Water is the essence of life [Closed Event]

[Kogami Ayumu]

As Ayumu reformed from the flock of shadows at the top of the fist, he quickly assessed the situation up top. The scroll was in sight now, but it was much larger than he had ever expected. The scroll might as well have been a human being. He was a strong shinobi in the physical sense given his rigorous training, but with the number of birds he wondered how he would ever manage to pull it from the grasp of the statue. "Son of a bitch..." Ayumu muttered, drawing his sword with a grim look upon his face. He made to go towards the scroll, but flocks of birds harassed him and made it difficult to move the direction he wanted to. It was not his nature to ruthlessly slaughtered animals, but this was fight or die, and he wasn't going to die.

His sword moved swiftly through the air and various birds that divebombed him. Occasionally, he would catch the eye of one and freeze them in place before striking them down. Just when he thought he was going to get a chance to move for the scroll, a noise caused him to turn around. Divebombing him now was an enormous bird, likely larger than any in the room. Ayumu rose his blade to meet the talons and beak of the ferocious avion beast. The impact sent sparks flying and Ayumu's boots slid a couple of inches across the stone he stood upon as he held back the beast. If not for his Bull's Strength he would likely have simply been sent flying.

At the sound of bolter fire, Ayumu dared steal a glance towards the entrance where Tama was fighting just long enough to spot his two fellow Sennin. The cavalry had arrived. Masao was an unexpected guest, however, and it caused Ayumu to wonder if he was working for another contract group. Still, the two of them were of Kumogakure and Ayumu trusted Masao more than most. "Careful if you're coming over here, maybe it's Genjutsu, but that gap is MUCH larger than it seems!" Ayumu shouted to the two of them as his gaze returned to the creature which demanded his full attention. Unfortunately, it was difficult to devote all of his attention while numerous other birds sought to kill him too.

"If you could get some of these things off my back, I'd greatly appreciate it!" he shouted to his colleagues as he prepared to counterattack. In an attempt to strike down the beast before him he would Unleash his strength in a lightning fast attack known as Zantetsuken. With some luck it would at least serious injure the bird attacking him. He had to hope that Masao and Kushin might manage to do something about the others so he had the opportunity.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Get yer fokkin' tentacle outta me face!" cursed Masao as he chopped at the Tengu-like enemy before him with a downward swing of his Imperial Army Pattern 1796 cavalry sword. The heavy blade tore through the upraised winglet the creature offered in defense and lodged halfway into its skull, stopping just short of the proximal section of its beak. He wrenched the blade back to splatter the ground with chunks of bloody stew, and kicked the dying creature away before whirling around and planting a double-tap of 10mm-caliber bolts into the chest of another bird-man who had sought to run him through from behind. His right arm burned from a deep cut he had sustained from another lucky strike, but strangely enough, this was probably the most contented he'd been for a ling time. He was a warrior at heart, and the pleasure of losing oneself in the act of fighting was something that few comprehended save for others like him.

"You're bleeding," someone said to him in the midst of a momentary lull in the action.

"I ain't got time to bleed," Masao drawled, spitting a wad of tobacco juice from a sachet he'd been keeping in his cheek during the action.

"Careful if you're coming over here, maybe it's Genjutsu, but that gap is MUCH larger than it seems!" said Ayumu now from across the room. Now, Masao could clearly see the situation they were in. The "scroll" in question was far too large to be a normal piece of forgotten literature, and with it being held by some insane-looking statue across a large gap in the ground and feral bird-demon-things trying to peck Ayumu to death for it, he realized they were in for a hell of a time.

"You! Tama's hot sister!" he barked at Tomo. "Concentrate your fire on the birds! Isaki and I will deal with anything on the ground!" He also shot a glance at Kushin. "When the time comes, you think you can blast that scroll the same way you did the old demon?"

Quickly, he checked his ammunition stores. He was out of bolts for his twin Hayatas, and the Gateru was down to its last mag. Well, that was alright because a scraping, lurching noise in the distance told him he'd need to switch to a bigger "gun" soon. He unslung his trusty old ST-15 long-bolter and drew the charging handle back before letting the bolt carrier slam home. Recently, he'd upgraded its caliber from the ANBU standard 5.56x45 to the exotic and expensive .50 Beowulf. With equivalent ballistics to the .45-70 Bakufuu projectile used by the Imperial Army, the bolt had much greater mass and flew far faster than either, and as a result could punch through multiple layers of steel armor and still hit like a freight train. He was eager to see what it would do against...say, a giant shark.

