Starring:
Rika, Kichiro, Kureno, Nai, Itami
Date: March 12th, 2010
Summary:
A team is dispatched to deal with a group of unaffiliated ninja who are attacking caravans between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
"Battle in the Canyon! The Hellwind Roars, People are crazy, Crystal is the Word!"
Canyonlands near the Land of Wind/Earth border.
The Makatoro clan was a small group, basically mercenaries like so many other clans. Though in this case nothing more than a conglomeration of wanderers, banded together to be able to offer a bit more to each other, things such as training and a bit more of a reputation. Essentially the same sort of thing as the villages… just in this case a bit more sinister.
When the Sand village was formed, they were offered positions in the village, but refused. Likewise, they refused Iwagakure as well. Since then, they've been plaguing trade between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. Most recently they were believed to be hiding in Iwagakure, but recent intel implies they may well be in the land of Wind, especially with a recent series of attacks.
Thus a mission was arranged. With Rika, Kureno, and Kichiro dispatched as a 'team' guarding the caravan, an apparently understrengthed one at that, Rika's not wearing any sign of being a Jounin, and having been out of service with injuried for so long, may not be known by outsiders anyways. She could easily pass as a Chuunin, and some have even mistaken her for a genin given her habit of eschewing any of the normal clothing of rank. Meanwhile, in one of the wagons hides the real trump card. Kuoroke. What is known is that this group has at least three ninja in it, two likely around Jounin level. The other an apprentice
Kichiro stands atop the lead most wagon of the caravan. He doesn't seem to be taking the mission very seriously, practicing handstands on the unstable surface. At one point he even falls off and has to scramble back up and climb back on top of the wagon before it leaves him. Despite his clown demeanor, though, all his restless shifting allows him to turn a full 360 rather freuently while scanning the horizon for potential threats and still appear to not be paying attention.
"Stop goofing around, Kichiro." Says the young kid in the back as he walks along the caravan. Currently, Kureno is wearing a white with two red horizontal stripes near the bottom. The cloak looks tattered and worn, as if it has seen much service here. It is tailored to protect the wearer from Desert Storms and things like that.
Kuoroke turns in his cart. Up to the last moment, right now that is, he has been doing something: giving instructions to people, both related to the mission at hand and general ones, filling out paperwork that has in the meantime vanished somewhere, and listening to various reports, of which some pertained to this mission. And right now, he's lying in his cart, slightly adjusting the goggles he has replaced his glasses with. Hidden there, he is not wearing anything but his forehead protector, a pair of short trousers, and his sandals. "Is the caravan ready?" he asks Rika, whom he has instructed to serve as the team's leader while he's hidden and because of that not exactly in a position to shout commands.
"Hai." Rika says to the Team leader and councilmember. "Everything is in place. Hopefully they take the bait." And the bait? Rika, Kureno, and especially Kichiro - the latter whom has been told to stand back, and possibly deal with any non-ninja opponents that might appear. In particular Rika has told everyone to stay back from her too, since if she needs to go all out… the Nagahara Jutsu don't really handle people close to them well. And that was all she would say. "Remember, if any bandits attack, try to move the fight away from the Caravan." She says, somewhat loudly, hoping that might be heard too. And the walking continues! Especially since it has been going on for most of the past couple days at that.
Kichiro dusts himself off a little, "just getting used to the surfaces available to us" He stretches restlessly, continueing to scan for threats. "The sand will be both a benefit and detriment. Makes for a soft landing, but not a solid stance to work from." He sighs, seeming bored and exasperated with the guard job.
Kuoroke turns in his cart. Up to the last moment,, he has been doing something: giving instructions to people, both related to the mission at hand and general ones, filling out paperwork that has in the meantime vanished somewhere, and listening to various reports, of which some pertained to this mission. And right now, he's lying in his cart and doing pretty much nothing useful except for listening intently, slightly adjusting the goggles he has replaced his glasses with. Hidden there, he is not wearing anything but his forehead protector, a pair of short trousers, and his sandals. "Is everything in the caravan all right?" he quietly asks Rika, whom he has instructed to serve as the team's leader while he's hidden and because of that not exactly in a position to shout commands.
Kureno shakes his head idly. "Fine. Do whatever you want I guess. If you fall and break your neck, I ain't carrying you back." He smirks as he opens a book and seems to get his attention fixed on it. "Hmm interesting." He giggles.
With Kuoroke having to split off, and Nai the messenger giving him the recent intel (Essentially, council business. Poor Nai then got stuck having to follow along with the group to balance it out). It appears the enemy team is only three, a pair of experienced ninja and their apprentice from one of the local, more primitive sorts of tribes. As such, the team is in place, no more ambusher, just a seemingly inexperienced (For the most part) team of Ninja on guard duty, nothing out of sorts… and with a young Jounin like Rika in command, made to deliberately look weaker than it probably is.
