Teamwork! Uhh… Take Two! [Tutor]

[Saitou Rei]

It wouldn't be long now before they finally reached the gates of Kumogakure. As the trio of foreigners ventured forward, the towns they passed through became more and more geared toward shinobi-life in their markets and housing situations. More temporary accommodations like hostels and hotels, less paraphernalia and more practical items being sold in the stalls. Though this proved helpful in allowing them to find shelter more quickly when they finally decided to rest for the night, they would not always be so fortunate. High ground began turning into hills, which in turn burst forth into mountains as soldiered on. As craggy rock began shooting out from the landscape, townships became more sparse. Finally one night they would have to set up camp once again as they had done for most of their time in Fire Country. Only this time, it was much, much colder.

Huddled by the fire Maikeru had made after they'd pitched their tents, Reicheru occasionally protected it from the winds that spiraled and threatened to put it out with jutsu of her own. As she stared into the wood that crackled and created a kaleidoscope of warm colors as it broke in on itself, the young kunoichi sniffled and tried to keep her mind on things other than the weather. Hmm, the gate! Yes, they were so close now. She half expected to run into some Kumo shinobi before they made it there… how would that interaction go? Would they mistake them for spies? Would they be forbidden entrance before they even made it to there to request it? No, nope. No more thinking for right now.

Turning to Daenerisu, Reicheru elbowed the girl lightly and smiled before saying loudly, "Y'know, it's been quite awhile since Maik tried to take us on. He said we'd reschedule, and yet, here we are…" A playful sigh escaped her lips as she turned to face the Uchiha, standing up from where she had squatted in front of the fire. "He probably realized his mistake and got scared. Don't worry, I would be too! It's not even a question of if two samurai by blood could take you on, is it?" The last part was all bravado, not something Reicheru actually believed in the slightest - at least, the bit that blood assured someone's skillset or victory. Yet she knew that part would prompt Maikeru to act. In truth, she knew the Uchiha outclassed her in most areas of combat. But she needed to keep her cold body moving and her mind distracted, and this was the perfect opportunity if he took the bait. "Am I wrong? Or are you going to teach me and Danii here something?" After throwing her eyebrows up at Maikeru, her eyes locked on Danii to see what she would do, and her hand flitted toward her pouch - ready for the world-renown Nanjirou quickdraw.

[Post 1 of 5]
[WC: 480 / 1500]

 

[Maikeru]

Maikeru watched as the fire burn bright and true, the occasional crackling of burning wood breaking the stoic silence that had fallen over the camp that the three leaf shinobi had crafted. He had considered using Amaterasu to create the fire, but, the chakra required maintain it wasn't worth it compared to Reicheru just protecting it with her wind style. As the night dragged on, and it seemed to be closing out, he was surprised at the boldness of Reicheru's baiting. As long as he had known her, he had only seen this side of her a few times, usually when they were alone and teasing each other. The fact that she was showing it with Danni around either meant she was finally as comfortable with the fellow Nanjirou as she was with Maikeru, or that she was deeply troubled by the impending gate call they would be making any day now.

He couldn't blame her, he was probably more worried than her. As someone who viewed himself as the protector of the group, he knew he would have laid down his life to see those two make it out if things went south. So, the least he could do was humor her, and himself, as she continued with her bold claims.

"You mean the two pure blooded Samurai's whose techniques I mastered in an afternoon? Yea, absolutely terrified. Shaking in my boots." He said, giving her the patented cocky Uchiha smile. "Terrified of how quickly the fight would end, that is."

As he saw her hand float towards her pouch, Maikeru's own hand floated towards the handle of Kusanagi, his eyes slowly darting between Danni and Reicheru. As they darted, the morphed and changed, immediately passing their three tomoed form and going straight to the Mangekyo evolution. He wasn't scared of fighting them one on one, but, as a team? Well, he certainly couldn't hold back if he wanted to win that fight.

He had read about moments like this, when two Samurai faced off. Their eyes locked, their hands gripped the handle of their katana, and it was down to who would draw first, and fastest that would decide the duel. Who would have thought he would have his first moment like that with his girlfriend, and his little sister? Not him, that was for sure. Still, as the dead lock continued, his heart race increasing, he began to realize how much he had grown to enjoy the thrill of battle. Maybe leaf had changed him more than he realized..

"Now, if you two want to beat me, you're going to have to work together." He said, the blade of Kusanagi beginning to audibly shake inside of it's sheath as the spirit inside begged to be drawn. "Otherwise, you're going to be thankful a chief med nin is with you."

