Private Chūnin Exam: Serpent’s Strike [Neko]

[Chikamatsu Shin]

The days have come and they have left. This was the first time, even before Shin returned to the village, he got to see his Student take on the trials and testing a required to become a Chūnin. While he knew that Kanmuri had advanced through the ranks he wasn’t here to watch him grow into a fully fledged Shinobi, and many of his other students lost their lives as Genin or could never try to push themselves to Chūnin.

Standing in the open arena, the sun having set a few hours ago, Shin stood in the artificially lit space, with the stars filling the skies above him. His armor was glistening in the shifting carmot that emitted their Photon Chakra.

Looking to the sound of his Student, no his Pupil, arriving to the arena Shin would smile.

”Neko-san, welcome to the Stardust Stadium. This arena has been filled ever type of citizen within the Land of Wind to watch the heroes of our nation demonstrate their strengths and prowess. And today….“

Shin’s smile remained as he extended his hand. A massive burst of radiant light would form in his hand. Blue Holy chakra spiraling and exiting from every inch of Shin’s body would indicate he was remove any blockers he may have carried himself with.

Clinching his hand onto the hand of his now appeared Excalibur Blade caused the radiant chakra to condense into a shimmering blade. Simultaneously two wings, with a twenty foot wingspan, would stretch out shimmering in their mythical Phoenix red feathers.

”…you will join the ranks of these heroes. I hope you are ready!“

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Her first Sensei, seemed like a very fitting test if you asked her. She had come so far, and all because Shin pushed her further than she thought was ever possible. She had become a dangerous opponent for many though she knew she could no manage to defeat Shin in one on one combat, still she was going to give it her all and hold her own. Her mind flickered with the thoughts of the day she slayed the serpent in her last exam, her testament she had made that day rang in her mind like a cry of war. I want to live..

She offered a smile and a bow to her sensei, though he had referred to her as if they were on equal ground he was still her teacher, her motivation, her mentor. While sh had studied under a few in her time, all to varying degrees, Shin was the one Sensei who's opinion of her always mattered most. Her eyes met his and then lowered to his blade as she returned to her stance, tightening her headband around her bicep and then spreading several shuriken between her fingers.

With a nod she finally spoke, "May I make you and my family proud, and may you not hold back."

Her hands moved quicker than ever as in a moment the battlegrounds began to fill with red rain, a pouring puddling, rain of her blood began to fall around them, from each pool rose another Neko equally as eager to get started as herself. The only way she walked out of this in any fashion other than completely wiped was wit and speed. The many clones would all jump back to surround and mix around Neko's true form before scattering into different angles and attacks. Some began to send volley attacks, some sent out silver crows, and one of them somewhere in the mix was throwing out Genjutsu but which it was became harder to focus on as the different abilities flooded in. She had learned a lot since their last little brush in, she hoped both her master and one who shared his body would be impressed with that fact

[wc 360]
[mft]

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Shin would smile as his student would try and push illusions onto him, but as they would go into an offensive strategy they find themselves in a situation they hadn’t anticipated on. Shin was not just a swordsman, but he was a master Genjutsuist.

As the illusions came in he would reciprocate in turn. Five Shin would stand where he once stood all raising their blades, deflecting the volleys of shuriken. Coming his way.

”Don’t forget about me so easily!“

A voice would appear from behind Neko and her clones, a woman’s crassness. If Neko looked back she would see Kohana, standing there with a hungry grin on her face, emitting dark cursed energy. Black and red lightning would rip across her body and across her blade.

A burst of sound could be heard as she launched forward faster than the speed of sound, slamming her blade into the ground at the center of the Neko’s, causing a massive rupture of the stone beneath their feet.

With a coordinated timing, above the destruction, Shin would be flying with his sword pointing into the air.

”Never…more…“

As his voice spoke the fluttering of lights and shadows would fill the arena. As millions of small flower petals would fill the air. Slicing at flesh, clinging to joints, and blinding the line of sight. This jutsu was one of Shin’s specialties, and for every scratch that Neko would take, a cute and scratch he had received from her silver crows would heal.

