Open Enter The Dragon [Open]

[Ayeka]

'Cough....cough' Ragged coughs filled the air as blood splattered on the floor between a pair of dark skinned hands as the owner breathed heavily as if every breath was an act of agony as streaks of lighter skin ran up their arms. Ayeka's hand came up to wipe the blood from her mouth but her palm just came back soaked as the girl realised blood was leaking from her tear ducts as well causing her vision to blur as she looked around for help. However the hot springs were abandoned as late at night as it was with only the steaming pools and the stars above for company as Ayeka slowly dragged herself back to her feet wobbling slightly only to fall back to her hand and knees as pain racked her body. 'How did I get here? Where am I? What's happening to me?' Ayeka cast her mind back to this morning where it all began.

- Flash Back No Jutsu-

The morning had started fairly normally for Ayeka as she awoke early to make breakfast for Keni and her mother which had largely improved over the last few months and had evolved from a piece of burnt toast to the beginning of fairly palatable meal of rice and fish. That was followed by training with her brother or it would have been if Ayeka hadn't collapsed after breakfast frightening her mother but Keni had responded quickly and carried her to her room citing that it was probably just a cold and she should rest leaving the horned girl alone to rest and that was when the hallucinations began.

As Ayeka rested visions came to her mind with the first being of her standing within the academy training grounds along her side was a black haired youth with a competitive expression while in front of her stood a much younger Keniwa his hands resting on his hips as he stood in front of her as a dominating presence. After a moment Ayeka felt her body moving by itself as a pale hand rose up in a fist and pressed it straight to her brothers chest before a voice not her own spilled from her lips. "Ha your strong!" Her brother just smiled in response before the vision swirled around her into fractured fractals of colour before Ayeka found herself standing before another scene, A boy with was bound before her in tree roots and in the distance she could see Keni glowing like magma hurtling around a field fighting a giant wolf monster made of stone, blow after blow blowing away it's body only for the creature to regenerate again and again. Ayeka attention was brought back to the boy as her body moved against her will as she contorted the boy into shapes as she drew what appeared to be seals over his body. Nothing prepared her for the screams of that young man gave as she was forced to watch first hand as the monster was pulled into his body before the boy spun around and yanked her arm from her body.

Ayeka had screamed in pain her hands slamming down in the stone floor of the hot springs as she stared at both her arms which were unharmed but now steaked with light skin as she was suddenly racked with coughs.

-Flash Back No Kai-

Ayeka clenched her hands in fear and pain actually leaving groves in the stonework as her nails shattered under the strain. "Wh..whats happening...?" Ayeka spluttered between coughs as her body began to radiate a white chakra that heavily surged with senjutsu before the sound of bone hitting the floor caused Ayeka to look up from the splotches of blood that painted the spring floor. Ayeka's eyes dilated in fear as she stared at her own horns slowly rolling away from her before they tipped over the edge of a nearby pool and fell in disappearing from view. Panic set in as she wasn't sure what was happening to her, due to her Onikawa nature Ayeka's body had always been unstable especially with her upbringing which made the young girl wonder if her body was finally falling apart. Desperation clung to her as she took a deep rattling breath and screamed for help from the only one that had saved her in the past. "ONII-CHAN!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!" Her screamed tinged with hysteria echoed around the springs as she cut off by another coughing fit tears mixing with the blood running down her face.

[MFT]

WC:752

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Patrol duty.

As dull as it was, anything so mundane and orderly after the many things that had happened as of late was very welcome. As the Inuzuka walked, his little brother, uniformed up, and walking protectively close to his leg, kept his eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, like the good ANBU dog he was. Keiyaku's mind, however, was preoccupied with other things. His hand rested gingerly over his stomach, replying the memories of his skirmish in the woods with Kiri and Shusuke, the danger he put both them, and himself in. If Covus-sensei had not arrived to handle the situation... well, suffice it to say, he needed to learn to get his condition under control, and soon. He couldn't rely on his teacher to be there to save the day every single time. Just when he was starting to lose himself in his reverie, Morutobu let out a short, sharp bark. Keiyaku jumped. He looked down, at his ninken seemed to be whining, his eyes fixed on an open area further down the village path.

