Ikaiheigan IC Thread

[ZeroNumerous]

Prologue

"So. It's over then?" Her concise words slice the silence like a razor. "You've decided to betray our pact?" A smile of thin-lips and teeth like daggers is all that greets the woman's questions. "My pact was with your master. Not with you, and not with your people. We have simply decided they would be better used... elsewhere." The woman lifts a vase and hurls it toward that devilish smile. It shatters into pieces when it strikes the wall instead. "To hell with them! What about my plans?"

"Haha... Plans. The only plan now, hun, is to hold on tight." Radiant brilliance cascades from that smile, filling the room with extremely bright white light. For just a moment, the woman is terrified. But that fear only lasts for a heartbeat...

Nagase Yuu

An early morning mist still drifts through the Forest of Death, obscuring the multitude of hidden wires, explosive tags and other dangerous traps designed to simulate battlefield conditions. Yuu lacks genin to take care of, and currently is without a mission assignment, so he woke up early this morning to do his regular training routine.

Suddenly, Yuu's training is interrupted by a bright light shining from the central government building. The building, sitting at the base of Hokage Mountain, houses both the council of elders and the sitting Hokage. A second after the light gets Yuu's attention, all the windows on the upper level explode outward in a cascade of glass and smoke. A series of small red meteors fall down to Konohagakure. Each impacts the city with a loud explosion, destroying buildings where they land.

Yuu's whole body shakes as an explosion rocks the ground nearby. As soon as the ground ceases to rumble, the boy feels a sense of razor sharp killing intent focused right at him. He can't quite pinpoint the feeling, but he does know it originated from behind him. He hears nothing but the crackle of fire, as the meteor has set flame to the Forest of Death.

Uchiha Hibiki

The Uchiha Estate could only be called 'homely' if one thought of dungeons as merely 'dark'. The building's stone walls are reinforced with steel bars on both the inside and outside. Each window is actually specially treated thorium, each doorway contains a set of seals and each room has at least one prominently displayed weapon. The home is as much a fortress, and clearly intended to survive rigorous assault. It is within this fortress that Hibiki meets with the father of the current heir to the Uchiha estate.

The crazed chuunin sits in a small garden alongside Rin, Sasuke and Naname Uchiha. Hibiki knew the first woman as mother, the second woman as 'grandmother', and the boy as 'rival'. The 'rival' sat in the far corner of the garden, atop a small rounded stone looking up at the heavens. He wore the long-sleeved black shirt, green ninja vest and simple black pants common to the Uchiha Police Force. The boy had turned fifteen recently, and now stood slightly taller than Hibiki. His hair had grown long, but he kept it braided and allowed the braid to dangle down his back. Sasuke had become a chuunin in the exams last year, but did not spend the year rubbing it in Hibiki's face. In fact, he had changed a good deal since the death of Suishi Haruna during those exams.

A wrinkled hand suddenly rested itself on Hibiki's shoulder, and the elder woman at his side spoke softly. "As you know, Rin-san has already been officially recognized as a member of the Uchiha Clan. Our other elders thought it prudent that--" The old woman looks to Rin with the dark eyes of a hawk. "--we recognize blood when we see it, and she was inducted into the family quite some time before you came here. However, we have still had trouble getting her to bring you." The elderly woman turns back to Hibiki, then points to Sasuke. "As you know, this young man is the current heir to the estate. And I invited you both here to discuss that matter."

The woman removes her hand from Hibiki, lifts her tea cup, takes a sip and seems to wait for Hibiki to make the first move. Possibly to size him up, or possibly just to make him squirm and wait.

Mata Neki

Sitting and waiting is boring. Dreadfully boring, in fact. So dreadfully boring that Mata Neki had been ordered to do it. Twice! The girl is doing a more menial task than most chuunin. Rather than being out on some dangerous mission, escorting an important V.I.P or even guarding the Hokage she's... waiting. Specifically waiting on genin who participated in the very recent Chuunin Exam to come and hand their participation papers over to her. The plan was that she would then make small talk, stamp their papers with an approval or disapproval stamp, then finally send them on their way. Unfortunately, no one is showing up.

Neki sits in the central government building, in a small 10ft by 20ft room, behind a very shoddily constructed desk, and with no one else in sight. A tiny paper sign sat outside the door with the words "Chuunin Examinees See Me" and an arrow pointing inside the room. Fortunately for Neki, her boredom is interrupted by the room shaking violently and a very loud explosion.

Doria

Humans do strange things, sometimes. Today, for example, 'Doria' bore witness to a very gluttonous human consuming his sixth bowl of ramen. The fat chuunin, one of the more successful participants in that recent exam, was consuming a great quantity of ramen as some sort of reward. The aging woman running the shop makes no effort to stop him, and she even supplies him with more food! How utterly ridiculous.

The entire event, however, is interrupted rather quickly.

Hot air, fire and the force of an explosion tears through the small ramen shop Yukanjishin had found herself in. The blast throws the fat chuunin to the floor, shatters both his and her bowls of ramen, and knocks the poor shopkeeper unconscious. Yukanjishin is quick to rise, and soon finds herself facing a tall and buxom humanoid. She sports fair skin, a wild eyed look and bears a single fang protuding from her upper lip. The woman also bears a set of spiraling horns jutting out from just above her ears that curve slightly, pointing toward the back of her head, and have the appearance of unworked stone. She appears to be lacking in body armor, wearing instead a v-necked blouse and a skirt reminiscent of a yakuza. A long wooden mace studded with iron rests on her shoulder.

Yukanjishin recognizes the creature as an oni, one of the many beasts that refused to sign the Blood Pact with mankind. Yukanjishin recalls that they should be sealed deep within the moon, and nothing short of the desire of the First Sage would have freed them. Nonetheless, Yukanjishin can see and feel the oni's presence as clear as day. A powerful killing intent radiates from it's body, and Yukanjishin notes it's gaze is directed toward the unconscious shopkeeper.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

"Well, there goes my morning."

The young man with shoulder-length, dark hair, dressed in a Konohagakure Chuunin's outfit with a sheathed katana at his waist rose out of the lotus position, his eyes scanning the forest, his nose noting the smoke that rose from the impact site. His right arm, swathed in seal-covered bandages, drifted towards the hilt of his katana.

Being interrupted in his meditation was not something Yuu appreciated. This was the time of day that he asserted his control over the arm that had come to define his life, where he could focus his will on keeping it in check.

Oh ho ho, things just got interesting. Who's trying to kill you, boyo?

Quiet, you.

Yuu debated his options. The Forest of Death was not the best terrain for running. With all the trips and traps he'd set off running blindly, he'd simply make this unknown enemy's path easier. If he took his time and worked his way around the traps, his enemy might just catch up to him. Besides, he was never that good at running.

Which left fighting. Yuu's arm gave a twitch as the notion crossed his mind. The demon wanted blood and violence. Whatever was watching him seemed to be happy to oblige. Yuu needed to make certain that none of the blood was his. He needed to prove that his training and meditation had made him stronger. He needed to defeat this enemy as quickly as he could.*

"Well? What are you doing in my forest?"

Yuu's unconscious restraints relaxed as he prepared for combat. He gripped the sheath of his father's katana with his left hand, hovering his bandaged right hand over the hilt. He spread his feet slightly wider, his weight spread evenly between his feet. He waited for the enemy he could not see.

Why are you waiting, boy?!

If I go blundering in there, he'll have the advantage. Here, I have it. With that killing intent, he'll come to me.

Yuu focused, trying to sense where his enemy's chakra was located.


HP 105/105 AC 32 CP 61/65
Initiative- [roll0]
Actions-
Free Actions- releasing Speed and Strength ranks- 3 each. (Round 1/5)
Swift Action- entering Battoujutsu Stance (Kenjutsu: Dachi - Battoujutsu) DC 24- [roll1]- 4 Chakra
Attack Action- Concentrate to Sense Chakra
Readied Action- Move Action- If someone or something comes within 30 feet of Yuu, he'll move 20 feet to the left, or the rough equivalent if there's an obstacle.

*[OOC- I need to make sure my build doesn't suck!]

[Paragon Badger]

The shockwave sent the slender framed Mata toppling over onto the ground, placing the ash-nin's feet suspended in the air well above Mata's head. Ten toes wiggled around empathetically as Mata's tongue lolled out, "Ny-Nya-Nyessplosion!?" Mata jovially exclaimed.

Hesitating for a moment, the jinchuuriki had an expression of pure concentration, intently focused on... something. Then suddenly, the ash-nin was completely vertical, standing at perfect attention. "Yes, Neko-sama!" Mata said coldly with narrowed eyes, "Right away!"

First prancing about on two feet at a leisurely pace, the Nibi's host soon descended upon all four limbs and flashed out of the room, the twin braids from Mata's spikey black hair flew out behind, trailing atop a black cloak emblazened with red flames. The cat-nin picked a good shadow and lept to it, keeping a pair of orange slitted eyes wide open for any sign of the attackers.

Move Silently out of the room and hide. Since half-speed is still 30 ft, I should be able to clear it. :smallamused:
Move Silently; 10+11 (21)
Hide; 10+11 (21)

Mata Neki
Defense: 29
HP: 68
Chakra: 40 (32 Reserve)

[Valgunn]

'Doria'

Sitting at the ramen stall 'Doria' had been playing with an iron ring she had found in her place of residence rather than eating the food she had ordered. It was small, but so was the ring finger it fit around, and despite its common ore it was constructed with obvious skill. As she twirled it around her left hand she thought about her day so far, and the bag of items that sat next to her seat. The items ranged from the practical, such as food, to the flippant, a flat stone on a necklace that had a blessing carved into one face. The woman who had sold her the stone said that it kept stressful thoughts away which, she said, “must be so common in your profession”. 'Doria' had been a little confused at first, but the woman had been very helpful and pointed out that she was dressed as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village (a result of her early failed attempts to dress casually). The woman had been so enthusiastic that 'Doria' hadn't bothered to tell her that she didn't get stressed because of her job and bought the necklace anyway.

A moment before the explosion broke across her back she encompassed the iron ring firmly, but gently, in her hand. Standing up and turning around she slipped the iron ring back onto her ring finger. “An Ogre?” 'Doria' inquired in a whisper to nobody as she felt the bitter-sweet taste of nostalgia at feeling this sort of presence again. She could remember hunting them, catching them, rending their flesh, and then devouring them. Oh well, she brooded to herself. I'll have to forgo the devouring part, this human body couldn't stomach their flesh. In an instant the seals that blocked the additional flow of chakra around her body were released, the burst of chakra activity disturbed the air sending it outward in a breeze, but not for long. In the second instance she vanished from the spot leaving only an absence of air that would be filled, and a set of indented sandal prints.

The third instance: 'Doria', hidden by the intense speed of hirameku, moved herself in position to send the ogre flying down the street and away from her target, and the best part of it was that thanks to hirameki she could take the ogre by complete surprise.

OOC
Hit Points: 158/158
Chakra Pool: 80/127
Chakra Reserve: 26/26
Armour Class: 29
Ongoing Effects: Rank Three Speed (1/5), Rank Three Strength (1/5)

Initiative!
Initiative: [roll0]

Rank Three Speed!
Free Action: Release.

Rank Three Strength!
Free Action: Release.

Flicker!
Swift Action: Movement.
Chakra Cost: 5.

Tectonic Impulse, Roar of the Earth, and Earthquake Understanding! The Three Principles of the Earthquake!
Attack Action: [roll1] + [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] + [roll4]
Knockback: 16 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2723637/), times five: 80 ft.
Chakra Cost: 36.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"So what's it this time?"

Forgoing introductions, a large, toothy grin spreads across the doctor's face as he pats the head of the little girl in front of him. She mumbles an answer inaudibly while obscuring her face with her own jet hair. The middle-aged man in a white lab coat kneels down before her trying to pierce the veil of her bangs.

"Caught yourself a little hooky, haven't you? This is serious, we need to call in your mother. Should I tell her or do you want to break her heart? Oh! Cruelty is such a meanie! Mrs. Ta-mmph!"

A small hand seals his lips shut. Her hair parts to reveal large, worried eyes staring at the man and begging for his silence. Defeated, he says, "Just this once." The white-coat stands and turns his back to the girl: "I don't want to see you in here like this. Your face isn't even red with fever!" The sound of pills shaking against plastic occupies the room. Turning the pill bottle onto its side, the grey-haired man places a sticker on it with medical neologisms covering it from edge to edge.

"Don't get it into your head that these are pills. They're sugar tablets. Take'em twice in the morning and twice when you go to bed. Make sure your mom sees you, so she doesn't worry anymore," he sighs a bit, "Listen to me, Tekiya. You be a good girl and go to school. Make some friends. Yes, yes, I know you made friends with that Hibiki. He said that he can't come back and wishes to see you, but he wants you to make new friends. He said that's the best cure to school." The doctor sees his tiny patient out and watches her walk hand-in-hand with her mother; the man can't help but sigh.

"Doctor, your fourth appointment cancelled," a nurse says, dragging him out from his lull.

"Oh. Cool...What's the time?"

She raises an eyebrow: "A quarter 'til."

"Kuso."

__________________

A listless gaze is Hibiki's only response to Uchiha Naname's hand on his shoulder and her pointing at Sasuke. Did he understand the processional—leaning towards ritualistic—gestures and speech acts, or was he not interested?

__________________

As the stall door creaks open, the familiar grey-haired doctor grunts a little. The force required to hold the door back from shutting on him was hard enough without the hog-tied body hanging on its metal coat-hanger. A happy-go-lucky Hibiki sits on toilet leafing through a magazine, Perspective.

"Some great stuff in here."

"I guess I'll soon find out. I swore your time would be up."

"Can you wait a sec? I don't want to leave just yet. I want to actually know this before I go. Heh...Makes you think about those out there, doesn't it?"

The grey-haired man listened as Hibiki read out the final lines of Perspective before the distinguishable puff sounded. A second pop bursts into existence. Another crazed chuunin sits on the porcelain seat.

"Same job. Make sure Doc here doesn't wake up. If he does, give him a few of these." The middle-aged physician picks up an orange pill bottle off the ground and hands it to the clone. "I'll be back later."

Once the stall door shut due to the doctor's departure, as if on cue, the restrained man dangling on the coat hook rammed his torso back and forth trying to wiggle for help. His familiar grey hair hangs loosely in his face; he is blindfolded, but one could assume by how the middle-aged folds above his cheeks dropped that he was afraid of what was coming next. His taped up mouth couldn't even utter a noise louder than the noise of pills tumbling inside a plastic container.

"Trust me," the Kage Bunshin says trying to muffle his voice, "I just want to see a few friends here, that's all. Just this once."

"Does anyone have the time?"

A passer-by answers, "Twenty after."

"I'm late!"

__________________

Discuss that matter, she says. What matter? Hibiki glances at the elderly Uchiha; at least he was trying to feign interest. A jolt startles the chuunin for less than a second. It's surprise. His pupils retract.

__________________

"I got sixes!"

"Rei, that's a nine on the table."

"Sorry, doc."

"Well I got nines then!"

"But you have sixes."

"Then who has the nines?"

"I do."

Grey-haired lays his hand on the table guiltily. Playing cards in the Psyche warden always felt this way, but his companions would forget their utter defeat within minutes. Their memory may be ephemeral, but their bodies were fixable. Their moods even more-so.

"Ya know? You're the first doctor to play with us like this."

"Second, Li, he's the second."

"How the hell would you know? You don't even know what time it is."

