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Post by Souku|Raidon|Tao on May 7, 2008 0:00:40 GMT -5
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OoC;
Run!
Sure, the command was simple enough. But to keep running when his lungs were burning, when his feet kept slipping in the sand, when his head was spinning in the effort to think, and his foe was just three hundred yards behind him? His foot sunk into the sand again, slowing his movment as he lept forward. It did everytime. It didn't take long for it to catch up with him either. Every secound lost, he was learning, was costing him. Already, he could hear the booming sounds of the enemy behind him, howling in excitment. The man was strong, Tao could admit that much. Shit he frowned. The flatter ground was becoming uneven now and his balance weaker. Unusual as it was, he was stumbling more and more. It had been some time since he had been within the deserts of Suna. And front the first time he'd had to fight here, he'd known he was no good in the sand. And now, with his life on the line... His slender eyebrows knit together. If this keeps up... Dammit. What a day. What had happened to the simple recon mission? Was this the monster that was supposed to be murdering people on their way to and from Suna? But he was just a man..well. Tao chanced a glance behind his shoulder. Not anymore he wasn't. He understood, now, why a Konoha shinobi had been taken down. The pictures and words from his briefing flashed through his mind suddenly.
"We don't know what the hell happened. It looks like he was just..crushed to death. With a tree or something.."
"A tree? In the deserts surrounding Suna?"
Now Tao knew. It hadn't been a tree. The man had some powerful jutsu. Metal being the main weapon. And a deadly one at that. When he wasn't trying to crush Tao with the metal armor he'd pulled together out of chunks of debree he'd gathered, it was those metal filings. The man could do deadly things with those filings. How, Tao didn't know. But the marred, burnt flesh showing through his tattered clothing on his left shoulder blade was proof of their power. He hadn't even been able to figure out what he was doing, just the horrid burning sensation created from those flints that were to small to see floating about in the air.
Another squeal of metal. Two hundred yards behind him now. His mind churned again, doing it's best to try and formulate a plan. But even if he could dodge the metal giant, how was he to defend against the invisable filings? How, How? How? One hundred meters. Think, dammit! Find a vantage point! Gain the upperhand. Don't let your gaurd fall! Yes, he needed the upper hand. But how? The flat ground had dissapeared now, rising up into large dunes. "Dammit." The sound behind him began to fade, forcing him to tense in anticipation. No..at least the dunes would provide a bit of shelter for the moment. It was too dificult for him to keep bounding foreward with his feet slipping with the sand each time he tried to propel himself forward. His sandels hit the side of out on the sandy hills again and this time, he allowed himself to slide down it, leaving dust and sand into the air in his wake. Sliding down between two of the hills, he pressed his back against the cool sand, almost forgetting his predicament as it cooled his heated body. But now, Tao never was one to be easily distracted. Especially as sand got into his open and burned flesh, and he hissed through gritted teeth at it. Think!, he told himself again. He needed to find an advantage, quickly. Without the noisy sound of metal tailing him, he wasn't sure exactly where the man in the metal armor had gotten to. Sinking further into the sandy pit, Tao pulled at the wristband on his arm. A plan..he just needed a plan. The sand lurched beneath him quite suddenly, shifting and forcing him to brace himself against the hill behind him. So he's there-!?, he grunted as as the ground underneath him rose up on it's own accord, toppling over the hills he hadn been hunckered between. The underlying tones of metal scraping against metal proved his suspitions. He was here! His mind clicked suddenly and he'd found his advantage. The metal glimmered in the fast rising sun and the mechanical behoman lunged forward, it's movments surprisingly quick for something that made the earth sink into itself with each step. However, Tao noticed immediatly; it was clumsy. There! The monster rattles, cackling to himself as he lifted his head to watch Tao take to the sky. "Heheheh, found you!, the man's voice echoed loudly within the metal shell. Funny, he could almost hear Dani laughing at him in his mind. And advantage? For Tao? In a fucking desert? How absurd!
Not really., he corrected his team mate in his mind. And in one fluid motion, the boy had snagged three slips of thin paper from the holster on his right leg, cocked his arm back, and swiped it outward to let them fly.
In less than a secound, the peices had bent and folded themselves into shuriken replicas, the chakra pulsing about the familiar texture hardening them and activating the explosive tags, setting the thiings alight. The mechanical beast growled, "Again with this flimsy shit!?". Slowly, awkwardly, the man swung the great metal arm out to shove them away, only to detinate them. The explosion sent dust and sand into the air, blinding both of the shinobi. Regardless, it wasn't enough to keep Tao from his decent. Right into the path of the failing metal limb. The air was forced from his lungs as it colided with his chest gut. The arm easily dwarfed him in size and Tao's smaller frame seemed to crumple against the force of the blow. It was times like this he cursed his own liniage for passing such a petiete form onto him. He was sent backwards, the air whistling in his ears until he slammed into one of the dunes. He couldn't hold back the choked cough, spewing blood and spittle from some organ inside of him. Again, more dust and sand was sent up to mingle with the debree from the explosion. And for a moment, the Ugashi was dazed, his chest burning... Wait.. It really was burning! The skin sizzling, just as his shoulder had. He'd missed the movment. "Shit!", the dimmed sunlight broke through the cloud of dust for a moment and he saw it. The shinning glimps of flint in the air. The roaring laughter took him to his feet and he leapt upward. Out of the deadly cloudy mass of dust and burning metal. Now airborne and suspended momentarily, his instinct urged him, spurred him into action while he still had the chance.
The beast laughed again, "Hahah! I told you, Ugashi! I don't need to see you to tear you apart! Hahah!"
His hands slapped together to form clumsy seals, his chest and shoulder causing him to wince while doing so. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" He could already begin to taste the water in his mouth as he breathed in. And his breath became water as it burst from his mouth and decended downward toward the dunes. This was it. It took only a minute for the area to fill up and the water to swallow up the metal monster, and the dust, and the deadly filings. Tao felt himself land solidly this time, familiar with the feel of water underneath him. It was in his blood, after all, as an Ugashi, to affiliate himself with the stuff. From day one.
The liquid under and around his feet rippled ever so slightly with the hum of his chakra that kept him afloat. The surface of the water stilled after a moment and Tao felt himself breath again. Remembering his wounds, however, he flinched inwardly. They wouldn't take much time to heal, surely. Not with the many trained medics wandering about Konoha. A few minutes with them and he'd be fine. But God did they burn at the moment. How the man did it, Tao didn't know, nor did he care. He'd completed the mission. And now- He looked back over his shoulder at the sound of bubbles. Narrowing his blue eyes, he fixed his gaze on it, thinking at first they were air bubbles that had been trapped within the metal siute. However..
