What Evil Lurks in the Burning Sands? [Chuunin Exam]

[Takahashi Aki]

"Funny you say that. Missions don't complete themselves this nicely. I mean, yeh I had to put the effort in but ... well... I was expectin' one of their overlords to show up. Demons in these parts have like ... monarchy? Well somethin like the Soon's Merchants. That's what I've been figuring." Taki spoke, Naoki would begin to remember the woman she encountered with Ren and Sousuke. This entity acted like a Queen, sort of. It fit the bill. She thought highly of herself and thought of others as underlings. It could have been that Taki had just dispatched some of her lackeys. The gunslinger managed a smile when Naoki mentioned about going to a bar and getting a drink. "Well, I reckon that'd be just spledid." He answered, he sniffed the air. "Ah yeah. I do smell kinda funky don't I? I might need to go drown myself for a week, or three. Cold wata."

It would seem that the lot of them were set on heading back to Sungakure. That indeed probably was going to be for the best. However, amongst the four of them they would hear a resounding crack. The sound came from the direction of the lake of Silver glass. The four would need to pick up a pace and run back the original site. Curiously Taki would be able to keep up but only slightly. It was evident that the man was not a ninja, but whatever skill and training he would have, it was something of a competition with that of the Sunagakurian ninjas.

The lake of glass was still present when they returned, but now there were cracks in it. Red cracks. Something below from what Chiyo had seen earlier, or something from above was clearly tampering with it. The person in question who was tampering with the lake of glass was very visible, and hovering above the middle of the lake. One may need to strain their eyes, but the entity was lithe like in body design. A tail was visible and outlandish features as well. Horns protruded from the head, but also from the shoulders as well. For the time being it seemed like the four were going unnoticed. The red cracks in the lake of glass were glowing, and slowly the cracks were deepening. Chiyo first and foremost knew what was beneath that glass, and what horrors awaited.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki wasn't the type to consider what people couldn't do compared to herself, so she made no note of the fact that the man was keeping up with some of Suna's shinobi. They were still genin after all. What she did notice, however, was the loud crack that jolted her out of her current state of half-relaxation at the thought of retreating for the time being. "OW! Oh for the love of--" she skidded to a halt, turning and following the others back to the site of the lake. The shifting of the sands and whatever ambient noise was in the area would alert her to the presence of some... thing, in the middle of the newly-formed cracks. If she could see the red, she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from squeaking in abject horror. Thankfully, it was far enough away that she couldn't make out too much detail, if there was anything remotely more outlandish than the tail and horns. Thinking quickly and keeping her voice at a whisper, "Otokakushi-no-jutsu," she projected a barrier of sound distortion around the group. "I don't know how well that thing hears, but this'll allow us to talk like normal... What do we do about that? We can't just leave with it hovering around here, and I don't think it'll respond too well to diplomacy..."

 

[Chiyo]

Chiyo kept pace with the others, more than thankful to be heading back to Suna. As hard as she tried to ignore it, the heat was unbearable and she was in desperate need of a shower as well. The teenager was finally starting to shake the uneasy feeling in her stomach when the sound of what could only be the glass lake breaking filled the air. Her stomach performed a back flip as the image of what she had seen below the surface flashed before her eyes. Through the heat and exhaustion, she pushed herself faster until they had returned to the lake. For a brief moment her eyes closed and her face contorted into a look of intense concentration. Thick black fluid pooled in the corners of her eyes as she focused her chakra through her bloodstream to change her vision once again. It was becoming clear that Chiyo would need to focus on gaining more stamina as the transition was becoming much more exhausting to make. She opened her eyes as Naoki provided them with the relative safety of not being heard....probably, and reluctantly looked around as she listened to the woman's words. They definitely needed more information before deciding on a plan of action, though their chances weren't looking too great from where she was standing. "Um...Give me a second, we don't know what's happening with the...things...under the glass." With a small exhale the petite teenager would look around at the glass, taking note of the red cracks but looking for any other notable changes in the creatures below. After a quick assessment of the contents of the glass sea, she would turn her focus toward the horned creature. As she looked, the girl would speak again, "Hey, Taki? Any idea what we're looking at? I mean, you seem like you might know a thing or two about demons."

