Ltd. Edition [Aryll, IO, nk]

Taking a short break from his aura training, Kozurou decided that he probably needed to use his medical chakra for something. But for what, he couldn't quite decide. To increase his offensive or defensive power, perhaps? Or maybe something else? No, indeed, he had all the time in the world. He could train up all three. It would take some effort and hard work, but that's what he was all about. Perhaps the best place to train this would be the training grounds, but he probably wouldn't be spending much time there unless someone interesting showed up. By the end of the day, he'd probably be throwing himself off of small hills to try and use his chakra to gain some amount of durability. As a Kaguya, he had a little extra himself, but it wouldn't be enough. He knew that his dream of being able to withstand virtually anything was just that: a pipe dream. But to strive toward goals like that was the whole point of his life thus far. The journey, the dao, the way, the path. It was his way of life.

At any rate, there he was, on his way to the training grounds, blatantly ignoring anyone who asked him for alms or the like. His mind was still on those movements he had created for himself the other day. He wouldn't be able to use them quite yet until he'd created a legitimate cultivation base from the three sets of aura, but that was fine for now. Just for this day, he would concentrate on something else. He also needed to learn how to produce stronger attacks. Closed fist attacks, open hand attacks, arm and knee attacks... these were all in his reach, he just needed to put his mind to work and learn them.

He reached the training grounds, and after a bit of stretching, casually threw a fist. He was nowhere nearly fast enough (yet) to start breaking the sound barrier, but he knew he would get there soon. Every time he trained, especially when he fought someone powerful, he could feel his body improving. Every time he was beat down, every time he was brought closer to death, he gained more power, so he had become somewhat of a risk taker as of late. Maybe not a good thing? Still, the rush of new strength gave him the euphoria he desired every time.

[WC 402]

It was probably the third time that week that Aryll had to get to the training grounds alone. Although she was rather annoyed at having to push herself around everywhere, she tried not to use chakra thread, as that would only make things more difficult in the long run. Regardless, her arms were becoming stronger each day, and the uneven ground along the path that lead to Kirigakure’s training area was posing far less of a challenge to Aryll.

As she arrived at the training grounds, she saw that there were very few people there. Seeing as she had not had much practice getting around without the chair, this was probably for the best. The area was open, with a few passerby that had chosen to beg up here for some reason. Today, Aryll had decided to work with Thane, whom she hadn’t given a lot of her love to as of late. As she wheeled herself out into the open, she placed her hands together and began making seals, until…

Poof

Out of thin air, in a puff of smoke, a huge, metal behemoth appeared in a kneeling position, dominating the training ground and being practically impossible to miss. Aryll would lift her hand, a few threads going forth from her fingers and joining with the huge behemoth. As soon as they did, Thane’s chest popped open, and his many mechanical arms sprung to life, as if he had taken on a life of his own. Aryll gripped the arm of her chair with her free hand as Thane’s hand clasped the front of her chair, lifting Aryll, chair and all, and pushing her into the cockpit, where she sat, the hatch open, as Thane stood from his kneeling position, all four arms at the ready. It was time to train.

All right, what the hell? Most of the time he went to the training grounds, there weren't many people there (if any at at all). What few there were usually stuck to basic training, since the more specialized folk kept their training in private, out of the view of those who would steal their secrets or whatever. But never would he have expected to see something of this sort. Was this a girl being lowered into a giant suit or armor... or perhaps it was some kind of mobile weapon suit? Maybe it was even a puppet of some kind. Still, he couldn't tell. As he entered the area, he focused a bit. Yup, the girl's chakra signature was still inside this... machine. It was clearly not a mere alternative for the wheelchair that she used, but either way... it was big. It took up too much space in the grounds, and he didn't like it. He needed space, and didn't want to get crowded out by this large hulking object.

"Hey", he called out after entering, "clear out. This is my space for now." The message was simple, short and brief, but the meaning would be clear. Kozurou didn't care if the girl had gotten here first, her "tool" or whatever was simply too large for his comfort. To be honest with himself, though, the real reason was that he wanted to goad the girl into a fight. Going toe to toe with this thing could really be interesting. Up to this point, he'd really only fought hand to hand with people, but he'd never had to fight someone with such an unusual piece of gear. He could feel his body itching for combat, and his impatience rose. Of course, it would all depend on the girl's answer. Kozurou would be standing about 5 meters away from the base of the puppet, looking at it with a focused, but somehow unconcerned expression.

[TWC 725]

As Thane pulled Aryll into her place in the cockpit, Aryll began running systems checks, since this was her first time really using the puppet and all. She flexed each of Thane’s arms, each of their four hands clenching into bladed fists. The bladed tail lapped against the ground, curling first one way, then the next. She closed the hatch, activating her byakugan so that she could still see through the front, as she continued to run checks. The puppet stood up, taking a few steps forwards. That was when she noticed the boy approaching her. He looked to be about her age, but was a fair bit more physically imposing, in no part due to the fact that half of Aryll’s body didn’t work. Still, in her current state, she was probably looked to be the scariest thing in Kirigakure save for Samahada’s creepy tongue.