"Ugashi"
He didn't have any time to react to it after that. The splash of water, the sudden blow to his gut that send him reeling backward, the sudden kick under his chin. None of it was registered until he just managed to roll off to the side, sidestepping a punch. "Suiton-!", he wasn't able to get the words out, the man before him suddenly disspapeared into a cloud of smoke. Tao drew back, "A substitu- Ahk! Gah!", the man had come from below, surging forth from the murky water to catch the boy around the throat. His teeth clentched, forcing his blue eyes to stare back at the dead grey ones. "Heheh, game over, Ugashi. What now? Eh? More paper!?", he cackled again. His breath came in ragid pants. But determination burned through him and he formed the seals again, unbeknowest to the man holding him up off of the water. "Eh? What's this?" "M-Mizuairu...Ho-Hogo...". The seal was done, he had it now. But the ripple in the water went unnoticed by the man. His face contorted sharply as he took hold of Tao's arm. "Bastard! Let's see you make those fancy seals with half an arm!" His arm burned suddenly, begining faintly until his wrist was audibly sizzling, steam rising up from the blackening area that crept up in arm. His head tossed back, mouth opening as a strangled cry surged forth. The man smirked. "This metal..it's already inside of me. And it does so much more than burn the outside of you. And now it's in you too. And it's gonna rot you from the inside ou-" And then it happened. The surge in the water beneath his foe, the collision of the yellow bullet with the man, and the splash of water as Ki took him under. Tao fell backward, only keeping himself afloat thanks to it being secound nature to him by now. He cried out again, clawing at the burning on- in his arm. "Ah!" He curled up onto himself, feeling his blue eyes tearing up as it reached his elbow. It was slow, very slow. Taking it's time as it ate away at his muscles and his arm became heavier. "Shit! Gaahh!", he clicked his teeth together, doing his best to do nothing more than seeth and hiss at the burns. "Dammit.. Dammit!" He had to force his eyes open to squint to his left, only to catch the man headed for him. "I'll kill you!", he roared. "Hng!" Tao grunted, forcing himself to his feet and leaping to the side. His arm, useless now, hung limply at his side and he lept about, dodging the man's blows. Stop..uhg..moving, Dammit!", Tao felt his arm snag in the mans grip as he was pulled forward. Depserate, he recalled Yui suddenly. [color=looks like it's game over for you, shitless peice of-!" If there was one thing Yiu had taught Toa, it was to be inventive. Pulling his good hand to his chest, he preformed the seals, suddenly thankful for his sensei's teachings. "S-Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!". Again the blast of water exploded from him. This time, to deflect the man as he sent the metal filings toward him. It his him, pulling the metal into the murky water below them and sending the man a good hundred yards away...
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Post by Leiko-hime on May 7, 2008 1:05:06 GMT -5
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Kyoko, Chiyo
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It was hot, hot, hot. The desert was a supremely hot place the little girl decided, with a petite sigh. It was a good thing she wasn't a normal girl then. Currently Chiyo was wearing nothing more than a single, thin, light weight white yukata, her pale silver-white hair piled atop her head in messy buns to keep it off the back of her neck. The wind whipped around her causing her clothing and hair to flutter and intertwine with the iridescent pale blue mane that surrounded her. Her pale features were flushed with the heat of the day, and her lips parted as she breathed deeply through her mouth. Lips trembling slightly in an adorable pout the little girl leaned forward, giggling softly at the feel of her bare toes sliding against her friends cool scales, "Up, up! It's still so hot, Retty!" She called, her light girlish tones floating away on the winds.
Several feet in front of her she saw an ear twitch, and knew he'd heard her. Her bones sang with the vibration of his musical growl, and with a twirl the magnificent creature fluttered higher.
From below all that would be visible was a twisting blue ribbon, small from that distance, but in reality about 20 feet in length: A pale, pale blue in color. Almost matching the heated robin's egg of the desert sky.
Chiyo gasped softly at as her belly flopped with the feeling of further ascent, her small body leaning forward to press further into the thick mane of fur that flowed from the beast's head to the tip of his tail. She really was quite glad she had Retsu, he was so cool to the touch! His scales constantly exuded a chill atmosphere, that was especially grand here in the desert. Leaning out to the side Chiyo tightened her small fingers of her right hand in the mass of silky fur, her strange silvery eyes scanning the world below: looking for anything of interest to her. Her other arm was wrapped securely around a 12 inch long replica of the beast she currently sat astride.
Finally there seemed to be a bit of relief from the scorching desert temperatures, as though the pair had lifted high enough that the heart stored near the ground had finally been left behind. Chiyo gave a soft breath of relief and released her tight hold on Retsu's main, straightening up a sweet smile on her face, "Oooh, it's so nice up here. Doesn't it feel so good, Retty? Chiyo is very, very happy now." She cheered, her arms wrapping around the toy she held to give it a celebratory squeeze.
They sailed onward, the twisting lazy course keeping the little girl as the air flowed past her, and the scales of her companion pressed against her. A grunt, and a low rumble from Retsu alerted the girl that all was not right, and curiously she scanned the horizon only to notice what appeared to be dust from an explosion rising into the sky from several miles to their west. She stared toward the source for several moments, tapping her small finger lightly against her chin in thought.
"Chiyo was supposed to go find Haru-kun... but..." Decision made with the swiftness of the child she was she tugged lightly on Retsu's silky blue mane, and the beast immediately shifted his course, his body leaning toward the side in a lazy curving arc.
It was true that after she'd checked up on things in Suna she was supposed to go and locate her wayward charge... Not that Umeko Haru understood that she was the one watching him. Chiyo giggled happily at the thought. He still hadn't realized that the cute little girl was a powerful shinobi in her own right. No one really did until it was to late. Oh well.
When they reached the area the explosion had occurred in the pair was greeted with a surprising sight. The little girl's mouth curled into an O of surprise as she stared at the new water formation. "Oh no. What do you think is happening, Retsu?" She asked in a whisper that was dragged away on the wind. Giving a musical crash of sound the blue beast circled slowly lower spinning lazy circles around the battlefield to give his mistress ample time to exam what was going on.
Clenching her teeth she sucked in a breath as her eyes watched a man getting badly beaten up below, "Ouchies." She sympathized, giving another soft giggle afterwords.
