once more with feeling (training)

Her team had been traveling to take over another village. By their power the people of yuki village were free and liberated and while they followed echo's orders to expand his borders Kira worked hard to train. Now they were back together. She had an excitement in her heart that couldn't be expressed not matter how heavily it showed on her face. Today she would show youka, the leader of their little group, just how much she had improved and prove finally that she had grown into a konoichi to be proud of. 

    As she waited she prepared. He would be there soon, she hoped, but she had quite a few things to do before they started. She bend down, stretching out her left leg she continued her downward motion, getting a good tight stretch of her muscles to ensure she would be limber. She repeated the process with her right dropping down as low as possible to bounce a few times before coming back up. She put one arm over the other, using the outside arm as leverage to stretch the muscles before switching again. she considered starting with some cardio but she assumed that she would work up enough of a sweat during the battle. 

    Finally she reached her hand into the bag at her side. She counted each weapon to ensure everything was in its place from the enormous pile of senbon, ten of which were filed down to a groove and fixed with spools of wire each ten meters long, to the single kunai, and even double checked the length of her medical bandage just in case. She had the mark, and her dolls too. Each was a differing way to increase her power, she thought to herself. She needed to make sure she didn't over use them. The more power the more fatigue it puts on your body. 

     Daruku shuuring Sorrow. " At her call each slid into existence. 

Daruku appeared in a flash of light that seemed incredibly strange due to the dark tint. An onlooker would swear that the light was balck, though it was a physical impossibility at best and an oxymoron at worst. The small black plant like pixie floated over to kira's left side. As much as she enjoyed watching the girl suffer this was a fight against someone who would not hold punches. This fight would be less of a friendly spar and more of a match to the death if youka had his say, though he had yet to actually kill her so she held out hope. 

    Shuurin followed her sisters path, appearing in a flash of brilliant blue to spin around several times before floating over to Kira's right. She knew her job, and was excited to be a part of this amazing experience. She expected to be the last called to combine with her master, though there was a good chance that it would be more benificial to use Daruku for her ability to be manipulated within the third petal. No matter what she would fight to the best of her ability to assist Kira in proving herself and that was enough to be excited for. 

     Finally Sorrow ripped through reality with an extremely different form of fourish. The crie ushering upon it's entrance was much louder and more piercing then usual. It seemed even the scythe knew about the battle ahead. She wondered if Youka's speed would be something she could deal with. She hoped, but didn't expect it. 

    "Alright girls. you all know what to do so lets strategize this out. Soul link my dears and don't be afraid to desummon if you need. I'll tell you when to use the petals. we're going to have to go all out against Youka if we want to prove our worth. " The area around them wasn't her normal fighting zone. She was so used to the training area that it felt like her real home but this place....This place for what they would do was better. She could still see the gash her weapon had made so long ago in this very spot. It was special to her, as she hoped it would be for Youka. This was the place they trained together the very first day. 


(711)

Youka was walking to to the direction of the meeting place for the spar he had just told Kira he would give her. Even though she was female he would give it all he had and try to crush her as soon as they started. He was proud that she was still practicing and getting stronger while they were gone, now was the time to show what she had. He was actually excited to see how far she had come and if she would truly be ready for what they were planning on doing next.

His plans were almost done and coming to fruition with the group he worked with. He didn't think himself a leader by any means and more so thought that each one of them was a leader in their own right. So much was happening and still so much more still needed to happen for everything to be the way he wanted it to be. Youka just hoped that his previous endeavors would pay off in some form of acknowledgment even if it wasn't a major village they had still taken over a village and killed a village leader. He couldn't let it get to him too much as everything came in good time and he would just have to bide his time which to him was nothing.

As he made his way to the grounds he was surprised to see that Kira was already there and doing what seemed to be prepping. How the heck did she beat him here when he was the one that left first to get to this location, sigh maybe he was just getting old and moving too slowly. She already had her two dolls out and her weapon of choice that crazy thing that screamed every time she manifested it. That weapon, he hated it, but even if he managed to take it away from her all she would do was make it go away and appear again. So the first thing to go would be the dolls, those things would be easy to take out and he wouldn't have to worry about hearing them talk, or relay messages to their master.

As he made it to within five meters of the woman he began moving chakra into the mark on his chest. He hadn't actually activated it yet and this little match would be the perfect way to do it so it would be killing two birds with one stone. His shield was still on his back and his helmet was in his left arm, he would place the helmet on the ground next to him while keeping the shield on his back. He was in normal attire just some black ninja leggings and a mesh black shirt with his ponytail hanging over his left shoulder.

