The Beauty, the Beast and the War-drobe

Just as expected, the young man before her scoffed as she spoke, making her expect a cruel remark after her words ran out. Unexpectedly, however, she was met with no such remark. Instead the man told her to stop being so polite and told her he was the weakest Kiri nin present. If he had been anyone other than an enemy shinobi, she would have jokingly told him off for calling her “girl”, and not by her name (or at least a proper nickname). But life was cruel and she kept her mouth shut, not risking their lives over such a silly thing, as he could mistake her joking for seriousness. She had almost lost Salzem to this man once, she was not about to lose him twice because of her banter.

His single sentence chilled her bones, and he would never understand why. Salzem had been one of the strongest Konoha shinobi in her eyes, and for this man to say he was the weakest among the enemy despite him being able to knock the lycan unconscious terrified her. How could she even think of standing a chance against any of them, when she was never able to defeat Salzem in their spars- and she was pretty sure he went easy on her during those matches. All of the enemy shinobi would kill her before she could even blink. As a medical -nin her life was especially on the line, as what army would want their enemies to be able to heal themselves? Which is why she was surprised the Kiri man kept her alive, although she did have her hamstrings cut and could not aid her allies even if she tried, thus that could be one reason. Or he was just buying time, waiting until something happened and he could swiftly bring about her demise. After all, he still was surrounded in a powerful white aura, one she knew not what it did. Through her deductions she noted it could be an amplification, like her Lightning Javelin technique, or it could be a barrier, or something entirely different that her mind was unable to comprehend.

As he had spoken he returned his kunai to its former spot in his weapon’s pouch, giving Hikari a bit of relief that he did not intend on stabbing her in her weakened state. She was still on high alert, however, due to the fact she could no longer run away from anything he threw at her. On another note, Salzem’s wounds were beginning to heal quite nicely, the tissue and damaged nerves responding nicely to her healing chakra. It wouldn’t be long now until his wounds fully closed and she could move on to his collapsed lung, allowing his body further relief as his single lung did double the work to breathe.

“My apologies if my politeness bothers you, I try to be polite to everyone you see...I’ll  tone it down if you’d prefer...” Her voice was gentle and quiet as she trailed her, her eyes watching as he put his kunai away, thus she was speaking as it happened. “If you are the weakest then I fear for the shinobi fighting currently. Salzem was the strongest shinobi I knew, and you took him out quite quickly…”

Then Hikari, after waiting for his response if he had one to her comment, never faltered her gaze from his and listened intently at what he had to say regarding the Will of Fire next, ignoring the pain in her thighs as her blood turned her tight covered calves scarlet and soaking the ground beneath her knelt legs crimson. His words did not surprise her in the least as she had also thought the Will of Fire endangered more lives than it saved, eliciting more bad than good as it flowed through the Konohagakure army. Yet she had felt the desire to save her comrades just as they had felt the desire to protect their village. It seemed the Kiri man understood in a way how they felt, except his feelings were a rush of elation at fighting those stronger than himself. It must have been what had drawn him to the lycan, a powerhouse and creature likened to a monster. Hikari was unsure by what he meant when he said an “elan”, but she didn’t allow her slight confusion to show as he continued speaking.

It was evident that he also felt a sense of duty for his village, loyal to fight until his death for Kirigakure. However his reasoning was saddening, believing himself to be a weak shinobi that was better off dead than alive. Hikari didn’t see him the way he saw himself, and she thought his battle with Salzem would have changed his mind. Sure he was an enemy shinobi, but he was also a human being, and he deserved to feel more respect for his life than he currently did.

She felt hesitant to respond to his comment about being loyal to Kiri and not wanting to be a burden to their kage, but wanted to try to convince him that he was not as weak as he seemed. She was too kind in that regard, especially to an enemy shinobi. “I doubt you care to hear this from someone like me, but I do not think you are a weak shinobi. I guess that could be rather ridiculous of me to say, when I do not know what your village is like. However, I am speaking from witnessing your battle with this man. You did not seem at all weak in my opinion, if that means anything to you.” She ended her comment with a small smile, hoping her kind nature wasn’t the reason she would be killed, if he chose to kill her that is.

