Jiaying Maki has spent the past couple of weeks trying to find everything she can about both the Shadow Witch, various things about her, why her friend and girlfriend refuse to tell her anything and even why Kukai thinks she hates him personally.
As such, she at least has an idea of where to look for the 'heroine' of the hour. She's pretty sure the city's a better place to look, following not-quite-so populated areas, looking for bullies or low key robberies to watch from the shadows, of which she's using magic to hide in. She flits from shadow to shadow this cloudy evening, watching for any of the usual signs. She's brought both of her ghosts out, both of which are looking in different directions, one looking like a Chinese peasant girl, the other looking like an exaggerated demon fox done in ink and mist. Jia may be manipulating it while it looks like this.
Shiniko is easily found that way, it takes time, and maybe a bit of luck, but overall it's inevitable. Tonight, the Shadow Witch is sitting atop a building, her shadows spreading out from her like a fog. She's not actually acting on anything right now, just watching.
Her hair-like shadows curl around the building, almost like they're roots of a tree, providing a stable platform for the girl to lean forward and look around. She looks sad, more than anything else.
Jiaying Maki doesn't spot the hair or the mist right away, but fortunately for her, the aggressive ghost that she's dubbed the Librarian until it states it's name looks up, then begins laughing and darts up the side of the wall until Jia grabs it with her power and yanks it back. Glancing around for witnesses, she uses a mixture of Meifeng's help and magic to bound up the sides of the buildings, back and forth until she lands lightly on the roof.
With a roll of her shoulders, she calls out, "You've got a lot of friends that don't talk, you know that?" The wind, up that high makes the illusory mist swirl around her feet and legs, fox tail and ears on full display. Meifeng fades away out of existence seemingly, though one gets the feeling she's watching to help protect Jiaying while the Librarian bounds forward once again, hackles raised and clearly waiting to be let loose. It may even be straining against her control, though it doesn't show on her features. "No one will talk about who you really are and one of them thinks you really need help. If you're as far as she claims, I've got just the thing- She doesn't want you like her." There's a hint of a smile on her features, showing off sharp teeth as she says, "It may sting though."
The Shadow Witch looks over to Jiaying, red eyes deadening, the sadness going away for a cold emotionlessness. "You'll end up regretting it if you hurt me." With her tone of voice, it's hard to tell whether that's a warning or a threat, "And besides, Lacrima is wrong."
She doesn't make any attempts to attack, but a wall of cold black flames does form around herm, drawing in the warmth of the surrounding area and leaving things distinctly cold. A nearby puddle freezes up from it. It's not a problem though, not unless Jiaying gets too close to the flames. "So what do you want, Nuwu?"
Jiaying Maki holds up both hands, generating an eerie blue flame of her own, something generating positive energy. There may be a hint of negative energy in there, but that's because she's having a hard time not just throwing it right at the witch. "I don't plan on hurting you. I'm going to purify you- I've noticed last time you didn't really like the sensation." She clenches her fists and drops her hands at her side for now though, the flame flicking out as she points at Shiniko, "I don't think she is. She said you didn't used to be able to go to the Dusk Zone and the first time I hit you with positive energy, you just looked sick, you didn't cry out in pain." She takes a calm step forward, ignoring the cold for the time being.
"With that said Shiniko, I don't think I will regret it. You've hurt me twice now- you've upset Lacrima and you've suggested I'm food which I take some offense to." There's a moment as she considers what she needs to do. "Since I doubt you will make this easy, I want Lacrima to stop worrying about you and my girlfriend to stop feeling guilty about your actions. I also want to pay you back for the frostbite, but the purification process should get that out of me too."
There's a sigh, and Shiniko's disturbed voice flattens to a more normal, regular tone as the girl's eyes turn back to her usual purple. Like this, she looks an awful lot like Sora. "I'm sorry for the frostbite, Jiji-chan. I didn't know it was you." Well, that probably clinches it.
She keeps the flames up, though. She keeps her distance from the girl on the other side, and instead makes a promise. "It'll be worth it, in the end. I promise. You might not quite understand why I need to do this, but you will." And as she finishes that sentiment, her eyes go back to being red, her voice back to the disturbed tone of Shiniko, "And I won't let anyone get in my way, not even you."
Jiaying Maki actually manages to lose control of her ghost at the revelation, the Librarian dashing forward and getting yanked away at the last second by Jia, the ghost itself had almost taken on a more monstrous appearance than even the one Jia's forced it into. It floats there, red eyes staring at Shiniko, clearly the kind of ghost that would try to lash out at the living. It might even take a half-hearted swipe at her, but it's too far away and it knows it. Jia's arm is held out, this whole time, like she's debating on letting it go anyway, either by accident or intentional.
Those moments pass and she eventually hardens her features, using her free hand to shroud her face in a grey mist mask. It's easier this way. Her voice is thick when she calls out, "That makes it worse, that you would do that without knowing who you were fighting!" Jia pulls the ghost back and exerts an amount of control over it that probably feels briefly oppressive, forcing it to the ground and to hold it's position for now so that she can focus on gathering up her magic. "You've taken the fun out of the purification Sora. What will be worth it in the end, being consumed by the same darkness that has eaten Lacrima? Or the pile of people you stepped on to get to your goal? You don't want to live like that and I don't want to see you suffer for your actions-"
"Usually, to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs." Shiniko insists, softly, and adds on, "When I'm done, the world will be a better place for it. I can't tell you how I'm going to do it. Just trust me, it will be worth it in the end." There's not much emotion there, it's all shrouded behind the mask that is Shiniko, but it seems that the girl believes it, and she adds, "And I won't get consumed by the darkness. I have it chained, bound firmly under my control. Trust me, I will not let it control me." She fails to go into specifics, unfortunately. "And when I'm like this, I am Shiniko, not Sora."
Jiaying Maki watches the other girl and shakes her head slowly, "Yes, because you regularly threaten people you like when you're in full control. Remind me to take you on a trip to Taiwan, maybe we can talk to Lao Lao, show you what happens when you let that inner dark grab hold."
She then laughs bitterly and says, "You can't make the world a better place through fear and power. You can only make things worse as you pave the way with good intentions." She releases the grip on the ghost, evidenced by the fact that it bounds forward, wreathed in her grey-green energy though rather than slashing or attacking like one would expect, it attempts to grab her while Jia takes another step forward, drawing that blue fire into existence again. "Tell me something Shiniko. If you were doing so much good- if you had it under control. Why does THIS" she holds the flame up for emphasis, "Hurt you now?"