"Alright well lets do this then, I want you to give me everything you got from the start, if you don't I won't take you with us when we leave again, and like I said I'll cut off your hand." Youka began stretching before letting out a tired yawn and cracking his back letting out pops that could be heard. The threads in his body were ready as his skin moved around and bumped up in different locations that the threads had gathered in. His smile was still ever on his face and his eyes still seemed to never be open but he was fully aware of his surroundings and his senses passivly picked up on her chakra for it being so big. "Anytime you're ready".

(594)

"Daruku...Shuurin....Go ahead....." She saw him finally walking up and decided to begin preparation. From her memory he was fast enough that if she hadn't set up for the battle early there was a chance that he would rush in, maybe even before they spoke, and start systematically stopping her abilities. 

    "Understood" They spoke activating both the soul link and the first petal. each dropped to the ground as youka first spoke. Shuurin seemed to soak into the ground, causing a small spot of water before reforming herself now an almost translucent blue color. Her water form would be imperative as Youka knew better then anyone the importance of her dolls to her. If he wanted to break her concentration they would be the way to do it. Unlike her sister Daruku never rose from the ground. Instead her body manifested on the ground as a dark black shadow shaped exactly as the small black pixie, though with the intricate details of her body masked by the shadow form to look more like a black blob still resembling a doll. Daruku set just below her sister, hiding in the water doll's shadow and they moved as one back to Kira's side, Shuurin about a foot above kira's head and half a foot to the right of her shoulder. 

    "Now...Last part. " She called out to the skill of her clan and her shadow seemed to stretch out around her, forming a large circle. The edge split out to look like an artist rendering of a sun with ten points, and as soon as they split each of the points rose from the ground, breaking from their two dimensional boundries to rise up around her in a circle, each about a meter thick at the base where they met the small shadow circle about A meter on every side of the girl, only to seem to spiral around her in a shape similar to an upside down spinning top with a couple feet opening between each tendril, whose points combined at the top. The strange cage like entity swayed left and right almost as if blowing in a strong breeze. 

    To accomondate the rising shadow tendrils Large holes seemed to be ripped into the circle around her intermittently both large and small. As the larger ones opened up they seemed to create a set of demonic looking lips with sharp jagged teeth that smiled at youka with seemingly evil intent. The smaller formed strange black eyes whose negative space was simply the light brown earth beneath them. She looked up for a moment thankful that the sun was high in the sky. Her shadows felt darker and much stronger then usual, as she generally ended up training early morning or late night. These conditions were perfect for their rematch. 

     "Alright......Lets see what I can do. " She tossed the scythe up, and two of the tendrils wrapped around it, quickly thickening all the way through to lose their sharp point to make way for what looked like large shadow hands. With her hands now free she formed a single hand sign, activating her scattering thousand crows jutsu. from the point where her hands joined her chakra flashed for a moment and a conspiracy of ravens began to flow out in front of her in a cone. Meanwhile the shadows closed themselves back up with the girl and the two shadows holding her weapon safely tucked within. They still swayed, two in front of her spreading slightly to allow the birds to flow past freely, heading towards youka. As they flew the once silent battle field was filled with the flapping of seventy ravens. They flapped their black wings, flashing just a splash of blue that ran up the tip of each wing as they flew towards him and they added to the loud sound of flapping birds with a chorus of caws of varying tempos. 

     After the birds left her defensive cage the two shadow hands prepared. One held the scythe as the other reached down with a large black fist to lift the ball and chain, easilly throwing it with little effort towards youka to loop around the conspiracy on a curved path towards it's opponent at a speed of one hundred and fifty and a power of two hundred and twenty five. She prepared the tendrils in front of her, which split slightly in the center. She knew the power of his thread, but she was fairly certain her shadow if needed could consume them. She was fearful to use the mark but would if she needed to. 

(1481)

Youka's breathing was normal and each action he took from here on out would happen before the next breath was brought into his lungs. He watched her closely and followed each movement that her body made. He would have to ensure that his senses stayed on the dolls as well as they melded with their surroundings, well that was new. It seemed she truly had been practicing and maybe this wouldn't be as one sided as he had thought. One took on the form of water while the other took on the form of a shadow, he wondered what exactly these two forms would be used for and couldn't wait to set off some kind of trap.

What was very intriguing this time was that her shadows actually moved from the ground and were given form. Yea...that was really new, and the last time he remembered the shadows were pretty easy to break. Were these the same type or completely different, like all things he would play it safe and evaluate what they could do instead of rushing in. She had a nice perimeter going for her, either she didn't trust herself if people got close to her, or she thought her barrier was enough to keep attackers out. He would also test this and see how durable it was. After closer inspection the shadows actually had eyes and..a mouth, this might be a little more interesting than he had expected it to be. He watched as they formed and gave him a look of death to which he replied to by keeping his smile and pushing his red pony tail back over his shoulders to let it hang to the small of his back.