Spoiler

Perception check, please good sir.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. This was not Michino’s day.

The absolute last thing he wanted to run across was actual demons. The last time he had decided to trek into the desert he had run across the bastards and his hopes were of the highest that this mission would be little more than scouting. Go find a spot in the desert were stuff is being weird and report back. The first part should have been easy since there was all kinds of weird crap going on not to mention the deadly predators.
But no. Finding a large sheet of glass wasn’t enough now there was evil energies swirling about. Without even thinking about it or focusing at all he could already feel the demonic energy of his clan starting to spark up. His heart began to beat hard knowing full well that his control over it was minimal at best right now. Whatever they had to do they needed to do it fast before the teenager revealed himself for what he really was. His eyes turned over to the gunslinger and something just kind of clicked. This was just like his Pretend Wizards sessions.

“Takistar,” the young made said without missing a syllable, “Can you shoot her and catch the creature’s attention? Just long enough for her to see me and come charging then the rest is up to you three. I don’t know about beating her in these conditions but if we can seal her…”

Depending on the gunman’s cooperation Michino would nod to him and the two females before reaching to his side to draw the two silver swords and move just far enough away from them that her line of vision wouldn’t come across them when the bullet hit. Raising the two silver swords to the sun he reflected the light towards her body,
“In the name of Mother Suna, I rebuke thee demon!” Michino cried out half a second before the gunshot.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

[10:04 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: perception check for Chiyo
[10:04 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[10:04 PM] BOTTatsumaki:
:game_die: Rolling Dice!
[d20 : 19]
In the end, the result was: 19

The sound barrier surprisingly kept what meant to be a secret, a secret. Naoki's quick thinking was what kept things calm and cool for the moment given the fierce situation. This allowed the team to have precious moments in order to plan the next few moments, which was going to be crucial. Taki more or less looked about the barrier. He ran his gloved fingers across the barrier and as he did so the runes on his gloves glowed green. "This is a neat trick." He spoke in a hushed voice. He paused for a moment."Oh. Right. We gets to talk normal here. Better." Taki had seen some strange things, but this sound distortion thing was certainly going to help. With the words spoken so far, their advantage was still in play. They had not yet been noticed. "Diplomacy and devils is something that ... well if you ever finds a diplomatic devil or a demon, then I'd like to hear about it. I reckon the demon doing the tampering is a smarter cookie than most. Most of em, are like ... brutish types? This one is a wizard... well, at least it seemed that way? That kind o tamperin isn't a brute thing." Taki added as he was answering the question that he was asked by Chiyo.

The gun slinger was straining his eyes real hard. Chiyo, You on the other hand really had to strain less. The cracks in the glass were getting more and more severe. You swear you're seeing little digits, like finger tips, like press against and up through the glass. What you had seen earlier seemed to be getting up. You could only assume so, but you've yet to tap into your skillset given to you by your birthright. Regardless, you can still that the entities in the glass lake are getting closer and closer to escaping. Yet, something else gets your attention, something more.

Across the glass stood a female. Her features were more humanoid. The woman did not have horns, but her ears were pointed. Her being had feathers, black feathers, which adorned her being. The eyes were narrowed and were not impressed. The way the individual carried herself was that of a royalty. She seemed rather angry. Chiyo you had best describe what you were seeing as it was you who picked up on this individual. The watcher had quite a bit of skin showing, but she did not show any sign of stress in this heat. More annoyance at what she was watching.

Michino and Taki were discussing plans. Unlucky for the two of them, they did not catch onto the observing woman. Taki looked down to his belt and removed a string of bullets, he was loading them into his gun. Michino would notice that the bullets he was loading sparked white with what could be best described as magic. "It's like shootin fish in a barrel, but once this bang goes off... well we're gonna be in for a fight. It's mighty loud. Gonna maybe get a bunch of attention on us ... but hey let's give it a try." The gunman would step forward and aim the pistol. "Three. Two. One." The sound was loud and it was indeed heard as the bullet was fired out with white swirls chasing after the bullet. Michino was slightly quicker and had raised his blade. The little trick worked and the bullet pierced the demon. The body fell against the glass with a tremendous thud. The red cracks were still present, but seemingly there were starting to shrink. Was the individual dead? Most likely not.

Chiyo. You notice the reaction from the individual from earlier. A smile is formed on her face, but the smile is far too hooked and curved. She lets out an inaudible laugh. Just who was this watcher?

 

[Toraono Michino]

On a normal day for the young Toraono his plans rarely went off without a hitch. Yet it seemed the gods aligned themselves in his favor this one time as the bullet pieced their target. When the demon hit the glass the boy flinched a little and waited in a crouched position ready to attack for what felt like eons. It wasn’t until the red cracks on the glass started to fade that he let down his guard even a little and dropped down to one knee from exhaustion. He lifted a heavy arm to wipe a little of the sweat off his face around his eyes as he tried to regain even a little of his composure.

With the heat waves making anything past the glass impossible for him to see he gathered his strength and slowly stood up and sheathed both of his weapons. Michino was actually thrilled that this so far had managed to go off without him needing to activate any of his demonic powers which, no doubt, would of thrown all kinds of suspicion his way. It was the last thing he needed in this attempt to build his waning confidence. Moving at a careful trot the tan youth positioned himself back towards the group. He was trying desperatly to not think about the heat but he was pretty sure he was starting to smell his own flesh starting to cook.

 

[Samejima]

Seal? How the heck do you seal a-- Naoki cut her thoughts off as she realized they didn't exactly have time to figure it out. She knew that it was possible to seal demons, but she's never actually attempted this before. Here's hoping one of them knew how to do it while she weakened it? The shot rang out, Naoki responding quickly enough to let the barrier down since distraction was the point of the gambit anyway, and she heard a loud thud. Michino seemed to be coming back. "Hey, is that thing dead?" she called out across the sands, not wanting to get close to it until she was sure it wouldn't lash back out.

[Edited to omit misunderstanding D:]

 

[Chiyo]

The dark-haired teenager tensed her muscles as the male members of their party disrupted the demon's concentration, the crack of gunfire setting her teeth on edge. She waited for Michino to rejoin the group, "No...I don't think she's dead, and I think her friend is a little pissed." Chiyo stared across the glass at the wicked grin that was stretching the woman's face into something incredibly unsettling. "The good news is that the one you shot stopped whatever she was doing." She tried to hitch a smile onto her face and failed miserably, resulting in a sort of grimace. "But uh...the bad news is there's another lady out there, and the things under the glass are a bit more...active." Her voice at least sounded somewhat steady finally, and she forced her mind to focus again. Quickly taking a look around at their surroundings, she searched for somewhere they might be able to use as cover, should the need arise, or anything else they might use to their advantage.

Spoiler

Another perception check please kind sir.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Spoiler

[7:54 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: Demoness perception check
[7:54 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[7:54 PM] BOTTatsumaki:
:game_die: Rolling Dice!
[d20 : 8]
In the end, the result was: 8
[7:54 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: perception check for Chiyo
[7:54 PM] Melkor|Sousuke: t!dice 1d20
[7:54 PM] BOTTatsumaki:
:game_die: Rolling Dice!
[d20 : 14]
In the end, the result was: 14

Is that thing dead? A tremendous question. The answer did not arrive on a timely fashion. The body of the stirred eventually and rose up. The entity turned around and looked across. There was very much a hole present in the individual's body. Blood oozed and pulsed out of the wound. It was a clean shot, but the aftermath of it was not soon clean. The horned head of the individual tilted. In each of our young adventurer's minds there was a psionic screaming noise going off. The sound was that of an adult woman screaming in a very familiar sounding voice. Meddling insects. You cannot be thrown off of the trail. I send you elsewhere and elsewhere you go. Then you return. Why couldn't something along of the way gobbled you up? Chiyo. For a moment your eyes catch something. The eyes of this demoness who was staring across at you and your company. The eyes were slited and this unnerves you. Why? Because you've seen these eyes not too long ago.

