Starring:
Shemri, Akane, Juudai, Keigo, Ayumu, Hanami
Date: May 19, 2015
Summary:
Two allied kunoichi face off in a clash of will and technique.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Steel Soul Tourney - Flaming Feline: Shemri vs. Akane"
Dammed Arena - Floor [Kirigakure]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
((OOC note: Look UP to see who's watching.))
Tournament time! Shemri feels a touch of nostalgia as she awaits the start of her match, remembering her time at the World Ninja Tournament. That was a different place with a different stage, but the general atmosphere of competitive anticipation is much the same. And yet, Shemri's own emotions regarding the matter are a bit different too. She's older, she's wiser, and she no longer has quite as much to prove, although ironically she has greater capability to prove it. Her family isn't here this time to witness her efforts and cheer her on, although Megumi-chan was rather pouty about not being allowed to come. On the whole, Shemri's looking forward to this primarily as a training experience, and whatever the outcome is, will be. Although, she does rather hope her first opponent won't be another of those creepy spider kids. e.e;
At the appointed time, Shemri walks out to her mark. Shiikaa trots along by her heels, or more accurately weaves along, seeking the most solid and un-pointy paw-holds. Darn gravel, why can't humans be more considerate of every other species in the world that doesn't wear shoes. ^>.<^; Upon reaching their spot, Shemri bows, then Shiikaa leaps up onto her shoulder. There is a *NINJAPOOF*, and instead of a cat on her shoulder, Shemri now has a furry black gauntlet running all the way along her arm. "I am ready," Shemri states, building up her chakra for the fight to come.
RP: Shemri joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
RP: Akane joins the roleplay.
RP: Shemri transforms into FELINE-FUSION.
COMBAT: Shemri focuses 5849 stamina to turn it into 7000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
«Medic» Akane plots, "straight to a C tf.. geeez"
COMBAT: Akane focuses 7042 stamina to turn it into 8500 usable chakra!
«OOC» Shemri says, "There is no lower step in that line."
RP: Akane transforms into SHARINGAN-I.
Akane had been seen to by the best the village had to offer and when they weren't seeing to her she was working on herself. It was an interesting combination. But Akane had simply pulled another fresh mask from her collection, this one was no different, white with reds and blacks and two tears of crimson down each cheek. She once again had her hair up in it's elaborate coiffe, held in place by hairsticks and a few combs. Her bustier was all she wore on top, leather and barely covering. Her belly and back marked by Kage along with her newest scars on her forearms, half hidden by bracers wrapped in scrollwork. She stepped forward, gathering her energies as she did so and though Kyoujin was there to aid her, something had nearly gone wrong in her match with Juudai. She was going to be in better control this time…
Shemri's approach with the cat was watched by the well-armed woman in the mask, eyes completely obscured by lenses. Had they seen her face they would have seen her raise an eyebrow when the cat transformed into.. a mitten? Well whatever, she was sure the Maneshi had tricks up that sleeve.. Just as she did. Thus her eyes flared behind that mask, silently she watched her opponent step into place and she nodded once, dropping into a loose but clearly defensive stance.
One hand rose and with two fingers she beckoned Shemri to attack.
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
Standing from her seat right on the side of the arena. The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure insisted upon being in the arena if she was to be the one watching the matches. She slowly rises and stretches upward a little as she does. She looks to Shemri and then to Akane, acknowledging both, but she seems to give an almost smirk at Akane. Was it mocking? Was it respect? It was hard to know with a woman who held violence in such casual regard. Even as she pulls up a cigar and places it near to her mouth she announces, "Today we have Doihara Akane up against Maneshi Shemri." She announces as people cheer loudly vor their sides. Many from Sunagakure cheering quite loud to try to drown out those of Kirigakure who out number them due to the homefield advantage. Slowly the woman turns, her jacket fluttering behind her as she does. An electric arc jumps from her finger to the cigar tip as she puts it between her lips.
Once at her chair, the woman settles in, turning into it and gesturing, "Begin!" she declares with a finality to it as if this may be the ends of their lives or the beginning of their glory.
«Medic» Akane thinks the crowd from Kiri would be split on opinion for or against Akane at this point anyway
Shemri quirks an eyebrow at her opponent's appearance. What sort of woman hides her face and shows her midriff and cleavage? e.e The old line 'My eyes are up here' springs to mind as ironically futile. It's as if she's trying to attract the sort of men who objectify women. Or distract them, but that's hardly going to work against Shemri. And speaking of, best not dwell on it with the match starting! Shemri dashes forward with her arms trailing behind her, taking Akane's invitation. Shortly before she closes the distance, there is a flash of apricot from over her shoulder, and a shuriken somehow whizzes at Akane even though Shemri's arms remained unmoving. The next moment Shemri is within striking range, and she reaches out to gain a lock on Akane's arm. That apricot coloration, coming from the sash-ends hanging from Shemri's back, reaches around to maintain the grip and free Shemri's gauntleted arm for a haymaker at Akane's ribs.
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with TRICKY-SHARP-THROW with a roll of: 45
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with EXTRA-LIMB-GRAPPLE with a roll of: 29
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with POWER-PHYSICAL with a roll of: 39
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
«OOC» Shemri says, "Ironic. X)"
«Medic» Akane plots, "hmm?"
COMBAT: Akane defends against TRICKY-SHARP-THROW(45) attack from Shemri with a BREVITY…52
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
COMBAT: Akane defends against EXTRA-LIMB-GRAPPLE(29) attack from Shemri with a BREVITY…70
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
COMBAT: Akane defends against POWER-PHYSICAL(39) attack from Shemri with a BREVITY…67
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
«Medic» Akane peers at those rolls.. wonders if the dice are behaving for once
«OOC» Shemri says, "My move to increase the chances of the powerful working rolled lower than the powerful itself."
«OOC» Yoichi applauds RNG.
Each of Shemri's attacks would appear to strike, but her hand would never make contact with anything solid. Instead an after-image of Akane would dissipate like smoke but the woman was never there to be hit. The medic appeared behind Shemri then as if from nothingness and attempt to tap certain pressure points along her spine, injecting chakra there as well should the attack land. It was a blatant attempt with a bit of a massaging motion (that would have felt great had the medic been out of combat) along the muscles to at least slow the Maneshi down before she spun to build momentum and — where did that dagger come from? — slash at Shemri's back. It would only take a moment and a small cut for the wound to feel as though it were on fire. The poison on that set of daggers was less paralyzing as it was painful, made from the venom of a cobra, but diluted.
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with MUSCLE-RELAXATION-TECHNIQUE with a roll of: 61
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with POISONED-SHARP-II with a roll of: 64
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
COMBAT: Shemri defends against MUSCLE-RELAXATION-TECHNIQUE(61) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-GUARD…57
COMBAT: You lose your stamina for 1 attacks.
COMBAT: Shemri loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Akane drains stamina from Shemri
COMBAT: Shemri defends against POISONED-SHARP-II(64) attack from Akane with a TENSE…17
COMBAT: Shemri loses the roll and sustains 864 damage.
RP: Shemri transforms into FELINE-FUSION-II.