Kureno follows along. He doesn't complain much either about the heat or anything. JUst silent, watching the others. In addition to his normal outfit he also wears a white cloak with two red stripes at the trimbottom of it.
Than Kureno looks up at the sun and finally says, "Screw you, go to hell sun." He says as he squints and glares at the sun from the cover of his eyelashes.
Hone Nai is displeased. First he was woken up in the middle of the day and sent to deliver a message when he was most definitely NOT a courier-nin. Then he was conscripted as a member of the temporary team for a combat mission of some sort. This is not his specialty, nor is it within his best interests. By going on a mission like this, he is likely to have to defend himself. That could lead to… Complications.
'What was the Kazekage thinking by sending me out in such a manner? Or was it not him that approved this mission? I would speak with a Council Member on this matter when I return… But it would be such a bother, and might lead to an argument about what my duties consist of…' the cloaked and hooded man thinks to himself as he sits inside one of the wagons, hidden amongst some boxes and such.
He adjusts the tinted goggles over his eyes as he pokes his head up briefly to peer out at the glaring sunlight that reflects off the desert sands. '…What a bother.' Then he settles back down and waits.
"OK, before we get there," Rika is saying quietly. "Leave whoever seems strongest to me." Well, that should go without saying. "The rest of you team up on the other… Except you, Kichiro, if they do have an apprentice, engage him. But I'd like to capture him if possible. A child is… not too late to be saved and brought into the village. So try to subdue, incapacitate, and capture before supporting the others." Finally, Rika is taking on a leadership role. "And definitely try to keep away from me, and protect the caravan. If I have to start using the Hellwind…" She leaves that to trail off with a bit of menace. "I.. don't like having to walk into an ambush though, even if I know it's one." It was an ambush that put her in the hospital for most of a year. And meanwhile, the sun is begining its descent to darkness as the caravan makes use of the cooler part of the day.
"Same goes for me if I use my Crimson Crystal Fields technique. It has… actually it lacks a targetting system mostly." Kureno explains and chuckles. As a matter of fact, he even thought that Rika and Kureno might be on the same level or at least "close" enough for Kureno to not feel a overwhelming gap between the two.
He than shrugged and continued as before. Passive.
Kichiro continues to pass the time by hand stands and stretching. Despite his seeming irreverencefor the mission, he stays very alert, scanning the horizon, not just for opponents, but for strategic spots to launch attacks from. "And you should stay well away from me or.. uhm… you know, I don't have any area attacking things.. I just don't want anyone to trip me… and ambushes can be lots of fun.. its like a surprise party.. thats trying to kill you…."
Nai does not comment or join in on the banter. Instead he quietly Henges a nearby box into a duplicate of himself — seemingly sleeping — then henges himself into a normal person dressed as the other members of the caravan are, and slips out the back of the wagon. If no one notices, he begins walking off, back towards the far-end of the procession and hangs around back there.
Because sitting in a wagon with extremely restricted visibility of one's surroundings is asking for someone to nuke that wagon before one even knows what's coming. Telling one's allies about such a plan might have occurred to most normal ninja, but Nai is anything but normal, and further, has no reason to believe these others can be trusted with such information. If they think he is still there, they will most likely act to defend that wagon specifically, thus revealing to a clever ambusher that there is something valuable there, and making it even more of a target. By keeping his allies ignorant, he is considerably safer from their 'teamwork'.
Rika, at least, was walking. That's just how it works! You need to be visible after all. Though her response to Kichiro's response is just a strange little quirk of her brow. "Almost to the Land of Earth Border, then we get to go home!" She chirps as though it's a good thing. "I think the caravan is planning to camp after that." Of course, they likely won't camp for hours yet, when the moon is out? People travel in the desert. It's cooler.
But the group doesn't have to travel for much longer before suddenly there is a rumbling on the ground, and the canyon ahead? It closes! And three figures, two of them adults, and one a kid maybe 12 years old carrying what looks to be a bone club of some sort. The adults are grizzled men, looking like tribesmen. One a bit taller than the other. Both festooned with various rock charms and feathers. Both with dark black headwraps. The one who closed the gap is obviously, still showing some signs of recovering. He seems to be the one in front, the leader? And the third, he carries a wickedly curved sword and calls out "I do believe this caravan is ours now."
Rika is suddenly smiling as she looks over the opposition. "I think you know which one I want." She reaches up to put down her goggles. "Makatoro-san, surrender now. In the name of Sunagakure." She suddenly flickers to stand up on the rockface, gesturing for the chuunin to take the face opposite to her own's. And a final handsignal to Kichiro, telling him to hold his ground.