The Demoness proceeded to get up to her full feet. The wound still very much oozing and with that she would proceed to walk across the glass. Chiyo as you watch this, you would see the hands pounding against the glass. There was no further movement, to shattering of the glass. No nothing. Chiyo would point out the other individual now watching them. The faerie looking woman, the one with the curved ears. Naoki you in particular hear another voice. Hello Pumpkin. You've gotten older.<i></i> Naoki you would remember this voice as it belonged the to Arch-Demon (or at least that is how Sousuke described it to you at the time)you shouted at many years ago. All you heard was the voice in your head. You did not hear any movement or anything. She stood as still as a statue. Michino and Chiyo, while you do not hear the words in your mind, you see no movement coming from the watcher.

Curiously the Demoness charging at the rest of the team is unaware of the Watcher (Or known as the Arch-Demon to Naoki). Taki begin to guage the foe and begins to fire shots at her. Unfortunately the element of surprise is a onetime only thing. As he unloads the clip, the bullets are seeming caught, or rather she phased through them as she is travelling at what seemed to be for Taki at least, high speeds. As she ran across the glass, heat rose from the glass but as she stepped off the glass, no new glass was being made. While Taki was unlucky in his shots, it might prove to be fruitful to take a puck shot, or better yet prepare for melee combat as she raised her hands and curled them into fists.

 

[Toraono Michino]

The moment the demon began to move at them a tension rose up in Michino’s stomach. It was a familiar sensation he hated more than anything. His breath started to hitch and nausea began to roll in his gut. His blood started to pump harder than it was already in this oppressive heat. The Toraono knew exactly what it was that was throwing his vision into blurs and causing his legs to stiffen.

Fear.

Even now, even after going through the challenges of his pilgrimage he felt his weakness rise up against him. Michino hated fighting more than anything and the silver swords in his hands suddenly felt really heavy. The fear he was feeling right now also wasn’t just borne of the combat hurdling its way at his team but the fear of his true characteristics showing. In a fight the boy had always been so…violent because he had to throw himself into the demonic black flames of his power. A different him would take the wheel and combat with everything his natural powers gave him the change to have…but that Other had been removed from his body. The demonic strength he had in reserves were supposed to be just for that - reserves. Yet as the real Youkai charged at Chiyo at the gunslinger the Sunan felt that fear changing a course into something else raising up in his gut.

Perhaps before the fear that latched onto him used to chain him down. Yet as his legs threw themselves forward and the hot air rushed past his face the Toraono knew right then that the fear in his stomach right now wasn’t one borne of discovery or battle; but one of loss. Already in his mind he could see the demon overwhelming his team and it brought about a sensation of loss he had never felt before. Michino dropped both of the silver swords into the hot sand and forced his bubbling fear towards a hand with chakra. A black sword made entirely of cursed chakra exploded from his left palm and as he gripped it a black fire enveloped himself and the blade.
Demonic features painted themselves over the normal human ones. Tiger strips appeared on his cheeks, his eyes became feral, the boy’s pointed ears elongated and a black panther tail materialized itself through his clothes, burning a hole until it had a place to fit. His muscles thickened ever so slightly and when he swung down the blade to block the other demon’s attack it was with a force that kicked up the sand.

Fear drove him into battle this time. This time he would control it.

[Actions used - Form of the Demon/Draws Natural Weapon/B-Rank Slashing Taijutsu - Focal Point]

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

Naoki balked at the random voice reverberating in her head. It was a voice she remembered. It's that one bitch, isn't it... Why did she have to show up now?! Michino seemed to be heading right into battle mode, blocking whatever attack the assailant had planned for them. Right now though she was worrying about the Arch-Demon, who for some reason she could not sense anywhere but that she knew was around here as Chiyo mentioned another being somewhere. One thing at a time... the genin thought, shaking her head, to try and calm herself down. She could not afford to have her mind scrambled at a time like this.