And with that, he drew. A forceful, almost superhuman draw, that sent spirals of wind spiraling around them. The poor, suffocating fire, took its last breath as the wind engulfed it, leaving the three of them in the shadows. The last thing they would see, before Maikeru vanished into the night, was the sight of his glowing, blood red Sharingan vanishing into blackness.

[Post: 1/5]
[WC: 538]
[TWC: 538/1500]

 

[Santaru Kaede]

Danii was cleaning her blade as the trio sat around the fire. The sword remained sealed in a scroll throughout most of the day while they travelled and didn't require much maintenance today, but the exercise was a calming one for her, so she went through the motions anyways. Since the edge was fine, Danii used a cloth to polish the dark steel of the blade and made sure the leather harness was properly oiled and cleaned. She even put extra detail into ensuring that any dust was removed from the skull and bones of guard. As she wrapped up her task at hand, she looked up and watched the fire crackle and fight against the weather trying to extinguish it. When Reicheru suggested a spar, she hopped up and sheathed the sword on her back.

“I think you're right. He's knows he couldn't take us both on at the same time like he did back then. We've grown too strong for him.”

Danii flexes her arm as if showing off her muscles as a grin spread across her face. She watched in anticipation as Maikeru took the bait. She really wasn't sure if the two could take on Maikeru or not, but she wasn't going to let him know that. Her hand twitched ready to draw her sword.

“Will you be able to patch yourself up once we kick your butt?”

She knew she could outdraw him, but she wasn't sure if that would be the best move. Instead she watched as he reached for his own sword and began making hand seals. As few seconds after he drew and smothered the fire, Danii finished her seals and held out her hands. Chakra coalesced create two lantern shaped orbs. One floated up and began orbiting her head. The other floated over to Reicheru. Both gave off an eerie glow around the two. The jutsu barely gave off enough light for the two to see each other, but Danii had learned this specifically to help her in her spars with Maikeru and his kind. She held her hand over the hilt of her blade as she surveyed the battlefield in anticipation of her next action.

“This should help us a little bit with his trickery.”

[WC: 375]
[Post ⅕]
[TWC: 375]
[MFT]

 

[Maikeru]

[Post removed to maintain posting order]

 

[Saitou Rei]

No, the Nanjirou name had never meant all that much to Reicheru. She had seen how too much pride in one's blood could destroy their perception of the world around them and destroy even their closest relationships. Still, when Maikeru treated their heritage and technique as if it were easy to master - even if it was just a return of the teasing Reicheru herself had been dishing out a moment ago - the Nanjirou girl couldn't help but squint an eye at him in irritation. A familiar violet hue began to burn dimly behind her gray orbs. Good, this would be a good spar.

Grinning at Danii's ever-present enthusiasm, it soon spread into a full and impressed smile as her cousin provided light for them in the darkness the Uchiha meant to use to his advantage. Daenerisu's carefree attitude often caused Reicheru to forget that the two of them were the same age, and that if it hadn't been for sheer chance they would still be the same rank. Since Maikeru had made the mistake of putting this spar on hold, Reicheru had become more observant of her Nanji kin in the past few days. Her affinity for water jutsu would put them at an advantage against the hot-blooded Uchiha, and the strength she'd developed from carrying around a sword too heavy still even for Rei from childhood would make certain that any hit she landed would leave its mark. What Reicheru lacked in this area, however, she could make up for in draining their opponent, making them slower, trapping them and making them easier for Danii to hit. Though she'd had the most practice learning how to fight with Maikeru, actually doing so made her hyper aware of his few weaknesses and how to fight against him effectively.

While Maikeru's sharingan stared intently back at the duo, Reicheru closed her own eyes and focused on what the old man in the village outside of Ine-cho had taught her. She'd never been the spiritual type before even with how much emphasis there was on it in her clan, but her recent bouts in meditation were beginning to open her up to just how much she didn't know. One of those things was the interconnectedness of all things, and how she had neglected her ties to things outside of herself. She visualized the field before her by sensing it, focusing her chakra in such a way that it latched on to the chakra signatures of the bodies nearby. Between Danii's light and this tracking technique, the Joker would be hard pressed to pull many tricks on her this time. Tilting her head to the side Danii stood on, she whispered to her partner, "Don't go in too hot and heavy too fast - that's the mistake Maik usually makes." Not wanting to risk being overheard, she stopped there and hoped she and Danii would be able to read each other as well as Rei, Maik and Katsu had before. Yes, they'd sparred together before, but being out on their own and journeying forward with nothing but hope to hang on to made this particular training session feel like it carried weight to it for young Reicheru.