Below, the man expelled a gush of water sending his opponent hurtling away from him. Chiyo gave a cheer from the air, then after a moment laughed quietly. "Come on Retty, Chiyo wants to play as well!" Crushing her fingers to her mouth to stifle her sounds of glee she gasped in surprise as her mount angled sharply downward, her fingers immediately grabbing hold of the beast's mane.
Using his flexible body Retsu curled around as he drew inexorably closer to the ground, his nimble fore claws reaching out to grasp his mistress as he plummeted. Chiyo allowed him to grab her under her arms. Curling back around Retsu passed over head near the water-using man by about 15 feet before dropping Chiyo. The girl squealed in glee as she dropped, immediately funneling chakra around her to cushion her landing. Power thrummed against the soles of her feet as she touched down on the liquid surface, keeping her from sinking. Her light voice chimed with laughter, it tickled!
Ripples moved out from her like the spreading of a blooming flower's petals, a small burst of power curling away from her and over the surface; creating a small wave, as she cushioned her landing.
Retsu arced upward, sailing far above the pair. Upward, and upward, before jerking back around, and plunging back toward the ground with an ear splitting roar that sounded like crashing gongs, and maddened wind chimes. As the metal man once more turned to resume his attack on the water man Retsu hit him like a bolt from the blue, slamming him downward into the water depths with 20 feet of Long, of dragon. Water roared upward in foaming leaping torrents from the impact, crystallizing suddenly into elegant spires of ice.
Chiyo hopped in a little circle, arms wrapped around the toy version of her dragon in her arms, her voice giving a soft cry of joy.
Deep beneath the surface the pair slammed into the bottom, and Retsu recoiled back from a blow, arcing and turning away from the man's attempts to hit him, parting his jaws he breathed out through the liquid causing it to crystallize into a hardened cocoon of ice before streaking toward the surface. He shot out of the liquid behind Chiyo, landing softly atop it to hover behind her, neck arched like a swan: Water drifted off his lengthy scaled body to drip back into the void.
"Good job, Retsu. You showed that meany!" She cheered standing up on her tip toes to pat the beast's nose.
Head slowly shaking back and forth he focused his pale eyes on her, the slit pupils dilating.
Chiyo huffed softly seemingly understanding, "Well, of course he's not gone. That'd be no fun! Chiyo doesn't want the game to end so soon!"
Pouting at her dragon's silliness she turned toward the other man, "Isn't that right, Mister? Play time can't end so soon!"
Deep below, the heat of the man's power began to finally crack through the thick dome of ice as he belabored it with his metal arm..
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The Spirit Keeper
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Post by Souku|Raidon|Tao on May 9, 2008 23:06:16 GMT -5
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OoC; - nibbles on writer's block - Sorry if it gets confusing anywhere.
Tao could feel himself fall backward, his feet failing him after the force of his own attack knocked him back onto his heels. His butt hit the water, forcing him to pull himself upward in order to kneel in a more dignified manner. His keen eyes followed tha man's stuggle to rise back up onto his feet, to recover from the blast. Lifting his good hand and poising it at chest level, he drew up another burst of energy, pulling Ki to the surface once more. The massive yellow fish was only a few yards away. Twenty...fifteen... He could feel his own energy surging towards the fish's rounded nose in preperation for, what Tao hoped would be, a finishing blow. It would knock the made in the ribs with the way Tao had angled it. Or rather, it would have, had his concentration not suddenly been broken. For a moment, a few secounds at best, an oddly shaped shadow passed over the man. Had it not triggered a sense of familiarity in him, Tao would have easily passed it off as a bird. His head craned upward, his focus lost and oppertunity lost as the giant puppet jerked in hesitation for a moment. With nothing but a mere glimps of the whip like thing sailing over him, Tao jerked his gaze back toward...the now empty space..
"Dammit!", he rose to his feet again, clutching his arm again as he jerked his head around at the noise of steps along the water's surface. "You-!", he stopped in mid sentance, his mouth falling slack and parting his lips at the sight. That's...that's just a little girl.., he blinked, blue eyes fixing themselves on her in livid curiosity. But still, his mind worked to come up with a solution. Maybe she's a prisioner..?, he frowned, oblivious to the fact that he was misunderstanding the situation. She must have been captured, probably with a caravan of some sort, he thought. But why hadn't she been killed along with the rest of her people, then? Unless... His nose crinkled suddenly as he recoiled, taking a step back, a sudden look of disgust and resentment coming over him. Of course, the proficies in his head were faulse. But Tao couldn't see any other possibility. Surley a six-maybe seven year old wouldn't be out here for any other reason. But even as he recalled his own past, Tao would not -- could not be persuaded to allow his own emotions to take the place of his mission. He never had been one to lose his head in such situations. Forget her! The shadow danced above them again and Tao's mind snapped back to the situation at hand again. He was getting distracted again! Cursing inwardly, he shook his head. As if doing so would rid him of the troublesome thoughts that were doing the distracting.
But his own noisy thoughts were broken as his good hand lept up to cover his ear. His teeth clacked together, chest rattling at the noise. "What the he-", the water moved beneath him suddenly, rippling under his navy sandels and causing him to lean to the side as his balance was lost. Jerking his amd out to brace himself, plam pressed against the water as if it were solid, albeit mobil, ground. Even with his keener vision(another grace to his clan), Tao wasn't able to see exactly what had tackled the man as the water around them exploded into a burst of foam and bubbles. Tao squinted against the soft spray picked up by the wind, blinking in shock and confusion, his blue eyes wider than usual at the sight of the newly formed crystal. "Wh-what was that?", his voice wavered ever so slightly, betraying his own uncertianty. Or perhaps uncertianty wasn't the best term. Restlessness was probably more like it. Because he was already itching for another chance to strike at the man, if anything, because of the anticipation. He could feel the water shift adn whirl under the surface, even if he was staring back toward the girl again. Ki could feel it, and therefore, so could he. The fish moved with a fluid ease, circling the scene below. Even if the young man controling the puppet couldn't see exactly, the pulses in the water and the changes in the way the two moved about told him enough. And when the dragon slithered upward, back toward Tao and the cheery little girl, the yellow mass of paper was quick to follow, bolting after the serpent and charging up toward the surface of the artificial lake.
