Starring:
Date: December 16, 2014
Summary:
Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, along with Yuuka, attack the Marketplace in Kirigakure.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Company - Sealed In Sanity"
Marketplace - Kirigakure
It's midnight in Kirigakure, and things have been fairly calm, or at least as calm as they can be with the chaos caused by the Silence and getting ready for a war with them in the future. A trio of men, or at least pieces of the entity that is or was Kaguya-Hozuki Yoichi, have been spotted back in the village, which is a bit odd. It seems they're taking a break from hunting Bingo Book Criminals and hanging around. While they haven't caused any trouble yet, an eye is being kept on them. At this time, however, exactly at midnight, Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo have come from their positions where they were hanging around to meet in the Marketplace, each standing at one corner of it and waiting for one more person to join them. Thus far they've been completely silent, mostly just seeming amused and barely even acknowledging anyone else in their midst. They seem to be just standing around, observing or waiting for something….
Yuuka is silence as she approaches the entrance to the marketplace, dressed in robes with a hood over her head to cover the distinguishing white of her hair. Loose arms at her sides, she almost seems bored when she meets the eyes of the three men at the entrance, on time and as expected. Smirking ever so slightly, her fingers curl and stretch at her sides, audibly popping as she comes to a slow pause, giving them a nod.
Kiji had sensed him. Well, /them/. In any case it was her sensei in his three forms (yes that was weird even to her). But she hadn't seen him for quite a long time. She'd just gotten out of the hospital a few days before and now she was sensing Yoichi's three personalities…. Of course the sensor went to investigate. She came up ont hem hesitantly, watching them closely. They hadn't left ont eh best of terms with her but they hadn't wanted her dead either… So she stepped into the open and peered up at them, her eyes a bright purple. "Yoichi-tachi-sama?" She asked hesitantly, curious why they were here like this…
Time for a midnight snack. Isra hadn't been eating very well, so she decided to go and grab something to eat in order to satisfy her hunger. She might even get a little shopping done too. She doesn't hesitate to collect a basket and seek out the stands that were still open for business. There wasn't any shortage of snacks that could be enjoyed at this time, after all. She stuffed her basket full of as many as she could before walking out into the less active parts of the village, but it wasn't long after the activity broke that she caught sight of a few individuals gathered in the area. "Hm?" She questioned and followed it up with an approach to make the people out more clearly.
At the arrival of Yuuka, each of the remnants of Yoichi would glance over to her and smirk. "Such a dull scene," Kadaj's voice rings out as he looks ahead again, not responding to Kiji even before he acts. "I think it's time we wake this place up." With that he draws the Kiba blade in his possession at the same time Yazoo does so across the village. Each stab a blade into the ground then raise their arms, firing a bolt of lightning into the sky that causes the clouds above to light up more and more until finally striking down upon the ground and sending shockwaves through the market that send tables and some of the smaller stands flying and breaking in the wind.
The hooded woman calmly arches a pale brow and a smirk easily tugs at her lips, almost appearing sinister as she purrs in amusement. "You're getting bored more and more lately." Yuuka comments, already pulling in her energy to create a pool of chakra in the pit of her stomach. As he draws the Kiba blade, her smirk grows further, eager for the release of lightning and the chaos that will befall the marketplace.
Kiji blinked when she was ignored, a bad feeling pooling in her stomach. What was all this about? She looked at Yuuka, could sense the chakra in both her and Yoichi… well the 3 Yoichi. Reflexively she backed up from his lightning gate and gathered her own chakra, eyes wide, dark, and ringed in orange. "Yoichi-tachi-sama!" yes she was referring to all three at once. "What are you doing?!" She ran toward them (and effectively Yuuka as well) a look on her face that said she was confused and unnerved by what he was doing. That Yuuka was apparently just fine with what was happening made her feel on edge as well. She waited for them to notice her, going so far as to try and touch Yazoo's arm, trying to get his attention. "What's going on Yazoo-sama?"