"Oh. Lo and behold. Here come the neunderthals. How amusing" Kureno remarks as he positions himself as instructed on the opposite rock face of Rika. He crosses his arms as he looks down ominously, something on his face says he doesn't want to take prisoners. "Yeah, yeah, just surrender or it'll get messy." He than forms a handseal to focus his chakra.
Kichiro tilts his head, "See.. Surprise party." He hops to his feet and stretches a little. "so.. you all versus the kid and I fight the other two?… oh.. yeah.." He stumbles a little on the wagon he stands on top of before catching his footing again. "He's got a club… don't I get a stick to fight with at least?"
Meanwhile, at Rika's gesture for the Chuunin to act, Nai does precisely nothing. First of all, he is supposed to be inside that one wagon. How would he see a gesture from in there? Second, he is NOT actually inside that wagon, so if he were to act he would give away his true position and nature. It may not precisely be following 'the plan' to leave the others unsupported, but he has other things to consider. Like his own safety. Prioritizing is an important manner of self-management after all.
Thus, the caravaneer that Nai is pretending to be just stops with the others and tries to look worried and scared. What he would really like is for the other three members of this team to handle these enemies on their own, but he suspects he will have to step in at some point. Hopefully when EVERYONE least expects it. That way he can still do his duty without actually revealing anything about himself.
So for now, Rika would see no sign of Nai emerging from the wagon he is supposed to be in. She may or may not be wondering what the bandage-wrapped Chuunin is presently doing in there.
Suddenly, the apparent leader is laughing at the group. "A bunch of kids? Is this the best Sunagakure can send after us? Don't make me laugh little girl. You're just a slip of a girl, why don't you surrender now and we'll make sure things aren't too painful." The disdain in the man's tone is palpable. Sinister, oily sounding voice. Though even as he is saying this, Rika's lips are curling into a smile of her own. Though with the young jounin, it's not amusement. It's more like bloodlust. "Oh, I think you'll find we're more than just kids." She says mockingly.
Meanwhile, the one with the sword draws it and goes over in front of Kureno, "Another kid. Well, try to make things interesting." He voice is lazy, and the look on his face one of serene contemplation. A true student of the blade. He even salutes Kureno. "Seems like Ahto-san there will have the best fight of us all."
And then the Kid jumps down. "Oh you… you're funny. I can't wait to smash your head!" He starts to laugh like some sort of maniac. "You're just gonna love this. It's going to love hitting you too."
Kureno is a fair fighter as well. And he cares more for respect than some other things. He salutes the sword fighter back. "Let's begin than!" He exclaims jumping back and forming handseals, as he lands he would slam his hand to the ground, "Earth Style: Earth Spiral Technique!" Intending to send a spike towards the sword user.
Kichiro hops clumsily down from the wagon, stumbling and rolling on the ground when he lands. He stands back up and dusts himself off, "are you sure you wouldn't prefer a game of Go… or chesss maybe." He makes his way away from the caravan to get a little fighting room for himself and get himself close to the cliff wall. "you look more like tiddlywinks kinda guy though." He walks hunched over, lazily, hiding the true length of his arms and legs.
Meanwhile, the disguised Nai just watches the three impending confrontations. He notes the look of bloodlust on Rika's face, and decides to write it down when they get back. That way he will know who is untrustworthy due to not fighting in a level-headed manner. And Kureno is another Earth Style-user? Odd that there are so many here in the Land of Wind. As for Kichiro, Nai is uncertain what his skillset is like, but can tell that he is a Taijutsuist at least — though the style is not one he is familiar with.
The opponents, on the other hand, are extremely over-confident. The leader possibly the most of all, though he also may have the justification of skill to go along with his arrogance. Regardless, the most superb skill and the most transcendant power, when wielded without wisdom or caution, would be more a hinderance to the wielder than a boon.
If it were him, he felt he could probably take on the Jounin leader and have a good chance of defeating him. But if Rika does not keep her emotions under control and her thinking clear… It would be her that Nai would need to step in for. He did not relish revealing his true capabilities in order to rescue a careless Jounin. 'It might be better to let her be wounded or killed, and call for a retreat from the others…' he muses to himself, the only sign he isn't actually a member of the caravan being that his worry and fear have melted away to be replaced with an emotionless expression, as though he was not in the habit of making facial movements and had simply forgotten to maintain such.
"Tch! I haven't found it yet and probably never will. Though, you do sound a bit too confident for my tastes. We'll have to change that…" No sooner than he finishes his statement he begins to form handseals and as the earth begins to rise around him, it begins to spew out numerous spears of rocks towards Rika to impale her with, and a plus if it's more than once. "I don't have time to waste on you, so run along before I get serious!" He shouts while the spears continue to jut out from the earth and fly towards her.
