Description: When safe ground is scarce and someone is liable to get severely burned, name a better place for a fight between three ninja-- Wait, two ninja and... Todoh? A shinobi from the Miyama clan investigating Mount Fuji goes missing, but Ryuhaku Todoh is there to take his place. Why? Because wouldn't YOU volunteer yourself if you could surf down the face of Mount Fuji on a rock that is slowly being disintegrated by molten lava, hitting girls with Kasane Ate? The Gaia Tournament organizers do not assume any responsibility for damages incurred during this match, so try not to fall in. (WINNER: Not Todoh)
People, come on. We have people about to fight around an erupting volcano. What more does anyone want for a descriptor? Flowery details about how impossibly hot it is, so life-threatening for a human being to even come near the flowing molten rock? Run down the thesaurus for ash, dust, and the color gray? Reiterate the colossal environmental, social, political, and economical ramifications as it may tie into the mysterious motives behind the Gaia Tournament? Play that awesome stage theme from Street Fighter IV?
It's an erupting volcano. What more is there to be said...?!
...
...
...
Moving on, then...
The air is thick with soot and smoke as Ibuki makes her way up the side of the ancient mountain, hundreds of years of pent up elemental fury belching into the sky in a near constant deluge of molten rock. The ash from the burning plants and trees on the once lush mountaintop have nearly blotted out the entirity of the sky leaving only the dull ominous glow of the meadering lava streams to light her way towards the summit. She had thought to take to the tree-tops as was often the fastest mode of travel but the rain of fire from above quickly curtailed any such thoughts, forcing her to take refuge beneath what remains of the leafy boughs of the forest. Instead, she works her way back and forth through the switch-back trails that lead up the side of the once serene landscape, some covered with freshly laid stones and even concrete in a few places, while others are almost as old as the monasteries and temples that dot the mountain's surface.
The heat is opressive, assaulting her from all sides and she can feel it sapping at her strength, adding yet another layer of urgency to her mission. Of all the people she had expected to be sent to rescue, one of the infamous Miyama clan members was not on her list. Her last encounter with one of their number had not ended amicably and even now she can feel the slight twinge in the muscles of her shoulder from a wound not fully healed.
To make matters worse, she has no idea where to even start looking for this missing ninja. His mission, his face, his location upon vanishing - she doesn't know any of it. Considering the circumstances, it will be a miracle if she even finds the guy, much less manages to bring him back alive.
Ibuki pauses for a moment, clenching her fists and shaking her head. "No, I have to be positive. Even if the guy is probably a creep like that other jerk... no one deserves to buy it in a place like this." Wiping the sweat from her brow, she glances around and then hops to the top of the nearest tree, braving the drizzling rain of scorching ash briefly to get her bearings.
Mount Fuji is a place that Maki has visited at least once, albeit for the purpose of visiting it. Not for taking part in a search and rescue type of thing. But that will all change today as she hunts for a missing ninja on Mt. Fuji, albeit with a bit of a hot atmosphere to it. This almost feels like a new type of method of testing her patience and resolve, but sometimes it's just one of those things you have to do.
Unlike Ibuki, Maki has remained on foot, using her tonfa to get things out of her way as she tries to look for any signs of life or movement. She pauses a moment to wipe some sweat off her forehead before continuing, her eyes darting from side to side occasionally as she thinks she hears something, but usually it's just the wind or rain.
The air is thick with heat, ash, and emotion. These are truly dire circumstances, indeed, to see even the youngest and most able kunoichi go on a mission that could see to a bright, fiery, sudden end at any given moment.
"WHICH ONE OF YOU'S DOING IT?!" A voice manages to shout over the devastation that runs down the great mountain that is Japan's pride. The sanctity of the once dormant volcano, already violated by the eruption without warning or pretense, once again suffers a loud, explosive event that is...
The ashes part way as a shadowy figure lands on a rock that, well, rocks upon his weight hitting the tip of it. It should put into light just how precarious the position is, how perilous their situation...
"YOU!" The figure points indiscriminately towards either of the ladies present. "WHICH ONE OF YOU IS SMOKING?!"
...It also puts into light how petty some people are before true catastrophe, as the ash clears to reveal the figure of Ryuhaku Todoh, whom fans himself as though he were enjoying a nice summer day and not about to burn half to death from heat and die from dehydration from the other half of potential death.
It may just be an achievement in sheer ignorance, his eyes narrowed as though he were taking this accusation with utmost sincerity.
"Someone will answer for this!"
COMBATSYS: Todoh has started a fight here in the center.