"What is it?"

Moru gave a little growl.

"Blood? Yeah, I can smell it too..."

That didn't bode well. Quickening their pace, they headed down towards the Hot Springs, with a mixture of moonlight and dim streetlamps to light their way. The closer they got, the more familiar that scent was and the more they could make out the indistinct words someone, obviously someone young, was screaming out to the heavens.

'ONII-CHAN!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!'

Shit.

Rounding the corner of the fence, the duo saw her. The girl they'd saved from that awful place; the prison where she'd been left by that gang of thugs. She was doubled over on the ground, injured, in agony. Those horns. Keni had explained, a part of her peculiar Kyoujouran biology were... falling off? He could feel the chakra radiating from her; he could almost see it. He could feel the thing inside him react slightly to it, but he forced it back. Nothing was going to interfere tonight.

'It's not full moon yet, you piece of shit,' he told it in his mind.

"Hey, hey," said Keiyaku, removing his mask so as to not frighten her. The Inuzuka boy took her by the shoulders, instructing her to look into his eyes, trying to get her to focus. Her body, it was undergoing some sort of strange change. Was this normal for her clan? Her and Keni's biology seemed so different to him, that he wasn't sure what to think, or what to do. Man, she really looked in bad shape. Maybe he should radio for some help?

"Ayeka! Look at me okay? I know it hurts, but you need to control your breathing as best you can, and you need to tell me what's happened just now. Did someone do this to you?"

As Morutobu tried to comfort her, laying against her leg like a therapy dog, Keiyaku reached up and pressed the transmission button on his headset, trying to radio the medical frequency.

"ANBU/Medical frequency: "This is Jackal and Tanuki. Young girl, badly injured, wounds on her head and coughing up blood. Down at the village Hot Springs. I need a Med-Nin as soon as possible. Over."

 

[Sazuki Nao]

He was laying nice and comfy on the couch... as he didn't dare to wake up Keiji, he didn't had patrol duty on anything but the few last days he had been restless and kind of at a mess himself. When he heard the clicking of his headset, which was laying on the table beside him, he looked over. " urf... i forgot to switch that bloody thing off.." he muttered as he placed both his hands on his head to sigh deeply. However, he removed the hands as he heard ANBU names... A static noice sometimes filled through as it was an older model already of the headset. "This is Jackal *static* Tanuki. Young girl, badly injured, wounds *static* coughing up blood. Down at the village *static* Springs. I need a Med-Nin *static* Over."

" that thing really is getting too old..." Nao muttered as he already was sitting up and fixing his long T-shirt back on. He would hop out the front door adjustin the old headset around his neck and earpiece in. Touching the neck he pressed a button. "Here Sazuki Nao for Jackal Tanuki, med sennin on his way to the village springs. over." He replied and would release the button, waiting for an answer while he quickly made his way over.

As he finally got there, he would attempt to chakra sense everyone near so he knew what he was dealing with. " Please tell me what you know..." he spoke and undid his T-shirt to fold it for a small pillow, he didn't bother that they now saw him shirtless as this person needed the medical attention. Gently placing the Tshirt behind her back he would acces her quickly over. ' Horn... on the ground...probably from the head... now the wondering part... Bloodline? Core ability? I should listen more often to Keiji and his researches...' He thought and quickly started an Anesthetic Infusion to lessen the pain. ' A jutsu that serves as a convenient painkiller for on-the-go treatments. It's good enough to numb the pain, taking the edges away to hopefully calm her a bit down... I cannot erase the pain with this sadly...' he would eye her over.

"Hello there... Sazuki Nao, could you tell me your name and what you were doing here?" he would shine a light in her eyes if possible to check for brain bleeds.