The kid laughs in that same, wideeyed maniacal way. Much like Butthead from Beavis and Butthead! He even adds a thump of his club against the ground, and in a display of chakra, that causes a slight rumble… Nope, getting hit by the club would not be pleasant. At all. Then he throws it up in the air and it spins in the air and he catches it before suddenly saying, "Tiddly? What? No, I like to bones of my enemies!" What is he? A wannabe Kaguya? Definitely a few fries short of a happy meal.
The swordsman deftly steps aside and cuts the rock away. "Well, that explains why you don't have a weapon visible." He says casually before suddenly surging forward to try and slam the pommel of his sword against Kureno's chest. Could he be playing with the boy? That confidence born of experience may well be there, of course… he's not exactly leaving himself exposed either.
Rika watches the spears from the earth fly towards her before suddenly leaping out of the way, though one does appear to have grazed her left leg on the way out. Though just a scratch… for now - she doesn't seem bothered. And the smile remains on her face just as before, a free hand raising to touch her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see, Earth, neh?" She asks, casually then, head tilting to the side, before suddenly pointing towards her foe with that same finger as a trio of small sparks of electricity flies towards him.
Kureno chuckles, "You shouldn't underestimate me." Kureno explains as he forms a handseal and does a nasty trick that is to annoy more than harm, he uses the replacement technique, only as a lightning manipulation adopted technique. He dodges succesfully under the spike, hoping that the swordsman would hit the piece of wood Kureno left in his wake and get a slight jolt. Or not.
Yet, curiously, besides being able to use both Lightning and Earth, the Chuunin is smirking and still holding his hands together.
"Come on!"
Kichiro raises an eyebrow at the kid showing off with his mace. He shakes his head, "seriously.. I don't even get a stick? Fine." He settles down into a fighting stance that looks more like a mockery of a generic fighting stance than a real one. He makes his own attempt at showing off stomping the ground, then recoiling, hopping up and down, holding his foot.
Nai does nothing still. No reason to step in yet. Though he notices that Rika has already been hit. 'If that had been one of my attacks, she would already have lost. It is fortunate that her opponent does not seem to have thought about augmenting his Earth Release with poison…' He decides that maintaining the illusion of a Henge over that box in the forward wagon is a waste of Chakra at this point. He deactivates it, allowing it to return to being a box, instead of a sleeping Chuunin. Then he slowly begins to move forward. If he does need to step in, it would be better to be closer, rather than at the back of the caravan.
Leader Jounin smirked as one of the earthen spears grazed her as she dodged, but he can't say that he's all that pleased that she managed to dodge them. Perhaps this grin is more along the lines of a twisted grimmace and it's easy to tell that he's ticked. He began to form handseals, but stopped once he saw that Rika generated sparks to toss his way. He can't say he wasn't exactly expecting that so he flickers out of the way and upon reappearing, he spits on the ground and says, "I see you've got a few tricks up your sleeve. I guess that's to be expected from a girl. Not like they aren't known to turn tricks in more than one form." He chuckles before her begins to breeze through a set of handseals.
Once he finishes, a few arcs of lightning wash over his hands before he aims them towards the ground to send a few arcs of lightning to jump across the earth towards her.
The swordsman's blade indeed hits, though it seems he has something to protect from those sorts of hits. "Oh, naughty naughty." He says, laughing and stretching out, head side to side to crack it before suddenly he lances towards with a sudden thrust - a strange move with the curved blade of a scimitar, but that alone might make it a surprise!
"Why would you get a stick? Baka! I just want to crush you!" More of that annoying giggling as he starts to bounce around, side to side, each leg, and it's getting faster before he suddenly moves forward with a two handed swing that seems to lack skill, but make up for it with ferocity!
As for Rika, odds are she could care less about what Nai thinks… there's a reason she's a Jounin. And her would may well just be to make herself look worse. And as the lightning arcs towards her, she is forming seals of her own and suddenly the wind around her picks up, catching the electricity and spinning it around her so it doesn't catch her body. "Lightning too?" She says with a bit of a mocking pout on her face. "Yuck." Her hand points out to launch a very similar in composition series of bolts at the man in turn. Not having even moved yet.
Kureno was standing ready, his hands still together when the swordsman charges him. It looks as if he takes a step back, than the unimaginable happens.
The blade easily cuts through flesh and in a spray of blood, Kureno collapses on the floor.
… and than the body poofs. A clone?
"Heh." Says Kureno from up above as he slams his hand into the ground. "Crystal Style: Crystallization technique!" And with those words the spike of earth suddenly crumbles a bit and another spike, this one made of crystal shoots towards the swordsman.
Kureno was hoping it would hit or something, as he was running out of tricks…
Kichiro plants his feet right before the boy would have landed the hit solidly. he jumps backwards away from the strike at almost the same speed as the attack itself, catching the impact of the club with his bracers. Anyone not paying attention would think he was just clobbered and knocked backwards. He even rolls with the landing before getting back up again. Acting a little woozy he points beside the boy and announces, "look.. you two better not try that again" he rushes back forward to the attack. he rolls short of the boy, tumbling into a n odd attack, ending in an axe kick landing on the boys foot and leaving Kichiro laying on the ground with a goofy grin on his face.
