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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Mar 7, 2009 3:45:42 GMT -5
Marutake's ears twitched as he heard the sound of a chain jingling from behind him. It couldn't have been from Yokimaru. He didn't so much jingle as he did clank from the plates of armor that he wore. The jingling was also too far in the distance to come from either Rin or Oni. Which left only one other option.
The enemy.
Tightening his hand around the hilt of his tantō everything seemed to slow down. Glancing over his shoulder he watched as Yokimaru ceased Rin, and prevented the four of them from being cut down in a single motion. What followed were two blacks blurs rushing past Oni and himself, which caused a slight gust to blow by them. Quickly turning his back to the road in front of him Marutake spotted the enemy. His eyes darted to their forehead hitai-ate.
Kirigakure..., he cursed to himself mentally as his withdrew his tantō from its sheathe, and flipped it into a reverse grip. Shifting into a defensive stance with the blade close to his body Marutake kept his eyes locked onto the two brothers. "Yeah. Just stay back and protect Rin-san," he said calmly to Oni, but did not take his eyes off of their fiendish assailants.
"Go," the muddled voice of Gōzu ordered to his younger brother, who simply responded with a grunt. In that instant the two sprang forward with their clawed gauntlets raised and ready to impale the team. Their eyes locked on the two genin they sought to elimate the weakest of the three before moving onto Yokimaru.
"Tch," Marutake muttered as Meizu appeared infront of him, and thrusted his bladed hand towards his neck. Shifting his body to the right to avoid the attack he countered with one of his own. Smashing his kneed into the nukenin's face causing him to topple back a few feet. A cocky smirk slipped across the genin's face. Meizu quickly pushed himself up off the ground and back to his feet. His eyes narrowed on Marutake and growled lowly. Before this day was over he would make sure that the boy would suffer a slow and violent death.
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Post by Zetsu Rin on Mar 7, 2009 9:35:07 GMT -5
Rin immediately froze. Suddenly the man's hand was around her. She blushed, though, wasn't given the time to tell him to let her go. Instead, a flicker of steel and clashing of sharp-bladed weaponry caught her attention. The spiked chain might have torn the Genin to shreds, had Yokimaru not intervened.
Almost instinctively, when Yokimaru turned, so did Rin, so that they were back to back. She raised a hand, passing a couple fingers through her hair. Concealed in her hands now, was the pin in her hair that secretly doubled as a makeshift Neko-Te. Two colorful metal straps that, previously affixed to her hair, wrapped around her index and middle finger and a small thin blade dipped in poison protruded out from between her fingers. She donned the weapon, but kept it hidden.
Suddenly, her eyes darted around. She watched the short clash between Marutake and Meizu. Her eyes flickered to the steel chain on the ground, then to Meizu gas mask, then to the bladed claw-hands. The gas mask meant gas, possibly poison. A chain and clawed hands designed to create open wounds, just like her Neko-Te.
"Don't let them cut you!" She looked over her shoulder, just for a second. Her attention was momentarily on Yokimaru now. She kept her voice low.
"Poison." As was mentioned earlier, Rin was smart. |
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Post by Yokimaru on Mar 8, 2009 21:46:28 GMT -5
The sound of clashing metal and the sight of showering sparks. Gozu clashed with something that wasn't his target, the bane of his immediate existence, having thwarted him and his brother twice now, Yokimaru's blade. The stern Jōnin wasted no time, shifting his position, creating leverage between himself and Gozu--
The tips of Gozu's gauntlet was close to Yokimaru's eye, threatening to pierce and poison the swordsman.
"Fuck--!!" The ninja grunted, Meizu, who was quickly closing in on Marutake glanced over, watching as a blur that was his brother coming straight at him--
"Kuh--!!" Meizu groaned, the two ninja were sent tumbling across the ground and into a tree. Picking at his teeth, Yokimaru placed the sword onto his shoulder, casually walking over toward the fallen attackers. "Stick to the girl, don't let her out of your sights."