Then he ended his part of the conversation by asking her about Salzem, inquiring if she knew him. Hikari had already admitting to knowing him earlier, but wasn’t sure if she should leave it at that or confess the truth to him. He would feel betrayed and angered if he somehow found out she was lying, and would potentially murder them for it. But would he kill her, or the lycan, if he knew the truth about Salzem?

Taking her chances, Hikari answered his question truthfully, not daring to look down at the young man she was healing as she spoke of him, “Yes, I know him very well. He is a brother to me.” She could have stopped there, as it answered his question, but she didn’t want him to think she just went to Salzem because he was her family, although they looked nothing like family with her white hair and light colored eyes, and his dark hair and dark eyes. “However, it was a complete coincidence that I came to him first. I had seen him gravely injured and knew he instantly needed medical attention far more than the others.”

Salzem’s knee wounds finished healing, and she would move her hands to rest on his chest, above his lungs, without ever breaking eye contact. Her knowledge of the human body is what made her easily know how to find his lungs without looking down. Her healing of his injured left lung began, and would not take nearly as long as the healing of his legs had. If the Kiri man allowed her to continue healing Salzem, that is. Her own wounds were still bleeding, but they were not enough to hinder her in any way or cause her to bleed out to death, just a painful annoyance at the moment.

(Mystical Palm at max speed and power of 100)
(AP: 896 -40 Mystical Palm = 856)
(Salzem: +50ap for the Mystical Palm last post as it went through. He will gain another +50ap if this Mystical Palm goes through, as per the jutsu description/what it does.)

It seemed her words fell on deaf ears, the man ignoring all her comments and staying silent as she continued to heal Salzem’s lung. Maybe she had said something wrong, irritating him unintentionally. The silence grew heavy as she was unsure what to do with her eyes, avert them since he seemed uninterested in anything else she had to say, or continue to make eye contact with him despite the quietness between them, allowing the surrounding war to make enough noise. She decided to continue with the eye contact as her healing of Salzem quickly came to a close, his lung expanding and compressing with each breath he took, just like new. Now Salzem was completely healed again, although still unconscious as his body deserved rest from the fight.

She was about to deactivate her Mystical Palm technique when he spoke up, as gruff and cold as ever. He mentioned getting to the point as he raised his left foot, the aura enveloping him growing excited at the movement and wildly blitzing around, and placed it on Salzem’s head. He demanded for her to restore his chakra as she had done so with Sal, and used her brother as a hostage to get his way.

Hikari couldn’t believe this man was using an unconscious shinobi as leverage, for she would have happily healed him willingly if he had asked nicely. Of course, she would still heal him, just inwardly irked by his immoral, and dishonorable, ways. She wondered if the Mizukage would also do such a thing, using someone who couldn’t fend for themselves. If he would, then she was obviously too naive for the shinobi world, thinking they could fight fair instead of using others.

She spoke up, her tone even and her eyes void of any feelings she might have felt, “I’ll restore your chakra, although it will take a considerable amount of time for you to gain enough for battle.” Hikari deduced that he was running low on chakra, as she clearly remembered what his chakra reserves had looked like when she first saw him with her Byakugan, and he had been using some technique ever since then, draining his chakra every minute they interacted. It didn’t take a genius to realize this, just an observant eye who also noticed the signs his body gave out as she had been staring at his eyes so his body was in her peripheral vision. His body, and face, was slightly sweating and his breathing would slowly become uneven as he strained his body almost to its limits (whatever those were). “Where would you like me to use my medical technique on you? Are you injured anywhere, if so that would be the ideal place, but if not I think anywhere should be fine…”

It was strange, asking someone where they should be healed, instead of immediately being able to heal them. She wasn’t sure where he would rather be healed, since he technically didn’t need any healing as far as she could tell. Hikari guessed it might be his leg or foot, or possibly his hand, but it could have been anywhere he suggested. If the Kirigakure man offered her a place to heal that was appropriate, not in a weird location or physically impossible for her to reach, she would move her blue glowing hands to the specified spot on his body (possibly straining to reach him if he didn’t take into consideration the fact that her hamstrings were still cut), healing any wounds he had and restoring his chakra. (If he did tell her to heal someplace she was uncomfortable with touching, her actions would greatly differ and be explained next turn).