Quickly her hands were out in front of her - but not with a sword drawn as Maikeru likely expected. Instead, as her hand lay at her hip as they prepared, she had been channeling an intense amount of wind energy into her right palm. Now without warning as she slapped her hands together, a torrent of rushing wind burst forth and tore through in their opponent's direction, taking with it ash and debris from the campfire. Hoping to impair and distract the eyes the Kashima leader was so proud of and relied on so heavily, Reicheru moved with the cover of wind and drew her blade, coating it too with her own chakra. As she approached him, she would make several quick slashes in hopes of landing at least one. Though when she did, Maikeru would not notice it; a handseal would follow as she landed on the other side of him, sealing chakra in the now hidden wound. The smile that tugged at the corners of her lips would seem odd to the Uchiha, and that was fine. Let him think he had the upper hand, that he would come out unscathed. For now.

Though she had put on an act earlier, Reicheru knew better than anyone that her boyfriend was a tough opponent. Still, while there were many things that were dangerous about Uchiha Maikeru, the one she targeted now was both his greatest strength and greatest weakness - his ego.

[Post 2 of 5]
[WC: 775]
[TWC: 1,255 / 1500]

Spoiler: Actions

• Chakra Sense [R1] tracking Maikeru and Danii
• Pressure Burst [M] in Maikeru's general direction
• Temporized Slash [R3] targets Maikeru

 

[Maikeru]

As his draw finished, he quickly retreated into the tree line. Snow wasn't the best for stealth operations, the soft powder left obvious marks for those who truly wished to find where you were. So, instead, he moved along the branches of the trees, his Sharingan quickly scanning the two of them out. He was surprised that Danni had learned a jutsu like that, he wasn't ever aware she was training in non elemental jutsu.. or even that the jutsu in question existed. Thankfully, he had Sharingan. He began to slowly mimick the hand signs that he had seen Danni using, before pausing on the last one. He wasn't sure the specifics of this jutsu, and wasn't sure if he wanted to use it. No, he figured a bit more trickery might be better here.

See, most people believed that Uchiha had to use their eyes to perform genjutsu. This wasn't necessarily true. It was helpful, and was an easy way to break down mental defenses even if someone was prepared for it. However, like every other Genjutsu user, Maikeru was perfectly capable of doing them the old fashioned way. Sighing, he watched them move together as a group. That would be troublesome for him, even with his Sharingan. He liked to brag about his swordsman skills, but, the Nanjirou were both better with a sword than he was. If it wasn't for his Uchiha blood, they would have passed him a long time ago. It was bittersweet to think about, but, it was the truth. If he wanted to win this, he would have to decide who he wanted to take out, and occupy the other. He smiled, realizing he had recently learned just the jutsu for this.

He watched them carefully as he planned, his eyes darting between the two. However, having to track two opponents meant he was like to miss something, and this time it was something rather big. As Reicheru's jutsu flew towards him, he internally cursed. He had seen this jutsu before, but, when did she make the hand signs? It was too late to dodge, and he ate the brunt of the haphazardly aimed ninjutsu, throwing him backwards against the trunk of the tree he rested upon the branch of. Well, he guessed it was time to counter attack. Mourning over the cut up clothes that were now ruined, he leaped from the tree he was in, sheathing Kusanagi as he flew in the air.

His Sharingan flashed as he dropped from the tree line, instantly locking eyes with Reicheru. What Danni would see was Maikeru dropping from the tree line, Kusanagi sheathed as he rushed towards her. However, if this was successful, that is not what Reicheru would see. She would see a broken and battered Maikeru, wearily crawling out from the cover of darkness. There would be blades sticking out from his back, holding a shattered Kusanagi in his hands. Over him would loom a dark, forebodding shadow, a large scythe in hand. The shadow would turn to Reicheru, it's large hood obscuring the figure's face with darkness. It would peer to her for a moment, before raising a skeletal figure to it's mouth, as if silencing the older Nanjirou, before raising it's scythe towards her beloved.

Meanwhile, Maikeru continued to charge towards Danni, a look of regret on his face as he maintained the genjutsu against his significant other. Stepping into Danni's zone of engagement, his hand would slap to Kusanagi, and lightning would begin to crackle along it's blade. It seemed he was preparing something big, something Reicheru would have seen a few times before.

"Dodge." He said quietly, standing in front of Danni, his Iaijutsu reaching the pinnacle of it's power. "Omni-Flash!"

An arc of lightning would shoot forward from his sheath as he began the quick draw technique he had practiced over many hours, the question was, how would Danni dodge a technique like this?