Nai moves closer still. The Jounin or the Chuunin… Which needs help more? And is there a way he can help without actually doing much? He glances over at Kureno, and decides that one enemy defeated would free up one ally to help Rika. Better to deal with the one Kureno is facing then. So he forms a few hand seals, channeling Chakra, and then gestures at Kureno's opponent, waiting until his back is turned to send a nearby rock — no larger than a baseball — flying at the back of the sword-wielding Jounin's head at a speed slightly less than a modern bullet, but still more than lethal enough if it were to hit.
He doesn't bother to say the name of the Jutsu. It has been ages since he was green enough that he had to say the skill he was using to focus his Chakra.
The Jounin was slowly beginning to see that Rika was toying with him, the problem was that he didn't want to let his mind register that it was actually happening. She avoided two of his attacks and he's not sure that this is luck that's enabling her to do this, besides, she looks so damned bored when she does it! Mocking him too!? He grits his teeth, "Yo—!"
Why's he always getting cut off and these bolts are charging at him… He doesn't have enough time to avoid them since he spent all his energy in just beginning to mouth off at her, so he's sent flying backwards with a strong jolt and a howl just as strong as he slides across the ground upon landing. Jerkily, he rises up, his muscles twitching from lightning continuing through his system before it calms down enough for him to be active once more.
"Fine…if…that's the way you want to…" He doesn't finish his statement as he jumps back to his feet and begins to make handseals once more. He now had every intent to do away with her if she was going to toy with him the way she was. As he finishes, the earth would begin to rumble gently and grow in intensity until it began to swirl in attempts to pull Rika into a hole that was taking shape into what appeared to be a grinder. Spikes would form and move against one another in opposite directions until she was sucked towards the middle where she would be torn apart by the spikes growing closer together. He's spent enough time out here and wasn't accomplishing anything playing around with her.
And Rika's expression shows signs of surprise at this jutsu. Oh, she is ready for it, and it seems to suck her down into it before she jumps out. She seems strangely calm though… and soon the reasoning becomes apparent as there is a literal explosion from in there, fire and wind swirling around and fighting against the rotation of the earth. "Looks like play time is over." Her tone has changed, no longer so casual, but now deathly serious. Rika truly is a seasoned killer, and this is one of those times when it actually shows. Her cape fluttering in the breeze she has created, the heat of the Hellwind no doubt causing the entire area to be hotter. Though the flames in it die down and just a strong breeze remains. "Nagahara Rika is your foe. One of the true Demon Ghosts of the desert." Most remote tribes would have legends of her clan, these people included. And just as that happens, she goes through a set of seals and spits a greater fireball at the man.
Kureno's expression switches from amused to amazed to IN SHOCK. Crystals rise from the ground to protect his body, but the blade passes through the crystals and slashes Kureno's left arm.
Stepping back Kureno trips and falls on the ground, attempting to roll back. Obviously he is not so skilled in Taijutsu.
But as he lands on his feet, he said with a smile. "Let's see if that link worked, shall we? Crystal Style: Crystal Dream Prison!" If the swordsman had looked into the crystal while cutting it, a link may have been formed and he could be in a Genjutsu. Or not.
Kichiro rolls to the side, offering the boy a quick kick to his knee before he tumbles over and back to his feet. He springs upand against the canyon wallhanging against it momentarily before launching downwards again, his fist crackling with ki as he drives the attack down towards his opponent. He rolls off to the side again, laughing, "yoooouuuuu are slooooooooooooowwwwwww"
When the sword-wielding Jounin turns around, he would find another Accelerated Rock attack coming at him. This one is aimed at his throat. A skull may be dense enough to deflect a rock that did not strike its intended target fully… One's throat? Not so much. If this stone hits, it will likely crush the Jounin's throat, or at least put a nasty hole in it that would be terribly hard to breath out of.
But the stone didn't come from Nai's position. No, it came from some distance away, over by the lead wagon. That is because Nai does not need to be in close proximity to the stones he is hurling with Earth Chakra. Instead, he descends from the sky, caravaneer disguise discarded.
His black cloak and hood flutter in the hot wind generated by Rika as he falls from where he leapt off one of the cliff faces. That wind, combined with the incoming stone, mean that this Jounin would have to be extremely adept indeed to not only defend against the stone, but also not be distracted by the Suna Jounin's Hellwind AND detect the man dropping down on him. And even if he does detect Nai, if he looks up to aim a counter attack, he would find the sun glaring in his eyes.
