Starring:
Date: January 5, 2015
Summary:
A chance encounter in Fuuma Alley explodes into a life or death battle between two shinobi born to the same lands.
"Armed to the Bone, Relentless to the End"
Fuuma Basin [Fuuma Alley]
Ward 9 [Fuuma Alley]
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Blending seamlessly with the surrounding shantytowns, the grinding electric behemoth of Fuuma Alley welcomes you with neon light and the stink of humanity. Raised tracks carry trams, freight, and sparking power cables over the wide streets between the ordered city blocks of disordered buildings. The expense to light the city under the shadow of sick-colored smog is as staggering as the electricity is sporadic. The apparent secret of Fuuma Alley's booming industrial sector is that there -is- no industrial sector, or rather that the entire town seems to have been zoned for industry. Smokestacks of power stations, mills, and factories can be found on every block. The tramways travel right through some of them, weaving through the second stories of buildings like a bizarre second city over the first. Bars, merchants, and tenement houses catering to the factory workers operate right across the street from the workplaces, or next door, or in a converted mill building, or have been converted into mill buildings themselves. The dams dividing one class and business from another have broken and everyone and everything mingles together in easy reach.
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It is early AM still. Not that most would be able to tell due to the constant smog blocking out the sky. The one thing people can see though is their breath as they move along. There are not nearly as many people out due to the weather. Luckily there is no snow falling.
Trains seem to come and go from this location. There are few boarding the trains and even fewer getting off of them. As the trains pass, Tsiro emerges from the tracks as one leaves. He had been settling some business from an unknown location. As he walks he keeps his attention forward. He is moving along a street towards a warehouse. It was a secret location that he used once in a while when he was in town.
Rise could still feel the aches throughout much of her body. They didn't stop her from walking about, but they definitely aggravated her now and then. Add on the fact that not a single person in Fumma Alley was kind enough to intentionally avoid bumping into her made it all the more painful and annoying.
The disturbing taste and smell of industry kept her from relying on the the latter, and mouth closed tight. Rise had been coming from the warehouse section of Fumma Alley after a night of fitful rest when something tugs at her nose. She was quick to dismiss the familiar scent, but seeing Tsiro approaching head made her.. hesitant, to say the least. He was bigger than she remembered, and probably stronger too. The survivalist in her warned her not to engage, and was backed by her still ongoing duty to Kumogakure. And yet, she stayed there frozen in the virtually the middle of the path, staring like a deer caught in someones headlights.
In typical Tsiro fashion, he simply walked past Rise on the way to his warehouse. He did not really notice her. Things had been busy on his end. There were missions and black op missions and more black ops missions. It seemed like a never ending situation. For the most part, he was interested in getting some sleep however things did not seem to be shaping up that way.
"…."
After an extended moment of silent and blank staring at the place Tsiro had been, Rise bows her head and lets out a lengthy sigh. Then, she turned about and followed after the man, her feet moving fast in order to over take the larger man's stride. She didn't expect him not to realize he was being followed, but for some odd reason hoped that was the case. She needed to — wanted to confirm something by paying close attention to such a detail, though ultimately it did not matter. If he doesn't turn to confront her, or take a more extreme reaction to her pursuit, Rise would inevitably rush ahead of him and stand resolutely before him.
Her thoughts were a mess from instinct, desire, and need all battling for dominance. Thus, unless her hand is forced in some way, Rise remained silent until spoken to, and only if he tried to maneuver around her would she state, "Tsiro-san." Nothing more. Just his name to grab his attention.
Ok, so Tsiro noticed someone moving after him. However he did not stop to look at them. Instead he decided to ignore it for the moment. If he started a brawl on the street, it would likely have some form of consequences. If the brawl was started elsewhere, it would likely have less consequences. As she moves in front of him, his eyes do not meet hers. It is almost like they see through her. It is not until she states his name with the san at the end of it. He then looks directly at her. "You have not earned the right to call me that." He does not take a step back. Instead he builds his chakra. If this had to be done here, then it had to be done.
