On my way from the Forum..., Takeru takes a walk through Suna...

[Atomsk]

It had been a while since his sparring match with the puppet master, and Yamato had managed to get all the way into the city without much trouble or delay at all. His papers were quickly checked, verified, and released back to him, and his accommodations had been pre-setup by his master before he'd even entered the desert. So, for a while, Yamato had simply wandered around the shopping district, looking at antiques and jewelry, scrolls of jutsu and even some items that were more than what they appeared to be. one of this interested him; he wished only that his chunin exams would come faster, so that he could finally be confident enough to open the Family Scroll of the Serpents, and see what was hidden within it's script.

But the day was dying, and Yamato figured he'd check back at his room and cool down, maybe see what the night life of Sunagakure was afterward. For now, he wandered around the streets, surprisingly deserted, and noticeably so after being in the market and shopping districts all day. There didn't even seem to be much of a patrol here. Or really, any signs of life at all. Even with the warm desert air, it was chilling. Yamato simply kept up his pace, and took his right hand out of his pocket, a sort of paranoid assurance.

[Shougou]

"Well what do we have here?" hissed Hito, his high pitched, child-like voice raking through the silence like a rusted knife along a chalk bored. Hito had just recently returned to Suna after play date with some of Konoha's inhabitants. The shinobi standing before him, a fellow Genin by the looks of it, reeked with the stench of the road and recent physical exertion. "Been in combat recently?" he asked, hoping his new found prey wasn't too tired that the fight was no fun. Something's not quite right about him. He seems familiar for some reason. Don't let your guard down. I've been in need for a good challenge anyway. The taste of that fire country blood was weak and dry. We need something truly set ablaze. Even if it's our own

[Atomsk]

Yamato was not actually intending to meet with any genin from the village; he'd been here more as a political statement of friendship between the two villages, that a genin was not an issue to travel alone to an allied but powerful village. It really worked to stabilize relations between his home of Kirigakure and Sunagakure, at least in the international ninja front. Still, something was odd about this one. And for the first time in months, the Hachibi had rose it's bull-like head and spoken to him. "Watch it. This kid is powerful... maybe not as strong, but definitely as powerful. I think I smell something odd about him..." Though he didn't respond, Yamato knew better than to ignore the rare warnings the bijuu gave, so he acted respectfully but cautiously. "Indeed I have; a friendly duel with a puppeteer of your village, just a few hours ago. Your senses are fine indeed; I take it you are of this village as well? My name is Kusanagi "Yamato" Takeru. It is an honor." With that, he bowed, but never let his focus on the other drop. The Hachibi was getting restless and irritated, stirring uncomfortably in his head. "Calm down, it'll be fine. He doesn't appear hostile..."

[Shougou]

Hito's eyes flew open as the thrill of battle began to creep over him. Within him Shukaku let out a ferocious battle cry that, although made no noise, shook the sand on the ground about them purely through the force of it. KUSANAGI! I knew it. This boy is formidable indeed. Those serpentine swordsmen have been the cause of many grievances for me. This time I will NOT allow that sword to go unbroken! After another earth shaking roar sand erupted off the ground all around Yamato, engulfing him in a massive cocoon that began to slowly squeeze the life out of him. Cackling with insane laughter Hito watched as Shukaku began to assault the boy without mercy or fear. "Don't hog all the fun for yourself!" he shouted to Shukaku, not even bothering to think but merely saying it out into the open. Fuuton: Daitoppa! After a quick string of hand signs Hito released as massive burst of wind at Yamato that, coupled with the sand, would flay the boy and spread his remains all across Suna.

[Atomsk]

The sand rose faster than he could have predicted, and the only reaction he got was to have his body straighten and his massive water gourd to drop before he was sealed. At first there was a look of struggle on his face, just until the moment that the hand released the wind. For a split moment, Yamato looked as though he'd given up, but in reality, he was visiting inside his own mind. He moved right up to the gate containing Hachibi, and as in times before, knocked twice, which he didn't need to do (usually indicative of wanting his attention, but this time it was to be had), and pushed it open. The jinchuuriki and bijuu looked at one another. Finally, Yamato spoke: "Let me try first..." The bijuu nodded toward his young partner. Yamato turned around to retake his mind, and just as his eyes started to open, the bijuu calmly noted: "Kill him."

