Starring:
Date: October 7, 2011
Summary:
The Inuzuka and the Kaguya match taijutsu while the Aburame and the Okumo talk.
"Pylon of Efficacy - Scouting to Skirmish"
Crossroads near Konohagakure
Night is starting to over take the day. As the darkness creeps across the sky, the colors start to become more vibrant in contrast. The light itself seems to retreat back towards the horizon where the sun sets. The woods seem slightly more eerie as the darkness starts to cover them. They are extremely quiet and without motion. There is not even a breeze. For the moment, this place seems empty.
If someone knew where to look though, they might find a young Kaguya boy making his way across the ground within the forest. He is not on the path but making his way parallel to it. He stops for a moment and scans around. He
looks like he is on a scouting mission. He then turns his head around and looks for someone.
Slow moving and spectral in many ways, a figure dressed in silk moves from shadow to shadow almost appearing to be gliding from one spot to the next. His wide, black and red eyes reflecting what little light remained as he glanced around the area. Noticing the Kaguya looking toward him, Daomi spoke silently as he hoped his words wouldn't travel far with the quiet night. "We move too close to the village, this doesn't seem wise." The boy didn't mind hanging around the land of fire, when it came time to research, but so close to the gates was only asking for trouble. Wanting to be prepared as he continued to stay close toward Tsiro, his own shadow beneath him began to grow before splitting off and scattering as little arachnids skitter about the area.
In a war there are always things to do and missions to be handed out. Especially when one's own land is being invaded. In fact, there is normally so much to do that there oftent times winds up being not enough people to do them. So the traditional four man genin teams get stretched, and sometimes inventive ways to keep up manpower have to be made. Thus the dynamic duo of Taiki and Shinobu find themselves paired up with someone they don't know at first. He was a little apprehensive at first, normally preferring to spend a little time working with new potential teammates, but the war waits for no man… or woman.
So he accepted this mission with Etsu, figuring they could find some middle ground. After all, they're all supposed to be good trackers, right? Between the three of them they could make a half-way decent fighting force. So there he sits in a clump of bushes with Shinobu nearby, both sniffing the air and listening for clues from the forest nearby. He senses Shinobu tensing up first, then finds a trace scent in the air… Someone is near, and they are not of Konoha. Then he hears the whisper of words on the winds, and a second scent. Two people. He holds his hand behind his back, a V forming with his fingers as an indication to his ally nearby. Still he remains hidden, and hopefully quiet.
This is probably Etsu's first official mission and she must say, she didn't expect it to be like this. Squatted down in bushes, looking for potential enemies. She had better things to do like studying more bugs. In fact, she managed to distract herself with one for a small amount of time before placing it back in its home in the bush she and her team mates were behind.
Though she may have been somewhat aloof, she didn't want to give the impression that she wasn't paying attention. She could be a good partner and as such, she focused her mind on the task at hand. Her problem is while she could hear the voices, she couldn't see where they were, so she spoke saying, "Can you see them?" in a whisper. She couldn't identify who was around them despite being able to hear the individuals.
There was a small frown made by Tsiro as he turned back around. There was a movement that caught his attention. He looked directly towards Taiki. "Looks like you were right Daomi. We're not alone." The boy would reach into his pocket and grab a kunai in his left hand. He would then reach into another pocket and grab the Epigaea Dagger in his right. "Should we attack or wait to see if they have noticed us?" The boy tries to whisper back towards his fellow Kiri-nin. His crimson eyes would remain locked on Taiki. He was waiting for him to make a move.
"A boy and his dog and perhaps another one, if not more. Considering they are hiding, we can only assume they know we're here." Daomi said while watching Tsiro equip himself. He, on the other hand had a different approach in mind, but from what he knew about Kaguya, combat and bloodshed first. If they're still alive, then they can talk about it. The okumo would sigh, while not bothering to even glance over at the Konoha nin's direction. "Well, lets flush them out." Several of the spiders that were near enough began to travel together as they moved on the spot where Taiki, Shinobu and Etsu hid. There was no order for them to attack, but to simply make themselves visible by any means necessary. Be it, crawling upon them or dangling from a web in front of them.
