Boarderlands

[Junan]

The guard stood by and watched, though seemingly he didn't care as Ri then formed a set of handseals.

Ri looked up as he went to vomit out lava, his mouth opening, but then that hollow feeling as the chakra failed to form. Something was wrong... the cuffs were off but he still couldn't use chakra. He still couldn't do what needed to be done.

Suddenly he'd feel the mans hand land roughly on his head, grabbing a handfull of hair and yanking him off his feat once more.

You really think we'd let you go about using chakra? I hope you have more moves than just those reliant on chakra boy or you'll end up like your friend.

As he said that he was being dragged outside. They seemed to be in a town, and beside the shack where they were being held was a rubbish dump, or at first glance that seemed to be the case. In it lay a broken body, not whole, missing an arm at least, of Masayuki.

Don't worry, you'll get your chance to fight, you can try skewer me with a sword if you survive. The voice seemed amused at the prospect.

As they moved across the street a shadow would fall on Ri. Looking up he would see a structure which looked like it was made from wood and vines. The cheers of a crowd muffled even from here, the wood acting as a way to nullify the sound. Looking out back towards where they came from he would see a guard still seated there watching him.

A few people looked at him as they passed, but then looked away again. Yet one person stood out by simply remaining stationary and watching from beside the building on the opposite side to where the body dump was.

He was average height, wearing gear which wouldn't stand out, but to one who would know he had on some standard Cloud gear.

Then a person crossed their path, momentarily blocking the view of the man, only to reveal that he was gone when the person passed.

Suddenly the noise got much louder, and Ri found himself being thrown before landing and rolling on a hard sandy surface. Standing he would find himself surrounded by hundreds of cheering people. On the walls were weapons of all varieties and sizes. Across from him another person seemed to be standing and looked just as dazed.

A voice filled the space, drowning out the crowd and all other noises. The second shinobi from Lightning Country comes before you now. Perhaps he will put up a better fight than the last poor soul. Fighting him comes one of his own, another teenage shinobi, this time from Hoshigakure. A battle between shinobi, pitting Cloud trained endurance against Star power. Who will leave alive in this fight to the death?

The arena was maybe ten meters (30 feet) in diameter, and there was no sign of the entrance where he had come in from. Perhaps he had been thrown in from the top of the walls, but it certainly hadn't felt like that.

The other boy looked at Ri and at the weapons, then back to Ri. Clearly unsure on what to do or how to act.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

If the guard was grabbing Ri's hair, then where was his hat? He didn't notice it was gone before, but now that he has, his anger started building up. His face, again, was showing how angry he was. No one fucks with his hat and gets away with it, that thing was his life! "Not like I had a weapon jack ass!" He yelled when the guard pointed out his "reliance" on chakra. There would be no more pretending to get along with the guards, Ri was just pissed off now.

When they finally exited the building they were in, Ri's previous assumption had been correct. It was a crappy little place they were in, and there was a junk yard right next to where they were! Although he didn't want to look at that disgusting pile of waste, something caught his eye that he wished he hadn't noticed.. Masayuki's corpse, missing an arm, was lying in the waste that he so hated. He hardly even knew the kid, but the fact that they mistreated the corpse in that way.. It was an insult to the boy who died and the village he came from.

The more Ri saw, the angrier he became. The people who treated a child in danger like it was normal, what appeared to be a cloud shinobi who's done nothing to save the three yet. Bastards. All of them. "Yeah I'll survive, then I'll come back and kill you, and everyone you fucking love!" Ri shouted as the noise from the Colosseum grew louder. He intended to get payback for what these guys have done to him and his allies. They've disrespected women in the worst way possible, mutilated a child, and make a living off of death and slavery.

As Ri thought about the things that were really pissing him off right now, he suddenly felt weightless for a moment, then he slammed into hard sand with a thud. The feeling of the ground beneath him immediately reminded him of the Colosseum back in cloud, so he had no problem telling where he was. The shinobi stood up and looked to the boy who would be his opponent. He seemed confused, dazed, like he was ignorant to what was going on. And he likely was, Ri was actually surprised he was able to identify the kind of things that went on here without really being told. Probably helped that he spent a lot of time in the Susukino district.