And if all else failed, he had The Brush.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Tomo continued to shoot arrows, taking down a few of the flying nuisances, but there were just too many. What the two shinobi needed was back-up, and that's exactly what they got. Tomo heard footsteps coming and saw his two saviors, Kushin and Masao, enter into the room. "Oh thank Raide..." Tomo was cut off by Masao yelling for Tomo, a.k.a. Tama's hot sister, to continue focusing on shooting the air enemies while he and Kushin would fight on the ground. Tomo's face held shock before his shoulders eased into a shrug. Oh well, at least he called me hot. Returning to the task at hand, Tomo continued to fire a volley of arrows at his opponents, trying to aim for the birds who were obviously grabbing at the now visible scroll. However, many of the eagles were either knocking the arrows away or taking the shots instead. Tomo's face scrunched in annoyance. There needs to be a new expression. Like shooting birds in a cave. It was no use. With the way things were going, Tomo might as well have not even been there for all the good he was doing. There were too many birds and they were too willing to sacrifice themselves if it meant getting the scroll. However, Tomo wasn't going to give up. That scroll was important, somehow, and it apparently was bad to let the birds have it. Tomo pulled out a scroll and his ink. He drew an arrow on the parchment and pulled it off from the sheet. Tomo's right hand began to spark as he activated his Thunderfist. The lightning flowed into the ink arrow as Tomo pulled back as far as he could without breaking his bow. He aimed for the closest bird grabbing at the scroll and fired. If this plan worked, he would attempt to try it on the other birds that were focused on the scroll as well.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Shashu hid her surprise at the cat's reaction to her question. Sure, I can see why he would be unsettled, but that frightened? I don't buy it. After all, she reasoned, why would the cats send a cowardly emissary to such an important task? Either they seriously underestimated the value of this scroll, or there's more to this one than meets the eye. Shashu shook her head. Ultimately it didn't matter to the immediate situation at hand, so she let it slide and followed the rest of the group down the tunnel.

___________________​

Whatever the young kunoichi's intentions had been prior to entering the chamber, a single glance at the scene within whisked them away without a thought. Her attention was wholly consumed by the rapid movements of bird and insect alike, her eyes darting back and forth in rapt fixation. Only three words echoed in her mind: So...much...prey...

Slowly, silently, she would move forward until she was at Masao's side, appearing as if out of thin air. "You can focus on the scroll Masao-sama." She would say dreamily, her attention still on the swirling mass of bodies flying about the chamber. "I will take care of the smaller prey." Almost absentmindely she would fling two long coils of silk towards the hand, anchoring it to the stone fingers as well as the ground at her feet, the sticky threads spreading out to stabilize the impromptu bridge. An evil grin would crack across her face as she murmured just loud enough for those nearby to hear. "Watch your step." The threads would support the allied Shinobi's weight easily, however they would have to take care not to get tangled in the sticky threads if they used them as a bridge.

Gathering her chakra about her, Shashu would run and jump onto the middle of the two strands, using them as a slingshot to shoot up and cling to the ceiling, snatching one of the normal sized swans in her teeth as she did so. "Silly prey." She would say, her teeth clenched around the terrified birds neck as she stared it in the eye. "What can you hope to accomplish? You are nothing but FOOD!" With the last she would bite down, severing it's neck, the two pieces of the swan falling into the cloud of birds and insects below her.

That had to have gathered the attention of most, if not all, of the swarm, save those focused on fighting the other Shinobi and those attempting to retrieve the scroll. Her voice would take on a darker sound as she addressed them: "Yes, little ones, look at me. Fear me. You are the prey, and I, the hunter!" As she spoke she would take all her gathered chakra and channel it through her body, energizing and amplifying the spider that lurked within her. A ripping sound would immediately follow as two more sets of arms emerged from her body, tearing the cloth around them. Annoying. She thought absently. I'll have to modify my clothes to allow for that later...

Flexing her new arms with a gleam in her mirror-bright eyes, she would rapidly spin a large quantity of silk, stretching it betwen her arms, before throwing it at the swarm below her. All of this would take only a few seconds, but as she threw the web it would unfold and grow larger, it's sticky threads trapping the wings of bird and bee alike. Without pausing to rest she would do the same again, laughing maniacally as she rapid fired nets of webbing at the cloud of flying bodies, occasionally shooting a smaller, more precise thread at any who proved too fast for her nets. If any of the Shinobi below were to look up and see her now they would hardly recognize her. Some might even be disgusted. But it mattered not. Judgement could wait until their task was complete, and besides. There was still plenty of prey to hunt....

[MFT: WC-614]​

 

[Junan]

----- Shin and Kitsune -----

In the darkness they stood, a pondering the ponderous ponderings.

----- Everyone Else -----

Shashu had followed Masao and Kushin down the tunnel, appearing next to the pair as they prepared to engage in combat once more. The birds around Tomo fled as the trio got closer, however the main cavernous room was almost deafening with the sound of flapping wings. The cat lept to the ground keeping itself out of sight, and hoped to be out of mind as it seemed that its ride had suddenly lost its mind.

Ayumu shouted out a warning for everyone, letting them know that there's something wrong with the distance between them and the fist. The slight look back had been an opening for his adversaries who attacked in that moment, knocking the Sennin off balance for a moment. His chakra control stuck his feet to the stone instinctively but the flat of his blade was all that kept a giant talon-ed claw from ripping at hiss flesh. Unleashing his strength he managed to push the creature back and push for an attack against the creature, the speed of the attack took it by surprise and his blade sliced into the birds feathered exterior. Blood began to form and drip along the wound, but the feeling of success was short lived as the creatures beak suddenly made a wound of its own, slamming into his upper back and shoulder. The slightest of over-extensions proving to be all that was required from either combatant to take advantage. The combat broke as Ayumu brought his blade back up in at attempt to slice the bird once more, instead the bird stood on the arm closer to the other side of the opening, nearer to the statues, while Ayumu shifted his blade to his left hand, his strength leaving his right.

It did however seem like the bird wasn't comfortable flying anymore, so one of its strengths had been diminished as well.

Kushin looked down at Shashu and his eyes followed her as she made a webbed bridge across the chasm. She'd fired it across with a fair amount of strength, and it hit high on the fist making it slightly more awkward to get across that it needed to be, but it was hard to judge the distance if Ayumu had warned them it was further than it seemed. So the miscalculation was understandable. It was the words she spoke which concerned him. Still, she wasn't someone under his supervision so he focused on the task at hand.

She killed a swan with her teeth and then spoke to the birds which watched her. Two more arms ripping from her body as she started to spin silk like a spider might and then threw it outwards towards the birds and bees. The vast majority avoided it, the speed of the birds far greater than that of a net, and the the insects small enough to aim for the gaps in the oversized spider web. She continued trying however until suddenly she felt a great pain from her legs. As she spun around she lost feeling in them and stumbled, two bee's the size of a hand fell to the ground, something which resembled a smile on their faces as they said "for the queen" and died. Their stingers clearly visible in Shashu's leg, their guts hanging out and still pumping their poison into the girls legs, just out of reach. Tomo sped to her assistance and pulled them out calling for Kushin's aid.

Kushin made his way toward the girl as Masao made his way across the web-bridge stumbling almost like a drunk and yet managing to make it over seemingly with ease, much like a Johnny Depp character.

Placing his hand on the girl he used the jutsu which would temporarily raise her own resistance to poison, the pain dying down for her as she would recover. You two stick together. Remember that these are more than simple birds and insects, and also remember that both have species which hunt spiders. I'm going to go and see if I can destroy this scroll, I wont be able to help you two until that task is completed. The toad also made his way over to the pair giving Kushin a nod to say that he would help the pair.

He walked away again and focused on his task. A jutsu like this wasn't going to be easy to cast again, the first one had caused him great pain, but to not do so could result in worse.

The birds clawing on the scroll had left it alone for a while after Tomo's attack and as Masao neared it. Yet as he bent down to pull it out for Kushin to blast he would suddenly have a strange feeling, a shadow cast over him when there was barely enough light to cast a shadow in the first place. Looking up gave him just enough time to avoid an arm smashing into the fist, yet as it pulled away it looked more like a sword cut into the stone than a fist. Rolling and pushing himself upright he landed on the thin bridge once more, his eyes focusing on the creature before him, its darkness telling him exactly what was before him How do you think the Youkai you spoke to knew that it had been found? A smile crept on the creatures face as it joined in battle against Masao.

Kushin noticed the creature as it took form and had begun forming handseals to attempt to aid Masao before it was too late. Yet there was a sudden sound behind him and he reacted too late as a massive powerful paw tore down his back ripping at his robe and flesh at the same time. Turning around as he stumbled away from his attacker he noticed that there was now a creature as large as a Tiger before him, which looked much the same as the cat which had been on Shashu's shoulder. His foot found the edge of the ledge and he couldn't back away any further.

Insects, large insects swarmed around Shashu and Tomo, Shashu's web trapping many, but then others would come and tear it down. Others would get in close and Tomo would swipe at them with an electrified fist and force them away again, those which had seemingly found a blind spot suddenly had a giant sticky tongue hit them and had their heads bitten clean off before being spat out. The toad had grown larger as well, taking on more of the strength that it had stored and was now the size of a small human. Yet the three were vastly outnumbered and though they took down a dozen or more they were receiving wounds of their own.

Ayumu's right arm hung dead by his side as his left swung his blade mostly in defensive strikes to ward off the attacking beak of the bird-creature before him. Blood dripped from his fingertips, yet as other birds attempted to get in close he would swing around with speed kicking at them with accuracy of a trained martial artist. He'd taken no further wounds, but he'd dished no further wounds out either.

 

[Shu]

It did not take long to realized that Shin was no longer standing on higher ground but rather standing in the darkness of ab empty careen. How did they get here? Shin felt no temporal disturbance nor was there a sudden shift in Shin's movement. Bes8des him he could see the lingering eyes of the cat besides Shashu-chan and Kitsune.

The dreaded voice humored Shin by jocularly answering with a riddle. "PuRpOsE? i ExIsT wItHoUt ShApE. i ExIsT wItHoUt PuRpOsE. wHeN i Am GiVeN oNe I sHaLl ReCeIvE tHe OtHeR."

Its words described a parasite or leach, clearly this was its purposes. The question remained as to why it was here. Moments later, Deta responded to his request and gave some hints as to where the spirit reside. Shin stared at the dark ichor thinking as to what they should do next. They could not destroy it directly as it would attempt to corrupt one of them.