And above on the water, Tao was rising to his feet, wincing only when his arm brushed his green jacket and the burning sensation heightened again. Even so, he kept his bright eyes trained on her. Forget her!, his mind barked again. And it took him a moment to realize it was Kaji's voice yelling the commands in his head. His head dipped down for a moment as his face molded into a deep scowl, his lips pulling into a thin frown. She's nothing to do with you! It's no concern of yours what happens to her, boy! Even in his own mind he was not safe from the man. But regardless of how much Tao felt himself try to reject the orders - more for his own sake than anything - he could already feel himself succumbing to Kaji's will. Even if the man was hundreds of miles away from him. He breathed deeply for a moment, easing his own head back into his usual focused mind set. Focus. The mission isn't done yet., he reminded himself, his own voice holding Kaji's power over him this time. He felt the liquid ground move again, this time less haphazourly and Tao looked up again, and he had to shake his head once before focusing on the beast again. Tha-that's not possible!, he was sure he had to be under some genjutsu now. That had to be it. No...the flow of chakra buzzing around the two wasn't right for such a thing. He cold only stare for quite a while, his charred arm hanging limply at his side while his good one hovered at chest level, hand outstretched as though he planned to stop some invisable porjectile. Now he realized. The shadow had been of the dragon. That had to have been why it was so familiar to him. He had actually seen the play of movments before. That familiar dance the serpintine thing had been moving with before. His own paper rendition of the dragon seemed to be created in the blue serpents image. Though, upon further examination, he quickly noted that his white dragon seemed quite dimunial next to the girls massive blue one.
Her voice jolted him, dragging him from his minds eye long enough to take note of her odd behaviour. "What?" Well, meany was one word they could use to discribe the man. Though the burning in his arm would have brought forth much more vulger terms. But nicknames aside, Tao also took note of the name used to adress the dragon. Retsu, he repeated to himself logging it way for later use. Again she spoke, and he frowned. "What?", he questioned, as if he hadn't heard her the first time. A game?. Tao blinked as she spoke directly to him and for the first time, he felt as though they were actualy in the same world, not just an alien and it's observer. But her words only added to his rising sense of dumbfounded confusion. A game? Is that what she thought this was. He glared suddenly, a deeper sense of anger and frustration fuming in his chest, drumming against his ribs and lungs and heart. A game!? How could anyone, anything, call something like this - an A ranked mission - a fucking game! Mouse brown hair fell into his eyes and he had to shake his head a bit to clear his line of vision. "A game?", he felt quite insulted now, and his grinding tone portrayed the fact well. His fist clentched, teeth clicking together thanks to his slakened jaw after seeing the dragon for the first time. Tao felt his entire body stiffen against his will, his stoic resolve threatening to break, "Don't you dare-!"
Movement! His clipped words were cut short as his instinct dragged him back to where his mind should have been. The sound of shattering glass, almost, caught him off gaurd and he found himself twisting his head around to look to his left, his right, anywhere the sudden blur could have gotten to. You see!, Kaji's voice seethed and Tao felt his heart skip a beat. Panic, no doubt, even if he refused to let it become visable. You let your gaurd fall! Idiot! Your too weak! Your too worthless! Your not fit to be a ninja!, Tao had to bite his tounge to keep from making any verbal retort. Focus! Focus Ugashi!. "There!", the man seemed lopsided now, his massive arm clunking about while his smaller body moved about like an animal. With his good hand, Tao spurred himself forward, Ki as well. Forming a seal and calling forth his puppet, the fish exploded from the murky depths. Cackling again, the man lunged to the side, already feeling the change in the feel of the water below him and managing to dodge. But the fish moved with a deceptive slowness then. Forcing his chakra closer to the body of the fish, Tao urged him to move quicker. Again the yellow giant struck, meeting his mark this time. The two sank, and Tao stepped back, finishing the seal. "Kami Ayatsuru no jutsu!", reaching down to pull a heap of thin, paper bits from his holster, he flung the handful forward, though thanks to the thinness, there must have been at least a few hundred. And in only a seconds time, the energy he'd transfered over to them, in that brief moment of contact, began to mold them. Each traslucent peice jerking to life suddenly and each one slidding together with another peice. An elaborate puzzle Tao had spent most of his life putting together. In only a minute the man had risen again, snarling in frustration. Ugashi! You coward! Bringing allies... Get you pussy ass over here and fight me! Sending a damn child after me, how disgracful!" But Tao never had been good any anything other than hit and run or long ranges attacks. He knew better. When he was made to look so tiny next to most other boys his age, he had grown wise quickly.
The man was charging toward them now. But it was too late now. The hundreds of paper bits had formed together now, shaping and bnding themselves to match the image of a massive horse, at least three times the size of the larger breeds. It's head thrashed, turning toward it's master, empty eye sockets creating an earie image for those who weren't used to it. But Tao mounted the thing easily. He channeled his chakra with ease, creating the nesicary barrier that kept the beast afloat. It moved suddenly and Tao watched the girl. "Get out of here.", he snapped. The horse lunged forward suddenly, taking off in a hastey gallop toward the man. "You'll get in the way!", he called, just as the horse gathered it's speed and the two were off. The man grinned, already begining his analysis of the horse. "I'm repeating myself now, jackass! You can't beat me with flimsy paper!", his metal arm thrust forward, armored fist unclentching to reach forth in an attempt to grab at the horse's chest. And contact was made. The metal fingers closed around the tiny slips of paper and he pushed forward. The beast roared, it's whiney sounding hoarse and lifless as it rattled against the aritifial paper chest. But it's stridea was not broken and the man tumbled forward as the massive animal reared up. Tao focused the chakra again and the horse took off again towards the man. Tao could see that wicked grin and surged forward. Again the man swung at the animal, almost taking it's head off if not for the many layers of paper beneath the visable one. And it did not crumple and die like he'd expected. Instead, the beast only roared again, lifting itself onto it's hind legs.
"There!" Paper jutted forth suddenly, hardening within secounds of seperating from the horse's chest and forlegs. The rammed into the man's chest and gut, sending him back a good ten meters. It took him only a minute to recover, eyeing the strutting horse and his placid master. But quick thinking wasn't reserved for Tao alone. The man bolted, turning back towards the girl and her dragon(which he had, by now, assumed to be another paper puppet). If he couldn't beat he man, he would tak down the younger weaker one first. He flung himself upward, ignoring the sound of the horse moving forward again as Tao moved to attack the man again, before he reached the girl and her serpent. Metal arm poised to come down on the girl directly, he laughed aloud again, thinking he'd already won...