Well, it was unlikely that this was a fight till one of the two yields, so before the announcer even began telling the crowd who was fighting who, Ri was already making his way to the weapon racks that were on the outskirts of the arena. he found the closest thing to a katana he could, then looked to the boy on the opposite end. He was still confused, not even knowing if he should pick up a weapon or not. Too bad, Ri knew that he still had a girl to save and a man to kill, he couldn't hold back now...

Ri drew the sword he found from the rack and faced the boy from Hoshigakure, he held the blade close to his side with he tip pointing at the other shinobi. Ri would dash as fast as he could toward the confused boy, and thrust his sword toward his opponent's midsection. He was aiming for the heart, as this would be a quicker death, and he could avoid doing the same thing that whoever Masayuki fought did..

While he moved in for the kill, Ri thought about how he never thought twice about doing so. He's never actually killed someone before, but why is it that he's been able to get so close without a second thought? There's been several occasions where he went straight for the kill, but what will happen when he finally does kill someone? Would he find out soon? He only hoped that the boy was either to confused to respond to his attack, or would at least accept his death and die quickly.. It would make it easier on Ri in the long run.​

 

[Junan]

Ri darted forward, his killing intent raising a cry of approval from the crowd.

The other boy realized that he needed to do something as Ri pointed the blade at him. Looking around he began to understand, his opponent wasn't going to go easy. Dodging the initial strike, though only barely, he spun around to Ri's side, making himself as difficult to hit as possible.

The blade sliced in an arc around throat height as the other barely managed to duck the blow, hair being shaved off proving the keen edge on the blade.

Using the opening to move towards the walls and pick up a blade of his own, the other boy turned only to find that in the briefest moment where his concentration wasn't on Ri was all it would take.

A slightly confused frown, a cough of blood, lightly pink as the blood frothed forth from his lungs. A look in the boys eyes asking a question which couldn't be voiced. Then his knees wobbled, giving way as his strength gave out. Looking up at Ri one last time he then fell forward, face first into the dirt.

Vines encroached over the body and then dragged the body through the wall of vines and wood. There was a chakra user, it was the only possible answer to that kind of thing happening.

It looks like the boy from Cloud has proven himself against the boy from Star. However lets see how he fares against a more veteran opponent. Introducing Masa!

This time it was another teenager, he walked through an opening created for him by the vines on the other side of the arena, but this time there was clearly no question in his eyes. As Ri had done in that first fight he went to a nearby weapon, picking a long spear before turning his attention back towards Ri. The boy was well muscled, clearly trained though whether he was trained to be a shinobi or something else would be unclear, not that it mattered here with no access to chakra.

Here training without chakra was perhaps an edge.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

"Damn it!" Ri said after his first attack was dodged. It was a lot to ask someone to just let themselves be killed, but it would've been better if he didn't fight a pointless battle.. Another swing then, this time aimed for the neck. This would be the same as a stab to the hea- and he dodged this too, the shinobi only managed to cut a few hairs from his head. Ri watched as the boy ran for the weapons rack, realizing this would be his chance to finish him off. Again, he rushed forward, this time stabbing him in the chest. Good, he finally did it, and it should be relatively fast.

"Why?" This was the only thing Ri could say after he stabbed the other boy. The reason that he wanted to kill him quickly, was to avoid something like that entirely! Why did he have to look at him with such sad eyes, normally that kind of look means nothing to him, but this is the look of someone who's dying. Someone he killed, why did the boy have to question him with those eyes? Damn it! When the corpse fell face first into the sand, the shinobi could only feel relieved. And when it was dragged into the vines that surrounded the arena, it seemed that there would be someone rather troublesome if he ever met them.

The announcer revealed another combatant soon after the first was dragged out of sight. As this one walked into the arena, Ri wiped the blood from his blade with his shirt, and looked at it one last time before looking at the next person he'd have to fight. Just as the announcer explained, this boy was a veteran. There would be no chance to easily take him down, and he was already armed. Ri would have to be careful if he wanted to take this one out. He couldn't tell if he was from some village, or if he'd been trained here, but he could tell he was in far better condition to be fighting.

