Post by Souku|Raidon|Tao on Jul 23, 2008 15:25:57 GMT -5
Somewhere, Tao thought he heard her moan in pain. But he wasn't about to chance his victory on an assumption that his plan had been successful. Experience had taught him to avoid such stupidity and time had made him wary and almost overly cautious. His legs bent at the knees in preparation for another leap upward and away from her as he caught sight of her for a brief second. Another needle? What the hell did she plan to do with another one? Then it clicked. Remembering Souku speaking of the soldier pills a few of his clan mates used, he eyed the syringe suspiciously. It had to be an enhancer, perhaps for chakra or power, he didn't know. But in his moment of hesitation and thought, he had failed to make the jump in time and in only half the time it took for him to breath, she was suddenly there. It startled him and he drew back and away from her, almost missing the way she trembled with the effort that had, before, been easy for her, he noted. And in his thoughtless reaction, he lost his upper hand with his expectation of her movement. He could see the flash of a kunai before his eyes squeezed shut and a pained cry clawed it's way out of his throat, his body jerking back even further and hands coming up to use the last of his paper reserves along his arms to blindly defend himself with a surge of chakra hardened paper at her. But whether it had hit or miss he didn't know. Kuro was in front of him in only a second, coming to his defense when Tao willed him. And thanks to the water attacks, the flames had been doused, letting her to be able to see past him at the damage she had done with.
Actually, she hadn't done much. It was only a single slice that marred the left side of his face, running from the side of his lips, missing his mouth by only a millimeter, and upward and over his left eye and stopping as the metal plate at his forehead had protected him. But he was hunched over, calloused hands covering his face at the pain in his eye. He growled loudly with his teeth gritting together as he hissed and seethed. But the pain subsided uickly enough. Slowly, with Kuro snarling and roaring, he let his hands fall away from his face. The blood had smeared across it and was dribbling down to cling stubbornly to his chin before dripping down onto the ground and sink into the dirt. He could feel his eye opening but could see nothing. With the back of his hand he tried to clear his vision with little luck. It couldn't matter now. Not with her so close to him. He snarled, more out of self determination than anger at her about his eye. He had two, after all. And Tres could heal him later, if need be. Turning his attention back to the woman, he leaped back a few yards. Enough to get some distance between them and avoid close combat, but not enough to let them lose track of each other visually. He watched her out of his good eye, the other squeezed close and almost hidden with the darkened smears across his face. Directing Kuro after her again, he brought the cat toward her, keeping the puppet between himself and the missing nin. Without the fire to burn her, he attempted at more direct hits now. Leaping to the right, Kuro crouched for a split secound before lunging toward her head on, it's claws reaching out to try to pin her down.
And while Kuro could keep her at bay, Tao contemplated on his next move. With Shiroi gone, he couldn't paralyze her. With his paper supplies running lower and lower with each attack, he would have to use them more sparingly, even if he still clung to more than he would need, most likely. He swiped at his eye again, blood covering his good hand now as he reached for his summoning slips again. I guess I don't have a choice..Ki He released his tiger, a thick cloud of smoke taking it's place as the chakra keeping it here dispelled. Tao, taking the moment and taking advantage of Kuro having, hopefully, distracted her for a while, leaped upward toward the tops of the trees. His chakra was already gathering as he moved about, already sure that she must be following him. If not...well maybe he wouldn't even need Ki. Bounding back and forth between the trunks and branches of the trees around him, to avoid letting her tag directly behind him and make hitting him easier, he moved fluidly with his speed gaining as he went. It was just unfortunate that he couldn't ever match hers. So long as such was the case, he could feel himself still open for her to make an easy kill. He shivered as he moved, picturing her cutting him off and slicing his throat. And that mental image drove him on, his chakra pushing his body as uick as it would move. Finally, he reached the tips of the canopy of the forest. Stopping only long enough to catch his breath, he continued onward, balancing his feet to that he could walk along the tops of the trees without sinking back into the leaves. Don't become an easy target, keep moving, he told himself. Finally, his wrist flickered, tossing the paper seal aside as he moved onward. He could call it back later, but right now he need the advantage of surprise. And he couldn't do that if his puppet appeared right in front of himself. Only a few more yards away from the tiny paper slip, he leaped up into the air, hovering only for a moment while he sealed both the jutsu, and he inevitable capture. She was weak and he knew it. Ki would make uick work of her if he did this right. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!", this time, as his chest heaved and he let the stream of water flow from his mouth and down onto the ground, he didn't restrict the flow to short blast for attacking. Rather, the water settled down on the ground, slipping outward and climbing up to douse their campfire from before and to cover the uprooted trees and the ones still standing. For nearly a minute the liuid continued to rise, rippling outward in massive waves until it covered everything but the tallest of trees that were farther out of their way. A few bits of debree rose to float along the surface and as Tao fell, using chakra to keep from sinking into the water, he actually stumbled on a larger log. But he recovered almost gracefully. Calling his energy forth again, he called out another summoning. "Kyuchiyose: kami yubinigyo - Mizu!" Below the surface, one a branch that had caught and supported the small slip of paper that bore a small kanji symbol written in Tao's own blood, there was an explosion of bubbles and the water above rippled with the movement. But other than that, the appearance of the massive yellow fish was hidden beneath the musky depths. Tao let himself remain open but a knowing look flashed through his blue eyes. Beneath him, Ki moved with liuid speed. Tao knew enough to realize her speed, even if she was able to retain a bit of it, would never have to same effect under water. Or at lest, he wanted to believe that to be so.
With the giant koi fish now at his disposal, he stood his ground, even as open as it apparently left him. Commanding the fish from afar, the puppeteer watched her closely, making note of every movement she made. He didn't want to be caught with her having another clone(he was sure the first one had been destroyed with the rise in water). Ki jerked back around to move at an angle upward toward her, it's movements shifting the water around it unnoticeably as it shot towards her. And it aimed beneath her feet as he broke the surface of the brown, dirty water without warning. A smug look flashed over his feature, not caring whether he had hit or not. If anything, even if he had missed, it would be enough to distract her and give himself time to get ready for another move. But before than, he stepped froward. And for the first time since she had tried to slice his dragon's head apart, he called out to her, "There's not much even your speed can help you with now, Hime!", normally he would have kept silent, but the pain in his eye had lifted his temper and perhaps, he felt he had to retaliate for her blinding his left eye. The fish fell back into the water, darting around her in warning before jerking upward to try and tackle her again.
Actually, she hadn't done much. It was only a single slice that marred the left side of his face, running from the side of his lips, missing his mouth by only a millimeter, and upward and over his left eye and stopping as the metal plate at his forehead had protected him. But he was hunched over, calloused hands covering his face at the pain in his eye. He growled loudly with his teeth gritting together as he hissed and seethed. But the pain subsided uickly enough. Slowly, with Kuro snarling and roaring, he let his hands fall away from his face. The blood had smeared across it and was dribbling down to cling stubbornly to his chin before dripping down onto the ground and sink into the dirt. He could feel his eye opening but could see nothing. With the back of his hand he tried to clear his vision with little luck. It couldn't matter now. Not with her so close to him. He snarled, more out of self determination than anger at her about his eye. He had two, after all. And Tres could heal him later, if need be. Turning his attention back to the woman, he leaped back a few yards. Enough to get some distance between them and avoid close combat, but not enough to let them lose track of each other visually. He watched her out of his good eye, the other squeezed close and almost hidden with the darkened smears across his face. Directing Kuro after her again, he brought the cat toward her, keeping the puppet between himself and the missing nin. Without the fire to burn her, he attempted at more direct hits now. Leaping to the right, Kuro crouched for a split secound before lunging toward her head on, it's claws reaching out to try to pin her down.
