Starring:
Hige, Daisuke, Atsuro, Kenta, Hiei
Date: October 30, 2015
Summary:
Daisuke receives a new request from his aunt, asking he find another item to bring to her. The Hokage gathers a team and begins to search…
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Final Farewell - A New Request"
Land of Fire
Daisuke had received another message from his Aunt. It had been months, seemed like close to a year, since he had received the last one and sent away the required item thanks to the help of Atsuro and… Hige got a haircut. Perhaps it was time for another as Daisuke assembles the group, this time inviting his newest Jounin along for the trip. Surveillance of the place had come back dire, the cave network was heavily guarded. this wouldn't be the same type of mission as the last, and for it he needed all the hard-hitters he could muster. Either through a twist of fate, or clear coincidence, the Raikage happened to be traveling through Konoha, staying there temporarily on his way back home, and so the Hokage had quickly extended a letter of invitation to 'stretch his legs' as it were, for the Hokage knew that ones in their position rarely got to do so and would often jump at the chance.
The letters sent out requested they all meet a few miles from the caves, with full directions, around mid day which would require leaving some time in the early morning from the village. They were requested to come fully geared and prepared for one of the highest class missions in the last year. Once they assemble the Hokage would explain more.
Kenta arrives without delay, having left Konoha as soon as he finished provisioning himself after receiving the dire message. The young man's decked out in the best of his battle gear. His customized multi-pocket Jounin vest ensures that he has all the seal tags and gadgets that he might need at a moment's notice while a loaded, yet light weight backpack carries long term use items like food and a blanket. A medical pouch at the small of his back contains the most portable and important of his medical equipment. Additional pills and ampoules, both medical and poisonous bulk up the brace of belt pouches on either side of his hips. This doesn't even count the shuriken, kunai and other holstered small weapons he has with him. Not that any of this can be seen, since Kenta's taking the order to gather so seriously that he's under the cover of one of the cloaking seals that renders him nearly invisible.
Atsuro and Taizen arrive from out of the forest, leaping into the meeting area one after the other. Landing in a crouch, Atsuro takes a quick look around, then straightens up and dusts off his clothes. "Afternoon, everyone," he says, "Sorry I'm late. There's a lot of paperwork to fill out when the Hokage, the Jounin Commander, and a foreign dignitary are all placed on the same mission." He clears his throat loudly and looks over to Daisuke, "And apparently nobody thought to give me advance notice when such a thing would occur."
Having been in Konoha on business. Hiei had offered his assistance to Daisuke on this particular…mission? At any rate, the Raikage was bored and really perked up at the chance of a little adventure. So after greeting Hige and Atsuro, and Konsho and Taizen. He had arrived along with the other leaf shinobi. He comments, "You know, Daisuke. I don't think you and I have hung out together since that whole Crawler incident in the Land of Tea. Thanks for the invite to this one. It's been awhile since I've seen Hige and Atsuro, too." He grins at Atsuro and his paperwork troubles. Yori could probably relate. He's dressed in his usual attire, along with the pouches on his belt, kunai strapped around his thigh and the twin chakra swords on his back. He waits patiently for mission details while taking a moment to check out the area.
Yes yes Hige was told to get a haircut and so he did. He even brought it to show Daisuke. In fact, as soon as he arrives he holds up the hair for Daisuke to see, then lets it go so that it floats away on the breeze. Crisis averted. The teen and Konsho are ready for whatever might come or…at least they hope they are. Time will indeed tell on that won't it! After arrival Konsho starts sniffing the air as he smells something verrrry familiar. "Kenta!" Yep, happy puppy knows he's hiding somewhere so he starts sniffing him out. After all, he'll likely have treats. Hige just folds his arms over his chest and waits in silence for the boss to begin speaking, dressed as he normally would be. No jacket, just a few pouches for items he needs and…yeah. He's got what he needs. As the others arrive Hige offers a nod to each them, waiting until he sees Hiei before he grins and then thumbs to Daisuke. "Sorry Hiei, guess I lied. He is still alive. Ojii /isn't/ just using his name and pretending to be him. Huh."