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
Ibuki squints against the sudden surge of heat as her head breaks through the top of the canopy, lifting an arm to shield her face from the harsh climate. Peering through one half-open eye, she swivels her head about, looking for any signs of unusual activity, a marker perhaps left behind to signal to other ninja where the missing clanman had passed by, but all that greets her gaze is smoke and fire.
"Oh man, this is even worse than the TV reporter lady said. The whole mountain is on FIRE! How the heck am I supposed to find anyone in this place?!"
Dropping back to the relative safety of the path, Ibuki continues onwards despite her quickly sinking spirits and a nagging voice in the back of her mind that is warning her that sticking around might not be the best ideas for her /own/ safety. But she can't turn back, not yet; not without trying her best. Being a ninja doesn't mean getting the easy jobs - this one just happens to be a bad day at the office.
Conserving her stamina, the young kunoichi continues up the trails until her path is blocked by a swath of raw seething lava. Dribbling down the mountainside like blood from a fresh wound, it completely cuts off her way forward and the prospect of trying to leap frog over the handful of boulders that jut up from the meandering flow don't appeal to her at /all/.
"Ugh, what do I do now...? Maybe I can find some way ar--eek?!"
The relative silence of the area is sliced apart without any warning as a voice explodes from the cloud of ash as if the spirit of the mountain itself had come forth to challenge her. Ibuki instinctively drops into a combat stance, a kunai seeming to appear in her hand as if by magic. Her arm pauses halfway through the motion of tossing it towards the first thing that moves but she manages to catch herself when the speaker reveals themselves to be some old man.
Almost immediately her attitude shifts from surprise to anger in the way a person does when they realize that the source of their fear is something inconsequential. She stomps a foot on the stone path and glares up at Todoh, fists clenching at her sides.
"Damnit, old man! What are you doing jumping out at people like that?! Can't you see that the mountain is erupting? Everyone was supposed to be evacuated!"
At first, Maki can't believe her ears. Is someone really talking or is she just hearing things? Then Todoh speaks again, and that's when Maki realizes she's definitely not hallucinating. But in a situation like this, she's definitely not in the mood for what she considers a stupid question, since anyone could see that it was the volcano that was smoking. Maki scowls and puts her hands on her hips, glaring towards Todoh with a glare that could pierce ears if it were a blade.
"Are you stupid or something? That's the volcano smoking! What kind of idiotic question was that anyway?!" A pause as something occurs to Maki, as she then adds, "Wait a minute, just what the hell are YOU doing here?!" Maki points her tonfa at Todoh. "If you're behind this whole thing, then you've got a lot of explaining to do!"
"Pah! Eruption! From Mt. Fuji?! Good one, goooood oooooone," Todoh hisses, unamused, as he leans forward, one hand on his knee as he aggressively continues to fan himself. Maybe he actually is aware of the heat?
"I'll tell YOU what's goin' on!" He points with the hand previously on his knee. "SOMEONE is SMOKING! There is SMOKE all over my dojo! I have a poster that says, clear as day! In at least two hundred different languages! SO! THERE! IS! NO! MISTAKE!!"
He huffs, unintimidated by the screaming women, or the fact he's standing so precariously to the edge of a rock where flowing lava awaits. "NOOOO SMOOOOOKIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGG!!!"
"They're drivin' all my students away, that's what's goin' on! And I so here that someone is missing... PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER YOU TWO-BIT TARTS!!" He yells at the top of his lungs, somehow able to maintain volume even with the low comparative intake of oxygen versus... things you don't want in your lungs. Or your worst enemy's lungs, really. It's nasty business, here on the erupting Mt. Fuji.
"And since YOU TWO are the only ones I can find, it's one of you! Smokin'! Chewing smoke BBQ tobacco or something! DON'T THINK I'M NOT ON THE UP AND UP WITH THAT!" He scowls, fan disappearing inside his top as he holds his arms outward in that stance of his, legs spread apart. "It's a bad habit! Ryuhaku Todoh is the paragon of good health and life decisions and he will PUT OUT THE CIGARETTES TO HIS SATISFACTION!!"
COMBATSYS: Ibuki has joined the fight here.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-------|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Maki has joined the fight here.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
Ibuki makes a face that is hidden underneath her mask but her disgust is quite clear in her voice as she makes a choking sound at the old man's suggestion she might smoke - or worse - /chew/ tobacco.
"Ugh! Man, that is gross! Barbecue tobacco? Is that even a real thing?! You just made that up, didn't you!" She crosses her arms and frowns, brow furrowing over her squinting eyes in the dim light. "Look here, geezer, it would take the ENTIRE POPULATION of Tokyo smoking at once to get this kind of cloud in the air! Even if I did - blegh! - smoke, you can't pin this on me or... that lady over there? Why are there so many people on this burning pile of death?!"
