Starring:
Jon, Katashi (as Saburo), Mune, Amaya, Amani
Date: August 8, 2011
Summary:
When in a tournament, what do you fight for? The answer can vary a lot between individuals, and sometimes, between the start and end of a match.
"Bloody Mist Cup - Volatile Materials: Jon vs. Mune"
Dammed Arena - Floor [Kirigakure]
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At the foot of the great march of bones that dams this tall canyon of blue-gray granite, under the shadows of the stands: the Kirigakure arena. Rivulets of water still escape the base of the dam and dampen the gravely bed of the dry river. The length of the canyon is limited by a raised platform at the south end featuring the referee's post and a large display board announcing the details of the match.
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One does strange things for the sake of diplomacy. If you were to ask Jon personally what his opinion of Kirigakure is (while he isn't within hearing of anyone who might take violent offense at it, of course), he'd say that what he's seen of them hasn't been too good, and what he's heard is worse. Nevertheless, if they're going to extend a gesture of non-hostility by inviting shinobi of other nations to this tournament, Jon thinks at least a few ninja should take them up on it. It doesn't have to be a promise of alliance, just a polite nod demonstrating they can all interact civilly. Might help stave off tensions in the long run.
Accordingly, here Jon is now, in the Dammed Arena of Kirigakure, ready to face off against his first opponent. It's too bad this place doesn't have those anti-damage fields the World Ninja Tournament had, but it was specifically stated that killing your opponent -> disqualified, so things shouldn't be too dangerous. Even fighting an opponent who is highly trained (actually, especially if they are) and isn't trying to kill you is safer than fighting thugs who are trying to kill you, which is what Jon would likely be doing if he weren't here.
Jon steps up to his place on the arena floor. He makes a bow, and Scruvo flaps off to find a safe perch. "Give it yer all, Jonny-boy! Well, I mean, don't give it so much you're liable to really 'urt yer opponent, but give it as much as y'can safely. I mean, don't pull yer punches too much or it won't be a sportin' match, but — " "Thanks, Scruvo, I get the idea." e.e
In classic style, gang boss Saburo is wearing a broad green kimono with the kanji for 'Boss' on the back in stark black on white, his henchmen in all their glory, stand nearby, looking menacing to anyone who isn't Shinobi. They run the usual gamut of thugs, the tall skinny guy who looks like he favors the kunai, the big beefy guy who tends to always be thumping one fist into the other palm, and the weasly guy who somehow manages to actually look like a rodent. "He will have her in no time!" he tells the spectating bigwig next to him, some business man or man on the take, and slams his fan into the opposite hand, a broad smile spreading across his greasy lips. Turning in place, he points the fan at one of his men.
"Oh yes, she is a worthy opponent, but I think she may have met her better on the field this day," the bored businessman intones, his voice dripping with so much boredom that it's a wonder he is still awake. His eyes slightly glazed. Even when he isn't talking, the man in the turquoise and lavender robes seems to constantly humming one low monotone sound from deep in his throat.
Turning in place, Boss Saburo looks at one of his people and with a quick flick of his fan, sends the man off to see to some debt, fetch him some sake, or whatever subordinates do.
A moment later, two more subordinates start to move back and forth and can be heard talking to various spectators, "Taking bets on the next match; Mune and Jon!" they repeat and start to take down bets, handing out small slips of paper with hasty jotted notes, adjusting the odds on the fly with quick hand signals to each other.
The big boss observes all of this with a cool air of detachment, his fan flickering open, the ridged paper fanning the air across his face. He sees all. Like a boss.
The last time she had fought personally in any sort of battle… That was outside Sunagakure during the failed kidnapping of a Councilor. She was not quite sure why she had aided those two back then, but she had not been instructed to abandon her allegiance to the Takokujin organization at that time. Before that, it was the First World Ninja Competition, when she fought against Kanami and won. It had been a bitter-sweet victory. In their FIRST match, Kanami had seen Mune as something LESSER. The Medic-Nin could not exactly complain that Kanami had been self-confident, as the actress had easily defeated her. But the utter disregard for Mune as a potential challenge had been infuriating.
In the final match of the third bracket, that had been changed. Mune had taken a significant beating both from Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, but she had not gone down or given up. Furthermore, she had come out of it victorious and in much better condition than the first battle. She had won against someone who had seen her as inferior. But she had also won against a woman who was no longer an aggravating rival but an ally who recognized her as worthy of respect. Yes, Mune had gotten stronger since that first match. But Kanami had changed also, and become stronger in her own way.
So much has happened since then. Yet, so much more would be happening so very soon. Even with the Twilight Village eradicated by the Void, and the battle at the newly formed Valley of the End, and the revelations of who exactly had been pulling the strings of the Beast of Blood before it had been taken from that man, none of it had altered the determination or goal of the leader of the Tao Shih.
'The plan moves forward,' Amuro had said to Mune. 'Events proceed as expected. There is no longer any stopping the future.'
So why, exactly, is Kishi Mune here? Kirigakure had not previously been high on the priority list. There was the mission to recover the frozen still-living body of Kaguya Mitsuo, the First Mizukage, and that had been it. 'Is this part of the plan too, Amuro-sama?' Mune wonders as she strides out onto the arena floor. Her dark-skin, white-blonde hair, vivid cyan eyes, all speak of her Yotsuki heritage. The fact that she is the grand-daughter of Yotsuki Raiga is no longer a secret to most in the ninja world. It was announced publically. But it is also no secret that she is no ninja of Kumogakure. She is not an enemy of Kirigakure in THAT regard at least. This tournament is, on the whole, trivial in the grand scheme of things. But she must fulfill this duty. White longcoat trailing behind her, undershirt or other chest-covering seemingly absent due to the plunging neckline, black boots, baggy white pants… All are the same as always. Mune does not know Saito Jon personally, but she knows OF him. She does not expect to be able to sway or distract him with mere sex appeal as she has other opponents. He is not that kind of man.
But she has no better outfit to wear, so she simply stands facing her opponent when she gets close enough, offers a curt nod of her head as a return to the bow offered her, and then waits with her arms folded under her chest.
"Nice weather we're having," she offers conversationally as she waits for the match to begin.
Saito Jon did not come to Kirigakure alone. He had come as a 'diplomatic' mission that involves beating people up, yes, but his wife has approximately zero trust or respect for Kirigakure's ninja as a whole. They are betrayers, in her view, and letting Jon go play stab-in-the-face alone when they have the advantage of it being their own home did >not< go over well with her.
Nagayama Amaya thus also joined the tournament. She could not care less about winning or losing, but she is going to keep an eye on these creeps and stay close to Jon at all times. She is seated in the stands of the arena, nowhere near as relaxed and upbeat as she had been a year ago, at a similar event. This is not rest and relaxation for her. This is not a diplomatic mission for her. This is guard duty and reconnaisance at the same time. "Like hell they'll get their hands on Jon-honey," she mutters to herself as she glances around occasionally, trying to see any sign of trouble.
