Starring:
Takeshi, Daomi, Onimitsu, Kazuhito, Itami
Date: March 15, 2012
Summary:
After displaying disinterest or rather, a lack of importance towards conflict between Kirigakure and Sunagakure, all has culminated in an unexpected battle that spread about the village. No one knows why its happened, but what they do know is that the village has to be defended. All of it seems to be rooted in a conflict of interests. War versus other obligations.
Poster's notes: This scene was retconned from the IC history of the MUSH due to the implausibility of certain events within. Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"Conflict of Interests"
Sunagakure
It was another quiet day in Sunagakure and everyone was moving about their own
business. They apparently did not care about the war on their doorstep, they did not care, they
were not responding. It was making Takeshi mad, that a nation sat by idly while war marched
upon their shores. It wasn't even because he hated them staying in their village, because
that's what the kirigakure forces would do. Let the enemy wear themselves out coming. No, it
was the fact that not a single person in the entire village was acting like this was war, they
were all walking around, talking about sunshine and butterflies, meals were being made and
soldiers that were losing their lives to keep Kirigakure back were ignored like their sacrifice
meant nothing. This was unexcusable to the Kaguya elder. Completely, utterly, beyond excuse.
Well, today that changed. They had let him stay in Saungakure, now they would regret
it. On this day, as the dew lifts and the desert awakens, the elder stood outside, staring at
the giant sealed gate into the village. It was annoying to him, not because it was a strong
gate, but because people used it as their crutch, their reason that war hadn't reached them.
Our gate stands, so does our regular lives! Well, today, that gate is about to be destroyed for
the first time possibly in its history. While Kirigakure's gate would forever remain solid,
this one, this gate, would be removed.
The guards you ask? Dead. The patrols? Not there yet, it's too early. He had spent
weeks watching their movements, it gave him plenty of time to meditate on the issue. Once
decided though, woe to those who stood before him, woe to his enemies, woe to Sunagakure. The
elder stands slowly, talking to no one in particular, "I'll teach all of you what it means,
what war it is. You want to sit on your hinges, behind your gate, ignoring the plight of the
soldiers that protect you? So be it, but your mistake is apathy. I'll teach all of you who the
Harbinger of Kirigakure is, what it means and why I earned that title."
Suddenly, the air cackles, the desert around him cracking and the sand falling through
into the earth. Rock begins to split and rise from the ground. If there was any stealth to this
plan, it's gone now, a chakra source that easily matched any kage could ever hope to achieve,
maybe even exceeded, the feeling undoubtedly the kaguya elder that everyone had watched fight.
The old man stepped forward, slowly, purposefully as the movement of scouts changed to this
location, but it was too late. The elder stood before the gate and ran his hand over it,
"Today, you fall."
Then it happened, a fist is pulled back, a stance taken and then it is slammed against
the door. It's eery, the wind dies, sound seems to stop, people on the other side turn to face
the door. The desert stops making noise for a second and then, then it's over. The gate groans,
something pushing against it, something pushing against it, more groaning until finally, it
buckles. Giant bolts fly into homes, knocking the sides out, leveling another building, one
slamming into an upstairs apartment, another knocking over a bridge way to a lower level.
Suddenly, there's another moment of silence as the gate seems to hold itself. The
people behind begin to stand up, all too stunned to run and then, without warning, the gate
collapses inwards, homes ruined, the massive shards of the gate slamming into anyone and
anything in its path. The gates to Sunagakure were no more. All that remained was a ravaged
entrance and the Kaguya elder.
"People of Sungakure, I bring you tidings of Kirigakure. I will show you true war!"
This echoes all over the city, alarms begin to go off, a breath of air brought in by the elder
as he breathes out, massive clouds of smoke running through alleyway and home alike, embers of
hot flame hiding inside and adding pain to panic. Soon, black smoke rises from the entrance,
people's screams fill the air and the kaguya elder is heard again, "This.Is.War."
The previous 'guest' of Sunagakure was now the one bringing about harm and wreaking
havoc. As a result, he now had an excuse to be held captive and taken in for crimes commited
against the village. Anything that places lives in danger, no matter where they come from,
deserve to suffer the sentences that would be exacted upon them by Sunagakure, Itami felt.
