Starring:
Rockpath (emitter), Michiko, Hanami, Sakuya, Nozomi, Raion, Arashi, Kasuya
Date: August 30, 2016
Summary:
A strike force made up of primarily those from Kumogakure make their way through the caverns to rescue their own and hopefully destroy the Brigade.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"The Storm Brigade - Lightning Strikes the Storm"
Ocean - Storm Brigade Base
The Storm Brigade has been an issue for a long time, striking at various places. Most of those places have been villages within neutral or questionable territories, but a few have been the great villages themselves. This time, though, was going to be different! The leaders have all worked together, planting trackers and purposefully getting people kidnapped in order to figure out where the Brigade happens to be located/hidden. At long last, they discovered … A place. Multiple places, even, on where these Brigade members go after they finish destroying things.
In the middle of the ocean, we find a rather large group of shinobi forces from the combined might of Kumogakure and Konohagakure. The Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud have long been allies for the past few years, so it's rather fitting they're working so closely together… Leading these particular forces is <INSERT RANDOM NAME HERE>, a Jounin from Kumogakure. The forces are currently just sailing to an X on the map. One of the many X's. Other X's are being taken care of by other forces, of course.
"We're almost at the spot! Everyone prepare! Water-users especially, gather your chakra so we can get to the compound!" is being shouted, and there is a lot of activity on the ship suddenly now that they were so close to their goal.
COMBAT: Hanami focuses 4696 stamina to turn it into 6000 usable chakra!
RP: Hanami transforms into BREEZE.
RPCOMBAT: Hanami defends against with a WIND-SENSE…40
Hanami finishes sharpening her chakrams in preparation. Finally, there was something she could hopefully do about this Storm Brigade business. Sadly she had had to leave Honi behind on this one, the poor wolf wouldn't do so well out on the water. Another time maybe. But for now, it was time to hopefully put an end to this nonsense. She sighs a bit under her breath and walks to the sails; she glances at their leading jounin, Okabe, "I should be able to help boost the sails if you wish." And if given the all clear, she'll use her wind jutsu to do just that. Otherwise she'll just wait for their arrival at the destination.
COMBAT: Sakuya focuses 4976 stamina to turn it into 6000 usable chakra!
RP: Sakuya transforms into ZUZU.
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a HEBISUUHAI-SENSES…39
Sakuya had no surprises for the Storm Brigade this day. No special techniques to cause them to come crashing down. She was just one of the many Chuunin who were likely going to throw themselves into the midst of combat. A hideout in the middle of the ocean. It didn't seem as if Sakuya could use her techniques to gain any distant advantage, for even though the giant bow she wields could hit a target a mile away with proper coordination, the arrows were not built to be sent -into- the water. "How are we even getting down there?" She asks. Not to anyone in particular, but likely addressing Zuzu, her white serpent who remain coiled around her waist as she sit upon the ship's deck. She spent the last few moments she had gathering her wits before the water likely swallowed them whole. When the Jounin gave the general order of preparation, Sakuya reached over to grab her oversized weapon before standing up slowly with it. She took a few somber steps over to her large quivver, full of spear-sized arrows. The look of worry was clear upon her face. "Ah… He said water manipulators. I suppose that means they are going to be parting the water for our approach." Zuzu said, talking into Sakuya's ears. "If only earth users such as yourself were of any use. Oh, right. You're terrible in ninjutsu. You're even less useful…"
Sakuya shouldered her arrows and started to move off over towards Hanami. She was indeed an individual she was working with. "Hanami-chan…" Sakuya would nod her head to a comrade she knew and appreciated, before her head turns towards Okabe. Jounin Okabe will certainly lead them to victory. Hopefully. "Let's pay them back for flooding Kumo."
COMBAT: Nozomi focuses 4401 stamina to turn it into 5000 usable chakra!
RP: Nozomi transforms into NEJIGAN-II.
While Nozomi is not normally up at this time of day, or any time of daylight save early mornings, she is nevertheless alert and ready. She is inspecting her flute rather closely as she finishes last minute preparations. Ang is not with her at the moment, as he is in the summons realm resting until she calls. That's how daytime missions run for her nowadays, he rests unless she needs him. That way, his sleep is un-interrupted as possible.
After finishing inspecting her flute, she brings it down in her left hand to her hip and looks over the others with her. "I'm just looking to repay them for taking our comrades," she sings in a solemn voice that sounds more like a funeral dirge. Appropriate, since that kind of music is the last the enemy will ever hear…
COMBAT: Kasuya focuses 7857 stamina to turn it into 10000 usable chakra!
RP: Kasuya transforms into CLEAR-MIND.
RPCOMBAT: Kasuya defends against with a PERCEPTION…45
Despite the tension of the situation Kasuya looks restful on the journey. Very restful, since she is leaning against a post with her eyes closed. She called it "focusing her faculties" but it looks like she's taking a nap. When the call to prepare comes, Kasuya gives a little start. She's already gathering her chakra, and making a few seals, but nothing tangible. She's not manipulating the water or using the wind to speed along the boat. Instead she's surrounded them in an illusion that's changing the landscape to, put simply, make it seem like they're just a harmless, inconsquential ripple on the water. That's only to outside eyes, but within it'd be seen as a faint shimmer around the ship.
"This concealment illusion," she says, "isn't fullproof." But it would need some close scrutiny to detect. And it might give them a bit of cover as they make this frontal charge.
COMBAT: Raion focuses 3903 stamina to turn it into 4500 usable chakra!
RP: Raion transforms into PANSA.
Raion was along on this trip, and was definitely not a water user. He has no way to help besides his ears and his claws. Possibly his healing? That said he was oddly relaxed. He wasn't smiling like normal, but he certainly isn't looking super serious. He just paces the ship boredly while Pansa undoubtly is curled up, waiting for a signal to stop napping. As the call to prepare is yelled out, Raion focuses Charka and makes a soft 'clicking' sound with his tongue which gets Pansa to wake up and stretch, getting ready for whatever was about to happen. He has nothing to offer to this group, thus he says nothing. He is simply waiting for something to happen he can actually help with.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against DISTORTION-OF-REALITY(54) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-II…22
Those that are attempting to sense much of anything would actually not get a lot. The sea air can be very … hard to sense through. It's salty, the ship stinks of fish (Raion and Pansa might be pleased with that, actually), and there's nothing but the usual chakra-wind sending the ship along its course to sense in the air. That being said, there's definitely a 'presence' outside of the ship that a few of the better sensors would be able to catch. There are about four ships outside of the one that our PCs are on, and there's a great deal of shouting along the decks to say that there are people that are around. It's confusing, though, because there are no attacks. Furthermore, these signatures around the ship don't feel very strong, unlike previous encounters with the Brigade…
RPCOMBAT: Hanami defends against with a WIND-SENSE…39
Hanami frowns, drawing the wind inside her, stirring her clothes and straying hair a bit as she casts her senses out upon the wind. It wasn't a great sensing, mostly just water, salt, and fish. But then…then there was something and she paused, looking about, "Well I'm not getting much out there. Just our own ships…I guess that's a good sign though if we're really approaching the Brigade's base it seems odd." She then looks over to Sakuya as she approaches and smiles a bit, "Glad you're up for this. Should be interesting." She looks out at the ocean, "Hmm, Nozomi do you think you can pick up anything more?"
It was better sensing than Sakuya could manage right now. The Hebisuuhai would cross her arms and close her eyes as she reached her senses out. She figured out absolutely nothing. Scent doesn't penetrate the water's edge, and vibrations are actually useless when Sakuya isn't standing on solid ground. It's clear she is a hillsnake, not a waterserpent. When Hanami counter-approached, Sakuya opened her eyes and smiled lightly before thrusting her fist out to bump against Hanami's shoulder. "Who is up for this? I was ordered here, but I'm going to make the best of it!" Sakuya would withdraw her fist quickly and grab her bow. A few moments later, she would step away and nail the giant bow's stabilizing spike into the deck. Just in case. She would nock an arrow in preparation. Swivel and fire when needed. "Really should have designed harpoons…" What a lack of foresight…
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a PERCEPTION…34
Nozomi thought about things for a moment as she listened to the various voices reporting signatures. This leads her to a brief dilemma on how to proceed, but she quickly decides. Lifting her flute to her mouth, she quickly intones a few, relatively quiet notes, with "relatively" being the operative word. But still, she no longer needed loud noises, and if it weren't for the fact that she needed to "see" in the fullest extent of her range, she wouldn't even bother generating any noise. But she does to utilize her new perceptions to their utmost as her nejigan peers out for anything that normal eyesight might miss…
RPCOMBAT: Nozomi defends against with a SOUND-SIGHT…45
RPCOMBAT: Kasuya defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSITIVITY…44
Kasuya's eyes are closed as she maintains the illusion that marginally conceals them, but she's not oblivious to other things going on. She might ask people to be a little bit more sneaky and less…shouting and playing music? Then again, with a boatful of powerful shinobi each with their different techniques of every kind, it won't be a stealth mission for long. Still, she's starting to ask for quiet when she stops as if sensing something. "There's a strange chakra nearby," she reports. "It's coming from the water below."
RPCOMBAT: Raion defends against with a MANESHI-SENSES-II…52
Raion focuses on using his enhanced senses. He didn't hear anything odd. He didn't see anything odd. But he… Kinda smelled something different. "I smell something. Sounds like this is all building up. People talking about chakra signatures, a strange chakra below. And now something smells weird. I think being on guard would be smart right now." Raion keeps watching and listening, and since he already caught a scent, he makes sure to make sure to try to pinpoint it…
With so much shouting and a few sensors of their own, the Storm Brigade is able to pinpoint where all the ships are. Sorta. Not actually, but they are impatient enough to create a huge wave that would rock the ships back and forth and maybe send a few people overboard! Even with all that considered, only a few of the members would actually make their presence known. The rest of them continued to just hide in the water and use the waves to attack the shinobi and their ships.
COMBAT: Hanami defends against VIOLENT-WATER-WAVE(24) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-DASH…40
COMBAT: Hanami defends against VIOLENT-WATER-WAVE(34) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-DASH…32
COMBAT: Hanami loses the roll and sustains 332 damage.
Hanami glanced back at Kasuya when she spoke, but by then the Brigade had clearly launched their attacks as waves crashed against the ships. The first wave sent the ship rocking and she ended up moving around quickly to keep her balance. Sadly this didn't help her with the next round, jarring her enough that she lost her balance and tumbled back, hitting a wall but keeping on the boat for the moment. Not a great start, truly. Hopping to her feet she moves to the front of the boat to get a better view of the scant opponents visible, "We should either deal with these guys, or figure out how to get past them and down below if that's where we really need to go." Focusing wind chakra into chakrams she launches them at the nearest opponent.
[NPC System]: Brigade roll(s) Violent Water Wave vs. Sakuya from 21 to 41 and get(s) a 26. - Rolled by: Rockpath
[NPC System]: Brigade roll(s) Violent Water Wave vs. Sakuya from 21 to 41 and get(s) a 29. - Rolled by: Rockpath
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a DODGE…24
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a DODGE…39
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya took 350 damage.
