CHAPTER 2: HEAD-UP WITH THE CRESCENT SMILE!!

[Chōja]

TEA COUNTRY HIDEOUT
NOW

A yawn escaped his lips, smoke crawled across the floor, his sandals stepped from the chambers of his confinement. His black hair drooped down into his eyes, he flexed his arm, his bones cracking and popping. "Damn snake bastard...haven't seen his sorry face in a fucking month and these corpses no longer taste good." Junpei sighed, his eyes winced, his knuckles locked and popped as he flexed his fingers.

"?!" His head rose from the ground, looking across the long room at the open prison cell doorway, a man standing there in the dim lighting. "Eh? Who's there?"

"Shishishishi...so is this really the weapon that the leader wants?" A man with a crescent smirk smiled, watching the boy with long black hair with his intense yellow eyes. The man who stood in front of his cell was clad in clean white with long black hair and a eyepatch that stretched across his face and over where his left eye should be. He shifted, pointing a weapon into the room before he stepped into the cell himself. "Are you the one that they call...Junpei?"

"Who's askin'?" The tattoo on the back of Junpei's neck shifted, crawling across his skin.

"Oh dear, are we going to fight?" The man asked, swinging the crescent blades on his long stave outward and placing it on his shoulder.

"Fuck it--! I rather kill you--!!" The boy dashed forward, his arm out at his side, from his pores poured a white mask that covered his face, his eyes morphing from a white to a black color, his yellow hues brightly flashed--

"Shishishishi~!" The man with the moon-like smile laughed, his eye lighting up with sheer joy as the boy closed in on him--

---

Chōja swung under a branch, grunting as he rose and landed on another, he had explained the mission to his teammates. They were going to be searching a supposed hideout of Orochimaru's for clues. He was staring at Shikatei's back, it was likely for him to lead the team, he was more of the leader-type anyway. Chōja? He couldn't lead, he was the enforcer, when something needed pummeling, he pummeled it, that was his job. He was not a thinker, not like Shikatei, at least. Inoue was the medic, she did healing and stuff, it was a position to be admired. They were polar opposites. He was fat, pretty ugly, and his Jutsu were aimed at destroying things. She was...well, there weren't much words to describe Inoue, she was just beautiful, and she fixed things, healed them with her Jutsu and her Yamanaka Jutsu required her to have knowledge of the most complex thing in the body--the brain.

He found himself looking over at her constantly, catching himself and quickly looking away, then looking again to see if she noticed that he was looking at her and gauge his reaction which was looking at her and the vicious circle went on and on over and over. He groaned, scratching the back of his head and weaving onto the outside of the tree before regrouping with the team.

"I think we're almost there." Chōja called to Shikatei, the smell of sea salt and the sound of waves washing onto the sand could be heard faintly in the distance. He turned his head upward, the sun peeking through the leaves as it set to the West of them. It was suddenly that his nose jumped, and he noticed something was off--

"Wait--! Do you guys hear that?"

The village they were headed toward was in peril, the fight that they were unknowingly headed toward had spilled from the hideout of Orochimaru and into the village--

---

The village was massive for a seaside community, historic in value. The entire village was composed of tall pagodas that towered high into the sky over the beach. Two adjacent yet burning pagodas held each combatant, Junpei and his mysterious attacker from the Shiromon organization. They stared at each other from each side of the thick curtain of smoke that rose--

The pagoda that Junpei was upon began to collapse, tipping as it split across the middle, tilting toward the one that the agent of Shiromon was upon. Junpei pounced out at him, his khaki colored hoodie flailed with the wind as he jounced out. A eggshell colored gauntlet covered his fingers and forearm, created by the same cursed seal that created his mask and gave him the monstrous strength he wielded.

"Shit--this brat's more trouble than he's worth--" The man with the moon smile growled, avoiding the incoming pagoda that crashed upon the one that he was standing upon, the two buildings spilling over and crashing down into the streets below. Sheer mayhem erupted, burning bricks, wood and tiles rained from the skies as towers toppled one after the next.

[chanpuru]

Shikatei stopped as the distinguished smell of burning wood filled his nostrils. He knelt down on the branch, peeking through the leaves at the scene ahead. All the while, he would post his fist to his side, instructing his team to stop. This is where Tactics--Senjutsu, would be coming into play. He scratched the thin hairs on his chin as he began to think.