These were the people Hibiki felt comfortable with. Even if he'd cancel the disguise he was using, they wouldn't recognize him; however, it was their very lack of understanding that formed the empathic link the crazed chuunin felt for them. No one knows of the struggle they face unbeknownst to even themselves; it was only by miracle and idiocy that the former Ash-nin found a stable way to conquer his illness. Such a miracle reinforced his belief that he could also heal those with similar psychoses. Yes, with a day he could; no, an hour he could fix them and all their ailments; maybe in a few minutes some new formula would rush through the very doors and he'd have cure for everything and everyone. All he needed was one more hour of this game.

"Of course I know the time! It's noon."

Before grey-haired/Hibiki/whoever had a chance to snap his head up at that answer, his body had already popped out of existence. Leaving a cloud of smoke dissipating quickly to reveal three hapless patients laughing, clapping, and smiling at such a trick. Little did they know that the final remnants of smoke and those final waves of sound were the experiences and desires of another life lost.

__________________


Hibiki normalizes from that brief second of surprise. Without time to mull upon his previous experiences, he needed to respond fast to the situation at hand. He had an Uchiha in front of him either goading or testing him out; humans all over had their games of ambiguity, and this was one of them. No one ever came out with a straightforward question or action in this world. Always, they "could mean this or that" and it was always "hard to tell" what they truly meant. Didn't matter much. Hibiki knew how to match such indistinctness: he straightened his posture and returned Naname's stare with his own. The crazed chuunin felt bored beyond belief, but his crimson eyes told the others a different story.

Quit the dancing around and get to your point; you're on my time now.

[ZeroNumerous]

Nagase Yuu

The acrid smell of smoke greets Yuu's nose. Time passes while the boy stands posed and ready to strike. At first a heartbeat, then another, and another until Yuu feels the overwhelming presence of bloodlust fade. It moves away, but Yuu cannot discern which direction it moves in. A quick survey of the area reveals a meteor had impacted extremely close, and that the meteor had split open upon impact without exploding into shrapnel. The black husk of rock, large enough to fit a child inside, is entirely hollow within. It seems like whatever had been in the area had been inside the meteor. Yuu's immediate surrounds are mostly smoldering brush, with a few weak and dying fires scattered around the impact sight. A glance upward reveals the rain of meteors continues, and the sky has shifted from a morning blue to a pale crimson.

Spot/Listen, please

Doria

Doria's punch strikes true, and her oni prey is struck by the full hammer-like force. The oni's body goes flying backwards through the ruined structure, across the street and plows into a tiny clothing shop. A loud crack echoes through the air and that tiny clothing shop collapses on top of the oni's body and anyone else inside.

With an unobstructed view of the outside world, Doria is able to see burning meteors falling from the heavens. A feeling stirs within Doria's heart. A burning, human-like passion she had not felt since humans had been nothing but food and toys. For just a brief moment, the red sky takes on a strange circular pattern, and part of her calls for Yukanjishin to take her rightful place above mankind once more.

While Doria wrestles with her inner conflict, an outer conflict makes itself known. The ninja quickly discovers that the meteors carry dangerous cargo when a meteor slams into a nearby shop, cracks open and four wretched oni climb out of it's depths. The creatures are much weaker than the soldier Doria just dispatched, and are much more easily dealt with. However, their appearance proves that something is wrong and innocent people may be in grave danger.

Yukan's Will Save vs Seihagan: 20+9=29 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2725708/). Success.

Skipping the battle with mooks, because they're mooks.

Hibiki

Wrinkled lips part to speak, but the aged Uchiha's words are cut short by the ground violently shaking and the sound of a massive explosion nearby. Looking up, the quartet spot the meteor shower and immediately deduce that the explosion had been caused by a meteor strike. Naname stands up, still bent and gnarled like an ancient root, and begins to shuffle inside. She starts barking orders even before she's gotten to her feet. "Sasuke. Get to the HQ. Start organizing fire control and assess the damage caused to Konoha. I'll make sure the elders get out ok. Rin." That withered face gives Rin a harsh glare. "There will be injuries to treat."

Sasuke and Naname quickly vacate the scene, the first off to organize the police force and the second off to secure her clan's leadership. Rin immediately departs toward the hospital, and Hibiki is left on his own to decide his course of action.

Mata Neki

The explosion seems to have had the opposite effect one would expect. Instead of running away from the source like normal human beings with a sense of self-preservation, the many leaf ninja inside the building are running toward it: Specifically to the office of the Hokage. Getting out of the room is easy, and in fact it's as easy as opening a door and stepping outside. Once outside, Mata soon spots a sizable crowd of leaf-nin in a mad rush toward the stairwell. Mata can hear the sound of fire up above as well as the sounds of armed conflict between ninja and some other force. Whatever's going on up there is obviously big, and anyone would be foolish to just stand around waiting for it to end.

[Rogue 7]

The demon in Yuu's arm exults at the destruction raining down upon the village.

Fire, brimstone, and chaos. Wonderful! Wonderful! This is the time, boyo. Time to kill, time to bleed! Hahahaha!

Yuu suppresses the noise. His year of training had rendered the voice down to nothing more than a small irritation. He searches around for what had come out of that meteor*, still trying to sense the presence of chakra in his foe.


spot-[roll0]
Listen- [roll1]
Continuing to concentrate to sense chakra, remaining in stance with strength and speed ranks active- rd. 2/5.

Moving towards the meteor.


*OOC: Superman? Is that you?

[ZeroNumerous]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu's sensing abilities, though not as adept as a full sensor-type ninja, are still enough to detect almost every variety of ninja no matter how hard they try to hide. He is utterly unable, however, to detect anything about his foe. He detects neither the presence of it's chakra nor it's chakra signature.

[Paragon Badger]

"Hmm!~" Mata cooed, "Looks like there's nothing hyah."

Peering out a nearby window, Mata put one foot on the edge... and then another. Summoning some reserves, the cat-nin prepared for flight...

"No sense in waiting around." The ash-nin made a few handseals, the tora, the dragon, and the tora again. A moment later, flames erupted around Mata's soles and the jinchuuriki was propelled into the air like a rocket. A very tiny... cat-like rocket. Indeed, the shinobi's body was dwarfed by the rather large exhaust produced from Mata's heels.

"YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOWWW!"

Move to a window and pull 3 chakra from reserves... Use a Full-round action, using Tobiendan no Jutsu to fly towards the Hokage's residence... straight into the office, if possible. :smallwink: 240 feet movement. If Mata can't make it in one bound, rinse and repeat.

-3 Chakra. 37/40.

Chakra Control check for reserves, move action with handseal. [roll0]
DC: 8

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

As the ground rumbles beneath his feet, Hibiki opens his arms slightly to keep his balance. Once the leaf-nin checked the sky above, he frantically leapt to the ground and covered his head; he was the only one to show some fear about the sky raining death upon them. After a few moments when the world didn't seem like it was ending, the crazed ninja lifted his head from the ground and looked around. Everyone had left him.

"Typical!"

Hibiki sighs a bit and reaches into the back of his navy dress shirt (Rin forced him out of his grey jumpsuit a long time ago, and ever since Hibiki has complained about the tightness of regular clothing). "To top it off, she makes me dress up for Babaa-sama! Now where is it...Ah!" Out of from the collar comes a long, slender scroll. "And she said there wouldn't be any fights here."

A quick wave and the scroll unravels mid-air, a wave of parchment floating towards the ground. "Summon!" White clouds fill Hibiki's vicinity enveloping his entire body and obscuring it from view. Out from the haze comes a chuunin in a mishmash of clothing: black dress pants with a kunai holder attached to the left pant leg, a dark blue dress shirt all in wrinkles due to a battered up battle vest over it, strapped onto the back are six separate scrolls adding unnecessary weight to the ninja's load. Hibiki works hard to unbutton the top of his shirt.

After making sure everything was secured, the ninja rubs his right hand onto the backside of his left gauntlet where a translucent gem sparkled slightly. "Hibiki's Miracle Squad!"

Twelve clones appear from the thin air on each side of the crazed chuunin everyone of them with their own unique pose. Hibiki scolds some for their lousy performance and barks out, "Okay! It seems like those meteors hit nearby, we need to provide immediate aid to anyone injured. I want all of you to pick up the wounded and run straight to the hospital. I'll be providing emergency care to the critical. Alright? Disperse!"

The brigade of Hibikis runs straight into disaster.

OOC
Hit Points: 143/143
Chakra Pool: 102/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 28
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation (an hour)

Sealing Technique: Minor Storage Seal!
A Couple of Move Actions: Release combat gear.

Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation!
Full-Round Action: Create 24 handsome loonies.
Chakra Cost: 48 - 20 (Chakra Storing Gem) = 28.

Workmen
Hit Points: 1/1
Chakra Pool: 1/1
Armour Class: 12

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu looks slightly confused. With the amount of bloodlust he had sensed, Yuu was certain that whatever it was would attack him straight off. But it had vanished, and didn't have chakra. And, more importantly, came from a meteor. Of which there were currently many more raining down upon his village.

Well, that wasn't a good thing.

Yuu kept to his stance, ready at an instant to draw his sword as he controlled the strength flowing through his veins- he needed speed now.

Yuu took off, leaping for the village. He didn't have a superior to report to or a team to meet up with, so he thought he'd go do what he can. Unfortunately, the nature of the forest slowed him down a bit. He'd be no help to anyone if his leg got blown off in a trap.


Repressing strength ranks back down to zero, keeping speed ranks up and moving as fast as possible while keeping eyes open for traps.
Speed- 55 ft/round
spot-[roll0]
listen-[roll1]
Sense chakra active for [roll2] rounds.

[Valgunn]

Doria

With a light slap Doria landed back down on the ground without fanfare. “Cheh,” she scoffed scornfully at the quick resolution, and then, for a moment, she saw the many humans about her and thought what good sport hunting them down would be. Doria was already shifting her body and spirit to start that hunt when her mind cleared as her strong will reasserted her control over the instincts imparted by her chakra. Closing her eyes for a moment she centred herself and in that moment she realized that what had happened wasn't a natural impulse from her spiritual side, and that made her very, very angry. Her emotions had been manipulated by a technique, one that targeted the restrained primordial chakra of sealed summons.

Turning around once, then twice she tried to find the source of the technique that had manipulated her emotions, but her rage didn't find that outlet. Instead she found four oni. “Good enough,” she growled as the earth beneath her feet blackened and cracked as she tightened a spring of her chakra in her legs.

In a single leap she reached the first oni and clamped her hand down on his face, but she hadn't expended all of her momentum. Before he realized what was happening she had passed over his head and dragged him up into the air above her with a spin. Time slows as the oni who is facing back at his comrades who are only just now contorting their faces slowly into a mask of anger is dragged back down to earth with a boom.

By now the other three oni, still much alive unlike their squashed brother, were charging at Doria's back. The first one swung his weapon straight down toward her head, but she dodged nimbly to his left. The second and third both attacked as one from opposite sides trying to cut off her escape. Instead she rolled forward just at the full extension of their swing, just a gnat's wing from crushing her head, and grabbed their ankles as she rolled to halt her momentum, their weapons smashing together with a clunk.

The first had lifted his weapon back up and was again trying a straight down attack on her as she lay on her back, steadied by her firm grip on the ankles of his still reeling brothers. With yet another show of nimbleness she extended herself like a striking snake and grabbed his head between them. With a firm grip she lifted him bodily up, then over her and his brothers, and finally planted his head into firm Konoha conrcete with a krak. Positioning her feet on either side of the dead oni she had just planted she lifted herself up and dragged the two oni, who had only just gotten their wits back together, up into the air as she began spinning around.

Around and around they went, each pass they smacked into the limp body of their budding brother. Faster and faster until one after the other she launched them up into the sky to come crashing down somewhere else.

Staring at the Oni Tree she had planted she gave its ass a quick kick as she resealed the burst dam of chakra inside her body, and opened her mind to the flows of chakra outside her body. Of course now Doria wanted to go kill more oni, get the blood pumping, y'know? But no, she could still remember having her chakra turned against her and that feelings that it brought up, and the honour that had helped her stop from breaking her word. So, instead of hunting oni (or humans, well, or/and really), she began to do what she thought was correct in this situation: protect the Hokage – and it doesn't hurt that the Hokage is one of only three people who know about her condition.

OOC
Hit Points: 158/158
Chakra Pool: 74/127
Chakra Reserve: 26/26
Armour Class: 26
Ongoing Effects:

Sense Chakra!
Swift Action: Manifest Sense Chakra

[ZeroNumerous]

Mata Neki

A leap and a prayer is all the jinchuriki goes on, and sure enough it's all she needs. A quick dash up from the second floor to the fifth-floor-turned-roof reveals a scene of utter devastation. The Hokage's residence is almost entirely gone as the walls and roof have been completely destroyed. A woman stands in the center of the devastation with arms folded over her chest. She seems to be wearing a Konoha uniform in darker green than normal. A simple fluffy green hat with a golden star bearing the kanji for Luck is the only deviation from her otherwise standard uniform. She wears no visible headband. Beneath that woman lies a charred body that Mata cannot recognize, and behind her stands a well-toned human male bearing curving ivory-colored horns sticking out from his hair. The man wears a strange yellow-and-black striped ninja uniform and a headband bearing an unknown village symbol (http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/4528/symbolwz.png).

All around the pair are tiny, twisted humanoid creatures with ashen skin bearing the same horns as the man, though their horns are sickly yellow rather than pure ivory in color. To Mata's immediate right are three Leaf-nin, one of whom Mata recognizes as the Hokage's personal maid, struggling with a horde of such creatures. Whenever they strike down a wretch, it's body dissolves into black ink then reforms moments later. They seem to be quite trapped, and will die without intervention.

When Mata finally lands, she draws the attention of both humans. The bright red-haired woman looks to her black-haired companion and speaks. "It seems we have more company. And that explosion would probably draw even more." "And you expected to kill her quietly?", the man replies, "She was the Hokage after all." He motions dismissively toward Mata. "Just get rid of her." As if on queue, the wretches to Mata's left and right start shambling toward her as the effort of carrying their tetsubo is too great for their tiny bodies to handle.

Woo. First to roll Initiative!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/MataBattle.png

Orange is Mata, Purple is the woman, Red is the man. The yellow squares are the leaf-nin and the blue squares are wretches. I'm not gonna bother numbering the wretches as they're incredibly easy to kill.

Notes: You can stand on the outer gray edge(as the walls have been destroyed), but you must make a DC 15 Balance check every round to not fall off.

Nagase Yuu

Yuu dashes toward the village, moving as quickly as trap evasion and his natural speed limit will allow him. Leaping, dodging and weaving through the Forest is troublesome, and takes Yuu longer than he expected. A minute later he discovers the giant fence surrounding the forest, and find himself outside it. Yuu's enhanced sense of smell detects blood nearby, along with the smell of soot leading toward the village. Tracking the scent is easily done, and reveals the crushed body of a leaf-nin, along with burnt grass in the shape of a series of human-like footprints.

The leaf-nin is badly burned and his lower body is crushed beyond recognition, but Yuu recognizes the dead jounin's face. His name was Saneda Kenichi, and he had went on two missions with Yuu into the Stone Country. The dead man had a photo of his wife and kids that he wouldn't stop showing everyone the team had met. Yuu recognizes the smell on his clothes as the same smell from whatever had been in that meteor.

Strangely, Yuu feels strange when he passes out of the Forest and into Konohagakure's outskirts. Looking around he notices that the sky has turned red, and a haze of red has descended across the landscape. His arm burns very strongly, and the demon within is incited into a frenzied bloodlust that Yuu has never seen before. Luckily he is able to suppress it's attempts to break free. Looking up, Yuu's chakra enhanced sight sees something very disturbing...

