The Feast (Part 1-8) | Village Defense (Terrorist Invasion) [P/INV.O]

The young stranger, formally know as Xhesi and the Dark Mother; or Dakumaza, had retired to the woods just outside of the Johogakure to better attune herself. Out in the dense forested brush and green meadows there was little that could distract the young woman from her endeavor. She had been tasked by her military superior, Akima Nabuto, to refine and increase her chakra pool. If she was to be a master of weaponry, she would be in need of this spiritual energy to adequately defend herself despite having near unparalleled close quarters combative experience. It was at this time she was interrupted by a sudden global communication alert cautioning civilians of Johogakure, the broadcast being loud enough to cast effectively for up to a couple miles outside of the village. They were currently under attack, which Xhesi decided to do something about.

She had delved deep marketplaces and urban living quarters and had found a mass of invaders gathering by a cliff-side. The small brook that ensued from it would eventually join a river. The cold water was a good medium by which Xhesi had to concentrate her chakra. She sat cross legged in meditation on top of the shallow waters. She exuded, and gathered her inner senses to further let the chakra develop and refine itself; feeling as chakra rushed through her thighs and legs so as to stay above water. If she ever lost concentration or was running low on chakra, the cold waters would let her know with a shivering reminder. To further deplete her reserves, she would perform intense calisthenics and perform chakra consuming jutsu. She would draw just enough chakra to make her pass out but not put her in any form of danger. After all, she had been tasked with increasing her chakra reserves, not with dying in the least. Perhaps one day she would have to make the choice but at the moment her mind was filled to the brim, if not overflowing, with ways to produce satisfactory results. Even if it meant an eternity.

Three weeks have passed since Xhesi had arrived at the natural spring. She slept under the stars and she hunted for her food. To any passerby she would have looked like a feral human. Her hair was much longer than her normal shoulder length. It was even unrulier, if that was even possible. Her clothes and shoes were worn and torn where she had snagged a tree branch or scraped a clothed substance against a rock in her constant chase for food or on her ever changing self imposed physical training routines. The days had started to merge one with another. She only stopped her training to answer nature calls and to hunt for her food, or to gather supplies necessary for everyday survival as a ninja. As a proud warrior of the Akuma no Ketsueki clan. There were times she was so exhausted that she did not know if she was dreaming or actually performing the task that she saw herself doing as if it was an outer body experience. Another unique form of astral projection..

She had trained her mind to sense when she was starting to be at the limit of her chakra reserves; her system was trained to alert her body in case of an emergency - sending electromagnetic shocks to her brain telling her she must back out of the battle and recuperate before returning to the front lines. She would feel the strain her body felt as she tried to produce just an ounce more. Because the chakra lines were connected to vital organs, she made sure not to strain her chi or concentration regarding it too much to avoid certain danger. After all it wasn't like it is not unheard of somebody dying due to the severe effects of chakra exhaustion. Still, she did not care to be another statistic if it made her mother happy. Years could pass at these beautiful springs and she wouldn't leave until she felt she met the quality her mother would approve of. She had a promise to keep. A vow, spoken in true words of divine and devout righteousness and faith. If she was to become a good Medical Nin and a superior, if not the best solo support team in the ninja world; there should be nothing that she would not be willing to accomplish no matter the cost.

There were times when doubt started to settle in. She wondered if all this was even working. She did not feel any different. But one is not able to see the small changes because they are just the same as the day before. Only those seeing from the outside, seeing with fresh unbiased eyes can truly say when a change has happened - the eyes that Xhesi wanted to really experience the thrill of her prowess were those of her mother. She'd do anything to make her proud of Xhesi; even if it meant giving up her happiness and her childhood. Xhesi would just have to trust that her mentor was correct and that exerting the mind, body and spirit, would lead to a more vast chakra reserve and further improve her knowledge and grasp on controlling her chakra to the characteristic aspects and ratios comparable to ANBU and Jounin ninja she admires so dearly.

It was not until the next to last day that she felt any true change. She was chasing a rabbit that would hopefully be her next warm cooked and hearty meal. Her muscles were crying and screaming out for rest but she could not let her first substantial meal in days escape. The animal headed for some rocks and she just knew that if she let it near one of those holes she would not see the rabbit again. Chances are it would burrow deep underground and remain there until Xhesi was asleep. She tapped into the expanded chakra pools from deep within her and miraculously produce enough chakra to send a barrage of kunai and shuriken imbued with water chakra flying towards the ill fated rabbit. The immersive and unforgiving attack was strong enough to stop the poor creature’s heart but in doing so, it made Xhesi’s own race. She had finally achieved what she had set out to do it would seem. She slept peacefully that night, her belly full and her mind at rest knowing that she could go back to her mother and have her be proud of her completing the task she was assigned.