Shemri's sashes move to intercept Akane's fingers, but even with four appendages it's hard to block from behind, especially when said appendages can't actually feel anything. >.<; Shemri winces as the dagger hacks through her packed-straw armor and leaves a small, burning cut. Dancing away from her opponent for a moment, Shemri furrows her brow and focuses. The fur on her arm increases its area, traveling under her shirt and down her back. Soon a black tail sprouts from beneath the bottom edge of her vest, joining the sash ones. "You are an agile opponent," Shemri remarks.
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
Akane watched as Shemri was struck by both her attempts and chuckled at the woman's comment. "And you're quite interesting yourself." Her tone had none of Kyoujin's battle-lust, but her body language was most definitely fluid like a great cat…. perhaps like the one she faced. But Shemri made a slight mistake when she did not attack. For spar or no, Akane would never shut Kyoujin up if she did not attack.
~Shut up Bakane and get on with it!~ she heard inside her mind. She shook her head once as if to clear it and then leapt forward, a dagger in each hand, looking to slice further into Shemri's front this time. The chest and belly were bad places to have wounds, as they were quite painful and irritated easily. of course each of those also carried the painful poison….
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with POISONED-SHARP-II with a roll of: 49
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with POISONED-SHARP-II with a roll of: 59
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
COMBAT Shemri is poisoned (3 rounds) and loses 81 health.
«OOC» Shemri had the rules confused, thought she couldn't TF and attack in same round. X) Turns out that's focus.
«Medic» Akane plots, "awwsorry.. *pets"
COMBAT: Shemri defends against POISONED-SHARP-II(49) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-GUARD…48
COMBAT: Shemri loses the roll and sustains 340 damage.
COMBAT: Shemri defends against POISONED-SHARP-II(59) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-GUARD…61
COMBAT: Shemri wins the roll.
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Good Condition Fine
RP: Akane Excellent Condition Fine
«OOC» Shemri says, "BTW, we should perhaps agree on a win condition. First to go below 'Average Condition' loses? Surrender before then is still possible, of course."
«OOC» Juudai sets conditions, "The First to have her head cut off is the loser."
«OOC» Juudai says, "…to harsh?"
Shemri grabs kunai from her pouches and tosses them into the air, her sashes reaching out to grab them. They aren't armed quickly enough to defend against Akane's first slice at Shemri's chest — my, she's certainly glad she wears protective gear that covers that region. X) The second slash, aimed at her belly, is intercepted by the furry black tail hooking around Akane's wrist. "Many thanks!" Shemri quips as the tail yanks at Akane, and Shemri's fist makes a jab at her jaw. This is followed up by a flurry of slashes from the kunai-wielding sashes.
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with EXTRA-LIMB-YANK-STRIKE with a roll of: 66
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with EXTRA-LIMB-SHARP-FLURRY with a roll of: 54
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
COMBAT: Akane defends against EXTRA-LIMB-YANK-STRIKE(66) attack from Shemri with a FIRE-CLONE…70
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
COMBAT: Akane defends against EXTRA-LIMB-SHARP-FLURRY(54) attack from Shemri with a FIRE-CLONE…68
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
Akane was pleased to have sliced more poison into the woman's bloodstream, and when that tail came out to defend she laughed. Not a derisive laugh but one that suggested she was having loads of fun. Then . she disappeared into a ball of flame. But where was the real Akane? Answer: She was on the arena wall, two feet planted, knees bent as if crouching, the masked woman looked down at Shemri. "I like that tail.. how do I get one?"
For those paying attention, Akane had yet to say 'We' or 'This One'. She had consistentlyusing I and Me. Kyoujin was there but not in control.
None of that mattered though as Akane flashed through several handseals, still attached to the arena wall about half way up by her feet. She wanted to see if Shemri was only a close range fighter or if she could deal ranged damage as well so she lifted her fingers to her mask's mouth and a hole there for her to work her magic, spitting several compact fireballs at the woman. If Shemri ran, Akane would fire the next fireball at where she was supposedly heading, tracking her until seven or eight balls had been expelled, raising dust and smoke. Then she waited.
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with FLAMING-ARTILLERY with a roll of: 64
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with FLAMING-ARTILLERY with a roll of: 43
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
COMBAT Shemri is poisoned (3 rounds) and loses 166 health.
RP: Shemri transforms into FELINE-FUSION-III.
COMBAT: Shemri defends against FLAMING-ARTILLERY(64) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ…63
COMBAT: Shemri loses the roll and sustains 692 damage.
«Medic» Akane plots, "you can tf before you defend? *doesnt know is asking*"
«OOC» Juudai says, "Yes."
«Medic» Akane nodsnods
«OOC» Juudai says, "You can technically TF anytime, just only once per round."
COMBAT: Shemri defends against FLAMING-ARTILLERY(43) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ…82
COMBAT: Shemri wins the roll.
«Medic» Akane plots, "aaahh that was the rule. and this is now over. i dont think i can roll that high"
«OOC» Shemri says, "You have been dominating so far. X)"
«OOC» Juudai says, "Well, just keep in mind that you still have a lot of health."
«OOC» Juudai says, "Yep, not over yet."
«Medic» Akane admits she doesnt know the limits of S3
Two Ninjas sporting Sunagakure headbands arrive, going over to the front of the seats reserved for participants. Sitting down, the two Ninja look really similar, almost as if they could be brothers. One of them starts talking. "I can't believe we missed most of this match! You just HAD to sleep in, didn't you Kei?"
The other Ninja, Kei, looks slightly annoyed. "It's not my fault that someone forgot to set the alarm! Why didn't you just leave without me?" He sounded as if he was joking around with that last question. "Anyway, it looks like the match might not be too far in. Quit your worrying, Aya."
Aya gets a scowl on his face at the question, then replies to the other sentence. "I always worry! If you're not at your best, I can't be either."
Kei just smiles. "How's this for best?" Suddenly, Aya slaps himself several times!
"Stop that!"
"Make me!" Aya slaps himself some more.
Shemri concentrates and the furry patch extends again, this time more visibly as it goes down along her leg. Then she blitzes from her position, though not quite soon enough to avoid the worst of the first fire-burst. >.<; The remaining shots, though, she evades quite handily, having gained momentum. She blurs erratically around the arena, then suddenly appears on the wall a short distance from Akane. "How do you get one? It is quite simple." Shemri blurs from sight again, and a line of sharpness draws across Akane's front. Spectators see Shemri appearing for just the briefest of moments all over the wall near Akane as she zips past from every angle, catching hold of the surface with every possible limb to redirect herself before disappearing to draw another cut. "YOU — BECOME — ONE — WITH — A — CAT!" >D Shemri ends her blitz by latching onto the wall with the cat tail directly above Akane and stomping down at her head with a clawed foot.
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ with a roll of: 69
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
Now that blood has begun to flow and burn in true form, a certain Iga's attention was drawn from elsewhere. This was no exhibition match, so sneaking into the arena had been something the man refrained from doing so this time around. Instead, sensory organs scattered about the stands were again given the command to come together and form a body fitting enough to reflect Ayumu in all his splendor.
Once formed while amidstthe shadows of one of the entryway into the stands, the Iga — or at least, a clone — casually began strolling to the forefront of the stands. But of course like so many other match goers, it doesn't take long for the red-haired wanderer to take notice of the comedy duo. Caught between one desire and another, Ayumu flounders in one of the walkways for a minute or so before grudgingly relegating some other sensor to keep an eye on the match. With a faintly amused smile, the Iga approaches the duo and says, "Now, now, now, there be no need of such things.. well, not here at least, neh?"