Quickly coming to the conclusion that the old man is insane, his apparent lack of connection to reality combined with his stomping around above a pit of lava not really doing much to vouch for his sanity, Ibuki is also beset by the sudden urge to make sure the old guy doesn't hurt himself. He might be an escaped mental patient or something, who knows.
"Uh, look here old-timer, you need to be careful! That rock looks pretty shaky - stay right there and I'll come get you down!"
Ignoring Maki for the moment, since she's on solid ground atleast, the small ninja girl turns and takes a running leap across the chasm, easily clearing the dozen or so feet onto the edge of the outcropping. She lands in a crouch, tilting her head to peer back at the oozing stream of molten rock and swallowing hard.
"R-right, so let's get you down..."
"YOU are a paragon of good health?" Maki shouts with disbelief. "You, my friend, are more loopy than the patients in the mental ward at Metro General Hospital! And even then, I doubt they'd want to deal with the likes of YOU!" Maki too ignores Ibuki for the time being, realizing that this is more important... at least for now anyway. "So it looks like what we're gonna have to do is take you down this mountain personally!"
Taking a few steps back, Maki gets a running start, then executes a direct flying kick to get her across the chasm, landing with a slight skid. "Whatever you've got up your sleeves won't necessarily be enough to save you, buddy!" Maki warns fiercely.
"IT IS SO A REAL THING!" Todoh screams as he walks forward on his rock platform, chancing a fatal tumble with every step. It's like he doesn't care. Where Maki and Ibuki are pictures of amazing agility and awareness of their surroundings - as they had better be, in such an environment! - Ryuhaku just seems to take this like he would if he were angrily storming through some shopping center, or restaurant, or the neighbors' yard, even as embers threaten to singe his moustache.
"Take ME down the what now?!" Oh great, now he probably didn't hear them clearly. "I can't hear you over all the HOT AIR COMING FROM YOUR MOUTH-FILLED CIGARETTES," he froths as he keenly steps up across a staircase-like ascent from breaking rocks that align perfectly.
A formation anyone else of proper ability would just jump up to the top from, as it is so risky. Each platform sinks into the lava just as he steps across them. He does not appear to comprehend how close he is to his own death just from stubbornness - or how badly his heels are probably burned for the effort, as he comes up to the two of them.
"Oh, right! Genryuusai girl," he suddenly takes a more even tone of voice, "I nearly forgot. You see, I've been carrying something for you since that /last one/."
That last what?
Suddenly his hands are a blur as a long, thin, brown thing with a shiny end to it is snapped forward at her - a belt. A decent leather belt with a chrome buckle, that he has suddenly decided out of the blue to snap at her with.
In the middle of a death-spewing volcanic eruption, of all things, of all circumstances... he tries to slap Maki with a belt.
Again.
After so many years have passed.
He never lets anything go, does he?
Ibuki's head whips around as the other woman follows her across the lava stream, landing on the opposite side of the platform only a few moments later. "Woah." As if seeing her for the first time, the teenager peers at Maki with a mixture of unexpected surprise and respect.
"Hey, that was actually pretty cool! Are you by chance a -"
Oh, right, crazy old man.
The kunoichi boggles at the sheer insanity of Todoh's words and antics, her eyes actually going wide as dinner plates when he /walks up a staircase of rocks floating in lava/, each step defying the laws of probability by his continued survival. She doesn't think even her masters would try something that crazy!
And now he's attacking that other lady! And... he's actually pretty fast. Taken aback again, Ibuki's honed ninja instincts kick in properly this time and she lurches into action in a flash, diving towards Todoh to try and swat the belt from his hand.
"Hey, be careful! This isn't the place to be playing games!"
COMBATSYS: Todoh successfully hits Maki with Small Random Weapon.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
Todoh has now proven to truly be more insane than even Maki thought. He's trying to whip her with a belt. In the middle of a volcanic eruption no less. All while they're trying to survive on rocks that are slowly melting away. It could be Todoh's age, or it could be the heat getting to him. Because it seems to have definitely gotten to Maki, who finds herself forgetting what she's up against, and attempting to dodge the belt, but finding she's on a rock makes it impossible to move the way she normally does.