[Reaper's Gaze used on Reicheru]
[Omni-flash used on Danni]

[WC: 658]

 

[Santaru Kaede]

Danii watches as Maikeru drops from the tree and charges. She hadn't expected Reicheru to send Maikeru flying, but she had expected Maikeru to charge in at one of them and she was ready. As he readied his slash, Danii quickly flashed some hand seals and threw her arms out in front of her. Chakra spewed from from her palms and solidified into a thick wall in front of her. She watches in confusion as the sword slash seems to both stop as it hits the chakra wall and cut right through it as if it was paper. Despite her eyes seeing the sword come to a stop, she feels the cut and spark hit her body and push her back. Looking down she sees know cut, but feels the sting from the attack as her mind denies her eyes and tells her the attack hit.

“What the hell was that???”

Danii shakes off the pain as best she can. Normally, her body would begin slowly clotting and almost stitching the wound shut on its own, but something was different about this injury she couldn't see. A dull pain just seemd to remain with her. She looks over at Reicheru trying to figure out what Maikeru had done to her before charging at Danii.

“Snap out of it Rei! I need your help over here!”

Danii rapidly draws her sword before the barrier even begins to fade. As it dissipates, she charges at Maikeru with a counter attack of ten shallow but well-placed slashes with her sword. A sickly black and red aura pulses around the sword with each slash. Danii does her best to pull all of Maikeru's attention to her while Rei deals with her own issues. Hopefully she can find an opening before Danii's barrage ends.

“Even with your eyes, there's no way you'll be able to dodge all of these attacks.”

[Post 2 of 5]
[Total WC: 690]
[Used Barrier (Mastered)- Special Action: Energy Wall]
[Used Kill Driver (Rank 1)- cursed]

 

[Saitou Rei]

The confident grin slowly faded from Reicheru's face as the Uchiha's genjutsu grabbed hold of her mind. Replacing it was horror at the illusionary sight before her; she'd seen this too often in her short life, each time increasing in the closeness of her bond to the victim. It didn't matter that she was certain she'd messed up and looked into Maikeru's sharingan, that this was all a trick - it was more the fact that this was a very possibile future reality for the young shinobi, underlined by the fact that they were wandering without a home or allegiance or anyone to fight alongside them. This was more than just a genjutsu, it was a reminder.

While Danii went toe to toe with the self-made swordsmen, Reicheru went into a battle with her own mind. Resisting every physical urge to leap at the cloaked figure, she talked herself through it. 'It's not real. Maik is fine. And OH is he a jerk for this, he is gonna hear about it!' Genjutsu had always been her greatest weakness, and now she tried thinking through ways to break out of them that she had heard at the academy. Nothing came. That would have to be something she worked on in the days to come.

Finally, when Danii cried for help, a familiar chakra signature pulsed in Reicheru's hand. Nanjirou Hayate, a fierce protector of his family. 'Your family needs you, Rei.' A voice almost seemed to call out in the fogginess of her mind. Though she didn't know it, it was somhow familiar feeling. Comforting. Suddenly, a stronger pulse radiated into her arm from the hilt of her sword. 'Go!' The command was followed with a final jolt that tore through her whole body, at last pulling her mind back to reality.

The image of a wounded Maikeru and the reaper behind him blurred and faded, and reformed as Maikeru and Danii in a dance of clashing metal. Even after the fog fully lifted, however, Reicheru did not dive in. She took the hold of the opportunity of Maikeru's attention being trained soley on her to set up what would hopefully be the beginning of the end. Slipping into the tree line Maikeru had lured her toward, she gave a single 'click' of the contraption on her sword hilt. A thick wire with a barbed end shot out and buried itself in a nearby tree. Giving the line a tug, she watched and waited for her chance.

As Maikeru raised his sword against Danii, he saw it. Charging forward, she came up behind the boy at lightning speed, and pulling up and forward with the hilt of her blade she gave another 'click'. The wire lunged toward Maikeru's hand, and if she had calculated her moment right would ensare it. Not wanting to leave everything hinging on that chance, however, she sheather her blade even as the wire still flew through the air and went through a serious of handsigns. Touching Maikeru's back at the same moment the wire would hopefully land, he would feel his chakra being quite literally pulled from his body. He had already, as she expected though she didn't know it, opened with the most chakra consuming attack in his arsenal. It wouldn't be long now if he kept up his pace and Reocheru kept up this link before his reserves would run dry.

"Danii, can we get some water works?" Reicheru would call out as she lept back away from Maikeru again, on the opposite side from her partner to keep him pinned even if he should escape the wire. Redrawing her blade,it would seem to almost glow against the darkening sky.

[Post 3 of 5]
[WC: 615]
[TWC: 1870 / 1500]

Spoiler: Actions

• Ninja Trap Wire targeting Maikeru's hand
• Energy Transfer [M] taking from Maikeru

 

[Maikeru]

Maikeru smiled at Danni's quick thinking. Using the shield to block his attack was smart, and in any other case, would have been the absolute correct move. However, Maikeru's sword was unique, it was not something that you could just use the typical correct move on. Even as his sword hit the barrier, the spirit inside of it was still in motion. It slipped right past the chakra barrier, before digging it's ethereal blade into the side of Danni, tearing through the girl's small form in an instant. With a flick of it's blade, and a quick motion, the spirit sheathed it's blade before disappearing into nothing.

"Come on Danni, think." He said, stepping back to avoid the first sword slash, his Sharingan spinning wildly. "You know how Kusanagi works, you know about the spirit inside of it. Use your head, work with Reicheru. She's trapped in a-"

His words were cut off as he felt the wire wrap around his wrist, and he let out a tired sigh. There was that Uchiha overconfidence again, always coming back to bite the young man when he needed it not to the most. The best he could do in this situation was dodge what few of the attacks he could, though he felt Danni's blade biting into his sides, causing the blues of his shirt to become darker and stained with his own blood.

"Well, that's better, at least they're working together.." He muttered under his breath, letting out a cry as he felt his chakra being drained by Reicheru's hand. "Please, honey, not the rough stuff when Danni is around, she's so innocent."

With his hands pinned, his sword pretty much useless to him, and unable to weave hand signs, it truly seemed like he was SOL on this situation. Then again, it seemed like Reicheru and Danni had some required reading to do on Uchiha. His Mangekyo Sharingan quickly moved back and forth between the two kunoichi, sending out pulses of chakra through the optical nerves, sending two seperate genjutsu.

For Reicheru, if successful, she would look at Maikeru in a new, though not totally unbelievable light. Suddenly, his words would seem like gospel, like a compulsion more than a suggestion. It would be almost like she was hypnotized by the very sound of his voice.

"Come now, dear." He would say to her, holding his tied hands up to her. "My hands are tied here, literally, why don't you go ahead and drop that blade. It's only fair, right?"

Danni, however, would get something different. There would be only one word she would hear before the genjutsu was cast upon her.

"Tsukuyomi!"

If she fell victim to this particular genjutsu, she would see the world fall away from her. Almost like fresh snow that was being blown in the wind, she would see the scene in front of her disappear into ash, only to be replaced by a hellish landscape. She would see the gates of Konoha, ablaze, the large wooden doors blown aside. She would see the bodies of Reicheru and Maikeru, buried under a large, skeletal, chakra covered being, inside of which was a female shinobi with long white hair and blazing red eyes. Looking down she would see that she herself was wounded, her legs severed and blown to bits, her upper body covered in deep wounds and scars.

Finally, she would see the fourth Hokage, Uchiha Takeshi, standing over her with his sword drawn.

"As if we would let you really leave," He said to her, the tip of his sword coming up to her throat. "You, and the rebellious missing nin shall share the same fight. Death."

And with that, the sword would drive through her throat, ending her brief life. That is, until her eyes opened once again, and the scene repeated. Over, and over, and over..

[Hypnotic suggestion used on Reicheru]
[Tsukuyomi used on Danni]

[644 words]
[TWC: 1840/1500]

 

[Santaru Kaede]

With Reicheru pinning Maikeru, Danii charges in to keep the pressure up. She makes one major mistake though, her eyes lock with Maikeru and everything goes black in a cloud of ash. When she comes to again, the world appears to be on fire. Panic overtakes her as she sees Maikeru and Reicheru lying motionless under a skeleton of purple fire. She begins running towars them as fast as she can, but never seems to gain ground. She runs until she collapses on the ground. Even then, she tries to crawl towards the gate and her friends. A figure emerges from the gate and begins walking towards. The gates themself seem to pull back and fade out over the horizon as the man moves closer and grows larger. Her eyes watch in terror as sword is pulled from the billowing cloak and rises above the wide-brimmed hat. Again her world fades to ash as she feels the sword enter her throat. Again, her eyes open and she stands before the flaming gates. Again, she runs towards the gates but get nowhere. Again, she collapses and watches helplessly as the sword rises and plunges into her and the cycle repeats itself. Cycle after cycle, the wounds from each repetition never healing until she no longer has the strength or will to run to the gates. She drops to her knees and watches the sames scene play out in front of her again and again and….