Aya and Kei look at the Ninja that had spoken to the pair of them, looking then at each other when the words were spoken to them. They both sighed. Kei spoke up. "Yeah, you're right… I'm sorry, Aya."
Aya nodded in response. "I'm not." And then Aya moves his hand as if to slap Kei, but their hand is stopped short.
Kei just smiles. "Nope." And the stopped hand goes back and slaps Aya once again!
«Medic» Akane plots, "how do i see what tf i'm in"
«Medic» Akane plots, "nm i'm in S1"
RP: Akane transforms into SHARINGAN-II.
COMBAT: Akane defends against EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ(69) attack from Shemri with a FIRE-CLONE…65
COMBAT: Akane loses the roll and sustains 1968 damage.
«Medic» Akane plots, "sonofa—"
«Medic» Akane plots, "how the spitfire do you do that kind of damage with one attack?"
«OOC» Arika blinks…
«OOC» Arika says, "Just a sharp, too… But A rank"
RPCOMBAT: Akane defends against with a BREVITY…68
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Average Condition Fatigued
RP: Akane Average Condition Fine
«OOC» Juudai says, "A rank attack will do that sometimes…"
«Medic» Akane plots, "uh.. do i need to keep this pg?"
«OOC» Shemri says, "Preferably. Shemri would not be aiming to cut off your clothing, if that is what you are thinking."
«OOC» Juudai believes PG-13 is the expected highest rank of the MUSH on a bad day.
«Medic» Akane plots, "was but it's a tiny top. but i have another way tht satisfies my thoughts and keeps it pg no worries"
Akane was preparing to bring up a fire clone and abscond to a safe area but she only got the flames around her before Shemri cut through them completely. She did not speak, did not cry out, made no sign of pain as the slashes came and came and came. She bounded away the second Shemri allowed an opening, once more disappearing completely, though there was a bit of a blood trail to another side of the arena. The slashes had made some interesting work with her bustier which was small to start with. But she proved her speed wasn't just in her legs. She grabbed the strings of the corset-like top and in a blur she had them tied again. It made for a slightly more revealing top but at least she wasn't nude on top. Her hair however did not survive so well. two sets of hairsticks had jolted out of her hair completely and so two thirds of her crimson hair fell about her shoulders and body, a bloody waterfall that reached past her waist. She shook out her head like a lion and laughed. "Now now, you almost made half these spectators get on my husband's bad side." Still, the speed with which she had retied her top was certainly impressive.
But she wasn't done. She spread her feet and brought up her fingers to her 'lips' again, exhaling greatly and spewing a huge cone shaped fireball at the catgirl. It would follow wherever Shemri ran, like a flamethrower.
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with FIRE-DRAGON-FLAME-BULLET with a roll of: 50
«Medic» Akane plots, "figures…"
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
COMBAT Shemri is poisoned (2 rounds) and loses 166 health.
COMBAT: Shemri defends against FIRE-DRAGON-FLAME-BULLET(50) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ…78
COMBAT: Shemri wins the roll.
Looking at the battle from her spot, the Tsuchikage is now idly smoking her cigar and watching. She has seen Akane dominate this match right up until…now. That attack from Shemri was brutal. She stares at the damage done and then shakes her head a little as she shifts in her spot and then puts her back all the way to the back of the chair, lifting her chin slightly as if to acknowledge that attack by Shemri. She then puffs on her cigar a couple of times as she considers this turn of events.
«OOC» Shemri is forced to use her biggest defense due to elemental disadvantage. -.-;
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Average Condition Fatigued
RP: Akane Average Condition Fine
«Medic» Akane plots, "my B rank defense is worthless"
Even as the duo continue to argue amongst themselves, Ayumu's smile never falters. The corner of his lips does twitch a little at one brief instance there, but beyond, he's peachy!
"You guys just don't quit do ya?" He chuckles lightly. "Hmm.. Or perhaps it is something else sought? We did not think of that now did we?" Ayumu adds mysteriously. While absently stroking his chin thoughtfully on the matter, the man just casually falls into the seat next to the duo. That, or the lap of some unfortunate that may or may not have been on the verge of killing all three desert dwellers for making such a commotion.
Meanwhile, a whooping noise and some whistling can be heard from the crowd from one of the few dumb enough or brave enough to make a show out of Akane's incident. Just who is this brave fool one might ask? Why its none other than a second Ayumu, twirling his fist about like a mad man!
Shemri tilts her head. "You have a husband? Does he know you go into combat wearing such meager protection?" :P In front of said spectators? -.- Whoops, banter time is over. Though her muscles are still aching a bit from the previous exertion, Shemri blitzes away again, leading the fireball on a merry chase until it burns itself out. She drops out of warp near Akane…upside-down. Shemri lands in a handstand and swings one leg down in a kick at Akane's head, then tumbles sideways. Rather than falling all the way, though, she catches herself with her sashes, which support her horizontally as she swings the other leg around in a sweep of Akane's feet. Finally the sashes spring her into a twirling barrel roll, aiming to drive a flying elbow into Akane's solar plexus.
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with EXTRA-LIMB-ACROBAT-COMBO with a roll of: 60
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
The two Ninja stop their playful exchanges, looking at this Ninja that kept standing there and smiling at them… they both got grump faces now. Kei spoke once more. "Kinda killing the mood here… who are you, anyway? You're obviously not from our village."
Now Aya. "Yeah! Quit bein' a joy-kill!"
Then the slight absence of noise from the crowd else from everyone else, drawing the attention of Kei. As he lost his concentration, snapped out of it by the loud whooping of another in the crowd, Aya just seemed to go limp and lifeless. Kei just looked at the other person whooping… then at the person in front of them… then back and forth for a bit before sighing. "Clones…"
RP: Akane transforms into SHARINGAN-III.
COMBAT: Akane defends against EXTRA-LIMB-ACROBAT-COMBO(60) attack from Shemri with a FIRE-CLONE…55
COMBAT: Akane loses the roll and sustains 910 damage.
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Average Condition Fatigued
RP: Akane Several Wounds Fine
«Medic» Akane plots, "…*sighs…shrugs*"
«OOC» Yoichi sneaks in and heals Akane invisibly.
«OOC» Shemri goes to have a little chat with Ei.
Akane tilted her head as Shemri made that comment and Akane had already made a note to possibly identify Ayumu to Ishino…. Puppet Evisceration should be a thing! In any case, Akane's clone technique just wasn't up to the task she set for it, however, she did manage to redirect the attacks so that they landed on places not so sensitive. Forinstance, rather than her head, the kick landed on her shoulder, with a crack her arm was fully and visibly dislocated. The attack at her solar plexus was redirected to her forearm and so forth. When Akane skidded to a halt once again she showed no understanding of pain yet. In fact she simply turned and slammed herself against the arena wall popping her shoulder back into joint with another loud crack.
Akane's next movement was to bring her fingers up to her lips again, her eyes practically glowing behind that mask of hers, inscrutable as ever, and she spit out a tiiiiiny tiny fireball at the cat girl. It looked, honestly, like she had been unable to complete a proper attack. A few in the stands remembered the last time and scooted back from the railings just in time for the arena to explode into flame. In the Land of Fire she had burned down blocks worth of forest with this technique… Silently she watched to see if Shemri could withstand the flames…..
