From the Badlands to Godsfall [Dual Contract Search]

[Sazuki Nao]

A presence of a third party could be felt by the ninja's but the sharks hadn't noticed it just yet. They were both placed in a genjutsu that they had no idea of in the beginning, however, kankuro started to notice it first of the two and started to go against it violently. Shaking its whole body violently before making a move and breaking it for himself, he turned more and more annoyed by the both ninja's. but the other didn't break out of it that easily, it started to swirl more around until the moment was there that they both had escaped it, but that was only thanks to Kunkuro that bit the other, the pain awoke the other shark. They started to form a small group at the backline, their bodies still being damaged, the less dominant one of the two was slightly shivering, overthinking it all. They both felt how their bodies moved, a bit stiffer and they had to do a lot more for just the simple movements, in other words, it felt rather heavy in their movements. Kunkuro made a biting movement out of annoyance. It was almost that these sharks had never been in such a real battle with different kind of persons. They started to show more bark than bite honestly. A small conversation happened between the two sharks, one leaving a small trail of blood thanks to the teeth of Kunkuro. "Is it really..?" The smaller one replied and the big one started to nod in the sand. "So!! You think you are that tough?! You haven't seen us really yet!! We have more in us than just that!" Is shouted and started to taunt the others a bit more, a snarl on the end was given to make it's point harsher... Yet the smaller on started to follow up. "Just... Just wait till I get my teeth on your pathetic flesh!" It started to shout. They both would start to make a charge on them, but before they could make their movements of splitting up again... They got suddenly stopped, being suddenly stopped in their rushed movements they both let a whelp in surprise. Kunkuro started to react very aggressively and turned around just to bite, but now the shell started to rise up. It was a shell of a huge creature, greyish color with spike-like forming on the top. There were white like spots on the sides. to count right there were 24 of them in total. Not to forget the shell had a couple of scars counting. A voice, old and muffled started to talk and the eyes of Kunkero started to widen up. "You two are surely meddlesome! Do you want him to hear about this??" Finally, the head started to pop out of the sand, dragging the sharks a bit more to the behind as the giant turtle held it in its mouth. "Kunkuro, you will hear from me more, the other get out of here now" It said and released the tails, they both went away in a hurry. It seemed that they had more than one occurrence between this turtle and those sharks. The turtle was a tat older and thus a bit slower, but its defense was mighty, as the shark teeth hadn't even left a dent.

Slowly it started to subtract itself again, just leaving his head a little bit outside and just having his shell fully submerged. "Please... I do not mean to harm you as they would." It started to speak, its voice was heavy, creaking up a bit as it was of age, but there was still a bit of calm going through the resonating voice. "I am old.. But not weak, but I rather not mean harm when you already have been fighting too..." It slowly started to nod in a form of respect to the kazekage. "I have heard stories about you young ones... But I rather know who... no... what has happened here exactly, but first... Let me introduce myself.." Taking a gamble it would slowly stretch it limbs out.

"My name is Onktabar, one..... of the older and more polite generations, or how some would call it. 'boring'. The two you met before, are quite known to be troublesome. This especially when they didn't have their diet in a while..." It spoke and started to shuffle a big and lay down again. "Now... If I may be as abrupt to ask, but what were you doing before, then and are planning now?"

[ooc: Sorry this took me a while guys! and it may or may not seems sloppy, going to try and give my own twist to it... ^^']

 

[Michi]

As suddenly and as aggressively as things came to a boiling head, they came to an abrupt and unceremonious halt. Someone or rather something had come out of nowhere and put an end to this game of cat and mouse before the mouse was forced to bite back. Michi simply stood there and looked on as a spectator, her intervention not longer necessary when a great turtle interceded. Michi ended her genjutsu.

The oracle might be a genius but she had no idea what was going on any longer. First there was a sandstorm, then the earth itself started to quaver and quake beneath them, pulling at the terrain below them creating a treacherous landscape. Then there were sharks that swam in the earth as if it was the ocean and now... now there was a turtle. She had no idea why, the creature was massive and belonged in the sea not the desert but here it was. And then it spoke, it spoke human words like the sharks had. It was both fascinating and terrifying as well as confusing. Polite, it primarily regarded the Kazekage, extending its fin in doing so. She would not attack, it did not appear to be an act of aggression so it would meet none from her but she would be wary of the creature and her golden eyes would never leave the appendage as its limb drew closer to Katsuo than she was entirely comfortable with.

"Michi, a scribe," she announced. The stated role more fitting, something that would make more sense to something that was unfamiliar with a cultural thing such as the Orders. Technically it was true, that was what she did even if her actual title had greater meaning it would be lost on the creature. She would wait for the Sennin to introduce himself before she carried on with a question of her own. Well two questions. "What were they?" She was of course referencing the pair of sharks that had attacked them a short time ago. She did not ask who because they already shared their names and in all honestly who they were was irrelevant. "And what are you?" She was of course referring to the turtle now, it had in fact shared its name but its name was meaningless to her. What she wanted to know was what it was so she could look it up, so she could remember or she could learn. The tone she used to asked this was less than brazen but it was steady and inquiring. She thirsted for knowledge above all else except perhaps freedom. Why would a turtle lord over a pair of sand sharks? It made no sense but she was rather certain that she was not dreaming.

She was scanning the area around them, her heart was still pounding and a part of her did not entirely believe that the aggression would or could end so quickly. Those sharks were rather intent on taking a bite out of one of their backsides. Still she was grateful for the respite, It was a chance for her to get her bearings. A chance for her to assess the situation that they were in and plan a means of escape or combat. The desert was large, turtles were notoriously slow but that was simply something she had read -- turtles were not particularly common in Wind Country although the southern coastal region quite possibly has a population but it is not a civilized region of desert so she could not be certain.

 

[Mikaboshi]

There was an explosion of force around Katsuo's fists as he expelled the combined roiling energy that he'd drawn out of the environment and from his own body sending a curtain of sand up into the air all around him crackling with green-gold currents of lightning. As the veil of sand that had been created from his attack began to subside, Katsuo dwelt on the fact that despite the impressive display of force that his attack had put forth he had never felt it connect with the intended target; Kankuro's face. The tremendous shark had turned away at the last moment and fixated on the other in the vicinity of the battle, apparently distracted by the incompetence of his compatriots. Breathing heavily as the current of Natural Energy that was reinforcing his body circulated at maximum pace, Katsuo wasn't sure exactly how to proceed. He wasn't particularly interested in painting the dunes red with shark guts but if Kankuro and his ilk continued to push their luck he'd have no choice but to rip them to pieces. With their spat finished, the sharks began to circle back around once more and with a gust of crackling steam that expelled from the armor that Katsuo was wearing the 10th Kazekage prepared to receive his opponents.

Before they could re-engage the battle however they were interrupted by the arrival of a third party that chided the behavior of the sharks as an elder might do to a group of rambunctious children causing the group of sharks to turn on the... giant turtle? Apparently wanting nothing to do with the tremendous turtle that had arrived on the scene of the battle, the sharks turned and retreated into the sands with a great deal of haste in their pace.