 

[Ayeka]

Ayeka whined and pushed at the hands that shook her by the shoulders as her body buzzed with pain but was unable to do anything as batted at the young Inuzuka while he spoke to her in worried tones that seemed to almost vibrate into the air with colour as her vision distorted every time the boy spoke. Despite the pain and hallucinations Ayeka tried to follow his advice and slow her breathing but it only caused her body to spasm in the throes of agony as her head rocked back and forward while blood leaked from her left eye as she felt something churn within the socket forcing it closed against her will. Keiyaku would notice after the spasms had eased that wherever he had touched Ayeka's her skin had reacted by tearing away to reveal a much lighter skin tone underneath almost like a cicada shedding it's skin for something else underneath as the chakra around her body began condensing down into a visible aura as if it was preparing to burrow it's way in to the girls body like a parasite.

The pain dulled almost as if a calm before the storm as Ayeka began to heavily sweat a mix of normal perspiration and some sort of tar like substance that pulsed with cursed energy almost like Ayeka's body was shedding impurities as she finally looked up at her brothers friend with her one good eye. "I w...w...woke here. I can see a girl with white hair a...a..nd she had marking over her b...b..body like flames. She was fighting a giant wolf." As Ayeka spoke more memories that were not hers played before her eyes, A girl dressed in nothing but a swimsuit made of leaves who swiftly darting around the hot springs fighting alongside her brother with a massive blob like creature that radiated negative energy as it tried to consume the white haired girl. As quickly as it came the vision ended and Ayeka was greeted by the chiselled physique of a man she didn't know while her head was propped up by something soft as the man examined her and asked Keiyaku questions.

"Um er ugh." Ayeka felt her body numb as foreign chakra entered her system as the mysterious red haired man finally asked her a question causing the girl to look at him from her place on the floor. "Um....I'm A...y..eka and I woke up....." Ayeka's stumbling sentence was interrupted by a pulse of pain as the natural energy running rampant through her body and finally reacted to the intrusion of Nao's chakra. Ayeka's visible pupil seemed to dilate down to a pin pricks before the eye rolled back into her head leaving only the white behind while a scream was torn from her throat as two yellow horns shimmering with chakra explode from the side of Ayeka's head before solidifying into bone.
WC: 480

[MFT]

 

[Yume Izanami]

It isn't every day that she hears a plea for help. Even though she wasn't really one to want to be around people, she does know her duty that of a shinobi. With a sigh of reluctance, the girl made her way as fast as she can to the scene. It looked like other people were already in the area. There was a masked boy along with a dog... There's this feeling about it... She brushed the thought out of her mind and looked around. An older man... He seems familiar to her... But where? It was when he had said his name, Sazuki Nao, that her mind had flashbacked to the incident at the gates. He was there alongside her and the boy and his dog as they fought against the masked intruder. Her eyes would turn and change color to look that of a dragons eyes as she would see chakra all around her, but moreso...

Ayeka. She barely knows the girl other than that she hung out with Keni during that other incident at the ramen shop. In such a short time, the Mitsuha herself had undergone a drastic change but more or less has come out of it pretty well. Thanks to the heightened draconic senses that she has, it looks like there could be something happening to Ayeka right now as well. She would take a step and the area around her would shatter, as if a mirror would break before mending itself once more. Once that was done, Mitsuha was gone. She would reappear as a different area would make the same effect of shattering and mending itself back and then she would suddenly be by Nao's side.

Outside of Nao, who had taught her a mastered form of water walking the other day, she would look drastically different than she once was. Keiyaku and Moru would be the ones that might not even recognize her at all. "She's having an irregular influx of chakra and natural energies." She would say plainly. It would be more so for information to the masked boy and the dog rather than to Nao. She figured that Nao being a Sennin would already have a better grasp of the situation than anyone else here.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

When Nao arrived, responding to Keiyaku's urgent call, he breathed a sigh of relief, his mask raised and sitting atop his head rather than on his face, not wanting to spook the poor girl between the two men.

"Sir," said the Inuzuka, acknowledging the Senin who had once taught him basic medical skills, and recognising him as the fiancé of his ANBU instructor, who'd introduced him to the branch leader. He'd remembered fighting alongside him at the gates against that masked intruder. He felt safe with him here, "yeah, I just found her here, screaming, with these injuries. I've never seem this before."