And while Kuro could keep her at bay, Tao contemplated on his next move. With Shiroi gone, he couldn't paralyze her. With his paper supplies running lower and lower with each attack, he would have to use them more sparingly, even if he still clung to more than he would need, most likely. He swiped at his eye again, blood covering his good hand now as he reached for his summoning slips again. I guess I don't have a choice..Ki He released his tiger, a thick cloud of smoke taking it's place as the chakra keeping it here dispelled. Tao, taking the moment and taking advantage of Kuro having, hopefully, distracted her for a while, leaped upward toward the tops of the trees. His chakra was already gathering as he moved about, already sure that she must be following him. If not...well maybe he wouldn't even need Ki. Bounding back and forth between the trunks and branches of the trees around him, to avoid letting her tag directly behind him and make hitting him easier, he moved fluidly with his speed gaining as he went. It was just unfortunate that he couldn't ever match hers. So long as such was the case, he could feel himself still open for her to make an easy kill. He shivered as he moved, picturing her cutting him off and slicing his throat. And that mental image drove him on, his chakra pushing his body as uick as it would move. Finally, he reached the tips of the canopy of the forest. Stopping only long enough to catch his breath, he continued onward, balancing his feet to that he could walk along the tops of the trees without sinking back into the leaves. Don't become an easy target, keep moving, he told himself. Finally, his wrist flickered, tossing the paper seal aside as he moved onward. He could call it back later, but right now he need the advantage of surprise. And he couldn't do that if his puppet appeared right in front of himself. Only a few more yards away from the tiny paper slip, he leaped up into the air, hovering only for a moment while he sealed both the jutsu, and he inevitable capture. She was weak and he knew it. Ki would make uick work of her if he did this right. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!", this time, as his chest heaved and he let the stream of water flow from his mouth and down onto the ground, he didn't restrict the flow to short blast for attacking. Rather, the water settled down on the ground, slipping outward and climbing up to douse their campfire from before and to cover the uprooted trees and the ones still standing. For nearly a minute the liuid continued to rise, rippling outward in massive waves until it covered everything but the tallest of trees that were farther out of their way. A few bits of debree rose to float along the surface and as Tao fell, using chakra to keep from sinking into the water, he actually stumbled on a larger log. But he recovered almost gracefully. Calling his energy forth again, he called out another summoning. "Kyuchiyose: kami yubinigyo - Mizu!" Below the surface, one a branch that had caught and supported the small slip of paper that bore a small kanji symbol written in Tao's own blood, there was an explosion of bubbles and the water above rippled with the movement. But other than that, the appearance of the massive yellow fish was hidden beneath the musky depths. Tao let himself remain open but a knowing look flashed through his blue eyes. Beneath him, Ki moved with liuid speed. Tao knew enough to realize her speed, even if she was able to retain a bit of it, would never have to same effect under water. Or at lest, he wanted to believe that to be so.
With the giant koi fish now at his disposal, he stood his ground, even as open as it apparently left him. Commanding the fish from afar, the puppeteer watched her closely, making note of every movement she made. He didn't want to be caught with her having another clone(he was sure the first one had been destroyed with the rise in water). Ki jerked back around to move at an angle upward toward her, it's movements shifting the water around it unnoticeably as it shot towards her. And it aimed beneath her feet as he broke the surface of the brown, dirty water without warning. A smug look flashed over his feature, not caring whether he had hit or not. If anything, even if he had missed, it would be enough to distract her and give himself time to get ready for another move. But before than, he stepped froward. And for the first time since she had tried to slice his dragon's head apart, he called out to her, "There's not much even your speed can help you with now, Hime!", normally he would have kept silent, but the pain in his eye had lifted his temper and perhaps, he felt he had to retaliate for her blinding his left eye. The fish fell back into the water, darting around her in warning before jerking upward to try and tackle her again.