The turtle addressed Michi and Katsuo then, claiming that it meant them no harm and strangely Katsuo felt the truth in it's words. Unlike the sharks, there was something to the way this creature spoke that encouraged him to trust in what it said.

Caliburn, ease... ease it back. We're done for now.

Caliburn did not return any words to him but he felt the limiters on the power coursing through his body slide back into place and he swallowed hard as a wave of pain and exhaustion crashed into him. He couldn't enter into that state of unleashed restrictions without some level of consequence and even though she didn't speak he could feel Caliburn wordlessly chiding him for his brashness. Without sending words back, he smiled beneath his helmet at her concern for him. They'd made it through okay, hadn't they? That was the important thing. The armor around Katsuo's body glowed softly and then disappeared into particles of Natural Energy as Caliburn returned to her physically dormant state bound to the heirloom sword that Katsuo wore strapped to his back.

"I am the tenth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Sunahoshi Katsuo." Responded Katsuo to Onktabar's introduction, offering the ancient turtle a bow of respect. He could feel the creature's connection with the Natural Energy that resonated in the area surrounding them and that made Katsuo considerably more at ease than he had been before. "It is an honor to meet you Onktabar."

Katsuo had met plenty of spirit beings before in the past but he'd never been quite so in tune with the spiritual side of himself as he was in this moment. Looking up at the gargantuan turtle, there was a sense of... what. Familiarity? No, that wasn't the right word. Distantly Katsuo's mind drifted to the memories that the Ancient Lord of Deep and Shadow had left in his mind about the ancient concept of fron'zii. The way an ancient could recognize another of their court through a special connection that they shared. Katsuo wasn't sure if Onktabar would recognize the gift of Natural Energy that he possessed so he kept the feeling to himself but it was certainly a notable experience even for someone as traveled as Katsuo. Michi introduced herself and as was her way she was full of questions. "What were they?" and "what are you?" Katsuo had his own theories based on the energy that he sensed that coalesced around Onktabar but it wasn't his place to answer those questions. As the great turtle asked them what they were doing, Katsuo looked to Michi and thought for a moment.

What were they doing? He didn't really even know. Michi had dragged him out here on the demand for an adventure.

"Camping trip?" He offered, trying to define the trip as best he could with the limited knowledge that he had of why they'd come all the way out here to the middle of the desert.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

The great turtle was slow in its movements. If he were to be asked if water or sand was better to swim in... He would surely go with the deep sea waters again, on the same level of depth where all the other creatures were... He had zoned out for a second before turning its head towards them, for him, female figure. "Michi, a scribe," Onktabar nodded slowly and awaited more, he already had an idea they would be full with questions, but he couldn't help but keep the male of the company in a close watch, something... was about him and he couldn't really place his shell on it just yet. That, or his memory would keep being foggy, after all, it wouldn't be long before his time would come. Maybe... He would be able to help these through something special... But he would look towards the creatures and finally... there was another one introducing. "I am the tenth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Sunahoshi Katsuo." Onktabar was slowly moving its head again towards the both of them, he was waiting... waiting for the questions that seemed to be lingering, or rather his own to be answered also.
"It is an honor to meet you Onktabar." On that, the giant turtle took a single step and tried to go through his fin to lower himself as a movement of a bow... But sadly the old turtle didn't get further than maybe an inch or two before he would groan a little and took up his past position. "The honor is all mine... You seem to be familiar with the energy around... For you also, thank you for meeting me, not attacking me" Were the words going and after that, he would finally start to address towards the female. She had asked a question or two after all.
"Hmm... that is a story that goes back to the olds... To what they were, or rather what they have become..." It felt for the old turtle to a story... One that would be fun to tell, but he wanted to make a somewhat easier place for them to stay also... He would move closer and tried to shelter them both in the shade of his own. "I will tell, but I rather not have you tiny creatures evaporated, as I have seen to so many happening..." it started to say and would place himself with its fins in the shell, just his head poking out. He wouldn't bother if they did or didn't move further.

"They used to be a clan, just in the water... but as times changed, landscapes changed, we all were forced to be able to travel onto multiple places..." And so the story started to begin, to end with what he was. "I am just a being, collected from natural energy, I exist because of my own owner, as we can bind ourselves to a person. Sadly mine died along the way and I have yet to vanish." He spoke and started to move just a little.

"To what I am... Is more than just understanding me... it is about understanding the patterns of energy around you and others. I am merely a collection of natural energy, summoned by a person's personal chakra... Which is why I am still here and not back to my own realm. We are beings that can be bound to a person, like a dog on a chain. We are parts of a contract. The reason I am still around is that my old owner gave all his chakra to my summon, setting me free and same time tied to this world..." It blinded slow, he was tired of talking, but there was still a lot to tell, a lot to say. After his whole talk, he started to turn towards the male again. "A camping trip..?" He asked a bit awkward in return. "That is the first time I have heard that... What I can do... Is bring you to somewhere where you... Might understand a bit more about my world, about your own world... And maybe even have something special in the show... But it will be a ride.." Before he would offer anything, he still wanted to know more about them. "But before I will actually offer this... I wish to know more... I have explained what I am... But how about we set that to a trade? What are you exactly? Information to information."

 

[Michi]

The turtle creature was strange and Michi felt apprehensive as time passed. Something did not add up in this scenario. She was familiar with the natural energy of Wind Country, it was one of the few things that made this country unique. The elements, the intentions, the strength of the energy that coursed through this landscape was great enough to breathe life -- elementals was a rough term to describe Ancients but in many ways it suited them. Ancients were the beings that rules Wind Country and the first men when they arrived on these sandy shores. The subjugation of humanity ended after Godsfall, the turning point of a terrible war that forever changed the landscape of this country. "So you are an Ancient Onktabar?" Michi queried with a cautious curiosity as she miraculously pulled out a notebook from who knows where. There was next to no documentation on water Ancients, just a few old fables and seafarers tales. Of course this creature was not an Ancient but the Oracle would not know any different until it continued on, talking about contracts and ownerships. Ancients were not one to submit themselves to another.

Michi would roughly cross out the word ANCIENT from her notes. She penciled in a large question-mark next to her sketch of the large reptile. She would write down a few key words -- collection of natural energy, summon and contract. She pondered the potential corollary to her ring. At the moment Onktabar was giving her more questions than answers when it went on to talk about realms. She thought that the turtle was tethered here. Were the sharks also like Onktabar? She had a lot of questions and if this interaction had transpired a year ago, this interaction would have went very differently.

A transaction was requested, finally a tit for tat. The turtle did want something. It offered to take them someplace. The offer was less than enticing, sounded like a trap. However the chance to have their questions answered was encouraging. All it wanted in exchange was to know something as well. "What did you want to know?" Michi bit.

 

[Mikaboshi]

"Not an Ancient. Not... quite." Corrected Katsuo. Between the two of them Michi was almost assuredly the more educated of the two but this was Katsuo's area of expertise. Even before his joining with Caliburn and becoming delving into the secrets of sagedom Katsuo had always had a reverence for the natural world and it's spirits. "What he's describing is a spirit creature... like the one bound to your Cabal rings."