Moru seemed to be in a state of readiness; his nerves tended to get jumpy around this sort of thing, especially given his big brother's condition which lead him often to bouts of violent instability. He had to assume this girl would be the same until it was proven otherwise. Keiyaku meanwhile, was sitting close to the girl, making sure she didn't somehow try to hurt herself so that Sazuki-sensei could do his job. Suddenly, his nose twitched, a familiar scent nearby. There was a voice giving explanation, as unfamiliar as her appearance. But he could still detect the scent of the girl who suddenly attacked his friend.

"Mitsuha?" He asked uncertainly, hoping his nose hadn't lied to him. Oh well, no time to ponder on that now. The girl had started screaming again as two objects protruded from her head. Keiyaku gritted her teeth, not too good at withstanding such loud sounds of suffering.

"Shit a brick," said the Inuzuka, forgetting he was in the company of his superior, "the hell is that...?"

 

[Sazuki Nao]

As he was helping the girl out, many things seemed to happen to her. He wasn't even entirely listening to them anymore and just started to create a few more handseals and got a medical clone. One that kept a check on her pulse and breathing. ' In order to use senjutsu, one must first learn to sense the natural energy in their surroundings and draw it into their body, which requires becoming "one with nature" by remaining perfectly still.' He started to rattle in his brain, trying to figure out where this clash was coming from.. Going over everything he eventually put his hair in a long ponytail and looked down to the girl before trying out something else.

"It is not just that... If you chakra sense her... you notice it is not just one... There is something else going on.." It was then that there was ac rackle going through his headset. " Sennin Medical, we recruire-- *static noises* multiple wounded *static noises* asap!" It was then that he eyed the kids too. He knew damn well he could get comments regards his headset... And he decided to play it off. "Hold off- I will get there as soon as I can, I require a medical ninja specialised in chakra to my location immediately." He commanded and soon there would be two medical ninja standing ready. "Nao, we are here. Please let us relieve you and handle the situation." Quickl, Nao did a brief rundown with them and the clone would disappear as soon as the medical ninja took over. "YOu are in good hands."

 

[Ayeka]

Ayeka's two helpers soon became three with the arrival of Mitsuha not that Ayeka was in any condition to take in who was and wasn't standing over her as the girl just laid on the floor with a hand over her eyes while she took in large shuddering breaths, her body was obviously trying to cope with the two new growths now jutting out of side of her head which were still slick with gore from their traumatic exit leaving Ayeka unable to do anything but lie limply on the ground as Nao stood up. He summoned two med nin to assist as he was being called away by another incident before he disappeared with a flick of red hair, uncaring that he had just run back into the village shirtless while leaving his underlings to care for this incident as they went about healing the damage from the horns while speaking with the other ninja on scene on what they were doing and what they needed to do next.

As they were speaking to both Keiyaki and Mitsuha, Ayeka herself began squirming her body shifting from side to side in such a slight manner that only Keiyaku and Mitsuha would actually notice as the medics were distracted before the smallest of giggles creeped past Ayeka's lips as the hand over her eyes began to clench slightly. Soon more giggles came from the girl on the floor which then blossomed into soft guffaws before evolving into raucous laughter, Aria's free hand slapped down on the floor in her mirth while her legs kicked into the air causing the medics to back away cautiously as the girl clapped the soles of her feet together as whatever was making her laugh was causing what appeared to be an immense amount of joy. Keiyaku would sense first what was about to happen next as the air would slowly draw towards Ayeka almost like a giant inhaling as the acrid taste of ozone would taint the air with the subtlest hint of gravity chakra.

Concussive force exploded from Ayeka's form in all directions as gravity was forced away from her with a blast of chakra causing the medics to vanish in a burst of speed as they darted out of the way. Meanwhile Ayeka jumped to her feet with one easy motion, her hand still covering her eyes as she continued to laugh while her hair started to take on red lines going from right to left that Keiyaku may remember from another ninja he knew while a red circle would appear on the girl's forehead, her body glowing with power not native to Ayeka's body. "Hahahahaha How fun! How Fun! HOW FUN! One last glorious encore for the sage that equals heaven and earth!!" As Ayeka spoke her voice sounded two toned as if another voice was speaking over Ayeka's as the hand covering the girls face fell away showing a now glowing yellow eye different from the original blue orb that Ayeka had before. "A rematch with a demon sounds fun but we never did settle the score on who was stronger did we Mitsuha." As Ayeka spoke her eyes rolled from Keiyaku to Mitsuha as she spoke about them before she lifted a hand which pulsated with lightning chakra. The air was heavy with tension before Ayeka shot forward towards Keiyaku as the sound of birds chirping filled the air.