Rise tried her best not to flinch. Tried, and for the most part, succeeded in her endeavors. However, Tsiro's response does shake her on the inside, and left her struggling to speak for a moment or two. Through the entire time she doesn't back down in the least, but instead seems to re-affirm her resolve and stance. Her chakra subtly builds while her gaze grows hard. "Then let me earn that right." She states flatly. No matter what questions or doubts remained floating about in her head, it was now too late to go back on her word. Not unless Tsiro decided that whatever it was she was up to seemed worth investigating further.
Rise wanted to earn the right. She wanted to earn respect. She had grown. That was fine. "Fair enough." Tsiro stated as he reached out for her arm and moved to toss her into the warehouse wall behind her. It was a strong enough toss to put her through the wall. He wanted to take the fight off the street. Depending on if it was successful, he'd follow into the warehouse or not.
Any touch from Tsiro was hardly bound to be pleasant. This Rise knew from experience, and thus she was prepared to make sure he never got the change. For all intents and purposes, the girl blurred out of existence to the average onlooker, and reappeared spinning upside down in midair. Immediately after, gravity reasserts itself, dragging the girl to the edge of a warehouses rooftop. The very same warehouse the Kaguya intended to toss her. Rise is smiling toothily despite the minor aches of muscle and joints reminding her of her last fight. Still, she dared motion for Tsiro to follow before taking off along the roofs.
Presumably if she isn't forced to defend herself instead, Rise lures him to a lesser frequented section of the warehouse district. What with so many of them having been ruined or abandoned due to poor business ventures.
Tsiro was surprised at the speed in which Rise responded to the fling. Very few seemed to shrug that moved off so quickly. However Rise wasn't the only one who had gotten faster. As she vanishes to the roofs, Tsiro appears on the other side of her with his blade drawn. Yes, he had attacked as he moved. It was no longer about collateral damage. She wanted a brawl, he'd give it to her.
What she sees Rise could not believe, and then… it is over. The fist she had outstretch in an attempt to cancel the movement of Tsiro's striking hand is bypassed in an instance. Only instincts save her from being completely cut in half, though the slash across her gut is a serious one nonetheless. Or had that been intended?
Regardless, following a somewhat sloppy landing on nearby rooftop, Rise doesn't hesitate to spring after Tsiro and try to slam an elbow into his chest, shattering or at least splintering even the Kaguya's genetically superior bone structure.
As Rise moves forward towards the chest, her elbow stops when it meets the bone. It's much more solid than she had anticipated. "Come now. We have not even warmed up." Tsiro states as he starts to change physically. Bones start to protrude from his body. They protrude all over like a porcupine. As he does this, he spits out two bone slivers at Rise. He did not want to make it too easy on her.
Rise fought down a growl, but still bore her teeth at Tsiro. Before she can so much as get a word in edgewise, the raven-haired woman is forced to either be pin cushioned or get away. She went with a little of both, the the former was not intended. Wrist guards designed to handle steel barely batter away one bone sliver, while the other knicks the side of her leg during a retreat. "Fine! Eight Inner Gate: Gate of Pain." Within seconds, Rise's alabaster skin becomes blood red, and a green aura surrounds her form by the time she lands again. It is shaky one at best, but soon enough her wounds appear to sizzle and smoke from rapid healing.
"The gate of pain…" Tsiro states as he watches Rise back off. This would be a bit problematic for his situation. She knew the gates. He had only seen the lower ones. They were strong ways to become powerful. The question was how did someone aligned with Kumo learn a Konoha Technique. Then again she seemed to know a lot of jutsu similar to their taijutsu. "I guess its time to bring the pain." Tsiro states as he lunges forward towards her. He starts to spin using bones protruding from his elbows to attack.
With her leg fully restored, Rise was ready to face Tsiro. Her body during the dance flows from one stance to the other like water. Even so, she cannot out maneuver him completely, and earns a decent 'scratch' across her cheek passing. Frustrated, Rise doesn't retreat and regroup, but instead tries to send Tsiro flying with a hard rising kick to the gut. Success is followed up with her leaping into his shadow, grabbing tsiro by one of his protruding back bones, then throwing him into the roof of a building before he has enough time to recover. Fail, and well… there was always the more straight forward grab and throw method.