A brief yelp can be heard as the leather strikes Maki. She winces a little at the hit, but seems to shake it off, although she definitely seems a little more angrier than she was before. "We're in the middle of a volcanic eruption and all you care about is your stupid fantasies about whipping me or something stupid like that?!" Maki twirls her tonfa a few times. "If that's how you want to play, then I'll oblige you!" She tries to adjust herself carefully as she goes in for a strike against Todoh, hoping to prove her point with her tonfa.
COMBATSYS: Ibuki successfully hits Todoh with Quick Throw.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Todoh with Medium Strike.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|----===
Somewhere in the middle of his act of sheer years-long spite, Ryuhaku seems ignorant to the fact that he is in the company of two highly capable young women who have just vaulted across precarious footing, narrowly escaping from sinking rocks with their lives. No, he is far too absorbed in his matters of... someone enjoying a great smoke... and slapping Maki with a belt.
The joy of slapping Maki with a belt as though scratching a year-long itch is extremely short-lived as Ibuki swats the belt into the lava, where it shall join the molten rock, its year-long wait to fulfill its purpose over, and nothing left to exist for. Ryuhaku stumbles right into Maki's tonfa blow, winding him as he falls onto his seat on a rock that rocks violently just from him hitting it so.
"STUPID FANTASIES?! You had that belting coming and you KNOW IT," he growls out as he wheezes himself back up to a steady stand, coughing once as though acknowledging the non-breathable matter in the sweltering heat. "And YOU!"
He spins about-face to Ibuki, pointing an accusatory finger. "YOU are playing games with me! I'll choke those cigarettes right out! You just watch!"
That is when he attempts to heft her up by her outfit and slam her into the roc-- oh dear god no, is he trying to get everyone here killed? If he manages to slam her into that rock with enough force when it's already unsteady, then...
What the hell is wrong with this man?
COMBATSYS: Ibuki blocks Todoh's Bodyslam.
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Ibuki 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|---====
The ninja whaps the belt free of the old man's grasp, sending it to a firey doom, but not before it gets a piece of Maki. Ibuki winces in sympathy but there's more important matters at hand - like the fact that Todoh is trying to body slam her into the rock?!
"I told you already, I don't smo- erk?!"
Once again, his speed surprises her and she just barely manages to get a solid grip on his arm as she goes up and over, reducing the potentially bone-shattering impact to a dull thud. Silently, she gives thanks to all the times she got knocked off the bamboo poles and fell flat on her back twenty feet below during training because those experiences might just well have saved her life as hitting the rough surface of the rock reminds her just how soft dirt is.
Unfortunately, while her acrobatics might have softened the damage of the impact on her body, it doesn't do much for the rock's predicament. Before she can even open her mouth to shout at the old man, a dull groan fills the air followed swiftly by a sharp and ominous crack. Ibuki blinks twice, her mind refusing to accept that sound as reality for a few short fractions of a second, and then her face twists into an expression of sheer panic as the rock slowly dips down towards the lava.
"This can't be happeniiiing!"
Oh but it can. Though the fall is only a dozen feet or so from the rock's precarious perch to the surface of the molten river, the sheer weight of the object causes it to dip downwards as if it were an overloaded barge, very nearly dropping completely beneath the surface of the lava. By some miracle, however, it rebounds before they are all treated to an untimely demise and bobs like a cork on the surface before finally settling.
One crisis averted, Ibuki shifts into action yet again, intent on putting the threat of this crazy old geezer out of comission before he can get them all killed. Rolling her knees up into her chest, the girl kicks out twice, driving her heels towards Todoh's chest before flipping backwards - carefully - onto her feet.
"Hey," she says, glancing at Maki. "We gotta put this guy down quick and get outta here! Getting a flaming mud facial is /not/ on my agenda today!"
Normally, Ibuki might have been a rival to Maki in a situation like this. But when they're dealing with a crazy guy on an erupting volcano, it's a bit different. She watches as Ibuki hits first, then Maki comes in with her tonfa to add extra damage. Unfortunately, all this seems to do is increase the intensity of the craziness from Todoh. She watches with disbelief as Todoh keeps up with his attacks, not relenting once. When Ibuki calls out to her, Maki nods, a sneer forming on her face as she does so.
"If I want a hot bath, I'll do it at the spa!" Maki replies to Ibuki, before turning to face Todoh. "And as for you, the only thing smoking is your brain, since it's obviously all burned out from the nonsense you're spewing!" She attempts to leap at Todoh and plant her shoe into him before leaping back.
COMBATSYS: Ibuki successfully hits Todoh with Tobizaru.