"Once, there was a pool.." Above her, the sun was bright, yet not hot despite how clear the sky was. Theoretically speaking, the trees were just as clear as the sky, but Xhesi had a feeling that they were full of either ANBU or their spies/scouts/familiars or whatever other surveillance methods they had. Either way, Xhesi was being watched by over eager bodyguards, something she didn't particularly like, since it seemed they doubted her power and constantly told her to train harder and do better. Although she disliked it, she enjoyed the results and the satisfaction of her dear mother Viviane.. Still she appreciated the thought behind it, and she'd wait to see if Lineda could find a way around it before she did everything himself. Here now, in this place, she was attempting to lose herself in the arts.

"Which was as calm as the sea is green.. Flowing from one step to the other, Xhesi began to go through a series of movements, each a simple opening sequence. No combat, no blows, simply focused on anything that would be useful for dodging, merely simple footwork exercises. Proper footwork is by far one of the most important things a person could possess after all, considering how dangerous some battlefields could get. Accidentally setting off one of your own traps, especially for a water user, was not an interesting way to go out; it'd actually be pretty idiotic or foolish to die by the hand of your own jutsu. That, of course, went double for any practitioners of the Hyuuga clan, who have mastered the Gentle Fist Technique. This was a similar fighting style that, instead of utilizing direct blows to disable the tenketsu - focuses on fluid movement of the body to produce rapid agility bonuses and speed increases during combat that would significantly change the tide of battle if the user is a straight jutsu arsenal. Xhesi, was a relatively weak taijutsu fighter in comparison to her bukijutsu and kenjutsu skills, but she had hopes that this would improve her fighting quality drastically.

"Nothing disturbed the pool, no bird, no leaf.." If it wasn't for his protectors, this would be the part where he'd have someone throw stuff at her, in order to ensure that this training is actually effectively enhancing her capabilities. Unfortunately, she had nothing that was quite good enough for her to practice, and prepare with, so he trained alongside the ANBU members instead. A risky move it is, considering at any time an ANBU member could easily lose control of their superior power and probably kill Xhesi - even if it is an accidental attack. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't do a bunch of little tricks. Standing as still as the pool, she kept her face blank, even as she flowed into the next sequence. This time, she added simple defenses and blocks to her sequence, even as she kept her footwork perfect. It was a more difficult sequence, but for one of her skills, it was nothing that couldn't be done within time. After all, Xhesi knew a Genin of even higher chakra capacity than herself, and even he has less jutsu in his arsenal than she does. She could remember exactly how he put her, even now.. "Well you're a very intuitive Academy Student I'll give you that" Leon smiled at her "I do train pretty hard to keep my chakra levels this high, I'm a medical ninja in training so chakra is very important for my job! I don't know many jutsu honestly, I've spent so much time on precision and chakra control that I forgot jutsu existed" Leon laughed a little bit. He sat down on one knee, "We could use some ninja like you back in the Leaf. You're a special girl, I can tell" Leon said without any hesitation over the words. "Whatever you do with your skills, you'll be great at it. Maybe one day soon we'll get to work together. I'd hate to see us on opposite sides of a battlefield."

"And rushing on an overhead pass, came the elk." Another line of the sutra, another addition to the movements. This time, it was alerting them, as if there was someone there with her. No more were simple blocks enough, that might have worked against the pebbles or rocks she would have used before, but not against a mighty elk. Instead, she wove in dodges into the pattern, complicating the footwork enough so that she needed to pay more attention to that. Weave to the side, dance around a kick, flowing under a punch and even a rough attempt at a cartwheel from a barrage of fireball. Not that the fighting style this is based off of usually included cartwheels mind you, it was simply something she added in as a partial attempt to ensure things were different, and to keep her movements at a more fluidly advanced state to improve her chances of dodging attacks both far and near.

"Kicking the ground, and a stone faltered..." Different was good, it insured that even a master of the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist would have trouble predicting her movements and such. Which was always the main problem within shared styles that are created from the basis of another style. Everyone could see what was coming. This stanza, the dodges got bigger, and larger blocks were added. It was coming up to the most important part of the style, which she needed to get perfectly right. Gentle fist was a quick, fast moving and 'graceful' style, about gentle movements, the type that would seem stupid looking to a 'harder' style user - but this combined advanced movements that included vivid exchanges of footwork and aerial combat. Xhesi knew the way many styles were conducted and performed, and could see the advantages and disadvantage of each. With the help of her mother's ANBU squad, she'd surely perfect this style in no time.