"Guess I won't get off so easily, huh?" Ri asked the boy after he chose his weapon. The shinobi would slowly walk toward his opponent, making sure he was prepared to counter or dodge whatever attack may be thrown at him. He would try and get as close as possible, then run and flip into the air while slashing his sword toward the opponent at the same time. Again, he meant to act quickly and kill quicker, seeing that look in someone's eyes would just end up scarring him further after this is all done. If the other boy managed to follow Ri and use his spear to attack, Ri would try and block or parry the attack using his sword instead of attacking.​

 

[Junan]

The two combatants closed in on one another, the other boy didn't say anything, instead he was clearly focused on what he had to do. His eyes showed that he was ready to kill... that he had killed. There was nothing of the frightened genin which had been in the other boys eyes, nothing which showed he was still training and had hoped that Ri would wait and they might have attempted to do something to escape.

A fight between the two began.

Ri looked for openings in the others guard, but the other kept his blade low, moving it back before shooting it forward again at Ri. Not going for a killing blow, but rather a hit, any hit, something to make Ri bleed and gain an advantage. What Ri would have to take from this was that he wasn't being underestimated.

Stepping around each other for a time, Ri attempting to hit the spear tip to create the gap he needed to get inside the reach of the other. He attempted a feint, swiping at the tip, the other reacted as he had every other time, but this time on the forward stroke he repeated the action, hitting the point away from his body. Moving quickly into the gap he'd created he darted forward. But the other boy was fast as well. He'd recovered from the block quicker than Ri had hoped for, and the spike went into his side. Far from fatal, but still an injury.

Swinging his blade down, but unable to jump due to the spear stick in him his opponent dodged the worst of it, moving his body backward, moving his left hand to the rear of the spear and making himself a smaller target, but he couldn't move his leg in time. The blade cutting deep into his thigh. Ri's opponent grimaced but with his left hand he pulled the spear tip from Ri, and then shot it forward again, this time aiming higher. Ri darted back to try and avoid the blow but was too slow. The tip slicing into his left shoulder, but it was only a flesh wound.

The crowd cried for blood.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

"Not very talkative are you?" Ri asked as he and his opponent began fighting. The fight was very repetitive, and rather annoying to the young shinobi. It was just the other boy thrusting his spear forward, and Ri parrying, over and over again. This continued for a while until Ri finally came up with a way to break the cycle. Another repeat of what they'd been doing, then he changed it up a bit. Instead of simply parrying, he moved in for an attack. As he began swinging his sword however, he took a spear to the side. Certainly uncomfortable, but the momentum of the blade wouldn't be stopped by just that. Despite his opponent's try at dodging the blade, he failed, and now had a deep gash in his leg. The shinobi smiled at this, but got distracted enough to only be able to barely dodge the spear coming right back at him after being pulled out of his side. This time, his shoulder was cut, and the crowd became far more excited than they already were.

Now that they were both wounded in some way, the fight would be far different than it was before. Both combatants would likely be moving slower due to either a badly wounded leg or loss of blood that drained their strength. The next few attacks that were made would probably decide this battle, and Ri didn't intend to lose now. Spears had few weaknesses when used correctly, but one weakness that will always be the downfall of using one would be their range. Although they can be used at larger distances than other weapons, if you get in close the wielder is pretty much screwed. So the shinobi would use that against his opponent!

Ri sheathed his sword and prepared to grab the hilt. He hoped this next attack would either decide the match or wound his opponent even more so that he could finish it anyway. The boy lunged forward as quickly as he could, and if he was able to get within range, he'd draw the blade as quickly as possible, extending his arm as much as he could to get the most range he could manage. He was aiming to cut his opponents head off, even if it wouldn't be a pretty sight, it would probably effectively kill him. There was clearly no way to do this without cutting something off, they were too even in their fighting ability for a clean kill. Damn... Hopefully he didn't still have some comrades that would have to see him after the fight.

If the other fighter tried to stop Ri with another spear thrust, Ri would quickly plant his feet into the ground and try to jump over the weapon. As he comes back down, he would stomp on the middle of the spear to break it, making it mostly useless. After landing, he would continue with his original plan of decapitating his foe. If even that fails, he would begin to notice the wound in his side beginning to take it's toll on him, and stumble a little after attacking.

