Shattered Heavens:.

[Eechi-go]

The Raikage grinned as Syaoran preformed another jutsu in order to protect himself from his assault. This was excellent indeed. He knew what had gone on between Rakurai and Syaoran, he could watch the battle be waged from his mountain in Kumogakure. The boy we crippled, whether he'd show it or not, it was his burden to bare. Of course, the Raikou would use this to his advantage, knowing this beforehand allowed him to judge how soon he's run out of fuel.

"You waste your scarce chakra to avoid my attacks, pretty soon you'll have nothing to fight me with.”

He said the young man, as he blazed by him on his dial boots. As he watched the four clones approach him, he didn't move a muscle, his plan was slowly falling into place. His heart raced with excitement, as he hadn't tasted battle in so long. The clones would attempt to grapple him, seemingly overpowering him, however, the arm that pointed the spear into the gushing water did not budge an inch.

Suddenly, incredible discharge built up around the man, piercing all four clones through the chest with stray sparks of lightning. Pathetic, had the boy learned nothing of the element wheel? A disgrace, mere stones could not block the path of raging lightning. The man's arm still, like a statue, as his body turned to look up at Syaoran.

"You fight an impossible battle, and you haven't realized it yet. Such a pity, you would have made an excellent leader of the NCIA…”

The spear of lightning shot forth from the ground, behind Syaoran, moving at such a speed that no noise was heard from it before it had already made it to it's destination. It shot forward, towards Syaraon's backside, with enough force to pierce straight through.

The lightning bolt that had conducted the sewage water wasn't a bolt of lightning at all. As a matter of fact, it was the spear of lightning extending, then redirecting as Syaoran had moved to a different distance. He had previously awaited for the boy to distract himself with another jutsu, so he could have the spear strike him from behind. The success of this strike was nearly guaranteed, it was simply too unexpected for it to have fallen flat on it's face. The sound of the thunder would only ring once it hit it's target, and once that did happen, Syaoran would feel his muscles beginning to go numb.

The ultrasonic blast of such a combination was even too much for it's creator. The pure range and devastating force of the jutsu sent Raz careening backwards, being stabbed and prodded by the various, sharpened bones of the Kaguya girl, whom blitzed them earlier. A few bones in particular managed to pierce straight through his shoulder, out to the other side. Pain blazed through his body, his eyes widening, his fists clenching as he forced his suffering down his throat, he dare not groan.

Quickly, his attention was diverted from the pain in his shoulder, towards the rain of blood that had splattered across the palace walls, several pints splashing onto Raz's clothing, and one or two drops staining his dirtied hitai-ate. In the reflection of the steel plated headband, her cascading figure shone, folding in on itself. The woman seemed to be composed of nothing, her skeleton seemingly the only bits of her left.

Raz was suddenly stricken with guilt and horror was he watched this woman die. Indeed, this battle needed to be won, there was no arguments about that, but was that really needed? Did he really have to go to such lengths to defeat her? Could he honestly call himself merciful after this moment? These thoughts rolled through his mind for mere moments, before he began to wretch at this gore-filled sight. It wasn't helping that there was a good possibility of a bone in his spine that pierced his stomach.

Slowly, he began to cough up blood, covering his mouth quickly, as if to hide his weakness from everyone else. He pulled his hand away from his mouth, his exhausted, multi-colored eyes gazing down at his palm. There, the wet, crimson liquid was smeared across, dripping down onto his semi-exposed stomach. He looked like a mess, but he was willing to risk his life in order to stop this woman. Indeed, this was only slightly better.

He tried his best to uproot himself from the now bloodstained bones, but he was simply jammed too far into them to make a difference. He cursed his luck, his backside aching, suffering, the desire to cry out in anguish was intense indeed. He had been seriously injured before, but this seemed difference. Chakra was obviously slithering around the exterior of the bone, making it seem sharper, and it seemed to conflict with the boy's own chakra, leaving a painful burning sensation. On the other hand, it could have all been his own mind playing tricks on him, believing that the suffering of the woman was transferred over to his own soul. His hand gripped at the bone that jet out of his shoulder, breathing heavily, feeling a bit dizzy from the blood loss.

"Shit…that one really did a number on me…”

After a good amount of time struggling against the bones, he managed to -almost- free himself from their clutches, the bones no longer sticking out on the other side of the boy's body. Each moment he attempted to pull himself away, he'd shudder in pain.

A shiver shot down his spine, as the bloody gurgle of a cry echoed through the palace courtyards. Raz's eyes instantly shot towards the obliterated corpse of the Kaguya woman, and to his own horror, she had begun to rise once more. Impossible, simply impossible! How could she possibly stand after the drastic rending she had received from the sonic boom. This couldn't have been real, right? Perhaps it was the blood loss that caused him to hallucinate.

Unfortunately, this was not a mirage, not a dream, not an illusion, simply the cold, hard truth. The woman was still alive, albeit skinless. Blood spurting off her body like a hose, as well as the inner motions of each muscle expanding an contracting almost made the boy sick to his stomach. He began to wretch once more, spitting up more blood onto the grassy landscape of the courtyard..

As his eyes would raise, and the blood that trailed down the ends of his lips would dripped, he would notice that the skin of the Kaguya had reformed, the glow of the moon creating the illusion of her milky white skin ‘glowing'. Though, of course, her nudity caused him to fall into a small bliss for a moment, her body seemingly perfect under such a glow. This stunned him, though, he did try to avoid staring at her chest.

She referred to him as Rasen of the Namikaze. What could that have possibly meant? Indeed, he did guard the valley of the Namikaze back in Kiri when it was under assault from the NCIA forces, but she made it seem as if he had ties to the place. Supposedly, it was the valley in which the ‘Namikaze' lived, but Raz hadn't seen a single one rise up to assist him in order to save their home.

The mention of Keito threw Raz into a small fit of rage, forcing himself free of the bones that pierced his body, his soul. He fell forwards, onto all fours, grasping the blades of grass that remained erect. He lifted his chest up a bit, looking up at the woman as she mocked them. His chakra had still yet to completely return to him, and so, we was weakened.

"I-I already told you…your storm is over as of today. We, the next g-generation, will break t-through the darkened heavens I-in order to ensure a b-brighter future for the generation that w-would follow in our footsteps…”

The boy said horesly, pulling himself to his feet, his guitar hanging wearily in his hand, as he stared on at the woman, taking deep, hefty breaths. His body bruised, beaten, and bloodied, yet he continued to stand due to some miracle, just as she could.

"Let's see how far we've come…”

As the woman charged the son's of Oto, Raz stepped forward, using what little chakra he had at the moment to retaliate, parrying her scythe with his guitar. However, the blade of the scythe still was able to outmatch Raz's current strength, stabbing directly through his ribs and side. His spine arched, the grip on his guitar slowly fading, as he looked on at the Kaguya girl, a small smirk on his face as he released the one jutsu in which he hoped would ensure them a victory.

".:Mai Avatsuru:."

[Dancing Strings]

The boy forced his chakra into the guitar, using the very first jutsu he had ever created. The strings of his guitar loosened under the chakra's influence, before winding around the woman like a deathly lethal snake, grasping at her limbs and torso, in order to keep her still. Her scythe was stuck in him, causing her to be trapped within his jutsu, as he cried out to Korin to finish this. He couldn't take much more.

"Korin! Ninjutsu doesn't work! Finish her!! Please-!!”

If he were to die this day, then he was sure as hell accomplishing something. He could feel his life flash before his eyes. The most important events in but moments. He chuckled slightly to himself, looking back on his youth. To be honest with himself, had was proud of what he became. He evolved from a scrappy young, snot nosed kid with no knowledge of the ninja world, into a weathered, experienced, masterful shinobi with the weight of his country resting upon his back

In his mind, he had accomplished his nindo.

Indeed, he had come far.

1934 Words

10,249 Total

Edited September 17, 2008 by Eechi-go

[Cloudnine]

She knew it wouldn't work too well. The ring of sound she'd sent towards the Kaguya only sundered the bone lance. It wasn't too much chakra spent- hence why the girl opted to… test the waters with it, in a way. But the results weren't pleasing; if Korin's sound failed to hit the woman, there was no way she could strike her. On the other hand, Korin presented herself as a very, very slow moving target- walking on chakra and weighed down by a shield of sand. Raz and Hakkai nearly moved toe to toe with this insane woman. Volleys of bones swarmed the air, once again leaving heavy bruises against Korin's skin as the sand struggled to keep up in labored maintenance. She made no attempt to avoid the battering. Where else could she run to? When fights like these relied on quickness, the girl fell short. She could only… stumble along from afar, protected by the distance and this… burden that was called a shield. The ground trembled and the night sky flashed with chakra. Cracking, slamming sounds reverberated against the grand palace walls.

The Oto duo's assaults continued. Bones fragments flew. Her hopes rose.

Korin continued to linger behind, hopeful that she didn't find the grave opportunity where she'd have to step in and serve as the medic-nin she'd meant to be in this situation. So much commotion was going on- in this battle, and the other clamorous engagements all around them. No, she couldn't listen to the others… she had to remain in this microcosm and turn her attention away from far away, distant cries.

It was… incredible. From the teamwork of Oto's two sons, two blows connected with the white-haired Kaguya. Noise, explosions. Korin gaped at the potential destruction. As rubble died down and blood strewn the entire ground a dark glimmering crimson and the night sky grew quiet again, the girl saw… a victory. Have we- are we done? Her pursed lips quivered, searching for an expression. Korin, having lost part of her softer side through this lengthy ordeal, neatly held her still composure at the sight of the corpse. Skinless, wide eyes emptily bore holes into the stars. The time she could spend staring, staring at the mangled mess was cut short when the girl glanced up to see the complete aftermath.

"Raz!” Korin cried, alarmed. Her once-petrified fingers clapped into action at once, and she reached out towards him… as if the girl could snatch him like some rag doll away from harm's way when she was… too many leaps and bounds away. Silvery chakra thread spun from her open palm and reached Raz the moment he forcibly staggered into the bony barricade. It can't be too late.

The thread was the same jutsu she'd aided Syaoran with. She used it as an avenue this time, sending the chakra of mending through the line in some crazed, disorderly fashion. Wounds slowly opened up across her back- blood was running in dainty rivulets down her legs, onto the ground… pooling. She was essentially trading her own health to shoulder the severity of Raz's fatal injuries.

I… I can't… Korin sank from the few feet she floated upon. Pain and chakra lost hindered her concentration. She let the floating jutsu dissipate, and the armor of sand that had surrounded her broke off her in blood-sodden chunks. All that was left was Haramatsu Korin, exposed and crumpled with swollen and bruised arms, clinging onto the silvery thread and continuing the morbid life exchange. "I got you,” she gasped, "Don't… don't worry.” She smiled in spite of the tangy iron taste starting to bubble in the back of her throat. No, the girl couldn't let Raz know what was happening. She prayed that the moonlight would keep the secret well enough and let the guise of night veil her.

She could feel her chakra coils burning. It was that feverish determination to keep Raz alive that called for so much chakra that even the Wukong chakra locks wavered and crumbled. The energy was just flowing, escaping from her at shocking levels. She was tiring all too fast. Another set of seals, directed at Raz. Mineral barrier… Dirt, glistening minerals encased his form. It kept his bleeding to a minimum, kept his condition in a suspended limbo [hopefully] long enough for another more able medic to see to his wounds. Korin, meanwhile, kept her gaze on the walking moonlight. But no, it wasn't a moonbeam it was… that ghoulish Kaguya. She almost wanted to wail in grief. How could that she-devil still be standing? Obviously she'd go after the most vulnerable one, the one person who was on the other end of the chakra string Korin poured her heart into.

She was sinking to her knees- her legs were trembling and failing. Chakra gates broken, Korin felt it draining from her. It was like breathing out for eternity without ever breathing in. No, no- it was too late as the spectral Kaguya's scythe bit into Raz's side. It followed up with a paralyzing sensation in Korin- was it pain, loss, fright?

It was rage. This woman, why was she so determined to take away everything Korin had labored for? The anger trembled in her hands, shone in her eyes. It supplied a violent torrent of chakra that seared and lacerated and battered her already broken coils. Everything was placed on the line. Finish her, she heard Raz's words.

And she did. She let the dark chakra seep into her, let the relentless Wukong energy take hold. Darkness clouded her view like storm clouds. And this Wukong side, the mastery of light and dark, this dark Wukong side would tell her what to do.

Wrath, hatred. She roared, lurching forward on her last legs. The chakra Korin exerted was so great that the horrific illusion flickered into the Oto sons' view. She held the vision steady with ragged breaths as she bound the Kaguya to it, forging a great, spiked cogwheel to hold that naked, wraithlike figure. The magnificent device towered in a rusting gold, turned onto a path, a ditch of waste: a drippy cesspool of human remains, alive with the stench of rot upon a bed of nails. "Witch!” Korin was almost shrieking, voice hoarse and blind in fury. She was letting the chains loose, setting the wheel into motion. Her legs went under first… onto the points, the decay. "Penance!” she'd bellow. And the wheel spun again. "Retribution!” Once more. "Rectitude!” One more time until Korin was assured there was nothing left. "Concede,” she croaked, and the torturing device vanished into the midnight hues of nighttime.

Breathless, spent, she fell back, sprawling. "I got you, I got you,” she raved over and over. "I got you. Raz.” Her quaking hands still clasped onto the silver chakra string. She was taking her own health and feeding it to the phoenix's fading flames. Korin couldn't let go, no. Unnoticed were her own wounds and she lay there in an acute hysteria, dryly rasping those three words, telling every star the good she's done that day.

Words: 1188

Total: 3395

Edited September 18, 2008 by Bifröst

[Cho Hakkai]

The sonic boom had been much stronger than one would have thought. True, Hakkai believed that the attack would do some damage de to the strengths of both of the children of Otogakure no Sato, however this strength wasn't even thought of. No, Hakkai hadn't even imagined that the combination of the Raz's and his own strength could be so powerful. He could see at the moment the lightning and the wind combined the formation of the sound. It was almost like pieces of art. As if that moment had been caught in a still shot, a painting, or anything else.

Hakkai, at least in his mind, applauded the Kaguya woman doing as she was taught and making a bone shield and stepping aside. But alas, she hadn't thought that Raz and Hakkai would combine their powers to create an attack that was more awesome in power than it was in idea.

As the two elements collided, a wave of energy came through to the woman, Raz, and Hakkai as well. The Kaguya woman obviously had the worse end of the deal, but even a backlash like that did damage to the people who created the attack. Raz was covered in the bones of her shattered lance. He was in much more pain that Hakkai was.

He had indeed fallen back. However, as he saw the elements of Lightning and Wind collide with each other, he knew that it wasn't going to end well. At the moment they became one, Hakkai made a handseal to activate his armor of sand. Weak as it was, it absorbed enough of the damage to make Hakkai able to stand. It also stopped the Kaguya shatter bones to enter his body. But once the attack destroyed his armor, blood began to poor over his body. Hakkai checked it quickly to see if he was bleeding. If this was the case Hakkai was in deep because he couldn't heal the wound any quicker and would have to give up some other form of regeneration to do so. But alas, other than bruises and the likes, he wasn't bleeding. Whose blood was it?

Hakkai's eyes opened wide as he came to a realization as to who this blood came too. He clenched his fist as the thought of him doing it again… He slowly turned his head upward but this time with his eyes closed. He didn't want to see what he knew. To see it would be so much more painful. His eyes, however, would eventually need to be open for his curiosity screamed like a howler monkey in his head.

Opening his eyes he would hope that for once he was wrong in what he thought was going to happen. Alas, he was correct. His eyes looked at the corpse of a woman who was once powerful. Hakkai fell to his right knee and gritted his teeth. Her body, once so delicate and graceful, now was nothing but mush. No skin. Pulled muscles. Visible eyes. Hakkai looked at his hands. Again they were stained crimson. Hakkai touched the ground and let his fingers slide against the rocky earth. 3 trails of blood were made, with two ending before the last one which for some reason lasted a lot longer.

Hakkai did not want anymore murder. And if it were the case, not like this. Blood from the body came over to Hakkai as he stuck the tips of his fingers in it again.

"Mm, I really like your hands. Your fingers are so long and pretty.”

Hakkai's eyes narrowed but remained soft. A reoccurring image continued in his mind. There she lied in a pool of her own blood. Her brown hair sticky with the crimson that stained his hand. Hakkai always wondered why all the blood in the world looked alike, regardless of where it came from. It all felt the same when it touched the skin. A sickening feeling. Sometimes the feeling would be numbed by rage, that is if one is angry enough. He was. They took her from him and yet he couldn't protect her.

This woman did not deserve such brute force. She wasn't like the others. She did not want to kill anyone. She was more playing than actually fighting. It was humorous to an extent but to see such a thing as a corpse that no longer looked like what it was once isn't exactly what every ninja hopes to do.

