Let's get DANGEROUS
Who: Renji i_love_taiyaki and Matsuri matsuri_of_suna
What: Matsuri needs a sparring partner. Renji likes to spar. Hurray for symbiotic friendships!
When: sometime not long after after this entry
Where: somewhere near The Danger Room
Rating: PGish? we'll be sparring, but I doubt it'll get too graphic.
( I am the terror who flaps in the--wait. )
What: Matsuri needs a sparring partner. Renji likes to spar. Hurray for symbiotic friendships!
When: sometime not long after after this entry
Where: somewhere near The Danger Room
Rating: PGish? we'll be sparring, but I doubt it'll get too graphic.
( I am the terror who flaps in the--wait. )
"Yeah, you Matsuri?" he asked, adjusting his sleeves as he rose. He nodded his head in greeting. Though he'd stuck out his hand to shake with Rikku in greeting, he had a feeling the shinobi here didn't do that--you could learn much more about a person from a handshake than a head-bow, and so greeting a fellow combatant with a handshake before really attaining a confidence with them felt...presumptuous and unfair somehow. He didn't want Matsuri to think he was trying to get a one-up on her. "Nice to meetcha in person," he said.
Man all the girls here were small. Er--he wasn't complaining really... Rukia was real tiny, and Orihime was pretty short, too... He had just sort of come to the realization that most of the girls he knew were a good two heads shorter than he was. Rangiku and Unohana were pretty tall, but they seemed to be the exception...
He absently toyed with the headband around his brow, then peered down at her. "So where's this Danger Room place?" he asked. "I gotta admit I'm curious about what kinds'a monsters this place dreams up..."
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Matsuri was intrigued with his headband because it reminded her of the one that she wore around her own neck, the Sand Village symbol being a clear indication of her origins, as well as the pride she had in her birthplace.
"Oh, it's on the lowest level of the castle," the girl told him, slanting a look of curiosity toward said castle, as if she could see the room from her current position outside, and then she showed Renji the key that the ghost had delivered to her earlier. "We can get in using this..."
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He folded his hands into the sleeves of his hakama and shrugged noncommittally.
"So," he said, "should we get going? I dunno the lower floors of the castle too well yet, so...I guess you're in charge of blazing the trail." He paused. "Un...less you think we should warm up out here," he added then, looking contemplative. Come to think of it, that might have been the smarter way to do it; he didn't know what they might find in this Danger Room--if it was so dangerous that they kept it locked all the time, going in cold might not be a good idea.
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Despite what she had heard about the castle resident being able to return to the living two weeks after their death, she honestly did not want to personally test that theory out. It was one thing to die honorably in a fight while protecting someone or something important, and another scenario entirely to get killed because of committing foolish acts. If she ever fell victim to the latter situation, then she would bring shame to her village as a shinobi, and also to her former sensei, because even though they no longer trained together so frequently, she still had to maintain his reputation by upholding her own skills.
Renji seemed confident enough of his abilities to the point where he was eager to delve right into the place, but Matsuri hesitated at his suggestion and pondered over what would be the best course of action. She herself had never been in the Danger Room before, and there wasn't exactly a map of the place that she could obtain somehow, but even if she and Renji did stay outside and trained together for a bit, how effective would that really be? Nothing could prepare them better for the Danger Room than actually entering inside and confronting the actual monsters.
"Um, do you have any defensive abilities, Renji-san?" She asked just then, trying to figure out which one of them would be better suited for different positions that could bring the most benefit to their teamwork efforts. "Or only offensive skills?"
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Then he looked thoughtful, easily following her line of thought. Figuring out how to make best of their individual abilities would be paramount.
"Well, I'm mostly offense," he admitted. "But my sword can be used for close-range or long-range combat; it can extend like a whip or be used as a normal sword. I can also use an ability called shunpo, which is...well, for lack of a better word, it's moving faster than the eye can follow." He tapped his chin. "I can also use kidou, which are probably something like your ninja abilities; they're sorta like spells. I ain't too great at 'em--I'm a lot better at swordsmanship than kidou--but in a pinch they're pretty useful. They're mostly offensive also, though." He chortled. "Pretty much...I'm a tank," he said; "I can take a lot of damage before I go down, which makes up somewhat for my general lack of strong defensive abilities."
He regarded her a moment.
"How 'bout you?" he asked, and then tilted his head. "Er...what kind of weapon do you use, anyhow?"
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She bent down toward the small pouch on her ankle and retrieved her weapon, rising up again with it in hand, gripping the handle firmly as she showed him her rope dart. While she had offensive capabilities, her specialty was immobilization of the enemy party, and in a team effort, she would usually trap the opponents and wait for her comrades to strike the blow that would down them. Even with her personal preference of peace, Matsuri understood the necessity of violence as a part of life, and if she had to eliminate her foes, then she would do it... albeit with a great deal of reluctance.
That was her greatest weakness as a shinobi: lacking the killer instinct.
But in the right situation, that could be used as an attribute of strength, because it allowed her the advantage of having a more level-headed mindset, clarity in the heat of battle when others would normally rely on instincts to dictate their actions.
"This is the first weapon I learned how to fight with," Matsuri uttered in a soft tone, ducking her eyes a bit for fear of receiving disapproval from her new friend, because he didn't seem to have any inhibitions regarding battle tactics and fighting. "It's not really for attacking, though, so I have to use kunai knives and shuriken."
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He gently slid the little dart out of the bamboo sleeve it rested in and then ran his thumb over the rope. It was a nice jouhyou...very finely crafted--the dart itself was weighty and nicely balanced, decorated with a red slip of fabric like a tassel.
Handing the weapon back to her, he rubbed his chin with one hand, meeting her eye briefly. It wasn't difficult to tell that Matsuri really didn't have the mentality of a warrior. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it seemed pretty clear that she didn't really want to hurt people. She had kind eyes and a somewhat timid spirit. Her spiritual power wasn't weak--he'd discovered that while most of the people here in Paradisa weren't from his world, he could sense the individual reiatsu of many of them, like Ino and Rikku, who were both fighters--but Matsuri's reiatsu painted a pale burnished gold color in his brain, whereas Ino's was a bright emerald green and Rikku's was a strong and clear red. It was odd, the way a reiatsu sense could give a strong indication of someone's abilities...and Matsuri's told him beyond the shadow of a doubt that while she had a lot of potential, she was holding herself back most of the time.
He lifted his chin.
"Tell you what," he said; "you can use the jouhyou to disable people, can't you? You use it to bind and immobilize, rather than for stabbing or piercing, right?" He thumped his chest with one fist. "Should make us a pretty efficient team, actually. You bind 'em and I'll take 'em down, and once we get something of a feel for what's in there, we can adjust our strategy accordingly."
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Matsuri discreetly glanced at the sheathed sword that Renji carried, wanting to see it out in the open, and yet feeling just a bit intimidated. Most of the shinobi in her world typically used their ninja techniques to defeat the enemy party rather than actively wielding weapons. Kunai and shuriken were usually just means of distraction, not intended to deal heavy enough damage, but in spite of the small size, a small blade slashing through a vital area could certainly become deadly.
"Yes," she answered with a firm nod, in full agreement of his assessment on their respective strengths - it seemed as though they would work fairly well together, complementing each other with different areas of expertise. "That sounds good. I can be your support, Renji-san. Um, I'll make sure nothing breaks your head open or anything like that..."
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It served to reason, he figured, that the stronger more dangerous creatures would lurk deeper inside the area, where they could hide from sight and use the element of surprise to their advantage.
He smiled broadly then. Renji was actually really jonesin' for a little action. Something about this place really put him on-edge...it felt like everything around him was just poised and waiting for...something. What, he couldn't say, but he didn't like this sensation of the world around him having a one-up on what was going on. Matsuri seemed a bit unsure of herself, but Renji wasn't terribly concerned--there was something very competent about her reiatsu, even though she seemed so hesitant to fight. If things got really ugly, she was small and he was confident he could get them both to safety if necessary.
"Don't look so nervous, kiddo," he said, noting that shadowed look in her eyes. "I won't let nothin' happen to you, okay? You just be the eyes in the back of my head, and I'll take care of anything nasty, okay?"
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"Oh, I'm not really nervous, Renji-san, I just... Never mind." Didn't want to die when there was still unfinished business in her life? Couldn't bear the thought of leaving this place and be burdened with certain regrets? She was unable to finish the sentence without sounding too frail or emotionally weak. It was widely thought that shinobi should never allow their feelings to interfere with their fighting capabilities, but of course, that was far easier said than done. Even if a ninja happened to be treated like a mere weapon, the ninja was still a person first and foremost, and emotions were akin to human nature.
Once they reached the door to the Danger Room, Matsuri unlocked it and then stepped back, wordlessly indicating for her partner to enter first, since he intended to be the front fighter, and she would follow behind him through the dangerous dungeon.
(OOC: Say, would it hurt his manliness if Matsuri somehow saved him from an enemy attack in the Danger Room? XD)
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"Uhm..."
The room was...empty. It was big, spacious, with heavy steel walls and a high ceiling. But there was nothing in it! He didn't see any lifeforms inside--he couldn't sense any spiritual energy anywhere either. Weird--what were they supposed to fight in here?