Her clothing is as it usually is. Her white hair is the same as usual too. No fancy style, no sunhat, nothing special at all. She should be easily spotted by Scruvo for purposes of perching upon once Jon finishes shooing the talking crow out of actual combat zone. "Hey, isn't that Raiga-sama's grand-daughter?" she asks of Scruvo when such occurs. "I wonder what she's doing here. I also wonder why I haven't heard anything about her joining us back home… Hmm…"
Jon smiles wryly. "I suppose it is. I'm not too familiar with typical weather patterns here, so I'm not qualified to judge." Raiga-sama's grand-daughter…interesting that he came all this way to fight in a foreign tournament, and wound up first facing somebody native to his own country. Not that she seems to have a great deal of attachment to the Land of Lightning.
Further musings are cut short by the referee. "This match between Kishi Mune and Saito Jon will now commence! Contestants ready…fight!"
Jon draws his rod from its sheath. "I'm going to start this off simple," he remarks. "No advantage in showing off too many tricks this early in the tournament, wouldn't you agree?" That stated, Jon lunges forward and swings the rod as though slashing with a katana. It flashes down, up, and around in a series of well-practiced but basic strikes, testing Mune's defenses.
Scruvo flutters down and alights on Amaya's shoulder. "Raiga-sama's gran'-chick, y'say? I wouldn't know, I 'ave an 'ard time rememberin' 'umans unless I've been around 'em fer a while. D'ye think she's lookin' fer a bloke? Might be a bit o' a career bonus, 'elpin' the 'Ead Ninja's gran'-chick land a nice chap." :)
Amani, after purchasing some snacks to well, snack on goes into the arena and finds her seat. Making her way through the numerous legs in her path, she eventually stumbled through and plopped down on her seat before checking to see if her tray was intact. Everything seemed to be there, though a few items might have spilled… Oh well. So, the match has started.
Seems like she made it back in the nick of time. All that's left to do is eat and watch.
Boss Saburo is sweating enough that it smells a bit like he must have bathed in sake at some point in the last few hours, but his quickly working fan keeps his face relatively clear of that sheen and his jaw manages to stay mostly closed. "Now, these two," he intones to the man beside him, his hands dancing in the air as if conducting a symphony, "You may recognize the woman from the world tournament, but my people are telling me that the fellow is a man of some skill," his voice rather low, but he doesn't mind if a few people pick up on his tips. It's a way of showing off how amazingly well informed he is, "That said, we expect people to bet on her, but for him to prevail. It should net a tidy profit, a tidy profit.. indeed!" insert slightly wicked laughter.
A pause then as he swivels his jowls towards his lackeys and they report on the initial betting, "Yes yes, current odds favor Mune," he approves and sends them back off to continue to do their job.
Throughout the stands, Boss Saburo's men make their rounds making no great show, and no great attempt to hide, they are just there, accepting bets, handing out slips and moving on.
Snapping his fan closed, he points at the announcer and declares, "I'll have him flayed. That was not enough time for bets!" and all at once, all of the men around the arena stop taking bets.
Mune's own mouth, and thus whether or not she is smiling in response, is concealed by the high collar of her coat. All she has to say to Jon's comment about not being familiar with the Land of Water's weather is, "Yes." The announcement that the match is now starting has her lower her arms from her chest and let them hang loose at her sides, fingers flexing and bending to work the stiffness out of them from the chilly air of this country. Jon draws a weapon and then announces his intention to start 'simple'. Before she can even think about agreeing, disagreeing, or otherwise responding verbally, he is moving quite swiftly indeed to lash at her with the metal rod in his hand.
The downwards strike is side-stepped, but as it comes back up almost immediately, it strikes her on the chin stingingly, even through the coat collar. Her head snaps up and back for a moment, and her left hand lets go of a vial that had been held in her palm. The tube is one that might be seen in a laboratory or hospital or similar. It hits the ground and shatters, releasing a crackling, electrical current into the air the air that produces both the sound and sensation of static. By the time Jon has a chance to react to what may seem to be a counter-attack with electricity, Mune has already leaps backwards with a single push off of the ground by a booted foot, landing her a fair distance away and outside the range of the skillful pole-strikes.
She says nothing yet, and simply stays where she is. She does not fully expect to overcome this opponent, but she does not doubt her own capabilities either. Also, Jon is a man. There is only one man in this world that she respects and sees as her superior. Saito Jon is NOT that man. She can always outsmart him if she decides she wants to win. For now, though, she will just 'go with the flow' and see where the typical gauging of capabilities takes her.
She lowers herself and begins to dash back into close-combat range, leaving her arms loose so that they seem to fly out behind her as she runs, in that special way that ninja tend to run. When she gets to within 10 feet, seeming to be intending to engage Jon in melee combat, she leaps up into the air and swings her right hand around. She lets go of another of those vials in the process, this one releasing some liquid that smokes as it burns through whatever it contacts. Acid!? Her leap was not forward for an aerial assault but rather sideways. She has barely landed before she uses the front of her booted foot to leap into the air again, cartwheeling. A puff of smoke in her left hand precedes a kunai being hurled from her previously empty grasp, while she is still upside-down in mid-air. When she lands again, THAT is when she darts closer and tries to land a straight punch on Jon's collarbone, rotating her elbow to send a back-knuckle punch at his face, and then balancing on one foot as she turns her body nearly horizontal and lashes out with a kick at his stomach.
Acid, kunai, and physical assault. This may seem a bit intense for the warm-up stage, but this is how Mune does her own 'testing of defenses'.
Amaya ponders carefully what she has heard or gleaned from confidential sources in regard to the Head Ninja and his family. A certain prominent detail comes to the foremost of her thoughts at Scruvo's inquiry. "…From what I've heard of her love-live, she burns through guys like a politician burns through promises. If she is looking for a specific one then she hasn't found him yet. Then again, maybe she's just not looking for that level of commitment right now. I really don't know. But if you think you have someone to introduce her to, I would be glad to help you out with talking to her."
Wait, what? Is this an alternate universe suddenly? Since >when< has Amaya >ever< wanted to help or be helped by Scruvo's match-making attempts!? "…Because if the rumors or try and she starts trying to get with my husband, I am going to >hit her with my fist!<" Amaya raises and clenches a fist to emphasize this, a vein pulsing in her forehead. Ahh. Jealousy. The thing that keeps all good marriages fresh and new. :D …Or not, but whatever.
As Amani sits down next to her, the white-haired Jounin glances to the student and relaxes from 'scary angry Amaya mode' to smile and say, "Hi, there! Enjoying the show?"