He looked over at his student who had coughed up blood. His eyes opened as he feared for his students life. A gloss came over the orbs inside of his head as he felt a dagger go into his heart. He had never seen his student in such pain before. The last time he saw Raz fight and get hurt was in Lorien, but alas even then he didn't see him get hurt. He just woke up next to him and they were both healing.

Lorien... Hakkai took a deep breath as he didn't even think about the time he had to spend there. Regrets are just a way for the foolish and the guilty to pass the time, Hakkai thought to himself. He could not live in regret and could not have any to begin with.

But, this woman…

How could he not regret this?

It was such an inhumane way of killing a human being.

It was animalistic...

barbaric…

It must have been painful to experience.

And now because of his carelessness his student is in so much pain to the point where he cannot move without loosing blood. But Hakkai couldn't do anything. Again, he was helpless to aid his comrades.

Hakkai raised his fist. And then slammed his knuckles into the pavement. His left hand hurt, but was still in tact. Blood poured from his self inflicted wound. The pain kept him in reality.

How could he still be so useless when it came to his comrade's aid. Years had gone by since she had left his life but alas nothing about him changed. Again, Hakkai gritted his teeth together. He was a mess. Who wouldn't be after what Hakkai had been through and this happening.

Such a merciless murder.

He was no better than the night of stained rain. He hadn't changed and maybe he won't ever. He, however, could restrain the inner parts of him that gave into such an urge. The most disgusting urge. The urge to kill and never stop.

Hakkai closed his eyes as he clenched his wounded fist again. His breathing slowed down as he became one with his own body. He could see his two regeneration flows going at their maximum potential because of all the energy Hakkai had just used. With a quick and deep breath Hakkai was able to close his physical strength regeneration and it became his body's regeneration. Opening his eyes he saw his blood clot the open wound.

Hakkai stood up with a heavy heart. It was so heavy that he could not stand up quickly at all. It was slow and almost robot like, like he had no intention of getting up again if it meant things like this.

Hakkai went to wipe his forehead and touched his headband. And in a split second he remembered why he was here. It wasn't for Kanan. It wasn't for himself. It was for the Kyoukage. To repay his debt to her. To bring back what she gave up to her again and to repent for his abandoning of his village. Hakkai let out a slow sigh as his eyes became soft again. In a matter of seconds he had experienced so much. Who knew that battle could do such a thing to a person?

Isn't it such a great thing to think that people in battle think the same things as they do in their normal lives? Such lies given to the world is what allows for any form of peace. If the common people knew what went through the minds of the warriors during battle, they may reject the warriors altogether.

Hakkai let down his arm from his forehead. His jaw dropped. His eyes opened wide. He became speechless. The corpse… it's a live. The Kaguya woman began to rise from the ground as nothing but a structure of muscle. She still remained alive. She didn't want to die. She was going to be allowed to die yet by those in the heavens. Her time here still had not yet to expire.

Hakkai didn't move an inch when the blood of the risen corpse touched his face. No, he was used to the blood now. Once it touched you, the more that came, it didn't matter. That first touch is all that mattered. Like going into a hot tub. At first, you get hurt by the heat. But the more the heat is on you, the more you are accustomed to it.

The laugh she rang out shattered any form of anger Hakkai had in his body. He could not be mad at this woman. He could not kill her. Hakkai would not in deliver the final blow to her to kill her. It was not his right.

The skin of her body came back and there stood and elegant, majestic, and gorgeous woman. She gave no shame to the Kaguya clan. Her very essence would have normally driven Hakkai to a nervous wreck since she was no longer wearing any form of clothing. Yet, it didn't fend him. The fact that she was alive made him respect this woman more than he ever thought he would respect a member of the NCIA.

Hakkai of Cho… Raz of Namikaze…

How she knew their names was beyond Hakkai but then again, he didn't care. There was a woman in front of him that defied any form of sense.

She spoke. She spoke of another Kaguya clan member. Sadly, one Hakkai knew all too well.

Kaguya Kieto.

The woman that originally betrayed the Otogakure no Sato resistance against Kumo, also known as VAK. Her playfulness and anger were some of the most defining traits she possessed. But alas the Kaguya blood that went through her veins, the blood that was not originally her own, made her go crazy for power and lead to her demise. It had been such a long time since the attack.

His heart felt heavy again. Kieto was a woman Hakkai had thought of as family. She and Jinsei were the only two people Hakkai talked two during the two years of hiding from the NCIA. He felt like everything he knew about her had changed in those two years.

"Sir! Please don't kill Jinsei!”

Hakkai watched as the woman continued to talk about Kieto and she was a loser in her own sense. Hakkai could not disagree with this. Kieto had destroyed anything he felt for her. But then again, after all they went through could one single thing ruin a whole friendship of that like?

"You were looked up to.

The gennin here all thought of you as a mentor, an older brother.

For you to fall so far so quickly is saddening to me.

You were doing so well..."

Hakkai could not hold a grudge against Kieto. She had changed but he knew that the Kieto he knew was still there. When she died, he knew the Kieto he had grown to love had returned from the core of her soul and showed herself again. Even though he didn't see the last moments of her life, he knew it. If not, well screw it. That's what he's going to keep saying to himself. Her note even showed her sympathy. She had to exist. Her blood just took over and at the wrong time.

"I'm sorry to you the most.

I've betrayed your friendship.

I hope that one day you can forgive me.”

Hakkai came back to reality and looked at the gorgeous woman in front of him but not with eyes that would look at her nude appearance, but still an opponent in battle. He could by any means relieve himself of his instinct urges should it mean life or death. A smile came across his face.

"I understand how you feel on friendship Hakkai.”

Hakkai watched as the woman continued her elegant dances of the Kaguya form and released a massive scythe from her body. It was true that Kaguya were deadly in the weapons and now Hakkai knew it as a fact more than anything. She charged and Hakkai moved as well. With her swing of the Scythe, Hakkai was able to dodge the attack, but not without a large slash across his chest. Blood oozed out of his wound but he was safe for the most part.

His student on the other hand was not so fortunate. Hakkai was shocked to see how his student reacted to the situation. There he was, with a massive scythe in his side as he held his opponent down. He was bleeding terribly. Hakkai couldn't tell if his life was going to stay with him or it would end here.

"You never betrayed me.

You never have and you never will Jinsei.

You have been the most friendly person to me.

We will always be friends and we will meet each other again.

Count on it."

Hakkai worried for his student. Even though he couldn't help his student heal his wounds, he knew he could help with his idea. Hakkai made several handseals as blades of grass began to break up from the ground and capture the legs of the Kaguya woman, binding her. Anything to restrict her movement for the next attack would help.

Grass Prison

(Kusarou no Jutsu)

Hakkai held the justu for as long as he could. And there he was, helping his student defeat their opponent. No, he wasn't helping his student.

He was helping his brother.

(2325)

(6048 total)

Edited September 18, 2008 by Cho Hakkai

[cntrstrk14]

The clones, whom had attempted to grapple the man, would all be struck out of the air with ease by the mere aura that surrounded the Raikage. The clones, or rather, the white and purple material that they had been made of, would lose form and fall to the ground in large, human sized, piles all around the older man. As Syaoran watched this from the air, he would be surprised by the ease that the man had handled the clones. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that he was intrigued by the use of lightning that the man had used. He quickly sorted and filed the idea in the back of his head to try on his own time, if he had any of his own time to play with after this fight. The young Alchem, his attention pulled between the Raikage himself and his next move, had not noticed until now that the spear the man had before was now gone, or at least from his possession. It was at this time that Syaoran would feel the intrusion of his chakra field, the one he had been using earlier that was an artifact of his first elemental training. There was a flicker of movement, and the spear would pass through empty space. Syaoran would instantly be on the opposite side of the Raikage, his foot planted next to one of the kunai that had been easily deflected by the ‘great shadow of lightning' before. He was already through a few seals, and with a final one he lifted his hand up and slammed it into the ground with such a force that it would echo across the entire tower platform that they stood.

"Suiton; Abekobe Ame!!”

(Water Type; Inverse Rainfall)

With Syaoran's slam, the ground across the entire platform save where Syaoran knelt would burst upwards with the life of precipitation. Thousands of needle like pieces of water would fly up as if it was raining sharp drops from the ground. The effectiveness of this technique alone was not much to look at, the damage was minimal, more of an inconvenience on the scale that the two men fought, and though its range was wide, the real surprise would come from the hundreds of pounds of material that was left from the clones. All around the Raikage, each of the four heaps of material would explode violently, fire and earth flying in all directions and then exploding again and again, upon itself in a cycle that would repeat thousands of times in only a few seconds. The series of explosions would echo throughout the city, the top of the tower would look like some kind of massive firework, the colorful and bright flames and explosions flashing one after the other.

‘Potassium and water, a simple construction, but with enough material…', Syaoran thought to himself, ignoring where there would be a trickle of blood if Syaoran's body was normal, along with the stabbing pain that came from his back. The Raikage's attack had landed, cutting the man's back deep enough to cause severe wounding. Luckily, he was able to teleport out of the way before the spear could completely pierce his body. It may be more logical to look at it as being unlucky that Syaoran had not been able to completely avoid the attack, but what the hell, he was an optimist. Regardless, now he knew that trick, and he would be damned if he would fall for it again.

585 Words; 7163 Total

[Azure]

Lips of ire sprouted from Kouta's tongue in response to the dastardly Raikage. He spat hatefully sarcastic letters, bouncing like the luminous droplets of water falling from the puffy clouds of before; now replaced with an estranged absence and buzzing electricity. Torrents of chakra and bodily energy exertion spurted away from his body. Yatako's skin could sense the abhorrent waves echoing from Kouta's body. Even without the Divine aid of his immaculate eyes; the Hyuuga knew very well that the power radiating from Kouta was the release of the first of the Eight Celestial Gates of the Human Body. Yatako knew that soon to follow would be the initiation of true battle; in retort, the Hyuuga surged chakra through his ocular lopes and nudged his sleeping blood into its awakened state. A light traversed across his eyes, he could visually comprehend the world shifting in to the occult-like familiar dimension. The visual vibes excreting from the Akasabre were pounding away from his being, soon to be sucked back up, along with the mystic wind. His emotions stilled, as did his power, calming to a level headed response from Kouta. "As do I, but that's not our battle for now. I even have a new weapon, of extraordinary blessings.” Yatako smirked, clenching his fists and raising them slightly to catch reflection of the smiling moonlit sky. His Shouri-te glittered from the refectory rain and overall silvery ambiance coated on their finished layer.

He vaguely remembered his encounter with the strange man in jeweled robes who gave him the gauntlets. His voice continued to run through Yatako's mind, the name of his benefactor was cut short to a simple ‘Nao-‘ but, only after waking from the restful nap he was placed under via a mixture of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu the second syllable was instilled on to his subconscious memory. ‘-ki'. A day in the future, Yatako wished to meet this ‘Naoki' once again. Flooding his concentration back to the battle, Yatako's eyes followed quickly to reveal Kouta's sudden strike of his Benihime, a crimson aura bathed its blade as the wielder called out in the night sky. Slicing his bent downward, the chakra arc executed from the mysterious blade flung distinctly southward; flying through gravity and breaking its hold. The bloody blade called out its vengeful cry. Yatako's eyes quickly pinpointed the target of the attack and counted the fractional second of time elapsed until impact. The Hyuuga held steadfast, knowing that the strike would not be the fatal blow, to his dismay. It mattered not whom the recipient of the strike was; each one of the four would not crumble to a single attack, it was not in their nature. Although, not one of the Resistance shinobi would befall to a ludicrous singular numeral that would be their end; such is not their way of life.

The Byakugan picked up the alluded collision between the forces of Kouta and the unnamed man. A second sound echoed through the energetic dust sprawled up from the chakra that slammed against his body, forcing him to cut deeper in to the ground; spurring up the fragments of waste particles now caught in the wind. Kouta stood fixed in the atmosphere, immobile from the great strength the shinobi held to hold himself straight in the air. The sound echoed as if a second blade came in to play on the field; one erected from the man's cloak. However, despite the chaos, the Byakugan refused to lie to its bearer. The man held not a sword to defend himself; he was empty in that category. What held the sword in place, deflecting the attack was a fortified layer of chakra, acting as a shield against Kouta's mystic blade. The voice that trickled from his vocal chords was nearly as striking as the orange eyes twinkling from his ensemble. Relieving himself of the bother, the cloaked figure swatted Kouta out of his way, with the command of his foreskin. His reaction time appeared to be slow, as were his movements. Yatako peered in to the bodily structure of the man, accumulating what his eyes specially saw, along with the size of his physique. Yatako determined the force of the man's bare strength by the volt of power he exerted to knock Kouta away. Calculating, laying his eyes in a specter as he saw a katana fling from the robes of the sturdy shinobi phasing in to dual blades, with the total sum of three metallic swords. It had been a trapped formed against the Sunagakure shinobi. Yatako heralded Kouta's shout of awakening, calling him to join the fray, however, Yatako advised his own body to remain still. There was still elements of the battle that were imperative to calculate and analyze before entering the heat of war.

Kouta called upon the winds to shield his body from the assault of the awkward lades. He averted the blades mostly, except one of the three nipped him in the shoulder. A gasp trickled from his vocal chords, auditing the sight of his lightly hued blood seeping to the top of the wound. Yatako bared witness to Kouta's next strike, pulling Benehime across the ground, to kick up nature's own bite. A red embodied essence of chakra flung from the blade, fiercer than the first. Tearing through the ground, the reddish blood cutter divided into three sections, barraging towards the man. "I see…” Yatako started chiming him, his eyes concluded the calculations necessary before he weighed it would be too dangerous to allow Kouta to act on his own momentarily.

Hakke Shikuchi No Houkai

(Divine Method Of Collapse)

Yatako's fingers began to bleed essences of his spirit as he called upon the twisting torrents in his body that formulated his chakra and forced it to take on the form of manifestation among his fingertips. As opposed to his normality in arming his hands with tactical augmentation, the Hyuuga charged the very tips of his fingers and brought about a film of white chakra coated atop the layer of his skin, melding with the metallic hand of his gauntlet. The two etched symbols on his hands began to gleam, enforcing his own method of attack. His voice called out atop of the screams and noises from the rest of the battlefield, at his compatriot to listen. "There is a distinct layer of chakra encasing his skin, like a barrier or shield. It's probably doesn't let anything through and is a very sturdy essence when attacking him. He is using a lot of chakra in order to keep it activated. I'm trying to think of which know bloodline- if any has this ability, normal shinobi would not be able to be fluent in this to such a level. As for a weak spot, I have my theories, but I'd like to experiment first.”

Yatako's words floated behind his robes as his physical body elapsed from its point in existence. Yatako was on the move, carving out the distance between the two shinobi. He had a greater scope on the situation around the mysterious man, but only through actual experience would he be able to ensure the truth from speculations.

"Hyaku Retsu Sho"

(One-Hundred Violent Palms)

The distance closed between them, Yatako did not hesitate to unload the strength compiled in his body any longer. He tactically stood back momentarily to gaze at the man's wonder and assess him. The next step was to test him, to see how his shielding worked. Judging by his poor reaction speed, Yatako hoped he would collide with the man's skin. He did not intend on controlling contact directly with the figure, but only to slam upon his radiation chakra. The previous isolation of chakra around his fingertips would allow him to disperse the chakra upon impact. The impact locations were mapped out by Yatako to fall directly near the places of his organs. Yatako speculated two immediate theories: the chakra was impervious to physical attacks, but direct chakra blows could possibly seep through the barrier. Secondly, he wondered if directing his blow to affect chakra simultaneously, part of his shield would dissipate or weaken. Regardless, he had allowed the striking of all three forms of energy and endurance the human body typically consisted up. Chakra, Stamina and his overall bodily health could potentially be afflicted during this strike, this would be an interesting struggle, no doubt in Yatako's mind argued anything but. With the two brains of Kouta and Yatako working as a pair, the duo would surly crack the puzzle laid before them.

[1428 words]

[6607 Total]

[Haruyuki's will be up later.]

[Warr]

This phoenix of a woman, though seeming made all but entirely from a spiritual fabric, was far more physical than it would seem. There was no word from her mouth, though a twinkle from her eye, as she caught the biggest offender amongst the three, Kinsen Rasen, within her scythe's clutches. In her arrogance and rage, she had once again forgot to factor in the possible strategies they could utilize, and had all but forgotten the silent Kusagakuran girl who had stood just slightly beyond her reach with an armor of sand wrapped around her.

Because of her lack of factoring into possible strategies, she had been hit by the tying grip of Rasen's guitar's jutsu, without a doubt, her hand and scythe attempting to move, she trying to dislocate her shoulder to swin upwards and break the boy's grip upon his guitar. It was then that her legs were tied with the beautiful strands of grass, now etched red with blood from the human rain which had came before.

She could not move, and she uttered simply. "Smart children, but still just that.” Her voice still sounded almost ghostly, and that was when it came. The dreadful feeling, of being caught by something she could not escape. A Cogwheel, which she was held to with more immense force than anything else had ever touched her with.