"And fell." Siting the target for the final part, Xhesi began to move. While still fluid and graceful, she was moving at full speed, the type that some would consider almost breakneck fast, but was simply the culmination of many martial arts blocks and attacks. “and died.” One final fake dodge, to represent the target starting to panic and throwing a fireball. A quick block, battering the last defenses aside, as her finger went for the kill “Ploop” as her hand made contact, she surged chakra, shoving the finger into the target... through the target until the tree had a finger sized hole... Examining the attack made, Xhesi immediately face palmed...

The hole was just one centimeter too far from the black dot she had drawn before. By the standards of any other combat style, that would still be a considerably perfect shot. If one were to actually take the time to look all around the tree, and the dots it possessed, they would see there were many such holes, a legacy of her many failed attempts to hit the target. It was a depressing sight to Xhesi, because not only did it represent her many failures, it represented how unsatisfied her mother will be when she sees this tree. Moving back to the center, she prepared to start again.

Wrapped up in a sturdy clothe, Xhesi's arm rest in a sling. She was informed by the medical ninja who attended to her wounds that it was a miracle that she had gained back the control of her arms muscles after the hundreds of unbelievable attacks made on the invaders in the surrounding area. So much chakra being lost in the process. It could have easily left her hospitalized for much longer, if not dead. The doctors and nurses really pushed for her to stay around, and for her to try and recover more before moving around again. The fluid movements had done more damage than Xhesi really believe it had, but she really had to keep going. Inactivity wasn't really an option considering she had to take up her new responsibilities. She now went to meet back up with the Johokage, a man she had the honor of being introduced to very early on in life.. There was a question he had asked her that she wanted to give the answer to.

Upon leaving the forested area, a few days travel back to the village, she stopped yet again; to train, as always. Almost two and a half hours into dusk, Xhesi continues to smash away at a large canyon, brutally crushing her knuckles with each blow. Each tear that fell from her face was just another sign that she was getting stronger. Dark lines formed around her eyes from lack of sleep over the days. Still, continuing to punch away at the stone, she finally got tired, after digging out a twenty foot deep tunnel with her bare fists. With that, she walked out; blood dripping endlessly from her shattered hand wounds.

Reaching the outside, she dropped, from extreme exhaustion. She had completed all of her weekly training except for a single necessity, that must be carried out in order to test how powerful she really had gotten. Turning around after falling against a tree like a worn-out klutz, she held her hands at the massive canyon that was at least seventy-five feet high, and contained minerals that were said to be able to withstand multiple energy blasts by the inch. With that, she channeled the remaining small amounts of chakra she had left and intensified the pressure inside of the tenketsu that rooted out to her palms, suddenly; an insanely large wave of pressurized wind generated from the concentration point from within her chest sliced through the grounds around her, creating a riveting shock-wave clap that echoed throughout the surrounded boundaries with supreme force, creating a large hole in at least thirty feet in all directions. The canyon however, was nearly annihilated. Obliterated to the highest point possible. Rocks began falling off and clashing into the ground, smashing the grounds below, creating a large dust cloud; water becoming corrupted by the falling dirt.

Tired, completely; while having a massive desire for water, she fell against the tree once more and began breathing heavily, looking up at the canyon that was destroyed completely. Smiling under the mask that bear the insignia of the Dark Sisters and Johogakure village which covered her mouth to her nose, and wrapped around her face. She laid her head back against the wooden bark of the tree, hardly satisfied by the display of power that she exercised during this entire week, though she hoped her mother would be proud of the results. She looked at the masses of the clouds, which were streaming with strange hues of oranges and reds of all kinds of pristine colors, reflecting from the sprayed water and sunlight granted by the God's from above.. She sighed.

A man wearing a white cloak that cover his face walked up behind her. He then stood over her and looked at the Canyon. "After all these years I left you to train by yourself and you do this. I wonder sometimes why I didnt just let you fall off the mountain." Voltaire said grinning as he looked at the Canyon. "Oh. Yeah, the hood covers my face - you don't even know who I am yet." He would then remove the hood. "Does this face ring a bell. Voltaire Uzugara, the former Hunter-Nin captain you fought long ago, back on your regiment when you were being trained by the ANBU Operatives." Voltaire said looking at her. He then noticed she aged and changed alot. She seems to hate him maybe for leaving her alone by herself to train and work on her own. "Eh...Sorry I never came to visit or look for you. You're not mad at me are you? If so I'll gladly leave."[i/] He says nonchalantly with a confused expression on his face. Voltaire then thought to himself wondering if what he just said was true that she turned all that the power he'd bestowed within her had formed into hatred. She didn't really have a social life after all. It was a life dedicated to training, and he knew this.