'Dammit... These guys are gonna make infiltrating the base that much harder. Right now, they are none of our concern, but if we ignore then and go searching for the base immediately... they could cause a problem.
But if we go after them now without proper assessment of their skills we could be committing suicide. ... And there are civilians here. ... This is stupid.'

"Kuso." he spoke only audibly to his teammates. "We're in for something, guys. See those two? They are going to make finding the base difficult. We can't find the base and run the risk of being destroyed by them in the process. However--this is a reconnaissance mission. That means we're not to engage a target that doesn't engage us. ... But we can't finish the mission without getting them out of the way."

He inhaled deeply, continuing to think about how to handle the mission. Nodding to himself, he would continue.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Inoue and Chōja, I want yous to stay as close to me as possible. Inoue, I want you to hold the middle. That way you have an equal distance to either of us if you're hurt, and we can protect the medic. Chōja will hold the back. You're the power hitter, but I can't risk putting you in the front. We have to be very fast so that the civilians won't see us. They are too involved in their battle to notice us... I hope. I'm going to hold the front until we reach that building~"

Shikatei's finger rose to a building of moderate height. The setting sun cast behind it extending its shadow. This would be prime real estate for him.

"To get there, we're going to access those rooftops." he pointed to the mentioned roofs, drawing a line in the air to the destination. When we get there, you guys are gonna hide on the roof. At the same time, I want you to examine their fighting styles and abilities. While yous do that, I'll merge into that shadow and collect data. If I die, leave immediately."

He stood up, placing his hand onto the trunk of the tree, all the while staring out of small cracks in the leaves.

"After I formulate a solid strategy, I'll come back for you guys... then we'll wait it out a little while. We'll wait as long as possible for them to kill themselves. If they get within ten meters of that building... we're going to be forced to engage. From there, we'll use whatever strategy I can muster up."

He knelt down on the branch, looking to both sides at his teammates. His face was screwed about with annoyance, irked that he was about to risk his life for some crap like this.

"On 3, move out.
... 1
... 2
... 3!"

He was off.

[Inoue]

Following her teammates closely, Inoue stopped once they reached their destination and gracefully jumped down from the branch, kneeling down as she landed, her golden hair falling over her shoulders. The training her grandfather had been pushing on her, though tiresome, was paying off. Her movements were silent and delicate as possible, and she had learned to keep alert to all senses. As Ikudō said, stealth was the most important aspect of being a shinobi and could often save your life in difficult situations.

As she stood, she felt eyes on her and glanced over to Chōja, who she saw glancing away. A faint blush tinted her cheeks as she glanced away also. Though large in stature, she thought he was kind and funny, and she admired what he could do. Sure, she could take over the mind and body of a person and heal them, but he had the physical strength she lacked and was like a human wall, where as she was the opposite. Though she was well trained to endure, there was only so much she could handle. Taijutsu had never been one of her specialties, unless it was a flowy martial arts style.

Inoue was smart, but nowhere near a genius like Shikatei. He was a well-suited leader, to say the least. Their team was very mixed with different talents. But, it was also a good thing to cover so many bases. She was mainly the healer and had to have the guys help defend her. Talk about feeling meek. But, she acknowledged her place in the team and did the best she could to help, in her own way.

Walking next to Shikatei and peeking through the brush to the scene and the smell of smoke, her expression changed to an annoyed one. Great. Just what they needed. Hopefully, they wouldn't need to get caught up in the fight between the two.

Pulling back and looking to Shikatei, Inoue nodded as he gave orders to her. If they were going to do this mission successfully, engaging those two might have to happen. But with any luck, they could just move along without being noticed by the civilians and the two fighting men. Either way, they had to be ready. Knowing Shikatei, they would be.

As he finished off his plan of action, Inoue nodded again and memorized the instructions, getting ready to jet after him. And at the count of three, as soon as he shot out, she was following close behind.

[Chōja]

"KOOOOREEEE~!!!"

Sparks flew from the gauntlet as it clashed with the crescent shaped blade, the two ground against each other, screeching as they did so. They growled, grunted, pushing against one another as they struggled atop of a tower. Junpei smirked, slinging his arm outward, knocking the crescent blade away and jouncing at his target with his arm with intent on plunging his clawed fingers into the man's chest--

The man narrowly escaped, swaying to the right--

"Ah, you bore me." He spun, smacking Junpei with the massive weapon, bits of his mask spraying across the air, trailing after him as he tumbled across the rooftop.