Taiki shakes his head even as the whispers go flying. He can hear them a little more clearly now, and knows he's been detected. "No, but we've been detected," he says before he starts seeing spiders everywhere. Okay, he's made some headway in recovering from the mental trauma of that webbing, but having this many spiders show up at once is more than a little unnerving. By the sound of their voices he has a general idea of where they're at, so after taking a moment to focus some chakra, both he and Shinobu then dart out into the clearing with a leap. That leap eats away at the distance between them and the intruders, putting him in easier range for a close attack. "Identify yourself, or be considered enemies of the Land of Fire," he demands.
"Hmm…" Etsu remarked while remaining behind the bushes. Though it was night, the sensation sparked by the ground seemingly moving was more than odd and so, she looked down to see spiders everywhere. She huffed. They weren't anything she could communicate with. They weren't insects, after all, so it's not like she could redirect them.
Taking a few steps away to move out of their path, she does grow somewhat curious. It would appear that someone around here is like her, with the exception of using spiders. She wonders who this individual might be and supposes they're going to find out now that Taiki has lept out of the bushes and into the clear. Following his lead, she does the same and begins to make a seal to focus and prepare for whatever is to come.
Tsiro would watch as the leaf boy made his way out into the open. There was only one way a Kaguya could respond to that kind of declaration. "It cannot be helped. Guess we know who's getting who." The boy states as a smile grows on his face. He would whip the kunai forward before lunging out into the clearing and making a slash attack with his Epigaea Dagger. The light of the newly rising moon would shine off the boys crimson eyes. He did not seem to care how Daomi responded to the other shinobi. This fight was his.
The Inuzuka gave the appropriate response to being swarmed by spiders, but the girl who simply followed the lead of the other didn't seem phased at all. Clearly someone who wasn't bothered by arachnids, yet. If the need arose, before this night was over Daomi could and would make sure her opinion of such changed. At least, he hoped.
With Taiki's question posed, he intended to answer, despite Tsiro's brash and expected behavior. "I am Okumo, Daomi and the one you fight is Kaguya. You needn't know his name, because if you can't beat him, you won't live to remember it." His attention moving toward the girl, headtilting with curiousity. "And who might you be? Perhaps we should just let them fight and we deal more in civility?" Though as he spoke he began to focus his chakra as you can never trust an enemy in their own territory.
Taiki and Shinobu look at each other and then seem to poof in a cloud of smoke, revealing a log with kunai stuck in it. The same log takes the dagger's attack before falling over. The real nin-dog and shinobi can be found a few feet to the right, still channelling chakra. "Well, I guess that settles whose side they're on. Aburame'san, please handle this guy's friend. We've got the impatient one." The order is set, and it's time to let the dogs out.
Etsu looked back and forth between her opponents, though her expression appeared to be stoic behind the goggles she wore. Kaguya and Okumo Daomi? This one must be the spider boy. He certainly fit the bill. Besides, if the other guy could use spiders, he wouldn't whipped them out by now, she's sure and he didn't seem to make any mention to them at all.
Upon being addressed, she said, "I'm just Etsu," in introduction. She thinks she needed to focus a little more if she hoped to take part in this battle. She just didn't want to waste her energy, though she needed more in order to be effective, so while Taiki defended against the attacks against him and Shinobu, she began to focus a little more, nodding at his remark about handling the friend. "If you say so." She stated, though she wasn't exactly certain of what to expect. What were these spiders capable of?
Tsiro shrugged off the log he had attacked. It only seemed to make him more angry. He would aim a swipe of his dagger at the boy, making sure to flick his wrist mid swing. As he twirled with the hit he would move to back hand the boy across the face before completing the spin and aiming to stab him in the leg with the dagger. The dog seemed almost invisible to the boy as a target. There was also a slight chuckle as Tsiro heard a few of the words spoken by his fellow kiri-nin. He would not give his name either. As Daomi more or less stated, there was little point in it.
"Believe it or not, Just Etsu. It is a pleasure to meet you." Daomi stated with a blank, expressionless face which often times made it hard for others to tell if he was playing around or being serious. Momentarily his eyes would look over toward the other two battling, wondering if a time may come when he should help out if it needed before looking back to the Aburame, "So how does this night treat you? Well I hope." His reasoning for keeping up the conversation was simply to distract, while gaining as much information as he can to satify his curiousity. As a precaution, spiders began to come from the bushes to surround the girl, before burrying into the ground.