Well, the Storm Brigade has assumed the advantage. Sakuya appeared to have been firstblood, as the enemy waves come crashing in. She simply wasn't able to move in time, due to the fact that her bow was pinned to the deck. The initial crashing of the water against her caused damage, but she held firm to her bow and nocked an arrow in preparation in the event that shinobi started to jump onto the deck. For now, it seemed as if they were hiding beneath the water and summoning the waves to their advantage. Sakuya's hands were tied until their assault actually begins. "Do we have any medical ninja with us?" Sakuya asks, looking left to right as she slowly draws her arrow back. Sakuya's bow, made of thick metal, had a chakra metal wire cord that connected the arms. As the javelin-sized arrow was drawn back, the string made noises as Sakuya struggled to bring it back to full draw.
RP: Sakuya uses C-RANK-CHARGE.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against VIOLENT-WATER-WAVE(34) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…29
COMBAT: Nozomi loses the roll and sustains 375 damage.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against VIOLENT-WATER-WAVE(28) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…52
RP: Nozomi uses WATER-WALKING.
Nozomi notices the wave come up and decides to do something a little different. Instead of solidly trying to anchor herself to the ship, she allows her body to carried off on top of the water while using a ripple of sound to deflect the worst of the two attacks. The end result is that although she is somewhat bruised from the attacks, she is mostly well and now she stands on top of the water, flute in hand.
She grins at the water and can't help but to think that these people must have planned this out to avoid most of their attacks. Being under the water would soften most blows, and even insulate against airborne wind or sound attacks. But Yamayuki come from the far north, where large bodies of water provide much of their sustenance. Furthermore, they would be wrong in thinking that water totally insulated them from sound. In fact, the right modulation, frequency, and volume of sound would cause sound attacks to be even more damaging due to water's propensity to enhance certain types of sound. Therefore she starts to weave chakra and then launches a couple of melodies of the right pitch, frequency and volume with her chakra so that the water becomes infused with sound waves designed to vibrate any living body nearby into submission.
COMBAT: Raion defends against VIOLENT-WATER-WAVE(36) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE-II…45
COMBAT: Raion defends against VIOLENT-WATER-WAVE(30) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE…35
Raion blinks as a wave is coming towards the ship. Well! This is going swimmingly so far. That said, Raion sprints /towards/ the wave as it's rushing towards the ship, Pansa following shortly behind. The two both leap quickly and high into the air, Raion focusing chakra into his feet and Pansa into his paws. The two briefly and gracefully bounce off the crest of the wave before landing on the water behind it. Completely dry. Raion can't help but let out a relieved sigh before looking everyone else over. "I know a thing or two about Medical Ninjutsu!" Raion announces, and then crouches down, looking at the ones who made the mistake of showing themselves. He considers for a moment before both Raion and Pansa both make a single, awkwardly angled slash at two of them in an attempt to catch them off guard as they are suddenly assault by a blur!
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(38) attack from Hanami with a DODGE-III…31
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 394 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(37) attack from Hanami with a DODGE-III…28
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 388 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(41) attack from Hanami with a DODGE-III…31
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 398 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against MINOR-MUSIC-CHORD(44) attack from Nozomi with a WATER-WALL…25
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 446 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against MINOR-MUSIC-CHORD(45) attack from Nozomi with a TENSE…3
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 680 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(64) attack from Raion with a TENSE…5
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 744 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(72) attack from Raion with a WATER-WALL…20
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 770 damage.
Hanami's chakrams are quite accurate, judging by the blood having been spilled into the water. Though the Brigade tried to dodge the attacks, and a few might have even relied on the water to take it on, there were still slices made into their skin. It was painful, to say the least. And the music from Nozomi didn't help. Again, many of the Brigade members thought that perhaps the water would keep them from hearing the killer melody, but that was not to be. Instead, it seemed to almost amplify to the point where they were momentarily rendered unable to move.
A few of them that were unable to move fully revealed themselves, meaning that Raion, in all his feline-fury, was able to slash at one of the Brigade Members while Pansa caught another off-guard. They would fall to the Maneshi pair, blood gurgling from their throats as they fell off. There were still some Brigade members left, though, even with all the forces of Kumo (and some of Konoha) attacking. Lightning, Fire, Wind, and Water all seemed to be clashing together, as well as simple chakra-infused strikes and other far more interesting skills. Some of the skills were from allies attacking, others from the Brigade.
The most important ones to note, though, were the ones aimed at this particular four-man team. Nozomi, Hanami, Sakuya, and Raion (on or off the ship) would get to see more water aimed at them. It was a giant wave that threatened to sweep them away, and then following that were a number of lightning jolts that were shaped in the form of stars.
COMBAT: Hanami defends against TITAN-WAVE(27) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-DASH…37
COMBAT: Hanami defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(37) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…50
Hanami didn't smile as her chakrams sliced into one of the Brigade. This was a nothing battle. Well maybe not nothing, it would determine whether this joint attack was all for naught or not. It would send them forward. She shakes her head, watching off to the sides as the other ships held their own battles. Good luck to them. Seems they might be the special ones, as a rather large wave seems intent on smashing them to pieces. So…time for something different. And she takes off with a burst of speed combined with water walking to walk the wave itself. Risky, stupid possibly, but on a boat her area was limited anyways and that thing was hitting everywhere. So as she twisted and dodged through the crashing waves she finally settled back on the deck as the next assualt came in the form of lightning stars. Many of them, fast little buggers. A quick dash and she blurred around them with her usual twists and turns.
She glances to check on the rest of the group, but at the moment they had to stop these guys. And with that she stops, drawing in her breath, shaping it, and expelling it in multiple vortices ripping across the ocean for some of the nearby Brigade above the water. She follows this with a flash of handsigns and a gesture causing pieces of solidified air above those same targets to come crashing down intent on smashing them into the water. Added bonus, it'd be smashing them down into water. Hope they have gills…
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against TITAN-WAVE(30) attack from Rockpath with a EVASION…38
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(39) attack from Rockpath with a SERPENT-EVASION…37
COMBAT: Sakuya loses the roll and sustains 376 damage.
Though this time Sakuya was able to dodge the incoming waters, she was struck by the lightning-formed weapons. This of course, disrupted her ability to fire her bow a second time. In other words, she was going to have to rely on her allies to actually hurt the enemy. When the lightning chakra disperses upon hitting her, Sakuya begins to bleed a little where the entry points had hit her. For now, she would put her bow away and tightly wind bandage (Wet Bandage) around her wounds.
COMBAT: Sakuya heals Sakuya for 253 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against TITAN-WAVE(29) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…43
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(33) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…49
Nozomi was expecting to be targeted. After all, when dealing with cowards who hide under water, you have to get down there and get wet, and your targets aren't that appreciative of that. So she's not surprised when the elemental attacks keep coming. But her attackers should be surprised when their attacks dissipate into nothing as another sound pulse completely disrupts them. In response, Nozomi decides to continue to take out the ones under water. Now she uses her sounds to shape the sounds under the water into a series of sound blades, sending them against her opponents. They were shaken, now they need slicing.
COMBAT: Raion defends against TITAN-WAVE(36) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE…32
COMBAT: Raion loses the roll and sustains 743 damage.
COMBAT: Raion defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(39) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE-II…62
RP: Raion transforms into ONE-QUARTER-FERAL.
Raion sees the big wave coming and despite his best efforts to evade, he ends up soaked as does Pansa. Raion reacts a lot more as he resurfaces, evading the lightning stars gracefully and easily. He seems to have changed a bit, catlike features much more pronounced. Raion seems very ticked. "Yep. Now I'm VERY not happy." He then becomes a blur, attacking more of the surfaced opponents in a flurry of slashes.
Kasuya has been…elsewhere. It's almost as if she fell off the face of the earth. However she's here and assessing the situation. The ships aren't in great condition, but the Kumo/Konoha side are still holding and repelling off the wave of as yet not fully understood attackers. So she finds the nearest opponents to carve up.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-VORTEX-TECHNIQUE(37) attack from Hanami with a WIND-STEP…35
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 316 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-VORTEX-TECHNIQUE(45) attack from Hanami with a TENSE…13
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 591 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against MACROBURST(45) attack from Hanami with a TENSE…10
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against MACROBURST(31) attack from Hanami with a WIND-STEP…38
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SIX-STRING-SWORDS(37) attack from Nozomi with a WATER-WALL…36
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 320 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SIX-STRING-SWORDS(42) attack from Nozomi with a WATER-WALL…46
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(75) attack from Raion with a LIGHTNING-CLONE…44
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 606 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(73) attack from Raion with a LIGHTNING-CLONE…40
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 600 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against GRACEFUL-SLASH(45) attack from Kasuya with a LIGHTNING-CLONE…40
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 336 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against GRACEFUL-SLASH(51) attack from Kasuya with a LIGHTNING-CLONE…48
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 309 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against GRACEFUL-SLASH(39) attack from Kasuya with a LIGHTNING-CLONE…53
And then all the members of the Brigade died. Not all of them, but this initial wave did. It was pretty rough in terms of the fight, and a lot of shinobi that were on the weaker side (meaning a lot of the genin-level shinobi) were worse for wear. Those ones were told to keep to the ships and patch themselves up, then they were relegated to medic duty until further notice. A ship would take back all the people that were far too injured to continue while the water manipulators got all set up after the rather long fight. It wasn't that long of a fight, but it felt like it took ages. Thankfully, the number of manipulators of water here were able to make a … path of sorts that would lead the group of shinobi down into the compound. All the way to the entrance, yep! It looked like a pretty empty passage, but folk need to hurry because the water manipulators only have so much chakra >:|
Hanami watches with satisfaction as the first assault went rather well, all things considered. Though it reminded her to work out a way to fight underwater. Well she had one move that'd do the trick but…anyways. With that in hand she'd turn to the boat and the rest of the shinobi, "Hey you guys, we good? Anyone needing to fall back should go now, though I doubt any of us feel the need, we did good." That being said, she'd also spend the time helping patch up people. Thankfully her injuries were just a few bumps and bruise, nothing to worry about.
COMBAT: Hanami heals Sakuya for 294 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Hanami heals Raion for 271 with FIRST AID.
Sakuya, sitting on the floor, would definitely thank Hanami for the quick help, and once she had been helped being patched up, she stood and dusted herself up. Despite the fact that she had been relatively useless, she got to watch two people she had never really seen fight their hardest. Yamayuki Nozomi, and the noises that had the capacity to cut. Raion, too, and how he proved that cats were faster than dogs. Inuzuka were more powerful than Maneshi, but can't beat Maneshi speed… It makes her wonder where the heck that leaves her. Pansa was a step of a lot more useful than Zuzu. He was practically asleep the entire battle…
"One more chance to prove myself. I'm not backing down. I have a sensei to save." Sakuya says, her eyes half lidded with a defeated look. She would push through. She just needed to play smarter for the next phase of the operation…
Nozomi follows the tunnel/whirlpool down, but keeps her sight up and running. As she goes down toward this compound, she pulls out her own first aid kit and pulls out a bandage with a poultice pre-applied. While her clothing and the accompanying under-armor make treating bruises difficult sometimes, she applies to the wounds on her neck and shoulder to alleviate some of the pain to improve her focus. Other than that, she's watchful for ambushes and waits for others to join her, a soft hum that proves barely audible leading the way and moulding the surrounding sounds to increase her perceptive abilities.
RPCOMBAT: Nozomi defends against with a SOUND-SIGHT…44
COMBAT: Nozomi heals Nozomi for 218 with FIRST AID.