Katsuo didn't clarify how he knew about the rings. Realistically, Michi might already know that Kaito had had his stolen from him by Mikaboshi while the dark creature had been piloting around Katsuo's body. That ring was destroyed now, crushed by Katsuo to release the spirit inside so that he could form a formal pact with her as opposed to siphoning off the energy of the Youkai spirit while she was bound to the ring. He'd made a companion of her for a while but when Katsuo's little brother Reiko had shown up on his doorstep one day the Youkai spirit that Katsuo had released from the ring had taken a greater liking to him than to the Kazekage so he'd released her into Reiko's service. Or volunteered Reiko into her service? Thinking on it, a light smile formed across Katsuo's lips as he imagined Sesshousuna-Oh's displeasure at being described as in anyone's service.

"Humans. We are human beings. I'm sure you've met some of our kind before?" Katsuo responded to Onktabar's question, his last words coming together to form something of a half-question/half-statement. He couldn't imagine that the great turtle spirit had never met a human before but the Wind Country was a tremendous place full of mysteries. It wouldn't be the strangest thing to have occurred out on the dunes. "We'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have. You did chase those sharks off for us, after all."

Where as Michi was trepidatious about accompanying Onktabar to where ever it was that the turtle wanted to take them, Katsuo was excited at the idea. He was only still learning about the abilities and powers that his connection to Caliburn afforded him and anything that an ancient natural spirit wanted to share with them might help with developing that connection or might even result in the formation of a new connection entirely and they needed all the allies they could get in the war against the daimyo.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Onktabar.. wanted to know more than one thing... so first he started to address to the one... more distinct of the two, the one that had called itself a scribe. He first wanted to give them one... that wasn't very clear to them at all... So instead of just focussing this one on it alone... Onktabar turned to them both once more. "If the sky is the sea, what does that make birds?"

After this.. he would show a sort of smile on his old face and made a soft giggle along those lines. "So you are an Ancient Onktabar?" Asked the scribe and Onktabar was glad to be able to answer this. "Well... Not quite an ancient, but you could say I linger towards one in age... Truth to be told, the young one of you two had it right."The next question already followed.
"Humans. We are human beings. I'm sure you've met some of our kind before?" At this, the smile somewhat got distinguished, like flame put out. "I have met a quite a few of my own... Hunting down others of my kind, fighting a war with others or with their own. Debating.... I have seen a lot what you humans can do. Which is why I have still... A few questions for you both, which I would like to ask each separately."

First, he started to focus first towards the one who had appointed himself as kazekage... He wanted to know something he had never understood of all. "Why do we talk about human rights and not human responsibilities? How can I defend my own rights, against those of yours? Why do people fight." These were the questions he asked the kazekage... and let those cook down into him, if needed Onktabar repeated those questions. After that he started to focus himself back to the scribe, he felt like playing a soft game with him, asking questions that could be answered in a million ways. "Today, I feel sky blue. What does that mean? What is the beginning of everything? What is the end of everything?"

With that being asked... he started to place himself down again, enjoying the sands warmth on the shell. As it warmed himself inside also. An enjoyable warmth resonating. "If you have questions for me, please do ask."

 

[Michi]

"If the sky is the sea, what does that make birds?"

"Fish," the answer was fish. An inference question and a test of logic one could suppose but she did not understand why she would be asked such a question. Of course she had her own curiosities. She wanted to know what he was. An Ancient, basically a catch-all to explain what she could not explain otherwise.

"Well... Not quite an ancient, but you could say I linger towards one in age... Truth to be told, the young one of you two had it right."

She thought back, what was it that Katsuo has assessed and looked him over 'younger' was the term used. How old was he? How old did she look? Vanity aside, it was a strange sentiment for the once older woman who had dedicated her life to academia but the transition to hybrid had changed her down to her very core.

"Humans. We are human beings. I'm sure you've met some of our kind before?"

Katsuo announced, his truth not hers. She was a hybrid and as far as she was aware so wan't he. The stories called it a blessing, the legacy of the Earthcourt that ran through their veins. Few put two and two together, how the Sunahoshi gained power over the storm but the stories romanticized the process. "Imbued with power" rather than burdened by change. A change that would latch onto their bloodline and follow them to the present day. She did not know that Katsuo had given it back, relinquished what fine thread of her essence that had remained within him and that she took it back. That she could take back the very curse she had inflicted onto Primus' progeny. She did not correct him, it was to her a lie that he likely chose to believe. In the old times humanity was a sense of pride. Being able to trace your lineage back to the first men had meaning and prestige, an uncertain history meant taint and shame. That was likely why they called it a "blessing"... "a gift" rather than an "infestation." Indeed, Katsuo was human, entirely human.

"I have met a quite a few of my own... Hunting down others of my kind, fighting a war with others or with their own. Debating.... I have seen a lot what you humans can do. Which is why I have still... A few questions for you both, which I would like to ask each separately."

A war among their own kind? That was what she took from those words. He had met a few of his own and hunting down others. She saw its internal light dim as it said that. Had the turtle misspoke, was it man that it had met? She stiffened as the behemoth suggested that she and Katsuo should part. The turtle was so much larger than she. So much larger than Katsuo. She did not have a warrior's legacy nor did she have the skill to make use of it even if she had. She was a scholar primarily who has enjoyed an abundance of luck rather than an opportunity to exercise her martial or casting skill. She would look over at Katsuo with a silent uncertainty. She did not feel "safe" around him, she just knew he had an ethic so there would be no knife in her back (probably).

She did not want Katsuo to leave.

"Why do we talk about human rights and not human responsibilities? How can I defend my own rights, against those of yours? Why do people fight."

It asked Katsuo. It was talking about man before she reasoned as she silently appraised the creature. What was it seeking in terms of an answer.

"Today, I feel sky blue. What does that mean? What is the beginning of everything? What is the end of everything?"

Or it was drunk on sand. Should she answer a question not asked of her, she knew the truth but she did not know the answer. The truth and the answer are not always one in the same.

"If you have questions for me, please do ask."

Since you like riddles, I will ask you one in return. "I can be forceful and then I might be deadly, I can be a selfish, fearful, cruel medley. I am sometimes needed to survive. I am the reason that some men thrive. Yet I am what you fear. I am the threat that will take all you hold dear." The answer to her riddle, the same as the topic Onktabar had danced around this whole time.

 

[Mikaboshi]

"Why do people fight?"

What a question. Men and women had been asking themselves that very question for hundreds of years. Thousands, perhaps. Maybe even since the dawn of mankind.

"Why do people fight?"

"People fight because they have to. Life is conflict." Katsuo said, quietly.

It was a solemn truth that he'd arrived at many years ago after hours of introspection. With his hands slick with his brother's blood and his heart heavy with anger and frustration. Katsuo had once bellowed the same question at the world. Why was he doing this? Why did he fight? And eventually the answer came to him. He fought because he had to. No matter what creature from the strongest material artist to the smallest rodent to the grandest lord of Ancient-kin-- all life was a conflict of a sorts. It was at that time that Katsuo had come to truly understand the words that his mother had once given to him and the boy that he'd come to know as his brother. She'd said that things like justice and hope were not something that existed naturally; that they were just words unless they had someone out there fighting to make them real. Life was conflict for each and every creature. Some fought against the environment to stay alive amid the harshest conditions. Some fought against lethal predators to stay one step ahead of their teeth and claws. Some fought against the speed and cunning of creatures that they needed to eat to survive.