Hikari felt ashamed for having to listen to whatever this man asked, worrying for Salzem’s life over her own would probably get her killed or ridiculed at this rate, but if it was for Salzem, or any of her comrades, she would do it over again and again, as long as they could live that was all that mattered to her.

As she healed the man, Hikari would hesitantly speak up, quiet but loud enough to be heard over the clashing of jutsu and the thundering of rain that continued to pelt them, “What is it like living in Kirigakure, and being right by the sea?” She half expected him to glare down at her after her question, both mocking and ignoring her for trying to communicate with him. It’s not like she had asked about the deepest, darkest secrets of his village, she was just curious and thought it was a good way to kill the time as she healed/restored him (although they do say curiosity killed the cat)...

She had never visited Kirigakure before (and doubted she ever would after this incident), so she thought it would be best to ask a native about the village and the area. Hikari had never even seen the sea before, never felt the cold water spray from the shore or the sand squishing between her toes as she walked along the beach. Yes, that was what Hikari thought it meant to be by the sea, and she had no real idea of what else it could be like as she had never really done much research about the other villages regarding their geographical landscapes (yes she failed as an educated shinobi).

As the rain fell upon them, Hikari wondered if it rained often in Kiri and if that was why they were all more equipped clothing wise for the storm, or if they had donned their best attire for war. Yet this time she bit her tongue, knowing if she asked too many questions he would most definitely want to cut off her head or tongue to silence her. Tangentially, she thought about how if she had known she would be fighting in the rain, she would have tried to wear a more practical outfit instead of light colored cloth that quickly stuck to her (but still allowed for adequate movement) and easily stained. Even more so if she knew she would have to cut herself. Speaking of which, her wounds on the back of her thighs continued to ooze onto her calves at a normal rate that wouldn’t harm her yet (she was thankful her calves were covered in black tights to hide the blood) and had stung as she had repositioned in her kneeling position (either sitting back on her calves if she could, or sort of leaning forward if she had to reach) to heal the Kiri shinobi.

(AP: 856 -40 Mystical Palm = 816)
(Mystical Palm speed and power are still the same)
(Sal has gained 150ap total, and Koz will have gained 50ap from this post)

How was Kirigakure? Pfft, what an irrelevant question. It was clear to Kozurou now that he was wasting his time here, especially since the girl's medical techniques were so... weak. To be fair, he probably couldn't produce any stronger effects, but that wasn't the point. Standing around here all day wouldn't earn him any accolades in war. So, to that effect, he'd respond briefly to the girl. 

"It's cold. Just like Konohagakure will be soon." In a flash of motion, his hand would flash out as a closed fist strike, directing his attack (at max possible speed) at the girl's head, with just enough power to knock her out for a while. He didn't need to kill her, since he'd probably force her to heal his comrades as well later. He focused his chakra and noted that one of the signatures was titanically powerful. That was... bad. The Mizukage himself seemed to be doing very well, but that meant that Kozurou couldn't fall behind, and neither could he allow any of his friends to do so. He sighed, and began to accelerate (at half of full running speed, as per the rules, reaching full speed on the next post of topic entry) toward the enemy chakra signature. Whether he would go to his death or not would be up to his own determination, luck and skill. As he went, he'd clip on the earring he'd acquired from Salzem's body.

[TWC 2650
EXIT, claiming all of Salz' possessions and his legs as per the previous post]

His words sent a shiver down her spine as he compared his homeland to hers, his tone just as icy as the future he predicted Konohagakure would face. She had no time to respond as soon after he spoke, his hand shot out in a tightly knit fist towards her head. She had no way to escape, as her hamstrings had yet to be healed, blocking her from running. His fist collided with her skull, enough power to cause her to fall, her back hitting the mud with a loud thump and her eyes fluttering shut upon impact. Her medical jutsu had been deactivated as her healing of him finished and he no longer required her assistance.