Junpei stood slowly, unsettled smoke swirling around him. Extending his arms outward, his armor jounced outward, hundreds of small tendrils threatening to shred his attacker to ribbons shot from his armored arms--

"Oi~!" He whined, weaving between the incoming tendrils that shattered and disappeared shortly after crashing into the roof of the pagoda they stood upon. The man wrapped in white took a tactical retreat as armor began to spread across Junpei's skin, produced by his makeshift jūin.

"STOP RUNNING! I'M GONNA' END YOU!" Junpei shrieked as he took off after the man in white. They hopped from one pagoda to the next, scaling across rooftops, Junpei not far behind. It annoyed him that the kid was sticking so close. It was from the corner of the man's eye that he saw the team darting across the city in attempt to observe them.

"More victims?"

Junpei took notice that his target's attention was drawn away from his retreat. Chōja moved behind Inoue gracefully, watching as one retreated from the other followed by taking notice of him.

"Keep moving--!! I'll cover you two!!" Chōja called to Inoue and Shikatei as he landed on a rooftop, the path of the fight quickly moved in their direction. Clapping his hands together, he growled, performing seals. His body bloated and his hair hardened into spikes--

[chanpuru]

"Aha!" Shikatei exclaimed as he ran along the rooftops. While he had been skipping from building to building, he managed to figure out one of their abilities. This was one of those things--where he surprised himself. He didn't expect to find out his powers this quickly. At least his base power. However, he would soon stop rather abruptly as he heard Chōja call out to him. Knowing that he was holding Chōja's life in his own hands, he had to take it upon himself to support Chōja as best he could. He held his fist out to let Inoue know that they were to stop.

"Inoue--The one in the armor--from the looks of it, he can craft that material from his body and form it into nearly anything he wants. However, from my observance, it takes him a moment's time to do so... if he comes after you, you have to strike while he's forming his weapons. The other uses his swords to defend and attack. His attacks are brutish in strength... so if he comes close to you, don't attempt to fight him. If he comes close, I want you to run."

Shikatei nodded toward her, running toward the side of the building while he formed In. In one motion, he leaped off the building vanishing from view as he merged into the shadow that the building cast. He would emerge meters from where he entered, a kunai in his hand. Bursting out of the shadow, he pre-plotted the course of the crescent sword wielding man, following his shadow along the ground as he neared the group. If this kunai stuck into the ground with his shadow, it would pin him in his position, and of course he would fall to the ground.

He threw the kunai--

"C'mon--c'mon~"

[Inoue]

Inoue stopped behind Shikatei as he held his fist out, looking back worriedly to Chōja before looking back to the team leader. Dammit. There really wasn't any other choice than to engage the men. This isn't what they needed right now, but it couldn't be helped. She listened to his instructions and nodded intently before he ran off and disappeared from view into the shadows.

Run if attacked by that sword-wielding one... She couldn't just leave her teammates like that. She would have to think up a strategy if it happened. She was the medic, afterall. It was her duty to make sure those two stayed alive and well. Though, she couldn't really do that if she was dead, could she? Whatever she was thinking of, it had to be damn good.

For now, she would have to play defense as Shikatei told her to. Sticking with this, Inoue ran and vaulted off the rooftop they had stopped on, onto another with with a third story that was smaller than the one underneath it and stuck to the wall around the corner from the fight, withdrawing a kunai from her pouch as she looked out. She needed to wait until the right moment to use her jutsu, otherwise she would be a sitting duck.

Well, this was going to be fun...

[Chōja]

Jigoka descended from the sky, his lunar weapon upon his shoulder, leaning forward with his toothy grin. He already knew that the fat one could grow, the one who looked like he had some sort of creature in his hind end dealt with shadows from what he could see, but the girl was a mystery to him--

He rose into the sky as man descended toward the guy, Chōja and Shikatei were already putting their plot into motion. They'd crush this bug with the funny weapon and move on to the next target. Once he was high enough, glaring down upon Jigoka with a frown, he moved into a powerful roll, balling up--his hair composed of hundreds of spiked blades--

Jigoka grunted, watching as it all played out and the team went into their attack formation. He felt Shikatei emerge adjacent of him, his gaze snapping to look to him while he glanced upward, Chōja was already descending upon him--

A kunai? The trajectory, it was off--he wasn't aiming at him--it was a trap--

He thrust his weapon into the roof under him, crushing and planting it their, swinging around and following through--

The massive force that was Chōja came crashing down--

"NIKUDAN HARI SENSHAAA~!!!"