Amani was busy stuffing her face, but that unusual deadly aura that came from Amaya caused her to choke up a bit and begin coughing. She reaches for her soft drink and downs it quickly to clear her throat of the remainder of the hard swallow she took. Lifting a napkin to clear her face, she glanced at Amaya from her peripheral vision, seeing that she was now an entirely different person. "Yes…?" She remarked, voice slightly muffled from the napkin. Lowering it, she continues, "I…don't know what I'm watching…" She sees a lot of smoke. What is all that smoke?
Jon takes a large step sideways to avoid the scythe of liquid flung at him. That was probably intended to put him off-balance for a follow — whoops, suddenly appearing kunai! Jon flicks his rod sideways, deflecting the projectile with a *PING*. Then comes Mune's taijutsu assault, which Jon meets in kind. The rod slips under Mune's arm and lifts it so that the punch goes over Jon's shoulder, then slides along her forearm to the wrist, taking the force out of the backhand. Then, seeing the kick on the way, Jon shifts one hand to the other end of the rod and holds it vertically before him, taking the blow at the middle of the weapon. Jon skips backward a few paces to absorb the force, but is otherwise unharmed.
Jon pauses. "Hmmm. I'm tempted to put away the rod…" The faint edges of a familiar aura from up in the stands reaches Jon. "…but my wife might get the wrong idea if I make this too close-combat." n.n; Jon shifts his stance and grips the rod tightly. "So, I think I'll actually give you a little incentive to keep your distance." Jon lunges again, but this time, he puts a lot more vertical oomph into the jump. The rod whips down with great force, then Jon spins as he lands and swings the weapon in a full circle at Mune's ear-level.
The watering eyes of Boss Saburo grow wide and a grin dawns on his porcine features as Jon's attacks had seemed to be proving more effective than Mune's. This is in favor of his betting, and so he approves wholly. Things might be stalled just now, and he might have liked to fix the fight, but he had been unable to contact anyone for either of the fighters to assure the loss. That said, he believes he has this one in the bank already and intones to his neighbor, "See how quickly he moves to demonstrate his superiority! This is the mark of a champion. He doesn't beat her with show, he beats her with force."
"Yes yes, I see it, I see it Saburo. Did he say wife is here, I should send over someone to greet her. That seems appropriate, doesn't it?" he questions aloud, still sounding just utterly bored, that low sound coming from his throat all the while.
"Yes, yes, perhaps we should. Koji!" Boss Saburo yells out the name in a high pitched voice and the rat-faced man approaches. "Find the fighter's wife, see if we can't make an introduction, a good fighter is always good to know." He punctuates his command with a quick whipping back and forth of his fan, sending streams of air across his bounteous chops.
The man identified as Koji does the whole ninja-vanish thing. Apparently looking for Amaya based on that small sample of information alone.
Scruvo chuckles (or cackles, as it would sound to human ears) nervously in response to Amaya's words. "Ah, one of those wot gads about wi'out evah finishin' a propah nest, eh? Nevah understood why some 'umans do that, doesn't make any sense." Turning to Amani, Scruvo bobs his head enthusiastically. "Jonny-boy's down theah 'avin' a friendly scrap wi' the 'Ead-Ninja's gran'-chick. I think she used some sort o' nasty watah before, that's wot caused th'smoke. Crikey, I wouldn't like t'meet th'crittah she got it from." c.c
Mune knows better than to expect to match a Jounin of this level in Taijutsu when that is not even close to being her specialty. But she had to get in close for at least a moment to proceed with her battle strategy. Though all her attacks were overcome, when Jon decides to 'dissuade' her from close-range combat, she takes the opportunity given.
Even as the powerful lunge brings the pole down at her, the dark-skinned woman unstoppers another vial, and retorts, "Well, allow me to cure your indecisiveness for you…!" A jet of white steam-like gas sprays out as though it had been pressurized, directly at the Saito Clan member. The substance turns out to not be gas at all, but closer to a FOAM of some kind. It also seems to dissipate rapidly, leaving Jon unharmed but perhaps momentarily distracted or with sight obscured.
Before the foam fully vanishes, however, there is a much more prominent flash-and-crackle of bright, blue-white electricity from within the obscuring mass. Jon's rod definitely hit something solid, but that electricity may be worrying, even if it doesn't travel up to his hand or anything. When the foam finally is gone, Mune is standing a short distance away, and Jon's combat rod has had its end reshaped into a metal pretzel.
Somehow.
Continuing with her previous words, she says, "Now I have removed the source of your indecision for you. There isn't much point in continuing to wield a deformed weapon, is there?" Shrugging casually, hands with palms turned up, the Medic-Nin says, "Don't worry, I'll turn it back for you when we're done here." Then she reaches inside of her coat and pulls out a vial with a golden-yellow liquid inside that seems to almost glow. Mentally, she focuses her Chakra to receive the substance and recites, 'Elixir Imbibe: Golden Flower Elixir.' Then she pops the button on her collar and drinks its contents down. Moments afterwards, as she tosses the container aside, a visible golden haze begins to emanate from the woman's body. Visible Chakra? Very unusual. Either it is especially potent, or extremely dense, if so.
She immediately begins weaving her hands in front of herself in complex patterns, as though gathering something from the air itself. In the process, the aura surges and grows brighter and larger. It would seem that Jon is able to go on the offensive again if he wishes.
Amaya nods pleasantly as Scruvo explains to Amani before she can. "Yes, that woman down there uses chemicals in her fighting style… Among other things. I recall that she once blinded an opponent with her chest in his face so that he wouldn't see her pouring nitroglycerine in his hair." She lifts a water bottle to her mouth but then interrupts that motion to turn her head back to Amani and say casually, "He blew up." Then she faces forward again and resumes sipping as she watches the battle.
The alteration to Jon's battle pole makes white eyebrows come down over Amaya's green eyes, but at least it was just an inanimate object instead of something irreplaceable, like her husband's >face<.
Speaking of faces, there is a rather boisterous voice being emitted from one somewhere in the stands. Cat-ear-shaped protrusions of hair on Amaya's head almost seem to twitch at the noise before she chances a look away from the fight, and thus misses the Medic-Nin getting her cool golden aura. "That guy sure is loud…" she mutters, finally spotting Saburo. "…Wait a sec, I know that guy's face from somewhere."
Running through a mental list of faces she has punched, she determines she has not fought him before. "Hmm… An official of some kind? A town-leader? A local crime boss? Hmm. Hmmmm…" Eventually, she dismisses the matter. If he's important, she'll figure it out. In the meantime, the ninja sent to find her should at least be able to identify her by the Kumogakure hita-ite on her forehead (that's a forehead protector, for those who don't speak Japanese). Also, she kind of has a lot of cleavage to distract a ninja on the job with, so he might just take notice because, 'whoah look at that'. Or not, if he's a professional.