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Post by Leiko-hime on May 10, 2008 0:07:30 GMT -5
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Kyoko, Chiyo
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The little girl frowned in confusion as the Water Man appeared to get angry with her, before charging off to resume his fight with the man all covered in metal. Looking up at the blue beast beside her Chiyo puffed her cheeks out, her lower lip protruding in a grand little pout, "Why do you think he was upset, Retsu? Do you think we interrupted his fun?" She gasped then, a little hand flying to her mouth. "Maybe he was never taught that all games are more fun when you play with someone else! I didn't know that either until Taji-sama showed me." She confided to the beast.
Retsu's eyes remained trained on the fight so that he could protect his young mistress should there be need.
Chiyo smiled in glee, "He has a big fishy, I didn't notice that earlier. Maybe we should try and get a fishy to. Wouldn't that be fun, Retsu?"
The massive dragon snorted, head flicking from side to side like an agitated horse.
Laughing gleefully, Chiyo reached up and scratched the underside of the Long's muzzle, "Don't worry, you'll always be my favorite water spiri--- OH HORSEY!" She squealed in delight at the strange paper horse that the man had made, bouncing jubilantly up, and down on the water. Her free hand waved in the air as she cheered; "GO WATER MAN, GOOO. YOU CAN WIN!" Clasping her hands, the stuffed version of her dragon clasped between her arms and her chest she spun around, one leg curled up behind her. This was all so very exciting. She hadn't had such fun in awhile!
Hearing his yell she stopped moving, tipping her head a small frown marring her features. Pressing her fingertip to her lips she squinted after him, "Chiyo will not be in the way. Chiyo is never in the way." She huffed. He obviously just didn't want to share! How rude!
She was pulled from her remorseful thoughts as the paper horse managed to spear the mean Metal Man, gasping she cheered again as though she were watching an exciting play, or a sport. Clapping her hands excitedly she did a little dance, her voice chanting out, "He got him! He gooot him!"
Retsu gave a snort, blasting a stream of frigid air in warning as the metal man charged toward the duo, looking up her silvery eyes widened, though not in shock of fear. Instead, as that huge arm came crashing down toward her Chiyo leapt back wards using chakra and the buoyancy of the water to give her leapt extra force. Retsu was in motion milliseconds before she was, sweeping around low over the water in flight. He zipped up along side the girl as she jumped back wards, and Chiyo immediately grabbed hold of his mane, swinging expertly onto his back. Water roared, sloshing loudly as the massive metal arm slammed down seconds after the dragon's tail cleared the landing point.
Retsu surged forward across the expanse of the water before arcing upward, and circling back around. On his back Chiyo gave a gleeful laugh, filling the air with her ringing tones, "I guess they want to play with Chiyo after all, Retsu! Let's bring another friend!"
Her small hand reached out, grabbing hold of a scroll tied with a bundle of her kimono, and ninja gear. Checking the designs on it to make sure it was the one she wanted she wedged her stuffed dragon in front of her, gripping it with her thighs. Unfolding the scroll with a flick of her wrist, she forced through a bit of chakra with with a puff of smoke she caught another doll in her arms.
She smiled slightly at the doll in her hands, watching it's head tilt back to stare at her from it's black eye sockets, "Hello, Fudo, want to play to?" She asked, expecting no answer. Propping the doll in front of her she put her hands together forming the seals needed in quick succession her voice crying out, "Supiritto Shi-ru; Ikusa Shakuhou no Jutsu" (Spirit Seal; Battle Release Technique) Slamming her fingers against the small samurai's chest she could feel her chakra release, calling it forth, and binding it to her alongside Retsu. Her fingers closed around the doll, tossing it into the air.
Fire roared, swirling outward, light suffusing the area in a heady hot glow smoke roiled, and a second later a 10 foot tall man-like figure plummeted from the air. Retsu and Chiyo immediately shot past it's head so the girl could catch the doll form, which lay still and limp in her arms with the dragon.
As the figure hit the surface of the water an immense billow of steam roiled outward in incorporeal puffs. Suffusing the air with the hot damp, warmness of it. The sound of evaporating water was like a roar in the air, and as the steam diffused slightly the tall figure could be seen. Fudo stood, knees bent slightly, streams of fire hissing from the knee joints of his black and red armor. More fire billowed from beneath the elaborate, black, red, and gold helmet perched on his skull like head. The humanoid skull beneath the helmet had fangs, more like a legendary oni, a red spark flickered in each of the monstrous samurai's empty eye sockets. Slowly he straightened, armor creaking, and fire popping and hiss as it was expelled from the joints. The air around him shimmered with the intensity of the heat he put off, and the water beneath his feet boiled.
Chiyo clutched a handful of Retsu's mane in one hand, her other curled around the two toy's to hold them to her, the dragon turned in the air again shooting toward the metal figure as though understanding some unspoken command.
"Freeze his arm, Retsu!" She cried, her voice chiming with her delight. The dragon's jaws parted as he stooped flying over the obviously shocked metal man, and exhaled sending a freezing force all along the metal of the disfigured arm, and the water. Freezing the humongous thing in place. "Fudo!" Chiyo shrieked, through a fit of laughter: She couldn't help it, the man was so obviously shocked that she'd even escaped his attack let alone come back for more!
Grown ups were so silly!
The monstrous samurai, shifted. His armor grating, the water spitting, boiling, hissing, steaming beneath his skeletal feet. A bony hand grabbed the hilt of one of the two swords from his side, and unsheathed it with a grating hiss. Fire suffused the red hot blade. Giving a low sound ghastly sound the samurai ran forward, both hands clasped around the hilt of his huge katana. The metal man attempted to jerk his arm free, wanting to get out of the way... but it was to late.
Fudo leapt, bringing the large blade over his head and sweeping it down near the man's body. Ice hiss, and cracked, metal screamed and melted, and shattered as the quick succession of frigid chill and the extreme heat worked against it like a dream.
The man fell sharply back as his arm was detached from his body, the weight of it immediately starting to sink, surrounded by ice still.
Chiyo gave a loud cheer, still circling over head on her dragon's back, "You're turn Water Man! Take him down! Chiyo hates to loose!"
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OoC: I don't really like controlling other peoples NPCs if you can't tell so I kinda forgot about the guy except for when I was attacking him. He's you NPC so it just doesn't feel right. XD;;
If you wanna write about his reactions to Chiyo more in depth in your post go for it, if not I don't care. I just hope my post wasn't to bad.