He didn't think it could be done but she had found a way to get her hands on something that was even more disturbing and obnoxious than that weapon tearing into reality and those two dolls talking his head off. There were now birds flying in his direction cawing loudly and fluttering about, it was just too much noise for him to take and he knew it would only get worse as the spar progressed, so he did what every male does when a woman talks too much, he sewed his ears shut tight again and blocked out all noise.

It didn't seem like the birds were going to do much but fly around as they neared him nothing else happened. Youka decided to prepare himself as well sliding the shield off to one arm he used his free hand to take his mesh shirt off and show the various stitches that held his makeshift body together. After this was done he placed the shield next to his helme while kicking off his shoes and began moving away from them slowly making him 3 meters away from his effects and still 5 away from her. Kira decided she would initiate this rematch by having her shadows hold her weapon and one of the hands picked up her chained ball and tossed it fairly fast in his direction. Now came the reason he removed his shoes, sure he was fast but sometimes the people he fought would be faster than he himself could stay ahead of. With his threads however he could amplify his own speed by pressing a cluster of threads out the bottom of his feet to propel himself forward or in any direction really.

Watching how fast the ball was barreling towards him he would move accordingly matching its speed to side step it just slightly, threads would pop from his back and wrap around the chain at about 3 feet in where the chain began. If that went as planned it would cause the ball to fall flat after it went it's course, this would give the chain some slack but also his threads were applying tension to the chain so if she tried to pull his strength should be enough to immobilize the ball portion of the weapon. The distance now would be three meters.

He was forming plans in his head on what to do if this happened and what to do if that happened. The shadows seemed to be tangible and he would test that theory with the shadows a few more threads would protrude from his back and arc over his shoulders for the other shadow hand holding the other piece of this deadly weapon these would move at their full speed in case she had a plan to deviate their path. Hopefully these would wrap around the shadow arm and the weapon again applying tension to prevent either of those from moving, if she pulled so would the threads and if she pushed so would they as well. The distance was now 1 meter.

During this time if any birds had come within a 2 meter circumference of himself threads would shoot forth from his back in varying locations and snipe them from the air, he didn't know what else they were for but annoying him to hell but he wouldn't allow any of them near him. this whole play would indeed look slightly weird to anyone watching with shadows and threads encompassing the field as if a play of marionettes was being had. he was making sure to keep pace of what her speed was and not over step and go too fast for her to watch but her line of defense was those spiraling upwards shadows was something he needed to get by and the meter gap was all the space he needed.

The small of his back opened and countless threads exited to the left and right of him over lapping each other forming a semi wall on each side of him the heigt of each was 2 meters and they went a meter forward, their design mimicked a rib cage only going out from his body half a meter. This was done so just in case the shadows did try to move in on him their strength should be enough to allow him to enter into her domain and also give him a striking ability as well as defense.

Youka was watching the ground as well he didn't need to get caught by any of her shadows trying to manipulate his movements again as he knew she would do it. There were multiple variables working in her favor and he was going to do his best to meet them all head on and still come out on top. If everything worked as he had planned he would now be only mere inches from the girls frame close enough to touch her and his threaded rib cage would now turn inwards on her body shooting forth at point blank to puncture her body in varying ways all aimed at her mid section. The amount of threads that he would will to move forward in this way were 50 that he picked to hit her in her stomach and arms and here and there.

His main attack however was grabbing her by her shoulders with both hands in an attempt to place two exploding seals on her body with both hands before moving again for both his hands to touch her sides placing two more exploding seals. If all this happened the fight was over and he had already won but he would continue to spar her and see how else she had grown. To her the grabs and touches wouldn't really be anything but forceful hits of pressure but the job was done.

Now he would keep his wits about him and stay directly in front of her and react to whatever she might do at this close a range surely her options would be limited if he was allowed to make it this close.

Jutsu used:

(1897)

"Hm." She knew he was fast, probably significantly faster then she was even after all of her grueling training, but it was an entirely different thing to see it in action instead of working off memory. The chain of her weapon tightened, which was fine. She figured the weapon would be little use at such a long range, even under the power of her shadows. As soon as he grabbed onto the chain with the strange threads piercing out of his back she acted, clapping her hands together into the signature nara hand seal. two things happened. First was a diversion second she hoped would quickly finish the fight. One of the tendrils directly in front of her uncoupled from the defensive measure to shoot forward the moment Her hand seal activated making it clear that first she was using a shadow jutsu, and second that the large pointed tendril aimed directly at him was the conduit for which it would be done. Thankfully for her looks could easilly be decieving. 

