Shoot to Thrill ~P, NK, IO~

Altar was walking down one of the now overly crowded main streets of the newly appointed Kirigakure, mist surrounding him. Everywhere people were at a crawling pace, in fear of one of the many things that could be just around the corner. After all, people used to sun soaked streets must've been scared shitless of not being able to see five feet in front of their face. It was even slightly frightening for Altar, seeing as he used to live in a sun soaked metropolis. Even though it always seemed to be perpetually raining.

Walking through the crowded street, Altar would shove his hands into his pockets, honestly more worried about what turn to take next than anything. Back alleys had never been a very good experience for him. So, he would decide to stay on the main streets, walking forward with his head down.

Rakka wandered through the crowded streets of her recently overpopulated home village that only recently became her home from her recent desertion from Yuki from her recent escape from Suna. Finally, however, she was beginning to settle down and enjoy her new home, and, begrudgingly, its people. 

She wondered idly about the boy from Tengakure, the place she had recently visited, whom she had knocked out in her flurry of attacks during their little quarrel. He was from Tengakure, and it was certain that he was here somewhere. She actually felt a little bad about that, because she had sort of blown the kid up for a bit of gossip she had picked up on her own intuition. Even if she had been right, she shouldn't have attacked him, and certainly not with the extreme prejudice that she used. He was lucky she hadn't burned him to a crisp with that attack. Rakka resolved that if she was him, she would apologize for her brash behavior.

And speak of the devil, she saw the boy now. Or was it him? The face seemed familiar, but his hair... It was wrong. The wrong length, the wrong color, the wrong everything. But his clothes were even the same, and the face was the same...
"Ugh..." She muttered in frustration. Better safe then sorry, she supposed. She would approach the boy, giving a low whistle to get his attention. "Umm... Are you the boy I met back at Tenga?" She would ask awkwardly. "You look familiar, but the hair..." She said, trailing off at the end of her sentence. 

(WC: 266)

Altar was minding his own business, when he heard a voice and a whistle that seemed to call out to him. Of course, among the street there were many boys and girls of various ages from Tengakure. But he felt that this voice was pulling for him, and him alone. Turning slightly, Altar would see a girl he vaguely recognized. But...didn't she have blue hair? Pictures and memories would race across his mind as he thought about the girl with the blue hair he had met in Tengakure. They had gotten into a scuffle, which was pretty much entirely based on her baseless conjunction. But...he couldn't be sure if it was her. But that didn't exactly stop the anger flowing into his veins. And when the girl spoke, he recognized the voice, and what she asked only furthered it.

He was going to fight her, stab her, maim her, brutalize her until she couldn't breathe or stand, and for a second that would show pretty clearly in his eyes. However, Nekoda's voice in Altar's head would soothe him, and he'd close his eyes for a second and concentrate on her. "Forgive and forget, Altar. Move on. It's the only way you won't stay stuck in the past and repeat the same mistakes. Just let her talk. She might even say she's sorry." Nekoda would say, and afterwards Altar would open his eyes, breathe out heavily, and look at the girl in front of him.

"Yeah, that's me. What do you want?" Altar would say, managing a monotone voice at best. The venom that threatened to seep into his voice was barely present, and he was surprised at himself that he was able to control it.

Rakka saw the boy's temper flare in a moment of apparent anger. She didn't blame him. Well, now there was no doubt in her mind that he was the one she encountered in the plains of the eternal sunlight and rainfall twilight of Tengakure. Then, just as Rakka thought he was about to burst, maybe attack her or maybe just shout, he closed his eyes for a moment, as if he were meditating. Perhaps he had acquired some anger management skills since last they met. He informed her that he was indeed the boy she fought with, and asked, a little coldly, for her to state her business. 

Rakka smiled, holding out her hand as if to shake.
"I came to make amends." She said, waiting patiently for him to accept the handshake, or slowly lowering her hand if he chose not to. "I was wrong to accuse you like I did, and I shouldn't have picked a fight with you. I let my pride get the best of me, as I often do." She continued, lowering her hand at this point if he had chosen to take it. "And I wanted to get a fresh start, since we're now comrades. So I'll start with giving you my name. I am called Rakka Yuki." She said. Now, she would wait for a moment to get a response from the boy, who hopefully would accept her apology.