"Neko what can you tell.me about this black substance. Have you seen such things in the spiritual realm." Shin said as he faced the cat snuggling around Shashu's neck

[Sorry it took so long]

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Tomo's shot at least flustered the birds as they seemed to leave the scroll alone for the moment. Suddenly Tomo turned to see a girl with a Kumo headband shoot a web past him at the hand statue and begin to run along it maniacally. She taunted the birds and even snapped the neck of a swan, which Tomo flinched at. She then began to throw web upon web, which didn't seem to be doing much as the birds and bugs simply flew out of the way. Tomo just stood there watching, scratching his head in slight confusion. First Sennin Takaki, now this crazy spider girl. This is certainly becoming an interesting party. Tomo shook his head and scolded himself silently for pausing in his assault. As he was about to draw Astrosigil again, he noticed two large bees latched onto the girl's legs and stung her. Knowing that there wasn't much time before the poison took effect, Tomo quickly bent down and began to draw a hand on his scroll. As the girl looked like she might fall off the ceiling, Tomo aimed the scroll at the girl. A ink hand stretched out and wrapped around the girl. It gently but quickly pulled her to Tomo and he pulled the stingers out. "Isaki-san! We could use your assistance!" The Sennin made it to the two and healed the girl, then proceeded to instruct them. Tomo cocked an eyebrow when Kushin said he'd destroy the scroll. "Wait, aren't we supposed to..." Kushin was gone, leaving the two lower ranking shinobi to fend for themselves.

Tomo placed his scroll on the ground and made a few handsigns. He placed his electrified fist on the scroll, flowing electricity into the ink hand that would help keep the enemy at bay. The insects were now focusing on the two, so Tomo changed his bow to lance form. He slashed at the bugs, doing his best to keep them at bay and not hit Shashu in the process. He also controlled the electrified hand, smacking bugs away when they were about to land on either shinobi. The toad with them had grown larger to help, but even he couldn't eat them all. Tomo had a cuts from stingers scrapping his skin, and there were a few bite marks on his hands where some of the locusts had tried to disarm him. Tomo felt something crawling on his neck and jumped, his ink hand landing square on the moth that had tried to wiggle into Tomo's clothes. Thanks to the electricity on the hand, Tomo got a nasty shock, and he cursed himself for forgetting. Tomo continued to fight against the odds, deciding now that his first order of business when he returned to the village was a bath.

WC: 464
[MFT]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are, OZZY?!" shouted Masao accusingly at Shashu as he watched the girl bite the heads off of various birds. "They're just frikkin' SWANS! And...uggh! Kimochi warui!" he swore as she suddenly sprouted four accessory arms to complete the image of a true monster-girl. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew!" he spat, flailing his arms as he ran across the spider-silk bridge to where the others were, all like a certain heavily-mascara'd pirate. But aha! The scroll was now available for the taking. He would rip it away from the statue's grasp and have Kushin vaporize it, Ayumu's virginity would be preserved (whatever dude, we all know about what happened in Kelmura) and then he would really brush the hell out of Spider-chan.

Alas, it was not to be, because he avoided having his head taken off by a ginormous stone demon-sword by mere millimeters. "Whoa! Can't do that on a Christian forum RPG!" he chided at his attacker, landing miraculously in perfect form onto the small bridge.

I'm literally hanging by a thread made by Spider-Girl's pelvic glands, over an infinitely deep pit leading straight into the devil's anus, and in front of me is an angry, 3-meter-tall Gorn-Trooper who'd like nothing more than for me to give him all of my pocket spaghetti, thought Masao as he teetered and tottered on the silken thread. His eyes narrowed into slits. "Good."

Cackling, he switched the fire-control selector on his ST-15 from "Safe" to "Semi"...and then flicked it again to a third setting: "Ave Nex Alea"

"FILL YOUR HANDS YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he roared as he charged forward toward the demon, ST-15 in one hand and his Gateru 1911 in the other.

When he ran out of ammunition, he dropped both weapons to the side, threw himself into a slide, and would attempt to climb the demon's own body with the intention of giving it a damned good brushing.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Chaos was erupting all around him as Ayumu barely held his own against the obnoxiously large bird that he was crossing blades, or rather, talons with. With lightning speed he was able to land a blow that gave him some satisfaction, but the moment's lapse in his own defense gave the bird its own opportunity to counterattack. Its razor sharp beak clamped onto Ayumu's shoulder ripping flesh as it dug in. Ayumu swung his sword once more causing the bird to release him and put some space between the two of them. Both had now wounded the other.

'I can't believe I'm having this much trouble with a bird,' Ayumu thought as the feeling in his right arm left him and he passed off his sword to the left hand. Fortunately, there wasn't a large difference in his skill using one hand or the other. He wasn't ambidextrous, but what kind of novice would he be if he only trained his skills using one side? That was in addition to the fact that for a long time he had chosen to dual wield over focusing on one sword. Others had their hands full, so this bird was all his to deal with. Shashu was off being a huge creeper and probably a bad influence on Tomo. Masao was fighting a demonic creature while Kushin was busy with a large tiger which seemed out of place as Ayumu knew not of the cat's involvement.

"Looks like it's you and me birdy," Ayumu said, his grip tightening on his sword as the large bird came at him again. He rose his blade again and again to block each strike that came, looking for an opportunity. Opportunities were slim, but if he found one he would take it. It seemed the bird's wings were injured, potentially keeping it grounded. Ayumu supposed that this might make it more difficult for it to maneuver, being used to having its wings for quick movements. When he had a moment he would attempt his plan. Using a technique known as Stunt Double he would leave a clone behind in his place while he himself would channel chakra into his legs in order to assist him in an acrobatic leap and flip (hopefully) over the bird's head and out of its reach. The most important aspect of this technique was the speed involved which allowed him to swap with the clone in the blink of an eye, hopefully allowing a seamless swap. With some luck, the bird would either not notice or not be particularly fast on its feet and allow Ayumu a chance to land behind it and attack before it could turn to face him. Should the proper chance present itself, he would go all-or-nothing in his next attack.