Having heard the sound of the gates being destroyed and further the homes being destroyed,
sending people fleeing for their lives to other parts that have yet to be attacked. Itami. Was.
Pissed.
She jumped through the window of her office and out onto the surface of the dome
before bounding off towards the gate, knowing that the officials would have the necessary ninja
sent out to handle this job of scattering the forces to handle this threat. It wouldn't be long
before hse managed to head to the front to meet with the forces herself. Her arrival would be
announced as she summoned streams of wind to slam down on the forces that sought to get further
into the village, blocking their paths while also clearing out the dust created by the
spectacle. She wouldn't allow them to get through on her watch.
Searching through the faint cloud created by the mixture of dirt and sand, she
centered her sights on the leader and gritted her teeth while dropping down to the ground. "I
see you've finally decided to act," she spoke. "I told you what I felt and I intend to keep it
that way. This will not be tolerated," she pointed out to Takeshi.
Alarms. Panic. Kazuhito is running. He appears to be giving directions to various
civilians as he makes his way toward the gate. "Keep north- don't- don't panic. Just move in an
orderly-" the white faced Kazuhito seems a poor messenger for this particular occasion, but
there is little be done for that.
Soon, he is in sight of the gate. His breath visibly leaves him at the sight of the
ruined entrance. And then, he spots Itami. He opens his mouth as if to shout out to her, and
then abruptly clamps it shut. He swallows. And then he swiftly ducks behind a pile of rubble
back and to the right from Itami, peeking out from behind from behind the corner to see if
anyone already noticed him.
While most of the visiting shinobi, villagers and combatants had already left
Sunagakure to return home and on with their lives now that the exams were over. Daomi had
decided to stick around. As of yet, there had been no one to come by and tell him it was time
for him to leave. The main reason for this was most likely due to the boy looking less of a
threat and more of a health issue. His sickly and frail form only more apparent in the constant
sunlight that shown above unlike that of the misty Kirigakure. The pale skin almost as
transparent as the silk that he adorned.
It wasn't as if Daomi enjoyed hanging around the village. It was quite the opposite. He
loathed it. The bright, dry, heat of the area making him almost faint a few times each day he
spent here. Being unable to move around much during the day in fear of dehydration. What
movement he did make was small and mostly from one shaded spot to the next, then pause for a
quick breather. If it wasn't for direct orders, he'd be back in his musky, dark cave. Enjoying
the little things that can't be found out in a desert
However, no matter where he goes, there's always one thing the young Okumo is able to
find in common. Arachnids. Sure, the type and variety are a bit different, but in no way worse.
In many ways better. The poisons the critters carried having different effects then what he
could find back home. Something he easily and quickly scooped up, adding to his collection.
Later he would intend to find a way to better use it. For now, he'll stick with what he can
get.
The mission itself was quite simple, infiltrate Sunagakure any way possible, cause
havoc and chaos, make the lives of those inside the walls of Sunagakure miserable. A task he
found to be suited to him very well. The only thing Daomi needed now, was a distraction of
sorts. A diversion if you will. Then comes in Takeshi. The headstrong and overly experienced
Elder Kaguya for the job to take that job upon themself.
It was, unexpected to say the least, but very welcomed. Being exactly what was needed.
Slowly, Daomi came trailing in behind several yards behind Takeshi. Stopping as there was no
need to get into the fighting itself that was sure to happen. That wasn't what he was here for.
Not yet at least. As he stood there, hands placed within his silken kimono, it seemed as if
nothing was going to happen.
Then, ever so slowly. The young Okumo withdrew his hand and slowly lifted it, extending
a finger and pointing it forward. Suddenly from behind, there was a mass of black moving across
the desert floor. Rolling like a wave of blackened water that was going to crash into the walls
that protected the village. The mass continued forward, pushing ahead toward the gate, then
suddenly thinning and spreading out to surround the walls and skitter over while others dug
into the sand itself and made their entrance from that route.
The boy lowered his hand, took a deep breath before turning and walking away.