The increasing glow catches Amaya's attention, however, and she pops the straw from her mouth to calls out, "Jon-honey, she is powering up, just like Gokuto, from the Super Ninja Z manga! Don't let her use a Z-Rank attack on you!" Helpful tactical advice from the wife. How nice.
Jon blinks widely at this development. THAT'S certainly something you don't see every day. o.O; At Mune's offer to repair the weapon later, Jon heaves a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. This thing wasn't easy to get, y'know, had to be custom built." X) Jon sets the misshapen rod down in the gravel. "Looks like we're getting serious. Say, you're glowing!" Jon points at Mune, as if this fact ought to be some interesting revelation to her — *BZAP!* A small discharge of electricity leaps from Jon's fingers towards Mune. "Heh, sorry, guess I shouldn't play around when I already said we're getting serious. Try this!" Jon unleashes a more powerful burst of lightning chakra from both hands.
He also slipped out a tendril of chakra while he was pointing, trying to link Mune's chakra to his. Sneaky sneaky.
Amani frowned at Scruvo's explanation. So, she's a Lead Ninja's grand…chick, so to speak and she fights with nasty water. As she watches the fight and sees his weapon take a pretzel shape she winced saying, "I don't know any kind of water that…" her voice trails off as Amaya adds to the explanation. So, she fights with chemicals? She didn't know any ninja that fought with those. She assumed ninja mostly used the elements, save for her. She knew her clan was different, but it was somewhat normal for her. Seems elements come in all sorts of ways and chemicals just happens to be one of the many.
"…What's nitroglycerine?" She didn't know these things. She's familiar with chemicals, but the names are far beyond her as well as some of their capabilities. "Ooooh…." She offered. He exploded from liquid? Speaking of explosion, it looks like one just happened on the field. That golden aura was something else. None like anything she's seen before…because she hasn't ever seen it before. She thinks she might even be a bit scared. Being a student has its perks and one of those is not meeting bright, glowing ninja that make people explode.
It takes maybe five minutes of inquiries for Koji to find Amaya's name, and half that again to locate her.
The rat face man who materializes well within Amaya's view, for safety reasons, is rat faced in a way that can only be described as unnatural. It must be a Clan trait. Some strange unknown clan with a relation to rats, rat transformations and maybe even an ability to control them. There are stranger clans. That said, his beedy eyes only dwell on that swell of cleavage for a moment before his eyes shoot to her feet.
Bowing his head swiftly, Koji drops to one knee in an act of subservience and servility, "Boss Saburo requests your presence."
Elsewhere in the stands, Boss Saburo has begun to sweat profusely as complete lack of control over the fight is making him catapult towards a heart attack. One moment the fight seems to be in the man's favor, and the next, it slips away. He hadn't expected a pushover from a winner of the World Tournament, but his intelligence might have been faulty!
When Jon points at Mune, a rolled up cylinder of paper drops out of Mune's right sleeve. She grasps the bottom edge with her left hand and the rest of the scroll with her right hand, and unrolls it swiftly, bringing it up and pointing the side with the jutsu formula on it towards her opponent. It happens so swiftly and fluidly that the wall of semi-transparent yellowish Chakra easily intercepts not only Jon's first electric burst before it can touch the scroll's wielder, but then goes on to absorb the full impact of both lightning blasts from Jon's hands without so much as a ripple.
Mune doesn't even try to dodge. Of course, she is also unaware that an 'anchor' of sorts has been established in her own Chakra network that can be used to subvert her own senses, but for the moment it seems she is doing pretty well. Saburo, up in the stands, is having a conniption. She may or may not be aware of this. But things are about to get worse for the man, as the odds may seem to shift further in favor of the Medic-Nin.
The barrier scroll is deactivated and discarded, released at the top and allowed to roll itself back up and fall to the ground. However, there is a SECOND scroll underneath THAT one, and it immediately erupts with a cloud of smoke. Three duplicates of Mune lunge from the smoke cloud, and begin to rapidly dash and dart and leap and do similar acrobatic maneuvers as they circle Jon, sometimes moving in as though to strike, but then moving away the moment he moves to look or defend against them.
All that leaping! All that bouncing! All that… Uhh… Bouncing. Hm. Good thing that Jon has his priorities and his self-control. Good thing for Mune too, or else they might have an angry Kemonoken lunging into the ring to punch the Medic-Nin. The point remains, however, that there are now three of Mune, they seem to be more than content to wait for an opening to strike, and they are not making it easy to just blasts them all at once.
Jon glances amongst the Munes. Hmmm…he could try stopping the real one in her tracks using genjutsu, but he'd rather save that surprise for a better moment. Besides, this seems like a good time to make a non-offensive move. Jon breathes in deeply and starts to build up chakra. Hey, he said they were getting serious, gotta be able to back that up. He also flips open a little gate in his brain, and his mental processes start to speed up. Okay, what are you going to pull next, Kishi-san? e.e
Amaya nods. "Yes. Nitroglycerin is what they put in dynamite, nyah. It's basically something >really unstable< that tends to >explode< at the slightest disturbance. So she dumped it on his head and then disturbed it. Boom. It's okay, though. This tournament is non-lethal combat only. You're not allowed to kill your opponent."
'Then again,' she muses darkly. 'The World Competition was supposed to be non-lethal too, and that woman unleashed a weapon that could have melted the entire Grass Village and everyone in it during >multiple< matches. I don't know if I trust her to show more caution or not…'
A little while later, as Amaya is sucking on the straw of her water bottle, she detects sudden movement and focuses on the rat-faced guy who appears nearby. Her eyes narrow a bit, but not in anger. Her pupils dialate and she begins to pay >very close attention< to this stranger, almost like a predator watching its prey. Well… Rat Clan, and a Cat-Fist Kemonoken. Doesn't take too much thinking to figure it out. Still, she >is< a human, so as she reacts in surprise to the messenger bowing at her feet, she lets the straw fall from her mouth without ceasing the suction, resulting in a spurt of water spraying on her face and her front. She looks down in exasperation but has no napkin, so just leaves it.
"…Boss Saburo, nya? Well, I >suppose< I can take a moment to meet him. Maybe he wants an autograph or something." Rising from her seat, she directs Scruvo to seat himself on Amani instead. The white-haired woman then says, "Lead the way, mousketeer-san."
Scruvo moves as directed, trying to reassure Amani. "'Ello, lass. Don't worry, I don't peck. 'Cept Jonny-boy on occasion, but 'e's used to it." n.n; Scruvo casts a glance after Amaya. "Er, sure I don't need t'tell ya this, but be careful, a'right? That chap reminds me of a beetle shell left danglin' in a spidah web, all trouble an' no reward." :P
Amani tries to eat, but she's combatting the fear that's built up. "Right…" is all she says to Amaya's comment. Liquid that explodes. Goes in dynamite. Goes on heads too, it seems. When the rat faced guy shows up, she didn't spot him. It's only when he bowed that she got a look at the guy and her face turned up with an audible "Ugh…" coming from her.