"…" Isra thinks she's about to endure some brain damage. Did she just see a Kirigakure shinobi attack this place? She just talked about this. This, this right here! "What do you think you're doing?!" She shouted to him and his copies. "And you! Don't you validate…" she couldn't even finish her statement as she simply growled the rest of it out to vent the remainder of her frustrations. She doesn't have the energy for this and isn't even in top condition, so she's concerned about how she'll work this out. "Kiji, you should probably move back. It's nice to see you back, but I don't want you going back tonight…" She added. "Fall back! Don't run any closer to them!" Something was clearly off if he was releasing a move like that. She began to draw in what energy she had to prepare to fight. "To be quite honest, I'm going to need your help here. It's just you and me and we need to be careful about our approach here. We aren't exactly dealing with easy pickings…"
"Perhaps it's the lack of challenge. You'd think that book would have some more interesting names in it than we've come across," Kadaj says with a chuckle as he glances over at Yuuka then looks back across at Yazoo to nod at him. When he is touched, Yazoo looks down at Kiji and smirks at her. "Alas, Kiji-san. Nii-san searched and searched through the dark, and there was no light for him to find. Now it's time we fulfill our purpose. The nightmare is coming." His eyes then look up the Isra, the remnant of Yoichi smirking a bit wider as he grabs the Kiba blade from the ground, creating a whip of lightning that he swings toward Isra with intent to latch onto and freeze her up as Loz appears behind her with a flicker to spin into a kick directly into her gut.
Kiji was right beside Yazoo when isra called out for her to back off. She turned and blinked at the former swordswoman confusedly. Why would hse have to back down? It was only Yoichi and Yuuka… Well, 3 yoichis and one yuuka.. That was still a mess to try and figure out in her head. But then Yazoo spoke to her and she turned her eyes back on him.
"No…light?" She repeated as if dazed, trying to process what was going on. Then they attacked Isra and Kiji stumbled backwards a step from Yazoo, eyes big and circled in orange, but the centers were completely white from shock. All the girl could think was ~No. Not him too. Don't let him be doing this.~ In her denial she missed the incomming blades from Yuuka and though she tried to switch out with a clone, the blood spattered and she threw up her arms, crossing at the wrists. One blace slashed her forearms, the other reopened the cut on her back Yuriko had given her. True to form she showed no sign of physical pain. But she looked both confused and betrayed.
For Yuuka to attack her she would half expect since she'd challenged her daughter a few days past to a duel. But Kadaj? Why? Why would he hurt Isra-sama and let Yuuka hurt /her/? She backed up another step before she shook her head, still moving, technicly obeying Isra's commands, Kiji looked at Yazoo. "Please stop Yazoo-sama…" As she tred to get Yazoo to reason with her, her own body began to seal some of the wounds and while she was cut, she did not bleed normally. The blood which would have spilled merely hovered over the wound in preparation for her own attacks. Slpowly those wounds began to heal.
She flashed through handseals and placed her hand to the ground to bring up a large barrier to defend herself with. Knowing that there's speed she needed to worry about, she minimized her efforts and whipped out a tag that managed to displace the strike to her gut and further the boomerang bone blades coming to her. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to guard against the last of the blades that came across her face. "Kiji, are you alright? Come and join me here," she ordered. "We need to help one another in order to solve this issue, I can't do it alone." She followed up her remarks by tossing out two kunai with the inscription of the western heavens near Yoichi and Yuuka to try and lock them in place for a time. That didn't solve the problem of the others, but she'd have to get around to them eventually. She just hopes she doesn't tire out before then.
