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Post by Sarutobi Sio on Jan 2, 2014 23:20:07 GMT -5
Sio and Kurama stared up through the hole that had been drilled through catfish and earth alike, sunlight pouring in. Glorious sunlight. The muscle and sinew of the fox exoskeleton twisted and compressed, preparing to leap out through the hole when suddenly, a sand tendril seized the opportunity first, shooting down and wrapping around them lickety-split.
Almost before they had time to react, the pair of them were yanked from their spot underground and tossed up like they were but a mere kernel of popcorn. Spiralling, it would be difficult for Sio to get a grasp on their surroundings, and so they were merely resigned to their fate of falling into the giant maw of the sand creature, enclosed in earthen darkness again.
Rrrrrrrr......WHAT IS THIS?! Kurama bellowed, evidently having been plucked from one earthen prison to another. He gritted his teeth, flaring the chakra cloak and lashing out. A spray of sand rebounded back and hit his face as the chakra tail sheared off a thin, insignificant layer of sand from the innard of the beast.
"I think...I think Shu has us now." Sio said, Kurama preparing for another lash of his chakra tail.
Then who had us before?
"...Masahige, I think. We kind of did this whole thing backward, didn't we? I bet he's pretty pissed."
It was bound to happen one way or the other. Piss him off now or piss him off later. Kurama said with a shrug, the bones and muscle of the fox enveloping Sio beginning to dissolve and fall apart until the dark-haired girl was just left standing on a mound of sand. Sio looked around the darkness around her, trying to get a grasp on this whole situation and make sense of it. But instead, she just collapsed into a sit.
"I hope we're doing the right thing. I hope we don't end up regretting this." she mumbled sadly, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her head. "I just wanted to see my family one more time...but the quicker we can get this done...the quicker we can go home."
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Post by Masahige on Jan 5, 2014 21:56:18 GMT -5
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Post by Shu on Jan 6, 2014 11:56:57 GMT -5
The sand that encased Sio and Kurama began to expand as he lashed out, giving them some room to breathe so to speak. The giant Shukaku's eyes went dim as the clone opted for a more appropriate form, leaving it as nothing more than a shell. Stepping from the sand as if it were a curtain the green haired man approached from Sio's left. Seeing her look so miserable brought a smile to his face, but he quickly tucked it away.
"Don't you get it, kid?" he said as he patted his pockets in search of a cigarette but came up empty, the cons of being a clone. "This whole thing is about family. Our family." While that sentiment was meant more for Kurama it also applied to the girl as well. She was merging with the fox. Which in a twisted sense made them related. Materializing a cigarette out of sand the clone brought it to his lips and circled around Sio, looking her over. "I don't see what the brat saw in you," he said as he crouched down in front of her, his one visible eye looking into her's. "You're weak."
In the mean time, Shu gradually made his way back to his previous location with the expectation of continuing his fight with the Hokage. To his annoyance, the man had decided to chase after Kurama. "This bitch," he muttered as he watched the man turn into diamond and propel himself into the body of the clone. "Is stupid."
"But we can change that," the green haired clone said before looking over his shoulder. He could feel the disturbance in the tanuki's body. "That Hokage of yours has some tanuki sized balls, I'll give him that," the clone said with a laugh. He then began to make some gestures with his hand, manipulating the sand condense around the man. Once he had been securely captured the sand pushed him out with full force, shooting him back into the battlefield with the actual Shu. "Anyway it is about time that we got out of here, eh?" Placing his left hand on Sio's head he formed the necessary seal to use Instantaneous1. With that, they disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing in the base in Kaze no Kuni.
With the clone no longer present at the battlefield, the titanic shell of the Shukaku collapsed in on itself causing another wave of sand to spread outwards in all directions.
1Instantaneous: A technique taught to Shu by Cezerny which allows him to summon himself (or others with him) to any marked location.
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Post by Masahige on Jan 6, 2014 18:37:52 GMT -5
Masahige collided with the ground. In diamond form, he didn't sustain much for damage. Still, coming back to a human appearance left him with bruises. He ached from the battle so far, and the loss of Sio was a paramount failure. It was a failure, however, that would be kept from the village. He was lucky to be in a position where he could control the information surrounding these events. For now, anyway.
The wave of sand following the collapsing of the clone was large, but not unavoidable. Masahige put himself on higher ground, standing atop a portion of his ruined wall. At his perch, he looked at his enemy. They were the only two present now. He could sense that much, at least. But perhaps, also, this was no longer a battle he should continue. The point of conflict was Sio. With Sio gone, Masahige had better things to focus on. Beating this man would do nothing for him.
