Starring:
Date: September 23, 2012
Summary:
At the graveyard a trio of familiar foes show up to make Soujiro the newest addition to the graveyard. Luckily a familiar friend and Senju is there to assist Soujiro in this dispute/disagreement.
Poster's note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"The Strike of the Ji-Kai"
Village Graveyard
Soujiro can be seen standing in front of a monument with his hands tucked in his pants pockets and his toothpick resting in the corner of his mouth. The warmth of the sun warms the boy's shoulders as a cool breeze nips at his exposed skin. However, he doesnt seem to be paying much of attention to the weather. His eyes fixated on the monument in front of him as his eyes slowly glanced down the list of fallen shinobi in the past few years that the village had established itself.
"Well, well…isn't this fitting?" A bald man accompanied by two others speaks out from behind Soujiro.
The teenage boy looks back over his shoulder and immediately his expressions turns to one of annoyance and disgust. The men before him are dressed in dirty green jerkins and black pants. On the upper right chest of the jerkins there is a patch with a symbol on it. This symbol Soujiro knows too well. "So Doju decided to send more Ji-Kai trash to try and get rid of me? The last attempt failed. Why doesn't Doju just come himself if he wants to get rid of us so bad?" He says in a calm tone with a hint of annoyance.
"Oh don't you worry boy. Lord Doju is closer than you think." One of the men says taking a few steps forward. "First time you caught us by surprise. The second time our brothers made the mistake of underestimating you. This time…this time we came prepared. I hope you're ready for your dirt nap kid, cus here we come!"
The two men closest to Soujiro charge for him. The man in the back performs a series of hand seals then slams his palm into the ground. Soujiro fully turns around now to take on the encounter. Suddenly the ground underneath him begins to move. Looking down he notices a bundle of vines begin to snake to life and attempt to latch onto to his ankles in order to hold him in place. Just at that time the two men have reached Soujiro and begin throwing a series of kicks and punches.
It was that time again and Ryuu would be visiting the graveyard to honor his parent's memory. Much to his surprise and dismay he finds a fight taking place. It looked like Soujiro was outnumbered and in a bad position. Ryuu set his inscents down where they'd be safe and cracks his neck. The boy's eyes narrow as he stares daggers at the men in jerkins. Ryuu shakes his head "How dare they?" he says moving forward. From behind the men comes a volley of shuriken. While they were busy dodging that Ryuu would aim a few at Soujiro's ankles to free him from the vines. Ryuu then flickers over with commendable speed to launch a sweeping kick then rose into a roundhouse kick to fend off the goons that were ganging up on Soujiro like cowards. After attack Ryuu emits a powerful aura. Wind circles him as he stands there glaring daggers at the men.
"I'm only going to say this once." Ryuu speaks calmly. "This isn't a battle field. This is a field for those who have fallen in battle. This ground is sacred and honors the memory of the most valiant people the village has ever seen. You will NOT disgrace this land with your petty quarrels." Ryuu states. "If you continue then I assure you this place will become your grave as well. You have until the count of three." Ryuu finishes. He begins to retrieve his trench knives. "One…" he starts placing one on. "2…" he continues placing the other. His eyes then survey the remaining men. "3…"
Soujiro was helpless to properly defend himself after being caught by the vines. His body bounces side to side as kicks and punches connect more than they were blocked. Suddenly the two men let out a howl of pain as Ryuunosuke's shuriken caught them by surprise. Soujiro was cut free by the Senju's stray shuriken. Before the two men could recover from the surprise attack, Ryuu was already in their face and while not each attack hit, he did manage to equal the playing field.
Once Ryuu would begin speaking, the two men would look at each other as they got to their feet after the attack made on them. "Shut up, kid. You want to die along side your friend then we'll be sure to accommodate that." At this point the third man who was still in the back performed the same series of hand seals and planted his palm down on the ground like before. Now it was Ryuu's turn to fend off the wild vines that lashed at his feet.
To try and fend off the two men from gaining ground on Ryuu if he became trapped or not, Soujiro began weaving together a series of hand seals of his own then slammed his fist into the ground. Suddenly a tidal wave of earth erupts from the ground in the direction of the two men. If the technique hits its mark then Soujiro would have bought time for Ryuu. However, if it misses the Senju can expect a series of kicks and punches much like what Soujiro was victim to earlier.