Daisuke looks around at all the arrives, smirking at Atsuro's comment. "Tobiramako will do just fine." he assures the Jounin Commander. Looking towards the Raikage, Daisuke smiles and nods, "It has been some time. Though us meeting together on a mission stresses the importance of such thing. Today you, and my newest Jounin Kenta, will learn of something we have been working on privately, and the reason why we kept it private." he says in a firm tone.
Once everyone is together and ready, Daisuke starts in on his explanation. "Years ago, my Aunt, the Shodai Hokage, left our village on a classified mission of Worldly importance. So classified that she would not even tell me, at risk of me following her, which I would've. She left me in charge knowing full well that she may not come back. A little under a year ago, I received my first contact from her, requesting an item of utmost importance to her mission, The Scroll of Life and Death. Securing this item, and dropping it off at the requested location was all we could do, and she had gone silent since. But yesterday I received another request, to retrieve another item that lies within a network of caves not far from here. This item is much more troublesome than the last, as its evil presence has caused demonic-like creatures to flock to it and guard it. Whether these are mere tainted animals or actual demons is not known, but at this time we have a job to do."
Kenta returns to visibility as soon as he's detected by Konsho. Leave it to the Inuzuka's perfect sense of smell to pierce a jutsu designed to hide any trace of it. Konoha's newest Jounin gives his favorite ninken a smile and silently slips that same favorite ninken a small paper-wrapped packet of jerky on the sly. Must not veer from the stone-faced statue impression while on such an important mission. But unlike stone-faced statues, Kenta is flexible enough to bow nearly double at all the seniors that are present. He listens to Daisuke speak without much expression, but those that know him well can see in his gaze that he's -very- surprised by all the information's that being revealed.
Atsuro frowns at Daisuke in confusion. "I actually didn't address you by name, but if you insist, 'Tobiramako.'" He and Taizen step back and listen as Daisuke explains the purpose of the mission. Atsuro only breaks from stone-faced attention to shoot Hige a quick grin and to reach down and scratch Konsho behind the ears. Taizen remains sitting on his haunches in one position, tail slowly wagging as he listens. "I don't suppose we have any maps or other records that might help us navigate the caves?" he asks, "If there's not much air movement, we probably won't be able to track it by scent. What is it we're looking for anyway?"
Hiei grins at Hige. "I told you to cut your Kage some slack. Our job isn't as easy as people think it is." He sighs wistfully. "I just know that I'm going home to a mountain of paperwork. I'll be up to my eyeballs in it for days thanks to my Head Ninja, Iwata Michiko." He pauses. "She's mean like that." He then gives Daisuke his attention and listens closely while he speaks. He understands the need for secrets on this one. If that information got out, every two-bit wanna be villian would be sniffing after those items. He nods to the Hokage. "I understand the importance of this mission. I remember your Aunt well, and how much she means to you and your village. For this mission I place myself and my sword under your command. Use me as you will." This is an act that Hiei does NOT do often. Especially to foreign shinobi. The only other time he's ever done it was with Hige, and it speaks of the level of trust and understanding that he has for the person in question. He turns his head towards Atsuro listening to his question before turning back to Daisuke. His expression is all business.
Hige listens to where this next item is, a quirked brow the only surprise at hearing that it's guarded by…creatures? Hmm, interesting. He glances in the direction they've yet to go and nods. "Alright, so are we killing as we go or do you want these things alive?" he asks, adding in to the other questions to have answered before they begin going. Better to make sure that everybody is clear on everything before they start. AT Hiei's words his just shrugs and gives him a half smirk, "Mmmhmm." That's all he's gonna say there. Konsho…well, he takes the secret jerky and the pets quite happily.
"Thank you, Raikage. Ok folks. What info we have is very little, and a handful of our ANBU operatives are either hospitalized or fell to the demons within getting it, so use it as you will. As far as we can tell the network of caves goes deep, connecting to numerous underground springs and other water sources, but as for your noses, we will have to see." Daisuke looks to Atsuro, hesitating for but a moment before revealing the name. "Kazeshini, a wicked knife said to be used by the Shinigami itself. It is a powerful sealing knife, definitely in the league of ninja artifact classification, and the presence of these tainted beings is enough to give you an idea that this thing isn't used by nice people." he says, looking amongst the others. "We will be sealing the knife within a special scroll the Uzumaki have prepared for me. Every rumor about this thing says it taints whomever holds it, so people please do not wield the thing, no matter what. Our job is to retrieve, seal, and then I will drop it off at the rendezvous point." he says as they begin to move towards the caves, looking to Hige. "The demons are kill on sight, they have taken some of our men and women already." He walks on, focusing some of his own unique chakra, though his chakra wasn't the only unsettling thing about the area as they drew closer. "Any other questions?"
Kenta shivers slightly at what he hears. "The name of the knife alone is like a bad omen, Hokage-sama. Ummm… who created it anyway? But more importantly, if the network of caves is big, how will we find the knife? I hope the ANBU operatives that looked into this place gave accurate details on the safest routes…" He frowns and a hand slips into one of his pouches to make sure that the pills he prepared are still in there. It's the third time that he checked in the last hour, but all the talk about demons and evil shinobi artifacts is enough to make him even more nervous than usual. "Is there any chance that the missing people are still alive?"
"I can see why it's important to retrieve it," Atsuro says, "If the knife really is as powerful as all that, it would be terrifying in the hands of a criminal—especially one that's able to get past all those demons." He waves a hand, "Anyway, we should get moving as soon as possible. We're not making any progress by standing around in a clearing."
Hiei shakes his head. "No questions here. Kill the demons and don't touch the knife. Got it." He uncrosses his arms and begins to move along with the rest of the group. Lightning sparks along his skin as he prepares his body for combat. "Yeah. Can you imagine someone like Yuuma getting his hands on that thing? And we thought the Crawler and Hitokage was bad." He shakes his head slightly. "Heh. Demons. This should be fun."
With the questions (mostly) answered the shinobi are closing in on the location and the evil of the place is almost immediately evident thanks to the quick change of vegetation from living to dead. It only expands out a few hundred feet from the cave but the very area is unsettling as the shinobi draw near. Immediately within view in front of the cave are a few creatures, seeming to drain whatever new life may have come around. Even worse, a few of those new creatures, while not entirely human shaped anymore, seemed to have ANBU masks 'stuck' to them.
Hige and Konsho are moving into the area with the rest of the group when they finally reach the edge of the dead area. The scent is sickening to those with the strong noses, smelling not only of death but of rot. The feeling of malice is palpable. Just not a cool place. Hige and Konsho glance at eachother, then nod before Hige glances back. "We'll open the way to the cave and follow you after. Try not to get yourselves killed until we get there. Ojii, Hiei, I expect you both to keep Kenta safe." Pause. "Oh and Daisuke too." Before anyone can comment the two are off, jumping into the air and spinning, lightning flicking through their forms as they come down and slam into the creatures near the entrance, mowing each of them over.
Daisuke nods to Kenta as they walk, approaching the cave entrance, "Indeed it is foreboding, and I am unsure as to the creator. Every bit of information on the knife places it throughout history dating back to somewhere around the introduction of chakra and jitsu to our world." he says, adding grimly, "Let us hope they are not, for if they are I fear we may have to engage them."
"Yes, I trust at least part of the reason my Aunt needs it is to keep it out of sinister hands, though I do wonder what she plans to do with it. All these items…mostly having to do with sealing… it would scare me if she didn't take interest in the Silence threat, but instead left for something far more sinister." he says to Hiei, shaking his head at the thought.
As the group approaches the cave, Daisuke looks at the masked demons and grimaces, "I guess that answers our question, Kenta." he says, looking to the group. Hige jumps ahead before Daisuke can say anything, "Well I guess someone is eager to get started. Feel free to join the festivities, Raikage." he says to Hiei, "Our people are already long gone from within those…things."
"A threat like that… something that'll make the first Hokage-sama so concerned is something that can only cause the greatest pain in the world," Kenta murmurs as they approach the cave. His eyes narrow at the sight of the demonic guards at the entrance. "Umm… that's definitely not a good sign. So, no touching the knife -at- all or even staying near it too long. I hope that first Hokage-sama has an idea how to destroy it after we drop it off."