Seems he needed her, so…she'll be by herself watching the glowy person…or not. The bird hopped up on her shoulder and she looks up to him chuckling. It didn't occur to her that birds don't talk like he does, but it does sort of 'click' in a sort of way. "Do you know who that guy is? He looked ugly and I'm wondering if she's going to be alright with him." She watches them walk off to…wherever they were going.
The rat-man, Koji, leads Amaya up and along the walking aisle of the arena until they reach a spot a section over and towards a robust looking man in a dark verdant green kimono, a fan working almost violently in his pudgy hand. "Boss Saburo," he wheedles, his chin scraping at the floor as he acts with that vast pretense of the deepest servility, he is but a footstool for his betters. "May I introduce the esteemed daughter of Nagayama Kiriko, Jounin of Kumogakure and most excellent practicioner of Cat-Fist Style, Nagayama Amaya," he scrapes out without missing a beat or a syllable. He may act subservient but the wicked little man is likely at least as smart as his boss, and ten times as well informed. Without a word then, he changes gears and departs.
Boss Saburo turns his head, receives the introduction and dares a very condescending bob of the head. "Please, sit beside me. How has your husband's training been coming, should we expect him to turn this around?" he inquires. His angle is entirely about money, and he makes very little attempt, or a very sore attempt, at concealing it.
The man beside Saburo, the scrawny businessman with the long nose leans in as well, that consistent humming sound from his throat still there. "Yes, tell us, how will he manage to get through this one, hmm?"
Jon's conversion of his body's physical and spiritual energy reserves into Chakra does not go unnoticed, but Mune is scarcely prepared to start measuring them even if she had that capability. Instead, she simple acknowledges that her opponent is preparing to 'get serious' as he originally claimed, and acts accordingly.
One of the Mune-duplicates starts running at Jon, unaware of his sped up mental processes, perhaps, but seeming to finally be committing to an attack. With Jon's enhanced senses and awareness, he probably will notice the faint streams of smoke that seem to be coming from the woman's body. The smoke increases in density, and as it flows from her, it seems that her very body is changing. Skin-tone, height, the dimensions of her figure, and more are indicated to be altering before the smoke becomes so dense that the advancing person is shrouded in it.
It may be an odd sight to both Jon and those in the stands, almost as though a soot-grey cloud has descended from the sky and decided to tackle the Saito Jounin. The smoke eventually runs out, however, and remains behind just as the attacker gets relative close… It is no longer Mune who is attacking however. It is a different woman. Pale as death, with a slashed throat that has been sewn shut neatly with sutures in a very professional manner. She has wisping black hair streaming out behind her, and she is wearing the garments of a Konohagakure ninja. No forehead protector is apparent, but the crest of the Uchiha Clan is evident in multiple places on her outfit.
Her eyes are missing.
They are just empty, hollow sockets, with nothing to see in them but a terrible LACK of what SHOULD be there. Her mouth hangs slightly open, lips purpled, and based on the level of decay, including some of the skin peeling and flaking off, she is not recently dead, but still far from rotting. Perhaps some preservation was employed. All of this, of course, could likely be gathered from a single look, given Jon's accelerated thoughts and experience as a detective. This is fortunate, as the dead woman is moving too swiftly for a more careful examination right now. Only… She slows down as she approaches, her movements becoming uncoordinated for the last three feet or so. Then she just falls forward, limbs and body flopping to the ground, either on Jon himself before sliding down or simply lying at his feet if he moves back.
What is going on here!?
While Jon's attention may or may not be fixed on the too-close dead-woman's corpse (or is it a corpse? Is Genjutsu being used on Jon somehow? Is this a repeat of the fight against Fuyu, in which she subverted Jon's own Genjutsu Link? It does not seem like it…), the other two Mune duplicates have not stood idle. One has drawn and thrown another vial of dangerous chemicals at Jon from his left-rear side. The remaining one is running up to Jon from the right-rear side, just out of peripheral vision range (for most people, at least), and she attempts to leap towards Jon half-way to her target to not betray her movements further with the sound of footfalls.
If she gets close enough, her arms spread wide as she falls towards Jon, this Mune will attempt to land on the Jounin from above and wrap her arms around his head, her legs around his torso, and interlock the hands and feet of each appropriate set of limbs. If successful, Mune intends to use her semi-bare chest that lies against the back and on either side of Jon's head to serve as a conductor for a certain technique that requires flesh-on-flesh contact… Forcibly causing muscles to relax through a physical massage and Chakra-kneading to make the body forget its pain, its fatigue, and just induce a nice feeling of warmth, potentially drowsiness, etc.
…Of course, how will this look to those in the stands? Hm. Probably just as though Mune is latched onto Jon to hold him in place. The details would be too hard to make out from up there.
Amaya follows the ratty-looking ninja, doing her best to both seem casual and pay attention to her surroundings, while simultaneously >also< focusing on the match between her husband and a very scary woman. However, as they go up steps and along walkways and so on, Amaya loses sight more than once of the goings-on. This makes the suspicious mindset she has acquired through all these years of war combined with her 'covert' missions all over the continent that she really can not talk about sshhhh kick in. Being lead away? So that she can be eliminated, perhaps? Or so she can not stop Jon from being eliminated? Even if killing isn't the objective, underhanded tactics are far from being outside of Kirigakure's repetoire.
The white-haired woman does not like this. She does not like it one bit. But she arrives and is introduced to this 'Saburo' and his Malfoy-looking associate without incident, the ninja goes away instead of guarding them, and it >appears< she is more or less free to go if she so chose. It might be terribly >rude<, but she is not above being rude to someone she doesn't know.
Then again, she >does< think she has seen that chubby face before. It is even more familiar up close! Hmm. Well, she bows in return, not offering this guy the opportunity to oggle her for more than a second — doubly so due to his very brief nod of recognition himself. Further, he seems to be focused on the fight, just as Amaya is.
The questions, however, asked with no preamble or subtlety, cause white eyebrows to lift over almost 'almond-shaped' green eyes. Amaya thinks to herself, 'So that is what this is about? Pfft. It might still be something tricksy, but then again he might just be a greedy man wanting inside knowledge so that he knows where to lay his bets.' Forcing a pleasant smile, the fully-developed female fighter slinks forward and slides into the empty seat indicated with feline grace. She can see Jon better from up here anyway.
"Training? Oh, I suppose he trains sometimes… It is difficult to reach a higher plateau of ability when one is as strong as Jon-honey. After awhile, people just 'hit their peak'… But he's not there yet, and he's not really in trouble right now." She lifts a leg and crosses it over the other as she leans back in the seat and makes a show of stretching her arms over her head, arching her back to push her chest out, and yawning in a manner that is >very< reminiscent of a house-cat. The muscles that tense and bulge somewhat on her otherwise slender arms likewise have that sort of liquid strength that is displayed by various cats… Including tigers, for instance.