He glanced at Matsuri, waving her inside after him, and then scratching his head. He was about to comment that perhaps it was out of order today when a bright flash of light from overhead, and a buzzing sensation in the air.
"What the--?"
Shielding his eyes with one hand, Renji gripped the hilt of Zabimaru, lifting his head to see where the light came from. But almost as suddenly as it lit up the room, the light faded, and when Renji lowered his hand, he inhaled sharply.
The room had...changed entirely! The steel walls were gone, the high ceiling vanished! There was hard dry dirt beneath his feet, short grass all around, and a forest up ahead--sub-tropical and lush, with moss and vines hanging from the high trees. The air had grown heavy, humid and thick, and Renji coughed, startled by the sudden change in atmosphere.
"Matsuri?" he asked, glancing behind him, his brow furrowed. "You all right? What in hell just happened?"
He still couldn't feel any reiatsu...it still seemed that there was nothing alive in this room.
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This situation had similar aspects to a powerful genjutsu technique, but there weren't any shinobi from her world currently present in the same vicinity, and she really could see no reason for Renji to be pulled into such an illusion. More likely to be yet another one of the castle's many magical abilities.
She and Renji had been separated by the sudden, unexpected emergence of these objects, but thankfully, his red hair was easy to spot amongst a plethora of green color.
"I'm fine, Renji-san," came the soft answer as Matsuri emerged into view from behind a tree that she had initially thought wasn't real... until she touched it. She felt solidity underneath her fingertips and murmured in awe, "Wow..."
The girl didn't have very much time to admire the view, as just then, a rustling noise ensured, and seconds later, several creatures came lumbering out from the bushes. They were bulb-shaped with long vines extending from the main part - they didn't seem to be very dangerous, really, but the barbs at the end of the vines could certainly stab and draw blood. Not to mention the poisonous gas they were capable of spewing, unbeknownst to the two fighters.
"Renji-san!" She cried to alert her partner even as her eyes widened in surprise at the sight. Those monsters were certainly unusual-looking...
No time to waste; as one began to stalk toward her, Matsuri twirled her rope dart around in a tight circle before flinging it forward, driving the sharp head into the pliable green body of the creature.
(OOC: AHHHHH WATCH OUT FOR THE SCARY GNATS!!!! *runs around screaming like a little kid* XD)
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He made a face when Matsuri called his name sharply, and when his gaze fell on the trio of oddly-shaped creatures shambling out of the brush. Renji made another face. "--The fuck are those?" he asked, his lip curled in something like distaste.
Well, no time to dwell on how ugly his opponents were. Drawing Zabimaru from his hip, he widened his stance and cast Matsuri an appraising grin as she shot her jouhyou forward, plunging the little dart right into the center of what he had to assume was the creature's head. "Nice shot," he chuckled, and adjusted his grip on the zanpakutou. Taking a deep breath, he let a wicked smile curl over his features.
'Bout damn time he got a little sparring in around this place.
"咆えろ, 蛇尾丸!" he shouted, and the shining slender steel of the zanpakutou shivered with light. Gliding one hand down the back of the blade, the sword transformed in the wake of his touch. The long slender blade was now segmented, each piece slightly wider than the one beneath it, with a spike protruding from both ends of each piece, like a claw.
With a low, throaty chuckle, Renji drew his arm back and then snapped it forward again, and the segments of the sword split apart, strung together with pale threads that effectively made a whip out of the blade. Renji snarled, grinning all the while, and yanked his arm back again, drawing the bladed whip across all three of the strange bulbous creatures, and they made gutteral choking sounds, bleeding a strange viscous green goo before crumbling to the dirt and slowly fading away.
Snapping Zabimaru back into one piece, Renji made a "eulll~" sound at the green goo that stuck to the blade, and then grinned at Matsuri.
"Next!" he called, chuckling as he propped the sword on his shoulder.
He was a little concerned about the reiatsu deal--he wasn't able to tell just how strong anything nearby was, aside from Matsuri herself--but if all this place was gonna throw at them were a few plant monsters, then there was really nothing to be concerned about, right?
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She watched Renji with awe as he took care of three of the monsters in one fell swoop, making the process look so easy. He was definitely an experienced warrior. Did it bother him that she wasn’t just as strong?
Out of her peripheral vision, Matsuri spied a third monster suddenly coming out of the shrubbery from her left side, and it jabbed at her with sharp claws. It appeared to have struck its target, until her body dissolved into sand due to her usage of the Substitution Jutsu; unharmed, she appeared a short distance away. With a kunai gripped tightly in hand, the young kunoichi sliced off the long vines before driving the pointed tip directly into the head of the plant-like creature.