"Grind the Bones~"
"Break the Flesh~"
"Reap their Terror~"
"Shatter all Hope~"
Onimitsu chant lowly beneath his breath before sheathing the wings in his armor to
drop straight from the sky. Upon landing from the earth crumbled and sand exploded upwards,
hiding his form for view from a few moments as well as the quieted coughing fit he descended
into. By the time it is carried off by the wind Onimitsu raised his head…. and his eye
pratically jumped out of it socket upon realizing that he was standing just a meter or so right
in front of Itami. A glance back confirmed his other suspicion about Takeshi… being very,
very further back.
"…. Uhm… well, this is.. this is very embarrasing." He admitted nervously while
eye smiling apologetically. "Soooo, uhm—" Within seconds unless caught, Onimitsu vanishes from
view just to stand at attention about a foot behind/right next to Takeshi. "So… Game Plan
Takeshi-dono?"
Takeshi looks back at Onimitsu and shrugs, the hands disappearing inside his robes and
coming back out, the top part sliding down like normal. "I don't know, I was just thinking the
usual, cause havoc, destroy, generally be unwanted guests and overstay our welcomes, then run
and come back later." He grins at the other kiri-shinobi, offering a hand to bump against
onimitsu's metal one, "To hell and back is right."
With Itami's showing, she sits down near them both and stares back, giving her speech,
except he wasn't here for speaches and he warned her through and through to start taking all of
this seriously. There wasn't even a moment's time between when her speach ended and he was upon
her, "You annoyed me, Your lax attitude," and a fist slams down from above, "you ignored the
plight of your soldiers, letting them die without honor," and then he pauses, whether or not it
hits, "And for that, I will show you true war."
Itami winced, "What?" She couldn't believe what she was just hearing. Not only that,
but she was on the receiving end of the strike that was aimed at her. She attempted to dodge,
her movements fluid and nearly effortless as she avoided the fist, taking the minimal amount of
damage that came from it when she was stricken, her body lowering upon being hit and shaking in
rising. Upon recovery, she stated, "You have nerve to tell me what I have and haven't done. To
tell me about the people of my own village. I didn't ignore anything. Our way is not the way of
war, there was no plight from my soldiers. The only plight was from you and yours," she stated.
"There was no honor in their deaths in the first place, killed in cold blood," she inhaled
deeply and sighed the breath back out, sending out a thick mist through the area. It might add
to the panic, but some might find the mist rather peaceful compared to the dust and dirt from
the destruction. From within the mist, Itami would reach out to Takeshi, fist at the ready to
strike only to seemingly sweep it across his path, with a trail of mist following after it.
Kazuhito's eyes widen as the fight breaks out. He is, plainly, out of his league. He
presses his back to the wall, panting heavily. Inside the catacombs, not so long ago, he showed
more determination. But that was one man, and one running away at that. These are trained
shinobi who would kill him in one strike given the chance.
"I-" He shuts his eyes and shudders. And then, he murmurs some words to himself: "Be a
shadow, or be direct." He swallows. "There's no- I prepare. From here. For now." He nods,
breath trembling. He raises his good hand to the center of his chest, breath ragged. And then
he inhales sharply, nostrils flaring. As he exhales, he allows his hand to uncurl. And even as
he does so, chakra begins to surge throughout his body, coursing through his own body as his
very blood.
All the while, he is completely unaware that the one who gave him the advice he is now
attempting to employ is the very same armored warrior who fell from the sky only moments ago.
"Ah, This one sees…" Onimitsu deadpanned, feeling a brain cell passing away after
Takeshi's answer.
"Huh?.. Oh! Right," Without another second hesitation, Onimitsu bumped his fist
against Takeshi. Forecefully shelving his worries about arriving at such a delicate time (and
only just barely realizing in hindsight that the doors to Sunagakure were destroyed) before
truly focusing on the task at hand. Causing havor, Destroying, and just generally being an
unwanted guest that overstays his welcome. But first…
"Alright Yoshimitsu.. Let us—" He gasp in pain as shocks started to course through
his hands as soon as his fingers touched the hilt of his weapon. "… Not yet huh?… Very
well." He muttered, cutting off his connection to the blade except to let it bite lightly into
his neck, then draw it away to pick up the blood and swipe it across the Kiri symbol on his
pauldron. Silver becomes his eye. The aura that wraps itself around him adding to his physical
prowess while his chakra skyrocketed.