Nai's descent, if uninterrupted and/or unavoided, would land him right in front of Enemy Jounin #2. And then he would simply try to shove a pair of kunai, one in each hand, into the enemy's vital organs. One into the intestines, and the other angled in the manner of an experienced assassin to come up under the ribcage, and into the heart. Nai is officially a Chuunin. But even holding back as he is, it is obvious he is NOT merely a Chuunin. Record-keepers don't kill with such familiarity.
The Enemy Jounin would seem to struggle with his focus as he was now fighting against an attack that was spinning against his own attack, making him strain on keeping the flow of his attack more difficult. He attempts to focus more chakra into it, but it is like seeing a grinder struggle against an obstruction as it jerks and stops it's flow while the Hellwind continues to spin against it. After sometime, he breaks his focus and the jutsu falls, collapsing into nothing, but a crater of earth that Rika is now standing in.
Breathing heavily, the Jounin decides to form handseals and issue another attack. A move of desperation as he exhausted himself with the previous move. A series of spikes would shoot up from the earth beneath her to try and trap her so that she could no longer use the attack or handseals in general. However, because he was weakened at this point, the attack may not be as powerful as it could be.
Amazingly, Kureno's gambit works! The swordsman is caught in it. Genjutsu from a Ninjutsu foe like this was not quite what he'd expected, especially not while under the shock of looking for a second foe who hurt him too. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for him he is snapped out of the Genjutsu moments later by a rock to his neck, he somehow isn't dead or possessed of a crushed windpipe, but it looks like a nasty wound still. And he seems to be glowing as though his skin hardens to deflect the coming daggers. Then he backs off before a series of spinning attacks is slashed at the two fighting him, once more his chakra extending through the blade, and now his foot as he kicks towards Nai as well as cuts at him and the other Chuunin like some sort of dervish.
The Kid suddenly steps to the side, not slow at all. Perhaps compared to the Jounin and Chuunin engaged in mortal combat above it is slow, but for Kichiro? It's certainly fast enough to get out of the way! And it leaves him right next to the diving attack as he takes another of those seemingly sloppy two handed swings at Kichiro. It's starting to seem, laughing and craziness or not, this kid is anything but sloppy.
And Rika is staggered, she's used a lot of energy with the Hellwind and the Fireball. So she tries to get out of the way, but fails this time, earning a few new wounds in the process, her cloak and clothes slightly sliced up. Still, it left her worse for the wear. But that's the nature of a fight between Jounin. And her own counters are a set of small flames, not much, just enough to keep her foe off balance a bit, not really expected to hit. She needs a chance to catch her breath too. "See?" She asks, panting, "Not such a pathetic little girl… instead, a little girl who's gonna kill you." That smile somehow grows more dark as she says that, to match the tone that was used. Low, menacing.
"God damnit! I had him!" Yells Kureno as he tries to jump back, but too late, as this time even his leg gets a nasty, deep, cut. He rolls for a long moment and than positions himself in a crouch.
"Had you not interfered…!" He says angrily and than performs a move that might even catch Nai,and his opponent. He performs several handseals with amazing speed and than claps his hands together. The trick behind the move is the tiny crystal particles that are in the air already, crystalized by the moisture in it. As more Crystals lance out all over around the enemy swordsman.
"Let's see you dodge /THAT/"
Kichiro barely manages to put his bracered arms up to dry and deflect the attack from the boy. He is again sent flying and tumbling from the attack. Unlike the first time, he did take some damage from it, but he managed to mitigate part of it. He stands again, "alright.. which one of you hit me?" He certainly acts much more stunned and hurt than hee truly is. He takes a moment to collect himself before looking to the boy again. He hmms, "your side is losing you know. you might want to give up." He knows the boy won't. But he positions himself, leaning in just a little too much on purpose, baiting the boy into an attack Kichiro is prepared for, waiting to counter the move.
Nai had been hoping for an easy kill. How this man survived not only one but TWO hits from stones travelling at hundreds of miles per hour is uncertain. Perhaps that glistening skin has an answer. Nai doesn't have time to worry about it too much further, though, because the Jounin spins around. The kick strikes Nai, but, though he is sent stumbling backwards, a cloud of dirt erupts from his bandages and dark clothing. When did all that dirt get in there? Wherever it came from it seems to have softened the impact enough that Nai doesn't seem injured. Or maybe he's just quiet when he's in pain.
The slash cuts into Nai's right shoulder — or did it? There's shreds of fabric in the air from his cloak and shirt and the bandages underneath… But no sign of blood. Perhaps the Jounin misjudged how many layers Nai is wearing? Nai stands back, considering his next move, and blatantly ignoring Kureno's ranting.
But when he uses that Crystal Release technique, Nai straightens up and lets the particles hit him. Then spikes of crystal erupt from him, slicing through his body and cutting him into pieces that fall to the ground. He lies in a pile of lumps of gray-brown flesh on the canyon floor and does not move. Possibly because dead people generally don't move on account of being dead.