{MFT}​

 

[Junan]

The other smiled at Ri as the other said he didn't talk much, but that smile turned into a grimace as he shifted his weight back onto the sliced leg. It was going to cause him some grief that wound, and would mean he was slower, wouldn't be able to follow up on a gap as easily, and less capable of simply avoiding attacks, instead he'd need to block. But Ri had sustained a slice across his shoulder and a puncture in his side. If any internal organs had been damaged like his stomach then he was going to die without medical attention, it would also mean a weakened attack as core muscles had been damaged with the shoulder.

Ri decided to risk it all, at a moment where the other seemed most uncomfortable he lunged forward, using the speed in his legs to compensate for the weakness in his core and shoulder. The other skewered him through, but it was defensively, and only meant that he had nothing to defend himself with.

The blade swung and the others head came off.

But Ri had a long spear stuck through him.

The vines opened and the cacophony from the audience was overwhelming. He hadn't lost so much blood that he was dizzy though, and he recognised the man coming out of the vines. It was his guard.

Well done. I wasn't sure about this last one, thought you might have been out matched, but no, you won us some good money. Come on now, lets get you back and heal you.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Rage came over Ri again as he saw the same guard from before, but he was far to wounded to really do anything about it. There was a freakin spear stuck in his stomach, a hole in his side, and a cut on his shoulder, if he even tried to rush the guard, he'd probably just run into something and shove the spear deeper into his gut. The only thing he could do was listen to the guard and suck it up till he had been treated but whatever shit doctor they had in this damned place. Even if the doctor used chakra, he doubted they would be the best at it... Using the katana from before as a sort of walking stick, the shinobi limped his way over to the jack ass so he could be taken to whatever place came next.

"Where's... The girl?" He asked, forgetting the name of his comrade because of how focused he was on walking and how angry he was at the guard. "And my hat..." That sentence was almost a mumble, but the hat was just as important as someone else's life to him. He had never lost it before, it's been damaged, but never lost. Before walking through the vines, Ri looked back one last time at the blood on the sand and the disembodied head that was now lying on the ground. The sight made his brow furrow even more than it was already, "I need to kill these bastards soon.. After they did this to us..."​

 

[Junan]

The guard smiled, and for the briefest moment looked kindly.

She's been given clothes and was allowed to clean up in privacy while you were in here, but should be back in her cell now. Your hat though, I can certainly try and find it for you if you'd like? You earned at least that much today.

Rirakkusu was led into a waiting area and was seen to rather quickly. He was placed under some medicine to help numb the pain before the spear was sawn off and then pulled through. They inspected the wound to see if anything had been damaged internally or if there were any splinters, and then did the same for the second one. Sewing the two holes together with a number of stitches on both side of the body the shoulder was also stitched together. The medicine also seemed to dull his senses though, so combined with the wounds and everything else he was now relying on the guard to walk him to the cell, any attempt to do anything failing miserably and only irritating the guard.

Once back in the cell he'd notice that the guards word on the girl was true, she did seem cleaner, though was curled up in a ball in the corner of her cell, at least now clothed.

OOC: If Ri hadn't attempted to escape or assault the guard on the return to the cells the following will also happen:

After some time passed, Ri was unsure of how long but things were much clearer to him, the guard returned with his hat.

This what you after? The guard asked, if given anything resembling a "yes" the hat would be tossed (unceremoniously) into the cell. Do good in the arena and behave and we can get things sorted for you. He said before turning back to his post.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Ri hated the whole experience after the fight. Not only was the guard he hated now being all buddy buddy with him, but he also had to rely on him to get places and for medical attention. The only thing he got from this was the removal of a spear in his gut and some stitches to close his wounds. After being patched up, he was returned to his cell where he saw the girl he was supposed to save. At least you kept your word..." He mumbled while looking at the guard. The fact he was telling the truth changed nothing, Ri still sought revenge for what they've done up to this point. A while went by, though he couldn't tell how long "a while" was. The young shinobi nodded when the hat was brought back to him, and he picked it up and put it on when it was thrown into the cage.

After his mind was clearer and his hat was returned, he looked at his team mate who was still curled up in the corner. "I know this might be a bad time for you, but we need to find a way to escape." He said this a quietly as possible, trying to make sure that only she was the only one that could hear him. Their only chance to escape was to work together, and as much of a "sweet deal" they had going on here, Ri would prefer not staying in a cage for who knows how long between each fight. Ri would wait for a response from Yoringa, and if none was given, he'd get a little closer and try saying that they need to get out again.​

 

[Junan]

Yoringa turned to him, but placed a finger to her lips, something in her eyes said she knew something, and she moved and dropped a piece of parchment within Ri's reach.

Grabbing it Ri would read a note which would give them hope, it was from Korekiyo, the Jounin who had been leading the team. It read:

We will break you out tonight, stay quiet and don't cause trouble. No humming. Looking at you Rirakkusu.

Korekiyo

So it seemed he had a sense of humour, but at the same time possibly a bit of irritation there as well.

The sun dropped in the sky and food was given to Ri and Yoringa, nothing poisoned in it, nothing wrong, just probably not very good quality.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Ri was surprised to see that Yoringa wasn't freaking out anymore, and when the slip of paper dropped to the floor, he quickly picked it up. The contents of said paper explained that they would be rescued that night, and also revealed that he actually hadn't muted the mic when he was humming. Great. He understood that they shouldn't cause any trouble, but why couldn't they talk? If they had to stay quiet so that they could hear something, they could easily just talk quietly, it wasn't like he would want the guards to hear what they would talk about anyways. When their food arrived, the shinobi realized just how hungry he was. After all, it had probably been a while since the last time he ate, so it wasn't abnormal for him to feel this way.

Without a second thought, Ri began scoffing the food down. He almost threw some of it up from how crappy it was, but it was still nice to get something inside of him. When he finished the meal, he realized it could've been poisoned, but shrugged it off as it was too late now. The food left a bad taste in his mouth, so the only thing he could think of now was sake. The wonderful drink that keeps him going and makes his day when times are bad. "Hey, the food sucked. Have any sake?" He shouted to the guard, ignoring the fact that he probably should've sucked it up till his team leader arrived.

The boy would wait for some kind of response from the guard, then look back to Yoringa for her reaction. After all, he didn't realize that he did something he shouldn't have until it was already done. He expected some kind of dirty look or her mouthing "what are you doing?" Something like that. It would make sense, in a way he could be causing trouble if the team leader was outside or something.

{MFT}​

 

[Junan]

The guard stood and with what looked like a bemused look on his face he entered the room. Behind him a Chuunin dropped down, beside her the Jounin leader. The other guard died, and before the normal one could speak a blade appeared through his throat, before disappearing again. The man collapsed, the female chuunin (Unkei) outside the cages took his keys as he fell and began attempting to unlock Yoringa's cage. Korekiyo however took the other body and moved it into the space as well, hiding it out of side of passers by around the corner.

"We need to act fast, they'll notice the lack of guards but I don't know what to expect in terms of response."

The first cage was unlocked and Yoringa moved out of it.

As Unkei moved to unlock the second cage Korekiyo moved to the entrance and kept watch.

The door was unlocked and Ri was free once more.

"Okay, we have to get out. I'm not sure of the location of it, but you both have a chakra inhibitor placed on you, we don't have time to search and remove it here, but we will move quicker without it. The plan is that we'll get about a kilometer out of the village, remove them, and then continue from there. Atsumichi and Katsumoto are at the location and already have everything required to remove them at hand. Ri... There was suddenly a look of great annoyance in his face as he looked at the boy ...we will need to have a talk after all this is done, but for the time being please just do as you're told.

First out was Unkei as she took point, then Korekiyo tapped Ri's shoulder so that he would head out and follow, Ri (assuming he went) would notice that Yoringa was not far behind him and that Korekiyo behind her.

Fleeing through the night the ground was fairly open, they were using buildings as cover, hiding as people passed by before moving again as soon as they thought the coast was clear. Things would seem to be going well until a siren would sound, following which many lights would turn on, and the streets become more busy. Thankfully at that point they were on the edge of the village and heading into the undergrowth.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Even though Ri was happy to see that his team mates had finally arrived, he was very irritated that the guard he swore to kill was just killed by someone else right in front of him. It was the kind of irritation that was visible on his face, but he knew he wouldn't be able to complain about it until they were clear of the village. Which happened to be the plan anyway, sadly they'd have to wait until they were out to get these damn... Chakra inhibitors apparently, off of them. It would be nice to finally be able to use jutsu again, even though he proved to that guard that he was fully capable of using something besides jutsu. First to be released was Yoringa, who quickly moved to the door to keep watch, then he was released. After everyone was ready to move, the plan was explained and he was called out.