"Why?" Yazoo asks as he looks down at Kiji. "This is the only point there is to this shinobi world as it is." His attempt to let the power of Isra's tag merely phase through him fails, winding Yazoo up trapped, though it doesn't stop Kadaj, as he whips his own blade back, swinging a whip at her to attempt to lock her up as whip as Loz spins into a powerful arc like a top with both his arms extending out like massive blades aimed at both Kiji and Isra as he moves around. "The Silence have a point, but their ideas do not go far enough," Kadaj says as they attack. "This shinobi world must be burned to the ground. It is the only way for this world to be reborn. If you stand in the way, you will burn with it."
Taking a calm and ever so slight step in one direction, Yuuka smirks as the kunai with the western heavens seal flies past her head. "Pathetic. The Mizukage has faith in you? Idiots." she murmurs. "Burn…" One of the swords flying through the air suddenly changes direction in midair, spinning in a blur of white as it comes back to slash at Kiji and Isra again.
Kiji shook her head. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening! She gasped, bringing up her hands, well, trying to . The pain of Kadaj's whip wrapping around her bound her arms to her sides and short circuited her chakra control. The extra pain showed on her face as a clenched jaw. After the initial shock shot through her, Kiji found herself gasping for air even as Loz's slash opened another gash on her back. The impact made her gasp. Shortly after, right about the same time the whip released her, Yuuka's blade slashed deeply into her back. Kiji stumbled forward a few steps as her control over her blood failed a little, letting the gashes and burns to actually bleed. Her eyes shone like orange outlined steel. Thus her back was completely covered in her blood, the silk clinging to her skin. And she stumbled forward, probably right into Yazoo. He alone would be able to see the look on her face. She looked lost, near hopeless…
Yet deep down was a spark. Something akin to hope shone in her eyes and it was directed at Yazoo.. Yoichi. She drew a breath and coughed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth before she managed to speak. "You're wrong… e..even if.. you can't think of one now… I can be your light." It wasn't the kind of light that one might find in a love interest, but the pride a teacher has toward his student. She could work hard and shine for his sake…. There was always a light…. The burns from the whip started to disappear as she healed herself slowly, eyes locked on Yazoo….
"Looks like they came to our own door and in the worst way…" Isra remarked aloud about the circumstances. The Silence got to them? How did that hapen? Two of the strongest in the village, at that. If they could get that far… "They don't have any kind of point," she shouts as she maintains the tag on her person, watching blades come across the barrier that's raised around her. It's a bit discomforting to witness them drawing so close and yet not doing any damage. She's thankful, but these are coming from two of Kiri's own which outweighs her positive feelings at the moment. "There isn't going to be any burning of anything and I intend to take you down here, even if it means I have to die trying! That goes for all of you!" She sent forward another seal directed at Yazoo to send some damage his way as well as weaken his constitution. She intended to do the same for Yuuka as well, but so far she hasn't had much success against these two.
"You serve that same Mizukage, what faith can he have in you now? Your weaknesses are weakening your home," she spoke to Yuuka.
She could see Kiji taking damage and was growing even more frustrated with the battle. She didn't have enough strength to distribute between five people and was struggling to find ways to tide the battle in their favor. She had to be able to do something and couldn't afford to have Kiji sent to the hospital or facing death over Silence brainwashing.
With a massive explosion on him, Yazoo is blasted back from Kiji. "There is not light," he growls out as he rushes toward her again, followed quickly by Kadaj and Loz as their bodies splatter and reform around the blast of Isra's attack. The Kiba blades crackle with fierce lightning energy and are each aimed at vital points on the girl with Loz creating a blade of his arm to aim right at the side of her neck with killing intent…. and in the midst of them the mist around the area thickens, but not as one would normally expect from a jutsu. It clumps and clumps until it actually takes on a human form just as the three are about to strike at her with a massive flash of the lightning chakra illuminating the area.
When the flash fades, all three of the remnants are held in the air above Kiji with a massive form standing over her. Long white hair flows down the back of the man standing over her, a familiar chakra emanating from it with fierce red eyes looking up at the brothers. "Uzumaki-san," the voice of Yoichi rings out from the form. "There is a seal in each of our brains. The people you are dealing with are /not the Yuuka and Yoichi you know. They are creations of the seals placed by people I don't have the time to tell you about. I can guide you to the seals, but I need you to break them."