When he addressed her, telling her to clear out, the cockpit hatch would open, revealing Aryll’s face, scowling annoyedly at the boy. He was picking a fight, and Aryll was glad to oblige him.
”Oh, cool, let’s bully the crippled girl. Why don’t you come make me move?” She asked defiantly, Thane’s arms raising in a defensive manner. The cockpit would hatch would close again as he did this, and Aryll’s byakugan would allow her to see through the solid steel that separated her and her opponent. She’d wait for him to make the first move, since he was the instigator in this encounter.

What a shrew. Still, she'd taken the bait, which meant he had free reign to do as he pleased. If anything bad happened from here on out, it wasn't his fault (unless he lost, which would be embarrassing). He knew nothing of the strength or speed of this machine, but he hoped that it would at least be on par with his own. If not, he'd have to adjust accordingly in order to not kill the person inside. After all, regardless of how bad their initial impressions of each other were, she was still a fellow Kiri nin. However, he felt no sympathy for her current physical state. Some humans were just cursed with bad luck. Such was the way of the world. 

"Cripple or not, here I come..." He'd at least give her a fair warning. He wasn't one of those scum who would resort to shameful methods to gain an advantage in combat. As a martial artist, Kozurou had standards, strict standards. Especially since he really didn't intend to kill this girl... damn, well that meant he probably wouldn't want to use Mystic Soul Star this time around. With any luck, his body wouldn't even need it. 

Immediately after speaking, he'd take a couple of steps forward, and throw a hard fast straight right punch to the machine's left knee joint. He'd keep his left arm up in a guard, with his legs lightly bent. This was more of test to see how fast the behemoth could move, or how powerful its counterattacks were. He fully expected it to be able to move out of the way, since he had moved forward so casually. He also expected that while he was moving forward, the behemoth might bring its fists down on him, which was why he had left his left arm ready to respond, and his legs ready to move just in case. 

He also had to keep in mind that, well... it seemed like a complicated giant. Surely, there was more to it than just what was on the surface. He wasn't an experienced fighter yet, but he knew better than to believe that it was just a metal beetle with no tricks up its sleeve.  

[TWC 1094]

What a dick. Aryll would enjoy stomping him into the ground. Unless she lost, which would be pretty shitty given all the smack talking she was doing. Thane’s tail lapped against the ground, curling from one side to the other, preparing for Kozaru to attempt a flanking maneuver. She was careful to keep the flat end of the tail directed at him whenever possible. Although they were currently in a scrap, she didn’t want to go killing or maiming a fellow Kirigakure shinobi for no reason, jackass or not. Likewise, Thane’s hands were rotated so that the bladed ends didn’t face Kozaru. As he announced his approach, a loud, metallic voice sounded from Thane, harsh and cold, not at all similar to Aryll’s voice.
”Come and get it, you son of a bitch.” Came the voice of Thane. Of course, it was just one of Aryll’s tricks, an old puppeteer one at that, but it was quite effective at intimidating enemies. If nothing else, it would serve as a small distraction.

Unfortunately for Kozaru, Aryll’s reach was much greater than his currently was. As such, as Kozaru began to advance upon Thane, intent on striking for the left knee joint, Aryll had plenty of time to react. As he began to attack, Thane’s left leg would step back, avoiding the man’s strike and forcing him to close even more distance, or else switch his stance and attack a different target on the fly. At the same time, Thane’s bottom set of arms would both swipe at Kozaru in a clapping motion. Her right arm’s hand would pivot as it did this, so that the sharp end was facing Kozaru, thus necessitating him to keep his guard up or else get shredded. At the same time, the blunt end of Thane’s bottom left hand would swipe towards him, the two hands aiming to clap together, pinning Kozaru between the two hands and cutting him up a tiny bit.

She’d monitor her strength to make sure not to grind him to pulp if he somehow couldn’t avoid this, of course.

As expected, the puppet was fully able to dodge. The girl on the inside must have at least some kind of good perception then. Either that, or Kozurou was still far too slow. That must be it, he thought to himself. As the hands came in, the bladed one on his left and the blunt one on his right, Kozurou would have already retracted his arm, having failed to hit the knee joint. So, he could go up and get promptly smacked around by the pair of upper hands, he could go down and get destroyed by the machine's feet... both didn't seem like great options.

Naturally, going forwards or backwards in order to avoid would probably be a good way to dodge things, but then the girl would have the tempo, and Kozurou wasn't about to give her the ability to decide the pace of the fight. Like before, he still didn't know what else this... thing could do. This kind of suspense was what he lived for, though. Hell, he might as well stay right where he was. From what he could gauge so far, as long as he blades didn't hit him, he would be fine. In that case...