Treat it like another fight. Just another fight, no demons, no outside interference... And I have friends! We'll be fine. We'll be fine. She repeated the last three words to herself like a mantra, and attempted to sink into the sands. With a calmer state of mind and the knowledge that she would soon be undetectable, she calmed her mind enough to perform the jutsu. She slipped back into a predatory calm with ease, recalling the exact thought processes used to kill those who stood against her in the ring. Don't humanize. It. It is attacking. It is dangerous. It must die. Performing the requisite handseals for the Inner Earth Reflection jutsu, she hoped the enemy attacking them would be too distracted by Michino's rather impressive block to notice her disappearance.

If she had time to execute the next jutsu before the enemy attacked again, regardless of whether or not the stealthing worked, she would try and catch it off guard by getting under it and stabbing it as much as she could. If not, she would remain cloaked by the scorching sands of the Inferno until she sensed an opening through the sands.

[Action used: Inner Earth Reflection to attempt stealth check, and if there's time before the demoness attacks Outer Rim Breaker will be used, targeting the legs. Otherwise *crosses fingers for the stealth check*]

 

[Chiyo]

The teenager's mind went into overdrive as the next few seconds threatened to overwhelm her senses. Pushing her innate abilities even further, the smoky black overtook her eyes once again as she prepared herself for a confrontation. She wasn't used to fighting with others and everything happening at once after the rest of the day's events were almost becoming too much. Almost. Taking note of the creature's eyes, she felt a slight sense of relief that she hadn't been going insane when she had seen their proctor's eyes shift before they split up. Of course, that relief was short lived, as the creature rushed toward them and her allies jumped into action. Drawing her attention over even the threat of attack, the demonic features that had all but overtaken Michino's countenance made her hesitate for an instant and her father's words echoed back in her mind telling her he was dangerous.

The thought was pushed from her mind however, as she registered that he was putting himself between the creature and the rest of them. That in and of itself was enough to break through everything else crowding in her thoughts, allowing the focus her father had drilled into her throughout her life to take back over and her fingers curled into fists, her body tensing for the fight as she drew her chakra inward. In the same moment, her attention focused on the enemy ahead and her eyes roamed over the much closer figure, hunting for weak points in her body that might be exploited as she rushed in, preparing to attack.

[Activated: Byakugan | Jyuuken Style || Used: Eight Gates Assault | B-rank Unarmed Taijutsu, 16-Hit Combo (Master)]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

[I'm happy to see everyone is trying to do some battley things here.]

The Demoness and Michino went toe to toe. Michino was going in head first and the enemy saw this. Her fists uncurled and glowed a slight purple hue as the finger nails extended to dagger-like lengths. The enemy drew back her hands and attempted to bring them together in the form of a clap but with the fingers pointed inwards. The boy with Toraono blood in his veins was not flattened like a pancake or subjected to becoming a pin cushion. The nails clashed into the black blade and sparks were sent flying as a horrifying noise came as the nails raked against the blade. In Michino's head he heard the words of the demoness. The one true language that was heard. Telepathy. You're not so different from me. You're beneath me. You've been cut off from the land of origins for far too long.<i></i> The voice wickedly declared. A snap kick came from the side and kicked Michino in the shoulder hard. The kick stung but the body or the form of Michino did not falter or show signs of giving in. This was going to be a contest of raw power. A native of Inferno against one who had perhaps never been in the land of Inferno. You are in the land where the Killers dwell.<i></i> With what little space was made, the Demoness rolled back, and then kicked off the ground. Perhaps in a mocking way she was going to pounce on Michino.

Naoki's attempt to go into stealth was not the most successful. The Demoness was indeed distracted by Michino as she was engaged in combat. For a fleeting moment it was registered in her head that something was going to happen. Naoki's attack interrupted the pounce on Michino. It was not a surprise attack, but it was enough to change their foe's direction. The Demoness rolled about in the sands, eventually stopping and pushing herself up. Naoki's attack burned and the sand crystalized and formed a pin-glass needle in the body of the demoness. There was something fighting fire with fire here. Naoki would hear a heart beat race, and then a second heart beat race from the same body. Demon biology was not always like that of a human. The Demoness pulled out the needle with a little bit of effort. She held the needle out and broke it with her hands. Cute.<i></i> The Arch-Demon spoke in Naoki's head. There was a sort of cooing noise in her head. It seemed like a legitimate praise coming forward, but the cooing perhaps didn't make it seem like that.