"Nii-san, no!" Yazoo yells out from above.
"That's not our Nii-san!," Kadaj points out. "The other has woken up."
"Go back behind the seal! Your time is over, Yoichi! This is the time of the Nightmare!"
"You think what you're trying to make is a nightmare?" Yoichi's voice rings out sternly as he looks up at them. "Maybe you haven't met me. My name is Kaguya-Hozuki Yoichi, and you really shouldn't have put your hands on my student." With that his eyes would look to Yuuka, eyes narrowing. "And you really don't want to see what that one will do when she wakes up if you touch her daughter."
A dark, sultry purr rumbles in her throat. "The people I serve made me what I am today. A unique creature with abilities the Kaguya can only dream of. The Organization sees all and knows all." Yuuka chuckles again, fingers curling as yet another sword is created from the opening in her palm.
"And they have deemed this village unfit for life."
The large vision of Yoichi towering over them instantly makes Yuuka scowl darkly, "But she isn't here now, is she? She isn't here and she didn't even put up a fight," her free hand reaches up to tap the side of her head, laughing harder. "Not that it ever matters." The woman that isn't Yuuka flits her gaze to Isra. "Because no one is going to live to make much of a difference."
Even as she says this though the knockout seals take her by surprise, knocking her back several feet, one right after the other and draining her energy and chakra. The Kaguya scowls as she stumbles back, wincing.
Kiji managed to keep her feet long enough for Yazoo to be blasted away from her. Then her knees gave and she sank to the ground in despair and (secretly) pain. Yazoo's saying that about there being no light just made the last week of Kiji's seem even more dire and hopeless. She dropped her head, panting, waiting for the final blow and unable to move herself. She clenched her teeth. In the least she would not cry out. But when the flash came it was not pain she felt.. She blinked and looked up at the towering form of Yoichi. Kiji stared as he spoke about not laying a hand on his student and she blinked. The confirmation came when the clones told 'Yoichi' to resubmit to the seal. She opened her senses and looked to Isra. "That's Yoichi-sensei's normal chakra!" She knew the sensation of Yoichi's chakra well and his way of speaking.. That was him. Kiji grit her teeth and forced herself up to her feet and away from the danger zone. Focused on Yuuka she formed something Yoichi had not yet seen. Her blood whips came from her wrists and two more from her back, 'covering' herself in case she's attacked from behind. She focused her senses and set her jaw, but gave Yoichi a little bit of room so she wouldne be close to danger but she could jump iif she was needed. First, though she focused on healing her wounds, watching Yuuka's display warily.
Isra began to feel a bit woozy. Now that the fight had calmed down all the blood that was pumping began to shrink back and she began to feel the warmth that was her blood against her skin. It was not a comfortable feeling by any means, but what's worse was the pain. She looked up to the image of Yoichi with a certain fog clouding what would be a good reaction. "If another one of those comes across my body, I will…" She stumbled back and recollected herself. She was going to finish her sentence, but the effects of her seal were beginning to kick in. "That…" She concluded. She inhaled deeply and shook her head to recover from the weakness she was experiencing and prepare for battle once more. She couldn't give in right now, but frick, that was a lot of blood. That gash across her face wasn't going away anytime soon. Dang it.
"Oh, that bigger thing is not a threat to us? Good. It's about time some favor shined on us." She focused more chakra in order to ensure she'd have some to use for anymore fighting that would be taking place.
"Grrr…. Just die already!" Kadaj yells out as he goes to stab the Kiba blade into Yoichi along with Yazoo who stabs at him with the other, only for the blades to literally be absorbed into him as he reaches up to latch onto them with an extra tendril growing out of his chest to latch onto Loz and yank all three of them down into him. There appears to be a struggle of chakra for several moments before the only chakra left other than the seal is that of Yoichi himself. "Ah, yes, the Company… Isra, be careful deactivating these seals. We're going to need the information in them if we're going t track down these people later."
