[h2]The Ripper[/h2]

This one had multiple forms? That was unfair... pretty exciting, to be the first time she had fought such a negari, but still [i]incredibly[/i] unfair. She wanted to get something to eat and the fight was just dragging on... but at least the plethora of smaller enemies made her knives suddenly a much more viable proposition. Without a reach and size advantage, she could just dash in close and slice them to pieces before they got her.

"I shall focus on the little ones!" Noriko shouted, jumping back from the main opposition and slicing the legs from one of the spider-like entities, only to finish it off with a knife tossed into the head; her hand was fully again but a moment later. They weren't focusing on her as much as they should have been, which meant...

A flash of red caught her eye, and she turned to watch. The girl from earlier? Here? It was suicidal to run at the negari, what was she even thinking! But then she caught on to what the schoolgirl had seen: a child, caught out in the open where she had no protection from the monsters. Of course, it wasn't like she was going to be able to help any more on her own...

As the first Negari was about to close in, it came to a jerking halt--then its head exploded, knife passing clean through and embedding into the building behind. Its void was replaced by the white-haired girl, blades in hand and striking out to injure those getting too close; she [i]really[/i] wasn't cut out for defending people who were backed into a corner.

"I know that you want to help but..." she started, then a thought occurred to her, "Hawthorne, could you attract any contract-less fairies?"

The subdued fairy looked over at her partner, [color=springgreen]"You wish to recruit another for this battle? Very well, beacon established."[/color]

All it looked like she had done was raise her hand, but the faintest ripple could be felt by the girls--let alone the fairies. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones who could sense it... on the plus side, the negari were already all here.