"What the hell did I do?" He mumbled, hoping that the Jounin would hear. The shinobi really didn't have any idea what he'd done, aside from fighting for his life, swearing to kill a guard and everyone he loved, and having no mercy for his opponents. But if those were things that he'd get scolded for, he didn't understand why he was a shinobi. Well, maybe the swearing to kill everyone thing was a problem, Korekiyo was probably around when he yelled that one.

As they moved through the city, it was oddly quite, and stayed that way till they were basically out. That was when the sirens finally started going out, which meant either they moved really fast, or those guards were reeeally slow to figure out a few of their own were dead. Now they were moving through the underbrush, just a little longer and he could use chakra again! And would also probably be chewed out for whatever reason. Maybe it was the fact he got everyone caught? No way... He was blindsided, they should at least understand that.​

 

[Junan]

Finding the others they had scalpels at the ready.

Get in there, Unkei keep watch. The jounin placed his orders as Ri and Yoringa moved into it and the other pair got to work locating and removing the stones.

While they did so Korekiyo stood before them, his eyes on Ri, his voice hushed Ri, everything which has happened here was caused simply by your humming. You gave away your location, enabled them to set a trap for Yoringa and your dead comrade. You wouldn't be in this mess if you had simply obeyed your command. This is the first thing you should have been taught upon becoming a genin.

Stones were out now though. Ri would be able to feel the familiar warmth of Chakra moving through his system again.

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

When they were finally inside and the stones were being worked on, the scolding had already begun. When Ri's humming was mentioned, he got a bit confused. "I was humming?" He mumbled. The rest of what the Jounin said wasn't really heard, as he thought about the events leading up to his kidnapping. "Oh crap!" He exclaimed, "I thought I muted my head set..." Even though he should be feeling ashamed about the fact his humming got one of his team mates killed, he felt more embarrassed. Everyone on the team heard him humming randomly, which isn't something he wanted anyone to hear. Damn.

But his embarrassment soon went away as the stone was removed, and he felt the sweet flow of chakra rushing through his body. His strength returned to him almost immediately, and it invigorated him. He would even be jumping around because of this energy if he wasn't in trouble at the time. After he managed to calm himself down a little, he realized that he would probably need to apologize for what he'd done.

"Sorry..." That one word made him feel what he was supposed to be feeling right when it was said. And he knew he wasn't meant to apologize to the captain, but the team and his former comrade's family. This time, he'd have to suck it up and do something right. Well, morally right. "Tell me the place where Masayuki lived and I'll give his family the news myself..." After he said this, he'd take whatever scolding the team leader had left for him and try and remain quite for whatever else they needed to do. The only time he would speak now, is if he was asked a question or spoken to by someone other than the Jounin.​

 

[Junan]

Gotta go! The message came through the headsets.

No, you will come with me, we will do it together. The Jounin said to Ri before the pair on watch arrived.

For now, lets return back to the village and report this place. I'm sure the Raikage will be most interested to learn of its existence.

The squad moved, with their chakra now enabled they could all move quickly, they wouldn't be caught by those chasing them anymore. However the fact that a town not on the map seemed to exist, that it seemed to exist purely for the entertainment of those who traveled there but that barely a rumor of the places existence had arrived.

This was unusual. Perhaps Cloud would need to deal with this as a personal matter.

[topic left - mission complete - Success]

 

[Uragaeshi Riyoji]

Ri nodded when the Jounin said he'd go too. Though it was a little disappointing that he accepted that, especially since he was the cause of the boy's death and he wouldn't even argue that he should do it alone. At this point, he was just too tired to argue, well, that was the excuse he was using to make himself feel better about it.

The shinobi had no idea that the city they were taken to wasn't even on any maps, but he would likely figure that out soon when they went to report the results of the mission to the Raikage. For now though, his only worries were getting back to their village, and how he was supposed to tell the kid's family that he got him killed. That's going to be a rough day for him...

{Topic Left}