Turning her head as she lowers her arms and gesturing lazily at the associate of Saburo's, Amaya says, "Right now he is still testing the waters. It's good, really. I don't doubt my husband's abilities, but the woman he is facing is very, very dangerous. I'm not sure of her full capabilities, but it is likely that unless she uses something that looks like a bunch of golden soap bubbles that keep multiplying and expanding without end, she will not be able to seriously harm him."
She turns her attention forward, placing her hands in her lap and says, "Oh, and if Kishi Mune >does< use that soap bubble thing… It might be wise to have a place to evacuate to in mind beforehand." She smiles cutely, all =^_^= at Saburo and his friend, and then looks back at the arena once more.
Then Amaya sees what looks like the Medic-Nin woman trying to land on her husband. She doesn't know if Mune will succeed or not, but the way the busty woman is hanging out of her coat like that, even in free-fall… It makes Amaya clench her fist and grind her teeth a bit. Muttermutter.
Jon watches carefully as Mune starts her assault. It certainly does look like she's starting something interesting. Jon knows better than to focus only on the most obvious attack, but it could be advantageous to look distracted, and he's confident in his mental state to help him keep track of the others. The smoke dissipates and…whoa. Wait a minute. No. This is not good. This is very not good, for reasons that have nothing to do with winning or losing. This is bigger than the match. Jon stares down at the corpse as it wobbles to a collapse, stepping back from it. If it weren't for his heightened senses, he might be genuinely fixated enough on this to be caught unawares by Mune's real attacks. As it is, he makes a spinning sidestep to avoid the acid, turning toward Mune in the same motion and whipping an arm out in her direction.
OBJECTION!
Mune lands in the gravel, her motor functions briefly disabled. Jon could do a lot with this moment. He could kick her full-force across the arena. He could put a knife to her throat and demand that she forfeit the match. He could even give her a taste of his most powerful lightning technique. But he has something a little different in mind. Jon runs through a set of handseals, and Mune's world goes black.
*click*.
A solitary lamp comes on, creating a cone of light around Mune. She is sitting in a hard, metallic chair, bound securely at wrists, shoulders, knees, and ankles. A footstep sounds behind her, and Jon walks around the chair. "I'm not going to make any assumptions about how you wound up with the corpse of an Uchiha," he says quietly. "Maybe she attacked you without provocation. Maybe she was already dead when you found her. Maybe that's not really an Uchiha at all, just a random person dressed like one for shock value."
Jon turns around. "What's important is, what will people think from having seen it. I don't know if you didn't think about the ramifications or just didn't care, but in case it's the former, here's what's likely to happen: people will see that you have a dead Uchiha. People will see that its eyes are missing. Right or wrong, people will associate you with Kumogakure. People will think that you have given those eyes to your GRANDFATHER, and they will demand that they be handed over!"
Jon clenches a fist, which crackles with lightning chakra. "Now I'll tell you what's going to happen. You are going to demonstrate to the crowd that the corpse is not an Uchiha. Henge the clothes, turn the corpse into earth, something. If it's really not an Uchiha and you can distinctively prove it, so much the better. But you will do whatever you can to clean up this mess, or so help me, I will shock your tongue so you cannot say 'I give up' and I will beat you until even the Kiri shinobi are sick to their stomachs!" Jon swings his electrified fist and —
*WHAP, WHAP!*
Jon gives Mune a couple of light slaps to the face. "Wake up. It's your move."
Approaching Boss Saburo there are several key points of interest for Amaya-san. A smattering of thugs of some varying degrees of skill, nothing she can't handle no doubt, but enough to keep the riff raff from jumping him. Chuunin level at best, but more likely middling between Genin level combatants. The big man, the razor edged swordsman with the snide look on his face and of course, Koji, the rat, who watches and sees all. He looks the least threatening, but beneath that surface is a rat through and through. He'd cut Saburo's throat in a heartbeat if it meant an improvement of his fortunes.
When Amaya joins them, both Saburo and his companion offer polite inclinations of their head and even offer some sake.
it is when she begins to reply to his question that the great Boss Slug turns in place ever so precariously and fans his jowls in her direction. "Of course! A plateau, I often feel that way when I am drinking Sake, there is a plateau at which you really have to struggle for the next level of technique!" he then laughs somewhat obscenely along with the birdlike companion at his side, the two clearly a bit deep in their drinking. His voice crass and unseemly.
Even as he laughs, he leans in towards her slightly, "And, this soap bubble technique, she would pose a threat to most competitor's with?" he inquires, the eye closest to Amaya opening wide.
It is only in his choice of questions that one might begin to perceive Boss Saburo's particular type of cunning. He sees weaknesses and strengths.
The man at his side points out, "Saburo, you are missing the fighter," and advises some patience.
"Oh yes of course!" he agrees and bows his head again to Amaya, before turning his gaze back towards the arena. "Quite the spectacle, quite the spectacle indeed. I wonder if we might purchase such skill sometime. I certainly have some problems that could be," he looks towards a man down and a ways over down the stands, "Seen to."
Scruvo shrugs his wings, making himself look momentarily like a miniature vulture. "Nevah seen 'im before, lass. Seen 'is type, though. Sneaky blightahs, raid their own nest if they thought it would benefit 'em most. Don't worry, though. Amaya deals wi' blokes like that fer a livin'. Eats a dozen fer brekkist an' still 'as room fer toast, she does."
Amani nodded, though she still tried to look to see what was going on. She isn't sure she liked where this was going. "Okay…" She offers to Scruvo before focusing back on the battle. For now, it seems like its a bit too much for her to keep up with, but she tries. What she sees is…eh, "I can't tell what I'm looking at anymore…" She was so confused. Things were just happening way too fast. She lifts a hand and rubs her head softly, "I don't know who is going to win."
Mune was actually not either of the two women who had attacked Jon at the end. She had used the release of a double-layered Transformation Technique — the first a Henge into herself, the one beneath that the dead woman's features, to conceal herself in smoke as she charged at the Jounin. The corpse that wound up falling at Jon's feet was the genuine article, as Mune had used her Corpse Summoning Scroll from within the smoke cloud to produce it.
But she had not counted on Genjutsu. So when the Link that is still established between Jon and the REAL Mune causes her to lose control of the animated cadavers, they do indeed fall to the ground readily. The subsequent illusion inflicted upon Mune works as expected on the part of its caster. The problem, then, is that though the smoke is now clearing with nothing to fuel it, Jon is slapping a dead woman awake from the illusion.