During the build up he idly notes Takeshi and Itami's fight, and very vaguely
Kazuhito's prescence thanks to a small warning from Yoshimitsu… but overall drowns out their
noise in favor of focus purely on preparing for what was to come.
Takeshi doesn't even acknowledge here, the attack landed and the subsequent response
sending him backwards into the rubble, But this is the clan elder we're talking about, not some
school yard shinobi. Good luck putting him down.
Itami looked ahead at Takeshi as he was sent back and into the rubble. She then ran
forward, creating a few eddies in the mist she created to make contact with Takeshi once more,
snapping her fists forward in simple motions with an essence of grace behind them. Her aims
were precise, sticking areas of the body where weakness may be evident. Though, there may not
be any that are available on this one. She can tell that he's endured a great deal and as a
result his body is naturally hardened. Even still, she wasn't going to keep this from
distracting her.
Kazuhito exhales, still trying to slow his breathing. The simple act of attempting to
focus seems to have calmed his nerves considerably, which is to say he appears to be a more
functional sort of terrified. He reaches into the folds of his clothing, pulling out a single
kunai with a tag attached. He then peeks out behind the corner, sets his eyes on the much
larger winged warrior, swallows, and then tosses the kunai. As he does so, the tag ignites, and
few trained shinobi would not instantly recognize its purpose.
Or its ostensible purpose. In truth, the explosion itself is little more than a
convienent distraction. Kazuhito's brow creases as he scans his opponent, trying to invade his
suddenly alive chakra network and infiltrate Onimitsu's mind.
"That's enough.." Onimitsu muttered, snapping his eye open just in time to see Itami
make her charge at downed Takeshi. He lept thoughtless into action into a charge, but came
nowhere close to matching her speed. Not in his current form at least. Incidently during his
charge the explosive tag and kunai combo is evaded within the first leap. Providing at the same
time the perfect background distraction to slow down his concentration on saving Takeshi as
well as realize the genjutsu link. "…. Wait!", He slide to a stop. "That explosion… that
was…"
Against his better judgement Onimitsu forced his gaze away from Takeshi's conflict in
favor of searching out the one responsible for the explosion. After all, what good is
camaraderie if one could not trust others to handle their own battle? Of all the shinobi
Onimitsu noticed that were gather (a suprising number of which were still sitting back and
watching Itami go to town) it is Kazuhito's half-covered form that the armored man notices,
locks on, and attacks after leading off his charge with a couple of kunai throws. All of which
popped freely from a the hidden compartment within his thighs.
Takeshi is simply ignoring the wailing of Itami. It was his fault for taking her
lightly, but he was still in this fight.
Itami took this chance to pause and focus. She needed all the energy she could
dedicate to ending this conflict. So, she took the necessary time needed to gather herself
before attacking again. She huffed, a bit frustrated at the events that have lead up to this
attack. Perhaps she was a bit too lax, but she was tired and frustrated, dealing with this call
to war against her village, the missing Hiroko and the possible turmoil that may occur in the
Land of Fire as long as she's gone.
However, she still manages to try and deal with things in a manner of collectedness
and calm. She stares at Takeshi, but says nothing of him. Although, she does expect the worst
from him with this brief lapse.
As of now, the shinobi have had enough time to scatter around the village and take on
the attackers with all the strength they had to offer. There were still some villagers that
were escaping from the chaos and heading into their homes or places of refuge below ground.
Sunagakure was not standing down in this attack and the village had no intent to fall and give
in. They were going to get through this.
As he sees Onimitsu ready the kunai, Kazuhito's eyes widen. He focuses. And though
visible to no one else, Onimitsu would next see waves of heat rising from the sand, as if a
mirage, Kazuhito's figure blurring to become imperceptable behind the shimmering wall. To an
outside observer, it might appear that Onimitsu's aim has gone inexplicably awry. But the speed
at which the kunai are released proves too much for Kazuhito, and he cannot both execute the
illusion and get out of the way of the first in time. It slices his right arm as he tries to
leap away from it, opening the bandages and revealing not only blood but the skin beneath: a
dark bluish-black, as if the entire limb is bruised. He winces, but keeps moving.
