Komori & Reizo vs The Two Tails

Reizo made his way out of the Kumogakure camp as soon as he received Komori's telepathic message. He had planned to join the twin with his other half, Komon, but Reizo recalled Komon had been pulled aside to be a part of a strategic attack on the Tornado Country's forces with a small squad. The blonde was a bit disappointed he couldn't join Komon in the attack, but somebody had to be responsible for making sure the camp was stable in the chaotic region. Like every other shinobi in the camp, Reizo kept his chakra suppressed to make it more difficult for enemies to locate them.

Almost immediately after exiting his tent, Reizo recognized the chakra signature of Komori and made his way over to the cooler twin. Not long after Reizo saw Komori on the outskirts of the camp, he groaned upon recognizing those hand signs that Komori used so often. It was one of the rare times while the camp had been set up in Tornado Country that it hadn't been stormy, and yet Komori just had to feel the need to make it rain as he so often did. He would keep his lamentations to himself, pulling the hood on his new Akatsuki-style cloak over his head to shelter from the rain.

"Sup, Komori. Your brother's on a special mission in the village, so it's just us for now. I'm sure you noticed that our camp is a little... light. A couple of nights ago, before me and Komon had even arrived at the camp, some strange lynx or lion attacked the camp and severely cut down our supplies and numbers. The Jounin don't seem to want to talk about or deal with the issue, so I'm glad you're here now. I tried to track down the beast, but didn't find a whole lot of success, and with Komon being sent off on his mission and unable to help track with his byakugan, maybe you can help. Judging from the paw prints, it came from the East by Konoha and Iron Country, and passed through us while trying to make its way West, presumably either toward Tatsumakigakure or Shadow Country. I've been a bit reluctant to go alone though; the beast caused huge casualties, not so dissimilar from the Liger we fought a while back... but these were all trained shinobi, not civilians. Anyway, I think we should investigate. There's no telling what that monster will do next, and many in the camp feel very unsafe because of it. The tornadoes aren't the biggest threat to our camp, which is a problem.

"I found another set of paw prints by a lake, not too far from here, last night. I get the feeling the cat may've set up a temporary home near it, since it's the only source of fresh water for several miles. I think it may be a good place to start. By the way... You might want to suppress your chakra, you dummy. I could sense you from a mile away," Reizo would lecture, hoping his friend could help tackle this beast. Reizo wore his standard weapon's pouches beneath his Akatsuki robes, his two tantos strapped parallel to one another on his back, his new black gloves, and of course his Kumogakure headband where it's meant to be, on his head. His ear piercing was barely visible inside his hood, as the rain made it quite dark despite it being early in the afternoon. "Let's get moving," he would say, this time telepathically.

Reizo would then head toward the lake, which was only a half a mile out from the camp. Once at the lake, Reizo would form a few hand signs, using the water of the lake to cloak himself in a thin invisible layer of water, just beneath his clothing. If the beast were as dangerous as he believed it to be, it would make sense to be as protected as possible. Reizo resuppressed his chakra after using his False Skin, to the extent that he could. His new perceived chakra would be 40, making him sense-able but not perceived as a threat. He also made use of his cloak's special sensory ability, just in case the beast. Sure he could sense chakra, but it was possible that the beast didn't have any chakra, so being able to detect based off motion would make more sense.

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734 words

547 / 582 AP;
False Skin Jutsu -20 AP
Detection Cloak -15AP
Chakra Suppressed (sorta)

OOC Note: Edited to fit semantics, removed/added some stuff to clarify per Naoki's request

While she had enjoyed her freedom within the fire country immensely, Matatabi had realized that her time to leave had arrived when the Leaf sent two hunters for her. While she had incinerated them both, she knew how persistent humans were. Why, her last captor had managed to survive the wounds she incurred by being crushed underneath her, somehow. She really had no idea how she’d survived the encounter. Divine intervention, perhaps. Either way, Matatabi had no desire to be anyone else’s prisoner. Before, the beast had decided that it may be the right approach to kill some of them off. It hadn’t gotten the leaf shinobi off her tails, and she wondered if she would be safer here. She had journeyed to tornado country like a moth to a flame, the massive winds bolstering her flames and calling her to rest there. The place seemed uninhabited, so the Matatabi thought that she would finally be safe. Once again, those treacherous humans had reared their ugly heads, however. She slaughtered a whole camp of them to leave a message, but it seemed that they only desired to send more prey to her. How unfortunate.