    She had thought about this combination hard and long while she fought ninja after ninja, working out the smallest details of if and how it would work out to lead up to the point when she would really need it. The transitive property was the basis for the entirety of her technique and as it activated she was satisfied to see that at least the beginning of it worked as planned. Following the transitive property if A is related to B and B is related to C then A is related to C, which meant in this situation if she controled her own shadow, and the shadow attacking with her scythe was her own shadow, linked directly to her, and The long narrow black line following the chain to it's destination  from the end of the large ball to the base of her circle of shadow was connected to her shadow, it would only make sense that without the distinction between the weapon and herself written in the black nothingness the shadow of her weapon, which was an extension of herself anyway as all weapons were generally considered, which did not stop or start asside from stretching out from it's birth place within her shadow, was in fact a long extension of her shadow in the same way the shadow of a large coat worn on the body would be a part of the persons shadow. 

    She loved that there was no black and white to shadows, well there was black but no white at least, because every time she started to wonder she found the effect delightfully as she had expected. The moment the threads grasped her chain and her tendril shot out to attack youka a line of shadow about two or three inches wide shot out from the weapon just behind youka, and assumably out of his field of vision to travel the incredibly short distance from itself to the long black shadow connecting his threads to himself. As it shot out, unless acted upon by an outside force it would merge with his in a split second, capturing him in her shadow imitation jutsu fueled by the strength of her own shadow mastery. One of the tenticles behind her would seem to simply disappear back into the circle around her as a few moments after she manipulated it, more because of the concentration used to capture him in the jutsu then anything as the technique at base gave her the power to hold an extra shadow. With him caught she would raise her hand into a peace sign saying 

    "tada! Shadow mastery Shadow imitation fun times by Kiranomo. Bet you didn't expect that huh youka?" She wasn't sure if she could hold him, and if she could she didn't know how long so she would take the chance to desummon her weapon causing it to let out a horrifying screech as it simply ceased to exist for the time being. 

     If her technique was stopped she would react quite differently however. The birds which had been following him would move forward to swarm around his head, trying to block out his vision and split his attention three ways, both between the girl and her shadows, the dolls, and the obnoxious birds. As they were struck by youka's threads they would disappear with a loud squack into a puff of water vapor, ceasing to be until the next time she molded her chakra to use the jutsu. 

    The large hand would move, but not close to fast enough and as it turned downwards looking like it was thinking about striking, though that was impossible since shadows don't have brains and therefore cant think, it would be caught by his threads, which would wrap tightly around it. It dropped the weapon immediatly, just as Kira called out to desummon it, and with a loud screech the scythe disappeared into nothingness. With it's hand free the shadow tendril would shift back and forth for a moment before seeming to realize that it was useless, though the realization was clearly Kira's as shadows do not have a brain and cannot think. The hand would simply seem to grow larger, as if it was water flowing upwards through the nozzle like threads holding it. THe fingers became fatter until they merged together, forming a large mouth which curled in on itself to chomp down on the threads and shadow alike to fall several inches before combining with the shadow once more below it to stand tall. Wicked dark black teeth seemed to chew as it ingested the threads for a moment before a large gulping sound was heard, and unless something else effected it the threads were sent down to the base of nothingness that was the shadow mouth's stomach to be lost forever. She considered keeping the thread juggling between the shadows mouth and stomach but honestly there it could be used to attack her in a surprise where as from the pit of shadows it was to be sent to there was no getting out. 

    The Shadow tendrils struck out to lash at the defense Youka had made with a strength of one hundred and fifty, their edges seeming to shrink down and sharpen almost like swords as they moved inward to keep themselves between their master and her opponent to lash out from within and cut at the thread like defense in an attempt to sever it in half from the center out. She knew the threads were strong, and honestly had a feeling this would end with her calling more tendrils from the large shadow circle at her feet, but it would provide excelent information about what she could and couldn't do as well as figure out if the threads would be too much for her. If they were she needed to figure out a way around dealing with them or else this fight was doomed from the start. Seven of them would strike out at youka, leaving two to her right and left just in case she needed protection. and as the shadows attempted to push her back the same blood curdling scream filled the area and her scythe formed right back in her hands. 

    If his attack continued to thwart her counter measures the two shadows would combine together to form a shield in front of her to take the strikes from his thread with their health of one hundred and fifty, and from the edges of the large coffin like shield eight smaller knife like tendrils would lash out, three on each side, one on the top and one on the bottom. They would move at full speed to mimic the attack of his threads, striking to puncture his body with a peppering of quick strikes across his chest and shoulders and try to push him back out of the range where her scythe was ineffective.

    As the shadow sheild defended another larger tendril formed up between the shield and her body to grip the scythe. It moved around the left of the defensive measure to lash out at youka with a speed of one hundred and fifty and a power of two hundred and seventy five, slashing at a downward arc from his left shoulder to cut him in half on the bias, ending just above his right hip.

 (2878)

Youka's movements were always forward as there was no need to ever make a back track movement, this was no exception at all. His plan was going according to how he had planned with no nips at all, she was a skilled fighter and also planned everything accordingly to what he was doing. The only fault that he found that she had was the need to form a hand seal to show a jutsu was about to be used. Stopping jutsu from being performed was a simple matter for him as he doubted she could do it faster than his threads traveled.