Meizu stood from under his brother who was wounded pretty badly by the sword throw, his cloak was sliced across the arm and blood poured from his limb. "This...this guy...he's too much, oniisama..." Gozu groaned, the pain that cut through his body was too much, he was having trouble bearing such pain. Meizu's eyes narrowed upon the man who closed in on them.
"Let's go!" Meizu groaned, slipping under his brother's arm and attempting a escape into the forest--
The armored swordsman lunged forward, wildly slinging his blade, cutting through a tree with relative ease but narrowly missing their fleeing attackers. He would have taken pursuit, hunted them like the dogs they were, but these two pissants weren't the priority. Glancing at the sun setting upon the horizon, he sighed--
"We're not going to make it in time, it's best if we camp out...those two clowns won't be back...tonight, at least."
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Post by BLOOD|leg|KEMPO on Mar 8, 2009 22:02:58 GMT -5
Oni shifted backwards to make room for Takemaru and Yokimaru. The scene was moving at a blinding rate. In an instant, Marutake had pounded his knee into the face of one of the brother's, while Yokimaru swung his sword and rended one of their arms. The order was spat during the quick scene, and in an instant, Oni was already at Rin's side, sliding his leg through the dirt into a basic stance.
Other than that however, there wasn't much he could do. Yokimaru sliced through a tree with his sword like butter, while Marutake looked like he was ready to attack again. All Oni could do was defend the girl, and look helpless. Sound familiar?
"Hai..." Oni sighed as he walked over to his pant legs, dusting them off before buttoning and zipping them back on. He didn't even get to throw a kick, but at least he wasn't injured. They'd live to fight another day, and that was all that mattered. Living.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Mar 8, 2009 22:33:45 GMT -5
After slamming his knee into Meizu's masked face every fiber of Marutake's being wanted to continue the attack. He didn't want to give the Kirigakure assassin any time to breath. But he stayed his blade, and returned to his defensive stance. This was not the time for offense. They had an escort, and their priority was to protect her. His eyes locked onto Meizu, ready for him to make his next move -- almost daring his hot-headed opponent to attack again.
Only seconds later after Marutake had knocked Meizu away he'd see a black blur being sent on a collision course with his opponent. The splatter of blood hitting the ground let him know that Yokimaru had just as easily dispatched his foe as well. Glancing over at his sensei a sense of confidence and pride overcame him. It had been a year since he had fought alongside teammates.
He missed it.
As Yokimaru went after the two in an attempt to cut them down Marutake stayed at the ready, should one of them make another pass at Oni or himself. That would not happen as Gōzu ordered a retreat, whether it be tactical or out of cowardice Marutake would not know. All he was sure of was that they had come out of their first battle victorious. Relaxing his stance he stood up properly and glanced back at Rin, who to his surprise seemed like she was ready to fight herself.
"See," he said as he offered her a smile. "Not even those Kirigakure dogs stand a chance against us," with that he twirled his ninjatō in his palm and resheathed the blade on his back. Turning to face his sensei the boy nodded. "I'll go get some firewood," he said as he started to walk off towards the woods to get the wood.
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Post by Zetsu Rin on Mar 9, 2009 10:53:43 GMT -5
A frustrated look on her face, Rin slipped the hairpin back where it belonged, the movement subtle and appearing as if she were only fixing her hair. It wasn't that she wanted to hide the fact she had a weapon from the boys... she just didn't trust the group yet.
Even though they just saved her life.
"Hmph." Rin collapsed, sitting down and looking over to Marutake when he spoke to her. She didn't acknowledge him, not really. Just a nod to show him she was listening. She glanced over at Yokimaru, remembered that he'd grabbe dher moments ago, and quickly looked away.
For the moment, she just watched Oni.
She'd come to the realization that they were all, or they appeared to be, Taijutsu specialists. While that gave the team a certain strength, it left weaknesses in some areas as well. She now found herself wondering just how effective they really were, and also hoping that effectiveness wouldn't be tested while she was in their care. It probably wouldn't if the Demon Brothers were all they had to contend with. |
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Post by BLOOD|leg|KEMPO on Mar 12, 2009 13:48:56 GMT -5
With Marutake off to find wood, Oni found himself lost on what to do. Yokimaru was perfectly capable of watching Rin, but then again, it would be smart to have at least two people watching her. While Yokimaru could watch a whole side, he would never be able to see what could be lurking on the other side. Still, there must be something he could do. Marutake was off gathering wood, alone, with the wounded Demon Brothers out and about. Now didn't that sound like the perfect trap?