Shin was not just a Sage, he was a Medic. His body was capable of healing for deadly blows within seconds. Every second he breathed his body would restore injuries to their previous state. Simply existing would cause even the most heinous of injuries to recover within a matter of moments.

How would Neko respond. She had never seen his regenerative properties.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko would smile at the voice and naturally look over her shoulder, "Oh trust me, I could never forget you darling" with a wink as her form splashed into a puddle of blood like many of the others hit from his attack. She took some hits but not enough to stop what was already in motion. Most of the clones were dropped in an instant as they were not meant for a long lasting combat, simply to divert attention. If Neko had delayed a second longer she too would have been not much more than a puddle. Instead however she now was now attempting to land a blow at the flying shin's back. Her hand signs in a seal that someone with medical training would recognize anywhere, vampire's kiss.

The seal would likely miss, but if she managed to land it would aid her for combat with someone who was able to regenerate so quickly. She knew she didn't stand a chance if she kept at a distance, that was the issue. Her normal abilities were not going to work on him, she could only keep close and hope that the illusion of Kohana stayed an illusion at least long enough for her to land some shots. Miss or hit, afte the seal her fhands would move in a way she had recently learned in her time in training with the Anbu. She was going for an incapacitating shot, one that if landed would deal a blow of significant force against him. She was saving most of her skills for the next bit, but for now taijutsu and ninjutsu would have to work well enough.
[633]

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

As the Genin would place the vampiric seal on Shin he would begin to chuckle. Turning his head around one hundred eighty degrees to stare at Neko.

”Genjutsu 101: Illusionists must be impactful without being seen. Our physical bodies tend to be weaker than our Taijutsuist counterparts.“

Bursting into a thousand birds the clone jutsu was dispersed.

Taking a second.

Taking a breath.

Shin would be standing in the middle of the arena. No blood. No broken stone. No movement since their first words were spoken.

”While I appreciate your quick thinking, knowing your enemy’s is something you need to take advantage of.“

Shin would summon his sword as spiraling holy energy would glow from his body once more. He pointed the blade at Neko as his wings erupted from his back.

this time, though time feels to have repeated, would differ. Thousands of falling rose petals would fill the arena. A Chikamatsu Justus most likely.

”Intelligence gathering against an enemy stronger than you is vitally important. Use what you know.“

The sounds of footfalls from behind Neko would once again be heard.

”Shin is a Grandeur Phantom. If you can see me, what does that mean for you?“

Kohana would grin as she lowered her body into a readied position.

Shin would raise his blade, pointing it at Neko.

”Ready or not, here I come.“

As Kohana spoke Shin’s physical form would simply vanish. No traces of Shin could be seen as Kohana would thrust a blow towards Neko’s sternum, punching upwards, before spinning back with a half step to slam her elbow into her target while pulling her dominant hand away and up. A powerful punch down to try and connect with Neko’s spine would attempt to cause the girl’s body to slam into the ground. This technique would cause a lingering surge of dark and cursed chakra to course through Neko’s body to continue to cause pain over the next few minutes. This strike was full of evil. A Fist of Sin.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko would come to a crashing halt as her sternum was met the fist, the second moment of contact with an elbow knocking her into the air before a final blow slammed her into the ground. Her mouth opened as upon contact the air rushed out of her and blood spat out of her mouth from her chest.

Where Kohana would have been easily convinced that would have been the end before, this time was different. Her body trembled as the pain coursed through her, but she still placed a fist to the ground and pushed herself to her feet. She slid her body back into a fighting stance and spit the thick crimson blood pooling in her mouth to the ground. She locked eyes and smiled before she spoke, "Gunna have to hit harder than that love, I almost liked that."