Looking up at the slightest little gesture of someone speaking, she was curious to find out who the mysterious man was as he spoke of a fight the two shared a long while ago, and being the Hunter-Captain who trained her to use the Water Encampment Pillar fighting style. After the man removed his hood she stood up and simply hugged him. Saying nothing at all, no tears shed, and there was no wind blowing. It was completely silent. It certainly was not hatred. It was more like sorrow. ".. Voltaire.." She whispered, as the wind began to blow gently, brushing her ocean dyed blue hair about. The dust cloud was gone now, for the most part, and the mountain that was crushed beneath the raw power of the young ninja could be clearly visible. A disastrous sight it was, certainly a deadly one. She buried her head into his chest and began to talk ever so lightly. "Where did you go.." Her voice was slightly broken, she had not cared about anything for so long she simply forgot how to be emotionless in a situation such as this. ".. You said after my mother died that you'd take care of me and help me kill those responsible.." A small teardrop fell from her eyes, and she began to tighten the grip around him.

The wind had stilled now. All of these mixed emotions gravely affected Xhesi it would seem, and she was both surprised and scared at what might happen if she began to let Voltaire take her under his wing again. She did however wonder what he may have planned to do to rectify the situation, since he was rather comely as he spoke. Still, nevertheless, she backed off and let her grip go, leaving the mans body completely. And as always, as she was trained, continued to display her signature intrepid and daunt personality. "Actually," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder "I've come to seek you out personally." Feeling him hug her sent an all too human chill up her spine that made her body quiver and shake with inner happiness. She was curious as to what Voltaire might have been talking about when he mentioned that he actually came in search of her. She sat down in front of him, and pulled him to the ground easily. He handed a scroll to her.

"What.. Is this?" She laughed lightly, remembering the scar that had previously cursed her face, she gently ran her hand across the place it had been in the past, remembering the way she got it all too clearly. Still, trying to mindlessly brush off the pain that beset a mysterious mist upon her past, in which she held many burdens, she masked it with a happy expression with the cheerful personality she placed over herself for her lover. Then, putting her hand back down and helping to elevate her body by holding her torso up from sitting, she began to put her curiosity into action. She smiled as he explained himself. "That scroll was given to me by your mother a long time ago, with instruction to give it to you when you become a Genin, or when you were prepared enough to handle such a jutsu." She looked at it. "Jutsu?" With that, she looked back over, and he was gone. Disappeared from the face of the canyon just as the dust went away.

It wouldn’t be before long until the pain set in. This was a consequence the young shinobi would be forced to accept as she grew accustomed to the strain the technique put on her muscles. Xhesi had been working out the technique for a few days now, yet she hadn’t got it down to a science quite yet. "Once more.” she whispered quietly to himself. The characteristic swishing sound ensued, her ankles flaring up suddenly and then shooting outward a couple of meters forward. The explosiveness was there, her timing impeccable; however there was one major problem. Whiplash. Xhesi’s legs would invariably move in one consistent direction, her neck in the opposite. Falling forward, the shinobi hit the ground running but not on her legs this time.

Over-extension of her neck would prove troublesome, and in the worst case scenario fatal. This was something she would have to compensate for, not being able to adapt would render the technique completely and utterly useless. Frustration ran rampant across the girls` brow, it was a damn shame. Punching the ground, a scowl formed on the corner of her lips. Letting forth a faint grunt, she picked herself up from the ground and continued about her training. “Again.” her vocal intonation lowered slightly, a sign of her growing displeasure. She grew tired. She wanted to go home, but couldn’t force herself to just walk away. She cursed her prideful nature, loosening her rigid shoulders as she attempted to perform the technique again.

She barked in agony, her legs started to cramp and would soon go limp entirely. The Akuma no Ketsueki girl struggled to get her knees as she writhed pitifully on the damp earth. It was a sad sight to behold, the shinobi more closely resembling a wet dog than a human at this point. Her remoteness would prove troublesome to be sure, she was certain there was no one around for miles. Damn her weakness and her choice of seclusion too for that matter. Grass. It was the last thing she felt before falling unconscious from the exhaustion. She was in luck though, for she would elude death yet.

Xhesi awoke sometime later, all signs pointing to morning. She was home, though she didn't necessarily remember, how or when she got there. She felt rather strange, her hands lay lanquid at her sides, tucked under the warm embrace of her quilt. Her hands moved, and pushed forward to sit herself up, sliding the blanket across her body all the while shifting her legs out from under it. Looking downward she noticed her legs were more or less healed completely. As she remembered it, her legs were a dull purple in hue, she could barely move them, but here she was, and there they were. She couldn't even fully describe the situation.. It was ambiguous at best, to be honest.

