Burglar Beatdown [Hunter]

"Be careful! She has already..." Murata trails off, the words 'killed you once' not leaving her lips. Instead, she looses a piercing, shrill whistle, signaling the clone within the bank to rally with them. She takes off after the pair in hot pursuit, but does not descend to the ground, instead running along the rooftops. She feels the tension of the wire under her foot when she triggers Yumeko's rooftop trap, but she does not slow her pace, instinctively shielding her face and outrunning the explosion and small storm of debris as she juggles maintaining concentration on her technique and keeping her footing steady as she jumps the narrow gap to another building.

The speed differential between Yumeko and Kita, and her head start of about fifty meters, means that he will catch up to her once she has covered around 94 meters of distance. It is a difficult disadvantage for their quarry to surmount, but the trap that has gone off behind her reminds Murata that their thief is wily and prepared. She will not take for granted that Kita will close the gap without complications, preparing for Yumeko to take odd turns and lure him into traps - if Yumeko at any point leaves the stretch of the main road, she will shout a warning for Kita to watch his step for tripwires. If Kita's clone heeds her previous signal, he will likely overtake Murata well before Kita catches up to Yumeko, given her comparatively smaller head start if the clone acts immediately (more in the ten to twenty meter range, be it if the clone emerges from the front door or the roof access).

In the event that the chase remains a straight shot, as described in the previous post, Murata will be lagging at about fifty two meters behind on her rooftop chase  - Murata being a smidgen slower than Yumeko, but not enough for her to lose significant ground quite yet. If Kita successfully looses his technique, Murata will inhale through her teeth at the massive volume of water unleashed. The main forward thrust of the technique, aimed squarely downward at Yumeko, will certainly put her out of commission if it lands... but Murata is unsure whether Kita quite understood exactly how much water he was going to pour into the streets. The excess escaping the direct offensive confines of the technique will not necessarily hurt the scattering civillians... but it may leave some people very wet and very unhappy.

---

WC: 413
TWC: 1802

Mind's Eye of the Kagura upkeep -20 AP
AP: 344/434

The torrent of water collided with the thief, driving them into the ground below. Some of the crowd got a little splashed, but other than that they were generally unharmed. The sheer pressure of the technique emanating from Kita's mouth was enough to keep him suspended in the air, focusing the technique down at the thief below. "Just a few more seconds, and we can apply the seal. After that, she'll be harmless." Kita kept the torrent going, slowly counting down to where he could drop it. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four-" The burglar below began undergoing a change. Their skin became darkened and gray. Even from Kita's position, he could feel the innate change in the creature that was once Yumeko. With newfound strength, it wrest itself from the technique, and directed its attention upwards at a shocked and terrified Kita. "This woman... This thing... She's a monster!"

Kita dropped the technique. There was no point keeping a useless technique going. The physical technique was enough to tell Kita that this thing was most likely stronger than himself by now. However, he wasn't about to give up yet. The creature leapt up into the air, racing towards Kita at a somewhat weakened speed (85). Kita perked up the tiniest bit, realizing exactly what it was. "That's right! The Great Vortex Technique reduces the strength and speed of those it hits! I have one shot." Kita sprung into action, utilizing his full speed to handle this beast (120 Speed). Kita quickly performed a single focusing hand seal with his left hand, while drawing the katana from his left hip using his right hand (Suiton: River Cutter). Mist from the surrounding sky, as well as the water from his previous technique which was still falling in midair, both flew towards and clung to his blade, giving it a new watery sheen, and increasing its cutting power (80 Sharpness). It would be more than enough.

Kita swung his blade upwards, sending a 3 inch wide, 5 meter long wave of chakra flying down towards his opponents right arm that they had cocked back to punch (Rupture). His intention was to sever the arm at the shoulder, preventing her from doing any damage to their effective surroundings. Even if she tried to contest the attack, Kita doubted that she could match up against its power with her reduced strength (54). Kita went along with the swing, using the momentum from driving his blade upwards to swing back, flipping in midair so that he was out of the path of his aggressor, while remaining parallel to them. This was the opportunity. Kita's back was turned to his opponent for only the slightest of moments before turning around at breakneck speeds, swinging his katana and sending a large watery wave at his opponent, angling it so that by the time that the blade reached them, it would be about mid thigh (Suiton: River Cutter). With any luck, he could sever the legs as well. It wouldn't be pleasant for the woman, but the attacks shouldn't be lethal in their own right. Plus, both attacks would be able to hit their maximum range without hitting any passerby, so Kita didn't need to worry. Kita flipped around one last time to land calmly on the ground, before turning back around to witness the effects of his attacks.

Word Count - 562

Total Word Count - 3354

Jutsu Used:

Murata closes the gap as Kita hovers above their target by the power of his water vortex, Murata's sensory watching Yumeko's form closely through the shroud of her mission partner's chakra. For a little while, it looks like their mission has been accomplished. Then the thief stands up under the torrent, spiking with an unnerving, raging chakra. Murata arrives at the edge of a nearby building, ten meters from the pair, coming to a halt and drawing her Kanabo in one hand and unfolding a fuma shuriken in the other. By the time she comes to a stop, Yumeko has already initiated her jump, and Murata recognizes there is little she can do at this precise moment without risking hurting Kita as well - any prior action she was tempted to take to prevent Yumeko's attack in the first place was discouraged by the vortex of water that has only now started to disappear.

She simply has to trust that he can neutralize her on the way down without getting too badly hurt himself - but if the situation changes in a way that reduces potential risk of harming her teammate, she is ready to act. Murata stands opposite to the potential trajectory of Kita's RIver Cutter projectile, in the event that it is unleashed, far out of danger of being injured by her teammate herself.