Enemy Jounin was easily thrown off balance with his energy still expended from the previous jutsu use, but he does avoid the fire balls with a bit of staggering. How many elements does this girl have!? "Damn you…" He grumbles, voice hoarse and throat slightly dry. It was difficult fighting in the desert. "You won't kill me so easily…" He growls making one final attempt at handseals. At this point, he yells into the air and expends the last of his energy to a transform that places too much stress on his body, but if he had to kill himself to take Rika with him, so be it. He wasn't going alone.
Lightning is focused into his body like it was a vessel, streaking through every manner of muscle and organ, even through his heart. He's visibly pained by it all, but tries to endure it for the sake of this being his last stand. It appears he wasn't done after all. When he jumps into the air, it appears that he becomes the very essence of lightning himself as he doesn't just appear as a jumping person, but a streak of lightning darting through the air hoping to strike Rika down and shock her senseless in the process.
The swordsman really can't do jack to stop that. There's just no way. Though somehow, he managed to survive it! He's bleeding from more places than most would probably care to have mentioned, but he's alive. "You… suna… Brat… Even killed… your comrade." He laughs, as though taking some pleasure in that little fact! And then starts to glow as he draws a dagger in his offhand, and suddenly launches towards Kureno in a magnificent whirlwind of sword, dagger, and foot. His ultimate Jutsu, and not much left in him, though probably (He hopes) more than the Chuunin he's fighting!)
Meanwhile, in our Genin Fight, the crazy one starts to scream in a bloodcurdling fashing, gathering himself for it… though the scream is probably a bit more unsettling in that his voice hasn't changed, so he sounds more like a 12 year old girl screaming like that, with a few random voice cracks thrown in just for more alieness. He accompanies this by holding his mace over his head in both hands and launching himself forward, his mace starting to glow with chakra of its own!
Rika watches the seals to transform being made… and knows it's time to try something herself. Something beyond what she's done before, but which she knows, in theory… which she's practiced for. And suddenly the ambient wind and heat around her increases too, the chakra gathered there a ticking timebomb, the lightning strikes her, knocking her back and shocking her. Yes. "I'm… not dead yet, but you're about to be." Rika says, laughing, and spitting up some blood herself, body twitching from the shock. But that's when end game really comes. Hellwind… isn't just a defense, and with her seals and chant. "Ninpo, HELLWIND!" it roars to life again, that majestic tornado of flame and wind roaring into the sky, the heat somehow even more ferocious this time! The Chakra Rika and her opponent have used overwhelming even that of what Kureno is doing… and that whirlwind roars towards her opponent.
Kureno's vision took on a tint of deep red. 'Crap!' He shouted in his own mind as he saw Nai get torn apart. But that.. that bastard survived. ".. Can't.. we talk.. about this?" He asks, though there was sarcasm in his voice as he started coughing out blood. He shouldn't have used that Jutsu.
And than the swordsman charged. Kureno did the best he could to shield himself with a wall of crystals, but even that defense failed as he quickly got kicked, stabbed and slashed brutally. Barely hanging on to consciousness as he rolled into a small gap, all cut up and bleeding.
He growled, realizing the gap in power between the two. Sure, Kureno had the style and the Jutsu. But that bastard. That bastard has the abilities of a immortal demon. He just won't die!
"Just.. die.. bastard." Kureno whispered as he fueled what little chakra he had left and a incalculable ammount of hatred boiling in him in a last attempt to impale the enemy on a Crystal Spike, jutting out from the ground.
Kichiro again blocks the incoming attack with his bracers and is again flung backwards. Its hard to tell the effectiveness of the attack, whether or not Kichiro took damage, but the recoil sends him flying straight at the canyon wall. The genin plants his feet, using the wall to launch himself right back at the boy, as if he had hit a tennisball instead of the gangly teen. His fists crackles with chakra as he attacks all out, a two fisted combo, followed by a flip kick as Kichiro retreats once more.
Then, as Kureno tries to impale the Jounin on a crystal spike, whether it succeeds or not, a hole opens in the ground right underneath the swordsman. Not a large hole. No, this one is very small. But it is enough for a jet of what appears to be dust to spray up out of the hole, engulfing the Jounin. Ordinarily he would have been able to dodge or defend somehow. Ordinarily his special defensive technique would have saved him. But not against an attack like this. Because wherever the grey dust and dirt and small pieces of something black touch on the Jounin, his flesh begins to turn the same grey as the dust itself. If he inhales any, it would speed up the process, but at this point the number of wounds he has are more than sufficient to introduce this uniquely insidious poison into his system. And shortly, unless, by some miracle, he DID predict that a tiny hole no larger than an inch in diameter would appear directly below him and he moved to defend himself… Well, his entire body would simply start to fall apart. It would turn to lifeless, dry dust and crumble rapidly. But still slowly enough for the Jounin to feel the pain and witness the horror of his own body turning into dust.