Then she blinks and the real world appears in front of her through a veil of tears. It was only an illusion. But the pain and feelings felt so real. It was very real to her. She didn't know what to do or what to believe anymore. She felt afraid, angry, powerless. Until a voice in the back of her head seemed to speak up.

“Embrace the rage. It will banish the fear and helplessness.”

Danii blinks and her normally brown eyes seemed to be replaced with a dull, red glow as she enters a trance. The sword in her hand rises and seems to pull her up before pulling her towards Maikeru. She swings the sword in a two hit combo aimed at Maikeru. An ash gray katana seems to appear and follow behind the longsword attacks in a cloud of ash and ember.

[Used Sword Trance- Cursed (Rank one)]
[Used Two basic strikes with 1 living blade each, primal augment for .5 ap speed]

[Post 3 of 5]
[Total WC: 1079]

 

[Saitou Rei]

"Yeah… you're right, it's two on one already… that's only fair…" The words came out slow and even, a certain dullness coating her slate eyes. Her subconscious fought against the hypnosis, forcing her a few steps forward, but ultimately failed. Sofu Ken sunk into the damp earth as Reicheru dropped in on its point, standing alone, its glow fading before fading into obscurity against the tree line.

Thankfully, though the Nanjirou now stood feeling naked without her weapon, she wasn't without a defense or options. The chakra she had been syphoning from Maikeru and channeling into her blade now wrapped around her hands. Though she were more inclined toward wind jutsu, there was a crackling that could be heard and seen - lightning energy, a technique she'd picked up from Maikeru. Though the jutsu she knew in this element weren't nearly as strong as the ones the Uchiha did, if Danii could land a water jutsu and leave him soaked, she could build off of that and amplify even a weaker attack. She just needed to wait for Danii to seize her moment…

But she never did. Reicheru watched as Danii stood transfixed and horrified, and after taking a moment to look behind her to see if her friend had seen something she couldn't have, seeing nothing she understood what must have happened. "Danii! Come on!" She called out to her cousin. For a moment, it would seem that something that simple had done it as Danii raised her blade once more. No… something wasn't right. Her eyes - they weren't quite the same, they were off - similar to how Reicheru's eyes sometimes attained a certain hue, though she herself hadn't known it. Was this the genjutsu…?

Still, there seemed to be something more. A certain surging came from Sofu Ken, calling out to Reicheru. Still, as she attempted to approach it and take hold of it again… 'No, that wouldn't be fair.' The thought repeated over and over in her mind, Maikeru's hypnotic suggestion still at work. Unable to bring herself to wield the blade, Reicheru grit her teeth and turned to face her friend as she launched herself at Maikeru… though, was it really her launching herself? There was a strangeness to her movements, and to the way Sofu Ken responded to her. Nanjirou Hayate's spirit had always been a protective one, and now it practically screamed to Reicheru before bursts of wind began erupting from it. Though her ability to sense people's chakra was limited, there seemed to be a clashing all about them between her blade and Danii's.

Whatever was happening, Danii was clearly not in her right mind; the cold viciousness of her attack was not like her. 'Think, Rei, think.' She hadn't had the strength of will to break out of her own genjutsu, but the surge of chakra from her great-grandfather had done it for her. That was it then. Lightning chakra still crackling around her hands, Reicheru flew through a set of hand seals that produced a bolt of lightning, which she launched as she ran toward Maikeru and Danii. Though it would appear to be an attack against Maik, her true goal was to separate her two friends. Assuming she was successful, as she came to Danii's side she would perform another set of hand seals, and an invisible wall of chakra would go up around them, cutting them off from Maikeru, keeping both him and Danii safe from herself.

"Come on Danii - snap out of it!" With one last set of familiar hand seals, she placed a hand on her Nanjirou kin and sent a rush of her own chakra into Daenerisu, hopefully breaking the hold any genjutsu might have on her.

[Post 4 of 5]
[TWC: 1500+]

Spoiler: Actions

• Zues Flash [R1]
• Barrier [M] surrounding Rei and Danii
• Energy Transfer [M] at Daenerisu

 

[Maikeru]

Finally something was going the way Maikeru had planned it. With Reicheru dropping her blade, he was finally able to get some tension relieved from the ropes binding his wrist. He took a moment to rub the red marks that had formed on his skin. He let out a tired sigh, shaking his head.

"My fault.." He muttered under his breath, "Should have established a safe word.."

It seemed he would have little time for a respite, however, as he watched Reicheru began to weave hand seals again. His raised a crooked eyebrow at her as he recognized this particular set of hand signs. He swung Kusanagi in a circle around him, coming down into a defensive stance as he prepared to counter attack. He thought that Danni would be completely taken care of, that his Tsukuyomi would wipe the girl out. Surprised was an understatement as he saw out of the corner of his eyes Danni charging at him with blade drawn.