---

224
TWC: 2026

Mind's Eye of the Kagura -20 (no longer maintaining extended range)
AP 324/434

Kita turned just in time to witness the demise of Yumeko. The intense slashes of his attacks had carved through her arm and legs, rendering her little more than a stump. The hellish figure fell to the ground in a bloody heap, the crimson red fluid that once filled her body pooling around her. With heavy breaths Kita sheathed his blade and fell promptly on his backside. He stared at the body of his once enemy, gazing into her pained eyes. He could barely look. For a moment he tried to trick himself into believing that she would be alright, that with a medical ninja on scene would be able to fix their broken form, but he knew that he was lying to himself. He knew what he was doing, and he knew that these would be dangerous shots to take. He had nobody to blame for this situation but himself. Guilt wracked Kita's mind as the figure changed from its once demented grayed form into the thief that he had tried to mark. "I swear, I never meant to kill her. I didn't!"

The woman was still alive, but barely. She wouldn't last much longer at this point, and she was clearly suffering on her journey to the other side. She was a fierce enemy, but Kita simply couldn't just sit by and let her suffer like that. He found the strength within his legs and stood up once more, taking hold of a kunai from within his ninja tool bag and drawing it. Kita walked over to the wheezing figure on the ground, and with sorrowful eyes he crouched next to the figure of Yumeko. "I'm sorry. I didn't want it to go this way. I just wanted to take you to prison. I never wanted to kill you." Kita took the kunai, and placed it near the throat of the dying woman. "May you find peace in another life." With those final words, Kita cut through her throat, putting an end to the thief's life once and for all. He truly meant what he said, and he wished her the best.

Kita did his best to hold back tears as he waited for Murata. The bloody kunai was slipped into the bag as the fat clone made its way down from the rooftops and into the streets, waiting for its master to address it. Kita spoke softly as he dismissed his transformation jutsu, turning the clone back into a normal copy of the original. "I think that I'm done for the day. Clone, take care of the body and the mission report. After that, dismiss yourself. I've had enough for now." Kita began walking off, unable to look the clone or his partner in the eye. He raised a hand in goodbye, and gave a halfway glance back to see if there was anything else that they needed from him before he went. Regardless of what's said, he would only give a single nod. Whatever came next depends on what is asked of him. Before that however, Kita would look forward. "I really need a drink. A soda would do nicely. I'll see you later Murata." After that, he would walk into the crowd of gathered onlookers, lost in his thoughts and shock.

Word Count - 546

Total Word Count - 3900

Exit Claims:

Approved

The blood and the scream do not rattle Murata. She is, however, taken aback by Kita's guilty pleas as he realizes what he's done.

Up until now, Murata had simply thought of all shinobi as natural killers. Herself, so out of sight of penance, would be able to do her job comfortably and only allow regrets to consume her in the dead of night. Watching Kita's reaction to what he's done shatters this illusion in an instant.

This is a scared child who had never taken a life until this moment. He did not understand the significance or the permanence until this moment.

Somehow, perhaps selfishly, she had assumed that even the youngest in the village had already been so permanently sullied. Those running the Academy must be abject cowards. Anger burns in her alongside guilt - at Kita for being so reckless and charging ahead, and at this village for so poorly preparing him. Is this where fate has brought her? Is this her punishment, to watch powerlessly as the wheels of hatred and violence turn, to be shoved in to the mechanisms to grease them? To have her own hands placed on the wheels?

Murata steps beside him, but does not intervene as he ends Yumeko's suffering. She reaches to take off her helmet, clipping it to her hip, searching for words. What had they told her, when she had first learned how long it can really take somebody to die? It was for the best. It was for something greater. Neither what the monks had told her, nor what she tells herself, are appropriate, and a rote repetition of shinobi values would be... dishonest. She bites back the impulse to chide him and do further damage out of simple frustration and concern.  

"I am sorry, Kita. This is my fault," she says, tone slightly clipped. Despite her best intentions, her words will likely come off as insincere. "I should not have allowed you to be in such a position. You did what you had to do to keep yourself safe."

A soda. The stiffest drink this kid can think of right now is a soda. She allows the original Kita to depart, and then stifles a sad little laugh into her sleeve, unable to help herself. She could go for a soda, too. Murata really isn't all that much older than him. Why is it her job to deal with this?

It would have been irresponsible to allow Kita to leave so freely... but there's no need to stop him. In every way that matters, he is still present. In the long view, there is no difference between this duplicate and the true Kita. They are a river split in two, destined to reunite. By assigning this task to his clone, he has only briefly staved off the task of dealing with the body. It's unfortunate, but it means that Murata still has time to at least do a small kindness.

"I will take care of this," she says, crouching in the watered-down blood. The metallic stink is heavy in the air, and Murata feels the eyes of the small crowd burning into her back. "You should go, Kita. You will be best able to deal with this if you are whole. I will come check on you in a while, alright?" Murata wonders what it would be like, to have memories of watching yourself do something you cannot take back, totally powerless. She unrolls a Corpse Storage Scroll and seals Yumeko's remains inside, leaving the blood the only hint of her fate. Their thief will be brought to the hospital, identified, and her remains either repatriated to her family or buried somewhere in the village.

---

618
TWC: 2644

Claiming:
2,000 ryo + 100 ryo genin bonus
3AP
26 stats (14 going into Speed, 12 going into Chakra)
750 words going into Shadow Clone (leaning at half cost, with Kita's demonstration)
740 words going into finishing False Darkness at B-rank (prev. partially trained here.)
Remaining 1154 words going into partially training the Pact of the Three contract.

Approved