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with INTELLIGENT-HARD-WORK with a roll of: 71
«Medic» Akane plots, ".. seriously. *gives up*"
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
COMBAT Shemri is poisoned (1 rounds) and loses 85 health.
COMBAT: Shemri defends against INTELLIGENT-HARD-WORK(71) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ…98
COMBAT: Shemri wins the roll.
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Average Condition Fatigued
RP: Akane Several Wounds Fine
«OOC» Shemri points to +order. "Shall we conclude, or…?"
«OOC» Arika thinks it could continue
«Medic» Akane shrugs
«Medic» Akane plots, "doesnt matter I can heal but i cant match your rolls so…"
«Medic» Akane plots, "seriously attack me againa nd I'll roll my b rank and show you how pathetic it is"
Despite the grumpy mood about the twins, Ayumu remains undeterred. Their negative feelings, if anything, only seem to amuse him more, though the question does seem to cause it to finally wane a little. Just as the Iga began to take in a deep breathe for what can only be assumed to be a long winded name (or lengthy explanation), Aya's prompt accusation stops him cold. Now a pouting clone sat next to the duo, lips trembling as if at any moment he might genuinely cry. "Not clone. Twins." The Ayumu indignantly states, then points to Aya. "And what's with him? He's sick or something?"
As for the whooping and catcalling Ayumu, the man doesn't stop his antics even as others nearby sought to scramble away from the railings. The only thing to actually give him pause is seeing Akane get tossed around earlier by the comeback champ Shemri. But then the thought 'oh, better chance to leer!' came to mind, leading to his quickly leaning in further for a better look.
At least one pair of eyes are permanently blinded from the sheer intensity of the flames. That and perhaps a bit of skin as well, but that quickly seems to grow back as soon as the flames settle down.
«OOC» Shemri says, "Strategically speaking, I would need to focus again this round, but if this is the last of it I can accomodate you."
«Medic» Akane plots, "if this fails i'll just quit"
Kei ahhs at the explanation. "Okay. That makes more sense." He then looks at Aya, blinking… and sighs. "I really gotta get better control…" His fingers snap up and strings of chakra seem to extend and latch on to Aya's lifeless form. "Wake up, you."
Aya suddenly bolts up, looking around curiously. "Huh? Wha? What'd I miss?"
"Oh, not much… only a-" Suddenly, gigantic fire explosion as Kei and Aya both back up quite a bit from the edge to avoid the most of the heat! "Well! Nearly missed that!"
Aya makes a pffft sound, grinning. "I'd have survived it…"
Kei shakes his head. "I don't know… you're cut-proof. Not fire-proof." Kei looks at the Ninja. "I suppose I should start by introducing myselves… I am Hougenka Keigo. And my insulting-looking compatriot here is Ayamakki. I was once part of a Travelling Entertainment Troupe, focused around Puppeteering… Ayamakki here is my Puppet."
Ayamakki nods. "'Tis true. Underneath this visage, I'm merely a wooden doll…"
Keigo looks at Ayamakki sullenly. "Oh, don't be like that… you're an important part of the act! You're the main attraction of my twisted master plan!" He just grins at that.
Ayamakki just chuckles a bit. "Guess that's something to help me feel better… if I had feelings, at least." He just shrugs.
Keigo looks at the Ninja. "So… we have introduced ourselves… what about you?"
Shemri grits her teeth and blitzes away once more, avoiding the explosion of flame. She skids to a halt several meters from Akane, then stands up warily. "Hoi, you do not appear to be in good shape to continue this," Shemri says seriously, throwing a kunai up in a high arc. "Is your reason for wanting to win important enough for the risk?" There is a soft *klink* from up above, as the kunai Shemri just tossed makes contact with one she threw upward even earlier, during her blur, and the two of them plummet down toward Akane. Immediately following their descent, Shemri lunges at Akane with a driving punch. "Think carefully!" >/
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with VECTOR-SHARP-THROW with a roll of: 56
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with POWER-PHYSICAL-II with a roll of: 43
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
COMBAT: Akane defends against VECTOR-SHARP-THROW(56) attack from Shemri with a NOT-EVEN-A-SCRATCH…76
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
«Medic» Akane plots, "well i can no longer say i've never rolled above a 50"
COMBAT: Akane defends against POWER-PHYSICAL-II(43) attack from Shemri with a NOT-EVEN-A-SCRATCH…81
COMBAT: Akane wins the roll.
«OOC» Shemri says, "This is a fact. X)"
«Medic» Akane plots, "…. i really dont need RNG tonight"
«Medic» Akane plots, "and for the record i have 1200 hp left"
«Medic» Akane plots, "2600^"
Akane seemed to shift somehow, a combination of chakra and body movements, completely avoiding the attacks. Then she lifted her chin and shook her head. Then she lowered her head just enough to appear like a wolf might. Her body language shifted into a more violent stance and she scoffed. "This? You think THIS could keep This One down?" She stood then and took both her hands, two fingers a piece, shimmering somehow… And dragged them along a handful of those long cuts Shemri had performed on her. The skin sizzled and the smell of burning flesh wafted about her as she cauterized her own skin with a touch of flame….
«OOC» Juudai looks to you two and looks to the time, "Will one of you die already? ;D
COMBAT: Akane heals Akane for 1020 with CAUTERIZATION.
«Medic» Akane kills Juudai instead.. or tries to only for RNG to once again roll mins
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Average Condition Fatigued
RP: Akane Average Condition Fatigued
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
«OOC» Yoichi says, "You can do it!"
The scene thus far: two young brothers, both from Sunagakure, talking to an elder Ninja of unknown origin. The two brothers seem to be bickering to one another… which isn't uncommon… but what is uncommon is the fact that without even doing anything, one of the brothers is seemingly hitting himself in the face repeatedly, not really registering the pain. But the annoyance on his face is the same anyway. "Quit it, Keigo! I mean it!"
Keigo just smiled. "Or what?"
More slapping, but the one being slapped doesn't do anything in retaliation. "I'll find a way to do something! Just watch!"
Shemri furrows her brow as Akane goes about healing herself…and wrinkles her nose for that matter. XP "Ah. Aha. This is most unfortunate for both of us. For me, because it means that I cannot win without either beating you dangerously close to death, or outlasting your ability to heal yourself…and for you, because it means you may endure much more pain." -.- Shemri pauses to catch her breath and restore her chakra. "I am curious what motivates you in this tournament.
COMBAT: Shemri focuses 3443 stamina to turn it into 4308 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
Akane chuckled at Shemri's response. It ws almost cute that she was worried about pain. "I'm truly a Kiri Kunoichi. Pain is nothing to me." Which got a few Kiri cheers. But as Shemri refocused on her battle plans Akane brought up more chakra as well, watching her opponent. "Besides, I wouldn't be worth fighting if I gave up because I'm bleeding."
COMBAT: Akane focuses 3290 stamina to turn it into 4000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
Ayumu shrugged off the wounded mad hatter, and seemed to regard the pairs general direction with a more speculative look. Although it felt the 'pain' of its fellow clone, it effortless ignored it. In a few moments, 'Wild Card Ayumu' would be fully restored and undettered by the minor set backs, so why worry?