Will Save versus Seihagan: 9+7=16 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2730745/). Success.

Hibiki

The Hibiki squad moves toward the various impact sites around the estate and the city proper. Most are empty, as no one could survive a direct hit and any survivors would have been moved long before the slow clones arrive. Clones discover and save a handful of civilians, but soon discover the streets are much more dangerous than expected. Tiny wretched humanoids are pouncing and killing civilians, while shinobi do their best to protect survivors they're simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies. The wretches pose little to no threat to even genin-level shinobi, but they're easily able to overwhelm and slay civilians lacking in ninja training.

Hibiki soon discovers that eight of his workmen are the only survivors to successfully make it to a hospital with their charges alive.

Unfortunately Hibiki soon finds himself the victim of a direct meteor strike. Luckily, Hibiki's ninja training allows him to get away from the impact before he's crushed. The meteor strike damages the garden's outer wall, and soon the rock splits open and out crawls a disgusting creature. It's entire body is covered in chitinous armor with razor sharp spines jutting from the plates. It's head looks like a pair of human skulls fused together at the cheeks, while it's four big human-like eyes are bloated and bloodshot. Twin jaws clench, snap and grind as it stretches it's four long, spindly limbs out. It's body seems to be composed of three human torsos fused end on end, with four triple-jointed limbs sticking out from what-would-be arm sockets. Four-fingered hands are tipped with razor-sharp finger nails, and it sports a fifth limb that curves upwards like a scorpion's tail.

The creature raises it's thick grotesque neck and lets loose a screech that could be favorably compared against nails on a chalkboard. Those four bloated eyes turn on Hibiki, and two tongues stick out of it's twin slavering mouths. It clearly sees the crazed leaf-nin as a meal.

Roll initiative.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/HibikiAttack.png

Dark Gray are walls. Only about seven feet high. The creature is orange, the brown is Difficult Terrain due to the crater and the remains of the meteor. Light blue is a small pond and Hibiki is purple.

Doria

Yukan easily dispatches her oni attackers, saving the one surviving child still trapped within the smashed storefront. The boy is able to crawl free, and soon a genin arrives to guide him to safety. Looking around, Yukan sees the devastation wrought both by the meteors and their cargo. Black acrid smoke fills the air, and many streets are turned red by dancing flames and spilled blood. She hears the sounds of fighting nearby, and can safely assume that other shinobi are around to handle the problem. Yukan notes that her chakra sight does not pick up, nor pick out, the oni bodies she has just destroyed. In fact, the only chakra in or around them is the residue of her own.

Looking around, Yukan sees something strange. For a moment, her perception of the sky is the same red-tinted mass that anyone inside Konohagakure saw. But after activating her chakra-enhanced sight, she sees something quite disturbing...

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

"Well, sh*t"

Yuu was trying very hard to suppress his emotions and remain calm. The demon in his arm was shrieking and raging like nothing he had ever felt before. He couldn't tell if it was anger, hatred, fear, or simply a burning lust for battle.

But it was difficult. Yuu had not been very personable to the late jounin on their missions- he was too focused on gaining control over his arm. But the man had a family, and from what Yuu remembered, was a brave and loyal shinobi of Konoha. The brash youth that Yuu had had to work just as hard to suppress as his demonic arm was calling for revenge and for blood. It was extraordinarily difficult for Yuu's conscious mind to ignore those two impulses and not descend into a mindless rage.

But nor could this be borne. Hostiles were attacking his village, on a scale that appeared to rival the attack during the Akatsuki Crisis. It was his duty as a shinobi of the village to respond to this threat, eliminate all hostiles, and protect the citizens of the village.

Yuu continued at top speed, following the footprints burned into the grass. Here was the closest and most obvious threat. It would be dealt with.

[ZeroNumerous]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu dashes after the footprints, finding himself facing the broad shoulders and strong back of a human. He's very muscular, dark-skinned and wearing a tattered black martial arts gi. A wild chaotic aura of bloodlust spills out from him. That aura lashes out and batters everything nearby with his killing intent, and Yuu gets the same feeling he had in the Forest. The man's matted red hair flies out in all directions, and seems to have been cut by the man himself. A pair of sandals fit his feet, which sear and burn the grass that he walks upon. Once Yuu gets closer he feels the same demonic aura that his arm contains pouring outward from the monster before him.

Initiative.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/YuuFight.png?t=1287536035

Yuu's blue, the man is red, dark green are ten-foot-tall trees that can be walked under or jumped on.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu has to fight to keep his arm under control as he stares at the back of this...man. The thing before him was clearly not human, and had obviously killed a jounin. There was no time for mercy or warning. It was all he could do to keep from screaming out a warcry as he dashed forward, his bandage-wrapped arm almost visibly throbbing as it gripped the handle of his sword, building up the energy for the attack.

As he comes into range of the broad back in front of him, Yuu rips his sword from his sheath at such a speed that those untrained would be unable to see the movement- it would appear as though his hand simply blurred for a second, remaining in place.

The sword strike was aimed at the demon's limb, attempting to cripple it.


Initiative- [roll0]
AC 32 (30 until next turn) HP 105/105 CP 50/65

Speed Rank 3- Round 1/5
Strength Rank 3- Round 1/5

Battoujutsu Stance- Kawarimi Defense 1

Kenjutsu Ougi- Zankenteki!(Hand Cutter)-DC 18 [roll1]
Attack- [roll2]
Damage- [roll3]+[roll4]. Fortitude Save DC 24 to avoid [roll5] points of dexterity damage.

Sword is returned to the sheath as a free action.

[Paragon Badger]

Turning to regard the monsters in each direction, Mata let out an irritated cry, "Hrmph! Think you can just ignore me, ny-nyeah!? I...I hate hate HATE you already!" and ran a few feet before launching into the air, although it was not quite as high as the ash-nin had hoped... 'Tsk! Neko-sama! Your chakra's interfering with my techniques again!' The jinchuuriki thought flying upwards into the air, then again... conservation and control was never the host's strength.

Mata inhaled deeply, orange eyes flashing wide to regard the situation. If the Konoha ninja weren't able to fend for themselves, they were already dead. The ash-nin's chest heaved up and out as handseal after handseal flashed at the jinchuuriki's stomach.

"Hidama no Jutsu...!" Mata growled inbetween clenched canine teeth before letting loose a fireball from the shinobi's mouth, and one distinctly blue from the Nibi's demonic influence...

Swift: Chouyaku no Jutsu! FAIL. Tenketsu interference noted in the OOC thread! Incomplete Pass! -1 Chakra.

Running High Jump... untrained. :smalleek:
+12 Speed, +3 Strength
[roll0]

DC: ...Um. I would guess 10 feet which is DC 22, but it's your call.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c287/Innocentemo/THEGOGGLESDONOTHING.jpg

Before Chakra; 39/40 (28/32 Reserve) [12 Temporary]

Widened Hidama No Jutsu
Effective Character Level: 15
Fire Damage: [roll1]
Sonic Damage: [roll2]
Reflex Save for Half: DC 20
Chakra; -10 Base, -6 Widen Technique

HP: 68/68
Tenketsu Damage: 37
After Chakra: 35/40 (28/32 Reserve)
Speed Rank 4: Supressed.

Also... At first I went through painstaking detail to spare the friendlies from the friendly fire... but then I remember what my allegiances were. I might very well have toasted someone helpful, too. <_<

But if they weren't described in detail, they aren't important! ^.^

[ZeroNumerous]

Nagasu Yuu

The man is struck as Yuu takes him by surprise. His blade sinks into flesh, but the wound feels superficial to Yuu. It seems as if the man's body had somehow resisted the sword's edge and repelled it, rather than simply be cleaved in twain like any normal human would have been. Regardless, the attack garners the attention of it's victim, and the man turns around to show Yuu a face that could cut stone. His hawk-like nose has been broken many times before, his jaw is hard and his cheeks are like the peaks of mountains. A pure red eye, lacking either pupil or sclera, turns to stare down at the boy and his sword. Yuu notices that the man's blood causes the grass to shizzle and burn where it falls.

It says nothing, but the sudden movement of it's fist is all the words it needs to speak.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/YuuFight-1.png?t=1287583052
Non-Action: Yuu takes 1d6=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2732201/) Fire damage for hitting the creature.
Swift Action: Enter Kensoku: Iaisouken stance. Perform: Automatic.
Attack Action: Dai Shoryuken. Perform check: Automatic. Convert 5 attack into 5 damage via Power Attack.
Dai Shoryuken Attack Roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2732195/): 14+33-7=40.
Damage Roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2732196/): 2d6+16+4d8+2d4=51. Yuu needs a Massive Damage Save(Fortitude DC 15) or be reduced to -1. Yuu also needs another Fortitude Save(DC 28) or be stunned for 1 round. Finally, Yuu needs a third Fortitude Save(DC 22) or be dazed for 1 round.

Mata Neki

A wave of fire from the cat-like ninja obliterates all the wretches. The missing-nin, however, is able to dodge the flames with ease. His leaf-nin companion simply stands there, as if the fire presented no threat or danger to her in the slightest. The other leaf-nin, whom Mata would have called allies, are cooked alive by her technique. Their burnt flesh joins the mass of black ink that the wretched humanoids dissolve into. A scant few seconds later, the horde of tiny wretches are humanoid once more and shambling toward Mata. She soon finds herself surrounded on three sides by creatures with disgusting gray flesh pockmarked by sores and oozing puss.

The man turns to his companion. "I bet she lives for one minute." "Cheh", the leaf-nin scoffs at the bet, "You said that about the last two, and they lasted thirty seconds."

Initiative:
Mysterious Male Nin - 22
Mata Neki - 14
Mysterious Female Nin - 13
Wretches - 1

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/MataBattle-1.png?t=1287583403

Mysterious Male Nin's Reflex Save (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2732209/): 10+13=23. Evasion means he takes no damage.
Mysterious Female Nin: Makes no reflex save and takes no damage due to Fire Resistance 30.
Wretches (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2732218/): 7+1=8. Failed. Wretches are killed.
Allies: Not gonna attempt a save, because they were low enough on HP to be one-shotted even on a successful save.

Mysterious Nin(Male and Female): Take no actions.
Wretches: Move action-Reconstitute. Standard Action-Move closer.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

Only by reaction did the crazed leaf-nin manage to clear the colliding meteorite's pathway; his attention focused mainly on happenings and experiences elsewhere. Across the block he was failing and letting victims die in the streets from some unknown attacker, some group that threatened the village he finally felt at home in. Hibiki turns his head to meet such an intruder and finds something beyond comprehension.

"Aliens!"

The chuunin's eyes go blank in fear of the triple-torsoed monstrosity in front of him; all he could manage to do was take a step back from it. "Of all the things...it had to be aliens!" His fear only intensified as he looked up at the red sky bleeding with similar astral bodies of rock and fire. "And a lot of them too..."

As the unidentifiable creature gnashed its teeth together and motioned its way out of its stellar vehicle, Hibiki crossed both his middle and pointer fingers perpendicularly into his trademark T-shape: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three shadow clones popped into existence forming a corporeal wall between the creature with one behind the "alien". Somewhere in the back of Hibiki's mind, a deep-seated amalgamation of fear and hatred welled up into the forefront of the ninja's entire being. The creature that stood in front of him was an abomination, something he had to put down fast, but first he needed to know what it could do. "Okay, Martian, I'm going to kick your butt and all of your friends' back to the planet you came from!"

Given no time to breathe, the bunshins drew their weapons two in the front drew their own kunai while the others channeled their own shared chakra to their fingertips. All four attacked simultaneously as the original stood away from the action observing.

OOC
Hit Points: 137/143
Chakra Pool: 94/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 28
Meta-Chakra Charges: 3/4
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (1/660)

Fearful Backing Up!
Free Action: Five-foot step to (9,13).

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!
Full-Round Action: Create four Kage Bunshins with One-Man Army at (11,9), (12,9), (13,9), and (12,5)
Meta-Chakra Cost: 1
Chakra Cost: 8.
Damage Taken: [roll0]

Kage Bunshins 1-4
Hit Points: 3/3
Armour Class: 20

[The Unborne]

Forgotten OOC:

Damage Taken: [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

Both kunai strike it's hard skin and bounce off. Both chakra scalpels strike, dealing a minor amount of damage to the creature. The pin-pricks seem to engage the beast, and it haphazardly rushes at Hibiki. It's powerful limbs crush and scatter the fake Hibikis, trampling over them as it rushes toward it's prey. A screeching roar rips free from it's throat and the creature tries to slam it's foot down on Hibiki's head. Luckily the crazed genin is able to dodge out of the way in time.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/HibikiAttack-1.png?t=1287640015

Initiative:
Hibiki(9)
Creature(1)

It Charges Hibiki, moving through the clones and trampling them for 25 damage (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2733132/), with a Reflex Save(DC 26 for half). Alternatively, the clones can forgo the reflex save to make AoOs at a -4 penalty.

Slam Attack Roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2733141/): 3+24=27. Miss.

EDIT: Almost forgot, but the surviving Clone gets an AoO as well.

[Paragon Badger]

"One minute?" Mata cried indignantly, "Wh- aagh! Neko-sama? Owowowowowowowoww!! Okay, I'm sorry!"
Clutching the ash-nin's head with each hand, Mata winced and whined. A moment later, with a growl and a pair of sandals alternatingly stomping on the ground, the jinchuuriki submitted, "Alright, alright! I'm sorry for putting you in danger, Neko-Samaaaa!"

The jinchuuriki hopped away from the nearby monsters and regarded the pair warily, 'So... they're tough, but they don't seem too interested in wasting their chakra on me. They're right... Konoha shinobi will be swarming this place soon, so if I'm patient...'

Mata made some hand seals, drawing more chakra and then crouched low as a sheet of flame erupted around the shinobi's body and then suddenly dissapeared, leaving only a distortion of heat waves in the area.

Free: Five-foot step to 11,5 on the wall. Take 10+16 on Balance.
Move: Chakra Control to Tap Reserves with handseals; 5 chakra, DC: 10
[roll0] Yargh.
Attack: Kyuukyoku Enkoudate!

If unhindered for a round (even if the wretches' attacks fail.) take a full-round action to look around and see what's going on outside of the hokage's residence. IE: If help is coming. :smalltongue: Spot; [roll1]

HP: 68/68
AC: 33 (+1 Dodge vs. Male)
Chakra: 27/40 (28/32 Reserve)
Speed Rank 4: Supressed.
Kyuukyoku Enkoudate; 13 rounds remaining.

[ZeroNumerous]

Mata Neki

Looking around, Mata finds herself almost entirely alone. The streets are still crawling with very large humanoid figures. Most are hunched over and sporting very large horns, but a scant few are smaller in shape and matching much more closely with a regular human. Regardless of their appearance, Mata can tell that they are not leaf-nin. From her vantage point on the newly-created roof, Mata can see that the streets are rapidly being overrun by the constant rain of reinforcements from those meteors. Several shinobi are fighting losing battles against an overwhelming number of these monsters.

The wretches move closer and two of them step onto the wall with Mata. Those two slip, slide and ultimately plummet off the edge. Mata can see them splatter into ink then reform at the street level. Three wretches that can reach Mata clumsily swing their tetsubo at her legs.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/MataBattle-2.png?t=1287677937

Rounds remaining: 8

Initiative: Doesn't change.

Male shinobi: Take no actions
Female Shinobi: Take no actions
Wretches: Move action: Move closer.

12,6; 13,6; and 14,6 make melee attacks.