She had lurked there, her chakra suppressed to hide from unwanted visitors, hidden in the debris of the camp that Komori was investigating. She had reduced her size considerably to remain hidden more effectively. She’d prowled behind the lone shinobi, out of his line of sight, obscured by the rubble of the camp she had destroyed. As he investigated the camp she had destroyed, she moved closer. In attempt to stay hidden as far as possible Matatabi had reduced her form to one in significantly smaller size than what she was capable of becoming. And in such form she had been prowling some distance behind lone shinobi of considerable chakra, playing cat and mouse, as they were approaching her habitat, while staying hidden from both him and his approaching friend.. But now, it was time to pounce.

She stepped quietly towards the boy, breaking into a run, trying to conceal her sound until she emerged. Just about the time that the boy uttered his remark upon the huge paw print, Matatabi made her move. Neither one of them would be able to see her until the last moment, when she emerged, running towards Komori, roaring wildly as her aura shone. At this point, she was 15 meters behind Komori, and about 30 meters to the right of Reizo. The beast in blue flaming fur stood about 4 meters tall and about as wide with body close to 6 meters in length. Her 6 meter long tails arcing through the air, she continued to advance towards the man, whose back had been to her, but who undoubtedly would have heard her roar. Her golden and green eyes locking onto her prey, the beast would pull with her 3 meter long legs, each protruding with majestic half a meter long dagger-like claws, and start a rush towards Komori. Though these two thought themselves hunters, they would soon learn what it was to be prey. There was still time to run.

(Using Chakra suppression until she emerges
Display of Power with the roar
Claws and teeth are as sharp as Matatabi’s strength stat

Here she is)

The roar petrified Reizo for the briefest of moments as he realized the beast that emerged was targeting Komori. He wanted to call out to his friend, but by the time he mustered the strength, Komori had already become a puddle and handled the situation himself. Quickly realizing that this would make himself become a target, Reizo activated his cloak's motion sensory capabilities so he could track this large beast, even in the mist that enveloped the landscape.

The cat was much larger than any cat Reizo had ever seen before, even larger than the liger that he, Komori, Komon, and Senshi had encountered not so long ago. This one seemed to be even more agile, lithe, and possibly even stronger than the one they had fought. Not only that, but its blue fire was uniquely awesome and powerful: its brilliance was beguiling and its energy was remarkable. The beauty and power of it all forced Reizo to address the lynx with utmost veneration. The two shinobi had apparently wandered into its territory without even realizing it. They had only come to examine the remains of the camp that Reizo had been staying in only until a couple of days ago and the blonde Chuunin had not expected that the beast was still around. Had he been trailed this whole time? Or was Komori the one being targeted? He couldn't be too sure just yet, but then Komori's voice echoed in his head. Reizo sprinted over diagonally toward a trench adjacent to the one Komori was headed to, which he deduced thanks to his motion sensory (63 speed). He didn't want to direct the beast's attention toward Komori, but at the same time he wanted to be kinda close to Komori for both of their own security.

Don't be such a scaredy cat; I'm not running. This is almost certainly the thing that took the lives of our comrades and destroyed the camp. We're going to avenge them, and take this cat as a trophy. But I do agree that we need to figure out just what it can do. I can certainly fight it in close range, but we may need to bait something out of it first," Reizo would say telepathically to Komori, forming the needed hand signs for his False Skin jutsu, using his own body water as a medium (125 speed hand signs). If the cat used fire, as it seemed to suggest, having a water-based defense would be ideal. Komori seemed to agree as the rain started to pour down. The rain made his motion sensory a little fuzzy, not so dissimilar from how it affects one's normal vision, but he could still make out the cat and Komori clearly. "In this type of environment, I think we may hold the advantage. We can track its movements, but it likely can't track us as well. We just have to be careful with our movements and try to be as deceptive as possible," he would say to Komori, telepathically. He stopped right in front of the trench so as not to make any sound by splashing water. He had been careful to avoid any puddles, and hoped he had been quiet enough to have not been tracked by the cat. He kept his chakra reduced to the lowest levels he could with False Skin active (perceived chakra = 40).