Taki spent the moment reloading his weapon. He sort of grimaced at the notion that everyone was a melee fighter. Then Chiyo threw herself into the fray too. He made a clicking noise with his tongue as he was not going to get a straight shot at this moment. He was going to have to bide his time and wait this out. For Chiyo a series of reticules would appear in her line of sight. Weak points and the likes. The attacks came in a flurry of quick shots to joints and muscles. The Demoness was not capable of keeping up with her, but Chiyo did find herself on the receiving end of some nasty cuts to her flesh as the enemy tried to counter what attacks she could. In a flickering motion, one thing our heroes did not catch was her tail which went after Chiyo's neck as she tried to ensnare her and pull her up as if to start choking the life out of her.

 

[Toraono Michino]

Michino felt the weight of the demon’s attack when their weapons of choice clashed. His muscles bulged under the pressure but even as the sweat stung his face and his feet dug into the sand the Toraono did his name proud. Not an inch was given, not even when he felt the kick strike his shoulder and her words taunt his worst weakness; his confidence. The pressure from the force behind the blow wasn’t lost on the shinobi as he lifted his opposing foot and braced it into the ground to keep him from flying away.
“Even Lesser demons…move mountains…ya know?” the young male growled out to the beast even as he could feel the bones in his shoulder beginning to crack.

It was then he felt the first teammate beneath the earth and knew it was his chance to ease up and get ready for a second attack. Letting the remaining force of the kick roll through he used the momentum to escape and make sure Chiyo was safe only to see her fly into the fight with those furiously smokey black eyes. He smirked a little as he landed feeling secure that they could all fight even under the duress of the heat; though he knew they needed to put her down fast.
With a strong punch outwards he forced a mass of his chakra to speed up his natural healing rate a little so that the shoulder mended itself a little with the demonic energy that swirled through him. Narrowing his eyes Michino allowed the sword to switch hands through the black fire that crawled around his body as he spent a moment looking for another opening while molding his chakra. As he did so his eyes caught the gunman and noticed that he too was waiting for a moment to attack. Suddenly remembering, of all times, how combat went in the pen-n-paper games he played with Sousuke the teenager waited for the stranger to find his spot first. The moment the man had a clear shot, and took it, the Toraono would step up behind the attack to swing wide with one hand while the other formed into a single seal.

[Casts Crush Depths (Kin Gen B Rank) and uses Devil’s Trick to combo into Higuma [Slash Tai A Rank] which I will use its special effect to combo into itself again. If I’m reading that right.]

 

[Samejima]

The feeling of an attack connecting was an exquisite one, and one that Naoki tried not to relish too much when she was fighting other people back there. Here though, she was fighting against someone who was putting others in danger. It gave her a feeling of fulfillment unlike any she had felt for a long time. Feels good to be back! A glimmer of her old carefree grin came back to her as she landed, marred by that voice reverberating through her mind. She figured it probably wouldn't do anything, but she visualized a spike jabbing at whatever was making that racket, focusing on the battle at hand. Two heartbeats... Wonder if that means she's got different weaknesses? She was analyzing her opponent as she would normally try to, though admittedly it was not always the most successful way to gain an advantage. She heard a click from the stranger, and realized that he probably needed a clearer shot if he was to help at all in this battle. She bounded backwards, distancing herself from the enemy.

That thing needs to stop moving so much... She searched her memory for a jutsu that would prove effective--she had been forbidden to use elemental jutsu unless it was a finisher in her time at the illicit arena, so it took a little more time than it would had she been in tip-top mental shape. The grin across her face widened a little as she put herself in the proper range, taking aim with the ambient noise, the feel of the wind whipping about them, and the heat beating down upon their adrenaline-laced figures. The double heartbeat made it easier for her to discern which body to strike, and she performed the requisite hand-seals with the intent of paralyzing the enemy. "Outta the way!" she yelled, hoping Chiyo would react by jumping away.