---

His eyes flashed open, practically glowing, and the words Boufuu Kyouzuu no Jutsu were barely audible they were initiated so fast. With the burst, larger out of the concentrated and huge burst of chakra he gave it, the winds mixed and were both negated, whilst the sand was pushed just far enough back that Yamato could replace himself with his Water gourd before the sand closed in again, crushing the hard and massive jug. Yamato stood, sword drawn, and arm pointed forward with the sword thrust out. Quickly, Yamato flickered forward, striking with a thrust at a nonlethal point of the body, specifically the right arm. If he could disable him, he wouldn't have to kill him. That would be VERY bad. But he had to fight; hopefully someone had felt or heard the sand disruption, or the huge burst of win that spanned out from the clashing jutsu.

[Shougou]

The wind blasted by and whipped up a massive torrent of sand all about Hito's head. He was amazed at the amount of chakra that suddenly had begun to erupt from Yamato. It rivaled if not surpassed his own massive supply of chakra. Eyes flaring wildly with a manic sense of euphoria, oblivious to the sand that missed his exposed rettna by a hairs breadth. As Yamato flickered in front of him with inhuman speed Hito only just managed to lift a pile of sand up from below the sword causing it to slide up ward along a ramp of sand passing just above his shoulder. With a flick-o'the-wrist Hito brought up a spear of sand from the ground sending it's point deep into what would be Yamato's ribs while at the same time the sand that had been used to block the sword began to engulf it as Shukaku attempted to pry the sword from the boys hands.

[Atomsk]

"So wind works..." Yamato said to himself as his sword was unexpectedly shoved upward, missing it's mark. He was faster than his foe, but this sand was faster still. He'd never even heard of such a technique, controlling a mass of sand; he imagined that the effect would be like fighting water-jutsu users, in that blocking it with a blade would be pointless, due to graisn. Worse than water, with the grains. "Below you!" The warning couldn't have come at a better time. Yamato took advantage of the shock to push himself just back enough in retreat to be scratched but not badly injured by the spike; the downside was, he'd realized all too late the sword-blocking sand's intent, and so he'd been forced to abandon the blade. Skidding to a halt about ten feet away, he thrust out his right palm, the left hand on top to focus in the snake symbol. "Oniba..." was muttered, as the sword that the sand was holding above his foe's left side suddenly shot out, not released from the sand, but the blade itself extending from the hilt. As soon as it had done, he rotated his arms around one another to support the opposite side - a quick second jutsu! "Sen'eijashu!" Two serpents shot out of his left sleeve and circled around to his foe's right side in a pincer style attack.

"Give it up, Yamato. You're not prepared for this kind of fight. Listen, Yamato, if you leave now, I'll teach you how to open the scroll from your clan, as long as you promise I dictate what you learn, when. But this boy here, he's a Jinchuuriki, like you! He holds the Shukaku! A sand raccoon, and a wind specialist. I defeated that bijuu once long ago, but his control over it is greater than yours over me, and their personalities are too brutal and in sync to take right now. Back off; go for sanctuary, I'll teach you how to fight him later!" Yamato had never heard his bijuu sound worried about a fight, so he was almost taken aback, but he decided to try and hold his own for a second longer. "I know he's strong, and that I'm not quite ready; I just want to test his abilities a bit more. See how, as a jinchuuriki, he reacts. I'll have to face him someday; I'd rather have a taste of it now..." In reality, he was already setting up something far bigger than a move in this match, or a killing blow against a terrible opponent...

This post has been edited by Atomsk on Nov 5 2008, 08:24 PM

[Geddy]

OOC: Hope you don't mind. This is just a great chance for a 3 way.
If anyone makes a perverted joke to that, they get smacked >.>

---

As Yuichi trudged through the soft and fluid sand, he heard a great commotion from what could only be nearby. Rushing to the scene, he fell to the ground before he was close enough to see what was going on, clutching his chest as a burning sensation coursed throughout his body. Convulsing and breathing heavily, he let out a great roar empowered by the Kyuubi's chakra. "SHUKAKU!!!!" the Kyuubi bellowed from within him as Yuichi continued to seizure. Though this ended as quickly as it had started. Lying on his side in the sand, Yuichi began to breathe normally again. "Two Jinchuuriki are here. Kill the Shukaku, brat!" his bijuu commanded him. Though Yuichi being himself, wasn't about to go killing some person he'd never met just because the Kyuubi wanted him to.