"Maikeru! Counter!" Susano rang out inside of his head, causing Maikeru to change the direction of his blade. As the blade clashed, he felt the spirit inside of his blade quiver and cry out in pain.

"Wait.. what?" He questioned, jumping back to get some distance from Danni. "How did her sword.."

Maikeru could still feel the reverberations through his arm as the spirit inside of Kusanagi struggled to maintain it's form, it's voice echoing throughout the back of his mind, but not finding any form to communicate. Maikeru grimaced, just in time to notice the bolt of lightning coming towards him. He once again brought Kusanagi up, slashing at the lightning ninjutsu with a reflexive force.

He was staggering now, his breathing was beginning to get heavy, his chakra was running on low. He had maybe enough left for a few jutsu, maybe a large nuke of some sort. He watched the two of them, running through options in his head. His hands moved to sheath Kusanagi, before running through a set of quick hand seals. Landing on the tiger sign, he debated rather hardly on using this particular jutsu. Letting out a sigh, he removed his hands from the sign, holding a hand up into the air.

"I forfeit." He said finally, shaking his head. "I can't beat you two without going for a kill. You win."

[Overwhelming power (Mastered) used on both of your moves to counter them.]
[398 words]
[Twc: 1500+]
[Post 4/5]

 

[Santaru Kaede]

The swords strike each other and the sound of metal on metal rings out, only to be drowned out by a guttural roar. The spirit in her blade seems to sense the one in Maikeru's blade and senses the misalignment of ideals. It commands Danii destroy it and it's wielder. In her trance like state, Danii releases the primal drive in a scream and another attack that slams into the sword again. She recoils as the sword is again blocked. Danii sheathes the sword, but doesn't take her hand of the hilt as her reddish eyes scan for an opening. As Maikeru turns to counter another Reicheru's lightning attack, Danii braces and jumps forward drawing her sword in a flash and trying to time her attack with Reicheru. She seemed to move without her normal clumsiness as the sword guided her movements again. Aimed directly at Maikeru's back, the force of the strike could have been devastating if not for for the invisible wall the sword struck as the other Nanjirou girl appeared beside her. Danii's eyes remain locked on her target as she continuously strikes out with her sword against the invisible force. She seems incapable of recognizing what was going on.

With each strike the sword pulls a bit of Danii's life force into itself to fuel the attacks. Over and over again, until the sword strikes and doesn't pull back. The sword itself seems to grow dull as Danii's eyes revert to their brown color. The eyes look normal again except they still seem to lack awareness. She holds herself up for a few mere seconds before she begins to fall forward. Between the mind damage and feeding her sword, Danii's strength appears to have faded along with her consciousness.

[Post 4 of 5]
[Total WC: 1372]

 

[Saitou Rei]

If it hadn't been for the certain clarity of the scene before her, Reicheru might have wondered if she were under the influence of another mind game from the Uchiha. Her mouth gaped and her brows burrowed as Danii mindlessly hacked at the barrier she'd put up. The chakra surge hadn't broken her out of this trance, leaving Reicheru wondering what exactly was happening in her friend's mind if not a genjutsu. "Danii, come on!" she called out in futility. Finally, the other Nanjirou's strikes would slow before finally she relented – though upon further inspection, Reicheru could see this hadn't been a voluntary action. As Maikeru called a forfeit, Reicheru dropped the barrier and gathered an unconscious Danii up in her arms. The green chakra coating her hands was weak in comparison to what Maikeru could muster, so she took a few steps to close the distance between them to hand her cousin off to the medic.

"What was that, Maik?" As soon as the words came out, she realized they probably sounded more accusatory than she meant them too. If that had been his doing, Rei should have been able to shake her out of it. That had been something beyond either of them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I mean... have you ever seen her like that before?"

As Maikeru did his work to heal and attempt to find what was wrong with Danii, Reicheru would go search for her blade. She found it standing like a cross out of the ground. Examining it for a moment, she wondered what it had seen that she had not. 'Ojiisan...' she lamented silently. The incident that finally paired her with her blade was the same one that drove her grandmother off, and while Reicheru didn't miss the tension the matriarch brought with her visits, she regretfully wished she had learned more about their heritage from her. Nanjirou were meant to become one with their blade; what a miserable job she was doing of that. She could sense his presence and his chakra, but she knew there was so much more for her to learn from this Nanjirou Hayate she'd only ever heard stories of before. Stories of a good, kind man, a protector...