Attack rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2733616/): 26, 25 and 22. All of which miss.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

The creature was even more uglier up close. It's familiar yet grotesque appendage dropped swiftly and hard into the solid ground. Hibiki managed to bend away from the attack dodging it by a hair's length; he followed the momentum of his dodge by doing a back handspring to create more distance between him and the abomination. Landing in a crouched position, the crazed chuunin glared at the creature's face; well, he tried to when he realized it had more than one to its aggregate physiognomy.

With a large inhale of air, Hibiki's ribs began to crack as his lungs expanded due to the law defying amount of gas and chakra stored inside. "Renku-" the ninja managed to say with only a small amount of chakra-infused breath escaping his mouth, "DAN!" All at once, his lungs shot out the air out as a compressed air bullet aimed out of the way of both the creature and Hibiki. Once the technique hit ground, however, it erupted into a large burst of destructive power consuming most of the alien invader.

Off to the side, the lone shadow clone sidestepped sneakily through the rubble trying to vie for a good vantage spot of the ensuing battle.

OOC
Hit Points: 137/143
Chakra Pool: 81/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 33
Meta-Chakra Charges: 3/4
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (2/660); Speed Rank 3 (1/5)

Back Handspring!
Free Action: Five-foot step to (8,14).

Speed Rank 3!
Free Action: Release Speed Ranks.
Chakra Cost: 3.

Renku Dan!
Perform Defensively (Concentration DC 17): 1d20+14=22 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2733751/)
Attack Action: Target (6,10).
Damage: [roll0] Wind Damage.
Reflex Save: DC 21 to halve.
Chakra Cost: 10.

Kage Bunshin
Hit Points: 3/3
Armour: 20

Shimmy Around!
Move Action: Move to (8,6)

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

The two clones armed with chakra scalpels successfully strike and harm the creature shortly before one of them is trampled. The other two clones are simply trampled. The creature rears up on it's stout and gnarled hind legs. A roar tears through the sky, and it moves it's front feet to stomp on the crazed leaf ninja. Just then Hibiki's blast of air washes over the beast, but it doesn't seem phased. Hibiki intuitively understands that his chakra mixing with the air has somehow been nullified. The beast stomps down toward Hibiki, but it's feet find nothing but cool cement.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/HibikiAttack-3.png?t=1287698037

Hibiki's Level Check vs Chakra Resistance (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2733908/): 2+11=13. Failed.
Damage Dealt: 10

Slam Attack #1 and #2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2733923/): 22 and 29, both miss.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu blurred, disappearing from view as his opponent's fist arced towards his head. He reappeared an instant later several feet behind his foe, had still gripping the hilt of his sword. Were it not for his sudden displacement, he would not have appeared to move at all.

Yuu spun rapidly, dashing at his target's again exposed back and violently ripping his sword from its sheath, aiming to more seriously damage his target's limbs this time.

His arm continued throbbing as Yuu attempted to cut down the abomination standing before him. The demon roared incoherently in his mind, and Yuu had neither the time nor the inclination to figure out what it meant.


HP 99/105 AC 32(30) CP 37/65

Speed Rank 3- Round 2/5
Strength Rank 3- Round 2/5

Battoujutsu Stance- Kawarimi Defense 1

Shundo- (1d20+33)- 47 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2734684/)

Appear 40 feet behind the foe, charge again!


Kenjutsu Ougi- Zankenteki!(Hand Cutter)-DC 18 [roll0]
Attack- [roll1] Edit: Action point! +1d6=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2734696/)=39
Damage- [roll2]+[roll3]. Fortitude Save DC 22 to avoid [roll4] points of dexterity damage.

Sword is now drawn.

[ZeroNumerous]

Nagase Yuu

Once again Yuu strikes true with his sword, and once again he feels as if he has only done superficial wounds to the creature. The wound seems to be a deep injury to the spine that would ruin a normal human being, but the creature does not seem phased in the slightest by it. In fact, Yuu notices that his first slash is now entirely gone and replaced with scar tissue. Yuu can definitely see his sword is leaving no lasting damage.

Something shifts within the creature, not physically but spiritually. Yuu can no longer detect the wild and all encompassing bloodlust, but suddenly feels as if his chest has already been pierced by the creature's desire to slay him. Unknown to Yuu, it's mind has shifted toward slaying him in the most brutal manner possibility.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/YuuFight-2.png?t=1287775942

Non-action: Yuu takes 1d6=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2734897/) fire damage from striking it. Creature releases it's Speed and Strength ranks(5)
Swift action: Enter Taijutsu: Hiken Dachi - Taimetsu Daichi stance. Perform: Automatic.
Standard: Kensoku: Shin Iaiken. Perform: Automatic.
Shin Iaiken Attack Roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2734904/): 9+37=46
Shin Iaiken Damage Roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2734919/): 2d6+12+6d6=42. I forgot Strength Ranks in that, so Yuu gets to ignore that extra bit of damage.
Notes: Yuu will need a Fortitude Save(DC 28) or be knocked back 1d6=1x5=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2734920/) feet and be dazed for 1 round.

[Valgunn]

Doria

Looking up into the sky and seeing the terrible sight she saw, and feeling the oppressive feeling that she felt, Yukanjishin couldn't help her feelings. The sky above her was filled with a burning eye surrounded by the Eight Trigrams Seal, and from the sky itself radiated the evil chakra of a demon. Yukanjishin was worried, but that just made all the more important to reach the Hokage.

OOC
Hit Points: 158/158
Chakra Pool: 74/127
Chakra Reserve: 26/26
Armour Class: 26
Ongoing Effects: None

[ZeroNumerous]

Doria

Traveling through the oni-choked streets is an easy, if time-consuming, task. Yukan's obligations require her to stop and assist the citizenry of Konohagakure, and she successfully saves very odd people: From grateful gift shop owners to a strangely quiet blond-haired ninja carrying an old man on his back. Yukan effortlessly demolishes most of the enemies on the way toward the ruined, smoking tower that is the central government building. Unfortunately her advance is halted by a thunderous crash and the heave of the earth. A building to her left shatters and the fragments convert into shrapnel as something causes it to explode. Yukan's mind replays the last few moments, and she recalls a bright red streak flaring in her peripheral vision. The woman rightly assumes a meteor strike just hit nearby.

Looking around, Yukan quickly discovers that she's not alone in the ruined streets of Konohagakure. The bodies of innocent villagers and murderous oni lay strewn about the war-torn causeway, but they are not what keeps Yukan company. A pile of bodies, of ninja and humans and oni, sits forty feet ahead of Yukan. A top this corpse pile sits a teenage girl bearing spiraling horns sticking out of her head in a wide open V-shape. Ten bells and two bright red ribbons adorn her horns, and she wears a matching cheongsam. To her immediate left, stabbed into the body of a female ninja Yukan does not recognize, stands a greatspear made of gold and silver.

The girl, whom couldn't be more than fifteen, stands up when she sees Yukan approach. Slow and deliberate movements retrieve the golden spear from it's resting place, and she seems quite confident in how to use it: At least, judging by the girl's toned body and easy stance. "Another human? If you attempt to pass by, I will be forced to kill you. Dread Emperor Ikihaji has given this command to me directly, and no oath will make me disobey my emperor."

Yukan's Ninja Lore (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2735013/): 15+17=32.

[Valgunn]

Doria

Halting her quick advance to the office of the Hokage, Yukan watched as a piece of building the size of her forearm sailed in front of her eyes. Another comet, she realized, and probably containing yet more worthless trash she would be forced to obliterate. Looking around her, searching for any oni that might have disembarked she instead found, "Black Princess Hanako? No," she corrected herself as the memory of Hanako's aged battle with the Sage played itself out in her mind, "Red Princess Hanako..."

"Why have you come to Konoha?" Yukan was worried; Hanako said she had orders from the Emperor, not the Empress.

OOC
Hit Points: 158/158
Chakra Pool: 74/127
Chakra Reserve: 26/26
Armour Class: 26
Ongoing Effects: None

[ZeroNumerous]

Doria

The Red Princess makes an obvious show of looking around. "It seems I came to Konoha because it's where I was summoned. The real question is: How do you know who I am and how do you know my title?" The oni's golden eyes narrow as they study Yukan, looking over the woman as if they were trying to penetrate her skin and see into her soul. "I have to wonder... Why are didn't you attack like the others?" She motions to the bodies of ninja below her with her spear. "What makes you special, I wonder?"

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

As his Renku Dan diminished into nothingness, Hibiki started to worry. He had no tricks for an opponent who could not only take an army of shadow clones equipped with weapons but also his most formidable techniques. The chuunin was not the best one for such a creature, not many ninjas were, he began to think. Hibiki turned around to run down the street, but stopped as the red glare above caught his attention.

Those lights in the sky were more of these creatures. No matter where he would run to, fleeing would only last so long. Action was required. If Hibiki could take this alien down, it would be a small victory not only for him but the village, the world itself.

"That's some thick hide you got there," Hibiki said turning his head enough to reveal a widened eye, "I bet'cha I can break it." The mad ninja twists his torso just enough to reveal an explosive tag tinged purple due to it being imbued with chakra.

OOC
Hit Points: 137/143
Chakra Pool: 81/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 31
Meta-Chakra Charges: 3/4
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (3/660); Speed Rank 3 (2/5)

Draw Greater Exploding Tag!
Move Action: Draw tag.

Charge Greater Exploding Tag!
Move Action: Charge to 6d8.
Chakra Cost: 4.

Kage Bunshin
Hit Points: 3/3
Armour: 20

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

The creature knows nothing of what the insane leaf ninja plans, nor would it's strategy change even if it did. It continues lashing out with it's powerful limbs in an attempt to crush Hibiki.

Neither combatant moves.

Full attack rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2735577/): 28 and 32.
Damage Rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2735579/): 13 and 14.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

Hibiki shoulders the oncoming foot, which nails the poor Chuunin an inch into the hard concrete. Lifting his abnormal appendage, the creature reveals an unaffected psychopath; however, its attention is drawn towards its other torso side. One of the surviving clones had rushed through its barrier of flesh and chitin to deliver a miniscule attack with its chakra scalpel. Though not enough to take down the monstrosity, the kage bunshin allowed enough diversion for the original to move in close.

With the appendages unfocused on any one combatant, Hibiki rolls underneath a leg that flew through the air aimlessly towards him. Midway through his acrobatic move, the well-trained imbecile drew out another tag. Once his own feet touched ground again, the chuunin sprung up and smacked the adhesive side of his charged up tag onto one of the torsos of the creature.

OOC

Kage Bunshin
Hit Points: 3/3
Armour: 18

Charge!
Full-Round Action: Move to (8,10).
Attack: [roll0].
Damage: [roll1].

Hibiki
Hit Points: 123/143
Chakra Pool: 81/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 33
Meta-Chakra Charges: 3/4
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (4/660); Speed Rank 3 (3/5); Exploding Tag #1 (0/2)

Move!
Move Action: From (8,14) to (8,11).
Free Action: Draw Exploding Tag. Due to having +1 BAB Hibiki can move and draw at the same time.

Slap On Defensively!
Attack: [roll2].

Set Delayed Tag!
Instant Action: Set tag.
Chakra Control Skill Check (DC 27): [roll3].
Delay: Two more rounds.

Creature gets 2 AoO's against the clone and 2 against Hibiki.

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

The clone's charge is met with a powerful stomp that disperses it before the clone can slash it's target. Hibiki's own attacks dash in before the creature can recover. Unfortunately for Hibiki, his explosive tag does not stick to the creature's hide. The leaf-nin knows that the chakra adhesive would react to any chakra in the creature, so he can safely conclude that it must not have chakra. The creature attempts to smash Hibik again.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/HibikiAttack-4.png?t=1287861514

Orange dot = Tag on the ground.

Creature's AoO vs Clone (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2736023/): 18+22=40.
Creature's Damage: Minimum of 12 makes it pointless to roll.

Creature's Attack vs Hibiki (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2736035/): 31 and 34
Creature's Damage vs Hibiki (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2736037/): 18 and 19

[Valgunn]

Doria

"Special, me? You go too far, I've just got a keen appreciation of history." With that Yukan broke her stony façade with a white marble smile. "You could say I'm like a Living Buddha, countless lifetimes of history knocking around inside my head." Settling into a comfortable standing position Yukan begins to judge the distances involved. Shunpo might get me past her, Yukan considered before she resettled her attention on Hanako. No, she finally judged. I either get past her with her permission, or I beat her into the ground. "And as for not attacking, well, I know how you came to be the Red Princess. Personally," she said with a friendly tone, "I don't believe your demotion was justified. I mean, nobody could stand against the First Sage and win. Most certainly not when he used the Rinnegan." Even with her friendly tone she was considering her alternative option. Should I summon it?, she wondered.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

The crazed chuunin was surprised as the tag slid off the creature's chitin surface and gently glided to the ground. His broken concentration allowed the monstrosity to plant a foot on his face breaking the poor ninja's nose in the process. Blood sprayed out in an arc as Hibiki lost his balance for a second, and impressed onto his face was now an extraterrestrial footprint. As soon as the chuunin recovered his poise, he finished charging the rest of his other tag and waited for the next oncoming attack.

OOC

Hit Points: 104/143
Chakra Pool: 77/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 31
Meta-Chakra Charges: 3/4
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation; Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (5/660); Speed Rank 3 (4/5); Exploding Tag #1 (1/2)

Charge the Exploding Tag!
Move Action: Charge tag for 6d8 damage.
Chakra Cost: 4

Ready Kawarimi!
Attack Action: Ready Kawarimi no Jutsu for next attack on Hibiki
Location: From (8,11) to (9,5).
Substitution: Debris leftover from the landing area.
Chakra Cost: 1.

[ZeroNumerous]

Doria

A cold silence settles over the pair. At least, as silent as can get when fire rains from the heavens and innocent blood is shed. "Then... You would claim to know me as a warrior--To know the way of my people? My victory would have made me an indisputable Empress", she speaks plainly of her dream to dethrone the current Emperor, ", and my defeat should have been the end of my life." She moves the spear to rest on her shoulder, and the movement is effortlessly graceful. "I had failed. Both to die, and to win. My demotion was deserved, but I must wonder..." She turns an inquisitive look toward Yukan. For just a moment, Yukan almost feels as if the oni could look past the human and see her for what she truly was. That moment passes, and the oni speaks once more. "You couldn't be that old, and mankind would not remember an insignificant one as myself. So, where do you find such knowledge? I can only presume you have stolen it from an ancient one, but which one?"

Hibiki

The creature attacks once more, smashing the ground and a fake Hibiki into pieces. Hibiki himself appears at the far wall without injury.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/ZeroNumerous/HibikiAttack-5.png?t=1287880219

Hibiki's readied action interrupts it's attacks. It continues it's attacks anyway. Not gonna bother rolling against the clone.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

The creature lifts its over-sized limbs to reveal a crushed boulder roughly the height and width of a small child; however, beneath the rubble was the same explosive tag but this time emitting a hissing sound as a flame ran up its threading into the central kanji. From that small crater in the garden erupted an explosion of pure flame and force; the mere force of it caused Hibiki to lose his grip on his recently charged tag. Shielding his eyes just long enough to block out the intense light, Leaf's number one idiot stole a peek to see if the creature was still standing.

To his dismay, the damned thing was still flaying around hoping to hit any would-be prey. Luckily, it hadn't noticed the chuunin yet. Hibiki's two, over-grown bangs (ridiculously placed to frame his face—miracles themselves that Rin hadn't cut them already) fluttered upwards as a surge of chakra rushed throughout the ninja's body. All his muscles grew tense as they contracted tighter and tighter as more chakra signaled his body's nerves to respond at amazing speeds. Without thinking, the chuunin unleashed a barrage of kunai landing in a neat triangle between him and the creature.