RPCOMBAT: Raion defends against with a MANESHI-SENSES-II…35
Raion smells nothing major, hears nothing major, and sees no more hostiles. As such he sighs as he calms down and Pansa rejoins him. His catlike features revert to normal and he accepts Hanami's assistance and does assist himself by healing himself as well. He would follow after the others, keeping his senses sharp, Pansa as well.
COMBAT: Raion heals Raion for 365 with LIGHT HEALING JUTSU.
RP: Raion reverts to his normal state.
RP: Raion transforms into PANSA.
RP: Kasuya transforms into CLEAR-MIND.
RPCOMBAT: Kasuya defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSITIVITY…39
"This is…impressive," Kasuya says, as she looks down the hollow path free of water. "About one of the most impressive things I've seen. Our suiton ninjutsuists could show Kiri nin a few things. Like how to make this tunnel." Then in a low mutter: "Or how to keep their shinobi from becoming homicidal terrorists." As she speaks she's looking around carefully, not only with her eyes, but also probing out. "There's something below," she says, in a wary tone.
As folk begin their journey down the tube of 'water-free ocean' (that's just really confusing to think about/describe right now…), they would find nothing is truly amiss. The Suiton users are probably doing alright, but they are going to be very tired once all is said and done. Good thing they are on a boat and not joining this particular assault, though many others were moving to help. Numbers were not exactly on the Shinobi's side, though, as they were driving slowly but surely into the heart of the Brigade's base.
The team got to travel for a long time without much incident, but then a spear of water slice through the jutsu keeping the water pressure from crushing all the Kumo-nin. It was very sudden, and one might think it was their own that had performed the attack. Excepting for the fact that a number of wind blades would make their way upwards along the tube to try and cut those within it.
RPCOMBAT: Hanami defends against with a WIND-SENSE…53
COMBAT: Hanami defends against WATER-LANCE(40) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…50
COMBAT: Hanami defends against WIND-CUTTER(40) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…37
COMBAT: Hanami loses the roll and sustains 779 damage.
COMBAT: Hanami defends against WIND-CUTTER(34) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-DASH…48
Hanami was running down the tunnel with the others, senses casted out though the wind wasn't much use but that didn't stop her from sensing chakra, and boy did she sense it! "We're surrounded!" But it was a bit too late as the attack started immediately after. She blurred with speed, moving around with a duck and weave from the initial water spear, then through the blades of wind but wasn't quick enough and took one across her shoulder. Her own element, kind of embarrassing really. Thankfully she was able to move out of the way of the others. "Everyone, be careful but let's end this quick! We got the prize down below to think about." And then she's on the offensive with wind chakrams thrown where she can sense or see opponents hoping there's enough strength in her attacks to slice through the water.
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against WIND-CUTTER(33) attack from Rockpath with a EVASION…54
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against WIND-CUTTER(39) attack from Rockpath with a EVASION…30
COMBAT: Sakuya loses the roll and sustains 984 damage.
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a HEBISUUHAI-SENSES…60
Sakuya's range was a set-up style of 'Act from Afar' artillery. Within the tunnel she was incredibly inept. No ninjutsu to attack from a distance or even a slight distance. The rest of her Taijutsu was close range. It seemed she was once again outplayed by the Storm Brigade, and it was starting to look like a bit of a slaughter. It was the same wind that struck Hanami that struck Sakuya, and it cut against her chest, splitting cloth and drawing blood. One of Sakuya's hands clutched her new wound, while her hands reached into her pocket and pulled out three senbon, throwing it into the water. Would it be enough force to not get slown down by the water before hitting her opponents? She chose senbon in particular because it wasn't affected by water resistance quite as much as Kunai. "I don't know how long I can continue to take this. They're skirmishing us down…" - "Speak for yourself, fool, you're one of the idiots that have actually managed to get hit before you've even reached the mission location…" Zuzu would gladly join Storm Brigade. His primary affinity is Sass, which puts him on the recruiting list…
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against WIND-CUTTER(30) attack from Rockpath with a SOUND-WAVE…34
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against WIND-CUTTER(38) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…36
COMBAT: Nozomi loses the roll and sustains 987 damage.
RPCOMBAT: Nozomi defends against with a SOUND-SIGHT…37
Nozomi apparently is a little tired as the wind blades head her way. She first calls up a simple wave of sound to disrupt the first set, but notices that the second set is a bit stronger. So she uses her stronger defense, but can't get it up in enough time to avoid being hurt. At the same time, she feels the pull of charka against her core, and knows she needs to focus more, especially in this environment. "Cover me!" she calls out as she attempts to make as small a target of herself as possible, away from from other ripples, as she calls more chakra up to the forefront.
COMBAT: Nozomi focuses 3444 stamina to turn it into 4000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Raion defends against WIND-CUTTER(27) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE…55
COMBAT: Raion defends against WIND-CUTTER(33) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE…35
Raion is tired after all this. He shouldn't have gone all out earlier. He sees the incoming ripples of wind and gracefully evades, panting and annoyed. "Can you please not do that?" He calls out before slipping close to Nozomi and placing a hand on her back. She'd feel a wave of soothing electricity spread through her body, rejuvinating her. "Yep. I can't do anything in this situation except dodge. I choose to put my faith in you!"
COMBAT: Raion heals Nozomi for 0 with BASIC COMBAT ELECTROTHERAPY.
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against WIND-CUTTER(40) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…76
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against WIND-CUTTER(34) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…92
RPCOMBAT: Kasuya defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSITIVITY…41
Kasuya makes a simple hand seal, and the person who attacks her suddenly has very bad aim. The sharpened wind flies around her, close enough to make her scarf flutter. But none of them threaten to touch her. She's looking towards the direction the wind came from. She's also eyeing her teammates who aren't quite as lucky. "Wind," she mutters. It's not a good element for her to contend with, but she's amassing chakra lightning anyway. The attack doesn't web out like normal lightning. Instead it punches straight through with the force of a battering ram, and detonates once it reaches its target.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(30) attack from Hanami with a WALL-OF-WIND…45
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(34) attack from Hanami with a WALL-OF-WIND…62
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(38) attack from Hanami with a WALL-OF-WIND…51
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(30) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…32
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(28) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…50
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(24) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…46
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against LIGHTNING-CRASH(69) attack from Kasuya with a WALL-OF-WIND…71
As the group descends, a number of their attacks would simply be deflected and otherwise avoided. Hanami's chakram failed to slice through a wall of wind that was raised between members of the Storm Brigade and the deadly weapon, and Sakuya's attempt to pierce the people surrounding them with Senbon was met with solidified water. Unfortunate, but it worked. The group, perhaps fortunately, are nearing the end of the path, though the Brigade seek to launch one final attack before they reach the first 'gate' to the underground system. The crashing lightning from Kasuya is just barely blocked with a wall of wind, though some of the lightning crackles and zaps surrounding members that are hiding within the water. To retaliate against the group, it would be just a huge span of lightning seeking to shock their systems.
COMBAT: Hanami defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(49) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…60
RPCOMBAT: Hanami defends against with a WIND-SENSE…40
Hanami continued on with the others, inwardly sighing at the recent encounter. This didn't look too good. They were sitting ducks in this tunnel, even if they were coming to the end. Of course that's when the Brigade launched their lighning attack, and thankfully her wind enhanced speed got her out of there, darting out of the way of the strikes and hopefully the others would be just as lucky. Looking to them she calls out, "I think we need a better plan you guys. I mean, at the moment we're just charging down blindly all trying to tackle each enemy ahead but we're wearing down too fast. Anyone got any ideas?" For herself, she uses this moment to bolster her chakra stores again regrettably.
COMBAT: Hanami focuses 3158 stamina to turn it into 4000 usable chakra!
RP: Sakuya transforms into STAVE-OF-SERPENTS.
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(42) attack from Rockpath with a SERPENT-EVASION…46
Perhaps it would be an abuse of her actual abilities, but Sakuya had a hunch that she could use Zuzu to conduct electricity. It was actually a silly idea, but at the same time it might just work. Grabbing Zuzu, she would pull him taut off her waist and apply chakra to him. "What do you think you a-!?" In a puff of smoke, Zuzu was forced to henge into a solid object. In the wake of the lightning attack, Sakuya would throw the serpent turned staff in front of the array of lightning coming towards her. Zuzu absorbed it all. Every-last-volt. Yet, he did ground the lightning, so he didn't quite get hurt. Completely. He was just angry, but she would make it up to him later. Really…
Sakuya dashes forward as she reaches out to grab Zuzu, throwing more Senbon as she nears the end of the tunnel. Once she was in close quarters, it was over for the storm brigade. That was where her specialty lie.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(35) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…30
COMBAT: Nozomi loses the roll and sustains 730 damage.
The time Nozomi used to fall back slightly to refocus chakra seems to have cost her, and the team. She notices the incoming lightning too late and winds up getting hit in the stomach, hard. Blood starts to pour from the wound, and it's all she can do to actually remain /on/ the water instead of in it. Shakily she retreives her first aid kit and starts to try to repair the wound as she starts to make her way to the back of the party in order to retreat, but it is very slow going as she is almost ready to drop. In fact, unless they let her leave, she may not make it to the surface and to the ships.
COMBAT: Nozomi heals Nozomi for 220 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Raion defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(44) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE-II…54
Raion keeps panting and observing the situation. He was REALLY getting tired, but he was also unharmed… He gracefully evades the lightning attacks in fluid movements similar almost to a dance, as his hand begins to glow, as Nozomi is healing herself he'd skid to a halt right in front of her, showing the glowing hand. "Let me help. I can tell your injuries are bad." Raion is still panting, tired. Luckily not burnt out completely yet!
COMBAT: Raion heals Nozomi for 372 with LIGHT HEALING JUTSU.
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(39) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…67
Kasuya is fried to a crisp! Nope, that's just an illusion. She actually gives a slight chuckle, until she sees her allies. Then her chuckling stops. A strange aura is surrounding her, something sinister and chilling. She then fires a lightning bolt in the attacker's general direction. She also waits for her allies to launch their attacks and then makes a few hand seals. Once again that strange shimmer would engulf the entire party. To their enemies it would look like people suddenly started disappearing. Kasuya says, "This might offer a bit of concealment to those of you who need a break, but if you loudly attack you'll individually reveal yourself." In other words, the concealment will last up till they attack. As they reach the entrance the illusion moves with them, a constant concealment.
RP: Kasuya transforms into TRANSCENDENCE.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(33) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…49
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(26) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…37
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(24) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…30
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against RAIKOUHIRA-II(60) attack from Kasuya with a WALL-OF-WIND…73
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against FADE-II(54) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH…33
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against FADE-II(81) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH…31
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against FADE-II(60) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH…38
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against FADE-II(77) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH…35
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against FADE-II(80) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH…40
The Brigade members still around are able to defend against Sakuya's senbon, and then they were gone. They had other fish to fry, apparently. Of course, a lot of them were just flat-out fooled by the genjutsu and thought their targets disappeared, so they were going to go seek them out. This gave the group of shinobi time to enter the door or retreat back to the ships. Regardless of what they choose, they'd essentially be safe to recover a bit for the time being. How nice… Of course, they don't have too long… There are people inside that need to be rescued!
