The Fair Fight (part 1)

Mission:

The breeze that had been blowing from the forest blew harder as Moyasu exited it back out into the plains that led back into the fairgrounds. For some reason the air that blew in from the forest felt a lot more pure than it did before he got there as he could smell the cherry blossoms a bit more clearly as the petals seemed a bit stronger than before. It was certainly proving to be a good sign for Moyasu as he walked his way calmly back towards the fairgrounds. He could feel his transformation jutsu starting to wear off as he walked around the stands of the grounds and he looked around for a clothing stand of any kind in order to make certain that when it did he was going around in his night wear. He managed to find a stand that sold yukatas which was better than nothing as he wondered how he could go about procuring it without spending any money since he didn't manage to come here with his ryo pouch. He then saw that there was a stand that was offering yukatas as a prize for winning at the game that they hosted. It was a classic game of precision as Moyasu walked up and was introduced to shuriken target throwing.

The stand was set up to where the targets he had to throw the dulled shuriken towards were about fifteen meters away from the throw line as he cursed at himself due to not being able to play because, again, he didn't have any money. The attendant of the stand came forth with a small smile. "Hello there. Would you like to test your aim and try not to fail the game? You look new here so it's our policy to give new players five free tries." Music to Moyasu's ears as he nodded and was given five shuriken to throw with. He examined one of them, picking one up and feeling the weight of it's steel, as he ran his finger along each point in order to feel just how dulled each shuriken had been made. They were still sharp enough to be dangerous enough to stick into whatever they hit but he could tell it would take a lot of force and precision to make that happen. Still though he had enough confidence within him to give this a try as he was going to need that yukata.

Thus he lifted up his arm, the shuriken twirling along the tip of his index finger, as he tossed his arm around causing the shuriken to fly across the air flying towards the target like a homing missile seeking it's target. The shuriken hit it's mark, hitting the center dead on target, as Moyasu felt proud that he was able to direct it where he needed it to go. However his celebration was cut short as the shuriken fell off the target due to not having made a good etch into the wood to hold. He blinked a few times as the attendant whistled. "Very very close, sir. Unfortunately the shuriken has to stick in the wood for a good five seconds or longer in order for it to count as worthy for a prize. Give it another go. You have four tries left." Moyasu picked up another shuriken and took in a deep breath in order to concentrate as he twirled the shuriken around with his finger once again before launching the shuriken forward towards the center of the target. This time, however, he had thrown a little bit too much to the right as the shuriken wound up weaving around and hitting the target on one of it's outer rings. This time it bounced off and fell uselessly to the ground as Moyasu could feel his frustration building. He was an actual trained ninja and he didn't know how to throw a shuriken properly still? His peers would never let him forget this if they knew.

This was proving to be very much a carnival game, something that Moyasu hated, as he picked up yet another shuriken and tossed it with a lot more concentration behind it once more. It would hit the center of the target again but hit it in such an angle that none of the sharp points actually struck the wood causing it to bounce off once more. 'Okay. I'm starting to think this is either hard to the point I need more training...' he thought to himself as he looked at his last two tries sitting on the counter before him. 'Or this game is rigged for failure and I need extreme luck in order to win.' He picked up his second to last shuriken as he cracked the cricks that had developed in his neck due to his frustration and he aimed his sights down the way to the target before putting his all into yet another throw. The air whistled as the steel of the shuriken rang across the air towards the target before hitting it dead in the center with one of it's sharp points once more, sticking deep into the wood, as Moyasu celebrated internally once again... before the shuriken fell onto the ground once more.

He sighed in anger as the attendant was actually in awe at how Moyasu had managed to get it the second time to no avail. "If it's any consolation you're doing better than everyone who had tried this today with us. You might have one last try but I have faith you can make it this time." Words of encouragement actually helped him out on the inside as he picked up the last shuriken and started twirling it in his finger for one last shot. This time, however, he decided he would secretly make certain that this would work this time as he directed his chakra into the shuriken causing the blades to become extra hardened and sharpened by the precise chakra control that Moyasu possessed. With one more toss of the shuriken the blade flew through the air at a high speed before striking the center of the target and embedding itself deep into the wood. So deep that half of the shuriken was all that was visibly left.