"Well then," Masahige said. "What will you do, now that you have her? Will you fall in line with the Bijūtsukai's promise and leave?"
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Post by Shu on Jan 6, 2014 19:05:12 GMT -5
Shu climbed up from underneath the sand, dusting himself off as Masahige called out to him. This was not exactly the reaction that he was expecting from the Hokage. He figured that he would at the very least want to take out the man that just stole in jinchūriki. Maybe attempt to capture him for information or something. This was almost too anticlimactic.
"That's a very thought provoking question," Shu said as he stroked his chin and started to pace a little bit, his eyes remaining locked on Masahige. He wanted to kill him. It took everything in him to not just obliterate him right then and there. However, it was important to maintain appearances. Otherwise he would be no better than a kitsune. "It's true I have what I came for, but this seems like too good of an opportunity. Think about it!" he said as he looked up at the Hokage, slowly advancing forward. "You could be a martyr for the cause! The death of a kage to intervened. The Hokage no less. None would dare to underestimate us."
He stopped for a moment, looking as if he were weighting his options. Or perhaps he could make him a minion. Eh, killing sounded more cathartic.
"Yeah," Shu said as he dashed towards Masahige, preparing his chakra for another shockwave. "Besides, I'd be a shitty master if I didn't reward my pet for doing such a good job."
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Post by Masahige on Jan 6, 2014 19:20:40 GMT -5
This man was certainly not a member of the Bijūtsukai. Masahige remained convinced of that much, at least. Regardless, this battle seemed far from over. With Shu charging at him, Masahige gathered natural energy that surrounded him once again. He took on the form of a Tyrannosauruses Rex once more and swung his tail around. Combined with the Sarutahiko no Shushi, the earth in front of Shu jutted out at him in a wave. Spikes garnished the wave, ready to impale the enemy is they proceeded towards him.
Immediately following that move, Masahige also performed Earth Release: Earth Flow River. The ground beneath the advancing Shu would turn into mud. The direction of the flow was altered to attempt bring him closer and ram him into the spikes of earth. Meanwhile, Masahige analyzed the situation as it progressed. The muscles in his legs tensed, ready for release and movement.
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Post by Shu on Jan 6, 2014 23:35:20 GMT -5
Shu's charge was incredibly short lived. He honestly did not get the appeal in this whole "get in close" concept. Though, it was an interesting introspection to see what it was like on the other side of the metaphorical wall of sand. Skidding to a halt as the earthen spikes began to race towards him Shu quickly reversed, taking in a deep breath to prepare for his next jutsu. It was at that moment that the ground beneath his feet turned to mud, causing him to slip forward, the force of the impact literally knocking the wind from him.
"Fuck," he grumbled as he felt himself sinking into the mud and being caught in its current. This was becoming stressful. He picked himself up and attempted to continue to put distance between the oncoming spikes and himself, but the mud was making this difficult. If he were able to fight properly then this wouldn't be an issue. Shu could have gotten out of this situation with a simple hand gesture if he were using his sand. But no, he had to go and handicap himself. As he drew closer to the spikes he racked his brain in an attempt to figure out how to free himself. Pulling himself from the mud was only making things worse, the more force he used the more it kept him in place. He needed something. Anything.
That's when something clicked, and his mind went hazy.
"Enough," a new voice spoke in eerie conjunction with Shu's. His hands ran through a quick series of seals before clapping together and touching the ground. In a puff of smoke three large black pots appeared behind him, riding along with him in the mud. Shu then began to speak in what Masahige could only assume to be gibberish. It was in fact an ancient language that was long forgotten in Kaze no Kuni.
.يقدم الموت الأسود لإرادتي وحدها .أنا أستبعد رمال الحديد
I rule the sands of iron. Black death submits to my will alone.
Shu extended an arm forward and one of the pots lost its form, becoming a black cloud that raced towards the incoming spikes. The cloud of black sand seemed to multiply until it took the shape of a large semi-circular shield that deflected the spikes. With another gesture the two remaining pots broke apart until they became large amorphous black clouds. They then wraped around Shu's body and plucked him from the sand, tossing him away from the mud. Now free the tanuki extended his arms and all of the iron sand returned to him, forming into three large black spheres that hovered behind his back.