Ryuu shakes his head "Have it your way…." he remarks. He gets ready to attack when his feet are ensnared by the vines. Ryuu winces then watches the men charge him ready to attack. He puts up his guard and braces himself with wind chakra to repel their attacks. He was successful and with Soujiro's jutsu, though it missed Ryuu was able to free himself because of the unstable ground and broke out of the roots. The young genin rose skyward with Soujiro's jutsu. He yells at Soujiro "Don't tear up the land! This is a graveyard have some respect for the ddead or you're no better than these chumps." Ryuu's glare goes from Soujiro to the group of goons. Ryuu gathers more chakra has he flings a few more shuriken at the group. He then spins gathering wind and comes down with a mighty punch that sends out a cyclone towards the men in jerkin, more notable the earth manipulator that could use roots to capture his targets. After that initial wave of wind Ryuu would start singling targets out and he aimed to kill with each of his attacks.
"I'll pay my respects later. Right now I’m not just not trying to end up like them." Soujiro calls up at Ryuu. Just then he notices the guy in the back preparing for another jutsu. "Oh no you don't." He says leaving Ryuu to take care of the two Ji-Kai. Soujiro wasn't fast enough as the Ninjutsu user notices the boy charging right for him. A smirk forms on the face of the Ji-Kai. While in stride, Soujiro focuses his chakra to give him an extra edge in the fight. Once Soujiro was close enough the Ninjutsu user claps his hands together. It was only then the boy realizes a cloud of dust and dirt was on the boy's heels. At the sound of the clap, the cloud attempts to engulf Soujiro's foot and would possibly break the bones in it once it clamped down and hardened around it.
The man Ryuunosuke was targeting simply side stepped each shuriken and laughs in the process of doing this. Once they were back on equal footing, one of the Ji-Kai takes a few steps forward towards the oncoming Cyclone. While taking in a deep breath he belows out a strong gust of wind that would not only change the direction of the Cyclone but also speed it up back towards Ryuu.
Ryuu blinks watching the man taunt him then send his own attack back. He was more concerned with Soujiro now. Not only did he take some hefty damage but his foot was crushed. Ryuu growls and shakes his head. "You're all going to pay for this." As the cyclone closes in Ryuu spins letting his leg whip up a powerful wind that would deflect the cyclone coming back at him. He stands there after doing so and looks ahead. "Soujiro-san!" Ryuu grips his trench knives and nods. Right now the living are more important than the dead. He had to make sure Soujiro wouldn't become one of the dead. He couldn't face Ataru if he let any more harm come to Soujiro. Ryuu dashes into action. His trench knives are sharpened with invisible wind blades. He slashes at a few of the Ji-Kai as he makes his way towards Soujiro. "How's your leg? Can you move?" Ryuu asks as he guards Soujiro. "Leave this to me. I'll take care of all these guys…."
Soujiro would let out a cry of agony as the sound of bones cracking rang out in the graveyard after the dirt cloud grab hold of his foot. For anyone knowing Soujiro and his typical personality, the sound of his cry would be alarming and coated with weaknesses. The boy crashes onto his stomach and bounces off the ground a few times before coming to a stop.
Ryuu's attacks didn't do much for putting any of the Ji-Kai on the ground but it did enough to create enough distance so that the Senju could check on the fallen fighter. "Gah! I can’t freakin feel my foot." Soujiro winces.
"You made a mistake of poking your nose into Ji-Kai business. Now, is the time that you will finally pay for your actions." The three Ji-Kai members join each others' side and look onto the two younger fighters with smirks and murderous intent in their eyes.