The sharp eyed shinobi was almost glad in a way, she could've died after all. "Note to self.. Train in more populated areas." She turned her legs toward the edge of the bed whilst she spoke, trying to feel out any possible discomfort she may still have. Xhesi noticed a faint soreness though it was more akin to minor muscle strains, nothing more. The Akuma no Ketsueki girl pushed herself from the bed, landing smoothly, and walking over to a nearby chair where her parcel and equipment lay. Xhesi got dressed, albeit rather slowly, her head pointed up towards the wall as she did so. The tiles were eggshell white in color of stucco texture. The drabness of the room didn't bother her as much as she thought, seldom did the thought of redecorating cross her mind; it only served her as a place of rest after all.

Once her dressing phase was complete, adorned in her new clothing that befit her childish and brown cardboard box-esque shape perfectly, she went across the hall and quickly made breakfast. The food had little taste as it swirled around in her mouth, battered about by her tongue. Taste ceased to exist long ago for the shinobi, it was like her room - only having one purpose. Xhesi finished her food rather quickly, placed her dishes into the sink, and stepped out of her apartment. As she crept down the stairs which led outside, she noticed a young girl in her late teens to early twenties sitting peculiarly on one of the steps outside of her building. She was beautiful to say the least, long black hair and extremely dark yellow eyes that pierced even the darkest of souls; and was a long time rival of Xhesi. Officer Takuna Kiuzima. She wore the village's BAU Police Force uniform, but without a mask. An enemy of her if there ever was one. This individual particularly enjoyed indulging on human emotion, and did everything in her power to pick apart someone mentally. This made her as unique as she was diverse. Xhesi always wondered why she'd been chosen to join the Behavioral Analysis Unit of Johogakure, nevertheless, as the extremely old vampire aged, she'd come to realize why everyone took the roles they'd been given. It was more than fate - it was destiny.

"I assume you're alright now." She spoke, letting loose a slight smile as she did so. Her Johogakure forehead protector lay prominently on where it should be, though slightly tilted to one side. She didn't look menacing, though you could never been too sure with kunoichi in the Land of Rain. They were all deadly. Look at Xhesi for example. "Why did you come after me, and why have you decided to confront me?" She bellowed, pulling out a kunai as she spoke. "Oh, so that is how you talk to someone who just saved your life? Ask a little nicer and I might just tell you!" She was toying with Xhesi. This angered her. "Answer me, you impudent worm.." She'd pettily comment. Her eyes lit up, she was seething. Xhesi simply spit on the ground. "Nevermind.. I have more important things to attend to - I don't have time to deal with the anguish of your presence." She'd bow, and leave.

After leaving the gates of her home village, she traveled for several hours without seeing a single person, it didn't bother her much as the young ninja had a tendency to phase out of the real world and day dream as she walked along a dusty road, every couple of minutes she would briefly return to the real world and check her surroundings. As she looked forward he started to notice the beginning of a forest, she was on the outskirts but noticed smoke rising from further in, being curious and slightly worried that one of her fellow ninja may be in trouble she decided to investigate...

The flag of the blade sailed behind her as she moved quickly through the trees, the dense woodland becoming more and more thick as she moved through it. The blade easily removed anything in her way, and the trail fanning behind her, setting everything on fire as it moved through all the things. The blade was held close enough to her body when she made it through the bush, aware that she was on soft soil now, aware that she was very close to the edge of Johogakure, it would not be long until she reached the ends of the forest, she could see someone in the way, a man, one who clearly did not know what he was getting in the way of. However, she could not just run him over, that would be too cruel, but she could not let the flying, fire-breathing beast get out of her sight either. Mixed emotions filled her.

"Please, get out of my way, I don't want to have to hurt you.

Her words would be highlighted by her weapon as she presented it forward, the trail of smoke which had followed the weapon following it upwards. The blade would burn brightly, the friction that consumed it enough to eat away at almost any object, human flesh included. The weapons size would be increased by the chakra, the four foot blade extended and extra one and a half feet, the entire thing consumed by a bright, almost white emanating glow. It was not so much an offer to the male, as a command, if he did not remove himself from her path, she would need to remove him for herself, since that creature in the sky would not wait. If anything, it would give her a chance to test her trapping skills, but she would rather remove this man from existence if he was not smart enough to do it himself.

Increasing the power of the chakra would increase the length of the trail that she could leave behind, which is what she had done as the raven haired male entered the clearing and stood in her way. The trail would be more than enough to set him alight, and only the most powerful of alloys would be able to stand its wrath if he was caught by the trail. Presently, her trail was not too powerful, extending a mere five meters behind the weapon, the temperance of which was well over the melting point of human skin and bone. To prove she was not exaggerating to the male, she would whip the sword to the side, unleashing a flash of chakra outwards, the trail following the path of the blade and moving towards him. However, she had stopped too far from him, and he would only feel the heat of the weapon for now, it was an example - a display of raw power, she did not want to have to kill him.