- Power hit! -
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Ibuki 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Todoh with Light Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Ibuki 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 0|-------|=======
"QUIT SHARING SMOKES WITH ONE ANOTHER!" Todoh protests as he sways to and fro to maintain his footing when the rock threatens to dip itself fully into the lava stream, fist shaking as the two young ladies decide on what is the only truly reasonable course of action to see the three of them walk out alive (if not completely unscathed or dehydrated).
"So what you two are SAYING is that the spa is your supplier, eh?!" He accuses as Ibuki kicks him in the chest twice, which he will take as a 'yes' as he utters something in pain as he staggers backwards, towards the very tip, arms waving around to try and maintain balance...
As Maki proceeds to kick him right off.
"AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEGGGHH!" The crazy old man disappears from sight, but there's the sound of at least some kind of physical feedback, some sort of landing on something solid, as a smaller rock holding his prone form drifts by, quickly out of sigh--
"HEEYAH!" There is a sudden yell. Also, lights.
"HEEYAH! HEEYAH! HEEYAH!" Facing away from the two of them, he swats down waves of blocky yellowish-orange energy as though an oar, propelling himself after the two of them with every exertion of his power.
"I AM THE ASHTRAY! I MAY ALSO BE THE WALRUS!" Ryuhaku yells out. "AND WALRUSES... DON'T... SMOOOOOKE!!" This is the worst war cry ever as he brings his hands up as he barely passes by Maki - who is to his place of standing, closer to her - as he swings his arms down, attempting to bring the yellowish-orangeish wave of three-segmented chi down upon her and, inevitably, probably slam out another piece of rock in the process.
"Wh- hey!" Ibuki takes a step foward, one hand lifting in an ultimately futile gesture as the old man goes, from her point of view, flying off their rocky barge and into the haze of heat and smoke. "I didn't mean /kill him/!"
The girl slumps, too exausted and sweaty to be angry at this point. She really wanted to save that old guy, atleast then she might have /something/ to show for this whole mess. That Miyama ninja is dead and if he isn't, he's on his own. No way she's risking her neck for some assassin.
"Well, I guess there's nothing to do about it now... I guess we should... huh?!"
Todoh's voice blasts through the bubbling of the magma and the deep rumbling of the mountain itself causing her to whirl about in place. She is treated to the sight of an old man rowing himself in lava with blasts of chi. She mentally crosses another item off the list of things she's never seen before, which gets smaller by the day; ninja have to deal with so much /weirdness/.
She's not about to let the crazy old coot destroy their life raft with is antics though. A hint of metal flashes in her hands as she flicks her wrist, sending a large wedge-shaped dagger flying through the air. Not at Todoh, himself, but at the edge of the the rock-boat, dislodging a fist-sized chunk of stone that propels sideways into his face.
COMBATSYS: Todoh successfully hits Maki with Kasane Ate.
?!? Weird Hit! ?!?
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Ibuki 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|------=|=======
As Maki rebounds back onto her rock, she is surprised to see that Todoh is still going strong. In fact, he seems to be fueled by the heat, and is also using the volcanic eruption to his advantage in some ways. While poor Maki is sweating heavily by the moment, wishing she'd brought a bottle of water with her, only to then realize that the heat would probably evaporate it before she could even get a single drink in. Of course, her thoughts are interrupted by the sight of Todoh sending forth his chi power, and Maki doesn't like the sight of it one bit.
Knowing there's nowhere to run to, Maki simply does the best to brace for the impact... but it's no use. In the end, Maki winds up getting hit by the energy and staggers around a little, almost falling off of the rock into that hot lava. Thankfully, she quickly recovers, saving her from what would be quite the hot foot. "I can't believe this is happening to me!" Maki says with a scowl, then looking to Todoh. "I really wish you'd just shut up already," Maki yells as she attempts to move as close to Todoh as she can. "If not, then I'm gonna have to do THIS!" Maki then somehow manages to drop onto her tonfa and spin around like a human whirlwind! "Get outta here already!"
COMBATSYS: Ibuki successfully hits Todoh with Thrown Object.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|-----==|=======
COMBATSYS: Todoh dodges Maki's Bushin Senpuu Kyaku.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|-----==|=======
Todoh doesn't see the neat rebound trick with the kunai slicing a piece of rock into his face coming. It's hard to figure out what he can see coming beyond his own hubris, insanity, and highly militant stance against what he truly assumes to be someone smoking all the way up from Mt. Fuji as opposed to a volcanic eruption.
Sometimes, there are no words. Well, in this case there's words like 'ouch,' or 'argh,' or 'dammit,' as blood drips from his forehead from the tiny chunk of rock, at which point he points away to rub his head, barely facing Maki...