Kenta draws a seal tag from one of his pouches and keeps it in hand. He doesn't do anything with it yet, but is prepared to activate it at a moment's notice. For the moment, he stays within the center of the group as best as he can. He's the only medic on the team and that small glimpse of the demons is enough to make him think that Team Good is going to gather some injuries.
As is the instict for any Inuzuka, Atsuro and Taizen sniff the air as they approach the cave, and nearly regret it. Once he's recovered from the shock of the scent, Atsuro sniffs again, prepared this time and concentrating to see if he can distinguish any useful odors. He starts as Hige declares he's going on ahead so suddenly, but only replies, "Your wish is our command, /boss/." Taizen turns his head back, biting down on the grips of a couple ninjato in his vest, pulling them out and passing them to Atsuro.
Hiei comments to Daisuke. "I'd rather it be in someone's hands like your Aunt. At least that way we don't have to worry about some idiot trying to take over the shinobi world with it." He watches as Hige and Konsho go charging in and can't help but smirk a little bit. "I swear that kid reminds me of myself." He then nods to Daisuke and moves in after Atsuro and Taizen. He takes a few steps forwards before his body blurs from sight to appear next to one of the demons. His body is spinning in mid-air before he strikes out with a series of lightning infused kicks. He lands on the ground afterwards in his fighting stance.
The creatures out in front of the cave are just mind their own business and feeding on dead record when the Inuzuka duo and the Raikage just start going through them. Black blood spills from the creatures and they let out a loud, piercing keen that nearly throws Hige and Konsho off course and will likely annoy Atsuro and Taizen as well. In the end the cave entrance is cleared though, the creatures oozing black blood and almost seeming to slowly dissolve in front of the shinobi.
Of course, those keens are echoed from inside the cave and, while nothing comes out of the cave at the moment, it's apparent that the creatures are aware they're under attack. Oops. Bad Hige!
Hige and Konsho finish their attack and Hige stumbles a bit when he lands thanks to that damn sound from the creatures. He shakes his head to clear it, then looks to the entrace of the cave with a grimace. Of course they had to be able to communicate. And of course it had to be so annoying sounding. Could anything ever be easy?
"Just be careful and don't get too friendly with any of that tainted chakra." Daisuke calls out to those who went ahead, sticking back with Kenta for now as they walk slowly towards the cave as the others begin to thin the herd. Then comes the cries from the cave after the deaths of the initial creatures. "Interesting, they seem to be able to communicate, or at least share a connection. What do you make of it, Kenta?" he says as the duo move into the cave entrance after it is cleared, staring down into the mouth of the dark below. "Everyone ok so far? I'd probably avoid that black blood just to be safe."
"Umm… I agree with Hokage-sama. It's not a good idea to get too much of that blood on us. That's not a normal color. I won't be surprised if there's any contagions or toxins in them. Let me know the moment any of you start feeling sick. Hopefully, some of the antidotes that I brought with me will work on whatever toxins we might encounter," Kenta tells everyone as he eyes the splattered bits of demon with mistrustful disgust. His eyes start darting back and forth in an alert manner while he moves with the group. "These demons seem to be able to communicate with each other, but the way they make sounds means it's probably not a telepathic connection. Ummm… but we can't rule that out. There's no real good way for me to check without trying to connect to one of the demons either and that could just open me up to the knife's influence."
Atsuro winces as the screeching begins. "Five seconds into this mission and someone's already alerted the enemy." He shoots Hige a dark look. As Daisuke and Kenta advise, he and Taizen carefully avoid any of the black liquid on the ground as they walk into the cave, stepping over it or just going around it entirely. Once they're fully in the atmosphere of the cave, they sniff at the air, once again trying to determine anything they can about the situation.
Hiei makes a face as he wipes his shoes off on the grass. "Ugh. Okay, don't get the blood on you. Got it. Anything else, Kenta?" He searches the ground for a moment until he finds what he's looking for. He picks up a piece of log and forms a few handseals before blowing on the end of it, catching it on fire. Having made a torch for himself, he nods to the others. "Shall we then?" He motions towards the mouth of the cave. "The odds of us getting the drop on these guys again just went way down." With his off-hand he draws one of the swords from his back as he walks on inside.