Ryuu glares back at the three Ji-Kai members. He steps forward in front of Soujiro. "Don't worry. I'll take you to the medical center right after I finish." Ryuu exhales slowly and places his hands before him fists slightly loosened. "You've made the mistake of disrupting the peace. You will pay the price for your actions." Ryuu comments. He feels the wind through his fingertips. His eyes shut so he could better concentrate. "Weightless is the nature of the wind." Ryuu mutters. His stance widens but his eyes remain shut. Ryuu's chakra rises exponentially. The wind begins to pick up and focus around Ryuu. His eyes open finally…
"This will be over on the count of three." Ryuu affirms. The young genin didn't say it with arrogance or confidence. The way he spoke was as if he was speaking with hindsight. Ryuu motions the thugs to come at him. "Come." he holds his stance. 'I will not move. I will stand and defend my friend.' Ryuu is focused now "I won't leave your side Soujiro-san. Just trust in me." Soujiro now downed would be the weakest link and a likely target. The longer this went on the more difficult it would become for Ryuu to fight.
Soujiro looks up from the ground to see Ryuu separating him from the rest of the Ji-Kai goons. He himself does his best to ignore the pain in his leg and foot and focus the small amount of chakra that he can. Slowly he tries to push up from the ground to help his friend in this outnumbered match.
"Ha! You and those big words again. But you're right…in the count of three this will be over and both of you will have your lifeless bodies lying before the Ji-Kai!" The man then forms a seal and slowly a ball of dust and dirt begin forming into a sphere in front of him.
The one in the middle forms a seal as well and goes to take in a deep breath. A moment later he exhales to send a powerful gust of wind towards the Senju and Soujiro in an attempt to knock them off their feet. Without waiting to see if the technique was successful, the third Ji-Kai member was already in pursuit of Soujiro with his sword drawn. Once he reaches the boy, he attempts to slash at the injured fighter.
Ryuu remains silent as each member of the Ji-Kai charges or prepares their own kind of attack. Ryuu patiently waits for the right moment. First the giant gust of wind that came at them would be handled. Ryuu remains where he stands and draws back with his left arm. He waits before releasing a simple straight right at the gust. His own cyclone not only overpowers the gust but incorporates it and sends it back with additional force. "One…" Ryuu counts. He then notices one of them is going for Soujiro. The guy had brought up his earth armor which is good. Any debris or collateral damage should pose too much of an issue to him. It was a solid defense considering he couldn't move due to the broken leg. Ryuu gets between the blade and Soujiro. He retaliates with an uppercut that crosses with the blade. Wind chakra had been channeled into his trench knives first. When the two bladed weapons collided Ryuu's trench knives would slice through the sword thanks to the wind chakra that augmented them. His uppercut when on to not only slice the swordsmen deeply across his chest but sweep him up in a cyclone of slashing winds. "Two…" Ryuu continues.
He looks back to the man charging the dust ball attack. Ryuu thought about interrupting his preparation but decided against it. He was going to crush them completely; body and pride. Such would be their punishment for degrading the graves of the fallen and endangering a friend. Ryuu stood between Soujiro and the charging dust ball. His eyes narrow and his stance become a bit offensive. "Keep your armor up Soujiro-san. It's going to get rough here pretty soon." The young Senju readies himself with a flourish of chakra. He repeats once more to the Ji-Kai "COME!"
The two men both go flying back onto their backs on opposite sides of the Earth manipulator. The ball of dust had grown to a very large amount as it was now taking form of what appears to be a large head of a demon. The wind user staggers to his feet along with the other Ji-Kai shaking off a dazed expression after Ryuu's last attack. "Get ready fellas. This is going to be a big one!" The Earth user says to his comrades. "Malik, give me some cover." He orders. The other Ji-Kai that had not shown any signs of ninjutsu before throws a handful of kunai blades towards their opponents. However, the kunai stop short and plant into the ground just a few feet away from Ryuu. On the kunai themselves are explosive tags and at the sound of the Ji-Kai's voice they denote and explode which cause the area between the two forces to be blanketed with smoke and debris. Suddenly from the wall of smoke the large demonic head made of dust, dirt, and debris appears and attempts to swallow Ryuunosuke whole.