"Woops… looks like we mawde the wittle boy angwy!" he taunts the Kaguya. As the attacks come in he calls out "Bunshin no Jutsu!" With this two clones of him and his dog appear. The clones attempt to intercept the attacks, but Tsiro manages to get him each time, though the hits are less and less as they start to coordinate their movements better.
"I won't bother telling the wittle boy my name, he won't wive long enough." The dogs and Inuzuka are working like a well oiled machine, the dog leaping to rake across the Kaguya's stomach while Taiki sets up his next attack. He jumps in and punches the boy, yelling out, "Static spark no jutsu!" A seemingly small spark jumps at Tsiro, but that small spark can be deceptive, especially since one can now notice Taiki's features are becoming more feral…
"Heh. Just Etsu… Clever." She remarked to Daomi. "The night is oddly…distressed." She looks at the fighting going on between her teammate and the Kaguya. "What of yourself? Although, I'm not sure if that's a question that can be answered. You don't seem to be the emotional type." She explained, taking note of his blank expression. "Is this common in this war?" She points out to the two fighting. "Where we just meet and talk, fight?"
As the young Kaguya spins in the traditional Kaguya fashion, he moves his body around the dog before twisting to avoid the punch. He would follow it up with another twist of his body to get around the hand and the spark it produced. Though Tsiro heard the obvious mocking from the leaf nin, it did not do much to him. It was the fact the boy seemed to be turning more feral that caused Tsiro to let out a snarl of his own. Of course from the twists and spins, Tsiro was able to see Daomi seemed to be hitting on the leaf girl. The thought was dismissed from his mind for the moment.
As the boy continued to twirl he would aim the dagger blade in his hand for the boy's dog. He was aiming to slice through it's midsection before spinning and trying to place a kick upside the boy's face. He would return once more with the dagger aimed for the boy's midsection. All the while his dagger acting as his voice…
Daomi stared for a bit, judging the girl and trying to get a feel for why she does not attack or help her comrade. The Okumo's reasons simply follow the Kiri logic and the fact that getting in the way of a rampaging Kaguya, one is likely to get attacked as well. "Every night, there is always something new to learn. So I am quite pleased. Especially tonight. Not often I meet one such as yourself. Someone, not afraid of the tiny things that crawl about." With the pointing gesture, he didn't bother looking over, knowing what it was in regards to. Though the question posed was a bit, odd. "Are you challenging me to a fight or curious why they fight while we talk? Either way, I'm battling you now as we speak, by gaining important information for our own side or to be more acurate, the Okumo Clan."
Shinobu senses the attack coming and jumps to the side. At the same time there's another poof of smoke, resulting in a clean miss of Shinobu. Taiki isn't as lucky however as he's hit solidly again twice, the log appearing just after both hits land. The Inuzuka rolls up to a crouched position, however, bloodied but balanced on all four limbs. His nails now resemble claws and his eyes have a wild spark to them. This is an Inuzuka, and he's now in his clan's rather distinctive style of combat. Pet and master now move as one as once again Shinobu attempts to return the favor while Taiki pulls a kunai of his own out, attacking with swipes well-timed to his partner's. Taiki's weakening though, too many of those damned dagger attacks have landed.
Etsu chuckles. "One learns to grow used to it after a while." She smirks. It's too bad, though. She thinks they ought to get out of here. "As for information well, if that's what you call battle, it's very poor." She states. "But, I think we ought to be on our way now." She lifts her arms to cast out her kikaichu towards their opponents. They've been feeding long enough on her and their bodies were swolen. They were fit to burst which was exactly what they were meant to do.
The crimson eyes of Tsiro would grow even darker as they locked eyes with the Inuzuka boy. As the boy and his dog came towards him, Tsiro would lunge towards them to cut the distance in half. His eyes would never leave the boy's. As he moved past the dog, he would plunge his dagger deep into the dogs flesh before sliding his body away from Taiki's first kunai. As the second swing came forth, Tsiro would simply stop and let it hit him. Blood flowed from across his chest where he was hit. Tsiro's eyes still remained on Taiki's though. As he stared the boy down a smile would form on his face. It was not normal though. This was something deeper. This was like a drug or a sexual addiction except through the use of a blade. "Death comes to all. Embrace.."