He had done it finally. He had won the game as the attendant congratulated him, gave him his prize of a cherry blossom yukata, and allowed Moyasu to go to the dressing room in order to see how well it fit him. He found that the yukata fit him quite nicely as he came out of the dressing room looking as though he actually belonged with the crowd of people that travelled along the paths of the fairgrounds. He walked amongst them himself towards his next destination as he knew that there was a certain someone waiting for him directly in the center of the fairgrounds: the ticket attendant he had met earlier. He walked to the center of the grounds as the ticket attendant was already standing there, no ticket booth anywhere in sight, as he gave Moyasu a wide smile before giving a deep and low bow while holding out his top hat making himself out to be some sort of gentleman. Moyasu's yukata had been opened up a bit to allow him freedom of movement as he rolled up his sleeves and prepared himself for what was going to be a really tough fight. He could feel the soul of evil within the puppet he had touched earlier and he knew any will that evil had to be really powerful.

"Good to see you again, Moyasu. Are you enjoying your stay here?" Moyasu cracked his knuckles before sticking his hands in his pockets and looking around at the nearby stalls. "It isn't bad even though I've done nothing but clean up around here. It would be better if I had a cigarette." With a snap of his fingers the man caused the air to swirl around in front of Moyasu as a pack of cigarettes was suddenly floating in the air before him. Moyasu felt cautious of taking it but the man reassured him. "Rest assured. If I wanted you dead it would not be through poisoning you. There are no tricks behind this gesture." Moyasu huffed but took the pack and got out a cigarette before placing it upon his lips and lighting it with a flame he conjured from his thumb. He inhaled the sweet and smoky taste before placing the pack into the pocket of his yukata and took the cigarette out in order to exhale the smoke as he looked to his target.

"I won't say thank you to a person who tried to take control of a guardian of the land and have it poison the forest. Nor will I show mercy as I already know what you plan to do here. I understand you are extremely skilled with controlling space and time as well as Genjutsu exhibition. I know not to underestimate you even if I'm the perfect match for someone of your caliber." He placed the cigarette back upon his lips before getting down into a fighting stance, the crowds of people watching him in confusion, as the wind around him started to circle him as he concentrated his large reserves of inner chakra. "That's certainly a shame." The attendant stood there with one hand behind his back and a hand upon the brim of his hat as it cast a shadow over his eyes hiding them from sight. With a quick huff of his breath the air suddenly crackled around Moyasu and lit up with heat as flames surrounded him while the air caused his yukata to flutter due to the sheer pressure.

Mist started to surround the attendant as Moyasu gathered chakra into his feet and pushed off the ground hard which propelled him forward towards his target at top speed. Flames popped up off the ground with his every step as he jumped and directed a kick at the man but he disappeared causing the kick to whiff and Moyasu to fly through the air. He had anticipated that he would miss however as he had gathered chakra into his hands and flipped over and around in order to shoot out flame after flame from his hands in random directions of the mist. He made certain to not aim at any of the crowd, everybody running away from the battle anyway, as he flipped over onto his feet and started running around the mist while keeping his eyes peeled for a shadow of some kind to give him a hint as to where to direct his flames next. No matter where he looked he couldn't find any traces of his target, however, as the man didn't even seem to leave behind any footprints even though he knew that he was moving around the field somehow.

The mist suddenly vanished and revealed that his target was nowhere to be seen which caused Moyasu to stop in his tracks and look around trying to see where he might've gone. He had no luck, however, as he sighed and took a drag of his cigarette while using his sense of hearing as best as he could in order to hear anything that might happen. He suddenly heard footsteps rapidly rushing towards him from behind as he quickly looked around and saw a cloaked person in a mask rushing towards him with a knife. With a flick of his finger Moyasu tossed a small ball of fire at the rushing ninja as he became engulfed in flames yet did nothing to dodge the fireball. This gave the ashen haired Meijin pause as he looked to see that there was no ash or signs that anyone had been caught in the fireball which made it all the more suspicious. Then he heard another set of footsteps charging at him as he focused his chakra and started gathering it up all over his body before giving his arms a twist around him which made a shockwave of fire to burst out from him and catch the charging ninja in their torso.

