[h2]Mansion Front[/h2]

On the rooftop above, an armoured, spectral figure was taking care to level its arquebus at the targets below, the red pinpricks of its eyes shining with a dim glow not too different from the smouldering length of match sticking out of the antiquated weapon. But it was hardly the only one of the ghostly soldiers, nearly a dozen ghostly spearmen dropping off the roof with no sound other than the creaks made by their armour and rushing forward with spears poised to stab the interlopers.

[hr]

[h2]Yakumo Sakura[/h2]

"Oh, you were right, we're in a ghost story!" Sakura exclaimed, seeming... still far too cavalier about the ghostly soldiers that seemed to be attacking them, "But I don't think these are samurai. Even the ones with swords seem a bit..."

Cheap? Chipped? The swords definitely weren't any good, and the armour was definitely something made with a one-size-fits-all philosophy in mind. Or, presumably, it [i]had[/i] been, the spectres' equipment definitely had an air of battle damage around it. Although, "we're under attack by ghostly ashigaru!" wasn't all that much of a step up from "we're being attacked by ghostly samurai" in practical terms, and it rather made the story worse...

Of course, as someone who was mostly brought on for her support abilities and not [i]combat[/i], there wasn't much that Sakura was equipped to do when spears were being brandished in her direction, save step backwards through a convenient portal to make sure she was screened by the actual combatants. One gateway briefly opened by the matchlock-aiming ghost's side, a tentacle briefly tugging its weapon down and making the first shot go wildly awry into the floor. Given the reload time, that one was... hopefully not a threat.