Lurking In The Dark ☤ Mission ☤ Private

This was a particularly special day for Xhesi - as it was a day she commonly referred to as 'the Culling'. This was a day of ritualistic, almost religious, celebration for vampirekind - where any and all vampires feed on individuals such as criminals, highwaymen or sometimes even the wrong people at the right place at the wrong time. She would shift her headband, its emblem baring a unique combination of a moon and Johogakure's village emblem; the top left and right corners of it being pointed upward similar to horns reaching about two inches in length. 


However, during Xhesi's hunt, she was intermittently derouted due to an ambush of about ten shinobi - she, herself, assuming these were ninja from a minor outlying country that held no practical political or diplomatic ties. They had likely just targeted Xhesi simply because of her rather innocent mien. She looked easy enough to fight from a distance, that is until she allowed the ring leader of the fools to approach her and get within arms reach. 


As he did so, his approach was impeded upon by Xhesi suddenly blitzing the ninja with a burst of speed, her leg moving with such blinding force that upon contact, her foot nearly broke the mans jaw in an instant, as he began falling to the ground with blood spewing uncontrollably from his mouth, Within moments the rest of his crew charged forth in an attempt to assist their now ego-bruised comrade. 


Situations like this are what Xhesi lived for - outnumbered but never out-gunned. In terms of raw firepower she was the pinnacle of the Akuma clans descendants, the first and last born of her kind and fully intended to show the fools the mistake of their choice. Their imaginative onslaught had begun - or so they thought.


From each direction in a unified triangular formation, the six potential invaders of Johogakure would assail. Using the first victim as a catalyst, she'd quickly barrel roll onto his back, removing two kunai from a leather sheath located on his lower right calf. She slid her fingers through their loops, quickly shuffling one into her left hand. 


Upon her completion of the roll and following through with a spin, Xhesi would propel the kunai from both hands simultaneously while also using the force generated by her roll to strengthen the overall speed of the thrown projectiles as they soared toward their intended targets, that being the middle ninja closing in on each side. 


As they both made it to the half way mark, about ten feet from Xhesi, the kunai would impact both in the direct center of their chest, the brawn of her power causing the tip of each blade to wedge itself into their solar plexai. The two both are seemingly knocked back nearly fifteen feet backward before dying a second thereafter. 


The faster of the remaining four shinobi throws a punch toward Xhesi's face, which at this point allowed her to have already returned to a standing position. She would bend her body slightly, and dip toward the left, catching the hand of her attacker while locking his elbow with her other hand, inverted by comparison to the direction of his humerus. 


With a quick twist upward, twisting his arm in unison, the motion swiftly shatters his lateral epicondyle, his arm essentially permanently useless if he were to have survived what was to come. Which he wouldn't, naturally. At this point another two shinobi would have made their way to a distance of around four feet from Xhesi, which was perfect striking distance for her. 


Using her superior physical strength, she flips the ninja around by his arm so he is then in front of her, the sudden twist causing Xhesi to inadvertently tear his arm off, forcing him into a kneeling position as he screamed out in pain. Using force created from the inertia of his much larger body, she would spin along the back of the kneeling fool, driving a bone cracking kick into the right temple of the second attacker, surprisingly only staggering the enemy and stunning him momentarily.


The third attacker jumps upward into the air from behind Xhesi - a broadsword aimed directly for her head. Her eyes quickly becoming fixated on the sound of his footpads as they left the ground, she now knows what to expect from this one. 


Xhesi would use her current position to uitlize her other free leg to thrust off of the chest of the now confounded ninja, sending her over the dead body of the first attacker and headed directly toward the final remaining attacker. The shinobi who had jumped would land, his already prepared blade lunging directly into the head of his comrade and killing him instantly.


As Xhesi self herself in motion, she would have reached behind her, grasping the chain of her manriki blade, a legendary vampiric artifact more formally recognized as the Arm of the First One. Her hand holding the chain tightly in its direct center, she would comcomitantly toss the remaining portion of the chain around the neck of the now landed ninja, her already moving body causing him to be jerked backward, snapping his neck as a result.


Xhesi would feel his lifeless body growing closer, hurling itself toward her. Kicking her feet forward and pivoting both feet at exactly fifty five degrees, she'd crouch down just enough to employ her lower body mass to stop herself in her tracks almost instantly; her height now also low enough to sending the now hurling target toward the last living ninja. 


To his surprise and shock, Xhesi could feel a certain degree of fear wash over the shinobi, as the inhibited corpse just barely skimmed the tip of Xhesi's hood. She would forcefully yank the chain backward, causing the corpse to violently and uncontrollably spin, also further increasing the speed of the body as it made contact with the fearful ninja. 


Knocking him back five or six feet, the corpse fell on top of him, preventing him from moving and rooting him in place. Xhesi would swing her arm around in a circular fashion above her head, the ninja now attempting to sit up and free himself of his befallen friend. The blade itself would then unlatch itself from Xhesi's back, using the attached chain to send it directly toward the stunned ninja. 


Looking up at the oncoming broadaxe, the sbinobi's eyes widened in sheer trepidation. Death loomed, and it closed in ever so quickly. Its cold embrace was a stranger to no creature of life. As the axe made contact, the singular cleave would decapitate the unfortunate ignoramous, sending his head well into the distance and causing his body to drop to the ground, his torso saturating the ground below in a pool of blood. The deed was done. 


With her assailants dispatched, she would efficiently wrap up, slinging her manriki axe back onto her back, the chain being quickly wound around Xhesi's left arm from beneath her robe sleeve. She would look around at her unexpected prey, scooping a small handful of blood into her hand and drinking it. It tasted like shit. She would then walk around the bodies, collecting dogtags or trying to discover some semblance of their origin.

W/C: 1200 + 103 = 1,303/400