Assuming his plan worked...
His special gauge filled to the top just in time for his Limit Break. In a devastating combo he would unleash first a technique known as Lunar Steps flowing into an attack inspired by a Waning Crescent Moon, but much more bloody. The next blow was admittedly weaker, but it served a purpose. Behind his sword a Blade Trail</U><i></i> would be visible to only him. Raising his sword one final time, he would use the blade trail to strike at precisely the same spot as his last technique for full effect. As the pinnacle of his combo, this was his strongest technique. Normally, it was hard to aim, but using the blade trail from the previous strike, he would hopefully bring <U>Annihilation down on this creature.

"See you in hell, Big Bird."

 

[Junan]

----- Ayumu's Battle -----

The bird was completely unaware of its opponents swapping out with a clone, it advanced and made a few attacks on the clone before it which defended itself in much the same way Ayumu had done so before... but slower. The bird assumed this was simply because he'd been bleeding so much, it saw victory as blade and beak clashed, an opening was created and the Bird took it.

Its claw slashed down in a victorious attack, the attack that should end the battle. Yet the Clone took the damage, and no blood was shed. Something was wrong but before it could react Ayumu was on the Bird from behind. Attacks slashed through the tough feathered hide and found their target. He built up to his final technique and using pure brute strength, pouring everything he had into his left arm he slashed.

Ayumu said his piece, telling the Bird he'd see it in hell. A moment passed and then the creature fell. One half went over one direction of the outstretched arm, the other half over the other side.

Ayumu had been victorious.

----- Masao's Battle -----

Masao balanced on the spider silk thread before deciding on his course of action. He charged at the creature roaring at his opponent his bolter blazing as he did so. The creature took the blows but made a decisive slice at the thread. Cutting it completely off.

The triggers stopped firing anything and Masao felt the sudden pull of gravity at his feet. Casting away his bolters he jumped from the falling thread, the demon and he losing sight of each other as he fell.

The demon smiled and turned around. Victory was his, his opponent had fallen to his death.


----- Kushin's Battle -----

The giant cat stalked him, and he knew that there was no-where to back up to. Instead he stood straight and instead waited for his moment. The cat however didn't seem interested in attacking, so it waited and paced back and forth. Their eyes were locked... Kushin decided to push the envelope and swung a punch.

Anyone who knew Kushin would know he didn't do melee combat, but the Cat had no idea of this and swiped back, thinking that the shinobi was clutching at straws. Instead it connected with a wooden log, and Kushin outstretched his hand, summoning the Shark at a velocity that it was hurtling towards the Cats side. The Shark opened its jaws and the Cat fell sideways as the shark grew in size and the jaw slammed down on the creature. Kushin stood in silence as he watched. Yet suddenly the Cat burst into a massive explosion of smoke, summoning itself from this reality.


----- Tomo and Shashu's Battle -----

The three fought hard and fast against the seeming endless swarm of various insects which assaulted them. Shashu used her webs and relied on her spiderlike abilities to attempt to bind and trap her enemies in web. Frustration showed on her face as the insects that she caught in her web would channel chakra to slice through the thread, freeing themselves and coming back at her and Tomo after only a few seconds.

Tomo swung her staff around smashing her opponents with the polearm while fending off those which got close with the electrified fist. Combined with the Toad which was doing battle with them the insects were being driven back. Realization that they couldn't beat the three, that their bird allies were fleeing as well and all was going downhill for their bid on the scroll meant that it was their turn to get away.


----- Masao's Battle Cont. -----

Their vision was broken by the outstretched fist, but Masao had lept from the spider-silk as it fell. Flipping in the air he performed some handseals before he drew his brush, a relaxed and calm expression on his features as his feet at first touched the fist and then entered the stone. The motion of his flipping continued as he disappeared into the stone.

The demon had turned and was leaning down to claim the scroll as his when suddenly a shadow was cast over the demons form. Masao stood, eyes a burning red as the small amount of light from behind him hid the details of his form. The eyes looked down at the demon with a hidden ferocity, a brush sat in his hands.

[Fade out due to the following scene of violence being too much for NC's age restrictions]

Most of the fist had been destroyed, Masao standing above a pit in the fist where a demon had gone through a level of hell never before witnessed by its kind.

----- Overall -----

The shinobi stood victorious over their adversaries. Of the contracts only the Shark and Toad existed now, the Shark unaware of the Shinobi's decision, yet powerless to stop the destruction of the scroll as Kushin lifted his palm after finishing a set of handseals and aiming at the scroll which was held in Masao's outstretched fist.

The fire crackled and the sound of laughter filled their minds sO tHiS tImE iT wAs NoNe. I wIlL sEe YoU aGaIn No DoUbT.

Kushin didn't really care what the voice had to say, the Toad had gone and explained things to the Shark.

The event was over and the shinobi could now all leave. The Cat and Youkai contracts had been destroyed, the Shark took Kushin aside and the Toad moved to Ayumu and Tomo, taking them aside. The others however were left to wait or leave.