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563 words
AP: 582 (cuz timelined) - 20 False Skin - 15 Cloak's motion sensory - 5 telepathy = 542 AP

If Komori’s aim was to hold the beast’s attention, he had succeeded. The predator saw her adversaries retreating, as prey always did. They had made a crucial mistake in allowing the beast to take the tempo of the fight, but they couldn't help it. They’d die like the rest. The boy she was stalking, about to pounce on, literally turned into a puddle when he saw her, the area that surrounded him quickly filling with mist. If the Matatabi could shrug, she likely would have. Instead, she spewed forth a huge breath of blue katon. (95 Speed and power) The azure flames took the form of a huge mouse, which would cover the 15 meter distance that was initially between Komori, the huge fireball then splitting into twenty smaller fireballs, running in random directions all through the mist, some curving sharply to the left or right, some curving less sharply, and a few running straight on. Out of all of these, at least two were on trajectory to hit Komori, given his low speed in comparison to the fireballs. Obscuring himself in the mist had provided little challenge for the Matatabi, whose Katon abilities were legendary. The poor puddle didn’t stand a chance

Now, with the first of her prey presumably incinerated, the Matatabi would extend its senses, picking up the chakra of the other ninja. The cat’s attention would turn to the second rodent. Reizo would have just completed his handseals, giving himself a coating of water, the beast would try a different tactic with this particular prey. As she turned towards him, she would prepare her attack, which she unleashed the moment her eyes locked upon him. She would spit a huge, bijuu-size-appropriate tooth at her target (100 speed, 67 sharpness), aimed at his center of mass. After spitting the tooth, she would begin to run towards him, building up speed on her approach and closing the 30 meters between them quickly (Moving at 60 speed currently)

(AP: 1140/1200)

-15 Tooth Projectile
-45 Mouse Hairball
Chakra Sensory

Sensing the fire attack as it launched through the mist, burning much of it away, Reizo immediately turned his attention to Komori, worried that he would be hit. Fortunately it seemed the bastard managed to escape, but this left Reizo alone to confront the cat. Not long thereafter, he motion sensed the tooth as it went hurtling toward him. He wasn't sure if it was a sword, a bone, or some other solid jutsu, but he had faith that he could easily dodge it given his speed. Not wanting to give up his position, Reizo took the minimum effort needed to avoid the incoming projectile. Pivoting on his left foot (his front foot), Reizo twisted and then gave a very slight hop backward, barely leaving the ground so he could plant his feet if needed, to give the tooth a couple of meters space as it careened past him.

He then turned to the offensive, not intimidated by the cat's advance. Activating his Fu Dog/Lion tattoo on his back, his speed increased greatly (now 195 speed) and he dashed toward the cat to attack head on (at 97 speed). Reizo noticed that much of the fire from the jutsu was out of range from him, so he would be fairly unhindered in his advance. He figured it wouldn't be too different from when he fought the liger, and with his new defenses, he was confident he would be able to fight on even terms, if not slightly advantaged.

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Sorry for short post

-50 AP for seal, -15 for motion sensing, -10 for false skin = 467 ap remaining

As her flames careened through the mist, evaporating much of the water and presumably boiling its occupant, Matatabi was somewhat annoyed to find that her tooth had been avoided. Still, it was a fairly minimal attack, and she had hardly expected it to do much damage. More annoying, however, was that the first of her prey, whom she had thought to have been boiled alive, appeared outside the mist. This infuriated her to no end. That, combined with the sudden surge in speed that the boy she’d fired her tooth at was undergoing, and Matatabi felt herself about ready to burst with anger. As the prey who had turned to a puddle in fear of her reached his companion, Matatabi was ready to burst. She felt herself becoming more primal, more powerful…

A Jungle Cat.

The flames on her body flared up to immense size, expanding three meters off of her form in all directions, her two beautiful tails glowing with blue fire. As Komori rendezvoused with his companion, Reizo would have just begun to move, having needed time to await and then avoid the tooth she had spat. As the two friends were reunited amidst the hunt, Matatabi saw a chance. The distance between them was roughly 30 meters as Reizo dodged the tooth, and as he did so, his friend would rapidly approach him, being about 5 meters away as Matatabi began her move. She spewed forth a cone of Azure flames from her mouth, which leapt towards the pair of them at a speed/power of 110, threatening to envelop them both. The flames expanded in a cone shape, and would be roughly 21.5 meters in diameter by the time it reached the point that the two were currently standing. Said flames would expand outwards farther, until reaching 50 meters in diameter at 70 meters of range.

(AP: 1030/1200)
-70 Jungle Cat
-40 Great Fire Annihilation

Handy dandy OOC stuff: