Shoot to Thrill ~P, NK, IO~

Altar was going through with his strikes, about to leap into the air after the girl, when suddenly his whole world went black. Confused but still alert, Altar would immediately start relying on his other senses. He heard some sound above him, then off to the side. Sheathing his sword, Altar would wave a hand in front of his face. He was completely blinded.

Suddenly, Altar heard the sounds of shifting clothing, hands meeting each other, and then the roar of fire, growing steadily closer. Altar would roll off to the right, taking a moment to assess the situation, before continuing his run to the right. This would, most likely, take him out of the path of immediate danger. From here, he would form a tiger seal and seemingly breathe out a highly pressurized stream of water. The attack would likely hit some part of Rakka, though Altar couldn't be sure just where. His aim had never been good in the first place, and now this impairment. Just what he asked for.

From there, Altar would start running forwards towards Rakka, forming more handseals. Tiger → Ox → Dragon → Hare → Dog → Bird → Rat → Clone seal → Dragon → Ram. Then, from the surrounding mist, a shark would form, moving through the air towards Rakka, on a direct head on collision course. Altar would keep running towards Rakka, until getting within 10 meters of the girl, upon which he would stop and stumble, and fall to the ground, catching himself and placing his hands on the ground, slowly leeching his yuumei into the ground. From here, Altar would start shuddering and gasping, as if something were seriously wrong with him. He would raise his left hand to the air, keeping his right hand planted on the ground, keeping his yuumei flowing. "S...stop..." Altar would say through gritted teeth.

Rakka watched in satisfaction as the boy was caught in the genjutsu, slowly realizing that he had been blinded. He sheathed his blade, and put his hand before his face, confirming that it had worked. She had succeeded in preventing him from rushing her again. Wonderful. She was fairly sure she could beat this boy in ranged combat, and would make preparations accordingly.

The girl would land as planned, a lot closer then the other one, and would begin to react to Altar's attacks. He blasted a jet of water in her rough location, however, the girl was fast. Because of the poor aiming of the attack, she was able to sidestep it, however, the jet of water struck her leg, cutting through her flesh and leaving her visibly bleeding. She screamed loudly as the attack struck her, the sound was almost deafening. The pain was intense, and she had never been wounded on the battlefield before like this. While it was painful enough to stop her from running, she was not injured beyond walking. She launched four fireballs straight back at Altar in retaliation, screaming in anger. She winced in pain as she looked down to the injury, before seeing the shark bullet approaching her.

Her hands could not move fast enough as she made seals, her focus never diverting from the shark. It appeared that she was too late. The shark struck her with full force, which would likely injure or even kill her.

...As the water settled, however, a log appeared in the place of the girl, having been struck by the shark bullet. She had managed to preform a substitution technique to avoid the attack, and was now standing about five meters to the left of where she had been standing. Altar would stumble to the ground at her feet, about three meters from her, begging her to stop. He looked badly injured, although she had not even touched him. He must have had some sort of panic attack, which had triggered him to attack.

"...Have you come to your senses? Are you possessed or something?" She asked in a tone that carried half frustration and anger, and half genuine concern. 

Too late, the girl realized her mistake. A cage appeared around her, forming from the ground underneath her. He had trapped her. That was why he kept his hand on the ground like that. Clenching her fists, she tried to move through the bars of the cage, to no avail. However, she was not waiting around to be stabbed, as the boy had previously attempted. She was better then that. As the bars formed around her and it dawned on her how close he was to her, she knew what to do.

Without warning, the girl exploded. 

The sheer force of the blast, which would encompass Altar in its radius, would likely be enough to knock him back through the air, away from the cage.

How had the girl managed to pull this off? Well, that's just it. The Girl was not Rakka at all. 

When Rakka saw that Altar had been blinded, she knew that simply landing back on the ground and fighting as she had been doing would only give Altar more time to strike her, as he was a trained shinobi who obviously possessed the telltale honed senses of the legendary ninja warriors. The moment her feet touched the ground again, she'd be a target. Vision was a small matter altogether for a ninja.

With this in mind, Rakka had made an explosive shadow clone of herself, suppressing her chakra the instant it was completed, before the clone would jump off the mirror to engage Altar. During this time, Rakka would remain perfectly still, while the clone kept his attention occupied. There was no reason for Altar, in his enraged state, to suspect anything. 

Now we return to the scene of Altar, hopefully being blown away by the explosive clone.  Above him, Rakka had been preparing a "Finishing move," so to speak. An old technique she had nearly forgotten. The hand seals were simple enough, and as the boy flew through the air, a loud clap would greet his ears, followed by the roar of a shark. A giant shark bullet charged down Altar, threatening to envelop him and completely destroy him. Rakka, for her part, launched four fireballs with hosenka no jutsu at the shark, causing it to grow and increase in power. Rakka would enter the shark as it enveloped the ice mirror, growing larger and stronger still as an airborne Altar was threatened with being hit by this giant monstrosity.