 

[Yume Izanami]

Mitsuha didn't notice until it happened. She was thrown across the air as if she was a ragdoll. But with quick thinking, the area around her shattered and nearby the same effect happened, as the girl displaced herself from being thrown away to standing in a different area. She stood up in a wary stance sizing up of what is happening. With her dragon eyes she was able to see the mixture of chakra, but otherwise, it seemed to be a bit of a jumbled mess. Her ears pricked up as she heard Ayeka speak.

For the little amount of time that Mitsuha has known Ayeka, this seemed out of character for the girl. It seemed... Unnatural... Mitsuha would ready her dragon scales underneath the sleeves of her jacket. If there is one thing she knows, it's how to be crafty in a fight. Along with that, nobody will really notice. She has learned a way to only slightly replicate how she used to use her bones as weapons. But this time, with draconic scales that grow back and appear when need to. She just needs to keep her current form and not accidentally drop into her draconic combat form.

Her eyes widened as she seen Ayeka launch an attack at the masked boy and dog. The dragonheart would reality bend once more to blink out and into existence, this time between Ayeka and the masked boy. She thought things through quickly. If she didn't blink to where she is now, there was a possibility that she could have hit the boy. She shot out one of her dragon scales from underneath her jacket sleeve, aimed at the ground so that a wall of ice would appear between her and Ayeka. "Look. I haven't the faintest idea of what's going on, but we'll need to lure her somewhere where there's less civilians and property."

(Used glacial shot as a barrier via expel)
(For anyone who might be confused, Mitsuha blinked (teleported) between Ayeka and Keiyaku, then made an icy barrier between herself and Ayeka/Aria)
(note: Keiyaku, dunno if you are masked up or not, so Mitsuha just knows you as masked boy if you are masked)

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

It was only thanks to the Inuzuka's sense of caution about the strange, bubbling chakra aura that he managed to recover himself, both he and Moru landing on feet and paws after being blown back by the blast. Instantly, both boy and dog seemed to fall into a kind of mutual rhythm, like they'd entered battle-mode. They both moved with blinding speed as Mitsuha teleported into their midst, conjuring a wall of ice to block the girl's attack. The hell had happened to Ayeka's voice anyway? It was ethereal almost, two-tone, like two vocals hastily stitched together. Keiyaku didn't really understand what she was talking about; had she just completely lost her marbles? They could investigate this later; for now, the threat had to be safeguarded.

"Lure her? There's three of us and one of her, Mits," Keiyaku said, urgency in his voice, but with a definite growl of authority. He knew Ayeka though; she'd proven herself tough after what she'd been through, but he put a great deal of faith in his extensive, specialist training. Public safety was his middle name.

Moru and Keiyaku worked in seamless tandem, appearing to read each other's thoughts without the need for bark nor word to be exchanged. Midway through running at Ayeka, Moru morphed, with a puff of smoke into a twin of his big brother, and then appeared to vanish suddenly. Only a moment later, he reappeared and attempted to deliver a heavy blow to the girl's shoulder. Almost at the same time, perhaps half a second later, Keiyaku was upon her, mask firmly back onto his face now. The boy was snarling, and it was remarkable wolf-like in its vigour. Using Moru's distraction, the Inuzuka threw himself onto the girl, digging in claws and strategically slamming her down by the arms, one foot holding down her left leg, arms at her shoulders. As he did this, narrow-slitted pupils would peer down through the holes in his mask at the girl. Chakra surged behind them as his jutsu was cast, trying to force the girl's muscles, and her Chakra system to become docile, or at least long enough that the three of them could decide what to do.

"You, young lady, have earned yourself a timeout."