The cloud of poisonous dust is Chakra-based, you see. Meanwhile, Nai's garments begin to shift and move about as though some small animal might have been trapped underneath them. But gradually the garments are pulled underground into a hole that wasn't there before. Once they are gone, that is the last that anyone sees of Nai for the rest of the mission.
Enemy Jounin, at this point, didn't care much for the Hellwind. All he wanted to do was take Rika with him and so he pushed himself further, trying to electrocute her to make her give in and maybe even give out while she was still pinned. "Laughing…." He growls in a distroted voice, "Stop laughing!" He shouts as she calls out 'hellwind' and generates the mix of fire and wind around them.
The tornado of flame was too much for him to stand as it became increasingly hotter in a short amount of time with the wind spinning around so rapidly and trapping the heat inside. His clothes begin to burn off slowly and the lightning is slowly drawn from his form and twisted up into the tornado until he himself is eventually carried away into the wind and flame mix, now no longer able to control the transformation as it has taken over his body. His heart gives out and he freezes only to fall limp and dissipate into the tornado with sparks flying out every so often as it continues to draw up his lightning form until there's nothing left of him.
And the Swordsman, like Rika and her foe are all examples of just what a Jounin is. A Demon, a force of nature. But in this case, even demons aren't immortal, in the end. It's luck for sure, alone against the Jounin Kureno might have died, probably would have even. But the crystalline lance that pops up is well placed, and he was already hurt from Nai, and the last Crystalline jutsu… and here is where he falls. Or starts to… as suddenly Nai's ambush takes part in it too, and so dies the swordsman.
As does the Genin, he is caught unaware by an attack so similar to his own, though with hands! It clonks him on the skull, and sends him into a daze that leaves him completely unable to defend against the flip kick, which causes him to go flying up into the air, and then crashing back down to slam into it, dazed… knocked out. Ready to be captured!
And Rika? She is still standing, a bit worse for wear, the tattered edges of her cloak and clothing showing some signs of blood. But she stands and turns to look to her team, squinting at everything carefully. "Bind him." She says to the genin below, gesturing to crazy club kid (Oh if only English only had one letter for the K sound! The allitteration would be complete!) She then disappears for a moment in a swirl of fire and wind, as though her hellwind just coalesced around her and destroyed her, only to reappear down below. "We all need first aid, especially you, Kureno-san." She says, seemingly cheerful enough, "And to stop doing attacks like you did when comrades are around! You need situational awareness." She snaps after that. "But good job."
Kureno just catches a glimpse of the spike and the splash of blood. Did he get him? It was hard to tell from his vantage point within the pit he rolled into. It felt strange. The lack of feeling in his arms and legs. Numbed. Cold to the core. Something was wrong. And even than a small pool of blood was forming around him. He was aware of the hot burning blood on his cold skin.
Assessing his injuries, he noticed that they aren't deep enough to cause massive injuries, but there were so bloody many of them that he couldn't count them on his fingers and toes together. And teeth as well.
Somehow, with heroic effort he managed to stand up, to make sure if the bastard was dead.
One step, two steps, he was forcing one leg in front of the other, than repeating the process. He kneeled down. "What a waste. Wish we were allies."
He than looks up at Rika. "I ain't stupid.. I saw.. the difference in power.. between me and him.." He pauses to catch his breath. "I knew he wouldn't.. die." Though, he did, maybe, admitted that he expected him not to dodge, by his words. He was just sure that he wouldn't die.
"Sorry for being a burden.." He whispers before falling over on his face, out cold.
Kichiro digs in his pack for a rope and quickly hog ties the boy he was fighting. He picks the boys club up and makes sure to keep it a good distance from him. "He can hit pretty hard with that thing. I may need my bracer fixed before i can take it off." He shakes his arm to get the feeling back.
"Get his mace too." Rika says, gesturing to it. "No clue what his fate will be. He might get executed or sent to prison. But if he's lucky, he might get brought into the ranks… We can certainly use all the genin we can get, and he doesn't seem unskilled, if he can join and follow orders?" She shrugs. "He's still young, so there might be hope for him yet." And with that she seems to have an involuntary spasm of her body. "Bloody… lightning. Ow." She looks up to the by now almost dark sky. "My first fight in a year. It's like it was only a few days since the last though."
Kureno seems to regain consciousness again, and he turns on his stomach, and somehow manages to sit up. Thankfully, his cloak was already tattered and worn, so he starts ripping apart small strips of it, and trying to bandage as many wounds as he can find. Though, those on his back are completely invisible to him. So he misses a few. "Ow ow ow."