Life is conflict.

"But that's not what you asked, is it? What you're asking isn't why we fight. It's why should we fight and the answer to that is different for each and every person out there, man and woman. And beast and spirit. And everything in between." Katsuo spared Michi a look before looking back to Onktabar. His leaving out that she was a hybrid wasn't for the fact that he'd forgotten about the fact that Mikaboshi had changed her. Gods, no. After all it had been his body standing over her's in the Obsidian Palace when Mikaboshi had held that meeting of minds between them. Rather it was that the distinction was non-important to him. "As for me? I fight because 'cause I believe that a man has a responsibility when he sees something wrong to put it right as best he can. Justice is as noble a fight as any but it begins with a willingness to fight for it."

 

[Sazuki Nao]

He enjoyed the fact that they tried to answer those riddles... Yet those were all subjects, if you thought about it, you could riddle against endlessly and possible even have long awake nights thinking about it. "But that's not what you asked, is it? What you're asking isn't why we fight. It's why should we fight and the answer to that is different for each and every person out there, man and woman. And beast and spirit. And everything in between."
The small man was a smart one, it saw right through his words... a part of him thought that he was indeed fit for what would be about later. He nodded slowly to place an yes on that was indeed the fact that he wanted to know.

Slightly caught off guard... That was when he got one back, it certainly was something he had not thought about it. It made the old brains think somewhat more as he made an 'hmm' sound resonating inside the mouth.
"I can be forceful and then I might be deadly, I can be a selfish, fearful, cruel medley. I am sometimes needed to survive. I am the reason that some men thrive. Yet I am what you fear. I am the threat that will take all you hold dear."
Were the words repeating inside his mind, what could be the perfect answer on top of that? It stayed silent perhaps for a moment too long, gazing into the sky. He gazed and kept gazing until finally moment was made, it's head lowered and the mouth slowly opened itself up once more. "Many answers can be right on that... but I think a mom is something that fits it the most. Mothers, no matter in which kind... Are all angels without their wings. They have their sweet, innocent part of life... Yet once you pissed one off... No matter if you are home or not, you feel the hell going to succumb you. They can give and furfill life... They can make... most of the things better, except being a headache..." It muttered as he thought back to his own old life where even he had one... Yup. All those headaches and shell pedicures and what, not more. "Expensive if not careful." He muttered his last thoughts out loud.

"I have made up my mind." It spoke after a small moment. "If you want... I will show you my domain and everything, but that is only if you agree to sit or lay down on my back. You will be protected by me, you will be able to keep breathing." It spoke but never spoke towards where it would bring them at all.

 

[Michi]

"Fear," she announced as she answered her riddle as well as the great turtle's riddle. Why -- Why do people fight? "Fear of loss, fear of pain. Fear of spite, fear of disappointment... death... injury... poverty." It was why they did everything, out of fear. It was why she did the things that she did, because she was so very afraid. She knew very little besides fear, certainly not love and hope was a faded aspiration she would relegate to the delusional or those in a perpetual state of denial. "It is why we wage war. why we debate and have a need to be right. Why we hunt. Why we steal and take and jealously guard what is ours. We fear we wont have enough to survive. That we would not be able to hold onto what we need. So we become bullies, hell-bent on taking from those that wont challenge us or can't challenge us what we not only need but what we want. We become gluttons in our excess and yet we still fear it is not enough." She could write a thesis on fear, it was mankind's most terrible gift to her.

It was why you ran.

It was why you stopped and stood your ground.

Fear was a drug for some, that surge of epinephrine that coursed through their bodies as they faced their potential demise. Just like pain was for others, a dysfunction of the synapses. A plight her son suffered from, a madness. Avarice would have been easier to satisfy. Yet the turtle had already moved on. This was such a change from the aggressive-defensive stance that they took against the sharks. The turtle seemed to seek the opposite, a calm. It was as if it was interviewing for those features before coming to this ultimate determination. That it would take them to a place, to their place, whatever that meant. But that there would be no air. That did not sound safe, but it was curious. She would look over at Katsuo questioningly, this did not sound like a wise idea. But the wise were not necessarily brilliant, if there was something to learn she would learn it if necessary on the back of a giant reptile that has made no aggressive action suggesting a risk in her consent. "I am curious to see this," she announced simply as she stepped forward.

Fear was also why she learned, without it she would be nothing.

She would climb the back of the massive beast.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Katsuo stayed quiet and listened while Onktabar and Michi bantered back and forth with their contemplative riddles. He had strong feelings and philosophies about broad things but they were delving to a level of intellectual discussion that mostly escaped him. Katsuo was a man that lived his life guided by his principles and his heart so it wasn't that this sort of talk bored him so much as it escaped him. Still, he was not so impolite as to interject between them. There was something fascinating about watching Michi interact with this creature that could have been hundreds of years old, maybe even older. A magic to it almost. They were having an experience that few men and women could boast to have ever had in the Wind Country, much less survived. Wind Country was notorious for being a harsh and dangerous place to live due to the breadth and variety of dangerous environments and forms of life but it was also a place of deep mystery and beauty as well despite those dangers.

Onktabar finished with the back and forth between itself and Michi and then offered to take them to "his domain" which for a moment made Katsuo pause. Even friendly spirits could prove to be capricious beings and facing a creature that wanted to harm them in the open desert was a far and away different thing than trying to face them on their home turf where they held every advantage. Still, he sensed no malfeasance from the great turtle and while Katsuo's sense of insight with others was hardly anything approaching mind reading or future sight, it had generally proved to be reliable in the past when making judgments of character. If Onktabar wanted to hurt them it could have just sat back and let the sharks take them and then chase the sharks off when they'd won the battle.

And then there was the piece of him that really wanted to see what Onktabar had to show them. In his heart Katsuo was still the adventurer that he'd sent out as from his home among the Masashi Clan as many years ago. That fire in his heart would never truly go out and the promise to explore a domain that perhaps had never been walked before by human feet was too much to past up.

"Okay, you got it big guy." He said with a kick and a jump, landing with surprising grace for a man with is muscle structure upon the back of the gargantuan turtle. "Do we lay down or... ?"