"It is… well, I am, Gin Wakahisa. And that one over there is Ryoji Wakahisa. Traveling merchants turned spectators, as you can see, Mr. Puppeteer." The clone offers up along with a brief head bow, ignoring for the moment all the slapping of a defenseless puppet. Later, the clone would wonder if Gin harmed his hand doing at all doing it so much.
"Bleeding ANNNNND smelling like sweet, sweet BACON!!" Ayumu on the rails calls out… over the rails. "Shemri-chama!~ Don't let the smell get to ya!" He yells, hands cupped around his mouth.
Hanami makes her way into the stands, coming to watching the fight going on. She pauses, eyeing the strange pair and the antics, "Oh uh, hello there. Everything um…going well?" She eyes the fight then back to the pair.
The two brothers look up as a new person joins the group. Keigo smiles. "Yup. Everything's going great." Suddenly, the other brother slaps himself. "See? Just great!"
The brother grumps as he just seems unable to help hitting himself repeatedly.
Keigo looked a bit at the newcomer… she looked about the same age as him… maybe a bit older… Keigo smiled. "It's nice to see someone else around my age here… what's your name?"
Hanami gives a smile, though it probably comes off at looking a bit uneasy at the repeated hitting, "Great…right…"she clears her throat, "Oh, sure. I'm Shinatobe Hanami, from Kumogakure. For the tournament, you know. Like uh..well guess most of us around here I imagine. And…you are?"
Shemri distributes more kunai to her sashes. "To be able to fight through pain is a virtue, but to disdain it is unwise." Shemri steps into range and jabs fiercely at Akane with all four sashes and both arms. "Pain is a tool of survival! It informs us when we are injured! It halts us when we attempt more than our bodies can handle!" The kunai swipe and slash in a dizzying maelstrom. "And it is pain which teaches us to overcome our greatest obstacles, when failure is what brings the greatest pain of all!"
COMBAT: Shemri attacks Akane with EXTRA-LIMB-SHARP-STORM with a roll of: 87
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
COMBAT: Akane defends against EXTRA-LIMB-SHARP-STORM(87) attack from Shemri with a NOT-EVEN-A-SCRATCH…80
COMBAT: Akane loses the roll and sustains 604 damage.
Akane smirked behind the mask. This Shemri was certainly one for telling others about battle strategy. If the woman only knew Akane's true opinion on pain… XD But then she was slashing at her again and Akane moved to the side, catching a deep cut in her arm and one on her leg. he let out a 'che' then leapt backwards while at the same time throwing another tiny little fireball at Shemri. Once more it exploded, filling the arena with flame as Akane perched on the wall. Just below the shouting Ayumu she looked up at him and laughed. "Bacon shouldn't be sweet."
COMBAT: Akane attacks Shemri with INTELLIGENT-HARD-WORK with a roll of: 94
COMBAT: Akane finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Shemri's turn.
COMBAT: Shemri defends against INTELLIGENT-HARD-WORK(94) attack from Akane with a EXTRA-LIMB-BEAST-BLITZ…81
COMBAT: Shemri loses the roll and sustains 781 damage.
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Shemri Several Wounds Fatigued
RP: Akane Average Condition Fatigued
«Medic» Akane waits for someone to call it a draw
«OOC» Shemri should've just gone for damage reduction, even though it would've involved elemental weakness. X)
Although his eyes were all but useless Ayumu still turns in his seat to regard Hanami's general direction. After that there's a bout of looking back and forth between the three before a sly smile splits the Iga's face. "Well, well… *clears throat* I do think this one has a bladder that needs taking care of, so I'll leave you two to get e-quainted." With that said, the red-haired man slips out of his seat, adjusts his top with a sharp tug, then makes his way down the aisel (unless stopped).
"You've obviously have not experienced the world of Bacon in full my dear." Railing Ayumu replies after finally getting over a cringing and wincing fit from Shemri's successful storm of blades. Again, the clone chided himself for having behaved in such an odd manner. After all, the more cuts and burns there were the less bothersome barriers!
The fire blooms outward, enveloping Shemri's position. A second later, a tendril of the flame stretches out sideways like a gush of water from a rupturing balloon, and Shemri tumbles out. She rights herself, stands up…and stows her kunai. "This hunt is clearly unlikely to pay off." Shemri raises a tired and burned arm. "Hoi, I surrender this match." Shiikaa returns to his usual form with a *POOF*, immediately hopping down to the ground and grooming himself. Sheesh, gonna be fixing this mess for a week, and tasting singed hairballs the whole time. >.<;
COMBAT: Shemri finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Akane's turn.
COMBAT: Shemri left combat at 18.7 percent stamina.
RP: Shemri leaves the roleplay.
RP: Shemri reverts to her normal state.
«Medic» Akane plots, "should I pose the proctor?"
«OOC» Shemri says, "Considering the referee is a specific PC, probably no, although you could refer to the general occurances around the end of the match."
«Medic» Akane plots, "works"
Akane watched Shemri-fireball fly out sideways and then surrender the match. She seemed to be watching her for offensive actions as well. Whent he proctor made it official Akane slid to the floor of the arena and held up her hand in a peaceful motion. Assuming she was allowed near them, Akane rested her hand just above the worst of the burns to heal them. "You probably would have won if you'd gone one more round." She admitted quietly to Shemri.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
((OOC note: Look UP to see who's watching.))
Tournament time! Shemri feels a touch of nostalgia as she awaits the start of her match, remembering her time at the World Ninja Tournament. That was a different place with a different stage, but the general atmosphere of competitive anticipation is much the same. And yet, Shemri's own emotions regarding the matter are a bit different too. She's older, she's wiser, and she no longer has quite as much to prove, although ironically she has greater capability to prove it. Her family isn't here this time to witness her efforts and cheer her on, although Megumi-chan was rather pouty about not being allowed to come. On the whole, Shemri's looking forward to this primarily as a training experience, and whatever the outcome is, will be. Although, she does rather hope her first opponent won't be another of those creepy spider kids. e.e;
At the appointed time, Shemri walks out to her mark. Shiikaa trots along by her heels, or more accurately weaves along, seeking the most solid and un-pointy paw-holds. Darn gravel, why can't humans be more considerate of every other species in the world that doesn't wear shoes. ^>.<^; Upon reaching their spot, Shemri bows, then Shiikaa leaps up onto her shoulder. There is a *NINJAPOOF*, and instead of a cat on her shoulder, Shemri now has a furry black gauntlet running all the way along her arm. "I am ready," Shemri states, building up her chakra for the fight to come.
Akane had been seen to by the best the village had to offer and when they weren't seeing to her she was working on herself. It was an interesting combination. But Akane had simply pulled another fresh mask from her collection, this one was no different, white with reds and blacks and two tears of crimson down each cheek. She once again had her hair up in it's elaborate coiffe, held in place by hairsticks and a few combs. Her bustier was all she wore on top, leather and barely covering. Her belly and back marked by Kage along with her newest scars on her forearms, half hidden by bracers wrapped in scrollwork. She stepped forward, gathering her energies as she did so and though Kyoujin was there to aid her, something had nearly gone wrong in her match with Juudai. She was going to be in better control this time…
Shemri's approach with the cat was watched by the well-armed woman in the mask, eyes completely obscured by lenses. Had they seen her face they would have seen her raise an eyebrow when the cat transformed into.. a mitten? Well whatever, she was sure the Maneshi had tricks up that sleeve.. Just as she did. Thus her eyes flared behind that mask, silently she watched her opponent step into place and she nodded once, dropping into a loose but clearly defensive stance.