The second, at least, sails past him, as he takes off running, abandoning his cover. He
doesn't approach Onimitsu, instead running laterally and content to keep this a distance fight.
He reaches to his clothing, but as he does so he snaps his fingers, and Onimitsu might see a
bright point of light centered on Kazuhito, one that begins to grow rapidly.
Behind the distraction of the light, he tosses another explosive kunai. This one, it
seems, is not for cosmetic effect.
"Mirage? Body flicker?….", Onimitsu muttered, watching as much of Kazuhito's
movements as he could and changing his running pattern to try and intercept the boy. As a
result he's taken off guard by the flash of light that sprouted from the boy. Blinding and
immobilizing him just long enough to feel something impact his chest plate. "What in th—"
BOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!
Dust and Sand once more shrouded the form of the armored man… Then before it even
has time to clear, Onimitsu burst forth from its form. A smoking chest plate in full view and
riddled with sharpnel. Some of which even managing to pierce deep enough to cut him. Overall
however, the damage was only annoying thus far and would not stop the Oni from attack with
renewed gusto. A kunai flung again once more ahead of him before with a single step Onimitsu's
form distorted from the speed shift.
He was upon Kazuhito within seconds, eyeballing him carefully this time despite seeing
a few dark spots flicker in and out of his vision, then lash out twice. The second stroke
seemlessly flowing from the other with the intent to hamper the boy's ability to run.
Takeshi pulls himself up from the rubble and pushes off a large stone into another
house, "That's the problem isn't it. You don't know war and your precious shinobi is being
harmed. Might want to look into that." He rolls off his shoulder and cracks his neck. "And
don't patronize me. You had no intention of fighting this war. You just wanted to ignore it
while the soldiers and other shinobi stood in front of ours. Nobody in this village was acting
like they felt the war. That pisses me off. When you can't even pretend to be at war outwardly
for the respect of those protecting you, then you have a major problem."
The elder shakes his head, "But to each his own." There's a breath as he focuses some
fire inside and makes seals, a small ball of flame heading out towards Itami and once it hits
something or someone, would explode in a brilliant display of fire ninjutsu. Of course if she
wasn't careful, she'd be stuck in his genjutsu too.
"Don't think I didn't have any intention of not fighting this war. I simply said it
wasn't important," Itami summoned an updraft of wind to redirect the fire and subsequent
explosion upward and away from the field. "You act as if this is the only problem I have to
deal with. Open your eyes! What would you know about anything of the affairs of this village?
Absolutely nothing. Making assumptions. Wasting your forces out here and taking them away from
the village where they would matter most. And what is the reason for all of this? Nothing?!"
She inquired in anger, but this managed to settle her into a memory that just occurred to her.
There was the issue with the Ghoul and the conversation that took place. People that do things
for no other reason than just to do them…
The thought of it made her blood boil and she began to grow unstable in her current
form, so she summoned back all the mist to her and it instead exploded outward to reveal the
reptilian form in its place, bearing all the rage she had. Without any other words, she set
herself into a charge, claw raised to slash into him and following up with her tail to smash
him back into the rubble he rose from.
To any observer, it would be plain that Onimitsu is much faster than Kazuhito. There is
really little comparison between Onimitsu's blurred movements and Kazuhito's urgent but hardly
supernatural leaps out of the way. But it is, as Onimitsu is doubtlessly discovering, difficult
to fight that which one cannot see. And so for Kazuhito this fight is not on the streets, but
in his opponents head.
And for a time, that seems to be good enough. One slash effortless sidestepped- there
there is the unmistakable tearing sound of a sword in flesh. The first blow is not so bad,
really little more than a glancing cut to his side. But the blow landing gives away Kazuhito's
true position, leaving him exposed as the sword tears into his thigh, ripping into his flesh.
He stumbles, falling to one knee. He looks up at the much taller warrior, his eyes trembling
from the shock, the pain, the fear…
And something else. Determination. His right, bandaged hand slowly opens, palm facing
his opponent. "You are- very poorly dressed for the desert." He observers. Suddenly, his face
is flush, as if a sudden warmth is invading the boy's face. It is nothing compared to what he
hopes to make his opponent feel.
Yoshimitsu cleaved through flesh easily enough. As it should and as it always will.