 

[Sazuki Nao]

So much had happened since Onktabar got here. The sharks that were attacking these two humans, the fact on how they weren't even angry for him trying to stop them... But it had made Onktabar weary if they could hold off to the master of that realm. The questions back and forth, the information he was to gain because of talking with them, there were so many things that he had learned today, so much more about the mankind that stood here before him.
He had now the idea that they were ready, unlike the few he had to send before. Yet the giant beast couldn't help but have that slight inch of thought about it, that they too would fall after meeting the giant realm beast. He was waiting patiently for those to climb his back. His gigantic smile got rested as he would lower himself, making it easier for them to catch on. "Hmm? Oh, that wouldn't bother. My owner had taught me with a gravity that would even let him train on my back, he had no issue moving around as I was his gravity center. So please make yourself at ease..." He said as he would start to walk around a little around, getting them a little used towards the movements that he was making when walking before turning towards the more initial plan of his. Slowly and slightly letting the gravity getting to them. Yet if they were to jump high enough they would be loose from it, so it wasn't like they were trapped or anything. Ancient words were muttered and a bubble of air was made around them, you could touch it and wouldn't break on them. Moments later and they would go inside the sand. Onktabar had already used half of his capability with the Jutsu usage. At times like these, he was reminded of the harsh truth that he was old and forgotten. One that wasn't meant to roam these worlds.
The road wouldn't be the occasion boring one, it was actually Onktabar telling stories, many of the ones he knew. They would go from when he ran for the sea, till the point he made it into his own realm, the deep sea, till the point he had a master and how he lost it... But there was one part remaining a history for these shinobi. The part where he was still here and his master wasn't.
Eventually she sand would vanish and they seemed to make way for water, they would be shown with the paradise that the Deepsea would have to show them, they were around 600 feet already down below water so light would be a slight issue, yet Onktabar knew exactly where to go and dodged everything with ease that came towards them. "We might meet your friends here..." He mentioned the sharks earlier that they had met before, yet the beauty of this underwater world would be easily shown towards them.
The colors of the fishes, corals and underwater plants would be a sight to see, but Onktabar went first a slight bit deeper inside the water till they reached 3000 feet and even Onktabar got a slight trouble with holding on, on these depths. It didn't take long before they were entering some sort of underwater cave and soon were found on a 400 feet depth. There were skeletons all around them, both sharks and human-like features. Once they were floating on the surface there would a slight draft being inside here and Onktabar would go towards the land. An hour or two would have been passed and would eliminate just a little light enough to look towards the ground feet beside them. "This... is as far as I can take you, I may not pass on further." The turtle sounded tired as it placed itself down onto the stones. "I am too tired..." He spoke further, his voice easily showing that the time of this being was reaching towards the end and it had exhausted himself. "What I never told you, is that I was stuck inside this world because of my master, ever since I dwelled onto these lands for years and years till I lost the count. Searching for someone worthy, one that could complete the task that my master had to send me out on. 'Finish what I couldn't.'" And with that said Onktabar would close his eyes, a small smile would be rest. As they would be getting off the turtle it would slowly solve away, just like a summon but then different. It could be clear to them that Onktabar was a summon stuck in the shinobi world.

The place would soon be dark again and things were lurking towards them, would this be the final test to what Onktabar had judged them worthy for..? Was this a looming displace? It would up to them to what they did to see and search till they found this test. Or... would it find them first?
Inside this water cave, some spots were filled with water and others weren't. Sometimes the sounds of splashing water would echo around the place.
If they went further into the cave, the sound of water rippling, moving would be more hearable till a lot of sharks were visible, but they didn't attack just yet. [lb2][/lb2]

"And who are you to enter my domain, puny humans?​

 

[Michi]

The Oracle was not only curious but also compliant as she climbed upon the great back of Onktabar. The steep climb would crest atop the mound, a gently sloped plateau that she gripped with her fingertips wrapped around the ridges and she carefully seated herself at the highest point on the massive creature's shell. It was odd, it was as if she was sitting on top of a living building, she could feel it shift ever so slightly beneath her. She would wait for Katsuo to be seated next to her, he was not the curious kind but he was also not the sort to reject the prospect of an adventure. Well, perhaps a building was an understatement if what Onktabar said was true, such mass that there was a gravitational pull Onktabar claimed with a casual certainty.

She would hear the rumbling words, an antediluvian language that she did not know. She would look over at Katsuo and seek a glimmer of recognition. It was unlikely she would see any in him, but unlike her he could lie. The words did not make her apprehensive but the sinking did. The sand and then the darkness and then the earth would give way to water. She knew it was water only because she could see a glimmer or rather a shimmer of distant light from a source too far away. The waters would rise but they would not wash over them, shielded by an unseen barrier of air they remained dry and the muffled voice of their guide would continue on. Stories, most relevant only to the great turtle and of course to a knowledge-hungry woman such as Michi her blooming apprehension over the sea, a place where men dared not tread in Wind Country because there were monsters that lived in the deep. Those fears were not the product of stories or tall tales but rather real and terrible accounts. As they went deeper, her fears abated. Despite the chill of the darkness there was respite for her in the deep darkness even if this was not her home. "It is a shame Mikaboshi was not here to feel this," Michi admitted as she blindly jotted something down in her book. "Katsuo, are you there?" Her hand would sightlessly search for the Kazekage. It was out of character for her to state his or anyone's name so casually, that was the only true sign of her fear at this time. She was trying to hide it the best she could, counted breaths and a calm, soft voice. "Do you know where Onktabar is taking us?" There was a tone of concern in her voice, the water was unsettling because it was such an unknown. "I hope this is not the bay," she commented. That was a true sailor's graveyard for good reason.

Eventually they would come to a stop, there was still not much light, only darkness. Michi would cast a small, basic photon jutsu to cast some illumination on Onktabar's back. They were not as deep, she did not feel the same pressure in her ears. Here she would see the misshapen forms of sharks and men, a hyrbid she did not recognize. "How curious those are," she pointed into the dim depths at a skeletal form. "Have you ever seen anything like that?" The water's would recede on all sides, they had broken through the surface of the water but they were still in the dark. In a cave. This was as far as their ride was taking them, but why had it taken them there at all. "Where are we?" Always one to ask a question, she wondered if it was the 'right' question. "And what of the dead here? Should we tarry on?" So many questions, such as finish what and why?

 

[Mikaboshi]

Onktabar told them much about himself as they traveled. He spoke about his time as a hatchling as he went from the nest of eggs where he was born to the sea, to his life with his master and finally... the story of his master's death. The two seemed to be kindred spirits to Katsuo and he enjoyed each moment of the ride as Onktabar told his stories even though the stories came to a close on a sad final note. It was a truth that all warriors inevitably faced: that someday they would die in battle. It was a great war within the heart of each martial artist and fighter to accept that truth and make each and every moment count. It wasn't about how you died, it was how you spent the time between each breath you take.

"It is a shame Mikaboshi was not here to feel this,"

He heard Michi marvel out loud. Katsuo was doubtful that it truly was a shame that the Lord of the Deep Court were here for Katsuo didn't feel like Mikaboshi would have a particular appreciation for Onktabar's stories but the King Under the Sands had proven himself remarkably complex in the short time that Katsuo had known him. He preferred to play the part of a devil and had committed many crimes but in a way Mikaboshi did those things to fill a hole in his heart that he'd never even fully understood. It was one of the reasons that Katsuo had forgiven him. Every creature deserved an opportunity to prove itself better than the sum of their parts and so far Mikaboshi had honored his word to stay his hand from Sunagakure.