As her consciousness faded into darkness, Hikari wondered if she would ever meet this cold man again and have a civil conversation with him, one he might actually want to be a part of, or if she would ever find a Kiri nin to converse with and learn more about their way of life. Maybe they all were disinterested in her because of the village she reigned from. A saddening thought to the young girl, as she tried her best to not discriminate due to village or clan, always wanting to be kind to others no matter who they were or where they came from.

A fleeting thought of death passed through her mind as she completely lost consciousness, although why would a shinobi knock their enemy out if they planned on killing them? It was an illogical thought, especially about a shinobi from Kirigakure. He probably had ept her alive for her Byakugan, or to use her medical techniques later on in the war if need be. She could easily become a hostage that way, it was another fate medical shinobi faced.

Her body laid limp alongside her brother’s, her legs almost touching his as she was strewn in between being diagonal and perpendicular to him. The back of her thighs bleeding from the broken muscles of her hamstrings. Yet she would fortunate not bleed to death from her wounds. If she had been anyone but a medical-nin, they most likely would have cut too deep and caused serious injury to themselves. But a las, she was a skilled shinobi in the art of anatomy, and knew just where to cut to considerably lengthen the amount of time she spent bleeding. As such, her cuts with the kunai had been so precise they caused little to no damage to the surrounding veins and arteries, the real reasons many shinobi bleed to death when cut, and it would take quite a long time for her to bleed out. It was almost definite she would awaken before dying from her wounds, unless someone came and injured her while she was unconscious or something similar.

(TWC: 4,354)
(Memorized Kozai’s chakra signature)
(Also unconscious now; idk if I need to say anything else ^^’)

The battle hadn’t been long. Few fights were, but this one was over rather quickly. Aided by the byakugan, Aryll saw most of what unfolded, with the inner reaches of her vision seeming to stretch by the moment. She felt her field of view… Widening, in a way, as her eyes adapted to the cold metal shell she wore into battle. Her fight with the ninja of Konoha was a blur, and between keeping track of the battlefield’s outskirts to ensure that Kirigakure was not flanked, studying the field itself and looking for places to make herself useful. She had quickly lost the short man in the fray, after determining that there were more important tasks at hand. A heavily armored unit such as Thane was immensely useful in providing cover for her allies, and so she mostly served a defensive role, protecting her allies from large-scale attacks, occasionally getting to swing at a target with Thane’s massive blade, coating the huge monstrosity of a weapon in blood.

The battle was winding down now, however. Aryll was watching as she moved between skirmishes, assisting in repelling rogue attacks to ensure that their ninja were not blindsided. She watched as Kozaru carved a bloody path through the village, at one point using an unconscious Konohagakure shinobi as leverage in order to force another Shinobi to heal him. After that, he’d merely knocked the girl out, and left them both alive. A clever move, she supposed, though she was silently glad that they had not been killed. She wasn’t above killing, but taking advantage of a person’s helplessness was something that she didn’t particularly care for, for reasons that would be blatantly obvious to most. Still, she had bigger things to focus her attention on at the time…

Or at least, so she had thought. But it seemed that the fighting was almost over. Xyxer waded through the masses of ninja, the Hokage in his arms, and as he did so, the fighting seemed to stop. Aryll knew what was to come next, and sought about informing the forces of Kirigakure to stand down, or assisting them, should Konoha not be willing to finally give up.

First, though, she’d scoop the boy without legs up. Still unconscious, she’d make sure he was secure, placing him in Thane’s uppermost left hand, while the blade remained in Thane’s upper right. Her grip would be firm, pinning his arms to his sides, but not crushing him. It will be more than sufficient to hold him in place, should he awake, and the sheer size of the machine would likely be sufficient to display the fact that she could muster up a much tighter grip, should she so desire (88 potential grip strength, won’t use it unless Sal tries to struggle). She would have grabbed the medic too, but other Kirigakure ninja had already brought her to Xyxer's side. She doubted that one would be harmed, after all, she'd kept her head down and only offered aid to her allies, not harm to Kirigakure. 