One hand rose and with two fingers she beckoned Shemri to attack.
Standing from her seat right on the side of the arena. The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure insisted upon being in the arena if she was to be the one watching the matches. She slowly rises and stretches upward a little as she does. She looks to Shemri and then to Akane, acknowledging both, but she seems to give an almost smirk at Akane. Was it mocking? Was it respect? It was hard to know with a woman who held violence in such casual regard. Even as she pulls up a cigar and places it near to her mouth she announces, "Today we have Doihara Akane up against Maneshi Shemri." She announces as people cheer loudly vor their sides. Many from Sunagakure cheering quite loud to try to drown out those of Kirigakure who out number them due to the homefield advantage. Slowly the woman turns, her jacket fluttering behind her as she does. An electric arc jumps from her finger to the cigar tip as she puts it between her lips.
Once at her chair, the woman settles in, turning into it and gesturing, "Begin!" she declares with a finality to it as if this may be the ends of their lives or the beginning of their glory.
Shemri quirks an eyebrow at her opponent's appearance. What sort of woman hides her face and shows her midriff and cleavage? e.e The old line 'My eyes are up here' springs to mind as ironically futile. It's as if she's trying to attract the sort of men who objectify women. Or distract them, but that's hardly going to work against Shemri. And speaking of, best not dwell on it with the match starting! Shemri dashes forward with her arms trailing behind her, taking Akane's invitation. Shortly before she closes the distance, there is a flash of apricot from over her shoulder, and a shuriken somehow whizzes at Akane even though Shemri's arms remained unmoving. The next moment Shemri is within striking range, and she reaches out to gain a lock on Akane's arm. That apricot coloration, coming from the sash-ends hanging from Shemri's back, reaches around to maintain the grip and free Shemri's gauntleted arm for a haymaker at Akane's ribs.
Each of Shemri's attacks would appear to strike, but her hand would never make contact with anything solid. Instead an after-image of Akane would dissipate like smoke but the woman was never there to be hit. The medic appeared behind Shemri then as if from nothingness and attempt to tap certain pressure points along her spine, injecting chakra there as well should the attack land. It was a blatant attempt with a bit of a massaging motion (that would have felt great had the medic been out of combat) along the muscles to at least slow the Maneshi down before she spun to build momentum and — where did that dagger come from? — slash at Shemri's back. It would only take a moment and a small cut for the wound to feel as though it were on fire. The poison on that set of daggers was less paralyzing as it was painful, made from the venom of a cobra, but diluted.
Shemri's sashes move to intercept Akane's fingers, but even with four appendages it's hard to block from behind, especially when said appendages can't actually feel anything. >.<; Shemri winces as the dagger hacks through her packed-straw armor and leaves a small, burning cut. Dancing away from her opponent for a moment, Shemri furrows her brow and focuses. The fur on her arm increases its area, traveling under her shirt and down her back. Soon a black tail sprouts from beneath the bottom edge of her vest, joining the sash ones. "You are an agile opponent," Shemri remarks.
Akane watched as Shemri was struck by both her attempts and chuckled at the woman's comment. "And you're quite interesting yourself." Her tone had none of Kyoujin's battle-lust, but her body language was most definitely fluid like a great cat…. perhaps like the one she faced. But Shemri made a slight mistake when she did not attack. For spar or no, Akane would never shut Kyoujin up if she did not attack.
~Shut up Bakane and get on with it!~ she heard inside her mind. She shook her head once as if to clear it and then leapt forward, a dagger in each hand, looking to slice further into Shemri's front this time. The chest and belly were bad places to have wounds, as they were quite painful and irritated easily. of course each of those also carried the painful poison….
Shemri grabs kunai from her pouches and tosses them into the air, her sashes reaching out to grab them. They aren't armed quickly enough to defend against Akane's first slice at Shemri's chest — my, she's certainly glad she wears protective gear that covers that region. X) The second slash, aimed at her belly, is intercepted by the furry black tail hooking around Akane's wrist. "Many thanks!" Shemri quips as the tail yanks at Akane, and Shemri's fist makes a jab at her jaw. This is followed up by a flurry of slashes from the kunai-wielding sashes.
Akane was pleased to have sliced more poison into the woman's bloodstream, and when that tail came out to defend she laughed. Not a derisive laugh but one that suggested she was having loads of fun. Then . she disappeared into a ball of flame. But where was the real Akane? Answer: She was on the arena wall, two feet planted, knees bent as if crouching, the masked woman looked down at Shemri. "I like that tail.. how do I get one?"
For those paying attention, Akane had yet to say 'We' or 'This One'. She had consistentlyusing I and Me. Kyoujin was there but not in control.
None of that mattered though as Akane flashed through several handseals, still attached to the arena wall about half way up by her feet. She wanted to see if Shemri was only a close range fighter or if she could deal ranged damage as well so she lifted her fingers to her mask's mouth and a hole there for her to work her magic, spitting several compact fireballs at the woman. If Shemri ran, Akane would fire the next fireball at where she was supposedly heading, tracking her until seven or eight balls had been expelled, raising dust and smoke. Then she waited.
Two Ninjas sporting Sunagakure headbands arrive, going over to the front of the seats reserved for participants. Sitting down, the two Ninja look really similar, almost as if they could be brothers. One of them starts talking. "I can't believe we missed most of this match! You just HAD to sleep in, didn't you Kei?"
The other Ninja, Kei, looks slightly annoyed. "It's not my fault that someone forgot to set the alarm! Why didn't you just leave without me?" He sounded as if he was joking around with that last question. "Anyway, it looks like the match might not be too far in. Quit your worrying, Aya."
Aya gets a scowl on his face at the question, then replies to the other sentence. "I always worry! If you're not at your best, I can't be either."
Kei just smiles. "How's this for best?" Suddenly, Aya slaps himself several times!
"Stop that!"
"Make me!" Aya slaps himself some more.
Shemri concentrates and the furry patch extends again, this time more visibly as it goes down along her leg. Then she blitzes from her position, though not quite soon enough to avoid the worst of the first fire-burst. >.<; The remaining shots, though, she evades quite handily, having gained momentum. She blurs erratically around the arena, then suddenly appears on the wall a short distance from Akane. "How do you get one? It is quite simple." Shemri blurs from sight again, and a line of sharpness draws across Akane's front. Spectators see Shemri appearing for just the briefest of moments all over the wall near Akane as she zips past from every angle, catching hold of the surface with every possible limb to redirect herself before disappearing to draw another cut. "YOU — BECOME — ONE — WITH — A — CAT!" >D Shemri ends her blitz by latching onto the wall with the cat tail directly above Akane and stomping down at her head with a clawed foot.