"雷鳴ロンド!" With that, she directed her flow of chakra to burst from her hands, formed into a thunderous roar headed straight for the enemy. Whether or not that one hit, she unleashed another jutsu that her initial hand-seals had prepared for, shaping the sound to form a barrage of noise weaving around the demoness in an incomprehensible pattern. This would presumably happen before the stranger had a clear shot, but Naoki would try to minimize hitting her teammates as much as she could if either member was still close enough to the target to get hit.

[Using a combination jutsu (idk if this is allowed but I'm goin with it) of Thunderstruck and Hypersonic Reverberation]

 

[Chiyo]

Chiyo's expression grew even more determined as she felt the demon's attempts to counter her blows strike home, an angry growl ripping from her chest. The wounds definitely stung, and were deep enough to draw blood, she realized as she felt the warm fluid soak into the fabric of her clothing. It just figured that she would buy brand new gear just to have it all get ripped to shreds by a damn demon and covered in blood. The teenager was about to start in on the creature again to let off some of her frustration just as Naoki called out to get out of the way. In the same moment, the demoness' tail entered her peripheral vision and instinct immediately kicked in. Flexing the muscles of her stomach to spin the ball of chakra formed within, she would push the energy outward in a burst, forming a shield with a force she hoped would propel the appendage away from her throat and the creature herself into the air.

The shield would stay in place just long enough for the Uzumoreru to form a series of quick hand seals before releasing the tension in her abdomen. As soon as the air around her was clear, her hand would reach out to grab the tail from the air and swing the demon bodily away from herself and her companions.

[ Used: Kaiten - Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation | B-Rank Taijutsu: Suplex ]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The tail of the demon was countered by Chiyo's Kaiten. A spinning motion then the demon into the ground and then upwards. The most basic rule of physics? What goes up? Must come down. The body landed hard with a resounded thud against the demon. Michino would rush in and begin to close the distance. Lesser Demons moving mountains. That was going to be remembered. A bullet whizzed past Michino as Taki took aim and fired. The bullet pierced through the demoness. The bullet was still zipping through even after impact. It seemed that Taki had gotten the opening he needed. A click was then heard as the rest of the clip was emptied. More bullets riddled the enemy. The chamber was emptied. The bullet seemed to have stunned the demoness for the time being, and then Michino ripped into the enemy. A single strike, was in fact several. Blazing white marks began to slice through the enemy showing the effect of the attacks. Naoki would hear one of the heart beats die out from the two attackers. One heart was down. One more.

Naoki then attacked and had landed one jutsu after the other. The enemy was stunned, and then unable to move from the devastating attack of lightning. The thunderous roar rippled into a being as if an invisible predatory feline let loose a roar. The sounds did not die down either. Another blast of sound came from the genin and had rippled into the being of the demoness. It further lengthed the stun into the next worst thing. It was a bind. The demoness was struggling, and was gasping for air. The demoness was then further beaten. Chiyo would grab hold of the tail and begin to spin about and would release sending the body flying into the lake of glass. The body would land unceremoniously with the glass cracking. There was a pause for a moment. The enemy was getting back to her feet. Then something happened. Something unexpected. A enormous black sword would drop from the heavens. The sword looked wicked and bore three eyes in its hilt. The impact amazingly did not break the glass. Instead it obliterated the demoness.

"So delightful. Yeeeeeeees."<i></i> Words were spoken. Naoki knew the tone, but this was the first time hearing words spoken out loud. The Arch Demon that had spoken in her head was now seen skipping across the glass. Her words were delightful indeed to be heard. Like honey, but for the ears. "My dear pumpkin, you have the most fabulous friends."<i></i> The Arch Demon complimented Naoki, "You've also quelled a rebellion in my land."<i></i> She added with the pinnacle of amusement in her voice. "That one has been a thorn in my side, trying to do things in secret."<i></i> She stopped skipping when she was about five hundred metres away from them. "She also took the flesh of your leige lord's ... Elder Mother? Grandmother, yes that's what you call them don't you?"<i></i> The Arch Demon stood at a height of 5'11. She seemed more faerie than demon in nature. The curve ears, the human flesh like skin, and perfect features. The teeth were sharp, but perfect in all sense in the word. "Would you like her back?"<i></i>

 

[Toraono Michino]

The unspoken battle plan seemed to go off without a single hitch. The blade sinking into demonic flesh was a sensation he wasn’t expecting to like…but the demonic fire inside of him began to roar as his blade sliced through the creature’s flesh. He stepped back to allow the bullets breeze by him as he looked for the next opening only to find Chiyo grabbing the thing’s tail and throwing it across the field of glass. Michino’s eyes opened wide in such shock to see the violence the two girls were capable of, especially the Uzumoreru, but was starting to come to expect it from Sunans. It was no wonder Tama was terrified of the girls here.