And leaps straight upward, just missing her kick as the rock the other two girls are on drift underneath where he lands, once again going into a fighting stance even after so many kicks to the chest, a near-brush with death (again), and a solid piece of super hot rock to the head. Heck, that bleeding wound looks like it just suffered a good ol' burn.
"Ladies, ladies, ladies," he speaks much more softly, "we can be reasonable about this. Much, much more reasonable about this. Smoking is bad for your health!"
Okay, that's reasonable.
"It is expensive and a waste of money for poisoning you!"
This is also largely reasonable.
"PISSING ME OFF IS EVEN WORSE!" He suddenly screams, shaking a fist as he moves forth to try and grab Ibuki by the throat, stepping foot on the rock hard enough that it jeopardizes everyone's lives again just to draw back his fist and fling it at her face. "NOW SPIT IT ALL OUT OR I'LL PUT YOU OUT!!"
Two out of three reasonable statements isn't bad by Todoh standards, but it's hard to call it... good.
COMBATSYS: Ibuki dodges Todoh's Strangling FACEPUNCH.
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Ibuki 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|------=|=======
"Oh... whoops. Forgot that rock was probably gonna be hot, huh? My bad..."
The young ninja sheepishly rubs the back of her head as Todoh unceremoniously relocates himself to their rock once again. Even as the rock teeters like a see-saw under his weight, Ibuki merely leans a little, balancing easily on the tips of her feet until it settles back into place.
Todoh's suddenly reassuring tone causes her to pause and she listens quietly, nodding in agreement to his mostly reasonable statements.
"That's true, it is definately bad for your health."
Expensive waste of money? For sure! Cute cloths are a way better investment. Two for two. "Right again, old man."
She peers at him with genuine youthful charm, waiting for his final piece of wisdom, perhaps hoping that whatever bout of madness had claimed him will be dispelled by the third incantation of reasonable advice.
Alas, it is not to be.
Todoh's sudden enraged cry causes the girl to take an involuntary step backwards and it is this instictive reaction that just barely slips her out of reach of his grasping hands. She drops to a crouch, ducking underneath the extremely obvious follow-up punch, which puts her in a pretty good position to try and put him out of commission.
"I have had about enough of you, old man!"
Half-rising to her feet, Ibuki spins in place as her foot lashes out, not once, not twice, but three times in the blink of an eye. Blue crescents of spiritual energy streak through the air around her leg, carving huge swaths through the space that Todoh's torso currently occupies but the final strike comes in low as she attempts to sweep his legs out which might give herself or the other lady a chance to pin him down so they can get the heck out of here.
In this case, Maki seems to hit nothing but the hot air around her as she spins around, resulting in her quickly rebounding out of the way of a possible incoming attack. But none comes, instead Todoh seems to want to go after Ibuki, who will have none of Todoh's nonsense either. She watches as Ibuki manages to avoid being caught by Todoh, and can only shake her head while wiping her forehead at the same time. "I don't know what's burning me up more, this lava or this joker," Maki comments sarcastically to Ibuki. When she sees Ibuki go in for the takedown, that gives Maki an idea.
"Try to get him down! I'll add a little insult to injury!" She yells, attempting to utilize her tonfa to strike Todoh while he's down to prove her point of just how crazy he is, as well as how insane he's driven Maki!
COMBATSYS: Ibuki successfully hits Todoh with Tsumuji.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|----===|=======
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Todoh with Medium Strike.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|--=====|=======
One, two, three, the chi-laced horizontal kicks dig into the crazed anti-smoking man's chest, each one eliciting an exaggerated pose in pain as he twists and turns in their grasp, standing on one foot after the third, which is perfect for sweeping him right off his feet.
The rock shudders under the weight and speed of which his body collapses upon it, face-first, as Maki beats him in the back while he's down.
For a while, he is quiet.
The only obnoxious hiss to be had are hisses of air pressure trying to break free from whatever activity motivates Mt. Fuji to be an active volcano, and the two young ladies might be able to have themselves a break at last to continue their mission, aside from whatever babysitting is necessary to stop the old man from falling into the lava if he's so inclined--
And then suddenly a SECOND belt is snapped at Maki from his prone position, face-down.
Seriously?
"Pbbbt," he blows raspberries, somehow, while face down.
Even at a time like this, even in this shape, childish petty grudges...
Ibuki slowly rises to her feet as Maki lays the smack down on the prone old man, letting out an elongated sigh when he finally stops moving. Suddenly, now that her attention isn't being diverted to keeping a crazed senior citizen from getting them all killed, the heat becomes omnipresent in her senses once again and she almost seems to wither on the spot.