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Post by Masahige on Jan 6, 2014 23:52:35 GMT -5
Masahige remained on his perch, only to be surprised by the events that unfolded before him. An unknown language berated his ears. And following that, an unknown ability smashed against his earthen spikes and halted their advance. This ability even plucked Shu from the mud river and placed him safely on solid ground.
This is an ability to be wary of, Masahige thought to himself. But still, there were things he could do to keep the battle in his favor. His enemy was already in quite the predicament, even if he did not yet realize it. The mud that clung to Shu's body and his clothes was a weapon that Masahige could easily manipulate.
And he did manipulate it. The mud that still clung to Shu's body formed spikes at Masahige's command, turned to rock, and plunged for Shu's body. Masahige hoped that this would be enough, but a battle with such a high level opponent could never hope to be concluded so easily. He watched and waited.
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Post by Shu on Jan 7, 2014 10:20:33 GMT -5
For the moment Shu remained stationary. His eyes scanned the battlefield as if trying to make sense of it all. In truth his whole demeanor had changed. The smirk was gone, his posture was far less laid bad, and his eyes were still glazed over as if he were in some sort of trance. It was not long before he felt a shift in the mud on his clothing as it turned to spikes and hardened, attempting to pierce through him. The spikes would not get more than a few centimeters before his body hardened. His eyes then looked up towards Masahige.
"You," the unified voice said as he held his arms outward causing two of the spheres to rise into the sky, magnetizing them with opposing fields. Once high enough the two spheres collided, merging into one. The result that followed was chaotic and quick. The iron sand began to irregularly branch out in spikes1 in all directions from the point of impact, increasing in quantity as well. Shu then clapped his hands together and began to alter the iron sand further, causing it to buzz and glow white hot2 as it continued its onslaught towards Masahige.
1Iron Sand World Method
2Shimetsuton: "Annihilation Release," a kekkei tōta developed by Shu's former host.
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Post by Masahige on Jan 8, 2014 23:54:01 GMT -5
If Masahige could give varied expressions in this form, he would have. Seeing his attempt do nothing was frustrating and frightening at the same time. His muscles tensed again when the black sand motivated. Masahige was quick to respond to the attack, but was still unaware of it's affects. He dodged and weaved through the black sand structure as well as he could, but the technique was extraordinary.
He was cut. It was not a deep cut, by any means. It was rather shallow, but the pain was significant, and the cut was too clean. At least it was just his tail, though. Masahige didn't plan on showing his ass anytime soon to the villagers, so they'd never notice. But still.
Despite the cut, which was followed by a few more cuts, Masahige continued his retreat away from Shu. He'd managed to pick up on a rhythm to dodging the sporadic attacks. They were random and fast, but he was still quick enough to not die.
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Post by Shu on Jan 9, 2014 0:16:27 GMT -5
The white hot metal spread through the battlefield violently, but all the while Shu remained perfectly still. Even as the spikes raced near him they all deviated before they could actually reach him. Golden eyes remained focused on the man sized dinosaur as he maneuvered through the growing labyrinth of death. He was quick and observant, but more importantly he was retreating.
That put his mind at ease, and at that moment Shu seemed to come back to his senses.
"What?" he questioned, trying to figure out how he had gotten out of the river of mud. His eyes opened wide with surprise when he took notice to jungle of searing hot spikes that surrounded him. At that instant the jutsu came to an end, and just as quickly as the spikes were created they disintegrated into nothingness. The remaining sphere of black sand fell to the ground, formless. "H-how?" the tanuki asked. There was only one way that any of this could have been possible, and that in itself was impossible. Shu all but forgot about the Hokage, his mind focused on comprehending this mystery. Deciding to waste no more time here he formed the one handed seal for Instantaneous and disappeared.
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Post by Masahige on Jan 9, 2014 0:31:48 GMT -5
And just like that, the battle was over. Masahige was a little dumbfounded, and took a moment to regain his composure. Once it settled in that Shu was not returning, he transformed back into human form. He felt the sting of his wounds again, and the sudden loss of adrenaline made him realize just how drained he was after this battle.
Regardless, one thing stuck in his mind. His enemy had gone, but what about his jacket? For the next hour or so, Masahige dug through the sand and searched the battlefield for the clothing left behind. Surely one of his shinobi in the Hidden Leaf could use this article of clothing to locate Shu, right? At the very least, all members of the Inuzuka were going to be forced to memorize this scent.
Once he'd finished, Masahige left for the Hidden Leaf. It was time to return home.
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