However, some people could only be cured by death, and while she was a firm believer in keeping the peace, she also believed that not all men stood for what was right. Some people were merciless, and tried to destroy all they could reach, and some wanted to watch the world burn around them. Those people were the kinds that would not listen to logic, the kinds of people she knew would fight just for the fun of fighting. Perhaps this male was that, or maybe he would move out of the way for her. She did not know, all she knew was that she was going to catch that god damned dragon even if she had to kill this guy. No one, not anyone in the world, was going to stop her from getting the winged beast as a companion, that was a promise.

Before the pale ninja could comprehend what was going on he heard a woman shouting at him, turning to her to see what was happening he was met with a powerful blow from what seemed to be a large sword made of blue metal, much like cobalt or azurite. Completely dumbstruck by what was going on, the man wasn't able to know whether the attack purposely missed or whether the crazed woman had missed in haste. His face almost burnt as the vibrating sword narrowly avoided him. The young kunoichi still approaching him, the shinobi was unsure whether she would attack him again or simply run him down.

Confused and slightly scared and still trying to understand what she had said before, was she threatening him or generally concerned, with little time to react the man thought the best idea would be simply to neutralize the threat, pacify her. Facing her he formed a chain of hand seals. Quickly and accurately, as he formed the last seal he slammed his hands into the ground. A bright blow semi-sphere surrounded him suddenly. Emitting a buzzing sound as the lightning chakra surrounded him. Instantly he forced the forcefield to suddenly expand rapidly.

Apparently the male refused to move, and now seemingly mad at her, began to perform hand seals. However, Xhesi would have none of it, she had not attacked the man directly, nor did she plan to still, but she would prevent him from doing something stupid. Moving rapidly as he performed his seals, she would move her sword to his throat before he had time to slam his hands on the ground, as if he did, his throat and head would be melted by the sheer heat. In fact, just being in such close proximity of the tip of the blade would practically sear his skin painfully, but he would certainly not be able to do anything about it. His technique, whatever it was going to be, was disrupted, and she once again found herself asking a question. As he spoke, "How did you pass my lightning barrier? Are you not a Water ninja yourself?!" Xhesi had but one simple and analytical answer. "I used my own chakra as a barrier to pass between the two veils of matter.. It isn't hard to invade someones space when they don't know what they're up against."

She would look into his eyes before preparing to strike him, execution style, prompting her to put her palm on the edge of her blade handle for a quick sweeping motion. "Do you really want to die?"

The dragon, at this moment in time would be a little further away, but she refused to give up on it. As she held the blade outwards, she gave a quick scan of the sky to see if it was still within sight. She had been catching up at one point, but now it was probably too late to do anything. Her eye twitched in annoyance, if he had indeed forced her to lose the trail of the great sky beast, she would indeed kill him. Such a grand creature would not be wasted. The vibration of her weapon was still fluttering in the air behind her after she had moved, the line of fire slicing everything as it floated by. The forest that had been burning behind her was either catching up now, or the destruction from her previous movement had managed to spark a flame. Either way, she would not be hurt by the tremendous attack, but this man would certainly not be as lucky.

The weapon had spawned the great tale of death with such intensity that as they had rose into the air, as warm air did, it had ignited the leaves and the trees of the canopy above, and now immolation was imminent. She would feel a little guilty about all this, but it was accidental. Mostly anyway. The flame trail had been something she had needed to master, and in doing so, if she set some forests on fire or destroyed some property, well, as long as no one was hurt, she would be fine with it. The male, if he made the wrong move, could face the possibility of sharing fates with the forest, being set alight by her weapon. Merely touching the blade with a flammable material would allow it to burn with such strength for such a long time. Although she possessed no ability for immortality yet, she understood that the weapon was still lethal.

Impractical for the most part, as she could not think of a situation where using the sword to create a streak of silver would be necessary. Then again, as this male had proven, people and surprises happened all the time, if by mastering every aspect of the blade she gave herself multiple paths of fighting, she would also create multiple ways of surviving. The searing metal waited for an answer, it was up to him, he could not escape her now, sure, she would allow a few steps back so he was not melted by the heat of the flames, but running away, or even attacking, not a chance, he would be dead before he could do anything of the sort. Smirking a little, she raised an eyebrow, right now even a quick movement would not help, as she would simply kill him before he had the chance to move, she had been around long enough to know the signs of a body before it forced itself to do those, even if she lacked the capabilities herself.

It had not been a good day for the young ninja, she now understood why leaving the village was such a big deal, starting with a simple stroll he found himself on his knee's with a chakra coated blade dangerously close to his face causing major discomfort and what he assumed to be the starting of some savage scarring; the forest around him was burning and he assumed that he would soon join it. He was still trying to piece together the last minute or so of his life. Several moments after he was rushed by an unknown little girl nearly a quarter of his size, she asked him a question. The fact that she asked such a question was more shocking then the whole event that had taken place. Although he rarely gets annoyed he was getting rather agitated at this point but he knew it would be for the best not to start shouting in the position he was in.