OOC

Hit Points: 104/143
Chakra Pool: 75/130
Chakra Reserve: 34/34
Armour Class: 34
Meta-Chakra Charges: 3/4
Ongoing Effects: Ten Thousand Glorious Workmen Meditation; Speed Rank 3 (5/5); Exploding Tag #1 (2/2)

Delayed Greater Exploding Tag!
Damage: [roll0].
Reflex Save: 18 for half.

Drop Charged Greater Exploding Tag!
Free Action: Dropping tags.

Minor Charge!
Free Action: Activate Bloodline Ability of the same name.
Chakra Cost: 2.

Hail of Exploding Kunai!
Full-Round Action: Draw 3 Exploding Kunai and throw 'em.
Defensive Attack: [roll1].
Target: Aim for (8,8).
Defensive Attack: [roll2].
Target: Aim for (9,7).
Defensive Attack: [roll3].
Target: Aim for (10,8).

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

The creature rears back, unleashing a powerful screeching roar as the explosion consumes it's flesh. Shrieks of pain that chill Hibiki's soul rend the air, and it falls on it's side. It shakes and shudders as a weak limb vainly attempts to lift it's body up, then the creature gives a final rattling groan before dropping dead. Hibiki, with great effort, has slain the alien creature. A scant few seconds later he hears the sounds of approaching footsteps, then four forms materialize out of the shadowy hallway at Hibiki's back. Each ninja that appears wears a Konoha headband and bears the Uchiha clan symbol on their chests. With this, Hibiki can guess they are Uchiha police.

The lead police officer stops, raising his left hand to halt the others as well. "You defeated that thing? Good. A few others landed around the Estate, but the police forces are dealing with them. Naname-sama sent us to tell you that the enemy's main force is located at Hokage-sama's residence. They've formed a tight perimeter, and she wants to send a chuunin team to break through and rescue the Hokage."

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

"sh*t"

That punch had hurt, and it was pretty damn clear that this thing would regenerate any wound that he dealt it with his sword. Unfortunately, Yuu didn't have all that many other options at this point. Still, time to try them out.

Yuu blurred again, coming back into view on top of a tree with his sword sheathed and his hands rapidly making seals. He gave no attack calls nor indications of what sort of attack he would perform. He could only hope that the creature would be more vulnerable to this technique than his sword arts. If not, well...

A giant dragon composed of lightning gave a roar as it lanced forwards from Yuu's hands towards his foe.

HP 51/105 AC 33 (32 vs any others) CP 21/65

Fortitude Save-26 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2738429/)+Action Point!6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2738431/)=32

Move action- Shundou-DC 17 Autosuccess. Instant displacement to 1,3 at the top of the tree. 4 Chakra spent.

Free Action- Sheath Sword.

Attack Action- Rairyuudan no Jutsu- DC 22- [roll0] Damage- [roll1] Reflex Save DC 18 for half. 12 Chakra

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

With a crack, Hibiki sets his nose straight. The floodgates open and blood rushes down the new peaks and mounds that take up the majority of Hibiki's swelling face. In the haze of blood, sweat, and tears, the ninja scours the garden for his kunai, which he prematurely threw. As he squats on the ruined grass, he hears the footsteps of the ninja police. Hibiki is quick to assume a fighting position, but relaxes as he sees the familiar leaf symbols on their foreheads. He listens to them, but cuts them off before their inevitable request to send him out there.

"First of all," Hibiki points to the sky, "any idea what that is? Seriously, fighting alien's a tough business going in their blind." The mad chuunin stares at the carcass, "Alrighty! I'll be a part of that team; however! did Granny-sama give you any C.R.A.P. or anything useful for the team? Ooh! I should check out the alien too. Maybe they have some sort of weakness we can exploit, yeah!" Either because he was born an Ash-nin or simply because he was an idiot (most likely the latter), Hibiki did not sense the urgency of the situation.

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

Konoha's elite just shake their head at Hibiki's question about the 'aliens'. Most of them appear confused, and Hibiki can read the bemusement at the crazed leaf-nin on their faces. Taking it in stride, their leader spoke once more. "We have no information on the... creatures. Except that they're extremely resilient against physical attacks, and that shinobi with weak chakras are largely incapable of injuring one." Hibiki's provided with a G. CRAP while checking out the creature.

Unfortunately for Hibiki, the creature is nearly impossible to cut open with a kunai. The gathering of leaf-nin seem even more confused about Hibiki now that he's checking out the creature. Hibiki overhears one of them voice concern, "How can we trust a guy like this?", but doesn't see which one of them spoke out. Regardless of the dissent of his followers, the leader swallows his pride and asks Hibiki again. "We really need to move on. More time being wasted may mean the Hokage... Well, the less time we waste the better."

Greater CRAP duration (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2740467/): 2+1=3. Hibiki regains 12 chakra.

Yuu

Yuu's lightning dragon tears apart the creature, ripping into it's flesh and rending it into shreds of... inky black liquid. The creature's blood rains down, like brilliant crimson flecks of snow, and burns the ground in a wide radius around the body. The creature's form changes as it's skin converts into inky darkness that flows off it's body. Soon, Yuu is standing in front of the ruined corpse of a boy not much younger than himself. A grimy Leaf headband, damaged by the lightning dragon, lays in the pool of blood that used to be the boy's left leg. Yuu can see a series of seals literally burned into the boy's flesh, but Yuu's lightning dragon rent large sections of the seal off when it struck.

Fortunately for Yuu, the boy's body is so damaged that his appearance is not recognizable. Unfortunately Yuu doesn't know enough about the ninja arts to recognize, or even hazard a guess about, the origins of such a transformation technique. Regardless of what caused it, Yuu now knows that such beings are able to perform some technique to convert Leaf ninja into deadly enemies.

Yuu's Ninja Lore check (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2740462/): 9+6=15.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

"Oh, you mother****ers."

Yuu's bandaged arm appeared to be at a rolling boil, flames licking up through gaps in the bandages. An evil chakra flared. This continued for several long seconds as Yuu wrestled internally with the demon and his own feelings.

He took a deep breath, and the chakra settled, the flames on his arm receding.

Nearly lost control. I need to work on that.

Yuu leaped lightly down from the tree, landing next to the brutalized corpse and picking up the fallen shinobi's headband. He wiped the blood off of it and tucked it into his belt pouch.

"...Time to go. The village needs help. But I'll remember your sacrifice, comrade."
There'll be time to mourn the dead later.

With that, Yuu moves quickly towards the center of the village, determined to do his part to defend what had become his home. Fleetingly, he thought of his faithful companion Kuromaru, and hoped that the old dog was able to survive.

His hand still hovered over the hilt of his sword, ready at an instant to draw it in defense of the village and its people.


Deactivating strength and speed ranks, remaining in Battoujutsu stance.

[Paragon Badger]

Mata scowled in thought with crossed arms, making little effort to actively dodge the wretches with Kyuukyoku Enkoudate at work...

"?"

'Fly away...' The cat-nin thought, 'Or stay... What do you think, Neko-sama?'

A moment passed... "Oiii! Guy with the horns!"

Waving an arm casually, Mata Neki continued, "Nyah! I take it back! I don't hate you, demon-san! You make lots essplosions and pretty lights."
The cat-nin stretched out each eyelid to make two orange feline irises easily visible. "They say I'm a demon too. Well, they said I'm not... but I can be. Or part of me's a demon- I don't know!~ Heeeee. Neko-sama never really explained it to me when I asked..."

"So... why are we fighting? Nobody in Konoha ever let me make fires before... And now that someone else starts one, I go to see just so you could sic these... weird little things on meh!?"

Mata poked at one of the wretches' horns with an outstretched finger, apparantly not impressed with its' ability.

Inside, the demon cat angrily fumed at its' negotiation plan devolving into another vehicle for one of Mata's hedonistic bouts of pyromania...



Melee Touch Attack vs. Wretch: [roll0] Poke.

HP: 68/68
AC: 33 (+1 Dodge vs. Male)
Chakra: 27/40 (28/32 Reserve)
Speed Rank 4: Supressed.
Kyuukyoku Enkoudate; 11 rounds remaining.

[Valgunn]

Doria

Yukan smiled - she was enjoying playing footsie with the truth. "Well, I wouldn't say reading the history written in stone would be stealing." But even with the fun she was having she couldn't help the itch that wanted to try smashing her into the ground.

[ZeroNumerous]

Mata Neki

The woman looks to her compatriot. "A demon, she says." "A demon", he twists the word in his mouth as if it were uncomfortable to say, "filth like that are unfit to even lick my boots." The man's eyes widen unnaturally, and his pupil contracts to a thin black dot. Mata feels an intense pressure enclose her entire body, and both the man's iris and sclera turn into crimson flames that streak out from his pupil. "Die." He speaks one word in a voice as cold as ice.

Immediately Mata feels a surge of pain. The two-tailed cat within her boils, rages and tries to tear itself free. The seal inked on Mata's skin burns as the demon cat's chakra sears her body. The smell of cooked flesh assails her nose, and Mata wants to vomit but her body is seizing up from the pain. The wretches are obliterated by the pressure coming from the man, and their inky bodies do not reconstitute. If Mata hadn't been so absorbed in her pain, then she would notice the wretches were tied to that man's concentration.

Mata's Will Save vs Shin Seihagan (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2742266/): 15+5=20. Fail.

Seihagan Damage (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2742282/): Mata takes 11 HP damage and 7 chakra damage. Three (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2742284/) of her tenketsu are sealed.

Mata needs to make a level check(DC 15), a Fort Save(DC 15) or take 1d6 points of damage, and a Chakra Control check(DC 15) per round or be unable to use Overwhelming Chakra or Cat's Speed that round.

Yuu

It takes time to get the center of Konohagakure, and as the leaf-nin travels he notes several strange things. First, there are fewer enemies than he expected there to be. Second, there are a lot more dead humans than he expected. Finally, that thing in the sky has reappeared and is obvious even without his chakra enhanced sight. A throbbing pain in his arm reminds him of what, exactly, that thing tried to do.

Doria

The princess is implacable as always. She opens her mouth to speak, but immediately cuts herself short. Yukan's attention is drawn behind her. A chuunin of Konoha approaches Yukan from behind. He has shoulder-length dark hair and is wearing the Konohagakure chuunin's uniform. A well-worn katana hilt pokes up from his waist.

Yuu and Doria

Yuu approaches Doria from behind, and opposite from the Konoha chuunin stands a horned woman in a crimson cheongsam. The ten bells and scarlet ribbons attached to her spiraling head adornments dance and sway in the wind, but the woman herself is clearly unconcerned with such trivialities. Her gaze is like the spear now held softly in her hands, and it focuses on the newcomer. She shifts stances quietly as the boy gets closer. Soon, her stance is tight and her spear low to the ground. Her body tenses for the kill, and for just a moment she seems like a work of art rather than a monster.

She speaks in an excited and almost seductive voice, as if she were enjoying this moment of calm before a storm of violence erupted. "As I have warned your companion: If you attempt to pass by me, then I will be forced to kill you. This is an order from Dread Emperor Ikihaji himself, and I will not allow an oath to prevent me from completing it."

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu was wary. He had not encountered many foes- hopefully that meant they had mostly been exterminated. At the same time he was injured- that punch had most likely cracked a few ribs- and he could tell this was a strong foe. Still, beyond her was the Hokage's office, and that was where he probably should be going.

He spoke to the strange woman, still keeping his eyes on his enemy.

The spectre in the sky was almost overbearing.

"Can I get an update on the situation? I was in the forest when the meteors started."

[Valgunn]

Doria

Yukan's head tilted to the left before she turned her gaze behind her. It was still tilted to the left when she turned her gaze back around at Hanako. "Not much to update, if I'm honest." She was still smiling, and her body posture was still conversational. "The Oni have, somehow, broken their prison inside the moon. Or, at least, they have found some way of communicating with their trapped Dread Emperor, but since it's raining Oni I'm inclined toward the first."

Once again she demonstrated her knowledge of things most humans were simply not aware of.

"Either way, this is Red Princess Hanako, formerly Black Princess Hanako. She was demoted when she was overcome by the Sage of Six Path's doujutsu." Yukan shifted her head slightly in his direction. "The spear is Heartdancer, and it can fight on its own." But her ability is tightly wrapped around that weapon. If I got it from her before then I'd be stuck fighting two opponents, but now she had a second combatant. "Can you fight?"

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu looked rather blankly at the strange woman. It could not have been more obvious that he had no idea what she just said.

For the love of all, boyo, do I have to explaineverything to you? Listen up. Oni are spirits, demons almost. Back when that damned Sage of the Six Paths formed the moon, he sealed those creatures that wouldn't form summoning contracts in it. Now they're out.

Yuu's eyes cleared slightly, and he gave a faint "oh" of comprehension. Then again, this really didn't change the scenario much. Enemies present, they needed to be stopped.

Yuu took a deep breath, despite the pain this caused his cracked ribs. He settled deep into his battoujutsu stance, ready to spring into action at an instant.

"I'm injured, but I can still fight. Since you seem to know more about this opponent, I'll defer to you. Orders?"

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

Chk. W

Metal tries, stone prevails. Stone holds, metal gives. E'

K-chnk. R

Cracks not the hide, but the kunai. A glint of fiery orange flies off into an uncared for direction. Hibiki stares deeply at the now tipless weapon. He tried not minding what his fellow leaf-nins had to say, but that proved fruitless now with his impotent instrument. E

He pulls out another before replying with a voice on the verge of cracking: "Don't you get it? I'm trying to help!" W

Chk. I

"The Hokage can handle herself! We should protect the ones that actually need our help. Understand? Maybe there's something in this thing that'll let the weak survive. I ca-can't let anyone else...die." His words words trail off into petty whispers barely audible to the nameless-nins. "Rin wouldn't let anyone..." T

K-chnk. H

"No, no, no, NO!" Hibiki throws the broken kunai to the side and buries his forehead into his own clenched fists. He knocks his knuckles against his head repeatedly: "A year of reading, practicing, getting rid of my Sins...for what?! For you people to look at me worse than before?" The chuunin calls the ninja out on their already worried looks, "I'm trying! I really am! Seriously! I did it all right. I fought, I was going to make a new discovery like a ninja should do. What's wrong with-" A throbbing sensation cuts off the crazed-nin mid-sentence. He scratches against his temples trying to dig out the root to his pain. Y

One of his shaking hands slides into his shirt pocket and pulls out a pill bottle the color of the meteor-stricken sky; he reads the label, or tries to. What did it contain? A concoction made by his mother to keep these pains at bay: rhenium—rare but stable, a quality favorable for a normal mind; arsenic (isn't that poisonous?)—the only thing powerful enough to cure any symptom; oxygen—like breathing in the good; nitrogen—breathing out the bad. The list soothes Hibiki's nerves almost instantaneously, swallowing the pills frees him from the pain and gives him a sense of clarity. O

"My apologies, I forgot to take my medicine with all the commotion...You're right though. We need to hurry to the Hokage now; if we help her, then the village itself will have a better chance of survival. Let's go!" Hibiki turned and led the duo towards the capital building of Konoha. He wasn't sure what the ninja behind him were thinking, but he didn't want to know. All that mattered now was rescuing as many lives as he could, and that started with saving the Hokage. It didn't bother him at all that he felt alone on his way there. U

[Valgunn]

Doria

Yukan had enjoyed playing with the truth but it seemed now that it was past time for words - Hanako seemed to be riled by the new arrival. Yukan drew in a deep breath as her left hand played with the iron ring on her right. She gave the chuunin more than a glance as he put himself under her command. "Are you the Nibi?" She asked in response to his demon-flavoured chakra - she hadn't let her concentration slip for a second and still sensed the chakra around her. "Lucky me if you are..." Though she didn't make it sound like she felt lucky. "I'm-... Doria." She said haltingly as she remembered which name she was using.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu gives the woman a small smile. "A pleasure to meet you, even given the circumstances. My name's Yuu. I'm not the Nibi, unfortunately. A jinchuuriki might come in handy, but what you're sensing is just the result of an unfortunate accident."