Instead of leaping back out of reach of the hands like a coward, the boy would instead take one more step forward and extend both of his hands to their respective sides, catching the (assumably non-bladed) wrists of the hands as they came in towards him. As he did so, the diffuse purple aura of the Heaven Style blossomed around him, making the impacts softer and less effective while also experimentally enhanced with medical chakra. Immediately after stopping their momentum, unless interrupted by anything else the girl tried to pull, he would shift his left hand, this time aiming for the center of the puppet's abdomen. Unless the girl wanted him to test the durability of her toy, she'd have to move the whole thing back. It would be amusing if he actually forced her to walk her.... walker all the way out of the grounds. Unlikely, but the thought tickled him a little. 

[TWC 1443
used Stellar Transformations, not that it matters, just setting up training for YHWD later]

Aryll watched as the boy took another step, coming closer instead of retreating, Aryll’s face grew into a smirk as she twitched a finger, activating the chakra cannons that gave Thane a burst of speed and strength, hopefully allowing her to seize the tempo of the fight. As Kozaru reached out to grab the arms of Thane, the puppet’s hands would curl around him, forming a barrier, so that he could not retreat without brute forcing his way through the hands of Thane. Their momentum would not stop. Instead, Kozaru would find himself being crushed between the large arms of Thane. If he tried to continue with his punch, he’d be crushed and sandwiched between Thane’s forearms.

At the same time, Thane’s upper arms would both be brought down in an overhead strike, emitting light blue bursts of chakra from the localized chakra cannons, threatening slam down on the boy, palm first, pinning him to the ground. The sudden burst of strength that the puppet received would be plenty to hold him there for now, trapped under the weight of the steel the puppet was constructed from. As they forced him down, the fingers of the giant hands would curl around Kozaru's form, grasping him and restraining his arms so that he could not resist. 


If they managed to get ahold of Kozaru, Thane would throw his arms up into the air, whipping the boy and throwing him upwards, high into the sky, directly up from Thane's head. What came next depended on the actions of Kozaru. Naturally, Aryll would change her actions accordingly, should something change.

Kozurou grimaced as the hands came down on him. So, it looked like those odd chakra enhancements were able to give the machine some kind of power-up. How long could it last, though? And if it could be maintained for a while, did the girl have the capacity to handle it? He supposed this was as good of a time as any to test both of their limits. Since he hadn't gone out of his way to master any other body enhancement techniques, he supposed that the one would have to do for now. He set the resonance point for his chakra and began.

Just as the puppet's appendages began moving to close in on Kozurou's arms, a new, stark white aura would flare up around the much smaller purple one. Tch, what had he expected? That this girl would let him push her away so easily? Still, he had been hoping that he wouldn't have to use this technique so soon. Still, it was either that or let the girl have her way, which he would have been even less happy about. He felt the "star" burning away in his core, and began to measure how much time until he'd he'd be able to release the condensed stellar chakra.

With a simple grasp, he'd grip the machine's lower forearm near the wrist (making sure to keep clear of the blades) and with a "gentle" heave, throw the entire puppet up and away from him so that it landed on the other side of the training area. In doing so, he would have (unknowingly) avoided being completely trapped, incapacitated, and popped up into the air. 

The stellar white power roared around him as he turned to face the threat. He couldn't launch attacks from a distance, but getting close was a bad idea too. 


THREE.

[TWC 1748]

When Kozaru’s hands braced underneath the force of her amplified strength, Aryll was annoyed to find that he used some sort of trick of his own to increase his own strength. This annoyed her mostly because it meant that she was soon going to be the slower and weaker of the two, assuming he could keep this form up. As he began to try to lift Thane, however, Aryll did enjoy some modicum of success.

As Kozata attempted to lift the puppet to throw, presumably by pivoting to his side and twisting with the weight of the puppet, Thane’s upper pair of arms, unimpeded, came down upon their target as intended. At the time, their strength had still been increased, and so as no attempt to stop the arms had been made, they would proceed with their previously planned action, slamming down on the boy with their still-enhanced speed and strength, just as the boy began to try to lift Thane. The sudden downward force would save Thane from being thrown, and breaking either the boy’s grip on Thane’s forearms, or breaking the boy’s own arms. The choice was his, of course.

Likewise, as no effort had been made to stop the actions of Thane’s upper arms, the boy would have been thrown into the air by Thane, several meters over Thane’s head (Let’s say 10). As the boy was still glowing with this magical energy that had been the source of that sudden display of strength, Aryll had a simple solution: She was going to juggle him. As he fell towards the ground, Thane’s arms would each train upon him, the first one (The top right arm) blasting him with a jet of high-pressured water, which would likely keep him airborne, and would be carefully aimed to not hit him in the head, should she accidentally concuss or decapitate him or something.