[OOC: Okay, you can all leave the topic, just post leaving the tunnel and then heading back to Kumo as normal. Ayumu and Tomo post heading to an area and you'll get to have a convo with the Toad, at the time of my posting again I'll do the same with Kushin and the Shark.]

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Tomo let out a sigh of relief when the insects began to retreat. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last since his chakra had been draining quickly with the ink hand. The hand retracted into the scroll, and Tomo rolled it up. The other shinobi seemed to be wrapping up with their fights, which was another relief for Tomo. This was definitely one of the more intense missions he'd been on, and he was glad that no one had died. As Masao lifted the scroll in the air, Kushin blasted it, leaving nothing behind. A voice echoed in his mind, and Tomo rubbed the back of his head. I really don't want to be a part of this again... The young man began to make his way out of the cave with his fellow shinobi, finding the Raikage alone near the entrance. Tomo was tempted to ask, but decided against it. He had seen enough weird things already, he really shouldn't be surprised that the Raikage was there.

Tomo looked up at the opening and sighed. It was a long way up, and he'd already strained himself. But there was no way up other than to use chakra, so the boy focused his chakra and began to walk up the wall. Tomo barely reached the top when his chakra gave out, and he had to grab the edge and pull himself out. He rolled over onto the grass and rested on his back, looking up at the sky. Today was quite strenuous, and his lack of sleep certainly didn't help him. Fearing that he would pass out if he didn't distract his mind, Tomo lifted his hand into the air, only to see the strange mark the Toad left on it. That's right...I never summoned him. Tomo couldn't resist as his curiosity took over. Would he feel something when he summoned the Toad, or was it all in the seal already. Tomo sat up and held his hand out in front of him. Well, only one way to find out. Tomo sent the last tiny bit of his chakra into the seal to see what happened.

WC: 358
[MFT]

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

"Such bothersome prey you are..." Shashu growled. Massed they might be, but most of the swarm were intelligent and coordinated enough to avoid her webs without running into each other or getting in each other's way. As a result her efforts went largely to waste, doing little but keeping the swarm busy dodging. The few she was managing to catch weren't enough, her instincts told her. She needed more.

"Fine then little ones, you want to play? I'll show you something nice..." With a twisted grin cracking her face Shashu gathered even more chakra, preparing to cast an massive web big enough to encompass the majority of the swarm in one fell move. Of course, such an opportunity was exactly what the massed insects had been waiting for. Two points of fire erupting in her legs broke the would-be hunter's concentration and caused her to cry out as two massive bees plunged their toxin coated stingers into her calves. They each glared at Shashu with what could only be called hateful triumph in ther insectiod faces as they tumbled lifeless into the abyss, their task fulfilled and life spent in the kamikaze attack.

This is...not...good... Shashu's eyes blurred and she could feel the chakra in her legs destabilize as the poison disrupted her system. In a matter of seconds she was unable to keep the chakra flow necessary to keep her feet anchored to the ceiling and promptly plummeted down into the chasm, her body locked up with poison and unable to stop her descent. Fortunately, Tomo had a better head on his shoulders than she did at the moment and caught her with some sort of black hand that shot out of a scroll. He quickly removed the stingers and called out to Kushin, who in turn made his way over to her.

"You two stick together. Remember that these are more than simple birds and insects, and also remember that both have species which hunt spiders. I'm going to go and see if I can destroy this scroll, I wont be able to help you two until that task is completed" He said to the two of them, a faint tone of disapproval coloring his voice that was obviously meant for Shashu. Not that she didn't deserve it after that display.

Her rigid body relaxed and jerked a bit as the Medical Sennin performed a quick jutsu to raise her resistance to poison before moving on towards the scroll. Normally her innate poison resistance would have been enough to fight off the toxin, but recklessly charging out there like that had gotten close to an ounce of poison injected directly into her system. One would have to be some sort of monster to withstand that. Kushin lived up to his position, however, and dark purple beads of sweat oozed out of her pores as the jutsu forced the poison out of her system.

Shashu staggered to her feet and re-assessed the situation. Looking back at the swarm after her system shock she could hardly believe she had tried to fight the whole damn crowd at once. Baka...no matter how good you are you can't take on the whole world at once.

"Hey uh, Tama's sister!" She called out to the blond haired 'girl'. "Focus on attacking, I'll handle the defense!" In all reality, her webs weren't supposed to be an offensive measure anyway. They trapped, blocked, and impaired the enemy so that they could be dispatched with ease by other means of attack, and if her instincts hadn't gotten the better of her she would have remembered that. Even now they hummed in the back of her mind, but now they enhanced her focus instead of stealing it completely. Yet another thing I have to be careful for...tch... True to her word, instead of attacking targets with her webs she threw them out like makeshift barriers, preventing the birds and insects from swarming Tomo and his toad companion. Any that were caught quickly cut themselves free, but that wasn't the point. She was trying to slow them down and give Tomo an opening to strike without fear of retaliation, and that plan seemed to be working beautifully. See? Fight smarter, not harder Shashu. She thought to herself. You aren't a bruiser like Ayumu-dono.