Before the boy could finish his message, he would spot a bug out of the corner of his eye. Unsure of what type of jutsu it was the boy leaped backwards twice before they exploded. He would take out two kunai and toss one towards each of the leaf shinobi.
Daomi slowly straightened up, his eyes unblinking as the girl appeared to insult him. It didn't make sense she why should would. After all, he was trying his best at being polite by not attacking right out. Would he have done so then nothing is gained and only lost. "I'm sorry you feel that way. It seems no matter our interests, as long as you and I are from different nations. Only one thing can truly be shared between us…" He paused as Etsu began to raise her arms in a manner much like his own when he commands his brood, except it was insect that were called out. They flew out in a massive hoard at Tsiro who had no problem avoiding it. Yuuka being his sensei its not a surprise at the boys ability to grow. Daomi on the other hand, had no one to learn from and simply had his spiders to talk with when times got lonely. The thought of such began to make his tear sacs fill, before purple tears flow down his cheeks. The bugs would continue his way, but with him staring straight at Etsu, he'd simply fade away before her eyes and reappear a few feet away. "Bloodshed." The thing that might be shared. When the word was spoken, suddenly the ground behind the Aburame began to open up and several webs shot from the hole to drag the girl in. Trapped or not, the boy would then lift his own arms and his clothes would sway about before hundreds of spiders came from out his pantlegs, across the field and toward their opponent in hopes of catching an easy meal.
At this point Taiki knows that he's out matched. If he gets away from this, he will order a retreat, and warn Konoha of the nearness of the enemy. But Taiki's eyes do not show any fear as the Kaguya locks his in a glare match. There's defiance, and determination. He is Inuzuka, and if he's meant to die on this day, he'll die tearing at his enemy's throat! But then the kikaichu bugs swarm his opponent, forcing him back. He growls as the kunai comes toward him and tries to leap out of the way. But he's been weakened enough that the strike hits true, causing even more blood loss. Still, this is a losing battle, and he has a duty to perform. Duty before bloodlust. "Fall back… Shinobu, get reinforcements." With this Taiki leaps for the bushes again, putting himself out of sight, and hoping Etsu does the same.
Etsu hmphed softly as her attack was evaded. Of course. She didn't strike them, though she tried. She just needed to put up a distraction, though it failed to a degree, she still managed some attacks. A kunai that struck her near her shoulder caused her to hiss as she brought her arm up to it. She didn't remove it, though and it was probably for the best as some webs shot out of the ground and began to overtake her. She was dragged back and overcome with spiders that proceeded to dine on her, not to mention this acidic webbing. She struggled to get herself free and eventually used the kunai to her advantage to cut at it. The weapon may have rusted a bit, but served its purpose.
Dropping it to the ground, she commanded her kikaichu to extricate every spider off her body, sending them blowing away in different directions before the bugs retreated back to her form. "I don't favor bloodshed, actually. You seem to enjoy it though. On that note, I don't think our interests are all that similar." She finished and even waved to the two enemies before jumping back and heading into the trees to escape.
The young Kaguya would allow the Inuzuka to escape. He turned his attention to Daomi as his new girlfriend turned tail and ran off. "It looks like your not getting a second date without a fight. We should get going before the others show up." With that Tsiro would reach down and grab a kunai before he took off running the opposite way. The boy had enjoyed the hell out of himself. The Okumo was on his own.
"I never said I favor bloodshed, I said it is something that we can share. You tried to attack me, so I attacked you back." Daomi responded with before the Aburame was able to get away with a simple wave of her hand and leap into the brush. He felt the link still connected to her however, even as she got out of sight he could have frozen her in her tracks and continued his onslaught of attacks. His spiders were still hungry and would have enjoyed it if he did. The boy decided against it however and only hoped that next time the girl would think twice about attacking him. Daomi then glanced over at Tsiro who had managed to receive some damage on his end, but the Inuzuka had also ran away. "Yes, you are right." With that, he turned in the direction where the Kaguya headed off and followed behind.