As the shinobi start to enter the cave things start to get dark fast. Not only does it seem like the normal darkness of a cave but there almost seems to be an overly oppressive presence that makes it even darker and scarier than it should be. More keeing comes from inside, but it almost seems to be…retreating. For the moment at least nothing seems to be barring the way of the group as they begin walking in besides the darkness itself. If it keeps up this way it's going to quickly become not only too dark for even the best to see but the strange force could start to feel claustrophobic and suffocating. Noses only take them so far as well as the rotting smell is only stronger within the cave and there's not the slightest movement of air to clear it. The Inuzuka will have to try and look past the horrible smell or find another way to seek things out. At least it's only one tunnel. So far.
Hige tended to not care so much when he went flying into things and, as such, he'd gotten some of the black blood on him before he'd really noticed it. Konsho had been smarter and stayed clear of it. Hige uses a cloth to wipe the excess off with a frown but by then it's too late. He glances over to Atsuro at the remark but then shrugs lightly, "They were all over the place. Would've been alerted anyways." Apparently someone hasn't let out some aggression in a while and is a bit antsy at the chance of unleashing some of it. After tossing the black blood soaked rag aside Hige follows after the others, then pauses as he feels…strange. "Ugh…hey, Kenta…little more forewarning next time…" Is it the smell or the blood?
Daisuke nods his head to Kenta, making sure to stick close to the medic of the group while the others are able to go ham. As they continue down the cave, Daisuke notices the darkness growing as Hiei makes a torch for himself to light the way up front. For Kenta and Daisuke, the young medic would have the best torch in the Land of Fire, as Daisuke slides his hands together in a unique handseal before his body completely envelops in molten hot lava, a unique ability that Son granted him, and the area around them immediately illuminates as the light burns back the darkness. "Don't stay too close, for obvious reasons, but for now I will take the rear position." he says to Kenta before looking towards Hige with concern. "Kenta, give Hige a quick checkup, we don't need that blood taking out one of our strikers."
"There was a handful of them," Atsuro tells Hige, "Next time you wanna make a prediction after the fact, at least try and get it right."
"Umm… I figured you're know not to get that stuff on you just by looking at it. Sorry, Hige," Kenta murmurs apologetically. The medic-nin scuttles forward, away from the brightly glow and extremely hot Hokage, to place a finger on the nape of Hige's neck. He sends a few weak pulses of medical chakra into the other Jounin's body. "Oh… not good. You're definitely falling under the effects of a very nasty toxin, Hige. Ummm… hold still. This will sting."
Kenta drops his hand to the pouches on his left hip and taps each one until he reaches the pouch that holds the ampoules with the base antidote that matches what he needs for Hige's particular set of symptoms. He pulls one out in one smooth motion, stabs Hige with it and injects the antidote. Then, he touches Hige's neck again to send a steady stream of medical chakra to transform the components of the base antidote into a form that'll instantly neutralize the toxins.
"We'll discuss it later," Atsuro tells Hige, "But don't expect that conversation to go well for you." Even before Daisuke and Hiei light the area up, he and Taizen don't have too much trouble with the darkness, thanks to those Inuzuka eyes and plenty of Vitamin A. They keep a careful watch as the group continues through the cave.
Hiei shakes his head slightly as Hige gets admonished by Atsuro. He doesn't say a word, either. That was clan business. However as he moves forwards in the darkness, he waves his torch back and forth to light his way. Not having Inuzuka eyes or anything of the sort, he needed light to see by, though Daisuke's Johnny Storm bit does help a lot. "You know, I can't but to wonder who these demons were created in the first place. My instincts say that it could have been the corruption of the dagger itself. I've seen similar things happen over the years. Smelled worse too. Though I feel bad for Atsuro and Hige. If this smell is toxic to me, you guys must really be hurting right about now." He says as he tears off a swath of cloth and places ties it over his lower face. That helps very little, but it's better than nothing.
The darkness had started to close in around the Raikage's makeshift torch, making it sputter a bit when suddenly that hot crosstab Hokage flares up and the darkness vanishes. However part of it seems to literally burn away slower than normal shadows should. However with the burning light those near manage to stay free of the suffocating feeling, though it seems as if it waits at the very fringe of the powerful light.