In short order the other members of their party managed to finish off their opponents, causing the swarm of lesser creatures to buckle and flee in full retreat. As the last winged body flew out of sight Masao brought the scroll to Kushin, who wasted no time in annihilating in with the same jutsu he had used to fell the Youkai in the tunnel earlier. As he did the same creepy voice from earlier echoed through the cavern as if to taunt them even in victory. Shashu paid it no mind however, and took a moment to rest as she looked over the scene of destruction. Most of the fist had been destroyed in a fight between Masao and some huge demon, while what remained of the bird that Ayumu had defeated decorated the arm that it's two halves had fallen off of.

Noticing something missing from that picture, she turned to Kushin. "Isaki-sama, what happened to that cat? I think I lost it sometime before I uh...went a little overboard there...ehe..." She would say a bit sheepishly. Regardless of his answer she would follow the rest of the party out of the cavern, clambering easily out of the shaft with her extra arms to play with. Once outside the tunnel though, she would pause to consider the problems that having those extra limbs would present. This...could be problematic. She thought, thinking back to how she had felt something in her sort of switch on when her instincts had gone into overdrive and she had used all that chakra. Perhaps I could...

With that last thought she went through a variety of chakra exercises, ranging from overcharging her chakra to halting her chakra flow completely, and even trying to pinpoint the places that had 'awakened' during the fight, but her experimentation yielded no such luck. If there was a way to switch her extra arms back off, she wasn't going to be able to do it on her own. A thought crossed her mind as she saw Kushin talking with Shin, but she decided to shelf it for now. That can wait until we're all back in Kumo. Let's focus on getting there without getting stared at first. She thought. With that she would regroup with Kitsune and head back when she was ready. Look on the bright side Shashu, at least you get some extra field stealth training...hehe...

[MFT: WC-1121]​

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"...I'll have to replace the bristles soon," Masao grunted as he regarded The Brush in his bloodied hand. Steam rose from the implement of discipline as it discharged the last of its terrible power into the atmosphere before he put it away. "That damned creepy spider-chan's got a hairy little thorax," he muttered, casting a sidelong glance at Shashu. Deciding he deserved a reward for going though this lunacy and surviving, he bit the ends off of a cigar tucked into one of the many pockets of his outift, and lit it with his brass-plated windproof. As he puffed and exhaled o-rings of smoke, he nodded at Kushin.

"I don't understand what the hell happened here, but I'm glad the Raikage's safe after all. I'll fight alongside you any day," he said shaking hands with the man. As they shook, each flexed their biceps in an attempt to outdo the other in size. And the winner was...

Hayata Shin, of course.

[TLUS]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu watched as, as expected, the large bird split into two and fell into the darkness below. Finally having a moment of peace aside from small hassles all around him, he took a moment to survey how the rest of the group was doing. Masao was in a particularly precarious position balancing on a thin thread like an acrobat while fighting a demonic beast like a lunatic. Ayumu looked on just in time to watch the demon cut the thread causing Masao to plummet to his supposed death. "Masao!" Ayumu yelled out, making to run towards the ledge where he had disappeared as if there was anything he could do in time. He stopped short as the demon was reaching for the scroll and drew a bolter in honor of Masao only to pause as he caught a glimpse of a figure suddenly behind the demon. Along with the silhouette, the shadow of a brush could be seen held in his hands.

"Oh Jesus..." Ayumu said, turning to look away. Even as a shinobi, he didn't care to see the brutality Masao could inflict with his favored melee weapon. His eyes now found Kushin standing before a large shark with bloodied teeth, the being he had been fighting a moment ago nowhere to be found. He was obviously fine. His eyes at last wandered to the younger duo of Tomo and Shashu, his newest trainee. The smaller birds and insects that they had been picking off in droves were now fleeing with all due haste. They were victorious as well. Shashu was proving to be more than capable as a trainee, and Tomo was no less impressive even if she wasn't one of Ayumu's. The chaos now ended, he walked over to join the others. As he approached, Kushin destroyed the scroll that Masao had obtained. Ayumu cocked an eyebrow, having not been a part of this plan, but wasn't bothered.

"I suppose that's ONE way to make sure it isn't misused," he said as he approached Masao and Kushin. "You guys think I could get that bird stitched up, stuffed and mounted? Ahh, probably too much of a hassle to retrieve it. Anyway, I'll have to ask how the rest of you got wrapped up in this later," he said as he passed by the two Sennin to reach Shashu and Tomo. Up close, Ayumu noticed the additional arms that Shashu had sprouted. "Hmm... Trainee Tsuirakuya, something seems different about you, but I can't put my finger on it... well, anyway, good work you two," he said, clapping them both on the shoulder whether they appreciated it or not. He now noticed that Tomo was attempting to utilize the seal on his hand, and his mind recalled the toad that had originally set them on this quest.

'Oh right, where did that little guy go? Yech, I bet he's not too happy about how this played out,' Ayumu thought, taking a look around the cave for the toad until it found him. "Sorry, that didn't really go how it was planned... but at least it's not in anybody else's hands," he said to the toad, hoping that at least was some consolation now that the scroll itself was unobtainable.

 

[Shu]

"sO tHiS tImE iT wAs NoNe. I wIlL sEe YoU aGaIn No DoUbT." The eerie voice spoke ending its ennui riddles. However, it was far from over considering the other contracts were still here. What was going on in the chakra realm. Shin considered asking Deta however there were some things he woukd not divulge to Shin, perhaps for the Raikage's safety.