They burst into light and were suddenly underwater in a vast undersea space that was... indescribable. Words and language simply seemed insufficient to properly give description to the enormity of the place they appeared in and for a moment Katsuo felt a spike of sheer terror stab into his gut. Katsuo had never been underwater like this before in his life and this being the first experience was utterly terrifying.

"Katsuo, are you there?" He heard her say as he felt her fingers reach out and brush against his arm, searching for an anchor as she too marveled at the undersea world around them. He allowed her to take his arm and he nodded, mouth open and agape at the scene around them.

He could hear the fear in her voice and it immediately smothered any fear of his own that he was feeling under the weight of the protective instincts that made him the leader that he was. Michi was of the Deep Court, one of Mikaboshi's spawned creatures and once an enemy of their state but now she was one of his people. A part of his crew and his village. To a man in a position like Katsuo's, the entire village was his extended family and Katsuo had made a vow to himself a long time ago that he would never again forsake a member of his family. She was afraid and needed him to lean on which was more important to him than his fear towards the unknown.

"Yeah, I'm still here. I wouldn't leave you behind." He responded, his voice resolute.

You are in danger here my king. Caliburn's thoughts filled his own as Katsuo's eyes jumped from object to object in the dark waters around them, finding most of the floating debris to be human-shaped skeletons in various states of disassembly.

I am putting that together, yeah.

"Do you know where Onktabar is taking us?" Asked Michi with concern in her tone. She was right to be concerned. They didn't really know where Onktabar was taking them and this place was rapidly becoming apparent as some kind of underwater mass grave.

"That's a great question." He responded to her before rapping the tip of his boot upon the back of Onktabar's shell to hopefully get his attention. "What's the story here big guy, where are you taking us?"

The turtle did not respond immediately but before Katsuo could take further action, they appeared to arrive at the place where Onktabar intended to bring them. No longer out in the open water-space of the tremendous undersea realm that the turtle had brought them to, Onktabar came to rest on a strange rocky cavern-like pocket of stone, sand and most importantly oxygenated air for them to breathe.

"This... is as far as I can take you, I may not pass on further. What I never told you, is that I was stuck inside this world because of my master, ever since I dwelled onto these lands for years and years till I lost the count. Searching for someone worthy, one that could complete the task that my master had to send me out on. 'Finish what I couldn't.'

"That's not... you can't..." Katsuo searched for the words as his mind raced. Onktabar had told them the story of how his master had been killed already on the way down. Katsuo hadn't realized it but the giant turtle had been preparing them for the reason why he was bringing them here. He'd brought them down here to face the monster shark that had killed his master. "We didn't... !"

Katsuo's half-formed protests were in vain as the humongous turtle spirit dissolved into spirit particles almost immediately after arriving, returning back into Natural Energy the way a summon did when it's time was spent. Michi rattled off a few inquiries but before Katsuo could even think to respond to them, somewhat overwhelmed and angry that Onktabar had taken advantage of them like that, a gargantuan voice rumbled through the cavern.

"And who are you to enter my domain, puny humans?

Katsuo had to think fast. Had Onktabar brought them to some kind of shark world for this confrontation? It certainly seemed like it given the volume of water and the presence of the shark beasts that seemed to be gathering around them and they were very likely about to come face to face with the beast that had been powerful enough to slay Onktabar's master who, from the turtle's stories, had been pretty powerful in his own right. Sharks were predators and as that thought crossed his mind, Katsuo curiously recalled Michi's reference to Mikaboshi earlier. Despite being of the Deep Court and not the Wild Hunt, Mikaboshi was a consummate predator. He lived for the hunt and the kill and as a result there was one thing above all other things that Mikaboshi respected.

Strength.

"I am Sunahoshi Katsuo, Tenth Kazekage of Sunagakure and son of Primus. Stormbreaker and Iron Wolf." He announced, channeling what he remembered of what it had been like to "be" Mikaboshi and digging deep for any and all titles or nicknames he had ever been known as to make himself sound as official as he possibly could. In this moment, he needed the ruthlessness that the King of the Deep Court had granted him by becoming a part of him for so long and as he strode forward with his sword in his hand, ready to be unsheathed, there could be no doubt that Katsuo was a king. "Who are you to address me so rudely?"

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Onktabar was left with no time. No time to explain why he had brought them, why they were here. He just had one hope, one to bring over the memory of the reason why he had brought them here.

A light particle would land upon the, in his eyes, young energy master.
"This... This is what I was trying to prepare you for." Were the words echoing from Onktabar...
A scene would be in front of them, they would be around yet merely a ghost inside a memory as a third person. Unable to interact with the timeline of that memory.
They were above in the docks, a younger looking turtle and a child. "Master! If you go that fast I cannot keep it up!" The turtle would scream as he tried to keep up. The child, to be guessed to be early teens end child. Was running in front till he stopped. "Adventure Onktabar! That is what is near! Let's go towards the caves!"
A next scene would be visual, the boy on top of the turtle as they descended, an air bubble around them. "how... how much further..." Spoke the young turtle, shivering and holding the boy perfectly onto place. "No idea... but I am glad I taught you gravity... otherwise you would have shaken me off! Take it, easy buddy, I am here!" Seconds later they would be surrounded by many shark-like creatures and taken with further down. That is where they could see how they went down towards the room that was for them now only a little bit further ahead.
"And who are you to enter my domain, puny human?
The same voice would be there, the turtle half hiding in his shell and keeping the human behind him. "Onktabar and my master... Just let us go, we wish to mean no harm!" Onktabar pleaded as soon as he knew who they had in front of them. Hmmm~ And on what would you sacrifice to leave him to go?" The shark-like creature would grin upon them and as soon as he said that the boy would get in front. "Me! You get me! I challenge you!" A grin formed by the lord, a maelstrom was made and the boy was being tested. As the boy stepped towards it, the judging moment was there. For a moment it looked like the boy would get his mind on the setting. "You aren't scared... right..?" The shark had a nasty grin on his face. As the boy slowly motioned back, that was the moment he made a mistake. Not a single moment of hesitation was left from the shark beside the young boy. Lady death will consume your worthless to be one of us..." Just like that the boy was killed off by another shark that jumped out of the pool. Without Onktabar able to react quick enough the boy lay there, still breathing, gasping more to say. It started to reach out toward the turtle and his eyes turning slight lifeless. "Why... why master..." The sharks were left laughing as they moved back. Worthless, sacrifice less... And the wrong answer... You aren't worthy to be one of us... You aren't aggressive at all." Were the words echoed in the cave.
The boy on his last breath took one more action. "Onktabar... please... for me... Finish the adventure... the adventure that we couldn't do together... Get someone worthy... Worthy to get them... I wasn't the one." And thus, the arm lay lifeless.