RPCOMBAT: Hanami defends against with a WIND-SENSE…40
Hanami looks to Nozomi with Raion aiding her. Flash, this is going well it seems. Already they were pretty well battered. She nods to Kasuya, speaking quietly, "Thank you, it gives us a reprieve. Sakuya, can I ask you to give Raion a hand with Nozomi?" She was going to take the moment to see to her wounded shoulder. "We're in a spot. If anyone wants to turn back, now probably would be the best time. But going forward we should be careful. Opinions?" She kept her senses alert though, even during this snatched lull, never knew what could happen. "I'm picking up strong signatures up ahead. It'll be tough."
COMBAT: Hanami heals Hanami for 247 with FIRST AID.
COMBAT: Sakuya heals Sakuya for 337 with FIRST AID.
After dashing near the entry door, Sakuya would immediately take care of a wound she had cut into her chest earlier, bandaging over her chest and up around her shoulders too, and while Hanami told her to assist Nozomi, she had little ability to do so. Raion's medical expertise had a handle upon it. "I'll help carry her if needed, Hanami-chan." Sakuya would slip to her feet, hand upon her chest as she held the bandages against the still-bleeding wound. "I'll be honest… I don't think sending Nozomi back is a good idea. She'd have to make it back through all the firepower we just managed to get through. If at all, we should take cover inside the compound immediately." Sakuya would walk over to Raion and Nozomi, both of which whom looked tired. She would drop to her knees and offer Nozomi and arm. "Come on. Stay with us. You're in danger going back. We'll spearhead an attack, and you can rest in our wake…"
Nozomi tiredly weighs her options as she glances up the tunnel. After a moment of weighing her chances, she's reluctantly forced to agree with Sakuya. "You're right… With her help," she nods her head toward Raion, "I can now briefly defend myself, and somewhat help… but I don't have much left." The fact she's actually speaking quietly but normally instead of singing, and the way her body is sagging, would attest to the fact that she may be worth a couple of shots, but not much more than that. "I'll do what I can, but it should be strategically placed." If she goes on, she apparently will help in some way. She applies some more bandages to help stabilize her stomach, but otherwise looks to the rest to give her further directions.
COMBAT: Nozomi heals Nozomi for 241 with FIRST AID.
Raion continues to pant and consider his options. He could keep going for a good amount of time if he had to, that said he WAS quite tired.. He should do his best to conserve his strength… But at the same time, he didn't like the stomach wound on Nozomi, after a brief moment of consideration, he also puts an arm around Nozomi, but main reason for that was to apply medical healing chakra through those bandages. He would also help her along, as much as he can. He may be tired, but he's not quite as tired as she is. "Quicker we act, quicker we're safe." Raion comments quietly. Pansa was at his side, worriedly watching Raion. Pansa was tired as well though.
COMBAT: Raion heals Nozomi for 466 with LIGHT HEALING JUTSU.
The group of allied nin that are really, really hard to notice, sneak into the underground lair. As people heal and prepare themselves Kasuya gives a nod of approval. Good use of their time. She keeps a cautious eye out, while maintaining a hand seal for the Fade technique. She says quietly, "If you attack, move outside of this illusion." They're moving under an illusion like a bunch of kids hiding underneath a blanket, all scooting forward at the same time. The limits of the illusory concealment is visible, as a kind of clear curtain. But it'll only help so much once lightning bolts and kunai come out of seemingly empty space. Then, she glances to Nozomi when she hears her comment, and Kasuya murmurs, "You help by being here. One more person the enemy has to use their time and effort to try and kill." Her smile is dreadfully unpleasant.
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-III…39
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-III…41
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-III…52
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-III…43
RPCOMBAT: Rockpath defends against with a PERCEPTION-III…37
As the group makes their way further into the Brigade Compound, they would find that there were only a few on guard. Two, to be precise. And they weren't all that strong, either. In fact, they seem oblivious to the presence of the other shinobi, though in all likelihood, there were folk that were even stronger up ahead. Also, said stronger folk seemed to be extra on guard because there was a cell coming up. Said cell contained one Hizumu Arashi that some folk who have good senses might be able to recognize.
Hanami halts the group silently before they get too close to the guards and cell. Keeping close she keeps her voice low, "It's Arashi. They're already on guard. We have to be careful with this, preferably without drawing attention. There's really no cover, so my stealth ability wouldn't be that much use…"she bites her bottom lip, "But might get me within range to launch one jutsu to try and pin them…maybe. Raion could maybe then use the opportunity to run in and finish them off? The others stay back under the cover of the illusion…" She sighs, this really wasn't her forte.
RP: Sakuya transforms into SERPENT-FORM.
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a HEBISUUHAI-SENSES…45
RP: Sakuya uses C-RANK-CHARGE.
In honesty, Sakuya is terrible when it comes to sneaking around, but she does have one mode that would decrease her footfalls. She would remove her feet completely. Sakuya's tongue flickers out as she walks over and picks Zuzu, still in the form of a rod, up off the ground. "No more casualties. I'll go all out. Things are about to get rough, so why bother holding back any longer.
Sakuya plants her staff into the ground and makes a series of eight seals, before grasping the staff. With all transformations her body disappears in a puff of smoke, and like many have seen before, Sakuya would become something that would scare little children to bed. As the smoke clears, Sakuya's lower half is replaced by that of writhing serpentine coils, while her upper body remains untouched. This time, as she takes her large bow off her back, she won't need to pin it to the ground in order to handle it. Her lower body was now powerful enough to handle the bow without setting up. She reached her left hand into her chuunin vest, and pulled out iron nails that firmly attached to her hand, to be used as thumbrings for the operation of the bow. "I'll follow up with Raion." Might as well send the animal clans in for the initial skirmish. As she slithers towards the door leading into the great underwater tunnels, she would nock an arrow to her bow and draw it back, readying to loose the powerful weapon.
Nozomi just hangs back, but is ready to start humming should any long-distance support be needed. She shakes her head, and not for the first time wishes she had something to cover sight as well as sound for stealth purposes. But alas, she's not there yet, so she keeps herself at the ready as she leans against a wall.
Raion and Pansa both listened to Hanami's plan, and once done, they nod. "Easy enough. I'll work together with Sakuya. I'll try to tear out their throats so they don't scream or yell. Let's do this." Raion says quietly… And oddly calmly for an unusually violent comment from the normally happy Raion. He crouches down, following Sakuya and Hanami's lead. Waiting to move as a blur.
Kasuya closes her eyes to sense the nearest threats. Then the genjutsuist smiles at everyone and says, "Illusion ending." They'd all be refreshed hopefully. They need to start dealing with the enemy now, before they have the chance to gather all at once. Kasuya waits for a few moments for each person to prepare to either attack or defend. The Fade technique ceases. Suddenly, everyone would be visible. But their enemies would hardly have time to react before a crushing force sweeps throughout the area. Not aimed at the allied forces, but the two guards behind them and the two in front guarding Arashi. It'd force them to the ground helplessly, unless they succeeded in mentally throwing it off. "Make sure no one goes ahead by themselves," Kasuya advises. "Fall back if you need to."
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(75) attack from Kasuya with a TENSE…8
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(52) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-III…56
So the good news is that the guards in the back had no idea what was coming. One moment, all was peach and cobbler, the next they were a bit dazed and collapsed on the floor thanks to the power of Kasuya's genjutsu. That was some heady stuff… They couldn't even call out a warning D: They just sorta … *Collapsed*. And that was that. Of course, those were the guards that were really terrible at their job. So naturally they would just go down without much of a fight. Where the heck were clear-cut enemies when they wanted them?? D<
The guards in front of Arashi's cell, however, are a whole other story. Not only are they more aware of things, they're even able to break out of the genjutsu and sound the alarm! What that means is that there is a lot of lightning flashes that catch the attention of the guard even further down the way, which means… Reinforcements would be incoming any moment now. Uh-oh…
In addition to that burst of lightning, the shinobi would find themselves (naturally -_-;;) under attack! A flurry of lightning and wind would come at them, the Brigade members apparently not taking any chances when it comes to taking down these invaders. After all, that genjutsu was surprisingly strong… They didn't exactly want to become the victims of it should they fail the next round of defenses. >.>; They needed to keep their prisoner safe >:|
COMBAT: Hanami defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(45) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…67
COMBAT: Hanami defends against WIND-CUTTER(41) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…39
COMBAT: Hanami loses the roll and sustains 712 damage.
Hanami nods to the group as the illusion fades, but shouldn't be a problem anyways. Then the guards are under attack by genjutsu but clearly not subdued. And now they were in trouble. Swearing she races forward, wind helping her to dodge the lightning stars but apparently enjoying some kind of irony in letting a blade of wind slice into her side. She twists, stumbles but isn't stopping as she moves in, sending her wind chakrams flying at both guards. This wasn't going to end well if they didn't end it quickly before reinforcements arrived. She really had no idea what they were going to do anyways, but guess trying to take out these two would work for now.
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(39) attack from Rockpath with a SERPENT-EVASION…70
COMBAT: Sakuya defends against WIND-CUTTER(38) attack from Rockpath with a SERPENT-EVASION…56
Ah. Silent killing. Sakuya would gently set down her bow as the alarm is raised. Even though the alarm was raised, it would have been rude to kill one of the incapacitated guards with her bow, point blank to the face. Too messy, so Sakuya has a better idea. She would bring herself over to one of the sleeping guards and would coil around him to help expose his shoulder as Sakuya leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss to the neck. He would never wake up from Kasuya's dream now, for the venom would spread and eventually kill him before he could manage. Just in time for reinforcements to arrive up ahead. "… I'm debating holding them off while you free Arashi." She told her comrades. Though, with Hanami sporting a new wound, she also wondered if it was safe to let Hanami, Nozomi, and Kasuya take care of Arashi's two captors. They'll be fine.
As the lightning and wind traveled down the narrow corridor, Sakuya uncoils from her victim, and would slither her coils up along the walls and the ceiling, using tree walking methods to cling her entire serpentine body to it as she drew one of her javelin-sized arrows. This time, it was a special sort of arrow. An arrow fashioned from the Hebisuuhai tool known as a 'Catchpole'. Catchpoles of course, are designed to guide serpents along during their basic training. A long rod with a crescent top, with the points facing upwards. She grabbed one of these arrows and bothered not to use her bow to fire it, but rather threw it with the added strength her ability provides, causing it to fly down the corridor and pin a target for Raion to follow up on. "He's yours." Sakuya would note to the one who managed to get his neck pinned to the concrete behind him by the arrow.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(35) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…33
COMBAT: Nozomi loses the roll and sustains 491 damage.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against WIND-CUTTER(40) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…50
Well, she knew that these people were bad news before, but their shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach seemed to cement this for her. She once again throws a pulse of sound out, which seems to severely blunt the effect of the lightning while dissipating the wind completely. However, her response to the attacks were slightly different than before.
Instead of bringing her flute up to generate more powerful attacks, she starts singing. After the first two notes the volume of her voice grows almost painfully loud to those around her, but even more so to her intended targets, the guards. At the same time, she seems to be running, albeit tiredly, up to the door in order to gain access to her team captain. Hopefully the ninjutsu, not to mention everyone else's attacks, will keep them busy while she slips in. Regardless, Arashi would see a slightly ashen, very tired, but yet determined Nozomi at the door. Her kimono looks worse for wear, and jaggedly torn at the abdomen. In short, she looks like she's been put through hell. And Ang is not with her.