"Die? I was going for a stroll... Wondered why my countries forest was on fire and to finish things off when I went to investigate I had some half crazed blundering child charging at me with an ensconced tanto, and you think I wanted to die?"

Sweat began to pour off him, his breathing became heavier and the blistering was becoming more severe. Hoping that his innocent response was enough for the woman to at least draw the god forsaken sword away from his seemingly melting face. There was little moisture in the air as it had been obliterated by this girls rampage on the forest. Swallowing to try and clear his throat, the man, Morikana Obo, glanced up at the small girl and noticed that she was scanning the sky like she was looking for something.

Guilt saddled the girl, that was not supposed to happen, she was not supposed to be the bad person. No, she had mistaken the male, sighing, she lowered her sword, which still left behind a trail in the air, falling to the earth. This was dangerous stuff, and it was not supposed to end up with the loss of innocent lives. The blade to her side, she looked around the forest, the weapon had caused some serious destruction, the exploding tags she used alongside her fighting style from it alone enough to cause such destruction, she had not used any of her own skills. Akumahi Ken, the name of her tanto, using merely the supplementary abilities of the weapon she had ended a rather large section of earth with minimal chakra output and skill usage. And now she had forced an innocent into submission, this was not right.

As the world burned around her, she stumbled back, feeling horrible for her own actions, the devastation she caused was nothing compared to taking a life, she did not want that. He had been taking a fucking stroll for gods sake, and she had been so wrapped up in capturing the dragon that she had thought he was another fool in the way of trying to stop her. The vibrating blade in her hand felt calm again, as it always did. It was not the weapon, it did not thirst for blood, it was a kindred spirit of her own body, not calling for blood, merely for a good equal fight. What she had given it, was certainly not a fight, it was a disgrace to her own name and abilities, having sworn not to kill anyone who did not deserve it, and almost going out of her way to do such, simply because he had been walking through her direction and intercepted her course?

Although reasons for someone to walk through a forest that was on fire was minimal at most, but he was probably trying to discover the source of the flames and the core of the problem. Her. There was a loud crack to her right as a tree erupted into flames, the sap of it heating and exploding, shattering the wood from the tree causing an explosion of tree shards as the tree fell forward. It was going to land on their position, and, still feeling bad for trying to kill him, Xhesi would move to destroy it, her blade coming up, the searing steel meeting the wood of the tree, cauterizing it and easily sliding through the wood of the tree. Although massive and heavy, it would not be able to withstand such steel, never mind the weapons sharpness on top of the fact it was on fire. And for good measure, the trail of the flames burned the tree, her arm still extended in the air as the tree was cut over them.

The fire was spreading at a rapid rate, and things were getting fucked, if the tiny kunoichi did not escape the forest soon she would find this place to become her grave, and conversely his body would be cremated if that was the case. The genealogical qualities of the Akuma no Ketsueki DNA in her body allowed her to withstand such temperatures with such ease, but the beading of sweat on the males forehead was more than enough to tell her that he was struggling, and the fire from the tags probably had not helped. Arm still extended, the flames still arcing from the weapon as it cleaved through the tree, Xhesi stood poised as the two logs fell either side, a shocking display of dominance and power, both of herself and the sword. The fire would soon reach the point where he would die regardless of whether or not he could escape the flames, the heat would force him to pass out, and she did not care how guilty she felt, she would not carry him.

Looking up at the girl he didn't understand how she was coping with the heat and to be honest he was to occupied with trying to live, on his knees he felt an anger building inside of him, looking up at the woman he was growing more furious. He knew she wouldn't help him and why should she, it was survival of the fittest and in this case he surely wasn't the fittest and in fact was the equivalent of an obese kid running an uphill marathon in the middle of summer, having had no water to cure his exhaustion. It was pathetic and enraged her as to how someone so weak could be part of her village, despite him being triple her age in maturity and what she would assume was his military track record.

Refusing to go down with a fight he knew that his chances were slim but he had to try something. With little energy and chakra left he tried to reach into his pouch and slyly removed a kunai. taking a deep breath and taking a last look at the sky he attempted a last lunge at that woman who had forsaken his life from the moment he had met her.

As the tree fell around the, she was struck in her midsection by the male and his blade. Where a normal person could have or would have been fatally wounded by the kunai, she was just angered at his selfishness. As he collided with her body, she drew her elbow downwards, striking him in the back of the neck as they fell backwards, drawing the sword over, the chakra exertion being greater than ever, and plunged it through his back. The blood on the sword itself would be enough to poison him as it was, but the trail of the weapon would also bear itself upon his body as the chakra followed the sword, and he would be induced to even more painful rending. Brought upon himself, but he would die, burning from the inside and outside for his arrogance. He could have escaped her and could have very well saved her the blood on her hands. Now however, it was too late for her to do anything about it.