As soon as the echo of the memory was gone, more should have been cleared up. Onktabar hadn't betrayed them but given them a huge opportunity. Surudoi, the lord of this realm. But tell me one thing, puny humans... Why should you be worthy, unlike the kid that turtle brought? The Lady of Death doesn't like waiting." Surudoi was huge, almost seven feet tall and from all the others surrounding him, it was displayed he was one of the smaller ones. The other sharks were surrounding him making him the center of the pool of death. He wears a long leather trench coat, his pants were matching as this was to hide the few parts of humanity left by him. Once he grinned to them, the display of Razor sharp teeth was shown and as he raised his hand in order to gain an answer from them, the sharp nails were shown. Strange symbols were covering his body as he went through a transformation earlier in his life. You had defeated a few of my kin, tell me... Why would I spare you and not sacrifice towards the lady? A few sharks started to swirl around in circles, slowly and the tiny bit faster and faster while Surudoi started to move in front of the slowly existing maelstrom forming behind him.

 

[Michi]

A waking dream brought them back to the misadventure of a young boy and a turtle that ventured too far and too deep. The boy unceremoniously devoured by the deep, with a clue supplied by the memory of what they sought. And so this was where this adventure would take them. To an ending or to a climax. The tale of a boy and an adventure, of fear and recoil and ultimately of rejection for his hesitation. Rejection from what, indeterminate. However, what she was certain of was the fact that victory, bravery, aggression and fear were not mutually exclusive states. So in the deep, surrounded by strange beasts some with legs and parts of men as well as shark some more like sharks entirely with their rows of sharp teeth that would bite and rip, tear and gnash she assessed them for what they were. Bullies.

Surudoi, the lord of this realm. But tell me one thing, puny humans... Why should you be worthy, unlike the kid that turtle brought? The Lady of Death doesn't like waiting."

And that was the right question.

"Because I am more clever than you," Michi replied. "Because you boast that it is aggression that you seek, but that is not true. Aggression can be seen as two faces on a single coin. Their is the dominant aggressive and there is the desperate aggressive. The one that fights because there is no choice but to fight despite it being a futile effort. Yet in my experience, there is nothing quite as terrifying or as terrible as the knowledge that there is a roiling cauldron of strength and rage beneath a placid surface that none can see." However, the problem with bullies is they were all brawn and no wit.

Step 1:

Keep the shark talking long enough for the Kazekage to get the notion that this is when he should power-up. This was certainly not a shouen manga, but this is one of those moments were fantasy might become a reality. He would only have ten-seconds but in the life of a shinobi that was plenty of time to summon an impressive display of power.

"He..." she gestured towards Katsuo. "He is the storm," she warned. It was a truth, she was incapable of lying. "And I... am just here for the academic excursion, but if you want to see aggression," she took off her jacket and folded it before she placed it on the ground. "I will happily oblige, but I must ask what benefit is there for us if you are all dead?" That was the thing with bullies, they were at heart cowards. Standing up to them, looking them in the eye and saying 'not today.' Aggression is simply a pony show, attempting to get someone to back off because you are really mad, crazy enough to wield that anger and the strength to make that use a viable threat.

"You had defeated a few of my kin, tell me... Why would I spare you and not sacrifice towards the lady?"

Step 2

Show no fear. Eye contact. Move in their directions, Shoulders square with the leader.

"Because we are not sacrifices, because that involves ether our acquiescence or defeat and you, Surudoi have neither. While I have no personal quarrel with you, my safety is now imperiled as well as that of my king." Yes, she called the Sunahoshi Kazekage her king. There was a deference in being titled as such, and again while she may be one to deceive she is not one to lie. "So even if we are not ethically inclined or somehow engaged in this impending battle as an act of vengeance for one we have never met or knew sympathies for, we have no choice but to fight." She took a step towards the shark, even if there was fear she would not show it. She would not betray her sentiments with actions. "And I suppose you might ask if I am afraid," she took another step. "We will determine that when the first of us screams," she understood the challenge and she was an expert at manipulation.

Step 3

Make the first move and hope that Katsuo was smart enough as to follow through.

Black Blockade [Mastered] cast on Surudoi, self and Katsuo with the intention of trapping us all inside the same enclosed space. A technique that seals off an area with a powerful wall of chakra; preventing both entry and exit for a limited time. Cut off from the outside world, those within are trapped until the barrier falls or the user is defeated. So there was really only one way out and that was victory or defeat.

If effective, she states the following. "We're not running, and neither are you."

 

[Mikaboshi]

Surudoi, the lord of this realm. But tell me one thing, puny humans... Why should you be worthy, unlike the kid that turtle brought? The Lady of Death doesn't like waiting."

Katsuo barely heard the words of the lord of the Shark Contract beneath the blood that rushed to his ears in anger. His breathing quickened with each lung full as Michi took the stage before them and spoke. He couldn't do it. In his mind's eye he couldn't help but replay that scene. Onktabar and his young companion had come to this place unbidden and paid for their trespassing with the kid's life.

What a waste. He thought to himself, crackles of gilded lightning unconsciously playing across his neck and shoulders in response to the surge of emotion he was feeling.

My king, you are letting your anger run away with you.

"No. Use it. Give me everything we have." He said quietly outloud to Caliburn. Michi was a few paces ahead of him and focused on Surudoi so it was unlikely she'd even hear him open his mouth. He could vaguely hear the words she was saying but one line caught his notice, bringing him back to the moment.

He is the storm.

Holding Caliburn out in front of him horizonally, there was a microburst of air originating from where Katsuo was standing as Caliburn complied with her king's command. She reached through him, snagging the raw tangle of hurt and anger that his emotions had become and wove it all around him in a cocoon of crackling light that split the ground around his feet as it howled. Her will to carry out her king's command and his anger harmonized into a single frequency that shook the very ground they stood upon and send crawling spiders of surging lightning pouring across the surface of the island that they stood on. As Michi spoke in the forefront, giving his transformation a proper introduction, Katsuo wordlessly said everything he needed to with the reservoir of natural energy that he was tapping into. Caliburn was still with him from when he'd summoned her to his side during the first engagement with the sharks and so there was only a moment of time between him raising his sword and the blast of transforming energy that coursed across his body. [Entering Sage Mode which activates Caliburn's Soul Regalia - Legendary Weapon (Master Rank)]

"Good is that which evil fears...</COLOR><COLOR color="darkgreen">" Whispered Katsuo, reciting the ancient ranger code that he'd been raised to respect and uphold.

The cloth he wore across his upper body stretched under the strain of his bulging muscles for only a moment before an errant bolt of energy split one of the seams and sent the unfortunate garment tumbling away in a gust of lightning and wind, burning to cinders as it did behind him. In it's place the golden light that burned around him coalesced into a radiant raiment of jewelry and adornment that much more had the appearance that one might associate with a king. His red hair flickered as it stood on end and was quickly replaced with a similar gold style chain as his transformation into a vision of the Golden King became complete. In this state, Katsuo's partner Caliburn was no where to be seen as the essence of her form was absorbed into his transformation reinforcing both his spirit and his body.

​

"And justice is when those fears are made reality."