As her hands raised to form he had already sent preemptive threads in her direction at their full speed to prevent her from using hand seals, if allowed the threads would smack her hands back to her sides before retreating back into his body. This would effectively prevent any jutsu she planned on using at that time, maybe he should have let it happen and see where it went but he wasn't one for giving openings.

His path stayed the same as he still aimed on closing in on the female inside her turtle shell of a jutsu, he would break her free is it was the last thing he did today. She did indeed try as he thought she would to take away his senses by using the birds to disorient his view of the target. It was to no avail however as the threads would sprout as needed and in quick fashion plucking each one from the sky causing them to disperse keeping his field of vision unhindered. He would give her the just do's she was warranted for being a clever tactician and with a little more training and power behind herself she would be a formidable opponent more so than she already was.

As the shadow grew larger that was being held by his threads he made the decision to withdraw them before something he didn't like happened. He remembered when he fought her the last time and she expanded by transforming into his own creation. He would recall the threads but not back into his body, they would hang over him in a dome shape protecting him from any damage that might try to come from above. Luckily for him he made the right call, as he continued his march forward she would send more shadows to attack his body in the same way he was attempting to harm hers. As her shadows would move in for the attack his threads that were covering his head would lash downwards at a superior speed and strength trying to force the shadows down and pin the to the ground. It was a quick fix to the solution and being that they were shadows it would more than likely only hold till she released them back to their two dimensional forms but it saved it's purpose and he could continue forward into her walls.

Now came the fun part as she made her last ditch effort to push him back and stop his assault from coming to fruition. Forming a shadow barrier of sorts in front of her, this too would be broken and tossed to the way side. Opening his chest a spiral of threads would flow forth forming a tight knit drill head motion. The would hit the wall at their full strength and speed to force their way past it. Now his blood was pumping as his body was being scratched and torn and he moved forward. He didn't care too much as anything life threatening was being defended and he could stitch himself back up whenever he needed. He could however feel something reacting finally as he fought on, the mark on his chest began to heat up as he felt it feeding off of his power and finally awakening to greet it's master. This new power would come in handy but he wouldn't use it just yet as he knew more than likely Kira too had unlocked hers and would more than likely respond with equal force.

What he didn't hear but saw before her shield shut her off from view was her weapon once again in her arms. The things she could do with that weapon were strong and annoying. He would use the drilling threads to puncture as well as grasp on to the weapon after they broke through her wall to discourage any swinging the weapon would be doing. All of this would allow his attack to still stay on course and strike true with the end result still being four explosive seals planted on her body. If not he might have to activate this mark and apply a little more pressure and see where things wen't from there.

(2698)
(Requesting ghost mark activation approval reached 2k words training with it.)

Approved

Youka was unstoppable. She cursed her shallow jutsu pool every time she got into a situation of this nature. Of course She had all the things needed to do her job. The shadows would defend her against most things that got past the other two, allowing them to concentrate on attacking whatever or whoever they were up against, She had her body flicker in the instance that she needed to get away from something, and her medical jutsu in case one of her friends got hurt but her weakness was her lack of a raw form of power. The shadow tendrils were quickly failing her and she had little she could do to remedy the situation. 

     He broke through each of her techniques as if it wasn't even an obstacle for him to deal with. She had thrown every trick she had and desperation was quickly taking over. Her attempt to catch him failed once more as the threads whipped across her arms causing a sharp sting and knocking them backwards to come to rest once more just a bit before the edge of her chest at each side. 

     His systematic destruction of her crows made her heart ache. Naturally she knew it was just a jutsu and that the creatures did not actually draw breath but her creations were a beautiful work of art she had painted upon the canvas of reality. She felt the familiar disconnected feeling caused by fear. It clouded her mind, making the battle feel like it was a dream, but she refused to give in. She wouldn't allow Selene to take over, not here not now. 

    "Kira.....Let us help...we are your strength Without us You may just die. give in to the power..." The voice echoed in her head. She watched the barrier go up, and immediately be split in half. It was fine, of course. She expected it of youka. She would need to find a better way of doing things, however it was an impossibility with the voice screaming in her head. 

    "No. I can do this on my own. Mom said....It doesn't matter. I'm stronger now. I wont let you take over and save me anymore. I refuse." The shadow shield would simply reform itself after being split by the drill, her shadow allowing themselves to unmerge and remerge together to accomondate the situation. Unfortunately for her One becoming two meant a few things. her choices were cancel one of the tendrils as she was at the max she could effectively control or attempt to form the imitation technique. She hopped backwards, acting the body flicker technique as she did to travel  two meters from where Youka broke through her now reforming defenses, her shadow seeming to stretch from the large circle beneath her as she left it's edge, though only a meter or two. She was still connected to the matrix like creation and as he acted she reacted once more. 