With that Yoichi extends of his hands for the Kiba blades to pop into his palms like a Kaguya wielding a Camellia blade while water drifts from his body over to Isra's hands. "I'll guide your hands, but be swift. You may only get one shot at her." Whips of lightning then sprout out of the blades by the dozen to whip back and fly at the Kaguya and attempt to bind her down long enough for Isra to work her magic with the water guided by his chakra guiding her to be precise.
Yuuka blinks once and her face twists with slow, boiling anger as two of her 'companions' gets absorbed into the mass that is Yoichi. It only leaves her with one another. A team of four cut in half. Less than favorable odds… And then a tendril is formed straight out of his chest and latches to the last entity that came from him. One now. "Time to get serious…" Yuuka growls, the seams of her kimono ripping as she prepares for another attack. However. She doesn't get very far as she's swiftly struck with dozens of lightning strikes all at once. Her screams ring the air as she falls forward on her hands and knees, thoroughly stunned and out of breath.
Kiji watched Yuuka's anger, watched the woman react to Yoichi getting the upper hand int he battle. Isra was needed now, Seals weren't Kiji's thing. And she couldn't do anything to help as it stood. Yoichi got her attention and she bit her lip, her eyes showing in a strange shade of gold surrounded by orange. She glanced down at her clothes, brand new and already ruined. But then she looked up again and waited for an order as she gathered herself, the blood slowly sealing her wounds as she watched…
"You be the guide and leave the rest of the work to me," Isra offered as she felt herself guided along towards Yuuka. It felt weird not being in full control of her body, but she had to tell herself not to resist so her instincts wouldn't force her to fight against him. She needed to get this seal done. Once her hands were in the right place, she set about working on cancelling the seal. A seal formula left her hands and spread out around Yuuka's body before reforming around the seal placed on her and counteracting its power. "You're not going to enjoy this, but removal isn't always a pleasant process, especially when you're dealing with something placed by the Silence. It's pretty strong and fairly intricate in design."
She hates to do it, especially after the lightning strikes. "Kiji, I'm going to need you to help brace me and Yuuka for this. You've taken a lot of damage and I won't blame you for not coming over here if you want to heal up. I'd honestly rather you do that than to risk any further harm at this point. If things turn awry, I don't want you to stay around this time, I want you to leave and report what's happened."
"Sorry, but you won't get the chance," Yoichi says, no smirk, no amusement. The real Yoichi is definitely the one standing here. A brief glance is cast toward Kiji, the Swordsman giving a nod before he looks back to Yuuka. "Isra-san, be swift. I am strong, but so is she. Don't imagine I can keep her bound forever." With that he focuses his energy and chakra into keeping in control of his body until Isra can get to him while keeping a hold on Yuuka with the whips. One might detect it is quite a struggle going on in his body, though. "Tch… Arrogant jars…."
Unable to move, Yuuka continues to growl darkly as her fingers claw at the cobblestones, creating indents with long nails. She can almost feel Isra and and Kiji begin to approach her in order to remove the sleeper agent seal that was placed on her so many years ago. Her shoulders hunch, shaking with silent laughter. "The Organization… uses the Silence. They are just puppets on a stage."
All this time she keeps testing the effects of the lightning whips, trying push through and gain back control of her body without letting the others know. It was only a matter of time, but she had to work fast.