More keens echo through the tunnels, closer as the shinobi move further into the tunnels until it finally happens: the group enters an antechamber with six different tunnels leading out of it including the one they'd come from.
Hige pauses when Kenta comes over, eyes scanning the area even as he waits for the medic to do what he's going to do. He doesn't even flinch when the needle injects him with antidote and, luckily, he does start feeling better quickly as the antidote seems to break down whatever was in the dark blood. "Thanks. I noticed the color a bit too late myself," he admits. Just was a little too kill happy. He glances to Atsuro and quirks a brow but doesn't respond. Was Atsuro being…boss-like? When they arrive at the chamber and he sees all the different damn ways to go the teen does a slow circle before looking to Atsuro uncertainly. After a few moments he goes to each to give a sniff and a listen though with the echoing it's rather hard to tell where the keening is coming from.
And then the keening returns, sudden and loud and from every damn direction. The sound echoing drops Hige to his knees as he covers his ears, Konsho doing pretty much the same with his paws. Even for those without sensitive hearing the sound could be painful as eyes began to peer out from each of the five tunnels. Five tunnels. You know what that means. In front of each two to six legged grotesque monstrosity a different element begins to form and they shoot out all at once.
Annnnd thanks to his hands being clasped to his ears Hige can only move so much. Unfortunately that so much is not enough to avoid the large block of earth that comes down the closest tunnel, smacking into the teen and sending him sprawling a bit. He's back to his feet quick enough though and now he's rather pissed off. Lightning flashes as lunges at the creature in an attempt to rake it with some nice lightning extended claws.
Daisuke watches Kenta tend to Hige and Atsuro admonish him, hiding a small smirk in that molten armor of his. "I have seen tainted creatures many times, so it could be that their original forms were animal, or human, or something else entirely. Either way, the tainted chakra has seemingly taken them over completely and turned them into these abominations."
As they approach the cave branches, Daisuke spots the figures first and, being the human torch of the group, is thusly targeted the worst. Thankfully, being coated in thick armor and having the regenerative properties of his demonic chakra, he is able to negate the blast and, shedding the lava armor, reduce the chance that any other substance gets on him. The light only temporarily fades as he suddenly erupts in actual flames this time, his forms highlighted almost completely in orange save a few black sealing marks stretching from his back, covering himself completely, Hokage's cloak and all. He doesn't need to move forward from his spot by Kenta, though the medic would have to save himself this time.
Kenta shivers and moves closer to Daisuke again after getting the antidote into Hige. "Really not liking this place. Bad vibes… Ummm… guess that's to be expected…" he murmurs under his breath. The young man's grip on the seal tag that he has out is hard enough to turn his knuckles white, which isn't really noticeable in the suffocating gloom. Kenta's breathing often hitches, despite his attempts to keep it calm and efficient. All those tons of hard stone above and the darkness emanating from deeper within is taking their toll.
When the monsters pour out into the antechamber, it's all that the medic-nin could do to keep himself from letting out a yelp of surprise. He couldn't stop himself from slapping his hands to his ears in pain, which makes it terrible inconvenience when volleys of elemental ninjutsu start to pelt the group. He barely has the presence of mind to tap the reserve of chakra stored in the seal tattoo on his chest, though too hasty to open the seal fully, and activate the defensive tag that's now pressed against his right cheek. A barrier of chakra flickers around Kenta, strong enough to blunt the force of the attack, but he's still sent tumbling and bloody. The medic-nin rolls to his feet with a gasp and quickly runs medical chakra through his body to close off the worst of his injuries.
The zombies may be loud and screechy, but if you know to expect that it's not so bad. After the multi-element blast has passed by, Atsuro and Taizen drop down from the ceiling of the cavern, both human and dog landing on all fours. They're only visible for a moment before they suddenly disappear, only visible as a blur to those who can keep particularly good track of them. The only other thing that shows their movement is the claw marks which are rapidly scraped into the walls and floors of the cave, rapidly forming a path to the closest enemy.