He then watched as the person who got caught in the flames, another ninja cloaked and wearing a similar mask from the previous ninja, disappeared rather abruptly in a puff of black smoke. 'Shadow clones?' he thought to himself as he tossed another ball of fire destroying another clone. 'A lot of them, too. More than I can make. I've heard of techniques that work like Shadow Clone Jutsu but are actually related to Genjutsu rather than Ninjutsu. So in that case...' With a focusing of his chakra Moyasu halted his chakra flow as a wave of chakra extended outwards from within him as he was trying to release himself from any Genjutsu he may have been caught in. As he did he heard more footsteps rushing towards him as he cursed himself and jumped out of the way of the swipe of the knife that had been aimed at his neck. 'Well that didn't work...' he thought as he flipped over and landed atop the spire of a nearby carousel. "You going to be a coward and let your clones do the work for you?" A chuckle sounded across the whole grounds as Moyasu was suddenly surrounded by five cloaked ninja all with knives aimed at him which he jumped down in order to avoid.

"Isn't that how Shinobi are supposed to fight? From the shadows? Not everyone who bears the responsibility of Shinobi have the overwhelming power require to take people on face to face. I applaud you for realizing that you're in a Genjutsu though. It's too bad your chakra doesn't seem to be fine tuned enough to break free, though." That confirmed it for Moyasu as he landed on the ground and took out two more clones with his fiery chakra and power. "Well it's not just your chakra I'd have to break out against, is it? You're utilizing the chakra of this whole fairgrounds aren't you?" The clones stopped attacking, sliding to a halt around him, as he looked around at them all while blowing out cigarette smoke from his mouth. "Amazing observation. Out of curiosity would you mind telling me how you know I'm doing that?"

"When I first came here I could sense the extreme amounts of chakra all across this place. I traced it all to the Sakura blossom forest near here where the guardian resides that you took control of. My theory is that the whole reason why you wanted control over the guardian to begin with is because this place is protected by the chakra provided from the forest and controlling it's sole guardian would give you access to that chakra yourself. That would explain those nasty purple veins of poison you had spreading over it. Fortunately I was able to relinquish your control of the guardian but my guess is that you already have gathered a fair amount of chakra thus why it's so hard for me to release your hold over me." After he had spoken he looked up a bit above him as black smoke gathered and the man in the top hat appeared once more floating and watching Moyasu with a look of intrigue in his eyes. "What I'm wondering is why you would want so much chakra anyway and why you summoned me here?" The man gave another little chuckle as his Genjutsu clones kept still and unmoving.

"I'm simply a man who seeks greater power. There are mysteries within the world of Genjutsu and Space that can only be unlocked by those with great strength and will. Great amounts of chakra often help with such endeavors. As for you being here I'm sorry to say that it was not I who summoned you." That gave Moyasu pause as he took another drag of his cigarette before continuing the casual conversation. "Really? But you are aware that I was summoned here?" The man nodded. "Of course. I sensed as such once the chakra of this place was disturbed by your presence. You have an excellent amount of chakra inside you and I must admit I find that anyone who is capable of relinquishing my hold over anything, even if it's a soulless puppet such as the guardian of those woods, is a man worthy of my curiosity." This guy certainly liked to talk. Good. That was going to make what was about to happen all the more easier for Moyasu as he placed his cigarette back into his mouth and continued to speak. "So what you want my chakra then?" The man shook his head. "Oh no. Not just your chakra. I want the disease that possesses you."

Suddenly out from the shadows of one of the fairground stands came the figure of another ashen haired shinobi covered in fire as it held a sharp looking sword and stabbed it straight into the back of the floating man. His top hat fell off from his head as his face had a look of shock upon it from the stab while Moyasu equally had a look of surprise but not from the surprise attack. He looked perplexed based off of what he had just heard. 'How does he know about my disease... and why does he want it?' His thoughts would be cut short as the clone and the man fell down to the ground from the air as they would both slam into the gravel causing the sword to move deeper into the man's body. The man would give a grunt of pain but nothing further giving Moyasu pause as he realized that something was up. The man had a smile upon his face and it was a very unsettling smile.

WC 3,003

Claiming mission rewards: 15,000 ryo (beloved presence; 25% bonus) and 38 AP (25% bonus)

approved!