    SHe allowed one of the tendrils attacking him to release, using the first one on her mind without actually paying attention to what was going on. The haze of confusion was really starting to effect her which was evident in the techniques she threw at youka in response to her actions. Sorrow of humanity was brandished around the edge of the shield to strike towards youka, only to fall to the ground short of actually making it around the large defensive measure as she realized the tendril released was her last activated, the large arm wielding her weapon. She mentally cured the voice in her head. Thinking clearly she would never have made such a tactical error, and as she called the weapon back it popped out of existence and she could see from around the shadow shield threads heading to attack and hold the weapon at bay hit open air out of sheer luck. 

     "let us help you Kiranomo. It was dumb luck that saved your weapon child. You would never choose to stop it's motion on purpose.Child of shadow give in to the aid. We don't need to take over....Only to Work in unison. Please allow us to help.  " She wasn't sure what the entity that had protected her meant, but she gave in, allowing her mind to be filled as if there were two within her one body. Her movements were suddenly sure again. The shield had reformed,only to disappear completely behind youka as he moved past. She continued to shift backwards clapping her hands together quickly in time with another large shadow construct raising to impede Youka's movement just as she passed. With the safety of her shadows between them once more she would clap her hands together as quickly as possible. The distance between them was less then a meter, four or five inches put between where the shadow fully formed itself and youka's body. As she continued to move back so did the shield, up until the point when it was destroyed, however this shield seemed a little different. outer edging was less amorphous then her previous. It seemed to have fairly sharp contours and intricacies resembling a real shield. The other major difference was the center featured a large black creepy looking mouth with an oddly smug smile. 

    The moment her hands touched she activated the shadow imitation technique she had attempted earlier. As she strategized and planned she felt the familiar pulse of power flowing through her body. She wasn't sure until she felt a smile in her mind, that Selene had activated the very mark youka had given her and the additional abilities, she knew would be helpful. It would take much more work behind her defenses to stop her hands, and she hoped to get just the break she needed hidden from sight by the obstruction. If the technique worked she was certain it was game over as his body and shadow moved quickly through her circular defensive field made of shadow. The imitation tech would be instant at the power level of her mastery of shadows, catching him in the shadow imitation technique until he was able to break out, whether due to a higher strength level then her shadow power of one hundred and seventy or due to the upgrade her ghost mark offered. No matter the situation she would continue to move backwards to get out of melee range. If he was caught, the moment he stopped moving eight more tendrils would rip up from the ground at his feet to stab at him, peppering his body with large holes and aiming importantly to cripple his arms and legs by tearing through the connective tissue needed to continue his asault. If stopped panic would set in. 

     "What do we do," She would say if her technique failed. It was now or never, she thought as she knew the fight would be over the moment he reached her. Summoning her shadows one final time she would force them between herself and youka as they moved in groups of two that she hoped would slow him down enough for her final trick. From her mouth would spew a fount of water quickly, which was held up by a shadow tendril moving to easilly catch the stream and move with her. It would form quickly, shaping into a large ball at a speed of one hundred and seventy, and once done the shadow would give way to allow youka to pass, hopefully directly into it. Upon entering the large sphere would hold him tight, stopping movement of anything with a strength less then one hundred ninety and she would follow the same pattern of attempting to criple his body by striking into the water prison with her shadow tendrils to stop his ability to move easily. It wasn't much but in her situation it was all she had even with the power given by Sorrow to aid her in strategy. 

"Good show Kira. This was a sound stategy and may yet prove to be useful, however I feel that this may be our last chance. " She knew it as well as selene. Even with hell's angel's help she had no clue what to do to stop the destructive force in front of her. No amount of strength had been able to slow him. Even after stopping maku, and almost winning their fight she could not see an effective solution to what was in front of her. "His movments are too fast and his threads too strong. They rip through our shadows and I fear this will be the end. You have however fought incredibly well. "

(4296)

Youka wondered what was going through the womans mind as all of this was happening. It couldn't be anything good, was she getting scared, was depression setting in now that nothing was working, was he back against the wall, he hoped so. It seemed to him that people learn more and at a faster pace when they are constantly being pushed to go over their limits and shatter those inhibitors. That was exactly what he was doing with Kira, he wanted to push her into that corner of despair where anxiety kicks in and your mind goes numb as it fails to plan and your eyes develop tunnel vision as every hope is thrown out and all you can do is watch the encroaching terror come. Watching her try and plan further ahead was also very delightful as he broke through each plan she seemed to always have a back up for the last back up, he would commend her on her capacity to see into the future, but what would she do when the future wasn't so easy to be seen, or she came against an opponent that distorted and broke those plans, he just had to know.