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The Spirit Keeper
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Post by Souku|Raidon|Tao on May 11, 2008 1:22:09 GMT -5
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OoC;
The massive horse jerked it's head to the side as an imaginary bridle forced it to turn around. The man had apparently forsaken his attempts to attack him as he lunged at the girl. And a new sensation tugged at him, distracting him once more. Forget her! Forget her! Forget her!, kaji screamed at him again from within his own mind. She's not part of the mission! She can be over looked! Move or you'll get killed yourself! The horse stepped to the side, then staled. Tao blinked, secounds drawing into minutes, and then into hours as his mind jerked away from the scene. And the girl changed suddenly. No longer surrounded by water and distance visions of sand, distorted by the waves of blistering heat, but by snow and ice. He could feel himself still straddling the paper horse, his energy surging into it, bringing the monster to life. And the girl's figure had changed. She was taller, with paler hair and complexion. "Hime.", he muttered. Kiah. He remebered that scene well. He could see himself standing stupidly in the snow, almost feeling the flakes melt onto his burning arm as they fell.
The man was in the air now, staling in the young man's vision and seeming to hang, suspecded in the air. And Kiah - the girl, the girl, the girl, his mind warned him - lept to the side. God, he remembered this to well. He shouldn't have been thinking about this! The mission! Think about the mission!, but Kaji's voice seemed distant now as another voice overthrew it.
YOU killed her, YOU LET HER DIE!
His head hurt suddenly. More so than the metal filings eating away at his arm, having reached the middle of his forearm. Kiah -- It's not her -- grabbed hold of some invisable force, the dragon, he could see now, taking off and sliding expertley in the air above the water -- It's different this time! -- he could see her image falling apart and morphing awkwardly in before his eyes back into the little girl. The snow dissipated as his mind quite forcing him to see such things as he stood their stupidly, looking quite distraught all of a sudded. And he was back, having left without anyone else knowing of it. But still, his usually alert eyes were glazed and unfocused. "Souku..."
"You know what? I'm done with this mission."
The water, the girl, the dragon, the man, the desert, all of it came rushing back. But it was only visable to him, the girl having summoned up another demon to counter the man. She wasn't in danger and Tao knew it. But it didn't matter to him. "..You idiot!", he finished. His chakra pounded against the paper muscles of the beast and it's body jerked, stalling as it's feet moved about in an almost clumsy manner. She's not part of the mission! Kaji's voice rattled in his head again. "Yeah..", Tao muttered, his own bady wobbling as his puppet leapt forward, it's massive hooves thumping, splashing against the water's surface. "..but I...I won't let her die.", he spoke so softly, even as his face became livid with excitment. The horse bounded forward, turning sharply to circle about the scene as he watched clolsey. And his brain was already trying to mold the situation into something that made sense. No little girl should have been able to pull such a stunt, to summon such a monster. Never in his life had he been hit with such an oddity. She's a kunoichi..that's for sure. But..how the hell-? Something's not right., he frowned, dipping his head slightly to pick at the wristband on his blackened, injured wrist. Even in the stinging pain it took to pull at the slips of paper beneath the metal bracelets and the black cloth under those. The silvery metal jingled together quietly(in comparision to the noise going on about him) with the movements of the body of his steed. It didn't matter to him which one he snagged now, to have any of his beasts at his disposale would have helped. There now.., his eyes glanced upward, watching with a renewed interest as the girl commanded the beasts around her. Geez..., he watched her, pulling the horse to a stop, it's feet skidding across the water. All that drama he'd gone through and the girl could fend for herself. How embarassing. The horse snorted, as though it were feeling impatient with it's master's indesicion. "Calm down.", he whispered. He wasn't crazy...well, not from what could be see by his peers, anyway. Still, as if those twitching ears were able to function, the horse steadied itself on the man's command.
He felt himself exhale as the girl's demon samurai sliced the metal arm off of the man, feeling Ki jerk to the side to avoid being hit, on his command, of course. And now the man was slumped down on his knees, settled along the water's surface.
You're turn Water Man! Take him down! Chiyo hates to loose!
He lifted his head to gaze at her, his brow knitting slightly in inquiry. "Water Man?", he repeated, spurring the horse onward to trod up to the man. Didn't she realize? How much she'd insulted him, embarassed him? Or that he wasn't supposed to kill the man? He hated to lose as well, but he had orders. The mission, even if he didn't want it to be, was still his top priority. The massive equine towered over the man, as did the rider, and the man stayed still. "We're done here." He said, watching the man closley, still suspisios of fowl play, natually. "He'll be sent to Konoha's prision. I'm simply here to make sure he get's there." The last part of his sentance was directed more toward the man than the girl, a lingering threat that was meant to be heeded. But even in his caution, Tao lifted his gaze toward the girl, examining her..or rather, the two monsters behind her. Who - no - What the hell is this kid?. Perhaps, he considered, he should also escort her to the Leaf, for being a suspisious character as well. It was, after all, a little convenient that she was here with the man. He eyed her, wondering for a moment if she were an acompliss and simply playing him into the fox trap. But the growing cackling noise from the man stole away his attention.
"Konoha's prision, eh, Ugashi? I don't think so.." Tao's eyes narrowed, frowning and allowing the horse to step closer. "What?" His fingers touched the slips of paper poking out from beneath his wristband and bracelets as the man sat up. And in that instant, his arm throbbed, drawing a quiet gasp from him as he flinched for a secound
"Don't make me repeat myself, dammit... I told you, these things are inside me already. Heheh You think...you think I need that peice of shit arm?"
He could feel the muscles along his spine and shoulders tremble with a new tension. Between two fingers, he pulled forth a slip of paper, glancing down only for a secound to catch the kanji symbol. Shiroi..!, he glanced back up at the girls own blue dragon. How ironic. The man rose to his feet, and Tao's eyes flicked back toward him just in time to catch the movment as he swung his other arm to aim his hand at Tao, palm facing him. "I'll tear you apart!, Tao's eyes widened and he made his escape in an instant, leaping up off of the horse and into the air as the metal filings surged forth from under the man's very skin in a visable wave. The horse, witering without it's source of energy, collapsed in on itself, the filings tearing through the paper noisily and leaving the bits to float uslessly in the water. The man whipped around to blast a metal wave at the girl as well before drawing his good hand upward, his hand outstretched toward the dusty sky.
"Ninja Art: Fullmetal Shockwave!!"
From every pore, it seemed, the metal came. Building and shaping themselves, the near invisable flakes of metal became a solid mass. Lengthening into a massive stream and surging into the sky before whipping back around to drill through the air and aiming toward the girl a hundred meters below.
Above the water, Tao could feel himself dropping back toward the misplaced water again. His good hand worked out the seals again, though this time, differently from before. He winced, the pain in his arm intensified suddenly and his chakra release coming in less than the dazzling burst he'd gotten used to. He was only human, after all.