Ripping the headband from her body, she would spin in a circle, dragging the flames of the environment in a circle around them, this would be his ritual from her, he would be cremated, and that was enough for her. His death, while unnecessary, was done now, and there was nothing she could do about it. The blade had done its job, however, it sang a sorrowful tune at the death, having caused something that was not meant to happen, a crime against nature, an unworthy death. He had attacked, and she had defended herself, thats all there was to it, but she abhorred death without a point, as did her sword. As the forest fell around her she began to once more sprint, having tucked the males headband into her own pouch for later on, she needed to get back on the trail of that dragon, but it meant clearing to a place where there was no smoke, and now that the fire had engulfed everything there was little chance of that happening now.

Her sword still in her hand, she moved swiftly, cutting down any forestation before her as it moved in her path, the trees falling, apparently the bush was a lot larger than she had guessed, and the fact she was running for such a length of time made her wonder if the dragon had already escaped, but surely the fact that there was a gargantuan fire and smoke billowing from all directions, would the dragon not come to try and find what the source was? After all, creatures such as that were bore from fire, would they not be attracted to it? Well, it did not matter now, she had to keep moving so she could get to see it at least. Looking up, the canopy above her was smoldering, but she could get through it. Swinging her blade, she forced the flames to rise into the air, and they cut down some of the trees using the trail, which was more than enough to let her see the sky for a few seconds.

A dark shade swooped overhead, the Dragon was around here, apparently attracted by her destruction of everything here, but she could not see where it was through the fire and smoke, only that it was over the forest right now, meaning she was so close to her target now that her excitement was growing, and the swords too. A battle worth the blade, to fight a dragon, to face a creature of such an element, the same element as their own. Xhesi held the blade forward; also pulling her kunai out to slay the dragon as well, watching as the trail of flames followed. The weapon was growing stronger, she could feel it, and with a stronger weapon, the trainer got stronger when using it. She was so close now, mastery of the blade would soon be attained, and after that? Well, she would continue mastering it, it was her sword, she could do with it what she wished. Taking one final slash, she formed a line in the earth, ten meters in length, the vibration of the blade causing the earth before her to split and crack apart, similar to that of an earthquake or landslide.

The dragon would swoop down, his massive wings promptly pushing downward as he met the gaze of the young girl. It roared with a bellowing and outstanding amount of power; the low-pitched scream seeming to echo for miles around the forest, the intensity of the moment only being furthered by the whirlwind of fire and wind now consuming everything in sight. However, to her luck, the fire had prompted storm clouds to gather above-head due to the atmospheric change in temperature and pressure - and rain began to fall. Using this to her advantage, she quickly performed a single hand-seal, causing a mass of rain to suddenly and unexpectedly pour down from the clouds above-head. This would promptly douse the forest of its fiery demise rather quickly, and would also nullify the dragon's ability to produce more fire. The weight of its wings would disable it from flying as the water soaked them - and he'd land on the ground with a thud, a shock-wave of energy produced as his large talon-like claws slammed into the earth beneath him. The ground shook momentarily, but not enough for Xhesi's stance to falter. She raised her tanto toward the dragon in one hand, a simple kunai in the other, and lunged upward, using a channelization of her chakra toward her feet as a way to propel her high into the air. The dragon, having limited space to move or see its surroundings due to the size of its large head and small neck, lost track of her almost instantly.

As she came down, the tanto was forced downward straight into the vertebrae of the spinal cord and neck bones in the dragon. Forcing it downward, the dragon cried out but only for a moment as his spine was severed from the brain stem. He froze for but a moment, and down he went. She would then take her kunai, and remove about thirty scales from the gargantuan beast, as well as kick a few of his almost two foot teeth out, organizing them nicely in a knapsack-like travel bag she often carried around for occasions just as gathering materials or raw minerals for refinement back in Johogakure. With the deed finished, she allowed the dragon to rest in peace, and would stop channeling chakra for her Mist Rain technique. As the droplets ceased to fall, she'd then spend the next hour or so shoving brush underneath the dragon's body, using what remained of its bodily heat to dry them more efficiently. With that, she'd set it on fire. Cremation, a pure and humane way to dispose of an already soul departed carcass. Ashes filled the air, and it smelled much like brimstone from a chimney. With that, she left, drained - but proud of her accomplishments that day. She had initially anticipated capturing the beast and having it become her companion, but ultimately, he could not be swayed. She'd surely instead use the materials gathered to create a much more devastating weapon than even her tanto was. But this was a story for another day.