He searched her eyes, looking for some trace of explanation to explain the sudden mania, the strange, yet somewhat familiar words, the markings that had formed on her skin. As he looked down at her, he thought he could feel something burn in his soul, some kind of fire, urging him on, wanting his hands to move to throttle her. Keiyaku mastered himself, knowing these thoughts and desires were not his own, and he needed to be rational.

"A demon. The hell are you talkin' about, Ayeka?"

Maybe this wasn't the best time for interrogation, but he had to try something.

Morutobu, meanwhile, was by Mitsuha's side, still bearing Keiyaku's appearance. He slapped a hand on her shoulder and, while incapable of speech, grunted, as if to say 'Thanks for having our backs, Mits.'

[Morutobu used Beast Clone, followed by Shadow-Step Strike]
[Keiyaku used Submission followed by Body Bind]

 

[Ayeka]

Cracks and pops filled the air as Ayeka's jutsu vaporised a hole into the ice, the jutsu piercing into the structure up to the girls elbow before finally Ayeka lost control of the lightning chakra as it demanded more of her reserves before fading from her hand, forcing the young dragon to jump back to prevent a counter attack from Mitsuha while Ayeka's vision was blocked by the remains of her barrier. As she retreated Ayeka was met with Moru who had transformed into a copy of her brother appearing in a burst of speed in front of her swinging his arm out in a heavy blow forcing Ayeka to twist her body to lessen the strike. A tearing of material filled the air as Ayeka twisted before a scaled appendage burst from the base of Ayeka's spine quickly transforming into a long draconic tail, As Moru's clawed hand made contact with Ayeka's shoulder the girl allowed the force to swing her fully around attempting to slam Moru into the ground with her appendage before she was sent reeling away from the force of the strike.

Before Ayeka could catch herself from the strike she was forced to enjoy part two of this two pronged attack as Keiyaku slammed the now dark haired girl into the floor with enough force to crater the paving below them as Ayeka cried out in pain. Quickly the Anbu began casting a restraining jutsu in order to speak with the young girl in a more calm situation but as he asked her about a demon after a small quip Keiyaku would suddenly feel a weight on his back as someone sat gently on top of him with both legs over one side with one leg crossed over the other. The figure chin resting on their palm while their elbow balanced on the raised knee. "What a shame...... Looks like I'm not gonna be a challenge here." Ayeka spoke in an almost forlorn manner from her perch atop Keiyaku's back however as she spoke the Ayeka that Keiyaku was grappling had quickly lost it's colour turning into brown mud that adhered itself to Keiyaku's body binding his limbs to itself while all lost it's form. "You know I am sorry for how it went down in that forest. There is reflection just before the end and I never said sorry for making you carry a burden you never wanted. Sorry for the pain Keiyaku but I know you will keep getting stronger....Though maybe you should be less straight forward in the future." Ayeka stood from her seat walked forward towards Moru and Mitsuha checking her injuries as she did as the desire to fight left the girl as to did the changes the aura around her body was causing in terms of colouration which began to flicker causing the markings from this fake sage mode to flicker as well. "Hah well that sucks! Looks like you can't get any stronger when you die...... and you miss a lot too. Hey Mits! I know we weren't a team for very long and we never got to know each other very well but........ Do me a favour yeah? Tell Keni that he was a good rival! and......"

Ayeka paused in her speech as she felt tears run hotly down her face as she bit her lip almost as if realising something as she chuckled wryly to herself. "Tell Take that the time we spent together..... Was the best time of my life!" Ayeka's face flushed as she turned away from Mitsuha and paced a few steps away. "When you guys get to that faraway place I am.... You better have some great stories to tell worthy of Aria the great sage cause I didn't have the time now! See ya." As Ayeka spoke anyone watching her would see a phantom shape appear around the girl of another person with glowing white hair, her face smiling sadly at the living while she waved goodbye to them. Anyone who knew her would recognise the distant image of Aria before finally the chakra around Ayeka finally faded away into wisps allowing the girl to drop to the floor unconsciousness leaving the scene in silence.