The kunai connected with his shadow--

Was their attack a success? Behind all the havoc that came from Chōja's diving Nikudan Hari Sensha. Shattered tiles and shredded wooden support beams sprayed outward from underneath the goliath's body, causing monstrous damage. The roof began to cave, crushed by Chōja's devastating attack.

The dust was thick, and Junpei watched from a nearby pagoda, perched on the ledge of the roof like some sort of gargoyle, watching the battle play out. He glanced over his shoulder, figuring his attacker for dead. He didn't have any qualms with these Konoha-nin, though if it were a year earlier, he would have pounced at the chance to kill all three of them, but that was back when he was faithful to Orochimaru whom he thought was faithful to him. Apparently not, though. Left him locked in a basement all that time.

Glancing over his shoulder, he drew in a breath, his eyes moving from the sun to the rising dust cloud that spread across the city's skyline. Sucking his teeth, the ceramic-like armor he had chipped and fell away, the markings of the Jūin he wore crawled back into a singular mark on the back of his neck. This was no longer his battle, he had no cause he wanted to follow, for the first time in his sad life...he was free.

He exploded into a cloud of smoke, disappearing from sight.

The dust began to clear, there Jigoka stood, closest to Inoue, his weapon lugged on his shoulder. He frowned, looking at the gaping hole that Chōja, who was lost somewhere in the attack, down in the building below.

"Aaahhh...imagine if I had actually been caught in that..." He gasped in almost mocking awe, his one eye widened slightly, he turned at his hip--

With one finger, he hung the black hair that hung in his face behind his ear--

His one eye looked to Inoue who was behind him--

"Oh, why hello there..." The man greeted, "my name's Jigoka, I'll be taking your life."

[chanpuru]

"..." Shikatei bothered not to look. He knew what was going on. The sound of Jigoka's voice was enough for him to know that somehow... someway... his attack had failed. Forming In. he merged into the shadow of the building once more, using it to move through it to the side of the building, out of site from all his teammates. Quickly, he emerged from the shadow, flicking his nose as he analyzed and pained a picture in his mind of what was going on.

From how it sounded... Jigoka's attention would be far from him. Inoue would occupy it for the time being. It was his chance. Creating a single Kage Bunshin, he would henge himself into a kunai. The bunshin's hand wrapped around the handle and quickly, he jumped into the air.

Throwing the kunai, it would fly into Jigoka should he not make an effort to avoid it. Either way, Shikatei's goal would be achieved. Should he not dodge it... he would get stabbed up. If he did... he's just transform back and use jutsu... if he deflected it... the same.

Maybe this time...

[Inoue]

Inoue looked on to the fight, gripping the handle of the kunai in her fist. If the man stood still, she could use her jutsu, but she wouldn't risk using it until she had a certain bulls-eye. If she missed, her body would be open for assault and that's not the kind of thing her team needed; to protect her while still trying to defend themselves and take out the weapon-wielding man. If she wasn't feeling useless before, she certainly felt like it now. Especially with her teammates on the front lines.

Chōja's strength and abilities amazed her as she watched, along with Shikatei's abilities and intelligence. From her standpoint, they were a force to be reckoned with. Though, this new enemy seemed very dangerous, which is why Shikatei didn't want her to engage him. He was strong, no doubt about it. But this fighting was giving her a good chance to analyze his fighting movements. But where was the other man?

Her attention darted to the other one, standing on the pagoda. He was still... but apparently, not interested in fighting the three like the other one. As that thought crossed her mind, he disappeared. At least that was one less enemy they had to worry about.

Inoue turned back to the scene as the dust was clearing to find the man -- Jigoka -- standing in front of her... and Chōja and Shikatei nowhere to be found. Shit. As he turned and introduced himself as her future killer, she jumped back a good distance, tossing the kunai toward him and prepared herself to form hand seals and fight. Even if she tried to run, it didn't look like she would get too far.

This was it.

[Chōja]

"Aw...don't run, darling...!" The man's smile slipped from his face, displaying a disappointed expression, he swung his weapon wildly, deflecting her kunai. He ducked low as he prepared to pursue and by chance narrowly avoided the kunai that Shikatei threw. He grunted, putting the weapon on his shoulder, and scaling the rooftop upward, trying to reposition himself now that Shikatei knew his general position.

"Hey." A voice called from the right of Jigoka, Chōja emerged, his fist cocked back, swollen with chakra; Partial Multi-Size was activated.