A wheel which she was spun on, the Kusagakuran girl whom was a traitor to the NCIA speaking words of immense meaning both psychologically and physically, as the Kaguya ray of moonlight moved. The pain continuing, until it was too much. This woman whom had withstood damage which was insane, physically, fell unconscious from the strength of the blow to her mind. Despite all the rage, arrogance, and pain the girl was made of, her expression would seem almost as if she was a member of the cherubim.

[315]

[9440 Total Words]

[Eechi-go]

The Raikage had been so focused in his attempts to immobilize Syaoran, that he hadn't considered that the clones he had destroyed were made of concentrated potassium. However, this technique worked against them both, as the explosion was doomed to harm the Raikage, the intense rainfall caused the lightning spear to grow, the conductivity increasing, forcing the lance deeper into Syaoran's back.

As the explosions rang out, they blinded all who dare turn towards the majestic lightning of it all. Were this a day of celebration, many might have been overjoyed for the occasion. However, the day had not yet earned the ninja a victory, but they'd continue to fight on until they received it, regardless of how bloodied they were when it did arise. After the eventual clearing of the smoke, Syaoran would notice that the metal surrounding the pipe had been manipulated into half a barrier, in order to protect the Raikage. However, it was quite obvious that Sy's strike was much too quick for Raikou to react to, there fore, the man had taken a good amount of the damage regardless. He snarled, his kage robes half torn to pieces, singed at the very tips, black soot splattered all over his tattered robe. He allowed the metal to meld with the piping once more, his lightning lance still within Syaoran.

"Perhaps this could turn quite serious. In that case, I shall no longer cap myself. You shall feel Raijin's fury, I swear it.”

Tearing the tops of his Kage robes clean off, he would reveal his entire upper torso. What Syaoran would see was a battlefield within a battlefield. The man's scar that was etched into the man's face and throat grew much larger and it tore right through his chest, the skin a much darker shade within the fissure. Hundreds upon thousands of scars and burns were inscribed into his body like tally's for each man who had killed him and failed. The burns that Syaoran had inflicted were still glowing up and down his right biceps, sizzling sickeningly.

Scars were not the only thing that graced his skin, several different tattoos made themselves apparent. Across his ribs, several lightning bolts were engraved, though, by the texture of the skin, it would seem as if Raikou had suffered fatal wounds in these places, and attempted to cover them up with the tattoos . The most blatant and significant tattoos were inscribed across his back, the following written in kanji; ‘Champion of Raijin' followed by ‘Retribution' written below it.

"Finding your muscles numb yet? Yes, it's quite simple to slowly shut down your nervous system once a simple spark of my chakra has entered your body.”

The man slowly walked towards Syaoran, a neutral expression on his face as he did so. The boy would have nowhere to go, nowhere to run.

"Don't bother turning on those silly boots of yours; now that I uprooted these pipes, I was able to create a magnetic pull between your boots and the piping underneath the ground, and all it took was one stab into body. Even if you do survive this, you won't be able to fly away anymore. Even if you attempt to foolishly teleport, you'll only delay the inevitably once you resynchronize with our dimension. I saw your battle with Rakurai, I know you've exhausted your Hiraishin, at this point, I'd even wager that the next time you use it, you'd die from the stress of space-time travel. I also know that you‘ve been ‘poisoned‘, so to speak.”

The man stood in front of Syaoran now, looking down at him, eyes locking onto eyes. The Raikage must have been at least two feet taller then Syaoran, and twice as built. He extended one arm towards Syaoran's heart, chakra building, his spear beginning to slide out of his body, being absorbed back into Raikou's.

"You are underage, inexperienced, and outnumbered, whether you wish to acknowledge that or not. I had killed several sennin in my lifetime, all at the same time. One, broken Alchem will not be enough to end the perfect storm. Futile.”

He said simple, the lance flickering out of his palm at the true speed of lightning, with the intentions of piercing straight through Syaoran's heart, killing him, he'd hope. Syaoran wasn't totally devoid of movement, as the Raikage attempted to bluff. With enough effort, he would have been able to at the very least lose an arm from this attack, but in the end, all options looked grim.

It was a war, and sacrifices needed to be made.

The hulking guard continued to stand, watching Kouta and Yatako's futile attempts to force him to succumb to their powerful techniques. He did not move, he simply took the incoming strikes, his body twisting and turning in inhuman ways through the attacks, various pieces of his robe fluttering away into the breeze. The two would be able to make out what seemed to be metal underneath the sliced cloak that he wore.

"Kekekekeke…”

A voice echoed out from the hooded ninja, it's back bent, arched, so it looked as if it were attempting to play some sort of limbo. With Yatako's strike, it would seem as if the man's chakra flow had been completely cut off, it's tenketsu no longer functioning. In a few moments, however, he'd begin to notice a steady amount of chakra flowing into the ninja's body through it's limbs. This was very strange, due to the fact that chakra was normally produced within the spiral area of the tenketsu within the chest. Yatako had missed this earlier, but it seemed as if strings of chakra were attached to the ninja's body, as if it's chakra was coming from another source-

Before he could even calculate what this could mean, the front of the cloak blew open, a toxic gas releasing into the air around them once they had gotten close enough. It was only meant to stun them, so it wasn't truly fatal. It was the distinct smell that would hint towards his next move…

Gasoline...

As the two were thrown into a blissful genjutsu, the princess of glass took this moment to rest, to piece her body back together. She had begun to tremble, not use to being in combat for this long. The Raikage had picked her for discreet, quick, blitzkrieg-esk missions. She was a master at quick assassinations, able to bring down armies with a simple will.

So what made this battle so difficult?

Match up.

Regardless of how strong any ninja had ever become, there was at least one person in the world whom could defeat them. That's simply how the world worked. Perhaps it was some bizarre law put in place by the gods before they created such a magnificent realm of existence, but one power must always trump another, omniscient capabilities were limited to only themselves.

Piece by piece, she melded each shard of glass with herself once again, attempting to become ‘whole' once more. She shuddered, each piece sending a vibration of pain directly to her brain. Her body wasn't mean to break apart this many times. A good five minutes passed before she reassembled herself, bringing herself to her feet. She watched the two boys in their blissful slumber, a long sword being forged out of her hand. She never killed people while they were this helpless; she saw it as utterly dishonorable. The woman had descended from a long line of royal blood, hence her proper speech and graceful movements. She had learned the code of a knight ironically enough, more so then a ninja, so honor was above all, most important.

As she approached the two, tears began to well up; she knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to. Such bravery, such vigor, such bravado. How could she possibly take that all away?

Suddenly, all of that doubt was thrown straight out the window as it appeared Warrusu awoke. Now was her chance, she needed to finish this now or never. As they charged one another, the woman attempted to create bucklers to avoid the clone's incoming assaults, but altogether, they overwhelmed her. She stabbed forward at Warrusu, even as she was blinded by the steam that surrounded her, attacking wildly now, between him, the clones, and Haruyuki, feeling so defenseless and blinded. Suddenly, a hot, steaming, shaft had been impaled into her. A gasp, her body shattering into a huge radius, liable to seriously injure anyone within the circle of it's fire.

She had been finished off now, he body slowly piecing herself together, eyes glowing, her body completely devoid of sight and senses. She attempted to find the young men, taking heavy, tear-filled breathes.

"K-kill me…I was almost about to dishonor you two…I apologize truly…”

Sound began to fade around him, the world began to go blurry. He could hear his name being called out, and though he recognized it, he couldn't put his finger on who it was. Regardless of how intent on failing him his body was, he did not budge an inch, still parrying her scythe with one hand, the blade poking between his ribs, getting closer to his organs every few seconds as she applied more and more pressure. His hands shook, his pores released sweat, and blood gushed from his mouth and side. But he'd continue to hold on, because he knew he could count on Hakkai and Korin. He knew in the end, they'd come through, and it was so engraved into his core, that he risked his life over it.

It was not in vain.

Slowly but surely, mother earth seemed to take Raz into her grasp, caressing his body gently, nurturing it with her protection. A second skin of mineral surrounded Raz, reducing the intense pain from the scythe that caused him to wretch with sickness. He had not a clue who casted it, as well as who casted the blades of grass that would entangle the milky white kaguya woman.

His heart began to sink, perhaps, slowly stopping now, as he felt the cold touch of death grip his ankle. Was he truly but a heartbeat away from his inevitable death? Apparently not, as a chill ran down his spine, sensing a dark, horrifying chakra nearby. His head turned slightly, one eye closed, the other opened, watching Korin unleash her rage in a daze.

"K-korin…?”

He asked, wearily, his arms growing too tired to hold this weapon up any longer. From his perspective, she looked somewhat demonic, as she charged the Kaguya. From here, he began to slowly black out, the lack of blood overwhelming him.

Thump, thump, thump

His heartbeat began to slow down now, the jolt of surprise from Korin unable to keep him stable enough to hold on much longer. His hand released his guitar, his body falling limply towards the girl. He could feel his body caught, but he seemed unconscious at the time. It was a strange feeling, as if he were perceiving the events that were to follow from outside of his body.

Thump, thump…

Her frantic coo's filled his ears and slowly dieing heart. His blood leaked out from his wounds onto her, which in retrospect, he'd feel terrible for. His breath was slowly fading away, it was almost as if it was time to go, once again….

Thu-

.:Flashback:.

"Knowing that you're alive… that's all that is needed.”

He grinned wide, showing off his teeth as he did so. He began walking closer to her as he spoke, his hands pulling away from his pockets. His words carried a bit of a tease in them, referring to when they last met, her expressions were quite different. On the other hand, the words bore a very sincere tone. He continued to walk towards her slowly, taking a closer look at her each step he took. He noticed how her breath became unsteady, but was caught in a realm of elation and worry. Her words pleased him, he was glad to be getting such a good response on his return. It wasn't easy after all. However, it might have been a bit much for her, he could not tell. As she spoke her last words, he was about a foot or two away from her.

The guitar on his back increased in warmth, Atomsk's spirit seemed to be chuckling at the boy. He was amused with this meeting, and he had borrowed Raz's eyes while he used them himself, gazing at Korin through Raz's eyes. He realized who the girl was as his soul searched throughout Raz's memory, and the chuckle increased, but it was not mocking in the slightest. Raz ignored the laughs that immerged into his head from the guitar, and looked back down at Korin.

"Even so, I will make sure your safe for as long as I have my life. That's a promise."

.:Fin:.

"That's right…I swore to her, didn't I? I told her I'd always be here. I don't care what type of paradise awaits me in the afterlife, nothing is more perfect then to watch her smile…”

Thump, thump, thump…

With a jolt, the boy flew up straight, hacking up a load of blood onto the blades of grass before him. His eyes trailed to the Kaguya woman, he lay on the groumd, unconscious. He could feel warm arms surrounding him, chakra flowing into his wounds, as they began to slowly heal, the blood finally beginning to settle. He knew who did this for him, the one who was always there to fix him when he broke.

"I know you do…thank you…I‘m sorry, I suppose I‘m too big of a mess to kiss back right now…”

The boy smiled softly, laying against the girl, totally exhausted. He tried to avoid putting too much pressure on her, as he would feel guilty later for it. He had no idea what method of healing she was using, which was for the best or he'd scold her for it. He looked up at Hakkai, a small smile on his face. He chuckled slightly, giving him a small thumbs up.

"Thanks for backing me up, bro.”

His eyes slowly glanced over to the Raikage, his heart sinking slightly when he did. They weren't out of the woods quite yet, but there was definitely progress…

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12,911 Total

Edited September 20, 2008 by Eechi-go

[Cho Hakkai]

Hakkai watched as the Kaguya women fell. Hakkai had been a battle with Genjustu. His weakness was in the field of Genjustu as many ninja were. The pain that she had just gone through must have been horrible. The last time Hakkai went through a genjustu it also involved fire… real fire.

Hakkai didn't know any stronger pain than being lit aflame while completely conscious. Well, physically at least. And coming from a man who had his shoulder impaled, ripped out his own eyeball, almost had his intestines wrapped around a tree, it means something. But genjustu pain can go beyond that. Anything that could be thought of could make the opponent think its reality. The only limitation to genjustu really is the imagination of the opponent. The more realistic the user of the genjustu could make it, the worse.

The Gobi was a master at Genjustu and Hakkai knew first hand how powerful it could be. The Gobi literally bitch slapped his mind back in Lorien which gave him the worst feeling in the world in the form of a headache. He even began to bleed from the power the Gobi used on him. Now, the Gobi had molded his strength over the time he was bound in his prison, but still his power was nothing short of awesome.

Hakkai had no idea how often the Kaguya woman had encountered Genjustu, but from the looks of it, Korin's had done major damage to her. The facial expression that she had was indescribable. Hakkai just wished she hadn't gone through so much pain.

Hakkai hated this war for the amount of pain it brought. It wasn't just the pain of one village either. So many villages had come together to face one target. Here on this battle field there were ninja from every village.

Each part of the world was represented today in this final battle. Each part fought for a different reason but nonetheless they fought with their entire being. Even the Raikage was fighting in a serious manner. Hakkai found this thought amusing.

The blades of grass were stained. They had grown in a rushed but pure manner. The mixture of red and green was almost zen like. It was weird but the way the blood went on the grass made it look like there was grass on the blood, not the other way around. Hakkai, however, didn't want to look at this mixture anymore. His attention focused more on the Kaguya woman who now laid in said grass below unconscious.

Hakkai sighed as he took off his over shirt. He walked over to the Kaguya lady and placed his shirt above her chest and it covered from her chest to about her waist. Hakkai took off his under shirt and placed it on the lower part of her body. It didn't do much but now she was covered. The slash from his chest was still oozing blood. The crimson dripped out slowly and down his stomach. If one would look, they would notice a rather large scar in the general area of where his liver is. It didn't seem to be that of a surgical procedure because it was straight or anything.

Hakkai began to think, but for some reason he was compelled to say it out loud.

"There is no reason for her to be unconscious and naked on the ground. At least with this she won't be embarrassed when she wakes up. I hope she does wake up. I mean, there is blood on it, but it is defiantly better than her just being nude.”

Hakkai smiled as he turned around and walked over to Raz. Hakkai smiled as he ruffled his friend's hair. Raz had thanked Hakkai for his help but in truth, Raz could have done with her just fine on his own. He had grown so much. Hakkai was proud to have taught him and couldn't be more happy about the strength he possessed. Hakkai smiled again, even brighter and said, "No thanks is needed.” Hakkai then stretched out his arms to see the extent of the pain he was in.

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[Warr]

It has long been a matter of proverb that time moves like sand, and that mystic element has been given a place of reverence by those who value it. Sand has been given a level of reverence view have for any element, though a level of reverence overcome tenfold by the reverence the seventh son of the Umikoi clan born with the name 'Umikoi Warrusu' for water. A reverence he easily applied to time, just as others did with sand and time. At times time has the slow movement of sand, and at other times it has the liquid ferocity of water.

This was one of the latter times, a moment which blossomed from being a single second into being a minute. Even as the prince of fisher-nin had been hurled from the blast of his wave clone's dissipation's wave, it began to move in such a way. The next few seconds were not slow, they were as quick as a stream of water falling from the sky.

Unceasing, mobile, and confusing to find the exact movements of. In mere seconds, Warrusu had been impaled through the right shoulder by the noble woman he had called a witch of glass' sword of the same element. Likewise, his hastily prepared Jouki Kirigakure no Jutsu had been set off only seconds before he was impaled, and to his luck had kept him from falling all the way into it as he slammed his left hand to the ground to hold himself up, mere centimeters from the woman's body. In a shinobi raised in a weaker tradition, or a shinobi-nin whom had not seen what he had just seen, it might bring an expression of immense pain or of anger to this woman to view. But in Umikoi Warrusu za Shichi, a boy who had as much been jutted into this war as anyone else, it brought a simple knowing smile. It brought a kiss to the woman of glasses cheek, a kiss which he used his own chakra to keep cool, realizing the pain that steam brought to her, and knowing well his body was heated in an immense way.

If that was not an answer to her question, the son of Kirigakure no Sato's silent movement to his feet, his toes coming to the ground first and then him throwing himself upwards backwards with a punch into the ground, wincing even as he did, surely would. He looked at her with the kind eyes of a father, or a man whom had seen enough death today.

He knew good and well that if he killed her in rage, or even at her request, that would only make him the same as those whom he had hated so. It would make him the same as those that he had seen in his dream, those devils in the skin of all those he loved. Even though he would have loved to oblige this woman's wish, seeing the immense pain she was in, he could not. It would only be a step down the inevitable path of future which he had just seen. A step down a path he had every interest in not following.