WC: 703
[MFT]

 

[Yume Izanami]

Mitsuha would shake her head as the boy and dog rushed forth. Even if they outnumber Ayeka, they should be careful in case Ayeka pulls off some types of stunts that leaves them at a disadvantage. Speaking of which... She went to rush forward to provide back up but it seems as if the fight was over. Ayeka was no longer interested in fighting. In fact, she started to talk. It would be at this moment that she realized what was happening. The person before her isn't Ayeka, physically yes, but in a spiritual sense, no.

Mitsuha stood there, mouth gaping in surprise as the girl spoke. Aria... She wanted her to tell Keni that he was a good rival. And to tell Take... Well... Mitsuha could tell there are some feelings in there from how she talked. Mitsuha took a deep breath and nodded. She will honor Aria's wishes. Within a few seconds, Aria's soul had left Ayeka's body and Ayeka had fell over unconscious. She would drape one of Ayeka's arms around her shoulder to be able to half carry, half drag her until she was next to Keiyaku. "If you think of victory being easy simply because we outnumber an opponent, then you will be putting yourself at risk. Sometimes it is best to pause for a moment and gauge at what is happening to properly tackle the situation."

She would sigh before making a hand seal and a clone would appear by her, offering a hand to help Keiyaku up. "C'mon. Let's take Ayeka over to the Byoin. Make sure her vitals are alright. After that, I ask you watch over her until I speak with Keniwa and Otakemaru. Can you please do this?"

(topic left unless stopped)

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku grunted as he suddenly felt a pressure on his back, the girl having disappeared as the Inuzuka suddenly found himself rooted by a melting mud clone. It was like quicksand, but as he heard that ethereal voice beginning to monologue again, he found his strength. Maybe it was the epiphany of what had to be going on here, but Keiyaku found himself wrenching his body free of the mud beneath him and bucking Ayeka forcefully off his back, spinning back around, ready to attack again if need be. Ayeka seemed to have recovered quickly enough.

Still bearing human form, Moru gave a snarl, full of contempt, but then, it melted away. Maybe it was sheer surprise, but the jutsu was dispelled and Moru returned to his diminutive canine form once again, staring up at the girl, much like his big brother, with a completely bewildered expression, as if to say 'what the fuck has big brother been putting in my treats?'

"Ayeka," said Keiyaku with a frown, feeling the fight go out of him, but remaining cautious nonetheless. Removing his mask, he tried to discern the familiar-sounding voice. Then, she straight-up identified herself.

"Aria...? But how..." He said, uncertainly... How could she have known about Aria? But, the way she was talking, listing off Aria's experiences, she knew about the wolf demon too. As he thought it, he felt a wave pass through his stomach, causing his hand to instinctively move to his stomach, a little gasp of pain escaping his lungs. Eyes alighting on the outline of the girl he'd known, the girl who'd mysteriously disappeared from the village one day, the girl now showing herself as a phantom, superimposed over Ayeka, he felt something profound. As the tattoo on his stomach began to glow faintly, the Inuzuka knew a wave of sickening, soul-searing hatred. The emotion, like a cancer, spread through his brain, fighting against the boy's own free will, his sorrow at seeing his old friend, wanting to cry out to her, wanting her to know he didn't blame her for what she'd had to do, wanting to call her 'loony-sage' one last time.

Keiyaku's eyes were beginning to glow as the seal loosened, little rocks and pebbles shaking on the ground around him, slowly beginning to rise into the air.

"Don't l-leave me alone with it."

It was all Keiyaku could choke out before Aria's apparition faded away. Before Ayeka hit the floor, Keiyaku's eyes returned to normal. The sound of stones and pebbles hitting the ground echoed through the silence. The Inuzuka just stood there, Moru looking up at him with concern, both of them frozen. It wasn't until Mitsuha piped up that he came back to himself. The anger, that had not been his own, had evaporated on the spot.

"Uhh, outnumbered... yeah," he said indistinctly, the shock making it hard to absorb what she was saying. Shaking his head, he approached Mitsuha and offered to carry the girl himself.

"It's okay, Mits, I'll take her. Thanks for the help and all. You should, you know, go find Keni and Take."

~Topic Left~