Yuu remains in his stance, his eyes locked on his opponent. He'd wait for his ally to make the first move.

[Paragon Badger]

Mata did not get up... The Nibi, on the other hand, hijacked the diminuitive ash-nin's body while its owner was still reeling from the assault. With gritted sharpened teeth, elongated fingernails, and a pair of cat-like eyes gradually shifting from orange to... one green and another yellow.

Mata's braids flew out from the energy of the demon cat's chakra, waving in the air conspicuously like the Nibi's own twin tails. The jinchuuriki regarded the man and lept up into action, forming handseals as the host stared at the man intently. "I will show you what sort of pain a true demon can wreak."

With the technique completed, his blood began to boil. Not content with just this assault, the ash-nin dissapeared in a crimson flash and reappeared right infront of the man with a claw to bear and a menacing glare. One was intended for his eyes to see, and the other was for his throat.



Swift: Tap Reserves for 4 chakra. DC 14

Free: Activate Cat's Speed!

Heroic Surge Attack: Heightened Jousan no Jutsu! [roll1] damage, Fort Save (DC: 26) or suffer [roll2] Con damage and become fatigued.

Move: Shunduo to the man! Hide [roll3]

Attack: Claw to the neck! [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
Sneak Attack (If hidden successfully) [roll6]

HP: 85/95 (Normal: 58/68)
AC: 36 (37 vs. Male)
Chakra: 27/67 [Normal: 0/40] (28/32 Reserve)
Speed Rank 4: Suppressed

Action Points: 7

Dex: 24
Con: 20
Reflex: +16
Claw: +15/+6 (1d4+1 Slashing)
Fast Healing 1
Damage Reduction: 15/-
Fire and Cold Resistance: 30
Land Speed: 90 ft.

Cat's Speed; 9 rounds remaining.
Kyuukyoku Enkoudate; 10 rounds remaining or until dispelled by overwhelming DR or Resistance.

[ZeroNumerous]

Mata Neki

Mata strikes like lightning, or at least would prefer to believe she did. In truth, she was as a snail before the cheetahs that were her enemies. An attempt to heat the blood of her enemy does nothing but fill Mata with the feeling of an empty void. As if chakra simply did not exist to her enemies, and attempts to manipulate their own or use it against them were brushed aside. Undeterred, Mata launches her claw attack and finds flesh. Unfortunately it's the flesh of the leaf-nin, as she intervenes. She whispers something with a voice that is quiet and deadly."Try not to die." The next moment is a blur, as Mata's body wrenches from a violent attack that launches the poor girl into the sky.

A heartbeat is spent in the sky, free-floating and weightless. Only now does Mata see the bright burning red sky. A massive copy of that man's eye, streaming flames escaping from a night-black pupil, consumes the clouds above Konohagakure. And round that eye is a seal, specifically the memorable and reliable Eight Trigrams Seal. Mata remembers the seal is only used when sealing the essence of another, and that such a seal is used on the Nibi within. Before Mata gets a chance to contemplate this, her body is violently returned to earth.

The woman appears in Mata's view abruptly. No blur of movement nor teleportation smoke announce her arrival, but her pure speed counteracts earth's gravity for just a moment. Then the woman proceeds to strike Mata three times. Her fists punch straight through her 'ultimate' defense and land critical blows on Mata's abdomen, chest and head. Mata falls to the ground, hitting hard and rolling to her side quickly. The woman lands hot on her heels, slamming her foot into the ground where Mata's head had landed. The battered leaf-nin realizes that blow would have killed her, if it had struck.

The woman turns to her companion, and he speaks as if he were completely at ease. "I am glad to be rid of that nuisance. To think a demon would dare to think itself my equal. I believe I shall burn this town just for that insolence." He breathes in deep, raises his hands to the sky and gives a short shout at the heavens. As if in response, a beam of bright red light illuminates the man. But Mata succumbs to unconsciousness before she can see what happens next.

Mata's Chakra Resistance Check for Jousan no Jutsu (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2746229/): 11+9=20. Fails.

Female ninja's Messhihoukou no Jutsu Perform Roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2746230/): 9+30=39. Beats 28. She takes the melee attack instead of the Male Oni.

Damage Dealt to Female Ninja: 5.
Female Ninja performs Non-Lethal Heightened Ki Fu: Chiryuu Tenryuu Ashi. Perform: Automatic.
Mata's Reflex Save (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2746243/): 15+11=26. Fails. Mata is knocked airborne 3*5=15 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2746245/) feet and stunned for 1 round.
Attack Rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2746241/): 57, 44, 39, and 27.
Damage Rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2746246/): 2d6+22+4d6(Fire) a hit. The first hit is reduced by Fire Shield, but the technique ends after that hit, and the resulting damage totals to 104 non-lethal damage.

Doria and Yuu

"If you're going to come at me, I would suggest doing so together rather than separately." Hanako is an enemy, but she had her honor. "But, to be honest, I do not think you have much of a chance even if I am outnumbered. It behooves you, then, to withdraw. And this will be the only chance I will give for you to do so. Leave, and I will not--."

Hanako's next word is swallowed up by an earth-shaking explosion. Yuu and Doria see the Central Government Building consumed in flames and crumbling apart. Neither one saw what happened to cause the building to burn, but the fire rapidly spreads. Yuu and Doria look back toward Hanako, but find that she's gone. No footprints or smoke wisps show that she run, leaped or teleported away. Doria's veins run cold as she thinks what could possibly cause someone to disappear and leave no evidence to their passage.

Hibiki

Hibiki and his escort head south toward the Hokage's residence. Their trip is quiet, as none of the leaf-nin look at Hibiki. To their leader, he is just another ninja trying to help. But Hibiki seems deranged and dangerous to his two compatriots. Their trip is uneventful as most oni in the city have gathered together at the Hokage's residence. Suddenly, their trip is interrupted by a brilliant ruby light engulfing the Central Government Building. The stone of the building, the streets near it and the buildings nearby crack and begin breaking apart shortly before the government building violently explodes. All four ninja police with him immediately leap toward that location, and assume Hibiki would follow.

Conscious Leaf-nin

Assuming Doria, Hibiki and Yuu move toward the central government building they discover no sign of oni nearby. The spire has mostly burned out, as the rock construction ensured that a fire inside the building would be short-lived. Ninja are already working on putting out the buildings nearby, and will shortly have them under control. Ninja work to excavate the ruins of the government building, control the errant flames and search for survivors in the nearby structures. The leader of the impromptu outfit seems to be jounin Sumeji Yakamato. The three of you easily recognize him as a renowned hunter-nin: The Golden Hunter of Konoha.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu immediately begins assisting with rescue efforts, using his prodigious strength to lift chunks of rubble to try and rescue anyone trapped underneath. He finds himself returning to the woman he met, Doria, since she seemed to know more about the situation than him.

"So, just what in the hell was that?

[Valgunn]

Doria

Yukan had leapt and bounded to this location, the Central Goverment Building - the residence of the Hokage, and it was in utter ruins. She cursed something unintelligible, not because it was spoken too quietly or too quickly but because it was a combination of two sounds: the sound of a landslide and that of an earthquake. Well, the sound of those two when they mutter a curse.

"This doesn't bode well for the Hokage," she said absently to herself. If she is dead, then there are only two others who know of the bargain. The bargain must be fulfilled.

It was then, just as she prepared herself to begin the search for the Hokage, that she noticed the presence of, "Yuu." She spoke his name quietly before he arrived and asked his question. "Something that should not have happened." Yukan responded quickly, if not helpfully as she began walking through the rubble. Her eyes moved over the rubble and the people as she looked for the Hokage and those other specific people.

OOC
[roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Doria

Yukan's search reveals several things.

Chief among them is a hawkish woman with narrow eyes, a sharp nose, blond locks pulled back into a tight ponytail and a razor-like smile. She carries herself like one expects from a jounin, slightly aloof and brimming with power, yet still quite human. Dirty hands, marred from moving stone and shifting through rubble, work tirelessly to find even the slightest hope of survivors. She wears a grand cloak emblazoned with the kanji for Dragon on it's back, and the kanji for Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning and Ice surrounding the one for Dragon. She wears relatively simple clothing, for a ninja: A pale white short-sleeved blouse, almost indecently short shorts, a headband doubling as a belt, black boots and a wire defensive mesh covering her exposed lower legs and forearms. Her equipment is mostly hidden, exempting a large blood pact scroll nestled against her lower back. Yukan and Yuu both recognize the woman as Yakubi Hina, the Dragon Sage.

Beside her stands a girl in a green-and-white cheongsam and a matching set of white pants, ninja vest and small shoes. A simple fluffy green hat with a golden star bearing the kanji for Luck is the only deviation from her otherwise entirely green-and-white uniform. Her young, almost child-like, face mirrors the battle-hardened look of most adult jounin. Her soft eyes of the purest red, lacking entirely in pupils, gaze across the devastation with remorse and regret. The girl seems not to be assisting the excavation, and instead simply stands behind Hina with the staunch stance of an ancient guardian. Only Yukan recognizes the woman as Meiling, the Fire Dragon.

Apart from both women, working on containing the fires, is Seo Hideki the former Mist ninja. Yukan remembers the ex-special jounin with ease, in part because he's only five foot one and due to the distinctive ink seals covering his entire body. Only his fully exposed arms show those ink seals, which most certainly cover every inch of skin, as the entire rest of his body is covered by the standard Konohagakure uniform. His head is covered by a black balaclava that shows only his pale blue eyes.

Finally, Yukan's search turns up the unconscious Nibi jinchuriki half-buried in dirt and rubble.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

It didn't take long for Konoha's craziest to pass his fellow nins, on the ground Hibiki was surprisingly fast. For what reason did the chuunin run at top speed for? A simple eavesdropping reveals enough: "Hokage, Hokage, Hokage..." His monotonic chant fuels the ninja's legs as he speeds down the now dilapidated streets; the thought of why there was a lack of resistance crossed his mind for a second, but he took it as a reason to run at higher breakneck speeds.

Along the way four replicas of Hibiki join his pursuit towards the Central Government Building. Together they all ran until they came to wall of another four Hibikis who stood solemnly waiting for their original to make sense of the carnage that befell their village.

"Ho-no..."

At least the fire was out, there would still be a chance of rescuing someone. And since Kages should be the strongest of their village, there was still a good chance of finding her alive. After all, the village needs her while Konoha is under attack. Hibiki stands in front of the decimated center, his body a silhouette to destruction.

"C'mon, we got hours, right?"

He walks closer to the debris but remains just outside the area of rubble and other collapsed portions of the building. Hibiki sits cross-legged as his clones surround him with their own quisitive looks.

"Alright, I thought about it...and I'm seeing it like a tower of blocks. Remove the bottom ones and the top falls, so I guess we should make sure to remove small debris that's on top before worrying about the slabs and pieces underneath. Alright?"

Hibiki thinks a little bit more.

"So, the Hokage's residence is near the top, right? She'll be easier to find if we search the middle. So twenty of you will make your way to the middle...make sure you follow the paths others take and help what's already been done...Uh. Oh yeah, I'm guessing since the aliens were attacking the building that everyone was on the sides of the building, so the rest of you will walk the perimeter and scout out for any people. What are you doing? Go!"

The chuunin clenches his eyes shut and hums; he tries to block out all distraction as he summons up a massive amount of chakra. A large, collective burst of smoke surrounds the ninja. Clones, enough to fill out at least eight squads of shinobi appear out of thin air. Everyone of them begins their task of rescue in a specific order: search, search, and search. Simply looking was hard enough, but as soon as they found someone they would only deliver immediate help if they could remove the debris without worry.

The process was long and taxing for Hibiki: organizing how five workmen would watch the base of sections of rubble while two or three removed the top pieces; making sure the clones were focusing on living bodies instead of dead bodies; having six clones stabilize large pieces of debris that proved hazardous by wedging struts made of clones to the sides, which held the slabs upright or at a safe angle; all this while focusing mainly on removing pieces of the roof in search for the Hokage.

[ZeroNumerous]

Hibiki

Hibiki's search turns up mostly what he expects to find: Dead people crushed by debris or burned alive. He does, however, find a quartet of bodies arranged neatly in a row at the top of the burned out spire. Three are burned heavily on their back and left sides, while the fourth is nearly charred to ash. The three are able to be identified, albeit only because half the face isn't burned off. Hibiki only successfully identifies one as Hiachi Ten, the personal maid and bodyguard of the Hokage. Given that the other two are obviously not the Hokage, and that Ten would always be near the Hokage, Hibiki deduces that the fourth body must be that of the Seventh Hokage.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"Ummmmm-eymm..."

Ten Hibikis carrying a load of rocks and scorched wood pop out of existence leaving behind the only possessions they ever had. What did that matter though when the village had lost something even more dear? The technique was stable enough now for Hibiki to break his concentration, but he simply sat there thinking to himself; however, he simply was trying to find an excuse not to verify the body. If he didn't confirm it, then there'd be a chance of it not being the Seventh; the search could continue. Konoha needed their Hokage alive, Hibiki understood that, it was that he couldn't handle her being dead.

How could he handle another failure? When all these people died, where was he? Struggling with some creature that couldn't make out the difference between a kawarimi and the real thing. Pathetic.

Could he have done anything differently? Hibiki stares down at the heap of flesh cooked against remnants of the collapsed building. He had walked to the bodies unbeknownst to himself. Was it her? Was it even a woman? He couldn't count the number of fingers the individual had, it could've been anything. Hibiki carries the putrid corpse away to more stable grounds, his clones carry the others alongside him.

"So, Hiachi Ten, why'd ya leave the Hokage? You were supposed to stay with her, weren't you?" He lays them done. Those half burnt had their parts of their original faces, but all of them shared a common charred look to them. In death, they resembled each other. It was quite poetic. "I wonder where she...where she..." Hibiki breaks down and collapses onto the unidentifiable corpse. His fingers dig into the molten crevices of the body trying to wrench from it some hope—any kind of hope for a better ending to such a day.

If left undisturbed, Hibiki studies the body trying to see if there is anything to glean from its final moments. All the while, he looks around trying to find anyone who was taking charge who would know what to do with their fallen Hokage.

OOC:

Forensics Training!
Cause of Death (DC 15): [roll0]

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu tried his best to help, moving the biggest chunks of rubble he could find to search for those who might be trapped underneath. Questions could wait; there was work to be done now.

[Valgunn]

Doria

Shifting through the remains of the Hokage's residence Yukan took note of the three she knew. She was about to go to the Dragon Sage when out of the corner of her eye she spotted the host of the Nibi. Stalking over she crouched next to it before pawing over the body, performing a cursory examination which she knew was futile with her knowledge of human anatomy.

After a minute of useless pawing she gave the Nibi a trite slap across the face to try and wake her up. Regardless of the slap's success she stood up and nonchalantly called out, "Medic! I've got a live one here."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

People gather around when Hibiki brings the body out, and everyone gathered there finally gets a good idea of just how many were lost in the surprise attack. Less than eighty shinobi are standing around the body of their Hokage, and less than half of that are still excavating or fire-fighting. A silence wind passes over the gathered masses, and the shinobi of Konoha know who that body is. Several of the gathered shinobi drop whatever they happen to be doing and simply wander away. No one can know whether they've got to check on their families or to fight fires in other sections of town, but soon the crowd is reduced by a fourth as disheartened leaf-nin meander away.