COMBAT: Raion defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(34) attack from Rockpath with a CAT'S-GRACE…52
COMBAT: Raion defends against WIND-CUTTER(52) attack from Rockpath with a SPEEDY-CAT-DODGE…69
Raion observes the incoming attacks and gracefully, and effortlessly evades the lightning, but the rippling, cutting wind was coming at odd angles he can't normally evade in that manner. That said, Raion doesn't have to move in a normal manner. Utilizing the same technique as Speedy Cat Claw, focusing chakra into his muscles before becoming a sudden blur, he darts to the people that used that attack, and are being assaulted by the snake lady! Raion kept his speed up. No time to mess around and use a wimpy attack. Might as well give it his all! Raion would slash either of the two guards that happen to be still standing, though at his speed, he probably wouldn't be able to tell if they're already dead or not. But he definitely would make sure there's enough blood to indicate death before he ends his barrage of claws.
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against LIGHTNING-STARS(47) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…106
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against WIND-CUTTER(32) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…99
The attacks fly around Kasuya, unable to even aim at her properly. The threatening aura around her seems to be diminishing as some close in on the guards around the cell. She joins the barrage, whipping out her machete. Shorter and more tapered than a katana. Lightning chakra flows up and down the blade. It doesn't crackle and sizzle. Instead, it condenses through the blade till the dark metal is white hot. She'd slash at the nearest guard, and the high frequency blade would pass easily through steel. "See?" she says with a note of pure triumph to her fellow teammates. "I /can/ use.. y'know.. normal stuff."
Arashi was simply sitting in his cell quietly. Of course this meant when combat started he would see it happen well enough. This moved him to his feet and towards the bars. "Oh. And here I was just removing these shackles." Of course he hadn't but at the very least it might make them pause some. His gaze room him to where his rescuers were and he frowned a tiny bit. "Nozomi. You don't look too good. Here get me outta here and you can rest some. They didn't think to actually drain my chakra. Only prevent any major use. These shackles are what cause it." He stretched a bit and truthfully he looked perfectly fine besides his shirt not being anywhere in sigh since it was basically in pieces and him wearing pants that were torn a bit..much. For now he only really focused on Nozomi who was right in front of him, and he was waited for them to finish the guards and get these shackles off of him.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(33) attack from Hanami with a WATER-RIBBONS…44
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-SHARP(36) attack from Hanami with a WATER-RIBBONS…46
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SNAKE-BITE-II(43) attack from Sakuya with a TENSE…4
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against CATCHPOLE-ARROW(44) attack from Sakuya with a WATER-RIBBONS…53
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SOUND-BLAST(22) attack from Nozomi with a DODGE…48
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SOUND-BLAST(32) attack from Nozomi with a DODGE…41
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(69) attack from Raion with a WALL-OF-WIND…68
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 260 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(45) attack from Raion with a WALL-OF-WIND…76
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against HIGH-FREQUENCY-SHARP(46) attack from Kasuya with a SLEEK…45
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 866 damage.
The two guards in front of Arashi's cell were prepared, of course. Duh. They would make a handseal, creating water that would block Hanami's incoming chakrams quite easily. Her weapons would bounce off the water, skittering back across the floor as they turned their attention to the other strikes incoming. Sakuya's attempt to try and catch one of the guards ended in failure as water slipped upwards to block it, though her attempt to bite the unconscious one is successful. He would pretty much die within the illusion Kasuya holds on him. Would it be all that peaceful? … Not sure…
It's probably a good thing that Ang isn't here with Nozomi, as the bat would be just as beat up. The Yamayuki's amplified voice was painful, but the two guards were able to get out of the way from the worst of the ninjutsu, which meant they didn't get hurt too bad or paralyzed or anything bad like that. A shame… Of course, avoiding Nozomi's attacks, one of the guards just wasn't prepared for Raion. Try as he might, the wall of solidified wind wasn't enough to block the feline fury that was clawing at him, though his partner managed to block it. That being said, the man unaffected by Raion had his own work cut out for him.
Kasuya's lightning-imbued machete (who the heck wields machete???) is able to pierce through the small gust of wind that he made as he was trying to get out of the way, the man relying too much on the wind's blocking effects. He gets a really nice gouge in his side, making a decent pool of blood that drips down. Oh boy, now the guards are angry >:| It's probably hard to tell since they still manage to keep their hoods up, but a raised hand in their direction would crackle with lightning chakra before it would just explode at everyone… >.>; Also, it was sorta a combined power from both Brigade members, making it a lot worse.
COMBAT: Kasuya successfully interrupts attack number 2: LIGHTNING-CRASH from Rockpath against Sakuya with a roll of 74 vs 74.
COMBAT: Hanami defends against LIGHTNING-CRASH(73) attack from Rockpath with a WIND-STEP…68
COMBAT: Hanami loses the roll and sustains 1131 damage.
Hanami didn't have time to dodge the blast, just taking it full on as it threw her back against the wall with a scream she really couldn't help as once again she was electrocuted. Really developing a hatred for lightning at this point. She slumps, twitching here or there. Yeah, definitely not in good shape anymore, figures. Well, whatever. She takes a shaky breath and gets to her feet somehow, and launches herself at one guard, she really isn't being picky. Wind whips around her as she throws a right punch to his gut, enhanced by wind followed by a strong right knee, wind taking her up as she tries to knee him in the jaw.
Two guards rained death upon Sakuya and her allies, and watching Hanami go down was difficult for the serpent. After all, no one here had proven themselves more a comrade than she. "You need to retreat, Hanami… You can't take another one of those!" Speaking of one of those… The lightning did not seem to hit her, though she wonders just why. No time to think, she took it just as an error on the enemy's part. She needed to actually hit a technique, and attempt to incapacitate one of the guards to some extent, and so she focuses chakra into her winding body and launched her coils forward to close the gap between one of the shinobi that seem to be slaughtering her comrades. In order to prevent another attack from them, she feinted with a strike from her iron claws, but was far more interesting in spraying her venom directly into their eyes, emptying her reserves into their face. Should it slip past their guard, and get into their eyes, they definitely won't be making seals… "One less guard taking pot shots at someone important to me." Sakuya's tongue sneaks around her fangs, stroking them as they burn from releasing so much venom at one time. She won't get enough venom for a bite to finish the man off for a few seconds.
COMBAT: Nozomi defends against LIGHTNING-CRASH(69) attack from Rockpath with a RHYTHMIC-RIPPLE…52
COMBAT: Nozomi loses the roll and sustains 1404 damage.
Nozomi is just opening the door when all the hair on her body stands on end. All she has time left to do is put together a few notes while pumping a lot of chakra into her best defense before her world turns white…
Slowly the world comes back into focus, though every nerve in Nozomi's body feels as if it is on fire from the sheer volume of electricity her body conducted. She doesn't even remember hitting the ground, but she looks up, her body just inside the cell, to see Arashi there. Her normal vision is still incredibly blurry, and it is only the sound vision that allows her to detect anything, the loud ringing in her ears not withstanding. Slowly, painfully, she draws in a breath and manages with her remaining physical strength to form charka seals with the sounds around her, sending the minor music chord directly into the shackles binding Arashi, shattering them. Her energy spent, with just enough will to stay alive, she slumps down to the ground, all but unconscious and immobile, save for involuntary twitching of muscles.
COMBAT: Nozomi attacks target 1 with MINOR-MUSIC-CHORD with a roll of: 37
[NPC System]: Manacles roll(s) Durability vs. Nozomi (37) from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 31. - Rolled by: Rockpath
RP: Nozomi reverts to her normal state.
RP: Raion transforms into ONE-QUARTER-FERAL.
COMBAT: Raion defends against LIGHTNING-CRASH(69) attack from Rockpath with a SPEEDY-CAT-DODGE…54
COMBAT: Raion loses the roll and sustains 1070 damage.
Raion's cat-like eyes narrow as he attempts to evade, but.. He ends up elecuted, twitching, panting, and in general, just exhausted, and very, very mad. Pansa ends up twitching on the ground as well. Raion's catlike features once again are much more pronounced as he gains control of his twitching muscles again. He notices Arashi's newfound freedom, and decides his efforts are best focused, on making sure these guards end up face down in a pool of their own blood. He is exhausted but he puts his last remaining push of effort into becoming a blur one last time, assaulting the guards and attempting to definitely kill them, before his features would revert to normal, and Raion would drop at least momentarily to his knees. He's struggling to stay conscious, very little stamina remaining. He can't really defend himself anymore, or do anything beyond walking, if even that…
RP: Raion reverts to his normal state.
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against LIGHTNING-CRASH(71) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…79
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against LIGHTNING-CRASH(74) attack from Rockpath with a MEMORY-LOSS…105
When the lightning starts crashing down, Kasuya winces as her team is bombarded. She tries to draw their attention, and succeeds only a little. She's blasted apart, or at least her illusory self is. She takes one quick glance at her team. "Anyone with medical abilities, fall back," she says tersely. "Help the injured." She'd like to tend to her teammates, but even if they retreat their enemy will just follow. Better to harm than to heal. "And anyone who can still fight, kill them when I subdue them." Her voice is ice cold as she looks at the two guards. "I won't even let you run away," she promises. Her open declaration would make them weak with terror. Kasuya is a nightmare to which they can only cower, overcome with fear. Well she can be scary in and of itself, but it's mostly just an illusion, one that'd make them fall trembling to their knees unless they managed to see through it.
Arashi stood there and all he could do was watch first Hanami get knocked back and then Nozomi get just rattled by the attacks thrown at them. His face went white as he watched Nozomi drop because she looked much worse off than Hanami. Luckily as her final farewell before passing out she destroyed the shackles keeping him down and he looked right up at the guards with a face full of hatred. First things first was he walked quickly to Nozomi and lifted her up and moved her basically to the bed that he was sleeping on in the cell. It was honestly comfortable for a prison cell bed. He checked her pulse and all though it was barely there it was there and that caused a sigh of relief before he turned back around to face the entrance to the cell.
"It just so happens that you Brigade folk just injured two of my team right before my eyes. And nearly killed one if not both of them." CHakra started growing quickly within him. "Luckily they are still alive. Otherwise your deaths would be much much slower." He didn't hesitate to call upon the Hizumu clan secrets that gave him power passed down between a select few in the clan. The power that allows four Hizumu to watch over the rest. Kasuya making them unable to run meant he was going to happily ready his skills to blow each of them to bits. But sadly he couldn't do that and focus his chakra since he was unprepared.
"Sakuya… Once we are finished here with these guards… I am going to leave a water clone here with you, but I want you to make sure these three are safe. You can continue but they can't. And you won't be able to for much longer. I am trusting you to make sure they are not harmed further." He said with a frown. "I can't stop you if you want to continue on further. But that is my suggestion for you. Up to you to take it or not." He said quickly.
COMBAT: Arashi focuses 6800 stamina to turn it into 9000 usable chakra!