Now that blood has begun to flow and burn in true form, a certain Iga's attention was drawn from elsewhere. This was no exhibition match, so sneaking into the arena had been something the man refrained from doing so this time around. Instead, sensory organs scattered about the stands were again given the command to come together and form a body fitting enough to reflect Ayumu in all his splendor.
Once formed while amidstthe shadows of one of the entryway into the stands, the Iga — or at least, a clone — casually began strolling to the forefront of the stands. But of course like so many other match goers, it doesn't take long for the red-haired wanderer to take notice of the comedy duo. Caught between one desire and another, Ayumu flounders in one of the walkways for a minute or so before grudgingly relegating some other sensor to keep an eye on the match. With a faintly amused smile, the Iga approaches the duo and says, "Now, now, now, there be no need of such things.. well, not here at least, neh?"
Aya and Kei look at the Ninja that had spoken to the pair of them, looking then at each other when the words were spoken to them. They both sighed. Kei spoke up. "Yeah, you're right… I'm sorry, Aya."
Aya nodded in response. "I'm not." And then Aya moves his hand as if to slap Kei, but their hand is stopped short.
Kei just smiles. "Nope." And the stopped hand goes back and slaps Aya once again!
Akane was preparing to bring up a fire clone and abscond to a safe area but she only got the flames around her before Shemri cut through them completely. She did not speak, did not cry out, made no sign of pain as the slashes came and came and came. She bounded away the second Shemri allowed an opening, once more disappearing completely, though there was a bit of a blood trail to another side of the arena. The slashes had made some interesting work with her bustier which was small to start with. But she proved her speed wasn't just in her legs. She grabbed the strings of the corset-like top and in a blur she had them tied again. It made for a slightly more revealing top but at least she wasn't nude on top. Her hair however did not survive so well. two sets of hairsticks had jolted out of her hair completely and so two thirds of her crimson hair fell about her shoulders and body, a bloody waterfall that reached past her waist. She shook out her head like a lion and laughed. "Now now, you almost made half these spectators get on my husband's bad side." Still, the speed with which she had retied her top was certainly impressive.
But she wasn't done. She spread her feet and brought up her fingers to her 'lips' again, exhaling greatly and spewing a huge cone shaped fireball at the catgirl. It would follow wherever Shemri ran, like a flamethrower.
Looking at the battle from her spot, the Tsuchikage is now idly smoking her cigar and watching. She has seen Akane dominate this match right up until…now. That attack from Shemri was brutal. She stares at the damage done and then shakes her head a little as she shifts in her spot and then puts her back all the way to the back of the chair, lifting her chin slightly as if to acknowledge that attack by Shemri. She then puffs on her cigar a couple of times as she considers this turn of events.
Even as the duo continue to argue amongst themselves, Ayumu's smile never falters. The corner of his lips does twitch a little at one brief instance there, but beyond, he's peachy!
"You guys just don't quit do ya?" He chuckles lightly. "Hmm.. Or perhaps it is something else sought? We did not think of that now did we?" Ayumu adds mysteriously. While absently stroking his chin thoughtfully on the matter, the man just casually falls into the seat next to the duo. That, or the lap of some unfortunate that may or may not have been on the verge of killing all three desert dwellers for making such a commotion.
Meanwhile, a whooping noise and some whistling can be heard from the crowd from one of the few dumb enough or brave enough to make a show out of Akane's incident. Just who is this brave fool one might ask? Why its none other than a second Ayumu, twirling his fist about like a mad man!
Shemri tilts her head. "You have a husband? Does he know you go into combat wearing such meager protection?" :P In front of said spectators? -.- Whoops, banter time is over. Though her muscles are still aching a bit from the previous exertion, Shemri blitzes away again, leading the fireball on a merry chase until it burns itself out. She drops out of warp near Akane…upside-down. Shemri lands in a handstand and swings one leg down in a kick at Akane's head, then tumbles sideways. Rather than falling all the way, though, she catches herself with her sashes, which support her horizontally as she swings the other leg around in a sweep of Akane's feet. Finally the sashes spring her into a twirling barrel roll, aiming to drive a flying elbow into Akane's solar plexus.
The two Ninja stop their playful exchanges, looking at this Ninja that kept standing there and smiling at them… they both got grump faces now. Kei spoke once more. "Kinda killing the mood here… who are you, anyway? You're obviously not from our village."
Now Aya. "Yeah! Quit bein' a joy-kill!"
Then the slight absence of noise from the crowd else from everyone else, drawing the attention of Kei. As he lost his concentration, snapped out of it by the loud whooping of another in the crowd, Aya just seemed to go limp and lifeless. Kei just looked at the other person whooping… then at the person in front of them… then back and forth for a bit before sighing. "Clones…"
Akane tilted her head as Shemri made that comment and Akane had already made a note to possibly identify Ayumu to Ishino…. Puppet Evisceration should be a thing! In any case, Akane's clone technique just wasn't up to the task she set for it, however, she did manage to redirect the attacks so that they landed on places not so sensitive. Forinstance, rather than her head, the kick landed on her shoulder, with a crack her arm was fully and visibly dislocated. The attack at her solar plexus was redirected to her forearm and so forth. When Akane skidded to a halt once again she showed no understanding of pain yet. In fact she simply turned and slammed herself against the arena wall popping her shoulder back into joint with another loud crack.
Akane's next movement was to bring her fingers up to her lips again, her eyes practically glowing behind that mask of hers, inscrutable as ever, and she spit out a tiiiiiny tiny fireball at the cat girl. It looked, honestly, like she had been unable to complete a proper attack. A few in the stands remembered the last time and scooted back from the railings just in time for the arena to explode into flame. In the Land of Fire she had burned down blocks worth of forest with this technique… Silently she watched to see if Shemri could withstand the flames…..
Despite the grumpy mood about the twins, Ayumu remains undeterred. Their negative feelings, if anything, only seem to amuse him more, though the question does seem to cause it to finally wane a little. Just as the Iga began to take in a deep breathe for what can only be assumed to be a long winded name (or lengthy explanation), Aya's prompt accusation stops him cold. Now a pouting clone sat next to the duo, lips trembling as if at any moment he might genuinely cry. "Not clone. Twins." The Ayumu indignantly states, then points to Aya. "And what's with him? He's sick or something?"
As for the whooping and catcalling Ayumu, the man doesn't stop his antics even as others nearby sought to scramble away from the railings. The only thing to actually give him pause is seeing Akane get tossed around earlier by the comeback champ Shemri. But then the thought 'oh, better chance to leer!' came to mind, leading to his quickly leaning in further for a better look.
At least one pair of eyes are permanently blinded from the sheer intensity of the flames. That and perhaps a bit of skin as well, but that quickly seems to grow back as soon as the flames settle down.
Kei ahhs at the explanation. "Okay. That makes more sense." He then looks at Aya, blinking… and sighs. "I really gotta get better control…" His fingers snap up and strings of chakra seem to extend and latch on to Aya's lifeless form. "Wake up, you."
Aya suddenly bolts up, looking around curiously. "Huh? Wha? What'd I miss?"
"Oh, not much… only a-" Suddenly, gigantic fire explosion as Kei and Aya both back up quite a bit from the edge to avoid the most of the heat! "Well! Nearly missed that!"