The battle felt like it was over again and this time the Toraono let down his exhausted guard a little. The black fire flickered away and he fell down to a single knee as the desert heat threatened to cook what little fluids existed in his body; blood or otherwise. It was in this moment of weakness he heard the voice of another…something walking on the glass field. A rebellion? They stopped what? Was the heat now causing auditory hallucinations as well? Yet at the mentioning of the older woman that had seen them out here the mulatto teenager felt his heart cringing in fear.

“Lady you’re asking if we want someone back, but…I’m pretty sure if you don’t let her go yourself, soon, you’re going to regret it. I don’t know how awesome the old lady is, but I have heard she sent a cold-blooded killer running out of a room screaming without touching a single hair.”

There was a serious worried look on Michino’s face but it was hard to tell if it was for their proctor or the being who claimed to hold her captive.

 

[Samejima]

The hell? Where'd-- Naoki's thoughts were cut short as she heard the voice. That voice. What business did she have helping them? Wasn't she taunting Naoki just seconds ago? But more importantly what took out that other thing? She couldn't even register what it was before it came flying down, and only now did she realize it seemed to be some kind of sword. That... didn't break the glass? What is this stuff?

N-no... no way! An expression of horror crossed Naoki's face, and she was rendered speechless for the next few seconds while Michino spoke. "Y-yeah..." her feeble voice slowly grew louder as Michino's words snapped her out of her shock. "She-she wouldn't go down easy! Who's to say you ain't just lyin' to us to throw us off?" Naoki sank back into a hostile stance, though she knew there would be much less of a chance of winning against this one. "Look, we just wanna go back to town. Then we won't be in yer lands anymore right? Less trouble for you, less pain for us, win-win." Naoki's guard remained up, ready to respond to any attack that might come from their surroundings. There's no telling what she could do--Naoki remembered that she caused some rocks to nearly fall on top of a certain very important figure, and if she could control all the land in her territory this would be very bad for the four of them.

 

[Chiyo]

Chiyo jumped back as the huge blade crashed down, crushing the demoness under its weight. Her thoughts immediately shifted to the horde of creatures below the already damaged glass lake and their obvious desire to breach the confines of their prison. Lucky for them the new cracks that had appeared in the surface weren't as bad as they looked. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, the girl's eyes returned to their natural state and she turned to the others with a small smile. "Well, that went better than-"

Cut off by the approach of the other being she had noticed before, her smile slipped and she turned to face the elven-looking woman, listening carefully to the words being spoken. So the demoness was the one who had taken the place of their proctor. Well, at least that cleared up what she had seen before they separated from the woman. Also, they had apparently quelled a rebellion that had been brewing? Well that was just lovely. They go out to scout and inadvertently help a demon. The teenager rolled her eyes at the thought as she listened to Michino and Naoki. They both clearly knew the old woman somewhat and apparently she was a force to be reckoned with. If what Michino said was true, it was probably only a matter of time before she found her own way out. That thought almost brought a smile back to the girl's face, but she found herself a bit annoyed as she listened to the attempt to get the Arch Demon to let them leave. It wasn't as if getting the hell outta dodge wasn't the first thing on Chiyo's mind, but the woman's words almost sounded like begging. Groaning with frustration, the teenager threw her hands up, "Yeah, I'm glad we could be of assistance to you, we're a few regular heroes, so why don't you just let the old lady go as a reward for our service?" Keeping the demon lady talking seemed like the best idea, at least for the moment, though really they had picked the absolute worst location for a conversation.