[b]Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Floor 1 | Sunday, July 5 2015[/b]

With all parting words spoken, the groups had set off on their respective paths, prompting Kotori to put her worries for the others aside and focus on the task at hand - after all, getting distracted by her own thoughts when everyone was relying on her would most definitely not do. Rui took point as, with Megumi's guidance, he led the group into the dungeon which had the looks of a traditional inn about it. However, there was no time to enjoy any relaxing atmosphere one might associate therewith as Megumi chimed in with a warning just as soon as the group spotted the first shadows themselves. Not wasting any time, Rui and Akane were quick to attack them - and dispatch them too, as they turned out to be of the weaker variety; leaving Sato and Kotori to take on those further afield as they moved on mostly uncontested by the seemingly eating shadows and their hosts.

However, this didn't continue on forever unfortunately - as the opposite end of the floor drew closer, some more incongruent opponents presented themselves in the form of armored knights. These could take a bit more of a beating than the weaker shadows before them - but couldn't stand up to the combined attack power of the whole group; serving more to slow rather than stop their progress. Kotori hoped that they weren't indicative of how things would proceed - a continuous increase in the shadows' power - when they came upon yet another kind of knight; this time clad in black armour and seemingly guarding both the hallway and an odd pot of sorts from which wispy strands of smoke seemed to emanate.

Megumi was just as quick to realise that this was no ordinary enemy and informed the group that they were facing one of the captured people's shadows - though by the sound of things, they weren't the progenitor of this whole dungeon. Still, even with her previous hopes dashed Kotori knew from more than enough experience that these kinds of shadows tended to be far tougher than the 'normal' ones - if there even was such a thing in this world. Plus there was that pot to be aware of until Megumi could fully scan it - thus leaving the group to fend off the knight to the best of their abilities. Rui meanwhile quickly formed the plan of attack - together with Akane he'd rush through whilst Sato and Kotori would make sure that they got through.

[color=green]"Ah, right,"[/color] Kotori said, adding a quick nod as she once more called upon her persona, Kikuri-Hime. A comforting calm enveloped her as she felt the presence of the floral shrine maiden more acutely and prepared herself for the fight ahead. Though she hoped it wouldn't be necessary, she was ready to heal any incurred wounds at a moment's notice - and until then, she glanced about to see if any shadows were trying to sneak up on herself and Sato, who were staying further back, or trying to get behind Rui and Akane as they charged off and through the ranks of shadows.

With a single word, [color=green]"Zionga,"[/color] a bolt of lightning came crashing down on one of the shadows which looked to be trying to move around Rui and Akane in order to attack them from behind. Seeing the two of them taking on the shadows up close, Kotori was somewhat glad that Kikuri-Hime's abilities lay where they did - the prospect of fighting these creatures from such a short range was a rather frightening one, even with the aid of a persona.