Ryuunosuke stands firm to this assault. It was impressive, their team work and tenacity. Ryuu could almost admire it if not for their wickedness. The kunai that fall short arouse a bit of curiosity from Ryuunosuke. When he spots the explosive tags around the handles his eyes widen as he had gotten wise to their game. The explosion hid Ryuu's foes and when the giant demon head appeared Ryuu cringes. "It's ugly…" he remarks before being swallowed. The attack seemed successful until the head grew gradually and finally it would disperse into dust and debris, that of which it came from. The smoke and dust would be swept away in a cyclone, a cyclone with Ryuu at the center. The young Senju comes out of a spin and glares daggers at the Ji-Kai. "Three…" he finishes. "Sit tight." he tells Soujiro before vanishing in a blur of movement similar to Ataru although ultimately slower. He appears before the dust user within inches of him. Ryuu's trench knives are held in the upright position now and like short swords he cross slashed at the dust user then finished with a spinning slice.
The earth manipulator laughs as he hears the familiar sounds of his Dirt Devil attack successfully engulfing his target. His eyes then widen at the sight of Ryuu suddenly erupting from the smoke wall and coming straight for him. Ryuu's first two slices landed, but the Earth user managed to catch the Senju's wrist in an attempt to stop the onslaught. Blood oozes down from his face as he peers into the face of Ryuu. "Now you're mine boy." The other two Ji-Kai close in on the Konoha nin as they get ready to tear into the boy.
Suddenly a large wooden stick comes into view and completely catches the side of the Wind user's face. This sent him flying and tumbling into the ground for a short distance before finally coming to a stop and being knocked out cold. "What the—" Before he could even finish his sentence a blur streaks around the ground and in a flash the other Ji-Kai member rose into the air then was slammed hard on his back. In an attempt to get back to his feet, the wooden stick meets the man's face and instantly bloodies his nose as he too is KO'd and falls back on his back.
Standing next to the KO'd body is a burly man in gray robes with a long bushy grey beard and and dark narrow eyes staring right at the Ji-kai who is still hold Ryuu in his grasps. With a swift swing of his staff, the strange man breaks the hold the earth user has on Ryuu by knocking his arms up into the air. This would also give Ryuu a perfect opportunity to deliver a finishing blow on the defenseless Ji-Kai.
Ryuu blinks as his hand is caught before he can deliver the final blow. He looks to the two that are about to attack him and curses to himself. He was becoming a bit winded. He didn't know how much more times he could pull off a jutsu. When a staff appears to whack the two in the face Ryuu is taken by surprise. Their defeat was swiftly met after their faces met the end of that staff. When the hold on his hand was broken Ryuu grins and delivers one good kick to the Ji-Kai's face. It's a heavy front snap kick and with it Ryuu would be able to lay the last trespasser and transgressor to rest. He looks to the three defeated Ji-Kai and sighs. He wouldn't kill them now. It would be better to hold them for questioning. This Ji-Kai group was bold enough to walk into Konoha just to get revenge.
Ryuu looks to the bearded man now obviously grateful but suspicious of him. That is until he remembers Soujiro. "Oh tombstone. Soujiro-san are you still alive?" Ryuu turns and calls out to the young man. He'd almost forgotten. There was a lot going on. "Hey Soujiro-san!?" Ryuu calls out once more looking for his friend. "I know you couldn't have gone anywhere with a broken foot."
The burly man looks onto Ryuu as he drops the final Ji-Kai. He strokes his beard and gives the boy a nod of approval. Just as Ryuu would turn back to check on Soujiro, he would be standing on his own as clumps of rock fall from his person. It would appear he had stayed in his earth armor state the whole time. Once the last rock fell that supported the boy's weight, he would wince and favor his broken foot. "Yea, I think i'm alright." He says through the cloud of smoke that was just now fully vanishing.
After a few moments, Soujiro would notice there being two figures behind the cloud of smoke. One being Ryuu and the other…? Soujiro tilts his head wondering if Ataru had appeared at the last minute to save them. However, the figure was bigger than his friend Ataru; yet familiar. "…Uncle?" The smoky veil had completely vanished to reveal the bearded man leaning on his staff with a grin. "Uncle!" Soujiro calls out with a smile. Tears begin to well up in his eyes as it had been a long and hard year being away from his family and now the person he looked up to the most was standing before him.
"Easy, 'Jiro…you're going to hurt yourself." The man laughs as he makes his way to embrace his nephew with a hug.
"What are you doing here?" The teenager asks.
"Come on, that can wait. Let's get you and your friend to the hospital." He says getting under Soujiro's arm to relieve him of the weight on his bad foot.