"And I'm just hoping that we can let bygones be bygones. I feel bad about attacking you like that, and even worse about just leaving you there in that state." She said, absentmindedly putting her hand on her neck and dropping her gaze to the ground. This was awkward, even for her. She decided it would be a good idea to lighten the mood a bit. "I mean, I kinda kicked your ass and then just left you there to be eaten or raped or whatever the natives of Tengakure do to unconscious teenage boys they find lying in the fields alone." She said jokingly, glancing up and half smiling. Hopefully, that would lighten the atmosphere a bit from the awkwardness that came from their initial confrontation.

(WC: 634)

Altar would take a second to look the girl up and down, before taking her hand and shaking it. After shaking her hand, he would reply to her giving her name. "Altar. Altar Shinkou." Altar would say, no ice present in his words, but his talking would remain clipped and short. He was in no hurry to open a can of worms before a storm. Though she was trying to apologize, god knows what she'd do next. Even in their fight before he was unpredictable as all hell.

And just when Altar thought he could forgive her, Nekoda's voice egging him on, the girl blew her chance. Altar would speak up, interrupting her before she would have a chance to finish whatever she was gonna say after stating that she had kicked his ass. "Say what you said to me, bitch. If that's how you're gonna be, then re-trial. This time, i'll kick your ass"

Altar would say this mid motion, the act of sparking a chidori and shoving it through her chest already half complete by the time he would finish speaking. If all went according to plan, his right hand would be firmly put through a hole in Rakka's chest, right where her heart should've been.

It seemed to be going well. Altar was accepting her apology gracefully it seemed, as the ice that formerly occupied his tone was now gone, although his words were still short, as if he still did not want to make amends. Maybe that was just her. Then, when everything seemed to be going well, and he seemed ready to forgive, disaster struck. She had said the wrong thing, apparently, and her jokes had been taken as fighting words. The boy, whose name she discovered to be Altar Shinkou, formed raw lightning in his hand, as if out of thin air, already striking for her.

"Wait, no-!" She shouted as she stepped back quickly, putting up her left hand defensively and forming a Rasengan, chakra spiraling in her hand to form the rotating ball of destruction that she was once so fond of. Now, however, she used it only to keep her chest from being impaled by the lightning stab. The two techniques would clash, with the slight power advantage from Rakka's end saving her from being struck. However, because of her retreating footing and position, the clash of the two techniques would send her flying through the air. The same would likely happen to Altar. Rakka would recover midair, spinning herself so that she would land on her feet, and landing softly in the sand, outside of the village boundaries. She knew it wasn't over, and thought it wise to get out of the way of any civilians that might be caught in the crossfire. Rakka would begin backpedaling, forming hand seals as she did so in anticipation for Altar's second wind and counterattack.

"I didn't mean it that way! I'm sorry!" She would shout as she moved, now on a mostly empty stretch of beach. "I was trying to make a joke!" She told Altar, trying to reason with him.

(WC: 948)

Altar's face would contort with anger as his attack was blocked by a simple spinning ball. What was this?!? Was he so weak that this basic girl could overpower him so easily? That...would not do at all. However, first he needed to deal with the current explosion of power that knocked him off his feet. Altar would fly straight back into the street, opposite direction from Rakka, and impact on his back. Using his momentum, Altar would roll backwards and plant his feet behind him, much akin to a runner's stance before the starting gun. Now, he was the predator and the girl was the prey. Now, he was on the attack. And the thrill of the hunt was not something that escaped him.

Altar would take off running, keeping his body low and slanted forward, left hand nearly touching the ground below him. From here, he would raise his head to lock his eyes on Rakka, his right eye turning itself to a jade color. Running through the city at a blistering pace, Altar would raise his right hand and grab his katana's handle, preparing himself for the swing. As he reached Rakka, he would hear the girl's pleading but it would fall on deaf ears. He was not driven by the need to beat the girl any more. he was driven by a simple need to prove himself capable and worthy, and beyond that a great need to win.

When he reached within striking distance of Rakka, Altar would draw his sword and slash at the girl, aiming his blade to take her legs out from under her. Mid-swing, Altar would electrify the blade using a variant of Chidori. Through the swing, Altar would keep moving, and once it was donw he would turn back around to face the girl, charging towards her to aim more strikes her way. Two swings of the blade, both aimed at her chest. Altar would then try to hit her with his off hand, turn his body with his momentum to kick her in the chin with his heel, complete the rotation, and aim one more slash for her, and a final stab forward with his sword.