"Ugh, we really need to leave. I don't think I can keep this up much longer."
And then Todoh Strikes Back.
The kunoichi just peers down at him, lacking even the energy to be surprised at this point. Still, she manages to muster enough to be annoyed.
"You know what?! Just... UGH!"
The girl reaches down and grabs the spiteful old man by the back of his uniform and heaves, trying to hurl him right off the rock and onto the far shore. Atleast over there she won't have to worry about imminent immolation.
COMBATSYS: Maki blocks Todoh's Small Random Weapon EX.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|--=====|=======
"The belt AGAIN?!" Maki says with a fiercer scowl than before. "Ugh, I told you to keep your stupid fantasies to yourself, old man!" Maki uses her free hand to swat the belt away, feeling a slight sting on her hand from where the belt barely hit her (but hit her all the same,) and then clenches that hand into a fist. She looks to Ibuki and says, "He's not gonna let us leave until we finish him. So let's make this quick, shall we?"
Ibuki then tries to go for Todoh and throw him, and an evil grin forms on Maki's face. She waits to see if Ibuki can succeed with her throw, and whether or not it connects is irrelevant, since Maki's going to hit him with as much force as he generally did with that belt. This should leave a good sting.
COMBATSYS: Todoh dodges Ibuki's Power Throw.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Maki
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Todoh 1|--=====|=======
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Todoh with Genkou.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Maki
[ ||| ]
Todoh 1|=======|=======
Ryuhaku giggles childishly from where he rests, as though this were suddenly a thing of great satisfaction and happiness to him (because, well, he's Todoh), even as that second belt flies out of his hand and into a fiery end.
Even as touching that hot rock scalds his face, especially given that open wound... he must be oddly comfortable, or at least tolerant, of some of the extremes of Earth's forces. Chi specialists usually are that sort of thing, after all - it is the very breath of the world they draw upon.
As Ibuki hoists the man up, he suddenly kicks his feet out and just rolls himself right out of her hold, bringing his weight dangerously on the edge of the rock platform they're on. How many times has he done this? It has to be intentional, at this point, that or he's...
"I know! Ugh! Stop the smokin--" Just as he lectures Ibuki's frustration, Maki pops him one just as the edge of the rock pops up, giving him just enough clearance...
Barely...
To fly on over to the far shore, after a moment of his tongue lolling out comically from taking it right to the face at that exact point of impact. He soars like some kind of suicidal bird trying to catch an awesome tan from the heat of the hot lava below just so they can look that much more awesome on the dinner table.
A bruised, battered, nearly breathless Ryuhaku Todoh groans and rolls about the far shore, where he is - comparatively speaking - safe from the continued rock lava voyage the other two girls are on.
"Y-you haven't heard the last of me!" He wheezes, as his voice grows steadily distant, pumping a fist in the air and ranting and raving. "I'll find all you... you smokers! I'll disprove global cooling to the... the greater superstitious community! I'll win the hide-and-seek competition in Paris! I'll... do something clever involving the weather in Metro that's really funny and outlandish and not at all reasonable to state!!"
...
He huffs as he kicks a hot rock into the lava, starting to shout more nonsense that is best left unheard - it's not easy to, now that he's so far away from them.
Unfortunately for all involved, he'll be okay on his own.
COMBATSYS: Todoh takes no action.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Maki
COMBATSYS: Todoh can no longer fight.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Maki
The small ninja, who might as well be a puddle of sweat with legs right about now, just watches passively as the old man rants and raves his way into the distance. When he is finally gone and out of ear shot, she turns around slowly and sighs yet again, shoulders slumping heavily.
"This has got to be the strangest day of my entire life."
Ofcourse, it isn't over entirely, not yet atleast. There is still the matter of the missing ninja and this strange woman who looks suspiciously ninja-like. Her attitude during the whole fight was pretty reckless and dismissive of the safety of everone involved which makes it a good chance she's the person she came here to find. That would just figure.
Ibuki peers at the blonde brawler through the haze of smoke and sweat, trying to come up with something clever to say, but with her brain halfway boiled all she can manage is, "So are you one of those Miyama jerks?"
With a sneer as Todoh goes flying and is no longer a part of the fight, Maki now turns her attention to Ibuki. The name Miyama is familiar, as that's who apparently went missing here. The word 'jerk' might set some people off, but not Maki. She knows they're both looking for the same person and she has no relation to them so it makes little difference to her in that regard. "No, I'm not. I'm Maki Genryuusai, and I'm here to find a missing ninja. That is, until that joker showed up and made our lives a living hell." She stops briefly to wipe something off of her tonfa.