She was too weak to stand a threat now, as far as he was concerned, and that was enough. He stood there, looking at the woman for a moment, before placing his hand near the glass sword which had just been in her hand, activating his kekkei genkei and blasting an amount of water chakra from his hand capable of allowing him to use his kekkei genkei to mold it into a claw like gauntlet, and take hold of the glass with that buffer, so as to not cut himself. He smiled at the woman, and then grabbed it at the very edge of the glass, pulling it out as far as he could, his smile momentarily turning into a wince of pain as he moved the sword of glass entirely from his shoulder, which it had stuck clean through from.

He dropped the blade a couple of feet from her, throwing it in a way to purposefully make it shatter, and he looked at her for one more moment, blood dripping down that deep cut in his right shoulder. His eyes closed for a moment, before looking back at her with those maelstrom of blue eyes of his. A momentary smile came across his face, even as the bleeding continued.

"A true shinobi-nin endures, glass woman.” He paused, realizing exactly how cold his voice had been as he spoke those words. He looked to her again, his expression as intense as it could be, but with the smile upon his lips, as friendly as could be, as well. A contrast which most would see as a tool of enhancing charisma. "And I cannot do your request, I cannot. Because a shinobi-nin is meant to endure, and my nindo demands that I do not. I'm tired of being the bad man, the sad man, the one fated to kill those who come forth to bring interference with my plans and my dreams. Not even the guardians of the Raikage deserve death without absolute cause. Even if you feel your dishonor to us cannot be repaired, you are wrong. You can repair it by living on, and finding a way of a ninja that fits you. We're not tools, regardless of what those who fight us might say. We are simply men and women who fight on, who endure the pain, to protect those whom we love. So honor our path, and continue to fight on. Protect those whom you love, but don't prevent me from doing what I have to do to protect those whom I love, both living and dead. Forgiveness and humanity is a rare but beautiful thing within the forms of water.”

His expression left the girl, turning to the Raikage, his eyes losing every shed of kindness they had before as he saw those symbols, those scars of war. His heart welled up like a flame, or more properly, like a blast of steam released from the pot lid which had been hiding the boiling water it dwelled with. He had paid for his vengeance with his childish spirit, with his joy of life without worry of pain or death brought upon those whom he loved.

No one knows what it's like, to be the bad man, to be the sad man, behind blue eyes and no one knows what it's like to be hated, to be hated, to telling only eyes. But my dreams, they aren't as empty, as my conscience seems to be.

I have hours, only lonely. My love is vengeance that's never free. No one knows what its like to feel these feelings, like I do. And I blame you. No one bites back as hard on their anger. None of my pain and woe can show through.

The steam waved in the wind, an immaterial wave spreading to protect the world. The inner youth of Umikoi Warrusu za Shichi screamed in anticipation, a war cry all too familiar.

"You want to take the world and reshape it? Huh, you asshole cloaked in the strikes of lightning, Inabikari Raikou, you want to? Well take this and see how much you can fucking shape it." The boy through his body into a half twirl, kicking a blast of water up with his left foot, as he hurled the emblem of the Namikaze, which he had just remembered the old man had given him, to Rasen. Without a pause, his left hand thrown back, the boy summoned up a blast of water from the puddle using his kekkei genkei, before throwing himself into a spin in the opposite direction, the water following him even as he did, his fire chakra, and his wind chakra bursting out in blasts as he did, instantly making the water spear transform into a shifting spear of steam, ice particles, and water. Before the youth touched his right pointer finger to it, giving it a blast of lightning chakra, and charging the entire jutsu.

Even as it went off he could feel the pain in his body from chakra use without rest, and from the wounds he had gained at the hands of the glass witch. But if the Raikage was hurt by this technique, he'd be one step closer to ending this and seeing his dreams come true, one step closer from not having to be the bad man, and the sad man, hiding behind blue eyes.

[1445 words]

[10885 Words Total]

Edited September 20, 2008 by Warr

[Kouta]

Not a scratch. Not a single solitary scratch from three of Benihime’s blades…and they all hit without flaws. Kouta and Benihime both grew angry, and he prepared to fire another shot of Benihime’s blade, but he stopped. As the smoke cleared, Kouta caught a glint of metal. Then, without warning, gasoline emerged from their victim, dousing the field. Kouta didn’t worry too much about it, knowing he could stop fire if the enemy decided to use it. He was more concerned with the enemy, and then it clicked. ”Yakato! A puppet! He’s using a puppet!” He screamed, hoping to find the master off guard. ”You find whoever is using the Kugutsu. I have a special trick for puppets, and I’ve never gotten to use it before…” Kouta said, smirking. He vaguely wondered if it was okay for him to go ahead and reveal his big tricks, but then, he had been saving this one long enough.

Kouta placed a hand over his injured shoulder, the blood trickling out onto his hand. At his feet, dust and dirt swirled, spinning as Kouta summon sand from the ground below him. The dirt and grains of earth were filtered out, as Kouta use a trick he learned while running from the NCIA. ”I find it funny…that I learned this trick while running from you bastards. Because of you, I’ll never be without sand, as long as there is the earth itself. I can call my native element to me anywhere. There’s no stopping me.” Kouta said, and the sand began to building up in great multitudes. Quite suddenly, Kouta flung his hand, covered in blood, over the sand. Droplets, no more than ten or fifteen, spattered the sand, but the effect was immediate. The sand ceased to be a golden, flowing brown. The sand grew dark, spreading from the droplets and infecting the entire array of sand around Kouta. Only his blood could produce such an effect. Well, his and the Third Kazekages…

”An archaic technique any fan of Ninjutsu is sure to remember…The Third Kazekage was always said to possess a secret ability. He could magnetize the very sands, turn them into metal, and crush his enemies with the very earth they walked on. Hours, months of preparation have afforded me this same gift. Behold the Kekkai Genkai of Third Kazekage! The birthright of the children of Suna! Behold, Santetsu, the Iron Sand!” Kouta pronounced, his sand leaping to life as the magnetized array suddenly launched in a flurry of thin, string-like spikes, twenty-five to be exact, which all leapt out at the puppet before him.

|::| Suna Nui |::|

[sand Stitching]

A basic maneuver, but hard as hell to avoid a hit, which is all Kouta needed. Three glancing blows was the only requirement of his funky ability. Each piece of sand was highly magnetized. A glancing blow, or a direct one, would lodge the magnetic sand into the joints of the puppet. This magnetic force would then cause any joints hit to cease functioning until manually cleaned. Three hits was all that was required to lock the puppet, making it totally useless unless the owner showed up to clean the puppet, which, in a battle like this, there was no time to do so. He had picked the wrong partnership to use this attack on. One that can search in 360 degrees for chakra, and one that can effectively nullify puppet warfare. This guy was royally fucked.

[580 Words]

[3,827 Total for Kouta]

Edited September 20, 2008 by Kouta

[cntrstrk14]

ooc: Er, I hate to do this, but the lance was a good like, 100 feet from Syaoran by the end of the post. It started to pierce him, but he teleported to the opposite side of the raikage, leaving the spear behind.

[Eechi-go]

((In your post it said that the lance had hit him, because he was bleeding, even if it was just a small hit due to his teleporting. That's all he needed to numb him in place.))

[Azure]

• • •

As the serrated shards of glass buzzed through the air, dominant from the explosion of the palace wall; sent his chakra floating on a scouting mission. Injecting his life force in to the needles, equivalent size to a typical senbon needle; he willed the individual needles to raise, while condensing the liquid particles of water in the air to freeze; molding the needles and particles together in an attempt to slow the onslaught of the magical mirror shards. By allowing the shards and water to condense, he formed one of his own illustrious mirrors in back of him, a simple step back allowed him to be swallowed up inside of the mirror. Folding dimensions, Haruyuki slipped out the back of the mirror as the glass shards raged through the atmosphere and shattered the mirror to pieces. Leaving shrapnel of glass and ice strewn on the ground.

Haruyuki looked upon the battle, gaining scope on to the actions of Warrusu and what path he would take. The icy eyed Hisame bore witness to the unrelenting assault created by Warrusu, extrapoling several loads of chakra on creating clones, manifesting steam and flowing water. The previously chilled atmosphere was heated from the steam of the Umikoi. Despite the dire events leading up to and the current stress of the situation; Haruyuki did not move. He did not move to strike, not because he was afraid- no. Haruyuki was ready to jump in at anytime, but his curiosity in answering a grave question that had buzzed through his brain needed to be answered. He watched as the glass shinobi was struck by intense water spears, he listened to Warrusu’s speech and even the responses from the glass maiden.

He never once kept an eye out for my potential attacks; it looks like he seen refused to acknowledge he has a partner to work with. Taking this woman on by himself, not giving a second to even allow me to throw my fist in. Surly he-

Haruyuki’s thoughts were impaled by the next action of the Umikoi. Warrusu deduced his next attack, against the Raikage. Unleashing a shot of a maelstrom spear, the spear was released with a variance of elements fueling its attack. Consequently, the shot itself had already fueled another source. A fire within Haruyuki he had wished to douse had sparked foully. His icy eyes melted away to flicker flames, to which his heart resonated.

I can’t believe that this glass shinobi is finished just like that. Regardless if her strikes were aimed to be powerful and strong on one front and if she expelled too much energy, she would falter. The fact of the matter is that this is a guard of the Raikage, not some ordinary shinobi, how can he be so sure?! He uses the same variations of one technique, that would surly breed to predictability. And of ALL things, did he not understand that Syaoran will not fight truthfully if anyone else is involved in his battle?! It would have been wise to direct that attack at another guard instead of letting his emotions get the better of himself!

Haruyuki’s anger amounted; he had suppressed the feelings for quite some time, allowing Warrusu to gain the benefit of the doubt. However the cold truth that he learned infuriated him. How could Warrusu not understand and respect Syaoran’s wish to fight the Raikage alone, the very thoughts cascaded around him mind. Haruyuki knew the actions necessary to take, in order to suppress both problems. His right arm flung in to a triad of seals. His froze to a deeper chill of frozen water than their previous state.

·:: Hari-Yuki: Kyokusen Hitomane ::·

(Crystal Snow Type: Polar Mimicry)

The temperature began to plunge as his chakra seeped out form his body and carried in to the water particles in the air. Upon will, he influenced them to release their energy and become cool. The warmer temperatures created from Warrusu’s steam began to decline and the heavy humidity whisked away. Stray water puddles began to freeze over and heated glass would cool sharply. If their two chakras would fold in to a state of near equilibrium, there could potentially be time before something unexpected happens. There was something just too odd about the girl’s plea. She might be noble and request a painless end to her suffering, however being pulled in to the Raikage’s crowd, he couldn’t shake the idea that there was something more to the puzzle. Even if she were harmless now, it was foolish to leave a revealed opening, ripe for her strike.

Realizing the battles enveloped around him, he was not going to allow such a time to slip through his fingers. If he did not execute his action at this point in time, he feared he would not be able to do so at a later date. The time could be whisked away; Haruyuki began to form seals for another jutsu, ushering a separate creature in to this chilly world.

·:: Kuchiyose no Jutsu ::·

(Summoning Technique)

Pulling a scroll from his tunic, Haruyuki flexed its long page open, simultaneously spilling drops of his blood on to the parchement. Slamming the scroll to the geound, a symbol glowed profusely, allowing the rift betwixt the dimensions to open for a short amount of time. Calling in to this world a creature from another dimension. Fiery red skin with plotted black spots was her coat of her skin layer. The slug known as Youshi took her breathes in the world’s atmosphere. Haruyuki patted her head, knowing that she would soon be called attention to their wounds, depending on the next response from the glass princess.

[943 words]

[4354 total]

[cntrstrk14]

Syaoran's body was indeed going numb, his hands were getting harder to feel and his legs felt almost as if they weren't his own at this point. The Raikage explained himself, the reason Syaoran was numb was because of the lance, the reason he was rooted to the ground was because of the piping. He wouldn't be able to fly, probably much less walk at this point. He would have to make a fast decision here, and he thought of leaking chakra into the ground to remove the metal piping with Alchemy, but that may just cause the man to destroy the Alchem outright. Many things raced through Syaoran's head, memories from when he was a child, memories of the people back home, memories of Natalie, memories of Sanji. His life was flashing before his eyes and he felt that the end was coming.

Suddenly, he was alone in a marble floored city, the buildings all around him bleached white in color. In front of him an older man stood, cloaked in red. Syaoran looked at himself, his clothing was the same, he was the same, but this place was different. It was so calm, unhindered by the turmoil and war that was happening in the outside world. Syaoran had been here before, he had seen this city and witnessed this man in red with his very own eyes in the past. This was Tyranical, the city of the sky, lost to the ages centuries ago. Before Syaoran could say another word the man across from him began to speak.

"So you've come this far just to end it here?”, he asked, the silent that followed felt like a vacuum, devouring the street square where they stood of any sound. There was a good moment before Syaoran would answer.

"I… I don't know.”, he would say, still a bit shocked at what was happening. He wondered to himself where he was. Had he died? He had not even seen the attack yet, last thing he had known was that the Raikage had approached him and stood within arms reach of the Alchem.

"This is within yourself.”\, the man would reply to Syaoran's thoughts, his voice subtle, yet it flowed like water from his mouth. "This is the center of your strength, a strength you rarely tap into. Within here, no matter how bad it gets on the outside, it has been a long time since a sound has penetrated this city.”

The city around them was indeed tranquil, completely at peace with itself. The clouds drifting overhead was the only movement, the city was void of any signs of life outside of the two who stood at this very spot. Lights along the streets came from glowing crystals kept within cages, shimmering with a blue and white light off of the walls around them. There was a subtle breeze, but nothing moved with it aside the clouds.

"Why do you continue to push on your own? You know that you are stronger if you fight alongside others.”, the man finally spoke again, this time he would look towards Syaoran. His facial features were indefinable, like a poor memory. Nothing could stand out to be remembered, and Syaoran thought nothing of it at the moment.

"Why?… Because I am afraid… I'm afraid that other people will get hurt, I‘m afraid I will hurt other people.”, Syaoran replied, his voice much more intrusive to the environment as he did, echoing off the buildings and traveling down the street where as the other man's had no such effect.

"Are you afraid that you cannot control yours-”

"I'm afraid of my own power, I'm afraid that the Raikage will use people against me. He knows my weaknesses, he knows that he can play on others to get to me. He killed Maomi just to play with me!”, Syaoran said, anger in his voice as he did, followed by a hint of defiance.

"...I'm afraid I am not good enough…”

Syaoran thought, his memory flooded with all of his past experiences, failure after failure, death after death. Almost everyone he cared for ended up dying, people who stood near him on the battlefield were targeted because of him. Kia was killed while he stood by unable to help, Hikado was killed while he was unable to do anything to stop the attack, Iwagakure no Sato had been invaded three times in the last five years, and each time he could do nothing.

"You cannot hold yourself accountable for all that has happene-”

"YES I CAN. I AM ACCOUNTABLE. How am I suppose to become Tsuchikage, how am I suppose to be the one people look up to if I am not accountable for my incompetence! I REFUSE to ignore my past mistakes and I refuse to make unnecessary sacrifices!”, Syaoran interrupted the man again and he simply let the man talk. Pausing to assure that he was finished he would let a moment pass before speaking.

"You know where you stand, you don't need to prove anything.”

And with those words the world around him would start to dissolve, fading to white. The walls blowing away in the wind, the last thing Syaoran would see would be the vivid red robes of the man wash away and become replaced by a white wash.

Syaoran would be back, the Raikage was in front of him again. It seemed as if no time at all had passed. The man would finish his speech, Syaoran's mind would clear and he would see his opportunity. With a simple movement, the Raikage would launch his attack towards Syaoran, point blank, nowhere to run. Setting the lance to pierce the younger man, Syaoran's chakra would flare outward, a flicker of golden chakra would erupt around his body, exploding outward as the spear was thrust towards him. His eyes flared a bright gold color, and underneath his sleeve his red tattoo of the clan emblem would glow crimson. Golden and blue chakra would erupt and crackle around Syaoran's hand at the same moment, his arm thrusting out as the spear came down. With the burst of chakra as well, the ground would quake around them, any metal within reasonable distance of them would change form and become merely stone. All of the piping from early would harden and turn to simple stone, its awkward placement and shape causing some pipes to crack from the more brittle composition and fall to the ground. From the end of his arm, a long blade nearly four feet long and made of the same golden and blue chakra that surrounded him would reach to pierce the Raikage at the same moment he meant to pierce the Alchem.

Kyuukyoku Mangkukulaman

(Alchem Type: Final God of Fire) 

There was no time to dodge for either, Syaoran using his bloodline ability to increase his physical movements and the Raikage having put himself at point blank to release the spear attack. Syaoran had slid his body slightly to the right, the spear would pierce cleanly directly through his left chest, ripping a hole through his lung and coming out the other end as he pushed forward through the attack to cause his own to damage the other man further. The attack Syaoran had unleashed was the secret technique known only by the head of the Alchem clan. The area around his arm had been coated with the most basic of Alchem techniques, an extended transmutation that rather than create and form atoms and molecules, instead merely broke any molecular bond it touched. The attack, if it were to strike the other man, would leave at least as fatal a wound on him as the Alchem had just sustained. The blade that extended from his arm would strike for the heart, the same kind of attack he had used on Syaoran. It had used all of the young man's focus to make his arm move at the speed it did, sacrificing the ability to dodge the attack at all. And with no metal within the immediate area, the man would be unable to use any magnetic techniques or tricks, or so Syaoran hoped.