Hiei drops his torch as the sound assaults his ears. He clamps his hands over his ears and winces and that's just about when he sees the creature in front of him. He attempts to move, but the plume of fire gets him. Some of him anyway. He has to once again abandon his duster because it was on fire. He ran through those things so quickly as of late. "Gah..friggin fire. AGAIN." A blazing blue aura appears around his body as moves towards the creature, drawing his second sword along the way. He delivers a trio of blazing fast strikes towards it before stepping out and spinning, following through with a double strike with both swords.
These creatures are tough. Not only are their attacks rather vicious but their dark skin seems to be able to deflect the attacks that are thrown at them without too much difficulty. Lightning claws bounce off the skin as do those of the older Inuzuka. The only thing that makes eventual damage is Hiei's blades, cutting through one of the creatures skin and causing it to keel. This causes the others to do the same. They back down their respective hallways and unleash another blast towards the antechamber before vanishing back into the darkness once more.
Despite his attempt to injure the creature it's a rather large failure. However Hige barely has enough time to push up and away from the large rocks that are thrown at him. AT least this time he manages to avoid them though by the time he looks back towards the tunnel the creature has completely vanished in it's depths, even the bright yellow eyes no longer visible. "Mother table…" Hige growls in a low voice. He wants to kill it, he really does, but he's not /that/ stupid. There's more at stake then just his anger. He straightens and looks to see how the others fared.
As the attacks come again, Daisuke is able to use his cloak much more effectively than his armor, as the mobility was second to none. He spreads his cloak around both him and Kenta and the attacks themselves harmlessly hit the cloak without doing any harm. Kenta may feel an odd warm sensation, not exactly pleasant but not sickly either, being surrounded in such chakra even momentarily, but after a few seconds he would be released from its embrace as Daisuke focuses on offense. "My turn." he says as he sees the creatures trying to stay at range. It was smart, with most of the abilities from the strike team coming from melee range. Sprouting five appendages of chakra, Daisuke shoots them out towards the beasts, one for each. Instead of clawed hands at the end of each extension, each were razor sharp, almost spear-like.
Kenta's ready for the volley of attacks this time. He starts to make a series of hand seals, but Daisuke comes to his defense before he finishes the jutsu. It's a strange sensation to be wrapped in Bijuu chakra. He would have liked to examine the experience, but there's no time. "Thanks, Hokage-sama!" the medic-nin exclaims in gratitude. "I'm going to tend to Hige and Raikage-sama. Please cover me!" Kenta darts out from Daisuke's cloak and heads straight for the most injured of the group - Hige. He skids to a stop behind the younger shinobi, boots scraping against the hard stone floor. Both his hands lift to press against Hige's back, where they immediately start to glow as he channels medical chakra as quickly as possible.
Once they've realized their chosen attacks aren't getting through the creatures' skin, Atsuro and Taizen quickly withdraw for another go. Sadly, it seems that the zombies do just that too and the two Inuzuka have no choice but to throw themselves against the wall of the cave so they're not hit by the second attack. Once the attack is over, Atsuro pushes off the wall, turning towards the nearest hallway where an enemy retreated and making quick seals. He blows a huge blast of flame down the tight corridor.
As the creature spits out more fire towards Hiei, he takes a few steps backwards but is caught in the blast of fire. However there is no scream, no cry of pain as the shadow clone simply goes *poof*. Wait when did he? Dropping from the ceiling, Hiei moves to the nearest wall and kicks off it, spinning around as he hurls a bolt of lightning down the cave where the monster retreated. Now moving to stand next to Kenta and Hige, he picks up his discarded sword and holds his arms out to the side with both blades held aloft, shielding both Hige and Kenta while the healing process is going on. "I don't like this. I know I wounded one of them, but them retreating just screams trap to me. Anyone have any suggestions?"
Screeches come from two of the hallways but the sounds just continue to retreat while the other attacks hit walls as the creatures had already taken a turn. Some may be injured but none of them are dead and there are five different directions that are open to the shinobi. With the darkness still nibbing the edge of the light from the Hokage's cloak it seems like it's just waiting to snuff that brightness so that it can consume those that are left. There is a long road ahead.