"From the sound of things," Maki continues after a moment, "You must not get along with them very well. I don't know them at all, so I can assure you I'm not with them." She then wipes her forehead again. "But frankly, I think we should just get out of here before we're baked alive!"
Huh, well that was unexpected. Seems the foreigner is a lot more reasonable when she isn't being provoked. Must have a short temper. Ibuki files that little tidbit away in the odd case they ever met again.
"I'm toootally one hundred percent on board with getting out of this place."
Without further discussion on the topic, the kunoichi turns and takes a short running leap, flying across the gap between their makeshift raft and the far shore in a graceful arc. Even being practically worn out from the heat, Ibuki manages to make feats of acrobatic daring look easy. That is until she hits the ground, crumpling into a rough forward tumble that ends with her lying stretched out on her back several feet beyond the edge of the lava river.
"Ow ow ow! I... I think I singed my butt."
After Ibuki makes the leap, Maki demonstrates her horizontal flying kick again to get herself across the gap. She lands and rolls a few times, before landing in a slightly contorted position. "Ow," Maki mutters as she gets up and dusts herself off, looking at her left leg. "I think I twisted my ankle on that one," She mutters, before looking over to where Ibuki is and then walks over to check on her, trying to avoid putting pressure on her bad leg.
"You OK?" Maki asks, reaching down to help Ibuki up. "If you burned your butt, I sympathize. Getting hit there is painful enough, as is getting burned, but mix the two together?" Maki winces and looks away, gritting her teeth and sneering. Then she takes a deep breath and blows it out. "Well, we're safe now I guess."
Ibuki would have been quite happy to just lie here on the ground for a while, not moving and stuff, but then that other lady just had to go and ruin that by being polite. Her cheerful and polite nature overriding her laziness, the kunoichi accepts the outstretched hand and staggers to her feet.
Feeling woozy from so much extertion in a place no human has any business being without proper protection, she takes a moment to regain her composure before nodding her agreement towards Maki. "Safer, atleast. I don't think we should stay around here any longer though. Who knows when all that fire shooting up into the sky is gonna start coming back down on our heads."
She turns her head to stare up at Mt. Fuji, watching silently for a little while as the ancient towering moutain vents the raw power of the planet into the sky with reckless abandon. It is a humbling sight, to say the least. Whatever caused this, as well as the other string of 'natural' disasters that have suddenly cropped up around the world, isn't going to just go away quietly.
%t"All the same," she says, finally, picking up the thought aloud. "I'd rather be at home with my family when that happens."
Maki watches with awe at the eruption of Mount Fuji. It is truly a sight to behold. She says little for the time being, just staring unblinkingly. After a moment she says, "I don't like this one bit. We definitely should get out of here." She looks to Ibuki while saying this. "I don't want to be outside when that happens either. I also pray nobody else is unfortunate enough to be caught outside when it happens." Indeed, Maki, too, has heard about the various disasters happening, and it feels like more than just a coincidence to her. In fact, if one were to look closely, they'd see a tear sliding down her cheek, a rare sign of emotion from Maki.
After staring for a moment, Maki smiles to Ibuki a little. "Thanks for the help. That guy was truly out of his mind." She bows politely then turns to head off.
"Huh? O-oh, right. It was no big deal..."
She returns the bow in the Japanese fashion and watches Maki leave in silence. Once she's out of sight, Ibuki turns to take one last look at the volcano before dashing off as fast as she can manage back down the trails. Going down is a lot easier than going up for certain, but even so her legs feel like sandbags, her body quickly starting to suffer from the dehydration. Secret ninja meditation tricks can only do so much against the raw power of nature.
As for the fate of the Miyama ninja she was sent to find... well, he's in the hands of the spirits now. Maybe they were kinder to him than they were to her.
COMBATSYS: Maki has left the fight here.
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Ibuki 0/-------/----===|
SOME HOURS LATER...
Ryuhaku Todoh walks along the perimeter of Mt. Fuji, limping along and grumbling with every step. He looks upon up from the bottom to the fiery chaos that Mt. Fuji has become, with all its streams of hot lava and spewed volcanic ash, at which point he crosses his arms and looks upon the very fury of nature.
An eyebrow, covered in dried blood from his earlier wound by hot rock debris, twitches.
"SEE?!" He throws his hands up. "Global cooling! It's make-believe!" He grumbles as he walks along. "Frozen sea at Thailand... pah..."
He fades into the distance, continuing to grouse and complain the whole way.
Log created on 19:41:18 08/22/2014 by Todoh, and last modified on 00:22:40 08/23/2014.