Altar would smirk as he could practically feel Rakka get trapped in his little cage. However, he had little time to celebrate this as the girl did what Altar could have never foreseen. She exploded. Altar had never seen something like this before. Being blown back, but not very damaged by the explosion, Altar would backflip and lad on his side with a thud, rolling a bit before getting back to all fours, and then onto one knee. Had the girl just...? No. No, this had to be some trick. No one would willingly and knowingly give themselves like that. It must've been some sort of clone, right? Right? The moral debate raging inside Altar slowly dimmed as realization slowly dawned on him. And with it came a huge amount of noise, and a huge chakra signal. This...was not looking good. With the attack closing in fast, Altar needed to be fast and he needed a solution. So, it was time for a quick intervention. And if it came down to it, a last goodbye. Closing his eyes, Altar would start slipping from reality.

Retreating inside his mind, Altar would look at the petite girl in front of him. Nekoda. The girl had always been there for him. His strongest ally and most valuable asset. He'd die for her, and she'd die for him. And perhaps it was time both happened. He had done what he promised himself he'd never do. He had let himself get fooled. He had been bested. He had lost, and failed to protect everything important to him. Here, he would die. And here, Nekoda would perish as well.

However, this was not the mindset that Altar had carried through his life.

He never gave up. Surrender was nothing but a vague term in the back of his mind. He didn't admit defeat. And he certainly did not die.

Looking to Nekoda, Altar would search for some form of answer in her eyes. But they carried none. But an answer wasn't what he needed. He needed strength. He needed her. And he needed her will and confidence. "You trust me, right?" Altar would ask the girl. She remained quiet for a second, before answering. "...of course I do."

"Good, then excuse me while I go get us out of this. Oh, and for your information, this is gonna hurt. A lot." After saying this, Altar would return to reality.

Back in the real world, barely any time had passed, the roaring of the distant water growing that much louder. Altar's eyes would snap open, his eyes activating, though he was still blinded. He would start forming handsigns as fast as he possibly could. He would form a Ram, then touch the ground, summoning seemingly black water from all around him. The water would sap the AP from Rakka, and hopefully some power from the giant water jutsu. Then came forth a deep blue hell hound, which Altar would force to collide with the giant water form. That would also sap some power from it. Forming a tiger seal, a giant pillar of the black water would ram into the giant shark, draining more power. From there, the shark would be close to impacting Altar, though it would be just withing take-able hit bounds.

"Altar..." 

"I know."

Altar would generate a giant amount of lightning into his palm, though it would be a deeper blue than normal. At the same time, Altar would rise to his feet and turn to face the shark. But just before the point of impact, Altar would let out a pulse of raw yuumei and jump off to the left while forming hand seals and ending them with a clap. Altar would keep low to the ground, aiming more for horizontal distance than vertical. The yuumei pulse would hopefully be enough to drain the shark down to a power that Altar would be able to 'take' if needed and come out reasonably unharmed, and the clap would serve to put Rakka into a genjutsu.

Given that Altar had gotten out of most of harms' way, he would body flicker to just behind the girl, assuming the water had lost form and dissipated after hitting the ground where he had been, and form a chidori, aiming to strike the girl through the back. He would aim for it to be non-lethal, though enough to end the fight.

If the attack landed, Altar would pull his hand back and kneel, ready to help the girl if need be. However if it missed, Altar would dash backwards and ready himself for another charge, though thoroughly exhausted. From here, he would try to remember if Haru had taught him any medical jutsu. He didn't think so, but it was worth a try. The force of the explosion of the clone, combined with the bit of the water he had been hit with, left his body aching. So, he would run a hand over himself, the hand glowing green softly. It seemed to start patching a couple minor cuts and bruises, but nothing grand. He'd need to work on that later...

Seeing as Haru's off doing something or another, can I cash in my currently 2,440 word count for 2,000/2,000 towards switching my Gen spec to Med, and the rest towards switching it to my main spec, and 13 stats?

Approved

The explosion struck Altar successfully, although the brunt of the force was lost before making impact due to the distance between them. When he landed on the ground, Rakka's distance to him closed incredibly quickly. Just when it seemed that her attack would collide with him, he sprung back to life, summoning water with a technique that was familiar to Rakka, although this sort of water was different, darker... 

The water attacked her Great Shark Bullet, and actually started to wear away at the shark, draining its power. It grew smaller and smaller, slower and slower, until it reached Altar, who struck it with another infused technique, this time a chidori. However, the technique appeared to have different effects, and actually served to empower the technique once more, giving it strength at the last moment. Rakka's shark bullet struck Altar with concussive force, the sound of rushing water surrounding Rakka's ears and preventing her from hearing Altar's clap. 

As the shark collided with the boy, Rakka would reach out, her hand striking against his chest, and forming a seal that would restrict his chakra control. The five elements seal, which would effectively restrain the boy, knocking him out long enough for Rakka to control his volatile state of mind, and maybe even talk some sense into him, if the technique hit.

(TWC: 2,751)

Altar would tumble away from the giant shark of water, collapsing to the ground before losing consciousness.