RP: Arashi transforms into THUNDER-GOD-NOTUS.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-PHYSICAL(29) attack from Hanami with a DODGE…44
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against WIND-PHYSICAL(31) attack from Hanami with a DODGE…49
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPITTING-COBRA-STRIKE(57) attack from Sakuya with a DODGE-III…81
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(61) attack from Raion with a DODGE-II…51
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 422 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SPEEDY-CAT-CLAW-BARRAGE(60) attack from Raion with a DODGE-II…46
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 454 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(69) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-III…44
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(81) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-III…44
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(60) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-III…48
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(59) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-III…61
Sakuya and Hanami are unable to hit their marks, sadly, but the Brigade didn't think that Raion had it in him to make one last strike. Each of them are hit, and then they go down from Kasuya's genjutsu, though there was a look of anger contorting each of their faces. They had a feeling they were about to die, especially with one of the prisoners having escaped… >.>; Also, where the heck are those reinforcements D<
Hanami growls, frustrated. Figures. The stupid guard dodges her attacks. And Raion and the others pretty much finish them off. She pauses, hands on her knees, "Great, good*twitch*. Yeah…"she kicks one of the guards, "Still standing, not too shabby. Next time don't get captured by a group that lives beneath the ocean Arashi, it's irritating."
RPCOMBAT: Sakuya defends against with a SLITHER…57
Sakuya really was the only one left right now that was still combat capable, and it wouldn't be long before she was out for the count. Sakuya leaned backwards as she placed a hand upon her forehead. "Asking me to stay behind…" Slowly her hand slipped down her face. "… At least you didn't pull rank on me." Sakuya slithers over towards Raion, whom seemed to lack the energy to even pick himself off the ground. A shame, because he was the one who could have stabilized everyone. "Arashi. Don't get killed… Good luck… We'll be utilizing your cell for cover. When you've killed them, come back for us. With Michiko preferrably. She'll stabilize Nozomi."
Sakuya would instead move over to Raion, and would bring her face close to his, squinting a little. "Don't make this too awkward." She said as she reached out to grab one of his arms, and throw it over her shoulder before she slipped both arms around his bottom and hefted Raion up. This was slightly more difficult than it would have been with Nozomi, but the training with her bow allowed her enough strength to lift him up against her. Oh, and no worries. Pansa would not be forgotten. Sakuya just had to use the end of her tail to coil around the cat before she started to slither over towards the cell. Arashi certainly wasn't going to help him. She settled him against the wall softly, before moving herself over towards the door, once Hanami was in. She coiled herself tight and brought her hands into a seal, to attack using genjutsu to conserve on her dwindling reserve of stamina….
Nozomi is in no position to resist being moved by Arashi, though two rattling, jagged words slip out of her mouth at a whisper, "Stay alive…" Once she's put on the bed, she devotes the rest of her consciousness to the sole purpose of regulating her breathing and heart-rate. For all intents and purposes, she looks unconscious to the rest of the world, and is likely to stay that way until medical help arrives.
Raion keeps panting, occasional twitches clear to everyone. Pansa completely unconscious already. He was still on his knees, exhausted. His vision was blurry. Everything sounded weird. It all sounded like it was going in slow motion. His vision was incredibly blurry as a black ring seemed to close in on the center of his view. He mumbles something incoherent, and clearly not directed at anyone in particular, before he is picked up to his feet. He doesn't have the strength to make this awkward. In fact, as soon as he's in the cell, his consciousness would see no reason to keep fighting, and collapse. He needed to rest.
Kasuya glances at her wrecked team once the guards are subdued, and she says, "Sorry. It's my job as the highest ranking member here to have aided you better." She'd flick out a kunai, walk over to the nearest subdued guard, grab him by his hair to look at his dazed eyes. Then Kasuya would proceed to savagely stab him to death, with a feral snarl. Not even an efficient kill, she's just stabbing every part of him she can reach until both he and herself are drenched in blood. Then she'd stand up, use her silk scarf to wipe the blood off her face, and some of her neck, and give a sigh.
Kasuya nods to Sakuya and the others. "Stay here," she says, as calmly as if she'd just done some chores. "Your job might be finished, but it might not be. Heal, gather your strength, and lay low. You can run and warn us if we're about to be taken behind. Or if we fall back from a more powerful enemy, you can help us make a stand. You'll be much more effective as an ambush. And consider anything Arashi-san says as an order. You've helped get your team leader back." She smiles then, genuinely. Though it's a bit creepy, since she's stained in blood, none of it her own.
Arashi gave a little smile to Nozomi. "You did good. Don't worry. We will all make it back home just fine. I think you have earned your Chuunin rank by making it this far." He looked back at the others. "If either of you have any ability to use first aid just.. patch up what wounds you can." He looked at Kasuya next as she was going to town on one of the guys and he just walked up to the other one that was lying there unable to move. "Next time maybe when the Shinobi of Kumogakure are challenged people will learn to back down before they do something as stupid as you did." He pats the subdued guy on the shoulder. "For now they only have this base that will be filled with corpses as an example." He quickly formed some hand seals and held his palms out right at the man. "Laser beam." And a blast of storm chakra would be aimed right at the man's skull likely leaving nothing from the neck up.
"Alright. Kasuya Nariko and Michiko should both still be down here. We should go find both of them next." He frowned slightly. "And I hope you can hold out until then. You look to be getting tired yourself." He said without anything more than a slight grin. He then turned to Sakuya. "I am leaving a Water Clone here, but it will just be here in case of being attacked. Since it won't last forever you are in charge of anyone that comes by here unless they are a Jounin rank. Even Tokubetsu aren't to disobey your orders. If they do they can come talk to me afterwards when we are done." Then he spit enough water out in a sorta wave until another Arashi was formed. Then Water Clone Arashi would go into the cell with them as the real one would look to follow Kasuya further alone through the base. She knew where to go and was higher ranked. Even if Arashi acted otherwise in the heat of the moment and spoke ahead of her.
Hanami watches Kasuya mutilate the one guard. Guess that works for her idea. And then…Arashi laser beams the head off the other one. "Okay, okay. How about you just go! We're fine, sheesh." She spends more strength dragging the corpses into the cell, shoving them in the far corner after stripping the one that Arashi beheaded. She kinda mutters more or less to herself as she does this, "Would make more sense to have two…but Sakuya is busy and the others are out*twitch*. At least this one's clothes aren't all messed up. Not sure how to explain the mess out there…will figure out something…" she gets the clothes, which assumedly are large on her, but with a couple quick tucks and such, pulls them over her own. Cause she's not changing clothes in here, that'd be weird. Now, dressed in Brigade wear she looks to Sakuya, "Keep those guys going, I'll hang outside, act as a guard. Anyways, should be able to sense anyone coming well before." She spends a moment to patch up Nozomi, and then herself once she's outside the cell, shutting the door behind her. To which she leans against the wall gratefully, still twitching now and then. Fried nerves once more. Really hating lightning.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(24) attack from Kasuya with a TENSE…18
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 296 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(29) attack from Kasuya with a TENSE…16
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 340 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against SHARP(38) attack from Kasuya with a TENSE…13
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 408 damage.
COMBAT: Rockpath defends against LASER-BEAM(45) attack from Arashi with a TENSE…7
COMBAT: Rockpath loses the roll and sustains 1192 damage.
Nozomi, Raion, and Pansa were as good as … Well … They weren't good for much at all. One was injured to the point where she may as well be dead, and the other was so exhausted that he and his partner would barely be able to lift a claw. Thankfully (?), both Sakuya and Hanami would likely be able to help them a bit and keep the trio safe while Kasuya and Arashi pressed forward in their plan. It was … Perhaps fortunate that the pair no longer needed to worry about their comrades in the heat of battle. However, they might now need to be concerned about guards coming to try and attack the injured Kumogakure shinobi. Whether they worry or not, though, one thing was clear: they needed to get to the end of this maze and stop the Brigade. And get the Head Ninja back.
As for the guards … Well, one of the guards was killed in a rather brutal fashion thanks to Kasuya. Blood sprayed in various directions, though never more than a few feet from the body. Most of it was splattered upon Kasha's face, hands, and body. Gross… Certainly a sight to behold, and perhaps a good representation of how brutal Kumogakure can be when someone messes with their ninja. The second guard was obliterated by Arashi's laser beams. The lightning chakra that made up a part of the beam would cause his muscles to violently shake, even after the blast essentially knocked him out. He wasn't .. Dead … But he would remain unconscious for a long while. If he didn't bleed to death first.
Hanami would likely note that the cloaks of the Brigade members were meant to hide a great deal. There was a bit of padding along the inside to try and remove some of the obvious curves in women and make the men seem bigger in general. It was all to keep members from being recognized, of course, per an individual basis. If she put the hood up, it would obscure her face and probably allow for better disguise… The only issue would be making sure no one truly questions what happened.
As Kasuya and Arashi make their way forward, they would find themselves entering a fairly large 'chamber'. It was decorated similarly to a mess Hall with long tables strewn about in an orderly fashion. It was empty, though, when they initially stepped into it. Then a 'door' would slide into place, blocking the way backwards. On the opposite side, there was another door that was also closed, though it slid open to reveal a cloaked figure. One that sighs loudly. "You guys … You really gotta make us work for our victory, huh? I guess it makes sense, but really. If they keep sending me out, I'm never going to get my beauty sleep."
The Brigade member chose to remove their hood at that point, revealing their face. Willingly. How odd. They would notice first the bright red hair that seemed to spike backwards … A lot. The spikes tipped with a bit of orange, much like flames. Turquoise eyes, and distinguishing black marks on those eyes probably would make his appearance that much more unique. The gloved hands flick, and (likely due to a scroll) suddenly there were two chakra metal chakrams in his hands. "I'm Kouki. Hope you got it Memorized." He idly taps a hand to his head as he says that before shifting into a combative stance. "Anything I should know about you two? Or do I get a surprise?"
Kasuya takes leave of their teammates, but she can't help but sound a bit relieved. She'd never be able to show her face again to the village if she got a bunch of promising young shinobi killed. So it's with an almost happy, buoyant look that she makes her way forward with Arashi. She takes a moment to consider the man. He was a captive for a good period of time, but seemed up to code he fried that Storm Brigade member. "If you're not feeling well now is the time to turn back," she says quietly. If they made it to Kouki it'd be too late, and Kasuya tries to think of what to say. Surrender and live? Nope, he'll die. Die? That seems so banal. So she says, "We're just the janitors." Then an illusion would flow out, one that Arashi would be faintly able to distinguish. Kouki would feel a strange force surround him like thick jelly, burying him, slowing every movement he took.
Arashi just stretched a bit and would start walking with Kasuya. He raised a brow when she said what she did and just shook his head a bit. "I'm feeling fine. I am going to back you up because I am the most healthy one here. Since I didn't act up they didn't really injure me or drain my chakra. Means I am just ready to go." He said with a small nod. When they stepped in he just chuckled lightly. "No need to memorize your name. I won't be needing to use it in at the most a good hours time. And I think a surprise is for the best. Because either way this victory is going to be ours. So might as well enjoy your end while you can." Arashi formed some hand seals and would fire off a lot of needles of storm chakra. These aiming to just poke at his muscles a bit to weaken em.
COMBAT: Kouki defends against STRANGE-MOTION(97) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-IV…100
COMBAT: Kouki defends against STRANGE-STINGING(67) attack from Arashi with a MULTIPLE-WATER-CLONES…84
COMBAT: Kouki defends against STRANGE-STINGING(77) attack from Arashi with a MULTIPLE-WATER-CLONES…69
COMBAT: Kouki loses the roll and sustains 524 damage.