The pain from the spear was near unbearable, he let out a small scream as he would pull back, whether his attack hit or not, a large hole gaping directly through his chest would spurt out blood before stopping, his breathing getting heavy as he stumbled backwards. Unfortunately for the Raikage, the attack wouldn't put Syaoran down completely. He was seriously injured, but it was all pain. The bleeding had stopped, the only blood lost would be the blood that had been in that part of the body when it was blown out. The lungs were nearly unnecessary as long as he still had chakra, along with the rest of the respiratory system. However, Syaoran's left arm could barely move, twitching at best and immobilized from the damage to his chest.

1409 Words; 8572 Total

[Cloudnine]

She was… struggling for breath. Heavy, empty gasps rolled from her chest like cresting waves, but it still felt like she was drowning so slowly. Her mouth gaped open, trying to consume the chill air. As much as she tried to take in, it just choked her, curdling with the undeniable taste of blood rising in her throat. Korin sat up to try and make gravity her friend, make it force the ferric taste down to settle in her stomach. Or whatever. Anything but drown her. And that action took much effort within itself… her body was lacerated all over and she still fed her life and chakra into Raz, and… the illusion had actually frightened her.

Afterwards, after she'd released the Kaguya from the cogwheel and let the hideous contraption vanish, horrid shadows ran overcast. With what she'd done, with what she'd constructed in her mind… what gave her the desire, the right to desire to kill? Did she go through with the torture because she knew that it was only an illusion, which her victim, if her material wounds were tended to, would recover in a matter of days? And why didn't she feel any remorse when she loosened the chain with one hand and clung onto the silver thread of life with the other? Where was the fairness in her judgment, in her action, in her creed? It was… sickening at the least. With what she'd done, regardless of the Kaguya's intents, didn't Korin herself deserve to be hung high on the wheel as well? Where was the merit of her good deeds when her vindictive trickery mars her records?

The girl gazed over to where the fallen Kaguya lay. Hakkai had considerately draped her naked form with his shirt. Korin was grateful for that. In the end people were just people, and once a battle was finished, there were no grudges to bear. If… medic nin were to arrive on the scene soon, the girl would request that Shirayuri be seen to as a priority higher than herself… Korin was in debt of an apology.

Korin returned from her restless brooding as Raz gently laid his head on her thigh. She smiled, strained. "Don't die, fool,” the girl managed, her attempt at playful mockery. Sinking back onto her elbows, she slowly let the support slide from beneath her to recline onto the earth again. It was… discomforting. Blood had churned the dry dirt into a grimy mud. Her wounds stung and stung, feeding on her burnt out chakra without her consent.

A pause, a shuddering sigh. I'm at my limit. Anymore of the exchange would put her into an… unstable condition. "Raz, I'm going to have to cut you loose.” The last words gurgled slightly with another swelling of blood and spittle. That being said, Korin reluctantly snipped away the silvery string of chakra. And immediately, she felt herself lulled into a fateful slumber. Don't sleep, she told herself, fighting to bat away heavy lids.

Stay awake, stay awake, survive.

5o4

3899

Edited September 23, 2008 by Bifröst

[Eechi-go]

Raikou had little to no time to enjoy the satisfying pierce of his lance through Syaoran's lungs, as he was quickly thrown onto defense with the boy's sudden outburst of blue-gold chakra. Never had he seen such a color before, and it intrigued him to a certain extent. Of course, it wasn't exactly on his mind as the blade approached his heart. He had to think fast, this wasn't a situation in which he could play around. Out of the corner of his eye, a heavenly lance cast by Warrusu came barreling towards him. Perfect.

Sacrifices had to be made, and with all of his might, the man pushed backwards off of his heels, his hand extending to protect his heart. The spear came into collision with the man's body, causing him to twirl away from Syaoran, much like a rag doll. Performing a type of ‘barrel roll', he would soon notice that a fountain of blood had rocketed from him in ever direction. Was it from the spear? No, it had hit him, but the electric ‘shell' it was in allowed him to reduce a majority of the damage. As he landed on his feet, he noticed that his arm felt significantly lighter. His eyes gazed down at his forearm, before his wrist, before-

"My hand…”

He muttered softly to himself. Indeed, the blade did manage to come into contact with him, completely pulling apart the molecules that kept his hand together as a structure. He watched in disbelief as blood literally poured from his wrist onto the blades of grass below, staining them in the crimson liquid. He never cried out, never screamed or hollered. He simply began to snicker to himself, before bursting into a full blown laughter.

"For someone who criticizes my goals, my motives, you are not very different then I. As a matter of fact, as I struck you, I felt as if I were looking into a mirror…”

He was playing mind games with Syaoran now, his right hand catching the blood that poured out from his arm. Using it as a medium, the man had begun to perform a series of hand seals with his right hand, channeling a substantial amount of chakra throughout his body.

"Don't any of you dare hold back any longer, I wish to fight those who are strong, not ants.”

".: Kuchiyose no Jutsu:."

[summoning Technique]

On the final hand seal, the man slammed his palm into the ground, tainting the grass with a bloodied handprint that shined within the moonlight. The earth rumbled, surged as chakra was poured into it, creating a ‘rift' like circle underneath the man/ Suddenly, like lightning, a cloud exploded out from the ground, climbing stories high before stopping short. As the dust cleared, the Raikage was seen atop a massive bull-like creature, it's horns stained with the blood of those it had rend to oozing pieces of flesh. It's eyes bloodshot, glaring down at the ragtag heroes, stomping it's hoofed feet into the earth, it's whip-like tails battering the side of the palace.

Her playful attempts at mockery managed to crack a smile onto the boy's face, beaming back at her. Indeed, he would not die, he already felt his strength returning at a stunning rate. He couldn't place his finger on why, Korin hadn't been casting a medical jutsu on him, so how could he recover this quickly?

His answer approached abruptly as the girl warned that she'd need to cut him loose, and as he saw her rock backwards, he grasped her shoulders, keeping her upright, his recovery coming to a stammering halt. What exactly did she do? Perhaps he wasn't perceptive enough to notice the silvery string of chakra that kept him alive, but he did realize that whatever she did harmed herself, and in turn, healed him. It was a sick, sick jutsu, he thought to himself, and yet he was flattered. She had been willing to sacrifice her life essence, her ‘quintessence', so to speak, to keep him alive.

"Stay with me, okay? I'll protect you, I promise…”

He cooed into her ear, it was only fair, as she nurtured him back to health. He couldn't take any greater pleasure anyway. Suddenly, the sound of an object whizzing through the air towards Raz caught his attention, and without even looking, he grasped it, pulling it out of it's velocity, and flipping it in his palm to look the object over. In his hand sat an emblem attached to a thin necklace. He had never seen it before, yet the design seemed so familiar. A spiral with various degrees of thickness, with a dodger blue tint that reflected the color of his own eye. He stared into the design, for at least a minute or so, losing himself within the piece of jewelry. He recognized this symbol, didn't he see it in the valley of the Namikaze? What exactly did all of these signs point to?

Suddenly, like an outburst, his chakra exploded out of every point in his tenketsu, warming both him and Korin once more. This incredible rush was enough to jumpstart his body, giving him the ability to stand once more. Clutching the emblem, he tossed it around his neck, dangling against his bloodied chest.

Warrusu's attack had bombarded the Raikage at the point the was set for one more go. As the giant bull erupted from the ground, wind blew out in every direction, enough to knock a normal human flat on their bottom. Of course, Raz's aura simply absorbed it, feeding him more and more chakra. There was no way they could fight the Raikage without knocking him off the bull first. That was easier said then done, coming from someone who had dueled a ninja who summoned a boss summon. There was only one other option.

Slipping his hand into his pocket, he flicked out the gold-encrusted tobacco pipe that the frog clan had given him a few days earlier. Gamakichi's words rang through Raz's head, reminding him of the trump card he had received incase of an emergency.

"We didn't give ya' that pipe for nothin' ya know. Use that if ya really need my family. I'll go try to persuade him more though, just incase. Later!"

He clutched the pipe tightly, looking over it's design. It was quite a beautiful trinket if he did say so himself. Gold-platted, finely crafted from what he believed was some type of wood, but he had never come into contact with it in his lifetime thus far. So why couldn't he smoke it? Ah, he knew the answer, and it began to send him down a small trip into memory lane…

.:Flashback:.

It was about later afternoon in Otogakure no Sato, the sun began cascading towards the mountains that surrounded the village, creating a valley. Sun pierced through the glass windows of the young boy's house. He was only about six or seven years old, so he was still coming to grips with the world. A foul cloud of smoke lazily floated through the house It set his nostrils and throat aflame, causing him to break out into small coughing fits. His giant multi-colored eyes teared up as he ran to his mother, who's beautiful pink hair turned neon in the afternoon sun. Tugging on her blouse, the young boy looked up at his mother, rubbing his eyes clean of tears.

"M-mommy…what's that yucky smell? It keeps making my eyes water…”

His mother turned her head towards the young boy, grinning cheerfully. She kneeled down next to him, scuffing up his crimson locks a bit, before giving him a quick kiss to the forehead. She might have gotten a bit psychotic as he got older, but she still knew how to comfort the boy.

"Your daddy is having a smoke, being a ninja is stressful, and it's the only way he knows how to deal with that life. I just hope he finds a new way soon…he'll get sick if he keeps smoking like this…”

The last sentence was mostly an aside to herself, but young Rasen was mortified by the concept of his father obtaining a sickness. He quickly darted out of the kitchen, onto the balcony. There, his father was smoking a cigar that he had obtained earlier that day. Before the man even noticed he was there, Rasen jumped up onto the railing of the balcony, grabbed his father's cigar, and tossed it into an allyway.

"Rasen, what are you-!?”

The boy quickly threw himself into his father's arms, hugging him tightly, before muttering in tears into his father's chest.

"No! Stop hurting yourself! No more smoking!”

And with that, he burst into sobs, as his father watched, dumbfounded, gently patting his back, keeping him close. It comforted him to a certain extent, that his son would care this much for his health. Perhaps it would have been better for the boy not to be introduced into the shinobi world, his heart was much too kind…

.:Fin:.

The boy chuckled to himself slightly, twirling the pipe between his fingers. He was embarrassed by his actions in his youth, and he knew he was a foolish child. He too believed he was too soft to be a ninja, and here he was, going toe-to-toe with the strongest shinobi to ever command a horde of ninja in centuries. His hand froze, as his fingers slipped up the length of the pipe. Channeling chakra to his fingers, he snapped them, creating a small spark that lit the pipe, smoke bellowing out of the end. Slowly, he placed the tip in the corner of his mouth, before creating a puff of smoke that shot out into a ring shape in the air. He could feel the chakra of the toads within this pipe, this would help him indeed.

Quickly, the boy preformed the necessary hand seals, the only ones he bothered to learn by heart. By quickly smearing blood off of his shirt, he slammed his palm to the ground, quickly grabbing Korin in order to keep her close by his side.

".: Kuchiyose no Jutsu:."

[summoning Technique]

Chakra vortex's aligned, a rift was formed underneath the boy's feet, an all enveloping cloud sprung forth, causing Raz and Korin to tower among the rest, unless of course, they each had their own summons in which they could bring forward. The clouds would burst, and the two would stand upon the chief of toads; Gamabunta. Raz stood tall, cradling Korin in his arms, his coat flung around her, his new pendant fluttering in the winds that stirred at such a high alititude, as he stared at the Raikage across the palace grounds, calling out angrily.

"Don't underestimate us-!!”

1969 Words

14,880 Total

Edited September 24, 2008 by Eechi-go

[Azure]

The steadfast shinobi held his feet, strung to gravity's strings and refused, against normality's better judgment to attempt utilizing his reaction rates to avoid the succumbing attacks made from the dual shinobi strike. Yatako's Byakugan eyes stung deeply in to the inner workings of the environment, becoming almost too aware of everything transpiring outside of their battle. He could see in the war amongst the other pairs of Resistance shinobi, he made sure his concentration would not be cut too shortly, so he would not risk becoming distracted. Such was a curse with the amounted blessing; those with a small intention span would find the remarkable trait vilely mocking. Through the brunt of the blows, the rock of a shinobi's body creaked and swung, absorbing the strikes and conforming to the powerful forces colliding to its skin. The drawn robe clung to the guard's body, but after being riddled with attacks, the shinobi robe tore away from his body, revealing unwanted results. The result shone metal plating through the conceptual imagery previous outset on the silent hulk. A short, vocal shuddering cackle bore from the mouth of the Unknown Soldier. It was an odd type of laugh, something almost disturbing to hear. It had not agreed with the previous setting of the scene assumed by the ambiance reflecting off the shinobi.

The body of the figure suddenly erected; then began to transform in to a bent arc that resembled a form of intricate dance. Yatako watched closely, inspecting the meaning behind these movements. After Yatako's relay, it appeared that the entirety of its chakra had ceased its flow. The tenketsu littered along its system were shut down, as if Yatako sealed them specifically, however he did not intend to do so. This perplexed him, augmenting his guard, for a nagging feeling tore at his heart. As his heart steadily beat to the melody inscribed and commanded from his Hypothalamus. Soon, his eyes gave way; revealing a strange monotonous pulse of chakra being injecting in to the figure. The chakra seeped in to his limbs, instead of the traditional tenketsu system, as if he were being controlled by an unseeing force. All of these calculations refused to add up properly and he was unable to decipher the puzzle before his cloak blew open, blowing up a rank odor in the air. The nauseous smell caught wave in to his nostrils and produced a natural bodily function, coughing a bit.

In just a few ticks of the clock, the air had been polluted with a vile smell, along with a few droplets of black liquid. Yatako's eyes gazed upon the foreign carcinogen and registered the fumes belonged to gasoline. Kouta bellowed the instruction that the figure was not an actual human, but rather a puppet. This was the first encounter Yatako had made with a puppet truly; he began to understand another aspect of the shinobi world. Kouta claimed the ownership of pitching combat with the tool; asking Yatako to scout out the hidden actual master. Yatako's Byakugan would only need to magnify his already keen eye sight in order to find the chakra emitting from the concealed warrior. Yatako quickly focused on the strings attached to the puppet and began to connect the points to the hidden horror and true opponent.

"That's interesting! Something rare, but what do you expect from the elites? Considering the facts, watch out, I doubt the puppet master will be anything like any others you've encountered.” Yatako called back, the scent of foul stenches pierced his nose once again. "Kind of like these fumes.” Yatako's voice was cut down to a loud whisper; consulting with himself, along with the world around him. As a section of the angular degree of sight donated by his immaculate ocular organs, the Hyuuga was able to keep in touch with the exquisite maneuvers and tactics displayed by Kouta. His art of sand bidding was remarkable. However, the main of his focused squared solely on the identification and pursuit of the assailant.

It had only taken him quick seconds of concentration to pick up on the amounting chakra force. He pinpointed the area not too far away from the position of the puppet, but in a relatively safe area. Yatako did not initially allude to his unearthing of the shinobi's location. Instead, his right hand reached across his torso and gripped the sword strung on his left hip. Hearing the attuned click and slip of metal out of the wooden sheath, knit with the crests of the Hyuuga and the Nara clan on either side, along with crimson designs penciled on the black wood. The hilt contrasted in harmony with his gauntlet. Black and white lace on silver metal, with a dangling silver crucifix only an inch from the Konohagakure no Sato symbol branded to the hilt. Three spikes symbolizing the Brotherhood of Three made up the golden guard, leading on to a shimmering blade of silver gleam. The sword, branded Kinen, was the physical bond between Yatako and his dear friend Nara Gensai, who had retired his shinobi ways and now wandered in to the unknown world. He was a soul in the same ship as the Hyuuga, wishing for the return of the world to harmony and peace. Raising the blade high up in the air above him; Yatako called upon his chakra to muster the wind to blow in accordance to his will. Yatako called the winds to shift inward, surrounding the blade in a cyclone pattern, and drawing in the toxic gas that inhabited the air. Yatako feared the chance of combustion and drew in the liquid drops spurted from the puppet earlier. Rotating the blade in a circular pattern, Yatako pushed more chakra in to the blade, forming the cyclone to be a highly refined force. The Hyuuga waited until a safe amount of wind accumulated, challenging gravity, he jumped to the air. Concentrating elemental chakra in to the sword, he forced fire chakra in to the hilt as a tiny force, to be fed off the other chakra soon to follow. Clenching his right fist, he bore chakra from his tenketsu, focusing the gathering point in to his palm. Still handing in the air, Yatako directed the angle of decent to fall just feet before the gathered chakra force.