Wow, that kid came back with revenge on the mind and lightning in the... Hand? Whatever. He came running at her at high speed, reaching her quickly, and drawing a sword in a swinging motion, the sword sparking with electricity as he did so. That would not feel good at all if it struck her. Rakka would spin to the side as the vertical slice missed her by inches, turning to face Altar. He was being ridiculous! Getting mad was understandable, but attacking her? He was clearly trying to kill her. That was just being stubborn and not letting go of a stupid quarrel. His pride was even more of a weakness to him then Rakka's was to herself. A moment of respite would follow as Altar changed directions to move back at her, this time making two swings, one vertical and one horizontal. Rakka would sidestep the vertical swing, twisting as she did so, and jumping into the air, avoiding the horizontal blade. Altar would try to punch her with his off hand, but she would twist in the air to avoid it, landing on her right hand just as the kick came at her. Rakka would push off the ground, flipping backwards, in order to avoid the kick, and tucking in her body into a somersault to avoid the final slash of the blade. She would land on her feet just in time to see the boy preparing to stab, getting barely enough time to react. Thankfully, she had been preforming her hand seals this whole time, and now had her jutsu primed. It was clear that the boy was not interested in talking this out, and intended to take her life. She could not allow that. Rakka would thrust her hands forward, completing the jutsu, as a mirror of ice appeared out of thin air, just between her and Altar. 

The mirror would take the stab from Altar's sword, bringing the blade to a halt just inches from Rakka's neck. Her teeth were gritted in concentration as she began to backpedal again, making more hand seals as she anticipated Altar to make another attack. He came at her with such raw fury that she was both surprised and relieved he hadn't accidentally killed a villager. Thankfully, this jutsu had very few hand seals, and they would be completed before Altar would even have time to pull out his sword and begin running again. Rakka would inhale deeply, before spitting out six fireballs at Altar, each one arcing differently at him so that every possible angle of attack was covered. If he simply hid behind the mirror, the fireballs would all converge on him and arc around the mirror to strike him, like a hellzone grenade.

(WC: 1406)

Altar saw each of his swings and strikes miss, every single one falling as a failure. And with each failure, the rage that currently blinded him only grew. The final straw was the ice mirror that halted his sword just mere inches away from drawing the blood he so desired. Caught in a fit, Altar would let go of his blade, spin, and kick the end of the hilt through the ice mirror. That would shove the blade through the mirror, and Altar himself would follow through the now weakened structure of the mirror. The girl on the other side of the mirror would either die or need to produce some more sick breakdance style dodges to get out of this one alive and in one healthy piece.

After he kicked the sword, Altar would follow the sword through, grabbing onto the hilt once again as it was in mid-air. At this point, had Rakka dodged, Altar would be behind her. Had she not, he would be just in front of her. Altar would take aim at her again, throwing out a few lashes at her with hi sword. First, two horizontal and aimed at her neck. The next few would be horizontal and aimed at her stomach, then one horizontal at her feet, and one vertical up across her entire body. With the sword raised in the air, Altar would stab downwards at the girl.

Rakka huffed in frustration as the boy just kept on coming. It seemed like his anger was growing with every swipe he took at her, and she wasn't sure how she was going to get out of this situation without killing him. The ice mirror just narrowly stopped the blade that the boy tried so desperately to drive into her skull, and Rakka backpedaled a bit as the blade burst through the mirror, aimed at her. She would drop to the ground, rolling quickly and pivoting so that she ended up with her back to where the mirror had been, standing stationary in a combat position. As the boy came at her again, Rakka began to dodge once more, ducking down to dodge the first slash aimed at her neck, then springing upwards to dodge the second. When the boy reigned down strikes aimed at her stomach, Rakka first strafed to her left, away from the blade, and then lunged backwards to avoid the next one, preforming a high backflip to avoid having her feet sliced.

"Okay, fuck it!" She shouted in frustration, twisting in the air so that they were facing each other. She would make a tiger seal, causing a genjutsu to assault Altar's mind, blinding him. That done, Rakka's jump had just reached its crest, and she was now beginning to sink back down to earth. A few more hand seals and a palm thrust left her suspended above him on top of an ice mirror, floating eerily about 5 meters above Altar's head. She would leap forwards, off the mirror, landing quietly with a roll about 30 meters from Altar. 

Now she knew that, being a shinobi, Altar could probably get around without seeing, but that attack should have crippled him in his use of the sword, as his accuracy would be VERY off. She then simply made another tiger seal, breathing out a huge fireball at him, before making one more set of seals and following that with three smaller fireballs, curving around the larger one and aiming at Altar's flanks, as well as above him.