Kiji watched Isra and Yoichi as they prepared to deal with Yuuka's seal. She felt kind of useless but held her spot as the blood slowed in it's rush to exit her body. Then Isra spoke, gave her a job, a way to help. Kiji waved off Isra's worries about her. "I'm fine, Isra-sama. I'll do whatever you need to. Don't worry about my damage." She would happily spend a week int he hospital if it meant they got Yoichi back…. Even if he still didn't want her as a student. It didn't matter. She would help him and protect him if she could. She stepped up and stood where she could poitn a hand at each Yuuka and Isra. Her whips reached up to wrap around them, one around Yuuka, one around Isra's waist. She kept the strength there and set her jaw, her eyes dark and burgundy. Assuming no one struggled, the whips would snake around Yuuka's arms, holding her down as well as steadying her around the waist. Isra would be supported by the whip around her waist, though Kiji gathered a bulb of blood at the back area just in case she needed to expand it to support her more.
on her back two more whips burst from her back, ready to turn on Yoichi or to defend herself if either is needed. She frowned at Yuuka's words. The Organization? Someone or something was controling, manipulating the Silence? The Shimizu glanced at Isra then Yoichi, making mental notes as they worked. She then reassured Isra. "Don't worry about me, help Yuuka-sama. I'll do whatever you need."
"Is The Organization the one that placed this seal on you? If they're using the Silence, how old does that make The Organization itself?" She questions, further working into the seal with the aid of Kiji and Yoichi combined. She didn't have much time left to remove it. "I've almost got this seal… Just a few more moments and it'll be done. Just hold for as long as you can," she told to the both of them. It wasn't exactly the easiest job to do as she was using energy she didn't have to put her all into it. "Just keep her and me stable, and everything will be fine."
"She doesn't mean directly," Yoichi points out as he continues to hold his control. "But they do have a knack for manipulating every situation to their advantage…" He'd continue to hold the binding on Yuuka long enough for Isra to finish the job before falling to his knees himself. "… Get a move on. This guy's got an advantage, and he doesn't like being held back…"
Isra's questioning yield no other answers, as Yuuka lets her snowy head fall, chuckling almost maniacally to herself. "Useless… They are watching." she mumbles, chuckling again. Even bound by whips, she ties to push through. Tries to regain control of her body through sheer force. Though the Swordswoman is strong, at the moment Isra is stronger.
Kiji caught the motion of Yoichi falling to his knees and glanced that direction in concern. He was being forced down? She wished fervently that she had developed a way to share her energies with Yoichi. But should she offer her chakra, the others might be the ones to take advantage of the energy. Still, she didn't want to leave him on his oown. She had spoken earlier from a true feeling and so, with both arms tied up with holding Isra and Yuuka, she focused, biting on her lip to form the whips on her back into a more pliable density and a more hand-like shape. She reached up to rest the blood 'hand' on Yoichi's cheek then his shoulder. It mimiced a friendly guesture but also would be there for him if he needed to lean against it.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Isra offered to Kiji to give her some encouragement in the face of Yoichi's kneeling. "They made certain these seals wouldn't be easy to work with, but they didn't estimate that I'd be the one removing them. Now that I've got Yuuka's seal handled, I've got a better understanding of how to take it apart and can work on Yoichi much more quickly." As she finished speaking, the formula that surrounded the areas of the seal would begin to fade and the seal along with it to relase Yuuka from its hold.
She then turned to Yoichi and guided herself through the processes quickly enough that she wouldn't lose steam. She sent him through the exact same process with the same formula, but better control even if just a little, to speed up taking out the seal. After she exhausted all of her energy in prying them apart and memorizing their construction, she stumbled back and collapsed to the ground, having finally removed both of the seals from them. This is worse than the shark at the lake…
The thought about the shark gave her pause and soon a smirk. How could she think about that thing at a time like this? She dwells on that for a few moments before her vision fades and she passes out.
"I know," Yoichi says with a glance up at Yuuka. "…. But there's one thing they'll know after tonight… We're coming for them." The blood hand touching his cheek causes a slightly lift of an eyebrow at Kiji before he looks up at Isra and nods. He'd wait for the seal to be broken while he looks down again before looking back up at them. "Thank you, Uzumaki-san… Kiji… This has taken a toll, but we know something now… There are more enemies of Kirigakure than the Silence moving… We have to get ready."