She retains her appearance of being Mune for now, but there is no hiding the chill of her flesh when Jon contacts her, Henge no Jutsu'd or not. The real Mune was put in that illusion, but she was also physically BEHIND Jon. The Genjutsu Chakra travelled up the link between Mune and her puppets, but now as she is snapped out of it by proxy, she climbs to her feet and the golden haze about her body that has dimmed so much already finally disipates completely.
The elixir ran out. She has many more tricks up her sleeve that she could use. She still does not EXPECT to win, but the dark-skinned Medic-Nin thinks she could hurt this opponent if she pulled out all the stops. "My grandfather, you say? The one who has sought peace and unity, even at the risk of his own life? He nearly died for you. His entire family is dead. I am the only direct blood relative he has left. You think he would want to start a war for eyes like that? You seem to lack faith in the moral integrity of your vaunted hero!" Hmphing behind the high collar of her coat, Mune says, "Well, I guess you have to be paranoid in a business like yours."
Mune makes a handseal and the Mune that Jon had been slapping suddenly begins to stream a stinking, skin-irritating green mist from it as its features seem to hollow, and gradually melt and drip inwards. It seems some sort of internal chemical storage was released, and the whole thing is now turning to a sizzling once-flesh-now-sludge.
The other corpse-that-looks-like-Mune is doing the same as it lies on the ground. Destroying the evidence, apparently. The first corpse, the one of the Uchiha woman, does not begin to melt or anything else. Mune continues speaking. "But the point I would like you to consider is that I have no allegiance to Raiga or to the Hidden Cloud. I have lived my life just fine without concerning myself with your affairs this long. No order from you or that 'legendary ninja' or your false-Kage or any of the others will sway me to act, to yield, or to remain idle. If you want to beat me to a bloody pulp, you can go right ahead and try!"
She is defying Jon. He wanted the corpse to be revealed to be a fake, or to be seen as something else, or otherwise made to NOT have the potential to cause problems in the Lightning Country. War would be bad, right?
Yet all she does is focus her Chakra once more, and stay right where she is, taunting him by leaving the dead woman in the Leaf Village jacket where she lies. Does she not UNDERSTAND what is at stake here!?
Jon sighs through his nose. Mune must be smart enough to know he doesn't believe himself that Raiga has the eyes of this Uchiha, if that's what she really is; she's clouding the issue in front of the crowd to make things difficult for him. And of course, the crowd didn't hear Jon's half of the conversation — not that he wanted them to, that was the whole point of using the genjutsu, but Mune can imply Jon said anything she likes. And despite what Jon did say, he's not vindictive enough to go around brutalizing people, not if it won't serve any useful purpose. Beating up Mune to force her to play along, especially in full view of the crowd, won't be useful. So the only chance of salvaging this lies in doing so without Mune's cooperation.
Jon makes a few handseals, and two clones of him appear. Not surprisingly, they're of the lightning chakra variety, as one of them demonstrates by blasting a stream of enveloping electricity at her. The other one rushes in to make a straight, hard punch at Mune's jaw. Meanwhile, Jon himself quickly kneels down to examine the Uchiha corpse while Mune is hopefully occupied. If only there's something, some clue to indicate something's off…
Amaya peers at the fight. Why are there three of that chick again? She seems to have been knocked out of the air somehow without any action on Jon's part — Genjutsu, probably. But now, even >after< the smoke has cleared and all lays exposed to the eyes of the audience, Amaya is seeing three of that alchemist-woman in there, and… A fourth body lying on the ground. Due to her experience in the field, she recognizes the colors and style even from up here. She would be a pretty fail field operative if she could not identify a Leaf Ninja's uniform at a glance >and< from a distance. She almost completely ignores Saburo as she sees one of the three women get up as Jon's back is turned. She wants to call out a warning, but the chances of her being heard are poor.
The half-Yotsuki seems to be spending time talking instead of attacking, however. Then two of the duplicates are sizzling and melting… Some form of odd clone? She doesn't know, but she doesn't like it, or the fact that one body in the flak jacket is remaining right where it is. A nauseatingly intense feeling of dread wells up in the white-haired Kemonoken-practitioner's belly as she starts to piece things together mentally.
'I really hope I'm wrong about this,' she thinks. Distractedly, she says, "Uh, yes. It is basically a mass of acidic bubbles that eat through anything and everything they touch. I haven't seen it stopped by anything except Kishi herself using some kind of energy thing on it. I don't know if it can 'run out' or if it would just keep dissolving everything forever until there's nothing left. Just… Hope she doesn't use it."
Turning to face Saburo briefly, Amaya says clearly and without unnecessary hostility or friendliness, "I am certain that contracts offered to the ninja of the Lightning Village will be handled appropriately through the usual channels. I can convey your request personally if there are no other representatives here. Right now, however, I think something worrying is going on down there, and I am going to return to my seat. Thank you for the chat, Saburo-san. I hope you and your concubine enjoy the rest of the match~!"
Even as she speaks she is up and leaving, with a bow of farewell and no more mind payed.
Yes, she did just call the thin man next to Saburo the latter's 'concubine'. Let's see how long it takes to realize that. Meanwhile, she is heading back to her seat swiftly, the flash of lightning in the arena making her speed up until she finally just seems to vanish in a blur as the urgency of the situation eats at her. She is not prone to panicking, but Amaya is also not in her happy place right now. So it is that one moment Amani is sitting and watching in confusion with Scruvo on her shoulder, and the next moment the seat next to the Student is occupied by Amaya as she appears nearly from nowhere at all! …However, that was not a Ninjutsu she used, and so there is a strong rush of wind that flows over that section of the stands to accompany the high-speed movement of the Kemonoken warrior.
"I think we should probably prepare to leave in a hurry if it becomes necessary," she says out of the blue to Amani. "If what I think is going on is going on, things may not remain so friendly for us for very long."
Scruvo tilts his head. "Y'know, I can't tell wot's goin' on eithah. Think Jonny-boy was usin' 'is 'ead-muckin' skills fer a bit there, but nothin' much 'appened. Oh, would y'look at that? Looks like th'real gran'-chick wos ovah theah all along. Wondah wot she's up to now — " Then Amaya returns. "Oh, 'ello. Crikey, I can't take you lot anyplace wi'out a blinkin' riot startin' up, can I?" :P
Mune waits for Jon to make his choice. Soon enough, he does so by producing two Clones — probably of the Lightning variety, based on his country of origin and his use of Lightning Release earlier, but there are other possibilities. Still, it matters not to the half-Yotsuki woman. She draws a scroll and uses it, producing a barrier of Chakra to absorb the bolt of electricity that attempts to paralyze her by short-circuiting her nervous system. However, the second Clone rushes in swiftly and darts around the side of the Barrier Technique to punch her right in the jaw — or the nearest approximation of such with that high collar in the way.
She staggers aside, with electrical burns on her coat, and drops her scroll. She knows she should probably deal with the fact her opponent has a direct route to her Chakra network via his Genjutsu, but before that she has to keep him from just establishing a new one. That means disabling him.