She sprang into action, while not knowing her direct family these next few moments would resemble both her adoptive sister Sumire and her brother Kino. A torrent of combinations landed across Kohana's form, back-to-back. She was focused and determined to slam every opening she found. If an arm went to block a leg would sweep, if a knee lifted an elbow dropped, she was almost unrecognizable from the timid shell-shocked girl Shin and Kohana once knew. This woman was a fighter, and far less frail than she once had been.

As they exchanged blows, Neko spun and used a kick to push off and create distance, her focus shifting to her surroundings as she did. A hand, though many more to follow than just the one, would begin to grab onto Kohana and pull her toward the ground. The fight had been less about actually doing damage, but having damage done as the blood puddles allowed for more clones to come into the fight. Though this time her focus was on their strength and not their numbers. Her eyes scanned for any sign of the ever-changing environments falter, if shin was out there, she'd find them and focus her effort on them directly instead of wasting any more time. She could hardly afford to waste any as it was, she was running on empty fast with the blows that she had taken.

[1007]

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Almost as if laughing in Neko's face Kohana would chuckle and giggle at every strike she would receive. The occasional caught blow or parried trick would servefor a single purpose. To wear out the Genin.

"Have you seriously not been paying attention? Look at me. Do you think this is an effective use of your time?"

As Kohana stepped back she would have not a single scratch or scrape on her body. This was Shin's greatest strength. His Shadow, his Persona developed into a warring machine known as Kohana. If Neko looked at herself in this moment, the strikes from Kohana, while felt, were not seen. The Illusory form of Kohana would be able to hurt Neko, and even touch her, but she could not be harmed.

"Genjutsu 102: Grandeur Phantoms, one of the two most powerful minds in the world, can make you see or believe what ever we wish, and our bodies are not always weak."

Behind Neko once again was the Exalted man, with his blade in hand. Kohana would simply reappear behind him like a mirage before reaching out and placing her hand on his shoulder.

A Grandeur Phantom has a hidden ace up their sleeve; a technique which blurs the line between fantasy and reality by manifesting and merging with their Persona, taking on a form that is a mix between both. While this shares their pain with their Persona, it also drastically increasing their processing speed, mental strength and overall capability.

"Forbidden Art: Tabula Rasa!"

​

Shin and his Sister had merged into a single form, the body and appearance of a hybrid of their new form. This was the truest state of the Overseer's identity. This was who they identified with a singularity of their mind.

Launching forward with their blade a series of quick jabs and slices would attempt to cut and sever the main nervous system of Neko's body. They would extend the blade to strike tendons of various joints needed to stand, to move to walk, to attack.

The crimson splatters of blood would not be seen though.

Standing where they initially stood, the form of the Overseer would be smiling. It was all an illusion, or was it? Any successful blow would have the pain and potentially the mental infliction of it's strike, but skin would not have been cut.

"If you wish to impress us Neko, you need to push harder. Make this world your own. Bend the reality to best fit what you need out of this world."

They would shift their stance as their gleaming sword would begin to glow. A virtuous light would emit from their Excalibur Blade, as though summoning forth their most Noble of Phantasms.

"If you don't do something soon, you would have only proved that you still need some more time to grow."

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko watched for a moment, taking labored breathes as a smile crept up onto her face. The chance was here but now she was realizing that she wasn't going to be able to hold back if she wanted this, she'd need to give it her all if she was to become a chūnin. She held out her hand with a smile, three fingers up in the air as her pinky touched her thumb. "Sensei, I see now that I am going to need to focus and give this my best. As for you Kohana, go fuck yourself."

It was right then that she looked up as her form shifted, shrinking slowly to her childhood self. Her smile and head tilt were abruptly ended as a giant snake slammed down over her, the splash of blood slamming into the overseer, its warth was surprising. The snake recoiled and arched up as it swallowed, this wasn't genjustsu at least not really but something more. Shin recognised it as actually the reality bending technique of someone with the Chaos Witch Kinjutsu. She had changed the entirety of the enivorment around them. The snake was reality, the blood was real, the visions felt as if it was the truth around him though it could not be the case.

