12th Magic Bullet

[gonnamarrydaddy]

[Despite all of Garviel's good intent to protect his daughters, Yuna is just too much of a creature of habit to get out of this event unscathed.  The morning that the tainted milk goes out to the town courtesy of its new police chief, the compulsion kicks in and she drinks a whole bottle of Special Milk down before she even knows what's going on.

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[headedforhope]

[....Well. At any other time, Mami would have a polite smile ready for this girl that's a hundred times more exuberant and friendly than herself.

Now isn't that time. The hand wearing her Soul Gem ring is cupped into a loose fist behind her back, and Mami taking care to stand beside something large, heavy, and hopefully capable of taking whatever strange bullets that gun might fire. Like the nearest parked car.]

....Akashi-san, are you all right? [A probing sort of question; Yuna never seemed like the type to just walk around with a weapon, let alone with that kind of look on her face. So why....?]

[gonnamarrydaddy]

[Yuna's not messing around today. She whirls around, training her gun on Mami and shouting a warning.]

Get back! Don't come any closer!

[headedforhope]

[smoothly:] Sure. [a pause.] But you're making a mistake. I'm not going to hurt you.

[gonnamarrydaddy]

Yeah, I bet you'd like me to believe that, huh? And then you just turn around and gut me with those shadow claws! I'm not buying it!

[headedforhope]

[She slowly raises her very human hands, already realizing that it's a hopeless gesture.] I have nothing of the sort, Akashi-san. Why don't you put the gun down and we can talk, okay?

[gonnamarrydaddy]

That's the oldest trick in the book! I'm not gonna fall for that!

[Yup, not lowering the gun.]

[headedforhope]

Well, if you don't want to, that's also all right.

[her mind is working fast- this isn't like Yuna at all. So possibly....]

Akashi-san, did you have anything to drink today?

[gonnamarrydaddy]

Not that it's any of your business, but I had a glass of milk this morning like always.

[headedforhope]

[She had been afraid of that. If Yuna drank the milk....then she can't be reasoned with.]

Ah, I see. ....my apologies, Akashi-san.

[And with that, Mami drops like a stone behind the car, transforming in a flash of yellow light.]

[gonnamarrydaddy]

[Demonic transformation? That's totally what Yuna just saw.]

I guess it had to come to this sooner or later. Bring it on!

[headedforhope]

[She summons a couple muskets and gets into a crouching position, popping up to fire off a single shot over the hood of the car. Normally Mami would go for the head, but Yuna's also armed and that means she has to be on the constant move to avoid getting hit herself. There's no time to take a slow, careful aim.

Instead, Mami sets her sights on Yuna's upper body, squeezing the trigger and ducking back out of sight.]

[gonnamarrydaddy]

[Yuna's probably not as experienced as Mami is in direct combat, but she's developed her reflexes at least enough to avoid single shots at a time. She has to take a diving roll, but she's trying to make her way around the other side of the car to get a clear shot at Mami as she moves. While she's running, she keeps her own gun trained on where Mami popped up last time, hoping to get her shot off first next time.]

[headedforhope]

[The first musket spent, Mami leaves it discarded beside the car tires and picks up two more from her small pile- one for each hand. Then, quietly as possible, she scooches to a new position until she's hidden behind the rear fender.

Then she peeks up over the rim, firing off both weapons simultaneously. Unfortunately, in this position with her head barely exposed and arms angled uncomfortably, her accuracy is messed up; the bullets are more likely to hit Yuna's waist or stomach, if at all.]

[gonnamarrydaddy]

[Yuna's still on the move by the time Mami comes up with the second pair of muskets. One of her shots goes wide, but the other one does indeed clip Yuna in the midsection, the blast ripping out a chunk of flesh. Thankfully, it didn't puncture anything vital, but it does slow her down a bit. All she can do at this point is to keep on the move and try to make it around the car to get a clear shot at her target, but the boon of infinite ammunition in a single firearm might help. Laying down some cover fire for herself as she goes, Yuna cuts a path in a tight arc around the car, hoping to catch Mami off-guard while she's re-arming herself.]

[headedforhope]

[The bullets wham against the car, making Mami flinch just slightly and keep still as she ducks back out of sight. Her ears are keen, though, and pick up on Yuna's footsteps. Crouching, she gathers herself to spring into a forward roll, calling out:]

You really should reconsider, Akashi-san. I don't want to hurt you.

[And then she launches herself out, twisting to the side in order to change direction and keep the car between herself and Yuna. There's already two new muskets in her hand, but the flip side of this evasive maneuver is that Yuna will have a shot at her if she's quick enough for a few brief, vulnerable moments.]

[gonnamarrydaddy]

Then why do you keep shooting at me?

[And it looks like Yuna's strategy of laying down as much cover fire as possible might be starting to bear fruit, as she manages to get a few shots off in Mami's direction while she's dodging around the car.]

Give it up!

[Still in pursuit, she cuts and runs in the opposite direction, hoping to head Mami off as she's changing positions behind the car.]