So, Onimitsu paid it little mind except to help measure Kazuhito's disturbing disappearing act.
"As to be—" Whatever else Onimitsu had wished to say died in his throat as everything became
just a little clear. The answers to the questions that had been bouncing around in his skull
snapping him straight to attention. Although, he is a moment to late to stop the full effects
of Kazuhito's genjutsu from wreaking havoc on his mind. Searing into a weakness both familiar
and unwanted.
The illusion left him panting, trembling, and vulnerable the moment he started to lose
conciousness; only to have his mind replaced along with the silver sheen to his aura. Silver to
Violet. A cloak to some that was made from the face of an Oni. "Not bad child of the Sun. Not
bad at all… But your spirit, we since it flickers to much. A perfect feast… but first…",
In double tone he spoke before trailing off to let the cloak seemingly invert for a second to
try and wipe out the tendrils of chakra messing with his nerves.
They failed to do little more than mark and begin its corrosion however. "heheheh…
seems that will wait.. or not matter in place of execution." They stated, peering icily down at
the boy while the blade is brought up for an extracutioner's stroke to remain. At least long
enough to for the samurai-nin to guage Kazuhito's reaction before turning to walk away from it
all. Well, run after a good distance in anycase. "…. Grragh… enough havok for one day…"
Takeshi laughs back at her, "You're worried about Kirigakure? What the door is this? At
least make an effort to act like you're fighting a war. This is war, this is how real shinobi
deal with war!" For emphasis he smacks his pectorals as she brings in a clawed swipe against
his chest, the sound of claw screeching across a surface with no give echoes loudly, high
pitched and into ears. "That's it!? Hashiramako gave me worse!"
The tail comes around and poof, a double palm strike aimed at her side, pushing her
back across the battlefield. "That's war, that's how I handle war. I've done my job." He holds
up a hand, "Onimitsu! We're leaving. Our job was to demoralize and scare them and their
populice, we have done so!"
Itami launched herself at Takeshi without any thought and because of it, she suffered
the consequences of her actions. There was no tact in what she did, just a raging beast was
left behind in her mind, taking the doubled attack to her side and sending her to the ground
among the dust and rubble of the homes and the gate. Perhaps this is what she needed, though as
the pain was enough to draw her out of her rage to focus on what was happening.
Takeshi was retreating and so was Onimitsu. As much as she wanted to go after them,
she couldn't. She had a village to focus on and needed to dedicate her time to rebuilding
measures among other things. In the end, the same message keeps winding back over and over in
her mind. People commit atrocities for no reason. She didn't want to believe it, but this
attack against the village has aided in solidifying the example. Rising up from the ground, she
reverted back to her normal form and looked around at the destruction. People were scared,
children were crying and shinobi were still fighting off all the straggling Kiri shinobi that
remained in the village. Her fists clenched tightly as her blood began to boil.
Frustrated, angered, hurt, confused….she didn't want to believe the words The Ghoul
told her, but now she doesn't know what to think. She lifted her hand to her face, to rub off
any excess dirt and began to question if she did bring this upon the village. Perhaps she did,
but she doesn't feel she was all to blame. This war came to them, not the other way around and
they should be made to suffer for it. With Hiroko heading to Kiri, it'd give her the perfect
excuse to launch an attack, but… she doesn't believe in mindless fighting.
She sighed while listening to the alarms echoing through the village to alert all who
heard them to seek refuge. At least this time, the situation was contained. The most damage
occurred at the gates and anything further was quickly dealt with. She was just so tired…Is
this all some sort of punishment?
Kazuhito's throat expands, a sudden lump in it. Onimitsu certainly looked rather less
healthy, but still, the swordsman is standing, and Kazuhito is vulnerable. As the blade is
raised, Kazuhito's whole body tenses, but he does not flee, only shudders. He couldn't match
Onimitsu for pure speed when both were fresh, now that Kazuhito's leg is mangled, it is surely
impossible… Even if he dodged one blow, how would he keep that up for more than a few
seconds.
Surely, this is the end for Kazuhito.
But then Onimitsu turns away. The elder sounds the withdrawl. And Kazuhito stares
forward into space, faced, unexpectedly, with continued survival.
