As the drummer Tomoyo's shockwaves blasted along the ground, Sachiko responded to them by leaping up onto one the icy stalactites, her swinging to the next one as each was about to fall.
With Tomoyo's eyes quickly glancing up at Sachiko, the drummer reacted by then throwing each drumstick like a boomerang to try and knock her back down. The Kitsune at last sent an icicle falling down right over the Ryu's Taiko drum, but Tomoyo pulled it out of the way in time, to then lash out with her claws right into Sachiko's face.
As Sachiko was sent collapsing onto the ground by the sudden strike, Tomoyo then tried to spring onto her, claws outstretched. At the last second Sachiko rolled out of the way, got up and dashed, not at Tomoyo, but at where she had moved her drum.
After she heaved the drum up with a grunt and groan, Sachiko turned to see the dragon miko leaping her way right towards her, claws outstretched. At this, Sachiko crouched behind the drum and tilted it so that its skin was facing Tomoyo, which sent her opponent crashing right through it.
"
Whoo, drum solo!" the announcer commented.
That trick alone suddenly made the previously ladylike miko seethe and fume, as she lifted up what remained of her drum and tossed it hard at Sachiko, who was sent flying into a cave wall by its impact.
The ronin's stunned self, hearing a crackling sound above her, looked up to see that a whole bunch of icicles were about to fall on her. She raised her iron fan and spread it above her like an umbrella, which made most of these icicles shatter against it, though she was still unlucky enough to have a few smash onto her exposed tails.
Dragging herself back up, any relief Sachiko may have had about that drum being gone evaporated as Tomoyo pulled out two smaller-scale drums from her robe. "It does pay to be prepared, as they say" Tomoyo nodded with a smile, her former good nature seeming to have come back.
As the drummer raised her sticks, Sachiko sprinted forwards, almost running on all fours, and tackled her straight out of the cave and onto the slopes below.
The fox maiden then steadily stood up, sank the claws on her feet into Tomoyo's head and back and tried to ride her all the way down. But any yell of excitement Sachiko might've had was cut short when the dragon drummer swiftly spun over and then tried to turn Sachiko into a makeshift snowboard, and now tried to steer her almost straight into some sharp-looking rocks.
So began a tumble between the two fighting maidens, as both tried to pin each other down, with neither realising that rolling down the slope like this they were starting to build up a lot of snow between them. That was, until both of them all of a sudden found it hard to breathe or move, having become almost completely stuck in one huge snowball.
Sachiko did try to cast a fire spell, even with words and gestures being a bit of a hassle in this situation, and Tomoyo tried to claw and flap her way out, but before either could have any success the giant snowball rolled up a curved outcrop and was launched high into the air.
"Snow way outta this one!".
Both girls' eyes drooped downwards, before each shut their's tight as they tried to brace themselves as much as people stuck in a snowball could. With a great thud they both landed on the ground, sending the snow flying everywhere.
As Sachiko slowly opened her eyes again, she could feel Tomoyo's miko robe under her, upon which she pinned the dragon drummer down with her fox claws and speedily shouted "5 4 3 2 1! I win! I win!", as she promptly did a little dance on top of Tomoyo.
"I, ah, do believe, uhhh, that isn't exactly how the rules of this tournament, oof, work..." Tomoyo tried to make her voice heard, but it seemed the announcer was on Sachiko's side.
"And our newcomer Sachiko wins again!" he boomed.
Her victory made official, the fox ronin, after bowing several times to the spectators, then got off Tomoyo and offered her hand to help her up.
"Thanks! You were great, put up a pretty fun challenge! Hmm, you're a drummer, so in that case can I call you Taikoyo?".
Tomoyo took up Sachiko's hand and got to her feet, upon which she said "Ah, thank you Lady Samurai for your generosity, but... why the insistence on a nickname? Do you, er, in some way mean to humiliate me?".