He had effectively canceled her trapping techniques by not allowing hand seals to be formed on the battlefield. He had one by one destroyed every one of those wretched birds that had even attempted to enter into his controlled domain with pinpoint accuracy. Every shadow she had sent his way he had either crushed flat and knocked out of the way, or he had taken the minor hit and sewed up those spots rather quickly as to show that no damage had been given to him. Surely thoughts of defeat had kicked in, but wait where were the dolls, she had not yet once used them, and if she had he hadn't seen it. His senses scanned for them and he could feel their presence in the area but he had lost sight of them, he would have to be on his guard to ensure that nothing was used against him that he couldn't see.

The one thing he was waiting for that he knew would signal that she had reached desperation was the thing he had seen when they first sparred. It was a completely different Kira, one with more resolve and the willingness to go as far as need be to crush anything that got in her way. He longed to see her eyes switch from careful tactician to wanton destroyer the being that would fling and flail in a wonderful display of carnage. He enjoyed the cute little Kira when it was times of relaxing and conversation but all too often she was not willing to destroy when destruction was the plan. Everything had to be completely wrong or thoroughly corrupt for her to lift a finger, this other Kira wasn't in the same boat, at the first sign of opposition whatever it was would sut down whoever was in its way without a hesitation, and it was beautiful. It might be selfish of him for trying to drive that Kira to come out but he was intoxicated by the blood aura that surrounded her when she was in that form as it was kin to his.

As the barrier fell to his threads as all her other shadows had done he saw her face for just a quick moment and it was still strategic Kira he was staring at for that brief moment. As the shield was brought back up in front of him his fury for a moment took a hold of his body his mind only wanted her death and maybe she would be reborn into the destruction he wanted. He had still never been quenched since his fight with Kenzo and it was pouring over him that he needed a conclusion to that as well. The thing that had pushed him to this point were her continued efforts to throw logic at a object that her logic and planning couldn't stop. She had not yet once tried rage and to answer that power with a equal force of power, instead it was one plan after another and it was only fueling his blood lust.

Moving forward shirtless with a light perspiration covering his skin and his breathing becoming more ravaged as he fought the impulse to rip her apart limb from limb there were a few things now that could be noticed if she were to look at him. His smile that always showed on his face had turned more demented than happy as it went to a full Cheshire cat smile and his white teeth could be seen displayed so perfectly. His eyes that normally always seemed closed had opened to display his dark red pupils that were almost sent aflame they carried a very endangering look to them as his darker side had gained a stronger hold over his will. The thing that would probably be the most noticeable was his mark on his chest had started to glow red as it activated itself and fueled his rage even more giving him the extra energy and power.

"Ha..haha...ahaha.." Youka's body convulsed just once as the new shield Kira had erected popped back up in his face. His head tilted slightly to the side still with his evil grin as he eyed it wildly before outstretching both hands into the shadow and pulling it apart with his bare hands these fucking walls were the last straw and her insolence would be punished. "Ahaha...ha...death...ahahaha" lowering his center of gravity closer to the ground for a brief moment as if he was a spring compacting itself threads again would propel his body violently forward at their full speed which would be more than Kira would hope to follow. He wouldn't be able to stop his momentum and he didn't care to either, his body would rocket past Kira but not before his left arm clutched around her neck and brought her body with him for the ride. If this went through they both would travel in the air 2 meters off the ground at a speed of 450 before he placed his legs down into the earth to slow his momentum and stop forward movement.

This however would not end Kira's travel her body would continue it's trajectory as he delatched his hand at the wrist still connected by threads to further push her body 20 meters up in the air and by the laws of inertia and equal force it should have increased the speed at which she was traveling by almost double. If all this happened her body would be flung to nearly 40 meters in the air this would all be done at a strength of 218 and his threads would have returned to him connecting everything back together. Once she hit the ground again his mind had already told him to beat on the corpse some more and indeed he would tear the corpse apart as soon as it hit the ground and splattered everywhere.

(3887)

Stats enhanced by mark
Chakra 130-150
Speed 100-120
Strength 125-145

Threads
Speed 440-460
Strength 180-218

He broke through faster then she had expect, much faster in fact. Youka's power now seemed like he had been toying with her all along and the young girl screamed out in her head as the fear gripped her, causing her to choke. Selene slipped into action and as kira's arms pulled back to cross across her chest defensively as her body flicker activated It was the Hell's Angel who acted. Her eyes were a strange mixture of complete and utter terror and a cold steely resolve that seemed impossible in one expression but while it was obvious she had finally run out of plans and wasn't sure what to do her lips pursed shut as Selene took action. The intent behind her fearful eyes was ever present from the moment she began to act. As tears formed at the sight of youka still easilly gaining on her as she ran a vicious intent seemed to overtake her with comitment that she would do what she needed to to survive. The way her body moved and personality shifted was like something unimaginable to any unable to grasp the concept of dual personalities. It didn't even seem human. 