"Janitors? I don't think so. No, no, you're definitely intruders. And since you seem so intent on getting past here, I suppose I'll need to at least make sure I give you a good fight before you leave. Hatsu-sama wouldn't forgive me if I slacked right in front of the enemy." As the Genjutsu hits, Kouki seems to wobble a bit, almost as if falling to the illusion, but then he would suck down and … *SPLASH* He turned into water. A number of clones actually suddenly appeared, though Arashi seemed to focus on all of them, which resulted in some stinging along the Brigade member's arm. "Ow… Not nice. I wanted to be remembered, too." He sighs. "This is just lovely." Fire would suddenly ignite along his chakrams as he throws them at the two, one for each Kumo-nin. Then a handseal, and lightning seems to dance within his palm as he blasts several 'tools' made of pure lightning chakra towards the 'enemy'.
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against FLAMING-ARTILLERY(74) attack from Kouki with a MEMORY-LOSS…108
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(60) attack from Kouki with a MEMORY-LOSS…108
Hatsu would have a hard time focusing on Kasuya, as if she's of no more importance than a passing janitor. And even time that cloudiness would descend he'd find his attack missing her by inches. However, her face has gone from humorous to wary. He managed to shake off her genjutsu within moments. This isn't an ordinary grunt. She doesn't even smile when Arashi manages to land a blow. Instead, she's using the time to focus as much chakra as possible to throw into the next attack. Sweat is rolling down her face from the exertion of doing so—or has it been all along?
COMBAT: Kasuya focuses 5565 stamina to turn it into 7211 usable chakra!
Kouki would have a hard time focusing on Kasuya, as if she's of no more importance than a passing janitor. And even time that cloudiness would descend he'd find his attack missing her by inches. However, her face has gone from humorous to wary. He managed to shake off her genjutsu within moments. This isn't an ordinary grunt. She doesn't even smile when Arashi manages to land a blow. Instead, she's using the time to focus as much chakra as possible to throw into the next attack. Sweat is rolling down her face from the exertion of doing so—or has it been all along? (re)
COMBAT: Arashi defends against FLAMING-ARTILLERY(60) attack from Kouki with a STORM-ORBS…78
COMBAT: Arashi defends against LIGHTNING-TOOLS(52) attack from Kouki with a STORM-ORBS…90
Arashi just forms hand seals and orbs of storm chakra start flying around next to him. The orbs would move to deflect the attacks thrown at him before he just shook his head and began to form more seals. "Kasuya. Be careful. I am pretty sure the both of us are going to have to fight him for us to win." He said before his seals were complete and then… A dozen beams of storm chakra shot forward and they would all arc and try to hit this Kouki person from all sides. "You will only be remember as another person who died for a useless cause. A nameless nobody who chose the wrong path in life."
COMBAT: Kouki defends against LASER-CIRCUS(76) attack from Arashi with a MULTIPLE-LIGHTNING-CLONES…86
… These guys. They weren't a joke. Le sigh! Kouki just wanted to relax and drink some sake. Maybe relax with some of his buddies within the Storm Brigade. But no, here he was dealing with intruders because the guards had epically failed. And he could tell by the way his mind was being toyed with that … Well… He should probably end this sooner rather than later. The man would reach out, catching his chakrams as they returned even though they were defended against so easily. "Che…" He would disappear in a crackle of lightning. "You two… You two are right in that you'll have to beat me. But I'm /not a nobody/. I'm Kouki! Remember that!" He scowls a bit, lightning sparking along his chakrams. Chakra would shape that lightning into a wire that attached the two, and then they would both be thrown at the pair of shinobi. If they don't move to avoid it, they would find themselves paralyzed; jolted so that their bodies wouldn't respond properly. And it world hurt. A lot.
COMBAT: Kasuya defends against BUZZ-WIRE(94) attack from Kouki with a MEMORY-LOSS…83
COMBAT: Kasuya loses the roll and sustains 1380 damage.
COMBAT: Kasuya HEROIC SURGES and releases herself from a stunned state!
Kasuya blinks as Kouki whips up some lightning element technique. She really needs to polish up on her Wind Manipulaton. That said, the wires wrap around her and injure her. It's only with some a reckless effort that she manages to disentagle some of the wires and vault free. Landing on the opposite side of Kouki so the three of them form a line, with the Storm Brigade member in the middle. Kasuya says, "What is your mission? All of you operate in such secrecy that we hardly know what we're opposing. If you give a good answer we might even show a bit of mercy." Says the blood soaked Jounin. That's when a hatch would open up under Kouki's feet and send him plummeting down into darkness. Darkness, blood, and pain, for all eternity.. or until he could snap out of the illusion.
COMBAT: Arashi defends against BUZZ-WIRE(112) attack from Kouki with a ORBITAL-LASERS…70
COMBAT: Arashi loses the roll and sustains 1022 damage.
COMBAT: Arashi attempts to ESCAPE from Kouki's stun and fails!
Arashi was hit pretty hard now and was basically wrapped and held in place. He was not as lucky as Kasuya and could not escape on his own yet. "Ugg… Kasuya. If you are able to get me outta this then I think I will be able to help. It didn't… Hurt too much luckily." But it was a bit painful. Sadly he was unable to do much more now so he just looked and listened. Tiny bit of struggling here and there.
COMBAT: Kouki defends against PLUMMETING(103) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-IV…105
Kouki sighs softly. "I thought that was clear. We want to destroy the villages and make the world better. You know… The Villages are pretty corrupt, right? So that's our goal. To have the world start anew and become a better place." Kouki waves a hand, as if that motion would dispel the illusion. "Tell you what. Since being the baddie isn't going to get me remembered… Would I be remembered if I helped out a bit?" Kouki would make his way towards Arashi, grabbing him a bit roughly and dragging him to his feet. He'd stay put so Arashi had a bit of support, watching the pair carefully in case he happened to get attacked. His turquoise eyes would shift slightly towards the door. "Beyond that door. Take a few of the tunnels: right left left. You should find someone you've been missing." He saw the Kumogakure hitai-ate. Put two and two together…
Kasuya regards Kouki with an inscrutable expression. This is the dumbest ruse she's ever seen. The moment they turn their back, this guy is going to nail them from behind. She runs a hand through her hair and glances to Arashi to see if he has any input, and then she turns back to Kouki. Then she says, "I wasn't born in Kumogakure or the Land of Lightning. I came from one of the small countries, and about a decade ago I left it to join one of the more powerful hidden villages. Of all of them, Kumogakure is the least corrupt. The dumbest. The most pig headed. The most up front. And even though it prescribes to power as the others do, it uses it in better ways. If you truly mean what you say and let us find our friend…then come to Kumogakure afterwards, and if you wish it, join our ranks." Then she'd give a smile at Arashi and disappear, leaving her comrade alone. Hopefully Kouki would keep his word and not attack either of them, but if not Kasuya is already wrapped in an illusion and running to free their friend. Good luck Arashi!
COMBAT: Arashi defends against YANK(23) attack from Kouki with a TENSE…16
Arashi was freed and he just blinked a few times as he stood straight up and he looked over Kouki for a moment. "Destroying the villages wouldn't make the world better. You want your name remembered? Don't go down in history as someone who tried to destroy the one thing that… At the very least slowed the fighting. People aren't dying as much as they did during the clan wars. Even after only 15 or so years. Helping is a good start." He frowned some. "I wasn't born in Kumogakure either. But they brought me in. And I know at least some people are the kinds of people that may be loud and annoying, but they are going to help those that need it. Even one of your own was taken in. Because you are misguided. Not evil." He looked at Kasuya. "Kouki. I fought this old member of yours. And now I am their friend and sensei of sorts to them. Don't fight and I will make sure you don't die here today." He said before forming two water clones and two Arashi's would run off with Kasuya while the other would walk slowly that way as it kept an eye on Kouki. Still had to be careful.
RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a WATER-CLONE…83
COMBAT: Kouki defends against DISTORTION-OF-REALITY(81) attack from Kasuya with a CHAKRA-PINCH-IV…111
Kouki would blink a bit at the tales offered. A brow would quirk, and then he'd offer them each a small smile. "Well then… I guess if I survive this, I might try to see you both." He would glance at Arashi for a moment, a look of surprise crossing his face briefly. "Che…" And then he dispels the illusion of them running, sauntering over to grab his chakrams and stuffing them both back into the storage compartments he has. "You two… Good luck, I suppose. Maybe I'll see you around." The man now had to deal with people that might see him as a traitor, though. Hopefully Taki and Hatsu didn't hear about his little stunt…
Kouki draws his hood up, letting it cover his face as he starts walking out of the room. In the opposite direction. "I'm going to go join the fight, I suppose. It's a lot easier to do that than stand around doing nothing."
As Kasuya and Arashi traveled forth, they would be able to follow the tunnel system until they came upon another cage. This one had no guards before it, mostly because Michiko had been well-behaved for her two and a half months of capture. She was just reading right now, unaware of the fighting going on outside her cell. It might be noted that her cell is a bit different. Instead of a wall of bars, it was a solid wall with a barred window. It was primarily designed to disorient her senses through the earth even more-so, likely.
Kasuya scowls when her illusion is dispelled so easily once again. When they move on, Kasuya grabs Arashi's arm. "Send back one more Water Clone to check on the kids. Along with mine. I'd like to believe we just witnessed a genuine defection, but I won't risk their lives by allowing a rogue shinobi to fall on them." She makes a Lightning Clone that would head back in their direction to keep an added eye on them. After that she let's out a deep breath, and the sweat that's been oozing off her skin isn't just nervousness. She's tired, partially from making sure said kids were in one piece when they found Arashi. "If that man does attack again," she adds, "I'll hold him here. And you go ahead." She glances at Arashi. "As the mission leader that's an order." Then she'd start off, hopefully towards their captured ally.
Arashi would have the clone that was with KOuki fall apart while the one next to him was gestured to so that it followed Kasuya's clone. He had another one there still, but it didn't relay information back if it died like Shadow Clones. Something he would have to learn one day for that very reason. "I get it. I don't know if they will exactly join us, but I can hope they won't go too much further with the Brigade." He shrugged lightly. "Anyways…. Lets see." He kept moving now and it wouldn't be too much longer when they stumbled across Michiko's cell. He walked right up to it and stared inwards at the barred window. "Michiko… Is that you? I expected Nariko actually, but you are a welcome sight." He smiled and looked at Kasuya. Hmm… "Alright lets see. Get this cell open." And he would just work to do that. Hopefully it wasn't locked in any way and just had an easy way to open it from the outside.
Michiko lifts her head when she hears Arashi speaking, a bit of surprise coloring her brown eyes. "Ah, Arashi-san. Kasuya-san. You both look a bit worse for wear… How are you two?" she asks lightly, polite as ever. She didn't look very changed. Her clothes were different. They were not the black garbs, at least, that she normally wore. They were also not the black cloak that the Storm Brigade wore. They were very plain; likely a replacement for her normal clothes, which were fairly dirty after like a couple of weeks, even without doing anything.