"Kyuchiyose: kami yubinigyo: Ketsueki!"
Smoke surrounded him, blinding him for a moment before the sudden gust of wind blew it away. The serpantine puppet, startch which against the blue hues of the sky, snaked forward like a bullet. Down towards the girl until it was only a few meters abover it and the white blue darted toward the left. "Go! Futon: Ryuuiki!", Tao called, touching down on the water's surface again and having to kneel down from fatigue. Shiroi obeyed, winding around the man in milisecounds to whip her face around, paper jaws opening suddenly as she ducked under the line of fire from the metal, now only about ten feet from the girl and her demons. And as he mouth opened, she stopped suddenly, easily, to hover before them, her body trailing to her right and curling into a tight S as her chest expanded a bit. The puppet exhaled deeply, a hoarse sound mimiking breathing following after the purple poision gas that rose out of her and into the man's face, expanding quickly. Tao had pulled himself to his feet by now, taking off with speed that had long been bred into him, leganday to the Ugashi clan. Within secound of the dragon suddenly winding off into the air, Tao beside the girl, pausing only long enough to shout at her, his words short and demanding, displaying his years of serving as unofficial, unrecognized leader of Team 24. "Move! Run! And don't breath! Go! NOW!", he could only assume she would listen to him. What shino- ehm, kunoichi would stand about in poisionous air?
The man staggered, his metal blast faultering and disipated back into the air before it reached teh girl(another reason Tao was eager to leave, naturally). Coughing, sputtering, and falling back onto his butt, he could already feel the affects of the gas sinking in. "Y-you...bastard!", slowly, painfully, he dragged his good arm up, the gas not taking full effect until a minute later. Just die already! the metal filings spread again, directing themselves to creep towards the pair in an alarming rate. "Shit!" Tao cursed, his arm burning at the elbow now, his legs trodding forward with less speed than before as his chakra ran low.....
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Post by Leiko-hime on May 11, 2008 2:22:09 GMT -5
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Kyoko, Chiyo
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Warning: My science is weak with this post!
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Even before the metal man's second attack she had decided that she wasn't enjoying this game anymore. The first stopped attack was enough to make her shriek in fear, it'd been coming to close! But the second one, and the water man running by her and telling her to run was the final straw for the little girl.
She didn't like this metal man. At all. He had to go.
"Chiyo doesn't want to play with you anymore!" She yelled, her features loosing all of their childish glee as the attack raced toward them. "It isn't fun any more!" She almost sounded like a spoiled child who'd lost at a board game, but there was a harder edge there; something that you wouldn't expect in a child's voice: Killing Intent.
"Retsu!" She barked out, her voice ordering the dragon. The beast immediately shot off, with her on his back pacing the water man as they went before passing him by. The samurai followed shortly on their heels. She had the dragon deposit her off the water only the sandy shore before curling around, and arcing back toward the metal man. Chiyo stood on the shore of the impromptu lake, dropping the bundle she'd rescued from the dragon at her feet. Grabbing the open scroll she cut set Fudo's doll on it, rolling it up with a flick. A puff of smoke in her hands as the doll disappeared back inside the scroll; beside her the samurai disappeared in a hiss of fire and pale purple smoke.
Lifting her hand the girl's fingers glowed a pale blue with a surge of chakra, and she waved them in a slow circle almost as though she were manipulating something.
Streaking just around the surface the pale blue beast shot toward his target, his fore claws reaching forward toward the metal man, within seconds he grabbed him by the shoulders altering his course suddenly to drag the man underwater. Slamming him down against the surface beneath the waves the 20 foot Long whirled off, circling at high speed around the man: An underwater whirlpool forming. Jaw's parting Retsu issued forth his icy blast once more, straight into the rotating current.
It froze slowly, building up from the inside out in a top shaped crystal prison. The dragon finished, arcing upward and shooting out of the water; heading high into the air.
Below the surface the man was already beating at the confines of his cage, the extreme heat of his attacks working against the ice.
But it was enough time.
On shore Chiyo whipped out another scroll, shaking it open with a practiced motion, and catching the gray colored stag toy in her hands. Tossing it into the air she dropped the scroll and flickered through the same jutsu as before, "Supiritto Shi-ru; Ikusa Shakuhou no Jutsu!"
Lifting her hands she caught the falling toy, and immediately lightning ripped outward from it, as well as a boiling cloud of dark gray chakra smoke: Like a thunderstorm on the boil. The ground was torn by the raging electricity splintering around her in python sized arcs. The massive form sprang from the air above her, crystal clear hooves hitting the water as the new beast charged out toward the middle of the water.
The massive many pronged tangle of his antlers held the smoky orb, an orb that was quickly darkening to a purple black, sparkling chain lightning raced continuously across the glassy surface of the orb.
Chiyo's lips curled into a smirk that seemed desperately out of place on the childs face, "Water Man better steer clear of the water." She murmured, then shrugged. She hadn't kept track of the man, and to be honest if he got caught up in this... It was his own fault!
Retsu's claws thudded as he landed beside her, his long body around her protectively. She just barely peeped passed the dragons nose.
"NOW RAIDEN!" She yelled. Burning white hot electricity lashed outward raining across the surface of the water, and surging through it in wild arcs. The smell of ozone burnt through the air. The loud thunder cracks set the air to ringing. The power pulsed through the air, and the stag stopped moving spreading his hind legs he reared up, then came back down slamming his hooves against the surface of the water.
The liquid spread outward from the point as the beast discharged a shock wave of electricity into the liquid conduit.
Below, the final remains of the ice shattered, but from an outside force... and like any electricity seeking a way to go to ground the electrical charge in the water homed in on the metal in the mans body: it was like having a massive hydraulic superconductor. Raiden reared again the orb in his antlers glowing white: Lightning gathered around the beast in a vague sphere before spreading out in a cage of super hot crackling power. Steam billowed off the surface as water was superheated into vapor rapidly.
When the cloud of vapor began to clear, almost all, if not all of the water would have been eaten up by the massive discharge of electricity: and Raiden would already have vanished among the action having used up all his alloted chakra.
The little doll at the girl's feet pawing anxiously. Reaching down she picked it up, settling him in his scroll and closing it. She wasn't interested in what remained of the mean man.
If anything, it was just a pile of melted metallic ooze, probably with odd bits of bronze or even gold that had been drawn into the water during the scuffle and plated onto his hide from the rapid ionization of the water.