Arising from the ground, he ran to the scene as fast as he could. Quickly assessing the situation, it was clear that the Genin with the sword was on the defensive. This meant that he was helping him. Inhaling a large breath of air, Yuichi gathered wind chakra into his mouth and expelled it in an instant, spraying dozens of piercing needles at the sand-user. Kaze no Hari!

[Shougou]

OOC: *Laughing hysterically*

---

With a loud cackle Hito redirected the spike, forming it into a sent of twin blades, snapping off the heads of the snakes then pushing their decapitated bodies away from him. Whirling around at the sound of the shout Hito was just able to release a blast of wind that collided with the oncoming attack rendering them both useless. Fuuton: Daitoppa! Two on one? Not exactly fair, but fun none the less! Thought Hito in his manic euphoria. Raising the sands around the boy who had shouted at him Hito engulfed the legs of the boy before crushing in on them. Sabaku Kyuu, Sabaku Sousou!

While Hito had diverted his attention to the screaming boy, wrapped around the thought tasting the source of power that had laid him out in a fit of seizures previously, Shukaku was still focusing all his attention on Yamato. DIE BOY! Shouted the Shukaku through Hito's mouth as the sand began to snake it's way along the length of the sword forming a cluster of needles at the end which launched off at Yamato's chest.

[Geddy]

OOC: I'd hit you, except you didn't make a joke.

Also, how could you see the seizures? That happened before he could see you guys fighting, which also meant that you wouldn't have seen him until the needles hit.

---

"Not quite!" Yuichi exclaimed as the sand snaked up his legs. Kage Bunshin Kawarimi! He created a bunshin in a puff of smoke and in one fluid motion, switched places with it, springing off of its shoulders as it got crushed by the sand. Landing softly on the ground, Yuichi caught his breath, a little put off by such a strange method of attack. Manipulating sand, then using to constrict and crush things was unheard of. This new challenge just made Yuichi's heart pound with excitement.

He launched himself into the air, hurling two shuriken at the sand ninja, following up by somersaulting in the air getting ready to bring his foot down on the sand ninja's head. However, as he did this, Yuichi formed a string of handseals and sent another barrage of needles at his opponent. Kaze no Hari!

[Shougou]

OOC: I thought when you screamed Shukaku that you were up on a roof or something watching and that the Kyuubi was yelling from your mouth, you know, "from within" you. My bad.

---

A wall of sand flew up in front of Hito's face, blocking the shuriken with a dull thud. Crouching down on one knee he shifted the wall of sand from before in front of him catching the second wave of needles and his opponents heel on it. "Well you're a whiley one aren't you?" he hissed, letting out another vicious cackle, piercing the still night air. Bringing in a great breath of air Hito blasted it out from underneath the sand causing the sand and his opponent to be sent flying together into the wall of a building behind them. Fuuton: Daitoppa! This done Hito brought the sand around the boy, engulfing him mid-air in a ball of sand.

[Atomsk]

The needles flew at him, but with the attention diverted, and thus the initiated power, it was much easier to dodge. He was fast, after all, and without full attention, it was very difficult for him to not regain composure. Another person had joined the fray? Who the hell was this? He didn't need another foe, but it looked like he was against the Shukaku-boy as well, whom it occurred to Yamato now had not introduced himself. Internally, the Hachibi became even more restless. "Hang back a little bit. That's another Jinchuuriki, and the only one I'm going to say you can't beat at all. The Ninetails-Fox, Kyuubi, was the only one of the bijuu to defeat me, and you're aware of my power." Yamato was surprised; another one of them in the same city, something looked contrived. "But he's on our side. Shouldn't we fight alongside him? To beat Shukaku quickly?"

"Look, he may be against Shukaku, but the bijuu at the least isn't on our side. I don't like this; you've spent more energy than he has."

"But Shukaku's spending a lot more chakra much faster. He'll get tired soon; He's gotta be running low, you and Kyuubi have greater amounts than he does, and his own can't be much more than mine... So Yamato decided to pursue the matter, and just go on the offensive. The first thing was to retrieve his sword. Or, in the very least, put it back into play. But his foe was more useful alive for now; the sword was a well laid pawn for now. Instead, whilst his opponent was pursuing his acrobatics, Yamato flickered around behind, and flew into the air in his partner's shadow. What he didn't expect was the boy to be returning, so it wound up, as sand started to close on the sides, that they needed an escape. He landed on the boy's back, whispered "Distract his sand, friend," and charging chakra into his feet, he shot both of them in opposite directions, away from the sand cocoon.