Yakamoto moves closer then places a hand on Hibiki's shoulder, both interrupting the boy's work and getting the attention of the remaining shinobi. "Family. Friends. Today, everyone has lost someone close to them. This is disheartening, but we must not let their losses be in vain. There are still people alive who need our help, and they are the most important thing we have right now. The Inuzuka clan arrived a moment ago, and they will take over excavation and search-and-rescue. Fellow leaf-ninja, I ask that you return to your homes for now and watch over your loved ones."

The man turns a cold eye to Hibiki. The man's lanky posture and spindly figure made him into a giant from the crazed ninja's perspective. "We lost the medical corp to a meteor and a... strange oni. I'll leave her in your hands, but we'll need your expertise elsewhere as well."

[Paragon Badger]

Mata recoiled from the strike, gritting a set of canine teeth at the sensation. Suddenly, the ash-nin's catlike eyes opened to regard Doria. "OOOOOOWWWAAARGGHH." Mata cried, curling up into a ball and groaning, "My head huuuurrrtttssss, Neko-sama!"

"Uhhhhhhh..." Mata added with a groan after a few moments and squirming, "Wait. How did I get here?"

"Yeah, Neko-sama..." The jinchuuriki said upon struggling to stand, "I guess we are still alive."

"Though the leaf-nin weren't quite so lucky."

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"Yes, I understand, Yellow-sama."

Hibiki looks down at the burnt corpse in his hands; the reasons were obvious for her death, but he hoped to find some missing link, some key clue that truly explained her death wasn't so pitiful as this end. He didn't find it. The psychotic chuunin fell back from the body while propping himself up with his weary arms and allowed his eyes to watch the defeated Leaf-nins wander away from the wreckage. He knew that they were suffering, and for the time being he would let them mourn for him; there were other things to worry about like Ri-

A call for help travels across the field of destruction. The sound weaves through a labyrinth of molted material and fragments of stone only to rattle into the caves of Hibiki's ears. Medic? Was he one? He was let go, but what did Yakamoto tell him? Someone was in need of his help, and he wasn't going to turn his back on them.

A silent command reaches the simple minds of the workmen; they guard the bodies from any wrongful disturbances at Hibiki's leave.

Over the bodies and through the wreck to the helpless cry he went. Not knowing which way, he ran anyway through broken wood and cement.

Skidding to a halt, Hibiki found Doria standing over a semi-conscious child. Giving no thought to the circumstances to why a youthful body was among the wreckage, the med-nin plopped onto his knees and slid a scroll out from the back of his dress shirt. A quick flick of the wrist, and the scroll unraveled with a consequent poof of smoke revealing a medical kit.

"Hey, hey! Stay down!" Hibiki helps the jinchuriki into a comfortable sitting position against some piece of stone jutting from the ground. "Let's take a look at you...Hm, some bruises, actually, lots of bruises: stomach, chest, and your noggin...and..." The chuunin draws his head nearer to Mata's face, and looks up to Doria. "A faint outline of a hand. You slapped him didn't you! Baka!" Hibiki mends the real injuries, but cautions the two of them: "It's crisis-time, we can't have more people getting injured or others injuring others or others getting injured while injuring others who aren't supposed to be injured because they are on our sides. You got that?!" Though he sounded ridiculous as usual, it was because he felt some weight off his shoulders finding someone alive in such a mess; for a moment, he felt safe again.

OOC:

Heal!
Treat Injury Check (DC 15): [roll0]
Hit Points Restored: [roll1]

[Valgunn]

Doria

"..." Yukan answered to the ravings of the host. She was going to try and get more sense from it, but that was about the time that yet another chuunin dropped in to interrupt her. This was starting to become a habit, and she didn't like it.

"... you're annoying. Do your work."

Yukan hadn't paid attention to the heart-filled speech that would bring manly tears to the eyes of the gathered ninja if they weren't ninja. Instead she had kept her eye on the specific ones she remembered; they hadn't been informed, but Meiling - annoying as she was - could vouch for her truthfulness if the Dragon Sage could not.

"Will the host survive?" She inquired after the health of the jinchuriki as she remembered the details of the seal - as one of the two on the scene she would be blamed if the village lost the Nibi.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"As long as you don't slap her anymore," Hibiki says with a hint of annoyance, "I don't see anything wrong, just a nasty concussion. Nothing a little ninjutsu can't help out!" The crazed chuunin lays his hand atop the host's forehead and a purplish chakra oozes out of his hand into her. "I'm Hibiki," he says nonchalantly to Doria, "who are you, annoying-chan?"

OOC:

Heal!
Healing Second Rank (1 minute): [roll0] lethal and nonlethal damage healed.
Chakra Cost: 5

[Valgunn]

Doria

"I'm subtle and quick to anger." Yukan said briefly as she watched over the young chuunin as he practised his medical art. After a tense moment of scrutiny she finally said, "Doria." Another tense pause. "That's my," one more pause as she reminded herself of who she was, "name."

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"Doria, eh?" Hibiki tosses the name around in his head, weighing it and comparing it to others; he takes a sniff: "Strange name." He looks back at the injured jinchuriki, he didn't want to overload Mata so he cut off his technique prematurely. Another look around showed a melancholic scene; the only ones that seemed to be working were his own clones. Hibiki sighs.

"So, are you going to leave too? Seems like everyone else is."

[Valgunn]

Doria

"..." Yukan stared at him while he commented on her host's name. "I didn't pick it."

At his comment she became aware that people were leaving. Why they were leaving she couldn't fathom. Didn't they have work to do here? she wondered. She turned her attention back around looking for... Yuu? Yeah, the second chuunin she'd met that day was called Yuu. "Maybe..."

"Oh." Yukan remembered why she'd come here in the first place, and lacking another nearby ninja she opted to ask this motley pair. "Do you know if the Hokage is here?" She didn't expect him to know, he seemed weak, but maybe the Nibi's host would know.

"You'll probably not know," she directed that at Hibiki, "but you might, Host." That second part was directed to the Nibi's host.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

Hibiki's mouth opens slightly: "Wait, so you didn't hear anything that was just said? Besides the fact I found her body in the rubble, but it was just told to everyone here. So, so condescending you are, annoyning-chan." A shadow obscures his face at the remembrance of their fallen leader. "We...I...just didn't get here in time, that's all."

[Paragon Badger]

Mata cooed pleasantly at Hibiki when he put his hand to the host's forehead. Apparantly proud of being able to woo over the Uchiha for whatever reason, Mata dumbly smiled in silence as they spoke.

Then Doria asked the jinchuuriki a question personally, rousing the ash-nin to attention, "Nyyyyeeeh~ Leaf-nin are dead. All dead! Horned one with his creepy eyes might have snuck in their head too, I think. Took one in the brain pan. Squish~"

A momentary pause... as if Mata thought the whole near-death experience inconsequential, "Say... There was a leaf ninja with him. I mean, a leaf ninja aside from the ones his goons were tearing apart."

Epileptically, Mata changed the subject again after a bit of a momentary pause, "Neko-sama wants to know if the names Honabi and Meiling mean anything to you?"

[Valgunn]

Doria

Yukan responded to the names as she did to everything; she stood there and with a face of stone reacted not one iota. "Why?" She inquired, contemplating the human neck and its incredible frailty - the general frailty of the human body really, it's all so easily destroyed. "Why those names?"

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu straightened up from where he was digging through the rubble. Logic told him that it was pretty much hopeless. The rubble didn't have many spaces where a human could have survived, and the oni that had been in the area prior to the explosion had been fairly thorough. If there were people in there, they were likely to be bisected.

Yuu looked at the destruction surrounding him.

What now? The village has been hit hard. It's going to be ridiculously weak, and we're going to be sitting here with our asses hanging out. We don't even know what hit us. I hate it, but I kind of hope that these things hit the other villages, too. We're going to be swarmed under if they smell the blood in the water.

Yuu sighed. It looked like there would be a lot more fighting in his future. His arm, still excited by the blood, twitched at this thought.

Yuu saw Hibiki tending to the Nibi jinchuuriki.

Good, at least he survived.

He walked over, standing nearby, and spoke to Hibiki.

"Hey, Hibiki. Do you have any idea what happened?"

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"Cat-who?" Hibiki stared at his hand, maybe his ninjutsu failed? A cold sweat drenched the chuunin. What would happen if he broke her mind? He scrutinized his hand, looked at it on each side, and even tapped it a few times hopefully to fix it. His labor was cut short at the sound of a familiar voice. It felt like a long lost friend—well, not lost nor long, but something along those lines.

"You! Thank goodness Yuu are alive. I wasn't thinking about Yuu while everything was happening, but now that Yuu are hear, I'm sure...Hold on one moment." Hibiki downed another pill. "Ah, much better, okay you are Yuu. Check? Got it." The crazed chuunin straightened himself up and gave himself a good stretch here and there before continuing, "Anyways, I was minding my own business in a hospital as a...no, I was at the toilet...hm. Ah! I was confronting this witch when all of a sudden these falling stars appeared in the sky. But they weren't stars! They were meteors, well, more like...how do you say it...space vehicles or something. Out popped this horrendous alien. I fought it and killed it, but I guess there were more and they were attacking the central building and...they got what they wanted." Hibiki quieted down from his verbose retelling of the day's events.

"The Hokage is dead."

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

"Well, damn. I didn't know...
Still, you're doing a good job, my friend. It wasn't your fault. Healing the wounded's an important task, particularly after what's happened..."

Yuu trailed off, looking lost.

[Paragon Badger]

"Ny-Ny-Nyyeuuo reason!" Mata chirped in reply, "I overheard it after getting thwacked."

"That leaf-nin kinda hits kinda... hard." The jinchuuriki added with a whine, "Guess you're as clueless as anyone else about them! ...Something about a dragon?"

"...I can breathe fire, too!"

[Valgunn]

Doria

Yukan leaned in even closer to the prone ninja. "What exactly did you overhear, Host."

[Rogue 7]

"Ny-Ny-Nyyeuuo reason!" Mata chirped in reply, "I overheard it after getting thwacked."

"That leaf-nin kinda hits kinda... hard." The jinchuuriki added with a whine, "Guess you're as clueless as anyone else about them! ...Something about a dragon?"

"...I can breathe fire, too!"

Something twigged in Yuu's mind about what the crazy girl said:

"Did...did you say a leaf-nin hit you? Not just now, but earlier?"

[Paragon Badger]

"Nyeeeah!" Mata replied, "This one wasn't with the others..."

The ash-nin apparantly wasn't connecting the dots. To Mata, all of the shinobi from the leaf village were pretty much the same, traitor or no. Actually, most of humanity was the same to the host. Killjoys who wouldn't let Mata burn things unless they threw an enemy shinobi in the jinchuuriki's path.

Turning to Yukan, Mata's face turned from happy go-lucky to an expression of deadpan seriousness, "Why do you care so much? Do you know these people?"

And then back to Yuu, as if Mata didn't even notice the side comment to Yukan, "Neko-sama said she probably could have killed us if she wanted to. I wonder why she didn't..."

[Valgunn]

Doria

"..." Yukan was livid at being talked to in such a manner, but her face remained implacable to any emotion. It would have been bad enough to be talked to by a human - she had since grown used to it, but still found it dusturbing - but such talk from this abomination was unacceptable. "I see." She said with an understanding.

Turning her back to the host of the Nibi Yukan looked to where the Dragon Sage and her faithful night light had been standing.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

Witches, Ogres, and Dragons, oh my.

The chuunin leaned over the battle-damaged host and gave her a worried look: "Now when you say Neko-sama," an image of a giant tabby rolling a Hibiki-as-yarn-ball around with its clawed paws while mewing in glee at its new plaything came to mind, "you don't mean a giant brown and orange, slightly small, slightly fierce, slightly playful, giant cat-monstrosity...right? If so, I think I need to pull out the medical cheat-sheet for this one." Now where was that cheat sheet? Maybe in his pockets? No. Holster? No. Pockets? No, again. Of all the places, oh, wedged in the tiny area between his forehead protector and deltoid. "Let's see..."

After a short or long time of unraveling the small note, Hibiki reads it over trying to find the right information: "Okay, personifies cats...something about...flying snakes? Hm. Ah!" Hibiki peers over his paper like a warrior sacrificing his location only to get a glimpse of his enemy, "Have you ever 'seen' this 'Neko-sama'? Ever 'catch' a 'glimpse' of these 'snakes''? I think I know the problem, just need more details." No matter what, Hibiki would watch over this child; he had to do something in these troubling times, hopefully this would be enough.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Looking back, the group sees that several dogs and ninja bearing the red facial markings of the Inuzuka clan now crawl over the ruins. Doria notes that the Dragon Sage's location has moved ever so slightly. She was still overseeing the excavation efforts, but she's moved away from the searchers and toward Doria's location. Yakamoto is no where to be found, and Seo Hideki seems to have disappeared as well. The non-Inuzuka leaf-nin have moved on to help the other damaged sections of town.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu took another deep breath. Something was up. He could feel it. He just didn't know what

"So can someone explain what the crazy cat-girl is saying? I'm confused."

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu's eyes suddenly widened as his memory caught up with what had happened over the past hours. There was something important he had encountered, and he had not heard anyone mention it before.

"Doria-san, how many of the foes did you defeat? I encountered something disturbing when I was making my way to the Hokage's office. A meteor landed near me, and I felt a surge of killing intent. When I tracked down what I thought it was...."

Yuu trailed off for a minute, his eyes hardening.

"Someone or something had taken one of our comrades and...changed him. He was covered in the shell of an oni, and seemed resistant to my sword-blows. It took a raiton jutsu to take him down. I don't know any type of technique that can do something like that- not even the Edo Tensei."

Yuu's arm gives a flare.

"And now it seems there's a traitor. We need to DO something about this."

[Paragon Badger]

"The traitor is powerful." Mata said quietly with cold eyes and a blank expression, "Too powerful for this human body. And powerful enough to defeat all of you."

"The horned man she accompanied had a doujutsu that this body barely managed to overcome, you may have seen it projected over the entire village. This same man created a mass of constructs shaped from ash and chakra. Once destroyed, they instantly reformed... They were enough to overwhelm the Hokage's entourage."

"After your Hokage herself was murdered."

"So, what can you humans do? It seems these attackers come and go as they please. All you may do now is prepare and wait for them to return." Mata added, "Greeoooww~ If I was not tethered to this pitiful body..."

Mata slumped over, seemingly unconscious. Suddenly, the jinchuuriki's body sprang up again. "They are not done with your Konoha. When they return, you should unseal me... completely." With that, Mata slumped over for good this time, falling face first into the ground.

A few moments would pass before the host regained consciousness, "Ny-Nyyah. Why is everyone staring at me like that?"

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu's demonic arm sparked and flared at the words of this beast.

That goes double for you, boyo. If you even want to think that this pitiful village might survive, you'll need my strength to kill all who oppose you.

Yuu's eyes hardened, but he could not deny the truth of the demon's words.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Footsteps draw your attention to the north. There you a woman approaching with slow and methodical footsteps. She is quiet, somber and seems slightly... off. As if she were more at home pacing in circles than walking the street. All the same, the woman is not close enough to have heard your discussion, and doesn't seem terribly interested. Hibiki and Yuu recognize the woman as Rin Uchiha, their adoptive mother and former teacher respectively. She wore her 'normal' dress--a medical-nin uniform minus that "silly hat" Rin detested--but the left pants leg and left sleeve had been burned away by something. Whatever had damaged her clothing had left no lasting injury, or at least no injury she could not heal.