"?!" Jigoka turned--

The gargantuan fist was thrust forth--

It collided with the staff Jigoka threw up in his defense--

"Kuh--!!"

"Threatening Inoue-chan...I won't stand for it...!!" Chōja growled, his arm exploded in a puff of smoke, the jutsu dissipated and the dust cloud finally began to thin. Jigoka sighed, scratching the back of his neck, glaring at Chōja, then searching the surroundings for Shikatei.

"I hate it when they're persistent...why can't you just lie down and die...?" He noticed that his target, the one he sought to recruit, had managed to escape while he got sidetracked seeking a quick thrill 'n' kill. "Man! Now I'm not gonna' get paid!"

[chanpuru]

As his kunai missed, it would explode in a puff of smoke, reshaping into the real Shikatei. Both Shikatei would go into a string of In, preparing for their respective jutsu. The shadow of the clone Shikatei extended rapidly in an attempt to connect with the shadow of the man. Meanwhile, the real Shikatei's shadow divided itself into four pieces extending from the ground to impale Jigoka's shoulders and thighs.

"Quick! Four-man assault!"

[Inoue]

"Chōja-kun..."

Inoue was preparing to form handseals to defend herself when Chōja stepped in from the side and attacked Jigoka. And then her attention went to Shikatei as he reformed back into himself from the kunai. Alright! The team was together again and could assault this guy at once. It would be better to knock him out or paralyze him, but if they had to kill him, so be it.

As their leader issued the command, Inoue responded with an "Un!" as her hands flew, forming the In needed to perform the jutsu she had in mind. Once completed, her hands shot forward, palms in front, and small bursts of electricity began to shoot toward Jigoka. They weren't fatal, but they could do damage and possibly paralyze him if they hit.

[Chōja]

The shadows pierced into his flesh--

"Hnngh..." Jigoka groaned, his knees became weak, his body locked up due to the skewers of black that bound him to the ground. He hurled his weapon skyward, his arms moving inward, struggling against the shadowsand making a handseal--

By this time, Inoue had already put her Jutsu into motion--

His throat swelled with a large bulbous growth--

"BLAGH~!!" A large stem shot from his open maw, extending upward--

"HE'S DOING SOMETHING--CHŌJA--!!" Shikatei roared out to Chōja who unsheathed his sword--

"ON IT--!!!" Bellowed Chōja, the paralysis had set in and Jigoka's body was frozen, locked up and twitching--

With a thrust, he sunk the blade in Jigoka's chest, right through the portion of the cavity where his heart was housed, striking a blow that would have killed a man. The sound of gargling could be heard from his mouth, the blood that slipped from the corner of his lips was thick, like some sort of sap or syrup and a odd red color. Chōja's eyes widened, it had a odd smell, almost floral, it was like it wasn't blood at all. Turning the sword in his chest, his muscles tensed and he ripped the man in two, his left arm cut clean through.

The corpse dropped to it's knees, folding back as it fell onto it's back, it's eye staring blankly at the long stem that extended from it's mouth.

"Hn..." Shikatei moaned, scratching the area just under his headband before looking up at the bulb that sat atop of the large stem.

"Are...are you okay, Inoue-chan...?" Chōja asked, cleaning off his sword, looking over at Inoue with a uneasy smile. If it were up to him, if he was sure that the man would have stayed dead after such a wound was inflicted upon his form, he wouldn't have exposed Inoue to such gore. He sheathed his sword, scratching the top of his messy black hair.

"What was he trying to do?" Shikatei pondered, his eyes widened--

"Heads up!" The weapon that Jigoka hurled into the sky began it's descent--

The bulb began to bloom, revealing a purple bud which quickly blossomed outward--

"?!" Chōja's eyes widened as a arm that was covered in sap reached out, catching the weapon in it's clutches. Jigoka emerged from the moonflower with his moon-shaped smile on his face, completely nude and glaring down upon the three. The eyepatch that covered the left side of his face was missing, revealing that there was no eye there, but a second mouth of fangs that opened and closed eerily.

"Heh, I'd love to stick around and murder all three of you...but I have a previous engagement I'm about to be late for..." Jigoka's voice was scarier than usual, sap seeped from his lips and dripped from his chin. "Please, keep the pretty one safe for me." Jigoka snickered, his tongue running across his lips, his eye focused on Inoue. In an instance, he began to fade away, his body breaking up into dozens of purple petals--