Aya makes a pffft sound, grinning. "I'd have survived it…"
Kei shakes his head. "I don't know… you're cut-proof. Not fire-proof." Kei looks at the Ninja. "I suppose I should start by introducing myselves… I am Hougenka Keigo. And my insulting-looking compatriot here is Ayamakki. I was once part of a Travelling Entertainment Troupe, focused around Puppeteering… Ayamakki here is my Puppet."
Ayamakki nods. "'Tis true. Underneath this visage, I'm merely a wooden doll…"
Keigo looks at Ayamakki sullenly. "Oh, don't be like that… you're an important part of the act! You're the main attraction of my twisted master plan!" He just grins at that.
Ayamakki just chuckles a bit. "Guess that's something to help me feel better… if I had feelings, at least." He just shrugs.
Keigo looks at the Ninja. "So… we have introduced ourselves… what about you?"
Shemri grits her teeth and blitzes away once more, avoiding the explosion of flame. She skids to a halt several meters from Akane, then stands up warily. "Hoi, you do not appear to be in good shape to continue this," Shemri says seriously, throwing a kunai up in a high arc. "Is your reason for wanting to win important enough for the risk?" There is a soft *klink* from up above, as the kunai Shemri just tossed makes contact with one she threw upward even earlier, during her blur, and the two of them plummet down toward Akane. Immediately following their descent, Shemri lunges at Akane with a driving punch. "Think carefully!" >/
Akane seemed to shift somehow, a combination of chakra and body movements, completely avoiding the attacks. Then she lifted her chin and shook her head. Then she lowered her head just enough to appear like a wolf might. Her body language shifted into a more violent stance and she scoffed. "This? You think THIS could keep This One down?" She stood then and took both her hands, two fingers a piece, shimmering somehow… And dragged them along a handful of those long cuts Shemri had performed on her. The skin sizzled and the smell of burning flesh wafted about her as she cauterized her own skin with a touch of flame….
The scene thus far: two young brothers, both from Sunagakure, talking to an elder Ninja of unknown origin. The two brothers seem to be bickering to one another… which isn't uncommon… but what is uncommon is the fact that without even doing anything, one of the brothers is seemingly hitting himself in the face repeatedly, not really registering the pain. But the annoyance on his face is the same anyway. "Quit it, Keigo! I mean it!"
Keigo just smiled. "Or what?"
More slapping, but the one being slapped doesn't do anything in retaliation. "I'll find a way to do something! Just watch!"
Shemri furrows her brow as Akane goes about healing herself…and wrinkles her nose for that matter. XP "Ah. Aha. This is most unfortunate for both of us. For me, because it means that I cannot win without either beating you dangerously close to death, or outlasting your ability to heal yourself…and for you, because it means you may endure much more pain." -.- Shemri pauses to catch her breath and restore her chakra. "I am curious what motivates you in this tournament.
Akane chuckled at Shemri's response. It ws almost cute that she was worried about pain. "I'm truly a Kiri Kunoichi. Pain is nothing to me." Which got a few Kiri cheers. But as Shemri refocused on her battle plans Akane brought up more chakra as well, watching her opponent. "Besides, I wouldn't be worth fighting if I gave up because I'm bleeding."
Ayumu shrugged off the wounded mad hatter, and seemed to regard the pairs general direction with a more speculative look. Although it felt the 'pain' of its fellow clone, it effortless ignored it. In a few moments, 'Wild Card Ayumu' would be fully restored and undettered by the minor set backs, so why worry?
"It is… well, I am, Gin Wakahisa. And that one over there is Ryoji Wakahisa. Traveling merchants turned spectators, as you can see, Mr. Puppeteer." The clone offers up along with a brief head bow, ignoring for the moment all the slapping of a defenseless puppet. Later, the clone would wonder if Gin harmed his hand doing at all doing it so much.
"Bleeding ANNNNND smelling like sweet, sweet BACON!!" Ayumu on the rails calls out… over the rails. "Shemri-chama!~ Don't let the smell get to ya!" He yells, hands cupped around his mouth.
Hanami makes her way into the stands, coming to watching the fight going on. She pauses, eyeing the strange pair and the antics, "Oh uh, hello there. Everything um…going well?" She eyes the fight then back to the pair.
The two brothers look up as a new person joins the group. Keigo smiles. "Yup. Everything's going great." Suddenly, the other brother slaps himself. "See? Just great!"
The brother grumps as he just seems unable to help hitting himself repeatedly.
Keigo looked a bit at the newcomer… she looked about the same age as him… maybe a bit older… Keigo smiled. "It's nice to see someone else around my age here… what's your name?"
Hanami gives a smile, though it probably comes off at looking a bit uneasy at the repeated hitting, "Great…right…"she clears her throat, "Oh, sure. I'm Shinatobe Hanami, from Kumogakure. For the tournament, you know. Like uh..well guess most of us around here I imagine. And…you are?"
Shemri distributes more kunai to her sashes. "To be able to fight through pain is a virtue, but to disdain it is unwise." Shemri steps into range and jabs fiercely at Akane with all four sashes and both arms. "Pain is a tool of survival! It informs us when we are injured! It halts us when we attempt more than our bodies can handle!" The kunai swipe and slash in a dizzying maelstrom. "And it is pain which teaches us to overcome our greatest obstacles, when failure is what brings the greatest pain of all!"
Akane smirked behind the mask. This Shemri was certainly one for telling others about battle strategy. If the woman only knew Akane's true opinion on pain… XD But then she was slashing at her again and Akane moved to the side, catching a deep cut in her arm and one on her leg. he let out a 'che' then leapt backwards while at the same time throwing another tiny little fireball at Shemri. Once more it exploded, filling the arena with flame as Akane perched on the wall. Just below the shouting Ayumu she looked up at him and laughed. "Bacon shouldn't be sweet."
Although his eyes were all but useless Ayumu still turns in his seat to regard Hanami's general direction. After that there's a bout of looking back and forth between the three before a sly smile splits the Iga's face. "Well, well… *clears throat* I do think this one has a bladder that needs taking care of, so I'll leave you two to get e-quainted." With that said, the red-haired man slips out of his seat, adjusts his top with a sharp tug, then makes his way down the aisel (unless stopped).
"You've obviously have not experienced the world of Bacon in full my dear." Railing Ayumu replies after finally getting over a cringing and wincing fit from Shemri's successful storm of blades. Again, the clone chided himself for having behaved in such an odd manner. After all, the more cuts and burns there were the less bothersome barriers!
The fire blooms outward, enveloping Shemri's position. A second later, a tendril of the flame stretches out sideways like a gush of water from a rupturing balloon, and Shemri tumbles out. She rights herself, stands up…and stows her kunai. "This hunt is clearly unlikely to pay off." Shemri raises a tired and burned arm. "Hoi, I surrender this match." Shiikaa returns to his usual form with a *POOF*, immediately hopping down to the ground and grooming himself. Sheesh, gonna be fixing this mess for a week, and tasting singed hairballs the whole time. >.<;
Akane watched Shemri-fireball fly out sideways and then surrender the match. She seemed to be watching her for offensive actions as well. Whent he proctor made it official Akane slid to the floor of the arena and held up her hand in a peaceful motion. Assuming she was allowed near them, Akane rested her hand just above the worst of the burns to heal them. "You probably would have won if you'd gone one more round." She admitted quietly to Shemri.