"Sensei, I'll go help search for some firewood." His gaze then diverted to Rin, who he had no real opinion on. She seemed like the everyday nobility to him. Although, there was something he felt like he didn't know about her. She seemed like an innocent young lady, yet, there were trained assassins after her. Be they trained assassins, or poorly trained like the Demon Brothers, there were still people after her, and he had to feel sympathetic for her. That kind of stress would drive him into two migraines.
He wanted to say something to her, but the words just couldn't form. All he could do was give off a slight smile, that spelled out the words I'm Sorry all over it. That would have to do for now. He wasn't nervous or anything, it was just that he didn't want to give off the wrong impression, and as he walked off into the woods after Marutake, he began to wonder if he had already.
"Oi, maaarcooo~"
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Mar 12, 2009 16:52:44 GMT -5
Casually making his way through the forest Marutake yawned deeply as he explored the surroundings. This place had a similar feel to the forests back in Hi no Kuni, but what little he had seen of the wildlife gave it a nice exotic feel. As he scanned the ground for any decent piece of wood his mind began to think back on their encounter with the Demon Brothers only moments ago. His pace slowed to a complete stop as the scene replayed itself in his mind. Had Yokimaru not been able to cleave through that chain all four of them would be dead. Sure he had heard the jingling of the shuriken chain, but by the time Marutake would have been able to make a proper defense he would already be severed into two piece.
Thoughts began to flood into his mind about the last mission that he had been on. He couldn't forget it. No matter how many hours of therapy he recieved the memory was burned into his mind. Seeing his sensei die in such a violent blast. In an instant his entire body was blown apart along with the enemy shinobi around him. It was a horrendous sight to behold. Slamming his fist against a tree Marutake cursed quietly to himself.
"Oi, maaarcooo~" Quickly snapping out of whatever slump that he might have been slipping into Marutake picked up a couple of loose branches near him. Walking towards Oni he let out an annoyed sigh after he spotted his teammate. "I'm not seeing anything that'd be really good to use," Marutake said as he tossed the twigs and branches on the ground. He then looked around and locked his eyes on a large tree with rather thick branches. "You learn how to walk up walls yet?" he asked without taking his eyes off the tree. "If not. I'll teach you."
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Post by Zetsu Rin on Mar 15, 2009 16:07:43 GMT -5
Rin watched Oni leave, half-wishing he wouldn't. However, she was at a loss, and now alone with the man. She looked over at him, then brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
It was never easy for her to get along with these samurai types. They usually weren't that social. At least Marutake and Oni seemed to have some personality to them.
Rin flicked her eyes back over to Yokimaru.
"Hen... tai..." |
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Post by Yokimaru on Mar 15, 2009 18:06:29 GMT -5
The sound of him dropping onto the floor, his legs crossed, his eyes closed. There were some perks to towing around these bags of flesh that had the gull to call themselves Genin. He sighed, sitting silent, watching the girl from a distance.
"Hen...tai..."
"!!"
His eyes widened, if there were blood pumping through his cold features that he called a face, he probably would have blushed. His brow twitched, he noticed that the girl had suddenly started acting a certain way around him, but he didn't think it was because of the way he grabbed the girl to defend her. His clanking armor could be heard, he stood to a kneel, standing straight and his piercing eyes staring down upon the girl.
"What was that?"
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Post by BLOOD|leg|KEMPO on Mar 15, 2009 21:30:01 GMT -5
Oni slumped forward as Marutake tossed the sticks around. So much for a semi-decent fire. Oh well though, it couldn't be helped. Marutake did the best he could to find those sticks, so Oni couldn't really complain. "Yeah... 'ch..." He looked around for a moment to look for anything that Marutake had missed, and he spotted quite a few good pieces of firewood, but his thought process was interrupted as his teammate posed a question.