Shin calmy tapped his ear as he activated his headset. "Everyone this is the Raikage. This event is far from over I will be pending missions to examine this cavern at a future time. For now we will reconvene at the village. Well done."

"Kitsune and Shashu-chan. Follow me." Shin said ad he aided them out of the village.

[[Leaving Topic]]

 

[Junan]

It attacked me. He answered after he heard his name mentioned and asked about the cat creature. Kushin's back was torn to ribbons, after how the creature had acted earlier he'd assumed it to not be a threat to their plans, but it had been, sneaking up behind him like that. Damn creature. You did fine. He said in regards to Shashu's suggesting she went overboard. Though Kushin's eyes moved to the area of the cave which looked like it'd been inhabited by spiders for a good hundred years or so for the amount of web which covered it.

Masao nodded in his direction, Kushin returning the gesture. Without Masao it wouldn't have been possible, and chances would have been that the Youkai would have received the scroll. They shook hands and Kushin frowned slightly, he wasn't used to this whole concept of camaraderie, he'd always felt like an outsider amongst the village leaders. His reply Let us hope we don't need to for a long time. He didn't know if it were appropriate, but he didn't much enjoy combat with things which fought back.

Shin's voice came down the hall telling them all to return to the village. The Shark pulling Kushin aside first to complete some business.


----- Kushin & Shark -----

Forming handseals to regenerate the wounds on his back faster than he would otherwise, and to stop the chance of infection setting in, Kushin was asked by the Shark what happened there. Kushin gave a run down in a very blunt and 'who cares' manner before waiting for the Shark to react. The Shark then asked why they destroyed the scroll and Kushin answered that as well, his answer being that there was no guarantee that the Youkai were incorrect in their idea of the scroll, that multiple contracts were all vying for the same thing and that a confrontation had been caused because of it. Also for the Shark their prophecy had been fulfilled, the Birds hadn't gained the scroll, so no further harm would come anyway.

The Shark then asked Kushin whether he was willing to take on the Shark Contract, Kushin accepted, asked to stretch his arm out the Shark bit it, only instead of blood pouring out the wounds formed a ring of Sharks teeth on his forearm.

With that the Shark returned to its realm and Kushin headed home.

----- Tomo, Ayumu & Toad -----

The Toad asked Tomo and Ayumu to come to him by the side, instead Tomo summoned the Toad out of curiosity and the Toad moved ten feet towards where Tomo had summoned him. With an unimpressed expression he listened to Ayumu sheepishly say how it didn't really go as planned. But Ayumu was correct, at least neither the Youkai or either of the winged contracts gained it. Thanking the two of them for their hard work the Toad mentioned that it had seen them both fight with a strong will and with a courage that impressed him.

He then asked if they would each be willing to take on the Toad Contract. Doing so would mean that they could summon his kind in combat and they would aid them as best they could. Should they accept the Toad would place its thumb on the top of their wrist and move up slightly. A small tattoo like symbol forming where it had touched them.

----- Masao and Youkai -----

During their travel back to Cloud Masao would hear a whispering in his ear. It was so faint that it could have been his imagination, perhaps just a trick of the wind, and yet the memory of what was said was clear. He had been chosen to be strong enough to bear the burden of the Youkai should he choose to accept it. All he need do was make a sign, a nod, or something of that like and it would be done. Should he accept it a burning sensation on his forearm would reveal a tattoo like symbol revealing itself there, a sign that he was of the Youkai Contractors.

----- Hayata Shin & Youkai -----

Sitting in the Raikage Tower a voice would come from a shadow. Yet the ANBU didn't react, indeed it seemed as though they themselves were completely unaware of it, it spoke directly to Shin. It offered Shin power worthy of a Raikage, in exchange for a part of the Raikage's power. Assuredly it would be asked what power was that and then Shin's eyes would be drawn to Deta through no will of his own. The voice telling him that they would take the Chakra Creation as their own, granting it more power than it had before though it would remain under the Raikage's control. They then told the Raikage that it was a yes or no answer, to make a gesture to decide the fate. Similarly to Masao should he accept a burning sensation would occur on Shin's forearm, revealing the symbol used to summon a Youkai... only now it meant that Shin could summon Deta instead.

----- Shashu & Cat -----

Going about her training in the village Shashu would notice a cat from the corner of her eyes. It looked similar to the one that had been in this cave. There was a semi-circle of dots where it had lost fur, almost resembling a shark bite. Yet it watched and waited. Eventually it would approach Shashu and inform her that she had been chosen to become one of the apex predators, the Cat Contractors had to be. They knew her strength was still developing, but they had decided that she had the potential needed. Should she accept the Cat would place a mark on Shashu, it would be permanent like a tattoo and could be used to summon the Cat Contract.

[Everyone has at this point left the topic, including me.

Congratulations everyone on gaining the contracts. Sorry Kitsune but your ban has meant you are unable to complete the event.

Post an OOC post either accepting the contract or not]

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

[Topic left]
[OOC: Contract accepted]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

[Topic Left]
[Contract Accepted]

 

[Shu]

[Topic Left]
[Contract Accepted]

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

[Topic Left, Contract Accepted]