    Selene called out to their shadow mastery technique. Kira would not like it but any realization on the childs face about what was about to happen could tip youka off. With them moving backwards at such a quick speed the subtitles were what would make or break this fight. Her shadow rose up at its full speed mere inches from where it found it's home hidden on the surface of the ground. As a small notch rose behind her without her knowledge the rest of the shadow spread out to make a long stripe, finishing about half of her size before Selene's plan came into being. She took two steps before the shadow knocked her own feet out from under her before disappearing and another notch formed up to youka's right foot. 

Unless otherwise acted upon she would go flying backwards towards the ground less then a second after the body flicker technique started, ending the jutsu at it's master's command. Unless he reacted to the subtle shift in her body or realized the surprise filling her fear gripped eyes wasn't at him, which Selene was sure wouldn't be possible due to the heavy emotions that had been ripping through the young girl features completely caused by him, her body would slide downward as he lunched forward, his wrist missing it's target and, though she would most likely catch a knee or foot in the exchange, she would be more or less unschathed by Youka's attack. If all went as the strange alternate persona planned the suddenness of her maneuver would have her under youka and out of harms way before either of them could realize what had just happened, keeping her momentarilly safe from the strange priest.  The ground however would be a significantly different story. 

She fell down to the ground at a speed that could easilly tear through her protetive armor and the better part of skin and muscle without even a second thought. This was the purpose of the extended shadow drape behind her. As she fell it bumped up causing her to flip in the air literally head over heels, or in this case heel over head. The loss of momentum caused by the fall as well as the shadow changing her downward force into a spinning movment caused her to slow considerably and just as she was about to hit the ground once more the shadow rose up almost like a hammock to catch the girl, cradling her safely up to sweep her back onto her feet, all possible because of the reduced momentum which allowed her shadow mastery tendrils to overtake her fall in speed just in time. 

    Once she was placed back on the ground she stood for a moment paralyzed in fear. That look in youka's eyes, she thought. She had only seen it for a split second before she lost sight of him in the strange maneuver she could only assume Selene to have caused, But it was the same that paralyzed her on their first meeting. She was certain this had stopped being a spar and she called out to maku in complete terror. Maybe he would hear her in time. maybe he hadn't left the village yet. Maybe the horrific screech of her weapons summoning and desummoning would bring her salvation due to it's volume, which could easilly be heard at the village gate and beyond due to it's shrill pitch. She wasn't sure but if something didn't change, and change very very soon she knew she was in deep trouble. 

    "Maku maku something wrong please tell me you didn't leave Iwa yet. That look in youka's eyes. I think he's going to kill me" If the stuation played out as explained the distance between them when he stopped himself would be quite large, most likely at least ten meters, depending on the distance youka would travel before planting his feet on the ground to slow himself to a stop which meant she had distance, and only needed to survive until youka snapped out of it or someone showed up to save her. 

    Selene was pleased with her plan. As the girl froze in fear letting the fall take her wherever it would selene watched youka drop down before lunging forward. She lost track of his body as it assumably collided painfully with her, his feet and or legs grazing across her before she was out of his field of vision, and was tankful she had chosen this particular moment to step in. She shuddered to imagine what would have happened if she had made any action other then stopping their game of tag in this manner for fear that even with a clear mind and without the added issue of being caught in a fall she wasn't sure they could even move to defend the action he had attempted to make. The demon of chance, she though, for once had luck on her side and it may just yet save their lives. 

     She needed to find an end to this fight and running was about as effective as creating a defense. Her mind shifted to sorrow, piecing together the actions of the past portions of the fight. She had a plan, though she wasn't sure if it would work and the girl's body was quickly fading. The ghost mark released without her realization, most likely due to her stamina quickly coming to an end. She could feel the pulse of the ring on her finger as it began to activate and trade her chakra for aditional longevity, but even that wouldn't hold out very long. 

     The ring of shadow formed around her the moment her feet touched the ground. It had yet to be of too terribly much help, but every little bit would count and if it came down to it it would be essencial in her next move. Assuming she was given a few moments before he was on her once more she called out to youka alone on the choker. She refferenced the look in his eyes and begged him not to take her life, hoping to spark the memories of their enjoyable time together. To think that the kind hearted man who had saved her life in ame was now not only willing to kill her, but excited by that idea broke her heart worse then the realization that they had left her, which was a tough feet. Youka and maku's trip to Yuki had cut at her pride and her trust. She knew that they were stronger, but the realization that they couldn't bring her out of the city for fear of her becoming a hinderance or losing her life was humbling even to the girl who already believed she was weak and pathetic, and the though that they could leave Iwa without remembering to even say goodbye....She couldn't think of that right now. The name of the game was survive and snap him out of it and she generally didn't lose games. 

(5665)