"Hm? Oh, uhh..." His gaze shifted over to the tree as well, taking a good hard look at it. While it was true that he never officially trained to walk up walls, he could run up one with slight ease before skidding down it. He had to have strong legs if he was going to master the Blood Leg Kempo, but chakra control was the key, and, well, learning how to walk up walls couldn't hurt. "Nah, I never really learned. Is it easy?"
Squatting down, Oni took the time to unbutton the legs of his pants like before, and tossed off the extra baggage before standing up, all while watching Marutake for an answer.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Mar 16, 2009 10:42:00 GMT -5
"It's not that hard...," Marutake said as he turned his attention back to his teammate. He simply watched as Oni prepared himself for whatever it was that Marutake was going to teach. Blinking a few times he turned his body around to face Oni. "It's mostly about how well you can control your chakra," he said as he walked to a nearby tree and placed his foot on it.
"You start off by channeling thr chakra to the soles of your feet," he said as he began to do so himself. "That's really the hardest part of this trick," Marutake continued as he channeled chakra to the other foot. Tilting his body backwards he lifted his other foot, and placed it against the tree. Taking a few steps up the tree he stopped and looked at Oni. "Once you do that you should be able to do it. Why don't you try it on that tree over there," once again he pointed in the direction of the tree from earlier. "Maybe if you could get up there we could use that for some firewood."
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Post by Zetsu Rin on Mar 16, 2009 17:20:05 GMT -5
Rin's eyes widened slightly, showing she robably didn't intend for him to hear her. Of course, immediately her expression went to one of frustration. She raised one arm, pointing at Yokimaru.
"Your name is Ero-san, from now on!" She wrapped her arm back around her knees glaring at him. As if to put an exclamation on it, she stuck his tongue out at the man. Of course, she would explain.
"Y-you didn't need to grab me like that!" This version of Rin, this particular descendant, probably had some sort of problem with guys. Or was just against touching in general. It was likely a child-like quality of hers she would grow out of later on, when she had to pick a man to carry on her bloodline with. |
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Post by Yokimaru on Mar 16, 2009 19:44:13 GMT -5
Arguing wasn't the man's strong suit. Yokimaru just looked at the girl, cocking a brow, his mug twisted slightly and his nose wrinkled. He turned away from the girl, not really bothering to continue the conversation any further, he knew why he grabbed her, it didn't matter what she thought, he was just doing his job. She did remind him of something he hadn't had in ages, though. A woman nagging at him. There was nothing like it, and the fond memories he had of nagging reminded him of the even fonder memories he had of actually touching a woman.
"What do you know about any of that stuff, kid...?" He asked, stroking the hairs on his chin, not even bothering to turn to give her a passing glance as he queried her on her knowledge on such touching."All you should know about is dollies and lookin' pretty." He remarked condescendingly.
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Post by BLOOD|leg|KEMPO on Mar 16, 2009 20:47:05 GMT -5
"Hm..." He was already pulling fresh bandages out from his ninja pouch by the time Marutake had placed his first foot on the tree. By the time he was finished with his explanation, Oni had stripped his legs of the slightly bloodied bandages and had begun to apply the new set. Through simple investigation, large and colorful bruises could be noted all over his legs, along with what looked like dried blood, and healing wounds. Whatever caused the damage on his legs, Oni didn't really seem to notice it.
He looked over his shoulder as he squatted, wrapping the fresh bandages around his legs blindly. Though he wasn't looking at his current task, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. "Alright, sounds good." Standing up straight and placing his palms at his back, he leaned backwards as a faint popping noise seeped out of his back. Forming a single In, he began to concentrate his chakra to the soles of his feet.
Before attempting anything however, he took the time to study the tree, and firmly place his foot on it before channeling chakra again. Once he was content with the density of the trunk, he applied his foot to it once more, then raised his second, planting it firmly against the hard surface. It seemed like an easy task for him as he took two slow steps up the tree. He then bent his neck to look at Marutake, holding a curious expression on his face. "Am I doing it right?"
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