The serpent's stomach opened as neko's face came out of the wound a look of fear on it. "I..It's your fault.. I could have.." the head was pulled in as the snake slithered up into a striking position. it was hissing loudly as it did Neko's voice continued to echo from the depths of its stomach, "Your fault". It lunged, an easy dodge or block, but as it did it burst into several hundred moths that scattered around in different directions, at first this was merely a show but shortly after it became clear. The overseer felt as the many moths stuck into their from that in fact they must've been the shurikens. The illusion at this point faded as Neko was no where in sight, but shuriken shredded every direction and anything caught in their path.

[1358]

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

a slight grin came to their face. The hybrid of real and false would begin to chuckle slightly. A Chaos Witch? The forbidden jutsu style that allowed you to bend and alter reality to your whims? This was what Neko had been mastering? Then so be it.

Unmoving they would stand still until the snake lunged forward, shifting their weight slightly to side step the serpent they would drop their hand to deal a staggering blow to the creature, but it seemed Neko had other plans as the serpent would explode into millions of shredding moths. Cuts and scrapes would cover their body as the chuckle would begin to grow into a laughter.

Swarms of dark energy would begin to grow and develop around the hybrid form. Black and red flames would burn at their every moment.

"Neko.... Neko-chan... come out come out where ever you are?"

The voice was no longer the hybrid's voice. There was another layer to the voice. The sound of Kohana's voice was layering over the speech. They were destabilizing and it appears that Kohana was taking control of Shin's body once again.

"My fault? You think it is my fault that you're weak? You want to blame others that you couldn't defend yourself against an anime? You are kidding right? What's even worse is that you were made an ANBU member? What a joke."

Kohana's voice drowned out any aspect of Shin left.

A devilish grin came to her face.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are...."

She would punch the ground with the Fist of Sin, causing splintering stone and rubble to burst away from her.

Kohana was taking this moment to show the child what a devil's serpent could really do.

[OoC: I will be OCRing Kohana soon into her own account so this is papertrailing]

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko smiled at this, admittedly she had hoped one would pull through in this moment. She held her hands in a familiar way, a medical jutsu being cast was nothing unusual to see. However, as she did the seals dark cracking bolts flickered around her slamming in every direction. What was meant to heal was now being used to offend the senses, the body, and the mind. She through out this sphere of negative energy it slammed the space Kohana occupied causing the ground to shake and crack to the immense pressure bursting forth. Neko wasn't done, not by a long shot.

In that moment she held out her hand as she plumitted from above, she slammed her fist into Kohana with the same sort of energy that she herself had made an attack with previously, a fist of sin. It was cleat in that moment that the studying, the effort she had put in, those long nights learning abilities and studying how the bloodlines worked, were all paying off. As her ability as a Chimera was finally taking shape, simple mystical replication but turning one's attack against them can often be effective. She let out a scream, out of anger or sadness, for once in her life it was a scream of triumph.

[1571, Marked for Chimera Application]

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

As Kohana was struck by Neko’s fist, replicating the genetically carried skills that Kohana had mastered she would be pushed back slightly before chuckling. As the attack did not carry the same energy as Kohana’s did.

”You want to play in my line of genetics, brat? Then so be it!“

Kohana would slam her hands on the ground.

”My attack was one of skilled Taijutsu, not because of my genetics, but allow me to introduce to you my Father’s legacy!“

As she spoke wooden tendrils would begin to break from the ground like tree roots, launching violently towards the examinee. Sharpened end of the two inch by two inch beams would Pierce like spears as about twenty wooden tendrils would shoot in a rapid fire manner towards Neko. The base of the wood would remain in the ground and they would turn and shift like serpents through tall grass to try and stay on course of their target.

”Though I am of the Chikamatsu Clan. I am of the Senju Bloodline!“

((OoC: sorry for the delay and short post!))

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

[Topic Left due to inactivity: IC Main Branch Rank Chuunin rewarded!]