Tenrai Botsuraku; Tenketsu Tenka

(Divine Ruin; Tenketsu Ignition)

Hurling his hand backward, Yatako swung forward with a great force and left the blade to fling forward, through the air; cutting through the resistance. "This attack is in honor of Gensai, his contribution!” Yatako's voice was filled with brave emotion, feeling the old feelings of reminiscing his past, showing a degree of miss towards his metaphoric brother. The blade moved quickly, propelled by a white chakra surge, creeping up the hilt of the sword as it ran in motion. With the flammable fumes wrapped around the sword, Yatako concerted the toned wind to keep steady until impact other ground. As the sword struck the ground, sliding in to the earthen skin; the wind disrupted and the flicker of fire chakra set off its reaction. The ember caught wind of the gasoline and ignited violently as the fumes were dispersed, spreading across the immediate vicinity of the chakra source. Dropping to the ground, Yatako began to close the distance between the two, in the cover of the dust screen; leaving a wide gap between them, for the certain reaction of the unidentified guard.

[1245 words]

[7852 total]

[cntrstrk14]

Syaoran would curse inwardly as his attack only took the hand of the man. He wondered if the man had even known how lucky he was to only loose his hand. No means of defense had yet to work against that attack, which is precisely why it was such a guarded secret of his clan. Regardless, the Raikage put distance between himself and Syaoran, blood stained the front of the young Alchem's vest as a large hole the size of a fist was very apparent through his left chest. His left arm, handing limb from his shoulder socket was all but useless as of now, and Syaoran wondered if he would really be able to carry on such a fight without it. His eyes were stinging from the pain, wanting to close shut and try and focus away the thought of the hole in his chest, but he couldn't afford to take even one eye off of the man. Instead of showing any weakness though, Syaoran would merely use his right hand to cover the wound on his chest, watching as the man laughed and swung around his stump of an arm. Taking a sample of his own blood, the enemy would perform a basic technique that any self respecting ninja would know. Standing in front of them now was the Raikage atop his giant mount, the weakness of his lost hand seemingly nothing with this new beast at his beckoning.

‘Two can play at that game.', Syaoran would think, his hand already soaked in his own blood as he used his one hand to make the seals necessary. Placing his palm on the ground, Syaoran would close his eyes for a moment and focus, the form of Raz appearing to have finished his fight and bringing out his own summon rising to the side.

‘Please come out. If I ever need you, now is that time.', Syaoran said, thinking back to a discussion he had the previous week with a lower member of his summons. He had never called forth the leader of the family, but on the same page he had never been faced with an opponent that needed him two. His golden eyes would open, focusing on the seal that had appeared on the ground before shouting.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!!"

(Summoning Technique)

A large cloud of smoke would appear, rising up tens of stories in the air. As the smoke cleared, blown away by the raging winds, there would appear a giant among bears that had not been seen on this plane of existence in decades. The bear, a Kodiak by family, was sixty feet tall on all fours, its fur a dark brown color. Across it's forehead was a massive bleach white diamond tattoo, the fur itself was colored and broke from the diamond, stretching across the rest of the bear's body into intricate tribal tattoos. The bear seemed ancient, its body aged and beyond its prime. The eyes of the bear were intense though, and as its focus dotted from the bull in front of him to Gamabunta on the side he would give a low growl of dissatisfaction.

"So we finally mean, Alchem Syaoran.”, the bear said in a deep commanding voice that shook the very foundation of the palace. The bear, if he were to stand on all fours, would reach nearly one hundred and ten feet, and more than likely would stand a good amount over the other two summons. The immense size of this family of bears was one of its largest strengths, as well as a factor that made them famous. Even among the realm of the summons they were known as being excessively large.

"I wish it were under more pleasing circumstances.”, Syaoran said from atop the head of the great bear, clutching his chest as if to stop the bleeding that did not exist. "But it is a pleasure to have finally gotten the chance, Nando.”, he finished with the upmost respect in his voice. The bear did not make a response, but merely let his eyes fall back on the bull in front of him. It was not the summons place to know of give a damn about the human world politics, so it was no surprise that he seemed to not give a care to who he was facing. Setting himself back he would ready his aged body. What was next?

735 Words; 9307 Total

[Cho Hakkai]

Hakkai felt badly for the woman who he had just help defeat. She was not murderous. She was not a demon inside the body of a human. She was too playful to be like that. Hakkai didn't want her to have been in such a massive amount of pain. I mean, she was literally skinned alive, had her bones broken, and most of her muscle was changed from its original place. The fact she was able to stay alive was amazing Hakkai. She stood up like a corpse but regained her beauty in the blink of an eye.

Her powers were unlike that of any Kaguya Hakkai had met before. She was almost immortal. Not even something that would completely destroy a normal person could stop her. Hell, even if one of the three things happened to a normal person would have kill them in the split of a second. And yet, she was able to cheat death with her will to fight.

Hakkai turned away from Raz to look down at the woman again, who was now covered in his two shirts. The oozing crimson that came from his chest stopped coming out, though the blood still remained on his chest. It didn't bother him. Blood was a common thing that has happened in his life.

It is the very essence of life and shouldn't be feared. Should one spill blood they should feel a small amount of sorrow for doing so. When blood is spilled, remember that it is the essence of life now; you spill a little bit of that person that they may never get back. It may be replaced, but never to the same exact extent.

Think of getting a new puppy. You cherish it, you love it, and it grows and becomes apart of you. Then, one day, someone comes and stabs it in the face. I mean, it dies. So, you get a new dog to help you get through the old one. Your original dog has been replaced, but still a part of you that you won't get back is lost forever.

Life is a never ending cycle of gaining and losing. But for a life to exist, one must loose to gain. A simple basic to existence. It isn't like having your cake and not being able to eat it. Because in reality, you can have you cake and eat. Just ask for a slice. Or steal it. But stealing is wrong so try to not do it.

To gain more mental knowledge, one must give away their laziness and learn. To get ahead, one must first take a step back. To learn an instrument one must learn to let go of any fear and anxiety. To get one thing in life one must get rid of something. A simple concept. And the thing to get rid of is not always necessarily a bad thing too. Sometimes to live a person must give up an arm or a leg.

Hakkai placed his hand on his chest and wiped up the blood that was there. With a flick of his wrist he took off most of it, making sure that none of it went onto the Kaguya woman. She had already shed enough blood for the two of them and Hakkai wasn't expecting anymore for the time being. At least from his own body.

Hakkai closed his eyes as he made a small prayer for the woman, hoping that she would live. Hakkai believed she would regardless of whether or not he prayed, but it couldn't hurt her chances, could it?

Hakkai felt a surge of power. There was no doubt in his mind who it was from. It was the Raikage. Turning around Hakkai saw the Raikage use his blood while making several seals. Hakkai didn't even have to wonder what the Raikage was planning to do because any moron would be able to know he was about to summon a massive beast. And since this was the Raikage, the animal would be no pushover as well.

In the blink of an eye, a bull came into existence. The ground conjured it. Hakkai had no idea how powerful this beast would be but it was angry and powerful. Its eyes spoke of nothing but danger. Its bloodlust was easy to sense. The ferocity made Hakkai afraid. Not of dying, of course. Hakkai never feared that. Why? Simply because a person may not kill a man that was already dead.

He was afraid of the damage that would happen. This battle would more than undeniably destroy the area around them. Hakkai didn't want this destruction to occur. But, he figured anyone who was worth saving had already left the area, or the city altogether. And before his eyes, he saw several more summonings being brought from the alternate plain of existence.

Gamabunta, the Toad Boss. Of course this one was summoned by Raz.

A Kodiak bear. Summoned by Syaoran.

A slug summoned by one of the Kiri men.

Hakkai thought to himself that he wasn't going to be left out of this battle. No, he would be easily an aid in this battle, even though his ability to summon the highest of levels was not exactly his specialty. Nonetheless, Hakkai made several hand seals.

Rooster

Ram

Dragon

Rat

Monkey

Bird

Tiger

Pig

Ram.

The hand seals were very distinct as Hakkai took a small pause between each of the seals to get him collected. He then wiped the rest of the blood on his chest onto his hand. The blood on his hand began to sizzle as several marks appeared not only on his hand, but also up to his forearm. The strange markings looked like letters written in black ink.

Hakkai raised his arm into the air, then crowched as he slammed his own hand into the ground.

He said in a normal tone, not yelling, there was no reason to yell,

Kuchiyose no Jutsu

(Summoning Technique)

With a puff of smoke, Hakkai was well into the air. The thin air made Hakkai slightly dizzy but alas he was now part of the main battle. He stood there, with his scar on his belly, shirtless, filled with pride, filled with confidence, and again, shirtless. Hakkai adjusted his monocle so that he could see clearly. He hoped that it didn't fog up. Being up this high in the air, the cold would surely make some form of condensation. But, what exactly had Hakkai summoned?

Well for one, he was roughly a mile into the air. So whatever he summoned was massive. It was also furry. SHE was also furry. It was a giant panda. Yes, Hakkai summoned a massive panda. She was quite frightening too. This panda didn't have death in her eyes, as the bull did, but just pure rage. As if she were… dare I say it? PMSing.

Her fur was unlike that of a normal panda, being a red and white rather than a black and white. She wore a large pink apron and on the side of her apron was a massive pan. She spoke to Hakkai, slightly enraged.

"Goddamnit! Why did you summon me? My show was on!”

Hakkai closed his eyes as he scratched his face with his right index finger. A large sweatdrop appeared on the side of his head.

With a nervous chuckle, Hakkai said to the giant panda, "Yaya, I need your help, please. I have helped take care of your children when you could not. I need your aid in this fight against this massive beast,” Hakkai then pointed at the bull. "He belongs to the Raikage who runs the NCIA. Please Yaya, help me fight him.”

Yaya's right eye twitched. "Hakkai, you hate fighting. And yet you are in this battle?”

Hakkai sighed. "To have peace one must prepare for war.”

Yaya sighed as well, knowing what Hakkai had just said was the truth. With a stomp of her left foot, she got into a horse like stance, ready to fight. "Alright, this one time. The next time you disturb me during my shows, I'll give you hell.”

Hakkai smiled and said, "Thank you.”

(1363)

(8100 words... Weird)

[Warr]

There was no moment lost from the time when the fisher-nin had sent his newly devised spear through the air at the Raikage. There was no moment lost, and there was no hesitation. His feet moved forward, even in his sore and tired state, and something he had not originally expected came from behind himself.

A chill wind, which brought the glance directly to the Hisame boy whom he had so long called a comrade. A boy who had let him fight the woman on his own, a boy whom had decided to sit back and watch while the Umikoi boy bled blood like a bath bleed water into the nearby stream. The chill would have, if the Hisame boy had been facing a simple steam user, caused immense damage to this woman, but because the Umikoi youth's oneness with steam was all but absolute, his steam was not like that of a normal man.

The ice chilled the steam, but not to the point that it would cause the glass woman immense harm. Warrusu's eyebrow arched as he looked to the glass witch and back to the Hisame, seeing her still as she had been before, barely conscious. The chill had actually stabilized her glass form's temperature, as it was not as sudden as it might have been.

But the action had been taken, and that was enough. Warrusu's mind locked onto the possibility that Haruyuki was not as 'friendly' as he tried to put forth, and he would never be wise enough to be left to his own devices. Power, if happened upon too quickly, could corrupt absolutely. Haruyuki had the power, but not the experience, as of yet. The action was one which spoke of Haruyuki's quiet assertion that he was superior to Warrusu in thought, and that he could see a threat where Warrusu would only a wounded enemy.

Haruyuki had tried to take an helpless life, take the right of choice from Warrusu on if this woman lived or not. Without a word, the Umikoi moved to the woman of glass, picking up her in silent defiance of the silent assertion of the Hisame youth. It was the blood of the Umikoi that stained this portion of the palace's stones, and it was by that fact that Warrusu had earned the right to grant life, just as he had gained the right to grant death.

That is why the youth held this woman, so he could keep her body in equilibrium, and keep her alive. If Haruyuki chose to strike with freezing might, Warrusu's spear of heat would become a shield of steam. His expression was more intense than any he had ever given the Hisame boy as he held this woman, giving Haruyuki a look before moving his attention back to the Raikage, the Umikoi's breath still coming quickly from the exhaustion he had almost slammed himself into.

He had missed the exact force of his attack colliding with the Raikage at the same time as Syaoran's attack had come, but he did not miss the blood dripping from the Raikage, or the movement the Raikage made at least. He saw the one handed sealing, and he saw the summoning of the massive bull by the Raikage.

His heart dropped at the thought of his opponent bringing a summon into battle, it was the only thing that the Umikoi youth had yet to encounter in his skirmishes with opponents, and it was the one thing he had forgotten to account for in his preparations before they had left for this battle, and it was the one thing that would stop his effectiveness.

He realized it was a fatal flaw as he noticed the summoning of Gamabunta behind him, hearing that booming voice behind him made him look, and at the site of the frog boss, he realizes instantly it was Gamabunta. Behind him, he heard the words 'Kuchiyosee no Jutsu', and he immediately saw that even his Hisame compatriot, the child who had come to him without any real knowledge of the Shinobi world, even had made a pact with a summon. It was not unexpected to see Syaoran summon the giant bear, and with the fact that four of the eight whom were assembled had summoned boss summons, neither did it surprise Warrusu when he heard the booming voice of the Panda whom Cho had summoned. He sighed deeply, watching for a moment with a dark expression.

How would he possibly restore his grandfather's and clan's honor if he could not even defeat this man? The youth resolved to meet a creature whom fit with his personality and agree to a summoning contract with it. A steamed breath came from the youth, brushing against the woman whom he held's cheek on no accord of his own, and then the scene around him was gone.

The boy was in no palace, he was on no continent. The princess of glass was not in his hands at all. There was no storm and the moon did not watch above. Instead there was a windswept coast line, and a pair of boys whom seemed oddly familiar to Warrusu. An ebon haired boy whom had hair that defied gravity, only getting touched by the soft breeze of the wind. A boy whom for a moment almost moved to look at Warrusu, a boy with eyes of ice and midnight sky. A boy whom's hair caught the sun's red rays.

A boy whom was standing next to whom Warrusu could only assume to be his brother, from the similarities between the two, the only thing differing them really was the older one's height being nearly a third higher than the younger, and the older one wearing a long Kimono-coat of deep blue silk with waves painted in blue, black, and white. A boy who had hair much like his younger brother, but whom had hair sticking up more in the back than in the front. A boy with a Daisho in his kimono's obi.

In the light mist and bright light around that windswept beach, it was hard to tell what was going on at first, hard to take in details. It took a moment to even notice those two, who stuck out like in this area of beach.

A smell much like a ton of fish wafted into his nostrils, and the boy's head looked directly towards it, wondering what was going on. He saw a creature like none he head ever seen, a beast which only filled him with awe.

A beast which took up an entire corner of the beach, a creature which was stuck in a small inlet, and which lay there, grumpy golden-orange warily looking at the two boys who stood upon the beach. Boys which the waters of time hinted at in the inner ear of the boy's mind, but which did not come forth.

The two boys whispered into each other's ears, the older cautioning the younger, who simply bounced against his brother's grip, skipping to the beast before stopping at a proper distance. The child dropped to his knee, looking at the beast, before dropping to the ground before it.

"Great Kameryuu-sama, I am Warasu of the Umikaze clan, and I'm pleased to meet you!” the child belted out happily as he came up from the bow, still sitting on his haunches, looking at the creature respectfully.

The older boy simply looked on in dismay. He stepped closer, slowly, his hand hovering a bit too close to his Daisho for it to be innocently there. Something about the scene showed that the creature was keenly aware of the older boy coming forth, though he actually had his head tilted to the younger boy, discerning him. It felt as if the older creature did not take the boy's movement as a threat because there was no aura of menace about him, no killing intent. There was only the feeling of guarding someone he loved radiating from him. It was a movement that revealed he was only moving closer so that he could attack the beast if it tried to move to swallow his younger brother.

The beast's expression almost seemed to be a smile as he watched the energetic child, and the child continued to speak, loving the attention such a legendary creature was giving him. He continued excitedly.

"That cool guy behind me is my big brother Wairudo! Isn't he cool? His name means wild, did you know that? My mom named me Warasu, for Mad Mischief, because she said something about me when I was born radiated that I was going to do some shenanigans! That's crazy, right lord Kameryuu? Do I look like that?”

The creature simply continued to look at the boy, moving its head in a movement that the child obviously assumed was 'no'.

"I mean, I spend most of my time fishing! I don't even pull pranks on people... much. I like to fish, because I like fish, they're yummy!”

Wairudo narrowed his eyes much in the way an older brother did when his little brother was doing something he found distasteful. Warrusu knew that look all too well, from his own older brother's expressions.

