing across the shield.

"Isn't that quite weak for your kind? To threaten me with arrest, to believe that I would comply with any of your orders... when your peers are so easily capable of justifying cold blooded murder." While Arcadia spoke, several tendrils shot out from the floor beneath them, composed of the Souls inherent within it and seeking to constrict Takano's arms and legs. "If it's fear which is gripping you... then please, let yourself loose. You have all the reason to be afraid."

Arcadia's Asauchi would suddenly take upon a dark aura, the Hollow energy within her infused in the blade and corrupting it, before the woman suddenly lashed out with a swift and precise barrage, aiming to break through the Enkosen shield and strike the flesh cowering behind it.

Current Edge: 0
HP: 70/70 | Reishi: 108/115 | DEF: 50 | Zanjutsu: d12+2/+50 | Kido: d3/+0

CURRENT EDGE 0

HP: 62/70 | Reishi: 64/130 | Willpower: 5 | DEF: 75 (65) | DMG DIE: d12+1 | ACC: +40