The kick to the gut is met with a bone plate. It merely stops the kick and all of its force. Even the grabbing of the bone was met with failure. Tsiro simply let it fall off. "Face it Rise. You are still outclassed by me in every direction. But… I will show you this move. You have earned at least that much from me." Tsiro reaches back to his neck and yanks his spine free with a sickening sound.
'My leg — Ignore it!' Rise yelled in her mind. Still, her muscles and joints kept on wailing. Their cries became dull shadows in the back of Rise's mind after hearing Tsiro's words. He still thought little of her, and would continue to do so, so long as she continued to not connect. As tempting as it was to give in fully to rage like always, Rise formed an X across her face with her arms and gathered more chakra. "Bring it!" Her hands snap away to the side as another two gates are forced upon. Again, her wounds are rapidly closed on the outside, though her body slowly continues to tear itself apart…
Tsiro was more than happy to oblige. He cracked the whip once before attempting to wrap Rise in it. The spines would cause her some pain, but this was not the fatal part of the combo. He then watched to see how she would deal with the move. He was hoping for a successful entanglement but maybe she had something up her sleeve.
Ask and ye shall receive.
With a single upward spin kick, Rise not only managed to whip up a tornado, but protect herself with its initial creation. Even if Tsiro manages to avoid getting pulled in along with his bone whip he would still have to continue with a seemingly living dragon of wind bearing down on him remorselessly, then shred him practically to pieces.
Was it extreme even by Rise standards? Yes, but if she wanted Tsiro's respect, then holding back the best would do her no favors. With the conclusion of the technique, Tsiro would be sent spinning towards the furthest ends of warehouse district at dizzying speeds. He would not be alone, for soon after Rise is upon him again, ignoring the barbs and the threat of impalement to try and squeeze the life out of him until gravity could finish the job.
Its a damn good thing Tsiro is of the Kaguya blood line. Otherwise that would have left some permanent damage. Not only is Tsiro shredded by the living dragon of wind. He's then hugged by the girl. He feels his strength going, but as she drops him, he realizes he still has the whip. He sends it towards her once more to wrap her up, then yanks on it to bring her forward to be impaled by his now drill like arm.
Rise could feel it the shift, and tried to let go before the vine could entangling her. She is a second to slow. The very best she manage as doom drives towards in the form of a bone drill is throw her weight enough to shift her body, turning the strike into a glancing blow. Albeit a glancing blow that still takes off both her arm, as well as a good chunk of her scarred sigh. The pain is excruciating, and several times Rise nearly passes out from it. She might have if not for the rejuvenating power of the gates, though even that is being stretched thin.
All Rise can do after is pant, and hang there limply in the embrace of the remains of Tsiro's whip.
Tsiro is a little bit better off, not much though. He makes his way to his feet and looks over Rise. He hated mutilating his toys like that. Even though his parents died before they could tell him not to break toys, he still knew deep down that taking the arm was in a way giving Rise some kind of credit. He wasn't sure it was respect, but it was credit in some deep dark world that she probably lived in. Tsiro growled at Rise. She had managed to finally hit him. She did quite the number too. Tsiro turned and walked away. He would move into a nearby warehouse hoping she didn't not pursue the fight. Though he had won, he was sure the commotions caused the authorities to be on their way. He was in no shape to fight them too.
Rise fell to her knees as soon as the whip was released, and nearly flat on her face if not for the one good arm catch her in time. She was in no condition to wonder why she was allowed freedom. All that mattered at first was to keep breathing, stay conscious, and… and something else. Focus! Hearing Tsiro growl gave her that momentary focus, though she could do little more than hardly lift her head enough to regard the man's legs through matted bangs. A growl of her own came out unbidden, almost daring the Kaguya to attack her. Even without a cognitive reason to fight further, the desire continued to burn through her veins.
As things stood it allowed her to watch him until he moved beyond the range of her slowly blurring vision. She… Pursue? No, not this time. If he had tried to attack her while she was still vulnerable, the woman would've made him regret the decision regardless of the cost to her. But he left, and… she needed to go. "Leave," She murmured, rising unsteadily on shaky feet. The same word kept leaving her mouth until she found what remained of her arm and shoved it into her mouth following a deep breath. Then, Rise takes off for some place far and quiet under the power of the gates; the only thing keeping her conscious and alive.