The words he'd spoken had been no louder than a whisper. A promise to himself more than anything else. Caliburn didn't need to warn him that this opponent was way beyond any of them. He knew that. He could feel the killing intent of Surudoi weighing down on him like the pressure of a thousand pounds of weights on his shoulders but there was no way he could turn from this fight. Was this the way Primus had felt facing down Fuujin and Homura? He had to have known that there was no logical way that he could come out of that battle on top. Facing either one of them alone in a battle was a monumental feat in itself but both the Ancient Lord of Sun and Sky and the Ancient Lord of Iron and Flame at the same time? It was madness. And yet he was not afraid. Not a single ounce of Katsuo was afraid of the coming battle. After all, as Michi had pointed out, he was the storm. [Switching into +4 Accuracy/-4 Dodge Offensive Stance]

And lightning feared no man or beast.

With a flicker of moment that made a noise like a cacophonous peal of thunder, Katsuo exploded from where he was standing and rushed past Michi leaving behind a jet stream of crackling superheated air behind him as he closed the distance with Surudoi, hoping to get the jump on the beast man. Surudoi was ten feet tall but Katsuo was no slouch in height himself so with a small hop into the air Katsuo appeared at eye level with the shark man and reared back with the intention of slamming his forehead directly into Surudoi's face. ["Fist" of Virtue - Kindness (Master Rank) with Reckless Dependent Special Move Double Edge]

---

OOC Notes(s)
Caliburn's Soul Regalia equips her Released Form weapon to him and grants him Weapon Mastery for it. It is a Piercing weapon so any attack with it that would have it's damage reduced has that amount of damage instead added to the attack and the attack ignores damage resistance. It also increases his Secondaries by +1.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

"He is the storm," The shark laughed at that, that wasn't true. It wasn't like that at all. A big grin was forming upon his features. He was listening towards this tiny human, but the words didn't reach his brain fully. He took his stance and made a mistake to fully focus on her, as she was the one taking actions right now. His small brain made that motion and thought. Yet as how he was trapped, he soon noticed his mistake and started to lean a bit more backward. "Hmm... So this was your thoughts, take it 2 to 1." He grinned. He thought he could play the game that she played too, but knew deep down without his friends this would be tricky.

There was the fancy boy changing his colors and ways. Slowly he started to give a grimace. "So... You think you can take me on?" He questioned and spread his arms, this behavior could have been cocky. His arms were spread, giving an invitation. Yet he had to admit that this person was now quite tall, something he had no understanding of, as humans were always strange creatures and he used them to please the Lady of death.

By the sudden bash on his head, he was taken aback. A sound left the shark, a surprised one. This was never done to him in no matter how or why. 1 step, 2 steps were taken back and the shark held his head. A loud tsk left him and he sadly had to admit to doing this, they had to have real guts. The smile that was first gone from his face soon was one to turn back. "If you really think like that..." He would reach with his hand towards his teeth, the unending growing teeth in his mouth, he broke two of them off. Threw them towards them, either they would catch it or it would fall on the floor. "If you really dare... Why not take the test?" He grinned and would take a slight step to the side, where the whirl of raging water was behind them. "Pour your blood, let the death decide?" He wasn't going to admit to them, that their bold action would have been one that he would praise. Yet he knew he would gain questions. "If you are daring to take me on... one on one, did such an action. You do deserve to be in our ranks, if you think you can handle that... Pour your blood, cut by my teeth, in to the whirl, let the whirl decide and you may or may not be in our ranks." Bluff, give them a reason to believe they wouldn't gain such a thing. "But first...." and yet.....

For such an action, he couldn't take a hit back. He pulled his arm back, made sure his arm would have been coated. Using tiny and tiny shark teeth, interlocking with each other to make his own skin hardened on his arm and hand. "Payback~" He chimed a little with his voice as he tried to take a direct hit towards the blond boy. Maybe a tiny spar after the contract seal could calm his ache.


[ooc]
Used: Rough Skin - Shark Contract Independent Special Move.

The contract offered with the 'dare'

Special OOC;
Thank you for the patience towards me to write this!

 

[Michi]

Something dramatic was happening behind her, she could feel the static energy raise the hair on her head. She did not look back, looking back would mean that she was no longer watching the shark and she needed to stand her ground without being stupid enough to as to leave her back to a god-like creature. Courage was something that transpired not in the absence of fear but despite fear. Fear was natural but the brave were resilient, or perhaps foolish. She was sadly neither, but she was strong. Strong enough in any case to bolster someone more capable than her.

"Hmm... So this was your thoughts, take it 2 to 1."

"Big fish, little pond," Michi replied. A victory goes to the winner, not the person that played fair.

And then Katsuo headbutted the Lord of the Shark Contract. He had somehow lost his shirt in the process, possibly the only boon of the day. Everyone has a magical girl sequence and Katsuo's apparently involved partial nudity and bleaching his hair. A fact that did not take away from the epic nature of the fact that the Kazekage cranium was hard enough as to cause the Lord of the Realm to stagger back. To stagger back and then break two of his own teeth from his own maw. He would toss them forward and Michi made no attempt to catch the bony bit and she would move aside and endure a wide breadth between herself and her teeth.

"If you really dare... Why not take the test?"

Michi was not going to release the black blockade, rather she was going to continue to disable her opponent and empower her ally. "A dare?" She repeated, her hands continuing to move through a series of handseals rather than retrieve the bit of ivory.

"Pour your blood, let the death decide?"

"How about... no," Michi announced as she completed her final handseal. Tree binding, spread with her mastery of genjutsu to not only the shark himself but also his shadow so that if he were somehow capable of breaking his illusionary fetters there would be another illusion ready to restrain him in place of the previous. "Aggression... now masochism, quite the contrarian. Do you even know what you want?" Michi did not know that acquiescing would have impressed the shark, there was no way of knowing that but considering the narrative of this situation she would not care to impress anything upon the creature besides its own incompetence considering the fact that they were given the haunting image of a child being murdered mere minutes earlier. That they were being threatened minutes earlier. That he was referencing this lady death, assuming death has a gender of course. No, it would be illogical to harm oneself whilst facing a previously self-proclaimed threat that had violent tendencies substantiated by the information shared by a magic sea turtle in the desert.

"If you are daring to take me on... one on one, did such an action. You do deserve to be in our ranks, if you think you can handle that... Pour your blood, cut by my teeth, in to the whirl, let the whirl decide and you may or may not be in our ranks."

She shook her head side to side. No. She took a step forward. "Demanding a one on one fight once isolated from your allies. Demanding we spill our blood, weakening one of us in the process," she took another step forward. She was of course nervous, she had every right to be. She did not have the power to control how she felt, but she had the power to choose how she reacted to her emotions. "This sounds like fear."

"But first...."

He would attempt to strike Katsuo and Michi would attempt to intercede, assuming he broke through her bind or overpowered it in the first place. Assuming he rejected or overcame the same spell on his shadow, she would have to react. She would not be able to erect a barrier between the creature's fist and her ally's face, but she could give the man a bigger target. It was the shark's shadow, that monstrous fiend behind him that she would bring to light. [Denied Mind Shadow]

"Payback~"

If it hit or not, she would not be capable of interceding. She would, however give Katsuo an additional target. "Don't prioritize the darkness, but it you can hit the fish twice you may as well do so," she announced. They were not going to genuflect before a murderer. They were not going to join -their- troupe. If anything, the shark was going to be dragged home in chains.