The thought drew Reicheru's eyes back to the blade that Danii still gripped even in her current state. As she finally picked Sofu Ken up by the hilt, the chakra that pulsed through it, though softening, was unlike she had ever seen it before. 'What on earth have you got in there, Danii...?' Pushing the thought away for right now, she put her sword away and returned to Maikeru's side, placing a hand on his back. She'd follow whatever instructions he gave her if their friend needed further help; if it turned out that she was just run down and needed rest, she'd ready the campsite for such. Teamwork – turns out they still had a lot they needed to learn about themselves and each other before what was left of Kashima could function like it was intended.

[Post 5 of 5]
[TWC: 1500+]
[Topic Left]

 

[Maikeru]

There was a pause as Maikeru watched the scene unfold before him, his mouth agape, his eyes drawn into a confused scowl as he watched the Chakra inside of Danni go wild. It was unlike almost anything he had seen before, the closest thing he could compare it to was when he witnessed Hisao's cursed seal mark release. His feet bit into the cold, hard ground as he took off from his position, sprinting over towards his injured friend. He slapped his hands together, causing them to glow green with chakra, before placing them over Danni.

"She's.. fine.." He said, his hands above the girl slowly, using both medical ninjutsu and his Sharingan to examine her. "I used Tsukuyomi on her, but it wasn't at full power. I figured it would knock her out, there's no reason it should have done.. whatever that was."

Chakra pulsed through his hands once more as he placed them on Danni's temples. He felt his chakra drain rather quickly as he used high level medical ninjutsu on her, though the result was apparent. The wound and cuts on her body would quickly close, leaving nothing more than dried blood behind where they had once been. The mental and spiritual damage would heal with time, but, physically speaking she would be fine.

"There's something going on with her. Her blade hurt Susano, the spirit inside of my sword. I've never seen that happen before, and I've fought plenty of Nanjirou." His face drew into a tight scowl, placing a hand gently onto Danni's forehead. "I don't know what went wrong, but, I think the trauma of Tsukuyomi unlocked something inside of her. I.. I'm sorry, Danni. You too, Reicheru. I didn't think.. well, I just didn't think."

He wrapped his arms under the unconscious form of the girl, gently picking her up and beginning to carry her towards their now extinguished fire. As he walked, he deactivated his Sharingan, noticing now that his vision was quickly becoming blurred and foggy.

"Reicheru, can you start a fire? I would, but, my vision is sort of going, think I over used the Mangekyo.."

Maikeru would spend the rest of the night tending to the fire, and to his damage friend. In the morning, he would apologize, and make things right. For now, he just worried about keeping her alive until then.

[Topic Left]
[Post 5/5]
[TWC: 1500+]

 

[Santaru Kaede]

A faint glow of chakra surrounds Danii's hand and seems to be flowing into the sword. Maikeru's special eyes may just barely notice it. The chakra grows dimmer with each pulse as the sword, pulls less and less of her life force into it, until it finally stops as the others arrive at her side. With the assistance of Maikeru's healing hands and her own healing body, her wounds begin to stitch themself shut and her breathing becomes less shallow. A cursory examination would confirm that she would be fine and just needs some rest. As Maikeru picks her up, erratic breaths of unconsciousness seem to give way to a soft and steady snore. The sword appeared to be glued to her hand and drags across the ground behind them on the way to the fire.

Her eyes open and the world around her appears dark. The occasional burst of flame causes shadows to dance around her surroundings. Across the hellscape, the light of the flames glint off of a set of obsidian armor. She watches speechless as some sort of slime begins to ooze out of the joints in the right armor of the armor. As it solidifies into a grotesque, fleshy arm, it raises and points one finger at her. Despite the distance, a raspy voice speaks clearly in her head.

“You surprised me today, but you still have more work to do before you are ready for…”

Thr voice fades out before she could hear the rest. Almost like she was hearing it from underwater. A flash of blue fills her eyes and she blinks. Then she was drifting in the ocean with nothing but water in every direction. A sweet siren song fills her ears.

“Wake up Daenerisu. Wake up Danii…”

Her eyes open and she is lying next to the campfire. Her sword sits sheathed with her gear and her hand clutches the blue gem hanging from her neck. The dream begins to fade as she tries to figure out when night at set in and how she had ended up by the fire. The last thing she remembered was sparring with Maikeru and Reicheru then flashes of red and blue. A glance over the camp reveals her friends sleeping. Exhausted and not wanting to wake them, Danii rolls onto her side. Sleep eventually overtakes her as she drifts off gripping the gem and thinking about what exactly was happening inside of her.

[Post 5 of 5]
[Total WC: 1,780]
[Topic Left]