Rin approaches Hibiki first, laying a hand on his shoulder and shaking him slightly. The softness soon becomes hardness, as she roughly hauls the boy to his feet and shakes him violently. Then, without warning and without speaking, she drops Hibiki. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter. Are you well enough to travel? We must go, and time is of the essence."

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

Shifty eyes peer over an opened book erect on a maple table; they oscillate back and forth searching for any passers-by in the library (Rin's spies were everywhere). Seeing nothing but walls of leather-bound texts and scrolls, Hibiki returned to his "studies".

BAM! CRACK! WHOOPAH! Onomatopoeia blares across the colorful pages of his comic nested perfectly inside his book on ninja insignia and seals. Though he threw away most of his collection back when he first moved in with his new mother, he couldn't bring himself to trash his favorites: Anachroman, Teenaged Swashbuckling Porcupines, and—who could forget—Lord Xaos. Caped nostalgia flashed before his eyes. Epic battles between good and evil, tenacious struggles for justice and peace, and larger than life heroes rose above all leading to a smiling end.

Ah! yet another picture-perfect ending.

Hibiki placed the book closed back onto the table, his head already tilted thinking of the lovely utopia he left at closed before him. Life as a ninja didn't prove to be as simple as the stories in ink, but he felt chasing after the dreams was important to keep him progressing to such idealized ends. Ends...at the end of the table sat a ghastly gentleman. One could see through this specter at a mouth-dropped chuunin. A ghost! impossible, but here materialized yet not truly physical. The uninvited guest simply stood and exited through a bookshelf.

"RIN!!!"

With arms flailing in the wind and voice crying out, the crazed ninja fled the scene running back home to the safety of his new household: "Rin!" He searches haphazardly throughout the place and finds her washing a large pile of dirty dishes that she must've only started. Rin turns around and wipes off some beads of sweat from her forehead: "Yeah, Hibiki?"

Hibiki holds up a finger and takes a breather before saying, "Rin! Ghost! Scary! I was reading Ana—another book for my studies and boom! this see-through man walks through a bookshelf, and...and...I don't know! What should I do?"

"You were in the library?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, well that explains part of it..." Rin turns her back to Hibiki, "though..."

"Explains what?! Though what?!"

Rin turns back to the frightened child saying with a grim face, "Well, there is a story about a ghost who haunts children, but he only haunts them when they don't study. Strange that you saw him when you were studying. According to the story, he was a student who died while on a mission because he didn't study, and now he haunts slackers, hauling them off to the underworld."

Hibiki nervously bites at his fingers: "I'm sure he at least gives them a warning right?"

"In a sense, from the first day he appears the story says the kid has seven days of haunting to change his ways."

"Seven...What if I—I mean—what if the kids don't see them the first day? Does it still count?"

"I suppose, there are rumours that sometimes he takes the child before the seven days are up, so I guess that could be because they didn't notice the haunting."

"Okay I still have time...to study. He must've came for someone else. I'll just finish my reading here." Hibiki opens and closes his hands revealing he had left his books at the library. "...I must've left my books at the library...Well, there's nothing to be afraid of I'll just go back. Thanks, Rin."

"You're welcome."

Hibiki turns and heads back to the haunted library leaving Rin to whatever chores she decided to do for herself that day. The chuunin returns to the library apologizing to the Haruno at the front desk for his obnoxious behavior. She's quick to forgive due to his history. He sits down at the same table and picks up the book that he must've threw off the table when he first fled. Lord Xaos slides out from between the pages and falls flat onto the table.

The crazed-ninja looks anxiously around and places the comic underneath his book; he opens up to the chapter titled,

"Summoning seals..." Hibiki ceases his care to the jinchuuriki as he speaks to Yuu, "What you described on the Leaf-nin's body, it seems like it looked like a summon-" At that moment, Rin appears from seemingly nowhere and violently shakes the nin to his feet. "Hey! Oh, Rin?" he struggles a little to break from her grasp, but she lets go on her own terms.

A knitting of the brows reveals Hibiki's confusion at the present moment: "Something wrong? Wait, yeah, I'm alright. I'm just helping out someone I found in the wreckage. It seems like the kid lost his mind." He points down at Mata.

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Rin glances at Mata, then looks back toward Hibiki with a raised eyebrow. "I would hope you studied enough to recognize Mata Neki. She's the jinchuriki of the Two-Tailed Cat, and never had a mind to lose in the first place." Rin finally turns her gaze to the other ninja gathered about. She looks at Doria, Mata and Yuu in turn before posing a question to the group as a whole. "Are you four well enough to travel? I'll need your assistance, but there won't be any time for stopping and resting."

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu looked surprised and more than a bit put out.

"Sensei, you're asking a bit much after the village has been attacked like this. If this has something to do with what attacked the village, yeah, I'm all for it, but if this is something separate, I really don't think I can justify abandoning our people at a time like this. What do you want us to do?"

Taking a deep breath after saying that, Yuu winced and put a hand to his chest.

"And I think I cracked a few ribs when I was fighting that one...It hit hard."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Yuu gets a harsh glare. "Are you saying you don't trust me, or that I would use you for some personal vendetta?" Her mouth twists into a deep frown, but she explains all the same. "I had to kill another leaf-nin. He had transformed into a monster, and when I killed him I found a summoning seal on his body. Using a new technique, I traced the seal back to it's source. It's source will lead us to the oni, I think."

[The Unborne]

Hibiki

"Aliens," Hibiki corrected his mother. He then looks at Yuu reassuringly: "We're all pretty beat up," he pauses to let his fellow Leaf-nin see his face, which had the imprint of an over-sized foot indented into it, "If you want, I can wrap you up on the way. Rin's cool, she knows what to do, right?" The crazed nin looks to Rin for confirmation while trying to distract her from the blunder he did by not recognizing the village's jinchuuriki; in his defense, it was probably the book before he really started studying. Hm!

OOC:

Suspicion!
Sense Motive Check on Rin-chan: [roll0]

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu gives a small smile. An explanation was all he required- merely proof that he wasn't being treated like a child.

"I didn't think you were that thoughtless, sensei. Just perhaps you had a different set of priorities than me. Yesterday's problems didn't suddenly vanish with this attack, they just got pushed to the back burner. If the mission was of critical importance, I might have gone along anyways, but I needed some sort of explanation.

But I fought one of those...abominations as well. I believe you, and I would love to hunt them down.

Hibiki, that would be great. Fighting with cracked ribs is...unpleasant."

[Valgunn]

Doria

Intrigued by the development that might lead her to the instigator of this event - but mostly by the opportunity to hunt more ogres, not that the development wasn't a factor of course - Doria nodded her head in silent agreement. "I am quite well, and-" And I'm facing the wrong way!, she chastised herself for the strange behaviour and turned around to face the woman. "-I am quite ready to travel, and hunt."

[ZeroNumerous]

DM

Rin motions toward the south gate. "Meet me at the south gate in thirty minutes. Be sure to replenish your supplies, and bring extra ration pills and explosives. We might need both, depending on where the source is."

Unless stopped, Rin heads southward.

[Paragon Badger]

Mata apparently wasn't listening, curling up in a little ball to take a nap after everyone was talking far too long for the host's interest to abide. It was worth noting that not too long ago the jinchuuriki had been beaten to a pulp... Still, Mata was known as being somewhat easy to rouse into action with the right bait, just unpredictable once said action had begun in earnest.

With the host's legs poking out from under Mata's black flamed cloak, one could spy the disheveled belt pouch that hung loosely from the ash-nin's hip. Upon further inspection, the other leaf ninjas could see in plain view a pair of True Nature seals stuffed into it, as if someone had snuck them on Mata's person without the host any the wiser.

Indeed, it was almost as if Mata didn't even dress every morning without assistance! The host was just a few loose screws away from total nudity, but that would have at least answered the question of Mata's gender...

The truth was that Mata was unaware of the ability of the True Nature seals, purposely misled by the jinchuuriki attendants when the ash-village was still independent. They never told the host what they were for exactly, and eventually Mata kept them around out of habit...

"Zzzzzzz."

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

"Yes, ma'am."

Without waiting, Yuu turns and heads for the merchant's district. Hopefully it was still standing. If he can find an open shop, he purchases 20 explosive tags and 5 ration pills. If he can't, he'll break in and take the same, leaving the money for both the supplies and to repair the door.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

[Valgunn]

Doria

Watching the woman leave Doria was filled with a curious sensation. Cocking her head slightly to one side she began to think of what this feeling could be, it was on the tip of her tongue when she happened to look down. "Oh, pain." Her leg was on fire. Doria had been so busy doing other things she hadn't noticed the pain of her leg - first there was the fight with the myriad weakling ogres, then the Red Princess, and then the host with her peculiar knowledge and lack of control over the Nibi. She just didn't have time to realize she was on fire. Now though she quickly put out the fire as other things came to her mind now she had time to think.

At the forefront stood any preparations - a minimal concern, really, the belt pouch she owned was at home and still quite prepared for lack of use; it contained a list of standard items which she wouldn't use, but it was the appearance of the thing that was important, she suspected - and behind them, looming really, was her bag of things bought and paid for. She most certainly had to go and find them and take them home, and maybe put on that necklace. She had bought some cakes too, sweet cakes that a young man had given her at a discount.

Returning to the scene of her initial encounter to retrieve her items before she made her way home she made a decision: she would share the cakes with the others. She hadn't much liked them, but as with the belt pouch she felt the appearance of the thing was most important.

[The Unborne]

Hibiki*

Too blind, deaf, and callous from such a long and strenuous day, Hibiki falls back onto his only other sense—scent. What he smelled spurred him into action. Fire! But where? A quick turn of his head reveals a crawling flame inching its way up Doria's thigh. How did he miss it? Was it the roaring flames that had almost devoured the entire wreckage of the central government building that made this flame seem so insignificant to go unaware by everyone? For whatever the odd happenstance, Hibiki was well set on putting it out. Luckily, some ninja firefighter who helped keep the fire from spreading throughout the hidden village had left a pail of water behind when the corpse of the Hokage was openly announced; Hibiki acts fast and lifts the pail in a blink of an eye. Too bad Rin wasn't around to see his heroics.

Time slows down for Doria as a wave of water rushes towards her. It wasn't frightening, no, more bizarre. Something she'd take note of later about humans being randomly...something. Annoying was one word.

As a small swirl of smoke slithered its way away from the kunoichi's leg, Hibiki gave a quick nod of satisfaction with his eyes closed in righteousness. "You know, I would've done it sooner if you would've yelped or at least noticed you were being cooked alive. Good thing I was here. Hmph!" The crazed-nin opens up one eye to get a good look at his drenched rescuee. He sighs a little bit seeing only the standard flak jacket soaking up all the water in the chest area; pants were standard; heck, her hair was tied up and kept out of the way. All in all, she was the textbook image of a ninja; no wonder Hibiki didn't give her much notice even when she was on fire. He could never focus on textbooks without conscious effort.

"Well, I guess it's time to get supplied...I guess." Hibiki turns to follow Yuu's direction, but halts when he hears the soft snores of the host. "Hm. Oy, Wet-chan," he calls out to Doria, "since I saved your life and all, do you mind helping me carry the two-tails? I don't want him catching on fire or anything. You're going to have to repay me sooner or later!"

If Doria decides not to help Hibiki, he struggles to drag the young nin around while restocking on kunai and shuriken; Hibiki also follows Rin's advice and purchases/loots twenty-eight explosive tags and seven ration pills. For added measure he picks up a comic book or two while searching for his favourite colored smoke bombs (purple). If Doria again helps Hibiki out, he will try to "persuade" her to buy everything for him.

*Permission granted by Valgunn to mess with her character.

[ZeroNumerous]

Rin, three hours ago

"Sasuke! Listen to me damnit!" Rin tries to shield herself from the roaring fire with her hands, but the fire is too large and her hands are too small. Painful waves of heat crash against her flesh, and the aging ninja wonders if this will be her grave. Her red eyes look upward, toward the prodigal son of the Uchiha clan. His body is covered in a glowing silver tattoo resembling an intricate seal. His smile unfolds like a dagger being unsheathed. "Who needs to listen to a human when her species is on the way out? I've been shown the righteous might of the Dread Emperor! The Sage's line is broken, and no one is left alive to resist his glory!" The boy curls like a snake, and his body becomes lightning as he strikes. Rin meets his dash with her own...

Wilderness, two hours ago

"... I killed him. He was reckless, and his technique was imperfect." Rin is much more somber than Hibiki and Yuu remember. "Either way, I performed a tracking jutsu that extracted the chakra signature of whoever performed that sealing technique. That's the trail we've been following. I only hope they haven't set an..."

Wilderness, thirty minutes ago

"AMBUSH!" Exactly as Rin yells a veritable horde of twisted oni pour out from the treeline. Taking them down is easy, but as soon as one falls ten more leap from the trees to replace him. Your battle is a whirlwind of steel and blood. A hundred, two hundred, maybe as many as three hundred oni fall to your techniques, fists and sword, but the enemy is without limit. Rin turns to you, her left eye is closed and bleeding, her right eye sports a strange pattern (http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8895/rinmangekyo3.png) and her body is lacerated in many places. "Kids, I only have one shot at this. I'll show you what the signature feels like, and I'll send you away. But..." Rin doesn't finish her sentence, and instead her right eye goes back to it's normal emerald color. Your body is rocked by a wave of exhaustion, and you collapse.

Now

Each of you rise from your impromptu slumber at your own pace. The night sky is strangely clear and full of stars. Yet, a prickling sensation within your heart says that there should be some cloud cover in the sky, at least something should every so slightly obscure the stars. Your eyes scan the horizon and you gloss over the rocky dirt, cratered and broken ground, the burned husks of trees and settle on something exceedingly strange in the night sky.

A very large, bright blue moon looking very much like the Earth consumes the majority of the western sky. It's pale light casts an eerie glow across the gray wasteland you now rest in. You seem to be sleeping inside a crater, possibly an impact sight from one of the oni's meteors. Regardless, you seem to be alone for the moment.

[Rogue 7]

Nagase Yuu

Yuu slowly regained consciousness, as his bandaged arm still gripped the hilt of his sword, which was stained with blood.

"ugh...what?....

He looked around, seeing the crater and the clear sky.

"NO, DAMN IT! I COULD HAVE KEPT FIGHTING!"

Yuu lets loose an earsplitting scream to the sky, then turns to see his companions unconscious beside him.

He moves towards Hibiki, attempting to rouse the crazed medic ninja.

"Come on, man. We've still got a job to do."

[Valgunn]

Yukanjishin

Yukan had been enjoying herself. For the first time since she took human form she had being having some old fashioned fun - that forest wouldn't be the same again. Then that woman, Bin, had to go and do something to stop it all. It was all so undignified that a natural disaster like her was brought down so easily by a mere mortal. So rather than getting up when her conciousness returned to the flesh of her body she lay there, at least until somebody let out an ear-piercing scream into the air.

It was that demon-boy, if Yukan remembered his voice right, and that other one. The stupid one who had doused her with water for not being on fire. Hibiki was his name. Opening her eyes she had her supposition confirmed as the demon-boy was trying to wake up water-boy. Ignoring them she lay back down and looked up into the sky, the scenery filling her peripheral vision as she locked on to the blue marble hanging in the star-studded blackness. Sitting up she sighed slowly.

"Hey." She called out to the demon-boy calmly. "Do you know where we are?"