The book was set to the side, and she would make her way to the slit at the door, peering outwards. Akashi and Kasuya would find that the latch was simple, even if there were a lot. They would all clunk very loudly when opened. "If you can remove my shackles, I could perhaps heal you," she offers, stepping away from the door so they can push it open. Notably, she didn't have her hitai-ate on. It wasn't really the end of the world that she didn't have it on, but it was pretty unusual if one were to consider Michiko herself…
Kasuya's face floods with relief when she sees Michiko. Before the shackles are even removed, the woman takes Michiko up into a bone crushing hug. "When you get back," she says, in a voice thick with emotion, "I'll have to do so much less of the paperwork." She seems overcome at the thought, and wipes away a few tears of joy. She lets go and dries her eyes. Michiko might notice amidst the tears Kasuya is covered in blood. No injuries of her own to heal though. But she's exhausted, and she takes a moment to rest. Even releases her grip on her transformation. The unsettling aura around her diminishes and she lets out a long sigh. But she only relaxes for a moment before she takes out her machete, which begins to glow with condensed lightning. Michiko's restraints would be cut throughor rather, melted throughby the searing hot blade.
RP: Kasuya reverts to her normal state.
Arashi had opened the door quick enough and gestured for Michiko to sit down. "I will get these off." He said quickly and prepared a few seals. What he was going to do was just shock the thing and short circuit it first. She could hopefully break it herself then without hurting herself. "Heals would be nice. I am hurting a tiny bit. Also.. There is this one named Kouki. He led us here. Or didn't lead us but told us where to go. I think he earned a chance like Seiko had. Could've easily kept fighting us instead." Then suddenly well he would've done something but Kasuya was already on it." Nozomi, Hanami, Sakuya, and Raion are back in the cell I was being kept in. They need medical help right away. I don't recommend them joining us after that but Nozomi was left in a very bad state."
COMBAT: Michiko focuses 7528 stamina to turn it into 10000 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Michiko heals Kasuya for 2203 with REPLENISHING CHAKRA PALM.
RPCOMBAT: Michiko defends against with a MASTERED-EARTHEN-SENSE…79
Michiko winces slightly when Kasuya hugs her. "As happy as I am to see you, Kasuya-san, I can't do much with you crushing me…" she says, glad once she's set down. "And please don't remove my paperwork from my life. I quite enjoy it." She misses it, even, after being stuck here for two months… The girl would offer a small smile to Kasuya, then she would hold out her wrists, allowing Kasuya to cut off the restraints on her. Once those were finished off, she would move to sit on the bed so that someone (whoever) could remove the binds on her ankles. Once the seals were off, she would 'feel' her chakra network carefully with medical jutsu. She would also send out a tentative wave of chakra to examine the earth, though the information flooding back was a bit much. Akashi and Kasuya might see a slight wince before she schooled her expression back into order. "Alright, give me a moment," she requests, gathering her chakra. She would first heal Kasuya, sending a wave of chakra and energy into her because she looked a bit worse off. Then her gaze would flash to Arashi, and she would give him a small nod. "Sou… Could we perhaps move backwards so I can heal them before we move forward once more?" she requests.
Kasuya takes a moment to sit down and gather herself. She closes her eyes, as if asleep, but when she speaks her voice is full cognizant. "My team is back there," she says. "We got nailed pretty badly, but everyone is alive. They were not merciful in attacking us, and I was certain I was going to find your dead body along the way, or not at all." She considers Michiko's request, and sighs. "I'd counsel against it," she says. "If we heal them they'll want to come with us, and maybe do so regardless. But let's put it to a vote…me against and Michiko for. What say you, Arashi-san?" She'd turn her gaze on him.
Arashi looked between them for a moment as he stretched some. He decided to remove his extra chakra form. "Ok.. So my thoughts… We should head back that way. Heal Nozomi at the very least because she was not in a good condition. And if you don't go heal her then I am going back there and making sure she is alright." He said quickly. "So lets go. And trust me. They won't be joining us. Nozomi and Hanami I believe will listen to me on it. And Sakuya will listen to Michiko."
RPCOMBAT: Michiko defends against with a BODY-FLICKER-TECHNIQUE…59
As Kasuya spoke, Michiko stands and moved to a nearby dresser. From it, she would take out her Kumogakure Hitai-ate and tie it around her waist for the time being. Seems like the Iwata is back… And her eyes indicated that if she encountered the Storm Brigade, they were in for a world of hurt. Then she turns. Michiko would glance at Kasuya, then to Arashi. She offered a small nod to the Hizumu, and then she would make her way to the door. "I suppose that's that. Why don't we go?" She would take a breath, chakra fluctuating a bit as she got used to things. That pulse of chakra is sent through the ground, and she's able to pinpoint where the Kumo-folk are with her senses, as well as the layout of the tunnel. Since she had the chakra to burn, the girl would rush down the tunnels, flickering into sight as she paused every now and then. Eventually, she would reach the group of Kumogakure shinobi, and she would take a moment to assess the situation.
Sakuya would Assumedly take on an aggressive stance until she realized it was her Sensei there. The same with Hanami, though for her it would merely be recognizing the head ninja. "Sakuya-san. Hanami-san." She says simply by way of greeting. Then she would step into the cell. Both Raion and Pansa actually looked to be in good condition. Nozomi, on the other hand. … Michiko glances back to Arashi if he managed to keep up. "Are they dead, or do I need to go hunt someone down personally?" she would ask in an icy-calm tone. Her hands would move to rest on Nozomi's body, a pulse of chakra being sent through so she could examine the damage. Once that was ascertained, Michiko would fix what was the most life-threatening. That would at least keep her stable. "I suppose it's too much to ask for a change in clothes…" she would comment idly before looking to Sakuya and Hanami. She would tell them to figure out a way to get out of here if they could, but their first goal was to keep the others safe.
It was then that Kouki stepped out from the Shadows. In one hand, he carried some spare clothes. "Need help? I figure I could get you outta here. The name's Kouki. Got it memorized?" He would use his other hand to reveal flaming red hair that was spiked backwards in a rather wild manner. Green eyes, black markings below each, and the typical Storm Brigade tattoo on his cheek.
COMBAT: Michiko heals Nozomi for 2327 with REPLENISHING CHAKRA PALM.
Nozomi's breathing had beep pretty ragged for the entire time Kasuya and Arashi were "breaking" Michikc "out" of her cell. She was barely aware when Michiko appeared in the room, and did not really recognize Michiko at all until the healing chakra filled her body. She barely recognized the chakra as it stabilized her, but in the end when the chakra managed to do its job, her still pain-wracked body could at least handle basic, normally automatic functions without constant monitoring on her part. The pressure gone, her consciousness started to fade quickly with a murmur that sounded something like "Tank you Mi…" before her body slipped into a healing sleep that she would not likely awaken from for quite some time.
Kasuya heads back with a sigh. This will cost them time, but it's more than worth it. She's feeling just a little bit refreshed. And she doesn't want to leave their teammates badly injured if they meet some threat like… "Kouki!" she says, enraged. How had he gotten back there with them so easily? Her eyes narrow. She looks about ready to murder him, or murder herself for being so easily blindsided. She snaps, "Wait here."
She'd head off and come back a minute later with their previously useless mission leader. She'd practically shove him into the area and say, "This man Kouki will engineer our teammates' retreats. But if he turns on them stop him!" She'd offered rather graciously to allow him to join the village, if he was truly defecting. But it seems she's rather put out by being waylaid so easily. She shoots Kouki a dire look about what will happen if he betrays them. Or just for catching her off guard.
Arashi just nods and began to follow Michiko quickly enough. As Nozomi was healed and when she passed out some he just walked over and would feel her forehead a bit. Doing his best to make sure he she was okay. Though he didn't doubt that Michiko had it handled. "Well I am glad to see her getting healed up." He frowned some. When Kouki shows up he frowned somewhat before looking at Michiko. "THis is the one that decided fighting us wasn't worth it and pointed us directly to you. I feel they are trustworthy enough." Kasuya returned of course and he watched a bit with a small tilt of his head. Another shrug later and he turned back to Michiko. "Alright. Could I get a refresher. Not too bad but there is still some pain here."
RP: Arashi reverts to his normal state.
COMBAT: Michiko heals Arashi for 1802 with SOOTHING CHAKRA PALM.
Michiko would place a hand on Arashi, healing his injuries and making them feel like they weren't even there. It was a temporary effect, but one that proved useful when still in the heat of battle. Michiko would then turn to Kouki, studying him. He was a lot taller than her, but somehow she seemed to be slightly more intimidating. Potentially because of the scary aura around her after she saw Nozomi and her other Kumo-nin so injured. "Kouki-san…" she would greet. She would take the robes that he offered and use them to keep Nozomi decent, which she was glad for. She half wanted to heal the Yamayuki more, but she would restrain herself since she needed to save her energy.
The Jounin in charge would appear, eyeing Kouki. "Hmm… Alright. Lead the way, then. If you betray us too, you'll be dead." Kouki would simply nod and start heading in a direction. The Jounin, as well as a few other NPC, would come together to help the group of injured Kumo nin so that they could escape. Kouki proved himself to be fairly reliable, even. He took the group a certain way that permitted few encounters with other Brigade members, and they eventually came to a place that would allow them to escape. They needed to use jutsu to survive the trip to the surface, but Kouki and the other Kumo nin would be able to supply the Jutsu and keep the group alive and safe so they could get to the medic ship in one piece.
With the injured Chuunin out of the way, Michiko would turn to Arashi and Kasuya. "So… I suppose we should move on and find Hatsu-san, yes? I believe the way was largely clear, and I could help lead you down paths that do not have anyone," she offers. "Just give me some time to prepare… I lost a great number of my weapons and supplies, and I'm not particularly happy right now with the Storm Brigade. I need to … Hmm… Make sure my head is on straight, in a sense."
Kasuya sits there in the cell with the two, and stares at them both. "I have a better idea," she says, with total sincerity. "Why not go home? I never came to fight the leader of the Storm Brigade. I did come to save both of you. I consider having both of you alive and well brings us out far ahead, if anyone is keeping score. And I know…you all know…Hiei-kun would not hold it against either of you if we retreated here, so long as he knew you were intact and free." She stands. "After what you've been through, I'd completely understand, and I'd reflect that in my report." She's giving them a way out. Just turn around and go home. The Storm Brigade are already facing the full might of the allied forces. Then she stands up. "As for me, I'll go on in your stead," she adds. "You two rest and retreat." Then she'd slip out.
For the first bit of talk Arashi would just watch and listen to everything. Then he looked at Michiko and nods. "We should." He said quickly before looking at Kasuya. "You ready Kasuya? If so we should help her prepare and then get out there. Once Michiko is ready that is." But then Kasuya started speaking and he just frowned a bit. "What? No. If you didn't come to fight the leader of the storm brigade then you go back with the others. I personally am here for the very reason of taking them down. And even more a reason with them hurting my shinobi." He said with a glare. "But you are not leaving without us. Or at least not me." He said quickly once more.
Michiko raises a brow at Kasuya when she makes her suggestion. "Gomen, Kasuya-san, but we're coming with you. Like it or not. The Storm Brigade is going to pay, and I'll do it with my own hands alongside my fellow shinobi." She would close her eyes, taking a moment to breathe. Then as Kasuya moves to go by herself, Michiko would move to rest a hand on Kasuya's shoulder. "Not without us, Kasuya-san," she says, offering a bit of a dark smile to the woman. "There are some things I need to take care of, after all…" She would glance at Arashi with a light nod of agreement. Provided there was time, she would make a bit of metal armor as well as a metal length of rope for the upcoming battle.