She removed her kunai and huffed a short breath of relief, but as the monster’s body sank toward the ground, a strange green gas expelled into the air without warning, and she leapt back away in alarm.
“What’s that…?” The girl uttered softly in inquiry, although whatever the substance was, she doubted it was safe to inhale. She hadn’t breathed any of it inside, but she definitely need to tell Renji to beware of the gas. “Renji-san, these monsters can let out a strange green gas! I’m not sure what it is, but it might be poisonous. Please be careful!”
When her ears picked up the sounds of leaves being crushed and stepped upon, she turned her attention to the source of the noise.
Upon seeing the new monsters that just appeared, Matsuri was dumbfounded for a full moment. Are those… caterpillars…?
Granted, the green creatures were rather hideous-looking and also humongous in size, coming up to about her chest level, but… caterpillars? What harm could they do?
The girl soon found out when one got close enough and spat a wad of purple gunk toward her. She jumped out of the way and warily watched the strange substance as it fell to the floor and to her surprise, began to melt the grass. Acid?
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He did notice, however, that Matsuri had some pretty cool tricks up her sleeves. That sand-illusion deal was pretty awesome.
Glancing backward over his shoulder when Matsuri whirled, and he made a face. "--The hell? Giant bugs. What's next?" he asked with a shake of his head. Watching the big caterpillar-like creature slither its way toward them. It looked slow and kind of stupid, and Renji wasn't really expecting much of a fight--
"Uwaugh!"
--until the thing reared back and then spat out a stream of thick, slimy purple goo. Diving to the side as Matsuri leapt the other way, Renji rolled on his shoulder and leapt back up, casting a glance at his companion and then shooting an alarmed look at the sizzling patch of grass where they had stood a moment ago.
"Fuck," he snarled, lifting an arm to cover his nose with the back of his hand. The goo stank! It was caustic, sharp and made his eyes sting, and he stepped back, squinting. "All right, I've about had enough outta you," he said to the great bug, and dashed forward, Zabimaru poised to strike.
With a cry of alarm, he whirled out of the way as the creature lurched and spewed a stream of sticky off-white webbing out of its heavy tail. Startled, but not thrown off-track, Renji spun back, landing a deep gouge across the huge insect's upper body. It let out a howl of pain and rage, spinning on its stumpy legs, and Renji darted around behind the beast's bulk form using shunpo, neatly cleaving the creature in half from the top of its head. As the beast shuddered and sank into the earth, leaving behind little more than a depression in the grass, Renji paused long enough to make a comical face and pull the strings of strange webbing off the spikes of his sword, splaying and flexing his fingers to then try and get the sticky substance off his hand.
"Oh, come on--wouldja--fuckin' A," he grumbled, and turned to wipe his hand on a nearby tree. "Matsuri, watch for the webbing," he called as he shook the bug's slimy greenish blood off his blade; "sticky as hell--dunno what'd happen if you got hit with it."
And with that he moved to assist her in dispatching the other one.
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She definitely knew to stay out of the way of the purple acidic gunk spewed from the caterpillars, but the webbing was a whole different other aspect. When one of the large green creatures spat a wad directly at them, the two fighters darted to opposite sides, avoiding the dangerous substance that would no doubt bring harm.
Renji was fearless, she mused to herself, dispatching the enemies without showing even a hint of trepidation, and he reacted instantaneously to each encounter rather than assess the situation first. Which wasn't a bad thing really, because analysts didn't exactly last very long in a fast-paced fight if they took up too much crucial time.
After downing a couple of caterpillars in her own area with kunai, Matsuri suddenly turned to the side and saw Renji nearby, driving his blade into the soft body of a monster that was approaching her from behind. She flashed him a smile of gratitude, which quickly faded when she noticed a bug flying toward the young man with a long stinger poised to stick into him. There had to be some kind of poison or paralysis liquid that the monster intended to inject its opponents with.
"Renji-san!"
That was all Matsuri could call out in warning before she hurriedly dashed forward and swung her weapon overhead, shooting the sharp tip forward at the giant bug. She hit her target, but when the head sank into the creature's pliable body, there was a squishing noise and its insides came spraying out in a short, sudden burst.
Unfortunately, some of it got on Renji, since he was in close range to the bug. She retracted her weapon and wiped the blade on large leaves nearby before drawing close to him with a sympathetic look over her expression.
"Oh... I'm sorry, Renji-san," Matsuri was quick to apologize while stifling the desire to giggle at the sight of monster goo clinging to his sleeves.
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