Sachiko seemed shocked at that question, before she shook her head and said "What? No, I wasn't trying to do that at all! Um, how to say it... you may have noticed from my lack of a
mon," she turned around for Tomoyo "But, ah, I'm a ronin. The whole clan I use to serve's gone, and so I, really really cherish any friend I can make. Anyway," her smile returned to her "That's why I like giving people nicknames, helps the break the ice! Er, no pun intended".
Tomoyo had to put her hand to her mouth and giggle for a second, but she then warmly shook Sachiko's hand "The pleasure is all mine, Lady Twintails, hmhm!".
"A-ha, that's right, now you're getting it!" Sachiko beamed.
* * *
"How quickly my luck turns on me..." Vivi hissed under her breath.
She had found herself standing on a narrow wooden watchtower positioned in the middle of the vast snowfields, with the Shinsengumi woman she'd met before standing at the other end of this cramped arena.
"Indeed, Lady Luck no longer smiles upon our foreign fighter Vivi, for she finds herself facing one of the Shinsengumi! Everyone give it up for Kamiya Garasha!" the announcer cheered, the Shinsengumi Garasha just standing there with a sly grin.
"So, um, any success with finding that hannya, eh heh?" Vivi winced, trying to step back from the Shinsengumi, though hopefully not far back enough to fall off the watchtower.
"Not yet" Garasha said, as she hung up her blue coat to reveal that she had four extra limbs, with her wielding in them an iron club, a naginata, a spear, a sickle, a gun and a hand free for reloading.
"Oh, you're a Jorogumo! My how, er, fascinating" Vivi gulped.
"What better race to know the ins and outs of the Capital?" Garasha smirked, with her then saying "Now, with tracking down a hannya, the first rule is to suspect everyone. Victoria, you say you're new to this town, this country in fact, yet how can I tell this is not an elaborate excuse for a new disguise of yours, hmm?".
"Waitwaitwait, there's no way I could be the hannya!" Vivi shrieked out "I mean, they say they don't get foreigners here often, so how would a local hannya be any good at mimicking one?!".
"Only one way to find out" Garasha smiled, before she lunged out and sent Vivi flying off the tower with not even any of the weapons at her disposal, just a well-aimed kick.
"Like catching a fly!".
As Vivi crashed into and left a hole in the snow, Garasha silently leapt down off the tower, stood over the stunned reporter and pointed all her weapons at her.
"Well well, seems not you're the hannya, as if you were you would've abandoned any 'play down my true strength' gambit long ago. My apologies, Miss Verne".
Vivi, at the point of seeing stars, gradually got back up with some assistance from Garasha, upon which the announcer's voice blared "And the winner, no surprise, is Kamiya Garasha!" all around her, making the journalist fall back down into the hole.
* * *
"Feeling better, Vivi?" Sachiko said as she tried to give badly beaten reporter a massage and a hot water bottle.
"Never better" she scowled.
"'Least I've got some good news" it was Junji who then showed up. "Out of all the fighters beaten, none of their injuries looked like those caused by a hannya, and if anyone knows hannya injuries it's me" he tried to laugh. "So there's a chance we might be safe this year!".
"Yeah, or that hannya's just biding its time" Vivi muttered "I mean, even I know a Shinsengumi wouldn't show up over 'might be safe'".
"A Hannya is formed from obsession, greed, anger and jealousy" Sachiko then adopted a grave tone "It could be she'd want to target the tournament's final victor out of envy for them getting all the glory. If she was also a Yuki-onna to start with, it's likely she was pretty lonely too, hence her hatred of anyone who could win the crowd".
"Wow, I don't think I've heard you sound so... samurai-like" Vivi had to say.
"Eh? What's that supposed ta mean?" Sachiko gaped.
"Oh nothing, nothing" Vivi just sighed.
"Waitaminute, I think I've got it!" Sachiko then said aloud, though she then brought her voice down to a whisper "Sorry, that hannya might've overheard. But I think I've got it, the hannya is-".
[ ] "It's, it's you, Junji...".
[ ] "That Shinsengumi lady!".
[ ] "The announcer! Hannya can take male disguises after all".
[ ] "The spirit residing in the tournament trophy!"
[ ] Write-in.