After securing the unconscious body of the boy that had been relieved of his legs, Aryll would turn her attention to the battles that were still going on, namely, Kozaru’s. She figured it was likely for the best that she went there first, since Kozaru had, for some reason, ran off with the boy’s legs. She was no medic, but she was pretty sure he’d need those. Maybe he’d even walk again. What a novel concept.

With Sal safely seatbelted in via Thane-s non-bladed hand, Aryll would begin to head off towards Kozaru. Maybe Sal would even regain consciousness. She wondered how he’d react. The pain likely wouldn’t have hit him yet, so he’d probably be shell-shocked like she was. Maybe he’d be in denial. Maybe he’d feel as worthless as she had, placed in his shoes, or lack thereof.

If she wasn’t interrupted, she’d carry the boy off towards Kozaru to call their battle to a halt and retrieve the boy’s legs. There had to be a medic around here somewhere.

(Exit with Sal’s unconscious body)
(TWC: 680, putting all of those into All-Seeing Eyes
+3 stats

Won’t IC receive any of this except for Sal till after the battle ofc

Salzem's eyes fluttered open as he felt himself firmly anchored to the back of some vertical surface, wondering if he was dead just yet... It was what he was hoping for from the start of this worthless garbage that Kiri started. Maybe... maybe The Kirikage would have enough integrity to just kill him for rising up, let him join all the dead that he was responsible for as penance for letting them all die. He wondered why he could feel things in the realm of the dead... Everything but his legs. As sensations bled back into him, he felt his chest ache and twitch with each breath, his muscles shiver and his bones creak as if they were still there. All except his legs... Why could he feel everything but not his legs...?

His vision returned next and he found himself staring at the back of some unknown person's head, his body tightly pressed against theirs, his chin resting on their shoulder. He watched quietly as the planet slipped away underneath them as he was carried, not comprehending the fact his "ride" was walking until his hearing returned then too, the crunching of the wet grass underneath giving it away.

He was Alive.... And he couldn't have felt more miserable.

His arms were firmly chained to his side, his body still and he assumed his legs were too, though he couldn't feel them. His breathing was weak, ragged, wet and painful, but his glare was ever strong, his anger flaring up like a paper-bomb about to go off. So... this fool saved him... let him live... He was going to rip them to bloody PIECES FOR THAT!  She left his head alone and that would be her undoing. He could transform his head right there and rip into her shoulder and throat like it was a meat pie!

But he didn't... Like his anger grew, it receded, leaving nothing but the cold, burned husk of shame. He had lived to see the fall of his village... He could see it in the bodies that lined the battle-field, the blood, the lack of his comrades cheering and the eerie silence that befell them, ignoring his generous unknown carrier. He looked at them, quiet, contemplating what words would be worth wasting on them...

He said nothing, struggled not. There was no point. Anger... rage... The mask had been worn through fore there was nothing left... He had nothing to be mad over, nothing to be afraid for... Everyone who wasn't dead was wounded or subservient. No. It didn't make him angry he was alive anymore.

Without command, his sanguine gaze flicked down below to where his legs had been... and saw nothing. No legs, not even his pants-legs either, just up to his wast where they should branch off was cleanly cut cloth...

His eyes widened, his pale complexion draining ever emptier of color before he smirked, almost laughing at the incredulous sight. His legs were gone... Funny... Now that he didn't see them, it was almost as if he could feel them... A ghost of a sensation... he could almost watch them brush against the grass below but nothing happened for nothing was there. Only the feet of his carrier.

"...heh..." He chuckled, his eyes clenched shut, tears running down his cheeks as his forehead pressed into the foriegn shoulder. "...heheheheh..."

(exit to main topic I guess)