As Kyuubi flew towards the Shukaku again, invisible both behind the Fox-boy and now behind the concealing empty cocoon of sand, Yamato landed on the building's side. He fired off a harpoon of air at a slightly distant building, and shattered a chunk of it. Hopefully that'd make someone wake up and notice the chakra fluctuations. Meanwhile, he loosened a layer of cloth, and left his over-cloak on the roof. He had yet another plan, and though his bijuu begged an exit or his own involvement, Yamato would see it through alone. He prepped his hands for the Kyuubi's move, unnoticed on a nearby wall.

This post has been edited by Atomsk on Nov 6 2008, 10:05 PM

[Geddy]

"Distract his sand, friend." At these words, Yuichi brightened. The Genin who had previously been in all out defense mode just got him out of the pesky sand and befriended him all in one instant. Though on the inside, the Kyuubi was howling when the two came in contact. "Is that...? By-Tor, the Hachibi no Yamata! Slay him now or I'll destroy you, brat!" it screamed at him as it's chakra surged throughout Yuichi's body. "No... I don't think so. But thanks for the chakra, jerk." he replied, further enraging the Kyuubi.

While he had only once used the holy fire chakra of the Kyuubi before, Yuichi was confident that he could handle it. He had no real control over it, but the fact of the matter was- it was incredibly potent and abundant that even if he could only use about 10% of the somewhat small amount he had been granted, it would be equivalent to having two Chuunin on his side. Yuichi shuddered as he charged forward at an incredible speed, creating ten Kage Bunshins in an instant. "Your sand is fast, but it can't keep up with this many of me!" he called out as his clones delivered a barrage of punches and kicks at the sand kid. Though he fell back, instead gathering a large amount of lightning chakra into his right palm, infused with the holy fire of the Kyuubi.

[Shougou]

Turning his attention to his newest plaything Hito flipped around, pulling Shukau's attention with him, to see 10 Yuichi's running at him. "Kage bunshin..." he said, more of a statement than a question. Realizing he was horribly out matched in speed Hito quickly threw up wall after wall of sand in between him a the clones. Each wall erupting with spikes as a clone came into contact. Hmm....we seem to be running a little low. Shukaku? Hito growled within his mind. No problem! This is starting to get fun. As this miniature conversation came to a close Hito felt a burst of chakra flow through him. Much better. "Let's rock you nine-tailed squirrel!" Screamed Shukau, the noise coming as much from Hito's mouth as it seemed to emanate from the very sand itself. "You're all in my town now!" As he screamed the entire area was whipped into a massive sand storm as Shukaku utilized his control over sand and Hito's wind affinity into a single jutsu hybrid. As the sand whipped around, passing harmlessly over Hito's skin, but slicing deep rivets into the surrounding buildings he accumulated it in the areas he had last seen his two opponents, imploding the sand with quick clenches of his fists before moving to another spot, hoping he would eventually hit one of his targets.

[Atomsk]

Yamato hurled himself off the wall and down to the ground, pushing himself low to the floor as the winds raged and the sand flew to defend against his allies valiant efforts. Looking around, he tried to come up with another assault. Quickly, still sticking half out of the sand, was the sword he'd dropped from before. It wasn't five feet away completely, since Shukaku was a small fortress unto himself, and had more or less refused to move. That was an option. Looking back, the wind-shield had worked the first time; thinking back, he'd come to this village for wind jutsu. It occurred to him that the sand jutsu were just altered, glorified wind jutsu. Well THAT was easy enough to work with. If he could brush the sand aside again...

Before taking his action, Yamato through off another harpoon of air towards some buildings. At some point, a ninja would have to pick up on the battle and come to end it. Honestly enough, he had no interest in fighting the bijuu; he wanted a shower and to start learning some jutsu, or something! The wreckage should bring village enforcements. As soon as he was confident in that, he ran back up the building, and shot himself off of the wall, at least three stories up in the air. With one arm focused, he connected with his sword, and forced it to extend with the Oniiba technique, making it root itself deeply in the ground, as well as extend up to him, giving him a dense metal perch as it were. Once up there, he focused on his balance and on keeping himself attached to the sword with chakra - soon he'd have to ask for some bijuu assistance - and shot, two from each arm, a snake down in another pincer formation, but utilizing their falling momentum to attack, and each pair operating a separate pincer with one another. It was like a four-pronged attack from above; hopefully the sand would come with it, so he could learn more about these techniques...

This post has been edited by Atomsk on Nov 17 2008, 02:39 AM