*Sorry, not really much to post on being unconscious. I'll write more if Haru doesn't wanna bypass the 3 post wait.*

Succeding in imprisoning the boy, Rakkaś hand would withdraw as water cascaded everywhere, Altar being washed away in the currant. For a moment, it was akin to chaos, and amid the crashing water and dense mist, it was impossible to tell what was going on. As the water began to settle, both of the two shinobi would not be visible. The water began to level and drain back to the sea, and the mist, which became dense from the added water used by Rakka, began to fade. 

At the edge of the sea, lying in the sand, would be Altarś unconsious body, lying there with his back facing up. Rakka had saved the boy from being washed away into the ocean, most likely drowning in his unconsious state. She was sitting there in the sand, next to the boy, who would be much less of a threat with that seal on him, although his chakra was certianly powerful, and he could likely use his full array of jutsu even in this state. At least, he would not be nearly as potent, and he would tire incredibly easily. 

She knew it was probably unwise to leave him there in the middle of nowhere with no way to defend himself, but it also probably was not a great idea to just let him wake up of his own accord. She resolved that she was fast enough so that he could not hurt her, especially in this state, but precautions were best taken anyways. With that in mind, she formed her ice mirrors very particularly, breato make a sort of prison, binding Altar, suspended in the air with only his head exposed, laying on his back, so that everything appeared upside down. The structure made of ice would be firmly constructed, sheaped similarly to a piramid, the mirrors intricatly woven to ristrict his movement. With her raw chakra power, it was unlikely that he could escape without using his own chakra, which he could not at present. She still kept her distance from him, sitting about five meters away from him, plenty of distance if the little devil got chidori happy again or something when he awoke. 

If and when he finally did regain consiousness, Rakka would speak as soon as she noticed him.
¨Are you finished trying to kill me? I would hate to kick your ass again.¨ She said, not tauntingly, but matter of factly.

(WC: 3,156)

Altar would awaken, finding his body trapped, and everything upside down. And the object of his detestation not far from him. Well, all's well that ends well, he supposed. They fought, she came out on top, but he had certainly proven his worth in combat.

And then the girl spoke.

And then Altar felt his rage flare.

"How dare you! Insolent, unworthy waste of life! I have no plans of bowing my head to you, and so long as I draw breath I have yet to admit defeat. It'd do you well to learn respect, and to be humble. I was ready to call you my equal and a worthwhile opponent, but instead I awaken to this. Do you feel the need to insult me further, girl, or are you satisfied?"

Rakka felt a fire of her own blood boiling inside as the boy began mouthing off to her as soon as he regained consciousness. He gave his little speech about her own insolence, but Rakka simply approached the boy, her rage clear on her face, before punching him, straight in the eye, where she knew even the toughest shinobi was vulnerable. Since all of Altar, including his arms and neck, was encased in ice too strong for him to break or even crack, it was unlikely he could even hope to dodge it. 

"How about you learn some respect, you arrogant prick!" She shouted back at him in rage. "Let me make a few things clear, since they weren't spelled out perfectly for you. I didn't want you to admit defeat. You attacked me. I defended myself. I didn't give a damn if you 'bowed your head to me and surrendered.' I tried to apologize. I made a joke, you got pissed and tried to kill me!" She continued, punching him again, in the eye once more. 

"You started this entire fight because of a single insult. If any of us need to learn about humility, then It's pretty obvious you're the one who's wet behind the ears." She shrieked, punching him again for good measure, before stepping away, digging out the worst offense of all. "Lastly...." She began, looking back to the boy with venom in her eyes. "I am not a girl. I am a woman. I am both your senior in age and experience, and it would do you well to learn to respect me and others like me, because you will not get far in the world with that sort of attitude." She said, punching him one last time, as hard as she could. At this point, Altar's eye would likely be blackened and bruised. 

Rakka began walking away, content to leave the boy there to think about what he'd done, she looked over her shoulder one last time. "And besides. If you think you're my equal, you're just ignorant." She hissed. "Both times we've fought, I've left you lying unconscious. I was courteous enough to apologize for last time, and forgive you for this time, and yet you still act as though you deserve my respect. If you want it so badly, you'll have to earn it." She said, breathing in and forming a hand seal as a fireball flew in Altar's direction. The fireball would not hit Altar, but rather, would set alight a few sticks the she had arranged underneath Altar. The fireball itself would cause a few drops of water to drip from the ice, but not nearly enough to even come close to freeing the boy. The ice would melt, slowly, taking likely a few hours until Altar was freed.

"Cool off here, boy, and maybe you'll learn your lesson. The next time I see you, I expect an apology." She told him, before making her leave, subjecting the boy to a few hours of silent, lonesome meditation. He couldn't use chakra to free himself, as it was sealed, and therefore less powerful then the fire Rakka had set forth, so he would have to rely on good old fashioned patience. At minimum, it would take the fire two hours to burn melt the ice sufficiently. Luckily, Rakka had made vents for the heat so it wasn't put out by the water dripping down. 

Hopefully, the time out would do the kid some good.

(Exit)
(TWC: 3,753) 

+3753 words to GSB
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