Anything was possible, really.
Giving a slight whine Chiyo allowed her hold on Retsu to release, staring at the dragon doll at her side the girl side, "Chiyo's kinda tired now." She flopped down on her butt in the sand, wiggling her toes, and watching the foot long toy dragon walk to her side, and blink glassy eyes up at her.
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The Spirit Keeper
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Post by Souku|Raidon|Tao on May 28, 2008 21:44:44 GMT -5
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OoC;
Tao could feel his teeth grit together again at her description of the mission as a game. What the hell was she trying to do, fooling around like this? He glared at her, feeling his yellow fish rise up to glide through the water just underneath them, following the invisible strings Tao laid out for him. "I told you, this isn't a game!", he yelled at her, trying to ignore the massive demon trailing behind them. But his anger was soon pushed aside, replaced by the realization of his own fatigue. Shit.. I can't keep this up for much longer.., he frowned. As her dragon rose up into the air to take the girl towards the shore, where his jutsu hadn't been able to extend to, Tao had to take larger leaps and bounds to keep up. It took him a moment to catch up, already prepped to collapse as his sandals dug into the moist sand at the bank. He might have done so too, had his personal pride not forbid him from doing so in front of someone, who he felt, should be looking to him for guidance and reassurance. Still, tired and feeling his chakra begin to lose it's effect, he called his dragon back. Imminently, it seemed, she was there. Whipping about in a blur through the air until she landed behind him, her two legs hovering just a few inches above the sand as a cloud of smoke engulfed her. And she was gone. Ki, also, was allowed to float lazily about in the mucky water until the water foamed about him and he too disappeared from the battle field. Tao cursed himself, hating his own limitations suddenly.
But his own frustration was tramped as he kneeled down on one knee, cradling his injured arm at his chest. The new summoning startled him and he fell back, catching himself with his good hand. His injured one fell to his side to lay limply in the sand and he winced again as the grating only added to the irritation of the skin, the burning of the muscles. Water Man better steer clear of the water., Tao had to bite his tongue to keep himself from scolding her about the nickname, the warning jarring him, convincing him to pull himself away from the water's edge. "What are you-!?", he cut himself off, blue eyes squinting against the sudden flash of light, the sizzle of water almost loud enough to make him want to cover his ears. And he eventually did, even as his arm disagreed with the action. He squeezed one eye close, doing his best to get a picture of what was going on. Already a little shy of louder noises to begin with, Tao trembled ever so slightly, his body rattling from the deeper sounds. Finally, he was forced to shut both of his eyes, whining in an inaudible high pitched sound at the noise before freezing up completely. It must have lasted only a minute or so, but it felt longer by the time the explosions had stopped. Somewhere in the midst of it all, Tao thought he had heard something crying out, shrieking, screaming, burning...
A moment after it quieted down, Tao opening his blue eyes again, blinking nervously as his hands slipped back down into the sand to hold himself up. Turning his head to the side, he gasped softly hardly allowing himself to believe what had was seeing. His water, the massive amounts of liquid that had been their not two minutes ago; gone. Evaporated into a heated steam that lingered about in the air around them. The metal, also, had been burned up and he could only assume the man had as well. His jaw slacked, lips parting in an expression of utter astonishment at the empty sand pit before him. There..that had been water there once? Or else just another one of his mind's twisted bouts of tricks. No, he'd felt the disillusion set in after he had seen Kiah. "What did you-?", he stopped, forcing back his own uncertainties as he turned toward her again, her voice cutting through his suspicions and confusion for a moment. Tired? All that and she's just-!? She should be fucking dead!, his expression became cross and he shifted on his heels before forcing himself to his feet. This wasn't right. It just..couldn't be.. He stared down at her form flopped out of the sand, as if she'd simply taken a short jog and needed a breath. It bothered him, setting his nerves into a sense of turmoil. That much chakra? It's inhuman...it's just not possible., his frown deepened into a disgruntled, suspicious scowl. "Who are you?", he asked bluntly, his voice harsher than he realized. His lifestyle had left him like this. Brutal interrogation wasn't beyond him, naturally. Even with his decision to help her, to aid in keeping her alive, he was wary. Wary of her attitude about the situation(not to mention quite insulted), wary of her chakra levels, and of her demons. And above all, wary of who...or..what exactly she was. His suspicious mind was already at work, even if his morals dismissed most of his ideas. Someone so young should never have been allowed on the battlefield. Maybe it was because his family was so old fashioned. Last time he checked, children, especially young girls, should have been with their parents.
regardless of her answer, he pushed the issue no further. His mission was done. Unsuccessful, much to his dismay, but completed. With his good and, he drew out a number of paper pieces, channeling energy along the tops and bottoms of them and allowing the slips to wraps about his arm, hardening into a makeshift cast. Tao winced, gritting his teeth again. Though the metal had stopped it's movements towards his biceps, without the man to fuel the chips power, they remained embedded within his skin. It burned considerably, but it wouldn't slow his trip back home. Or perhaps... He lifted his gaze toward the Sand. Perhaps he could simply request medical attention there instead. No, he didn't trust their medical nin. Even if they were allies, he wasn't prepared to waste time in a foreign village while they pulled the metal from his arm. It's already been a month..., he recalled. A month since he had left home for the mission to scout out the killer(he had been difficult to find, to say the least), a month since he had seen anyone more familiar than acquaintance. Frankly, even if it meant having to face his own family again, he missed his Village. More specifically, he missed Suki. Perhaps he was more homesick than he wanted to let on. His good arm moved again, breaking his stillness as he pushed himself to his feet. Though his walk was unsteady at first, thanks to the slick mud beneath his feet, he regained his footing easily enough. Now, what to do with the girl. He fixed his blue eyes on her, brow knitting into a perplexed glare. Though he trusted her enough to interact with her, the thought of having her around for much longer brothered him. Especially when he found himself unable to decide where exactly she had come from. Half of him wanted to take her along, back to Konoha with him. She was, technically(as far as he could tell) a POW. Or at least she was until they had killed the metal man. Ugashi had generally been one to stick with basic, more primal traditions. And rescued POWs were supposed to be taken care of. It was a rule of thumb, in Tao's book. But she wasn't part of the mission. He frowned.
Now what?
Sighing gruffly, he flexed his injured hand. Or rather, he would have had he been able to. "Damn.", Tao shook his head. Turning his back to her slowly, he forced himself to remain composed. No little girl was going to see him in pain. "Where are you from, kid?", he questioned simply. "You should head back to it, wherever it is.
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