The beast simply continued to look at the boy, whom dropped what seemed to be a bag that Warrusu had yet to notice. The little boy opened up the bag, or rather, unwrapped the large cloth, and pulled out six or seven fish, holding them in his arms, which were pushed together, in front of the beast as if it was some sort of offering to a god or nature spirit, or king. The creature looked at the boy for a moment, and then move.

Wairudo's hand twitched before he caught the exact movement of the turtle dragon, the beast picking each of the fish up with snaps which would rival the accuracy of the Hyuuga, snaps which ended with it hurling the fish into the air and swallowing them whole. Looking at the boy for a moment after spending a minute to enjoy the fish. Warrusu got the taste in his mouth like the fish were -very- delicious.

A deep rumble came from the great beast, what sounded like waves crashing into a coast line, ravaging it. A sound which sounded like an old man's chuckle, upon introspect. It continued for a few seconds, and ended as abruptly as it began.

The child simply smiled up at the beast, staring at it in silent awe, much as the Kirigakuran Jounin who stood in silent observation of this scene did, even now. The creature looked at the boys through the corner of it's eye, and it's mouth opened, ever so slightly. A tongue lapped at the corners of it's mouth, and a voice even more booming than that chuckle came forth. A voice which rivaled the combined might of a storm driven wave crashing into a coastline at the same time as a thunder crack combined with the drumming of rain against a thin steel roof.

A voice which demanded respect, a voice which spoke simple words. "I like you two, you show the proper respect to a lord of my caliber. I'm older than your line, you know that, don't you?” The beast's right paw, which was the only arm free from the dipping creek it was stuck in, dropped upon the younger child's head, Warrusu felt the strength behind the leathered creature's hand even as it moved, and was surprised as the gentle movement it brought forth. It ruffled the little boy's head.

"You must, giving me such prized fish, which were delicious, as an offering. Treating an old lord like a Kami, you little rascal. I can see why your mother named you Warasu, but that sounds a little too... rough. You're a little rascal who does shenanigans for other people's benefit, and your brother is wild but controlled, he's on the border. He's no Wairudo, he's a Wairu, and you... you're a Warrusu.”

The old beast chuckled, the little boy blinking.

"You think I didn't see you when you were up on the hill, watching me before deciding to run off? You're still in the need of experience, but believe me, with me as your teacher, you and your brother there will be formidable warriors, maybe even formidable to be this new thing they call shinobi-nin, but you've got to be willing to fight hard, and to endure. Be like the waves...”

"Like the great and patient dragon turtle, Kameryuu-sama!” the boy cut in, the beast simply looking at him with a smirk.

"Yes, I definitely like you, kid. And when I'm done with you two, you and your clan will be definite prime candidates to be lords over this coast. I'll give it to you as my fiefs, and with names and attitudes like you two have, I know you guys will be just right to be the followers of a dragon turtle. Patient and tough, but ready to strike at a moment's notice.” The old beast chuckled.

"But first I need some help getting out of this inlet. Do this favor, and not only will I teach you two how to be great men, I'll make sure to never forget you two, to help your line whenever you need.”

The little boy's arm bled now, the old beast hadn't been as accurate as he had thought. He looked at the boy with a melancholy expression, before shaking his head.

"That won't do, kid. I made you bleed, you're going to have to be tougher than that.” The little boy's eyes widened, one could tell that he was about to shout he would be tougher, tough enough to be the beast's disciple.

"So it decides it. A pact has been drawn up, and signed. You, Umikaze Warrusu, will be the first to hold it, and your brother Wairudo is free to ask for my help as well. A pact of guardianship is necessary to make sure you're always tough, because even though I can tell you'd never let yourself be struck down by a mere man I know that it'll be hard work for you to ever be able to stand up against and be tough enough to survive and defeat a boss summon.”

The boy blinked.

"So help me out of this inlet, and we've got a deal, kid. I'll come to the beck and call of those in your clan who's blood taste this way, I'll come to those of steam and sea, those of waters both dark and bright. Mischief makers are more my style, you see. No one else would be able to call in favors of me.”

The older boy and the little one's eyes began to shimmer with a maelstrom of blue's, the beast's leathery eyelids opening wide at that sight. The water below him pushed upwards, and the waters from the seas rushed forward to claim him.

The beast was brought out to the sea he had been kept from for days, and he chuckled at the boys, giving them a nod.

"Your mother named you right, you're mischief makers and wild as can be, you'd face the kami themselves if they threatened those in need or whom you love. But that's what makes your wild mischief different. Makes your names different. You've got to show me that neat trick of your's sometime later!”

The beast swam out to sea, the little boy waving frantically and the older boy giving the beast a smile and a bow of the head.

It was the beginning of a very long friendship, anyone who saw that could tell so very easily. This scene faded, and Warrusu was in a water filled cave, darkness around him everywhere. Yet he did not fill an inch of fear. He smelled fish in the waters around him, and he heard a voice behind him, a voice that rumbled just like the Kameryuu's did.

"You smell like your ancestor, kid. You, if I can remember, are number seven? Then you're in luck, because as your ancestor found out, that's my favorite number. I was hatched from a clutch of seven, and each of my siblings were great beasts in their own right. One of my favorite students went on to wield a blade of dark water, and form a group of seven swordsman shinobi-nin who helped bring peace to his wounded land. He was very wild, very filled with mad mischief.”

The Umikoi spun aroud in the water, seeing only the light of an orange-gold eye watching him as he did. He almost moved to speak.

"Your ancestors signed a contract that's a very long one kid. You're still young an about as insightful as your little ancestor who turned out to be a big man was at the time, but what can I say? Fish, steam, water, you've got qualities I like, kid. So the contract's attached to you too, as far as I'm concerned. You've bleed enough blood for your way of the ninja, now it's time for me to help you make sure to make more little kids to amuse me in the future.”

The deep water dissipated, and Warrusu was once again on the palace's roof, looking at his surroundings for a moment in shock. Then it came to him, the jutsu of summoning. It was like something eternal was whispering in his ear.

The seven hand seals required came quickly, and the boy boy's hand arched up, moving almost like a snapping turtle's maw, digging into his own shoulder's wound, for fresh, warm blood. It seeped out in excess, the blood coating his hand throughly, and the boy looked at the Raikage with the intensity of a storm.

His hand was covered in kanji, both familiar and alien to the boy, and his hand slammed onto the ground full force, the boy throwing himself as far to the ground as he could without making the woman in his arms fall from the arm that still held her close to his form.

A rumble came from the ground, and the youth was no longer upon the cold stone of the roof of the palace, he was upon the massive shell of the same beast he had seen in that dream, or memory, depending on how he thought about it. The dragon turtle's blue-green-grey skin stood out clearly against the pale light of the palace, and the creature's shell which was a color of such a deep and dark blue it seemed to be cut of the midnight sky stood around him, the spikes and the color almost hiding the child of the clan of waves and fishers. Without a word, the young man placed this woman he had granted life against the cool and moist shell of the creature, instinctively moving up the spike and hopping from one to another to another until he was upon the front of the massive beast's shell, and jumped vertically, landing upon the massive beast's leathery, almost scaled head, leaning to touch the beast's head's spikes spikes, which were near the length of his legs, in reverence.

"Kameryuu-sama, sorry to call you so abruptly, and without us even really meeting, but I needed you help. The Raikage, and all my allies, have called forth boss summons. I couldn't let the clan which you guided as you seem to to be poorly represented by its Daimyo.” Warrusu's voice rang out clearly.

That storm of a voice chuckled. "You'd better be sorry, I was almost eating me a female squid who kept bothering me, but I suppose it doesn't bother me, because I like the smell about you, kid, and you were intuitive enough to figure out something your family's kept a secret. You treat me to eight fish and it'll be forgiven.”

The voice halted as quickly as it began, beginning before Warrusu could even agree. "Though it'd be nice to teach that whelp of a bull some things anyways.”

Warrusu simply smiled. The beast reminded him of someone he loved very much, someone whom he was here because of.

[3389 Words]

[14274 Words]

Edited September 26, 2008 by Warr

[Cloudnine]

Korin stirred in Raz's arms. The feel was gone, but she wasn't there to fall. "Yeah,” she replied simply in the meekest manner, obviously mortified at running out of steam before the last chapter. Don't you dare become another liability, she told herself. Her own wounds [well, Raz's] were left untreated, partially obscured by jacket and vest. The meager chakra left in her ran erratic, burning paths through damaged coils.

"Sorry about that,” she said as her head cleared. She cracked the slightest of grins at first, but her lips drew solemn. All we've been saying to each other are sorries. Sleep fought with her at a lesser level and freed her from the plague of droopy eyelids and unfocused vision. She monitored her breaths, counted the pulsing of blood through her ears. Not bad, she'd comment, it could be worse. She was made of more than that.

Raz's muscles soon drew taught, yanking Korin back onto the battlefield and the blood-muddied patches of grass. Her eyes trailed the chain hanging from his clenched fist. She examined the pendant beside him but failed to find the worth in the object. Raz, however, saw a mystifying fascination with it… and her piqued curiosity was quickly quelled as a familiar chakra erupted. Strangely, she found a bit of her own strength in Raz's newfound chakra. Korin stood, the searing sensation of corroded chakra gates diminished and she could actually… hold her chakra.

She acted quickly, immediately putting this new energy to use. Her hands touched the sodden earth and called for her first elemental attunement. It flowed similar to the Raikage's lightning, though she didn't lean towards the brash and hostile edge he possessed. Korin felt for the earth, felt for the otherworldly pull. And the earth was converted into a massive magnet. Perhaps nothing could stop the Raikage's thunder, but Korin may be able to divert it, channel it harmlessly into the earth. As soon as she'd finished, Raz's arms wrapped around her waist in a plume of smoke. They were going up, up, and up.

Bewildered at the motion, the smoke cleared before Korin realized what had happened. They were towering over the ground, but still eye to eye with their allies and the Raikage. It wasn't the first time she's stood atop a summoned beast before, but the sheer size of the contract-bound creatures around her was… incredible.

4oo

4299

[Eechi-go]

The Raikage's stump of a wrist continued to violently throb, sending waves of pain through his muscles and spine. An inconvenience that needed to be put to rest. Opening the palm of his right hand, he hastily pressed it flat against the open wound, his nerves violently reacting, the pain doubling, enough to send a normal person into a comma. Flooding his palm with chakra, he released lightning from his hand into his wound, searing the nerves all the way up towards his elbow. He wouldn't dare allow this to hold him back. Steam floated off his stub, filling the air with a sickening smell that the man simply ignored.

He watched boss summon upon boss summon appear before him, excitement in his eyes, knowing that now he could truly enjoy this battle without feeling the need to hold back. Of course, this confrontation had been hyped for the last three years, surely a quick victory would not be as satisfying as one he could savor. He chuckled, watching the ninja struggle, watching them desperately wave their hand seals and mold their chakra, pushing as far as they could go. It was all for naught, couldn't they realize that?

He had to give them credit though, no one had managed to come this far. Sure, many people had attempted to assassinate them, but none had ever come so far as to actually harm him, let alone nearly remove an appendage. His eyes fell towards the demon-like bull that he had summoned, who's eyes instinctively rolled backwards to stare at him.

"What is this, Raikou? How many bosses do you intend I fight? This is ludicrous!”

It growled up at it's master, snarling, foaming at the mouth as it's tails beat against the side of the palace, sending large shockwaves through the structure each time. Raikou knew how this beast was liable to throw itself into such a destructive wave of anger that it would look as if the earth was ravaged by comets. That's what he was counting on.

"Pfft, you doubt your strength against these measly whelps? Do you recall why you serve me, beast? You are the strongest of your kind, even the Bijuu fear your rage. Release your inner turmoil among those who stand before you!”

The beast began to snicker, it's eyes widening, as it's hoofed feet began to kick up huge mounds of dirt, enough to burry anyone who might still be without a summon. With a large roar, the beast's eyes began to pop, veins becoming apparent as it blindly charged the team of boss summons, with enough force to move mountains. It's first target was the bear in which Syaoran rode atop. It quickly ducked, below it's chest, and threw itself upwards, in an attempt to impale the beast upon it's horns.

Regardless of whether or not the beast it, it cared not, it continued to plow through the palace grounds. It quickly spun around, slamming it's whip-like tail down at Gamabunta, The creature, weighing tons upon tons, landed firm on the ground, various chunks of earth blasting out like shrapnels.

Raikou used this to his advantage, and it seemed as if the bull knew what to do in response. It began excreting a substantial amount of lightning chakra from it's figure, as the Raikage slammed his nub of a wrist against the creatures back, casting his other, as well as only, hand towards the sky, chakra flowing out like a sprinkler.

".:Raiton: Oukoku no Raijin:."

[Lightning Release; Kingdom of Raijin]

The debris that was hurled into the air seemed to stop dead short, seemingly floating in midair. They were large enough pieces to where they formed small islands that hovered about the palace. The Raikage had created a polar opposite within the body of the bull, against the various metals that had been worked into the earth over the thousands of years humans have inhabited the planet. Raikou smirked, his plan slowly coming to fruition now. With his hand, he began to perform a number of seals, drawing from the lightning chakra that had been flowing out from the bull into his body, using it as a medium.

".:Raiton: Ageru Bunshin no Jutsu:."

[Lightning Release; Amplification Clones]

Clusters of smoke burst upon each of the floating ‘islands', their hands raised to the sky. They all glared down at the boss summons and their masters, tiny smirks across their face. The true Raikou dictated their actions, and in turn, mirrored them, whispering under his breath.

"Prepare to disappear with the thunder…”

Indeed, this puppet seemed to be doomed at this point. It's joints locked up, the magnetic sand completely ruining the entire build of the mechanical creature. It seemed to struggle, various pieces of it's body beginning to snap clean off, making various screeching sounds that were reminiscent of terrified screams. There it stood, immobilized, as it awaited Yatako's final blow. However, it did not go quite as planned.

The moment Yatako's blade would touch a molecule of the gasoline filled air, it would spark a divine flame that exploded outwards, engulfing the puppet, along with Kouta if he was still too close. That might have gone as planned, but the following didn't. The puppet had detonated into a pillar of fire, obviously rigged with traps incase it did have to kill those who dare come close enough to it. With that towering flame, the ground erupted into hundreds of small, volcanic bursts of fire that expanded on one another, sending more and more debris into the air. Obviously, the ground was rigged to kill the boys, and if the two managed to survive the range of this attack, they'd be badly burned, regardless of direct contact or not.

After the explosions died down, intense coughing would come from behind the two, and if they'd turn, they would see he who set up this little game in the first place. He was coughing into his gloved hand, slowly taking off his hood.

"Well now…Raikou-sama rushed my plans a bit…now I'll have to half-ass it.”

Deep purple hair, dirtied glasses, and a sage like expression, followed by a small smile graced his face. Kouta would recognize him immediately. This man had been his enemy since he first stepped into the country of Fang. Daiju.

"Ah, Suna-san, a pleasure to meet you once again. I suppose it's funny, isn't it? That I'm one of the Raikage's best men? It shouldn't be a surprise, how many times have I managed to delay and distract you, just today? How many times have I gotten away? That's right, that's why. I've been playing this game with you the whole time. I was the one who observed the first intruders, I was the one who informed the Raikage of your incoming presence, and I'll be your arbiter, right here and now. I used my little puppet to distract you while I planted traps all over the field. Sadly, it seems that last blast took half of them out. On the positive side, I don't think you two could dodge this next barrage. Nor can I…”

He said, looking down at the earth below him. A fissure formed due to the premature dentonation earlier, causing his ankles to be trapped within. He knew now he couldn't escape, he was now powerful enough to uproot it.

"This will be our final goodbye, Suna-san, Konoha-san. Pray your will to live is greater then my will to serve. Don‘t despise me, I only do what I believe in, as you are right now.”

The man flicked an explosive tag out of his cloak, before carefully dropping it into the fissure below him. It would seem as if time stood still, the sizzling of the tag becoming apparent, a smile never leaving the man's face. Suspense kicked in, when would it explode? Did it go dead? Was he bluffing? Could this be a genjutsu?

No, this was very, very real.

A larger pillar of flame blasted out through the earth, bright enough to be seen from all of Fang. It was as if a bomb were dropped within the palace, and the explosion was large enough to almost engulf the boss summons on the opposite side of the palace grounds. Indeed, they'd need some form of miracle to survive such blatant destruction..

Releasing the girl, allowing her to stand on her own, the boy's hand instantly retreated to the pipe that hung out of his mouth, smoke billowing from the end of it. It leaked into his lungs, causing a small build up, which triggered a coughing fit. He yanked the pipe out of his mouth, coughing into his hand. When his eyes would reopen, Gamabunta's large, horizontally shaped pupils would be starring up at him irritated.

"Dammit boy, we didn't give that to you so you could throw up all over it.”

"Oi…sorry Gamabunta-san…I don't usually smoke. I just knew it'd get your attention.”

The old toad grumbled, it's webbed hand falling onto the hilt of his katana.

"That it did, Gamakichi bugged me earlier about you needin' some help. I hoped you wouldn't actually bug me, I suppose my luck is bad, neh?”