She makes a hand seal and the corpse that Jon is examining (which does indeed appear to be a real human corpse in a semi-preserved state) suddenly lashes out with one hand — the only part of it to move, and done with such a loose, limp, muscle-less spasm that there is little time to realize the attack is coming. The hand is aimed directly at the Jounin's chest, and though seeing the Chakra that surrounds the appendage in the form of an immaterial 'spike' is likely not going to happen unless someone in the crowd actually DOES have a doujutsu for seeing Chakra or similar, if the blow lands, the effects would not be hidden at all.
Amani couldn't tell who was who. She was all sorts of mixed up and it was getting to her as a slight headache was coming on. "I don't know what she's up to…" She's feeling a little jaded since she can't follow everything anymore. When Amaya shows up, she's a bit spooked by her since she just came out of nowhere and began talking. She places a hand to her chest as if to calm her heart saying, "What…what's going to happen? Is she going to try and blow him up with stuff?" Or melt him with acid, as it were. Plus, "Who is that down there?" She points out the corpse. Is someone actually dead? Wasn't this supposed to be a non-lethal fight?
Jon's eyes flit over the still form on the ground. Nothing seems out of the ordinary — well, actually there's a lot out of the ordinary about it, too much to zero in on any one thing. XP Anyhow, how do you prove that a body is or isn't from a particular clan? Distinguishing marks aside (and what would be distinguishing for an Uchiha has been removed from this one), you generally can't tell just by looking. You need DNA evidence. Well, that can't be processed anywhere near in time to help out with this crowd situation, but it still might be handy to know later on. Jon takes a kunai and cuts a little sample of skin from the corpse's neck —
Whoah! o.O; Jon falls backward as the corpse's arm lashes out at his chest. Careless, should've remembered that it was a weapon as well as evidence. >.<; Still, doesn't seem to have managed any harm. Jon drops the skin sample into a little baggie and seals it tightly. Whatever's preserving the body should keep the sample pretty well for a while too, but he'll have to have it frozen immediately after this match —
"Gah!" Jon clutches his arm tightly as a sharp pain flares up in it. His chest grows tight, and a dizziness overtakes him. Oh, shoot. x.x; As a homicide detective, Jon knows those symptoms all too well. He's going into cardiac arrest. Is she that determined to win? Or does she have some other goal altogether? She certainly doesn't seem to mind risking disqualification. XP
Boss Saburo rolls in his seat and works his fan violently a few times as he hears the news from Amaya about these acidic bubbles, turning a wide eyed gaze to his companion, they both share a look of some moderate concern. The concern is then laughed away under some more sake, "Nonsense, we will be fine, fine. We have our body guards, but we will be cautious." Turning his eyes then from the woman back towards the fight, he leans forward dramatically and presses one palm to the shoulder of a man in front of him as he yells out, "Stop fooling with that damn body and take her!" his face growing red as he perceives inactivity, or lack of commitment to the battle.
The slug would have continued to loom and pay little mind to Amaya until she left, but then she excuses herself with a comment about a concubine and he spends nearly ten seconds thinking about that before he looks towards his companion. There is no violent explosion then. He just starts laughing.
"Boss Saburo is amused," he intones in a rich crass voice. Not enough time in his life is spent being insulted, and when it rarely happens he enjoys it.
Seeing the turn of events, Koji approaches Saburo and whispers quietly to him for several seconds before departing again to see to the betting and payouts that may be happening.
Mune takes the time once her trap is sprung to ensure Jon's Lightning Clone, if it still exists, is nowhere near her or able to attack. Then she darts into melee range with her opponent, and lashes out once with a Chakra-infused strike that does no particular damage from the FORCE of it, but will leave a burning and stinging feeling wherever her hands touch, as though Jon had just 'skinned his knee' badly… Only on his face, because she punched him. The next blow lands on his collarbone. The last is a palm-strike to the ribs. Luckily, something seems to change following that third hit, as the most SEVERE effects of the heart attack will diminish rapidly. It will still hurt for awhile yet, and probably even continue to do damage. Medical aid is IMPORTANT to recover.
But at least the impairment has faded and the threat of death is (hopefully) gone. For now, at least. Mune says loud enough for all to hear who are listening, "Remember this, Saito Jon! Being a 'good person' doesn't mean good things will happen to you or those whom you love! Being on the side of 'right' doesn't mean you will succeed! Justice is NOT always served, the criminals often DO get away with it, and simply standing loyally by your precious 'shadow' will not protect her nor can her masking you in darkness protect YOU!"
This rant may seem strange indeed, but Mune backs away and gives Jon time to recover, even as she continues. "The mightiest fortress in the entire world, if built upon a faultline, will eventually fall. When it falls, it will bring ruin to all who dependend on it. Are you sure the base of your fortress is stable?"
Medical ninja sure have some funny-feeling attacks. XP The pain isn't particularly intense, but it's certainly novel, not to mention wide-spread. Jon feels like there are patches of himself that will tear apart if stressed. But at least the tightness in his chest is fading, and breathing is becoming easier. Phew. -.-;
Jon raises his head and chuckles thinly. "Five years of being a chief detective and you think I don't know all that?" Jon slowly picks himself up. "You're right, it falls sooner or later…even without building it on a bad base, it'll fall. It's all a matter of when." Jon straightens his back. "There are thousands of people in that 'fortress', and they're not about to budge. 'Is it stable' is asking the wrong question. The question should be, 'How can I make it more stable?' 'How can I prevent its fall for as long as possible?' If that means standing underneath it and holding it up so that a few more can live, so be it. Well, I think we're a ways off from that still, though."
Jon glances over his shoulder toward the referee. "Hey, c'mon, the match is over already. I give up, is that what you were waiting for?" The referee blinks, then raises an arm officiously. "Saito Jon has relinquished the match! Kishi Mune is the winner!" Jon looks to Mune blandly. "Still gonna fix my rod?"
Boss Saburo's face goes from tan to beet red in the time it takes for Jon to signal his surrender. "WHHAAAAATTT?!!?!" he yells out and his counterparts, those who had bet against Jon suddenly go wild. Getting up, he snaps his fan closed and storms off, his cronies in tow. A few feet behind Saburo, Koji follows, keeping an eye open but not really seeming to be doing anything to make sure those looking for their money can't get to the departing number-running 'Boss'. Even the businessman is left sitting in his seat as the man heads elsewhere.
Two men rush up to Saburo as he is departing and are clocked solidly across the jaw, "Don't rush the boss!" his hired thug informs them, both with his fists and his caveman tongue.
"See to it that everyone is paid accurately, Koji. This isn't going to break anything, just not the way we were favoring the odds," he reminds the man behind him and dismisses him with a flick of the fan over his shoulder.
"FIND ME MORE SAKE!" he bellows as he departs the arena.