It was strange, to Raz, how mello Gamabunta was at the moment. Perhaps the chief of toads respected him now, due to their last partnership? No, the frog still held some resentment towards him, perhaps it was just a general piece of his personality? A sigh, he wished to get along with the toads better then this. After all, he had signed a contract with them, binding his life to them with his blood. Perhaps when all of this was said and done, Raz could train with them. Of course, Oto needed to be rebuilt, and he had various other training regimes he wished to put in place, but it didn't mean he wouldn't have the time to visit the toads.

"Will you help us, chief toad?”

"Bah, as much as I'd rather not, I don't think you could find a better time to summon me. So this is it, huh? The end of the game…tell you what, we better win this here and now.”

"You seem to be pretty pumped up for this.”

"Pfft, I only say that because I don't feel like being summoned in another five years to deal with this crap.”

A sarcastic smirk formed on the frog's lips, and in turn, Raz also grinned. Indeed, he was with him for this battle. The lord of the toads flicked his katana out of it's sheath, holding it upside down in his webbed hand. Raz, on the other hand, pocketed his pipe, before clapping his hands together, drawing out all of the chakra he could possibly force out of his tenketsu, the top of Gamabunta's head lighting into a giant burst of silver colored chakra.

"Let's do this together, okay?”

Raz asked Korin, tilting his head towards her, smiling softly. If worst came to worst, he could perform the taifuugan, but he'd need an extra hand to create that, and something told him that clones wouldn't help him very much at the moment. Raz's grip on Gamabunta's head began to waver, as the toad threw it's blade up to parry the bull's incoming tail lash. The blade was quickly disarmed from Gamabunta, knocking him back slightly. The large toad grunted, extending it's pierced tongue towards the blade, and retracting it back, before it went hurtling through the purple barrier.

"Gamabunta-san! Let me see your katana, quickly!”

Raz cried out, his chakra forming in his right hand. The chief toad didn't say a word, he simply let the blade rest on his shoulder, as Raz quickly darted towards it, placing his palms flat against the monstrous blade.

".:Fuuton: Atae no Kamikaze:."

[Wind Release; Gift of the Wind God]

Suddenly, chakra from the boy's hands enveloped the blade in a silver aura, sharpening it to a ridiculous point, it could even cut humans now, rather then just squash them. The chief toad pulled the blade back, inspecting the sword, a tad intrigued with what the boy did with it.

"Intresting…-”

He was quickly cut off by the islands of debris being blasted into the sky, he began slicing through them like a knife through hot butter, leaving the earthen rain unscathed. Raz was thankful for this, even though he had nearly fallen off the toad chief's back in the process. As he clambered back onto the top of the toad's head, Raz would see quite a sight; dozens upon dozens of minature floating islands hung overhead, populated with an equal amount of clones, all of whom raised their hands to the sky. Raz was unphased, though, slightly amazed by this ‘kingdom' he created. Gamabunta, on the other hand, nearly dropped the pipe from out of his mouth.

"It couldn't be…Kirin!?”

2320 Words

17,200 Total

Edited October 1, 2008 by Eechi-go

[cntrstrk14]

The Raikage was now cornered, as boss summon after boss summon was revealed, the palace grounds becoming crowded with the monstrous beasts that stood before them. All within the capital city of Nigiyakashufu would be able to see the battle that was unfolding now, the beasts that stood above the buildings would take the attention of all. Syaoran would be watching the Raikage though, the man seemed far from done. Reaching his right hand to his left arm, Syaoran would consider the appendage to be near useless at this point. Syaoran would crouch down, placing his hand back to his kunai pouch and pulling out two kunai, placing his fingers through their loops. As the Raikage and his summon jumped into action, Syaoran would look for an opening in the attack. Nando would be focusing on his own situation, the bear would lift off of the ground and slam two massive paws against the shoulders of the bull, holding him for a few moments in an attempt to keep the horns that swung below the chest cavity of the bear from penetrating their target. Syaoran in the meantime was sprinting down the neck and shoulder of Nando in view of the bull, and with a swing of his arm two kunai would fly towards the massive pull, crashing into the side of it like tiny pin pricks as it attacked the massive summon. With a flicker of seals, Syaoran would jump into the air and flicker from view.

Nando would push off of the bull as it turned its target, the massive bear fluxing his energy, chakra surging out from all directions with every movement he made. The bear, despite his age, showed a great amount of agility and speed. The secret to it was his immersive system of chakra control, using his own body like a puppet he could use his chakra to keep his aged body at the same speed that it had been in his prime. Taking in a deep breathe, Nando would tilt his head back and whip it forward, releasing the wind within him in a large blast.

"Fūton: Renkūdan!!!”

(Wind Type: Drilling Air Bullet )

With a massive force, a rocket of compressed air would streamline towards not the bull, but one of the giant islands of earth that had formed above. Their menacing appearance had caught the eye of the battle hardened Nando, and he did not intend to let the Raikage set up any type of trap for the group.

At the same time however, Syaoran had appeared on the edge of the bull's body where the kunai had been. Whether they had stuck or not was not an issue. As long as they had come close Syaoran would be able to use his jutsu to bend space and place himself in position. With his left arm still limp, Syaoran would sprint up the side of the bull, his eyes focusing on the Raikage himself who stood open the top of the boss' head. Reaching the spine of the bull, Syaoran would make a direct line towards the Raikage, his hand once again crackling with a blue and golden light as his body became a blur of speed. His bloodline still active, he could feel the strain of his muscles as they worked at 150%. He aimed to strike the Raikage straight through the chest as he had intended before, hopefully he would be too focused on the jutsu he was performing to notice Syaoran until it was too late.

588 Words; 9895 Total

[Warr]

A rush of steamed breath came from Warrusu as this battle intensified, as the Raikage's Bull Boss Summon attacked Nando, the Bear boss summon, and Gamabunta, the legendary frog boss summon. His mind gave an almost inward chuckle at the brazen action of the beast, charging a bear that way in an attempt to gore it, and slapping out at the frog with its tails.

His mind flashed back to the battle which had taken place within Kirigakure no Sato over three years ago, when the Raikage's followers had made their move upon the world. His mind flashed back to the creatures wielded there, creatures which he had seen from atop the cliff top he had been nestled in on that faithful night, waiting impatiently for a sign of his grandfather's volunteers from the clan's victory, waiting impatiently for them to come home. A beast which he had fought one of the offspring of, the Kraken, and a beast which was or seemed to be a force of water itself, or a gelatinous wannabe of such a force. A creature that was an insane mockery of the legendary beasts of Mizu no Kuni, a creature which had helped guarantee this turn of events.

A creature which had fought an one on one battle with the Kraken, a creature which was fought with no strategy at all. His fist clinched, as his mind raced across possibilities, as he leaned into the ear of the gigantic dragon of a turtle which had been his clan's patron beast since antiquity, it seemed. The memory of the word 'Umikaze', still made him wonder, but he would not falter in his whispering.

"Kameryuu-sama, I've got a plan. It might seem a little odd, but back me up on this, okay? And I'm going to need you to follow it to a tee. I know I'm the pupil and you're the sensei, but this is something I need you to do. The last time a summon fought one of the summons whom were the Raikage's minions, they lost horribly. We can't let that whelp of a bull have that call of glory. So it might not fit your style, but I need you to work with Gamabunta and the Bear Boss of Syaoran's, with all the summons, if you can. Okay?” His words came rapidly, like a minature torrent.

The beast chuckled, his ancient voice coming out like tidal waves hitting a stony beach. "Kid, I'll follow your plan, alright. Just give me the full explanation of it, and take the scroll that's coming.”

The boy blinked, almost saying 'What?' when a scroll rocketed from somewhere on the beast's body. A Scroll which had kanji written clearly, clear words which the boy read with as much speed he could muster it, mentally devouring the entire scroll in two seconds. It was a perfect twist, the technique described on the scroll. He looked up at the beginnings of the technique the Raikage was going to use, and he chuckled in anticipation.

It was time to Shatter the Heavens.

"I'm going to drop the Glass Witch over with Korin, who can protect her better than just leaving her here can. I'm just assuming something here, but seeing how the scroll for Water Manipulation; Power Spear, was in a genjutsu that took me into the dark places of my mind, I'm thinking there's a chance... you know it to. If that's the case, I need you to do three things. One, send one Gamabunta's way. Then, send one aimed at the highest of the floating island things the Raikage has going on up there.” Warrusu closed his eyes as he threw his hands together, gathering chakra around himself and creating from his own water chakra and the moisture around six clones of himself. Three Jouki Bushin, and three Harou Bushin, all six waiting to get a move on, knowing what was coming.

As the youth's eyes opened, his Mizushin was activated, just in time to realize the giant wave of water swirling around them, the water manipulation which was a 'giant' version of his own technique, 'power spear.' He barely had time to grab the glass princess from one of his Harou Bushin before the power spear launched towards Gamabunta, and the youth flew into a jump after it, landing on the 'last few feet' of it, and running up it, with his feet covered in chakra. He continued to run, the fastest he could go, moving even quicker because of his fear of hurting this girl. With a leap like one trying to make it from one side of a gorge to another from fear of being pursued, Warrusu landed upon the legendary Frog Bosses' head, his chest heaving.

"This might seem a bit odd, but I need Korin and you to protect this girl, okay? She doesn't deserve to die when she can't move, stepped on a beast or crushed by one. I need you guys to be ready to attack, and for Gamabunta-sama to follow Kameryuu-sama's lead. This bull may be nothing compared to our summons, but he's got strength enough to take our much more intelligent friends out if they fought him one by one. Don't hesitate, and be ready to cover your heads.”

With that, the boy placed the glass woman against the frog boss's eyelid's nob, and leaped backward off the beast, rolling, tumbling, falling. A sizable puddle of water lay below him, and if it had not, there was a chance he would be seriously hurt from such a fall, instead. Instead the boy was swallowed by the puddle of water, his body disappearing into it as if the earth below it was not there.

The boy felt waters all around him, he could feel it permeating around him, within him. He could taste the water in his every pore, he could feel it around him, thousands of different tastes, yet one specific taste he was looking for. He began to swim, pausing to taste the waters.

On the material plane, however, things moved onward like clockwork. The draconian turtle whom was equivalent to a boss summon snorted for a moment, thinking on how if it had been any less daring her would've told the kid he was the boss, and ended it there. A second gigantic water manipulation; power spear went off, and then there was no one riding the legendary sea beast who had protected the Umikoi Clan and guided them so.

All six clones were running up the spear, which was flying closer and close to their destination, the clones continuing to run up it as it moved, and finally, the three Jouki Bushin slamming their own fists into their stomachs, ripping into them, before exploding in blasts of steam as those bushin jumped towards the first floating islands of stone. They gave just enough cover for the Ageru clones to not stop the boy's plan, the first Harou Bushin stabbing itself with a Kunai, sending a blast of water upwards towards the highest floating island, the other Harou Bushin jumping on the wave, and following suit, and the final one doing the same, running to the edge of the wave, and executing itself and the maneuver that had been planned via stabbing itself with a kunai. A two foot puddle of water successfully landed atop the island, mere feet from the Ageru Clone.

In the water plane, the fisher-nin still wandered, glad he had performed the technique properly, not having practiced such a skill before. He swam continuing, looking for the familiar taste of water he would exit from. He swam a foot or so before himself in the surreal almost neon lighted realm of water, and he tasted a familiar taste, like the bitter copper taste in his mouth when he was bleeding from it.

It was the taste of 'Warrusu's waters', his spiritual essence, almost. He swam towards the water, and threw his hands together into the dragon handseal, holding his fishing knife as he did. Under the Ageru clone, an arm shot forward, fishing knife in hand, and slashed at the crotch of the clone from behind, an arm followed by a charge from Warrusu, an upward tackle from the water plane, slamming his shoulder into the clone, and then throwing himself to the side. The same Kunai he stabbed the clone with dug into the earth of the island as he did, the boy shuffling to keep his balance as the clone exploded in a blast of static shock.

He winced, blood oozing out of his shoulder wound, and then activated Mizushin. He took a breath, using his energy to pull those clouds of rains closer and closer to the palace, until they were above, the clouds even thicker. He took a fierce breath, and threw his hands together, channeling his chakras, breathing slowly but fiercely, and then summoning a spear from his chakras, water, fire, wind, and lightning all stirring, the boy moving quickly, keeping them apart with Mizushin, and then let them rocket forward, towards his target. He did not send it towards the clones, or the Raikage. It did not go downwards at all, instead being sent with all of it's momentum upwards, towards the torrenting rains.

He simply watched in awe, his breath quick, as the spear went upwards, aimed directly at the hole the Raikage had created with his lightning bolt aimed at it and going through it, the charged chakra instantly electrifying the falling rain as it hit the barrier. The immense force of the rains and the electrification had a simple result. Though the shield could take an attack in one place without problem, massive damage spread throughout it forced the chakras to shatter, making the four man array dissipate, making things change. Rain poured downwards, and Warrusu unfurled almost all of his chakras on an effort as he continued to breath heavily. Making the rain condensed, like needles, before he disappeared down into the Harou Bushin's puddle, via the muddle teleporation technique he had only just learned.

He felt a slight twinge of static sting as he entered the water plane, and he swam quickly towards a familiar taste, the taste of his blood, it was even more acutely clear than the essence he had tasted from Harou Bushin's water. He performed the hand seal, and then appeared atop the glass princess, not realizing his own blood had covered her as he held her, and also as he had fought her.

He heaved, looking towards the Kameryuu. While the boy had been going about his maneuvers, the beast had, after a pause, made it's own part of the plan happen. It charged the Bull, moving quicker than one would expect of the turtle, and hurled itself forward, jumping into midair and trying to do a bell flopping body slam upon the bull's side closest to him. The dragon turtle roared as it did, slamming it's face against it too, trying to bite it and hold it still. Hopefully Nando and Gamabunta would take the cue, and attack the bull.

[1859 Words]

[16131 Words Total]

[Kouta]

Kouta Smirked as the puppet seized up due to his sandy jutsu. ”Too easy. This is all the raikage has?” Kouta said aloud, turning his back on the puppet. He didn't even see as Yakato sliced at the puppet, igniting a hailstorm of flame that leapt across the gasoline, directly towards Kouta, who was doused with the liquid earlier in the fight. Like a sharp pain, Benihime's double vision granted him the glimpse of the flames rushing to meet his back.

”Grant me permission!” she hollered to him in less than a milisecond, using their mental bond to formulate the signature jutsu.

”Chigasumi no Tate!”[/b] Kouta responded, and the red glow arched out around him, the original fire running over the shield in streaks of unforgiving, white hot flame. The ground began to erupt from the triggered explosions, and Kouta knew being on the ground wasn't safe. He gathered up wind inside of his shield, and then dropped the protective red orb, stealing all the oxygen from the air around him, keeping fires from growing any closer to him for a few short seconds, his own breath held, since the air couldn't reach his lungs.

In a move of desperation, Kouta reached inside and yanked on the doors inside his body. With a sharp crack of pain and a sudden and immediate shockwave of chakra, Kouta severed two of the Eight Gates, his limbs filling with new strength as he dropped to all fours, using every ounce of his strength to hurl himself skyward. Kouta had no time to consider Yakato's safety, since he was more apt to die that the Hyuuga was, since he was directly in the path of the blast. Once clear of the erupting ground, Kouta spun again, Benihime's red shield wrapping back around him as the explosions reached a climactic crescendo. Flames washed over Kouta's small orb, and in several places it cracked, Kouta giving only what chakra he needed to keep himself from being engulfed by the flames that rose around him. For several long moments, Kouta saw nothing but thick flames in every direction, and he began to sweat, literally baking inside of his orb of chakra. Such heat that was required to produce this would most definitely have killed him if he was exposed. As it was, before the flames settled, Kouta's clothing caught fire, and he had to slap out many a small blazes inside the ball, his own skin beginning to crack from the heat.

By the time the flames fell, and Kouta orb was no longer held up by their immense force, his orb began to fall, plummeting rapidly down towards the earth. Only then, through a red haze of chakra, did Kouta see what had transpired during the interim. Many giant summons of differing species had joined the fight one of them the Raikages, the rest seemingly belonging to their own group. Kouta had little time to marvel as the condition of the fight, for the ground was rapidly approaching, and Kouta would die if he hit it going as fast as he was.

So he slowed himself down. The sand he had summoned before jolted into the air, called by Kouta, to form a very impromptu, very painful, slide, down to the ground, which left Kouta flat on his back on the ground, breathing heavily as his skin began to gather a reddish hue from the release of the First Three Celestial Gates. Kouta forced himself to his feet, pained the entire way, and summoned the sand around him. In a pained manner, he surveyed the carnage for the signs fo Daiju, who had apparently killed himself in the act, but that Kouta had no intention of believing. As a symbol of this, his Iron Sand rose, wrapping around Kouta in an Armor of Iron Sand.