[action thread] Moment to Strike [closed to Itae, Kisa, Naruko and Leigh]

[kusa_dionaea]

The hot wind that blew through the leaves spoke of endless sun and oppressive heat. Voiceless murmurs of a village hidden by blinding windstorms and blank rockfaces, too harsh for any plant to prosper, save for the most hardy. The taste of dust and sunbaked air, the faintest trace of voices on the wind. They were more than halfway through the

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[elder_uchiha]

Itae would have been agitated at having Zetsu appear in an annoying manner once again - though she was glad she chose Kisa’s ankle and not her own - but the news made up for it. A small smile came onto her lips at Zetsu's words and she nodded.

"Thank you, Zetsu. Let's go, Kisa."

She didn't wait for any reply, she simply moved. It had been far too long since she'd had a good fight. And they could catch the Kyuubi, too. A win-win situation, as far as Itae saw it.

[hoshigaki_kisa]

Kisa hated the fact that she could never quite sense Zetsu’s presence. Never more so than when said plant-woman burst out of the ground and snapped at her ankle, effectively tearing one of her legwarmers as she jumped out of the way.

Growling in annoyance, she turned to say something to Zetsu, but Itae had already set off. She settled for kicking off the remaining scraps of cloth and the other legwarmer (there was no point in wearing just one, and she still had her bandage wrappings) before following.

[rock_leigh]

Leigh easily ran a few paces ahead of Naruko while Risu dug her claws into the fabric covering Leigh's shoulder. The green-clad kunoichi was hardly running as fast as she could since she didn't want to leave Naruko behind. All the training she did, especially all the laps, meant that Leigh was an incredible sprinter while also possessing the stamina to make any professional cross-country runner envious. She kept a careful ear attuned to her friend so that if the blonde started to fall behind Leigh could ease up on the pace

[uzumaki_naruko]

Naruko was having a difficult time on the sand. Running on any other surface she could usually keep up with Leigh-chan no problem, but the sand shifted, the small grains harder to cling to with chakra, and often sent her stumbling. Not that she would fall, she could do better than that! An extra burst of chakra let her catch up with Leigh, and by then the ground was becoming more rocky than sand. The heat wasn't letting up, but at least she could keep in-step with Leigh now.

"Ne, ne, Leigh-chan, how long do you think it'll be before we get bac--" something sent a chill through her, and Naruko suddenly felt like they were in a whole lot of trouble.

"Leigh, be careful!" Naruko hissed, the hot wind was at their backs, and she couldn't see anything strange, but that didn't mean a thing.

Ready....FIGHT!

[uzumaki_naruko]

The howl that Naruko felt tear out of her throat was forceful enough to blast a path through the sands and rock, the heat of the chakra forming a thin layer of glass on the surface. Fiery chakra enveloped her as she lunged, slashing at Itae, the chakra claw shooting out to tear the missing nin in two.

Re: Ready....FIGHT!

[elder_uchiha]

Already calling on the Kyuubi's chakra? This child would indefinitely die when they pulled the demon out of her. Not that anyone ever survived the jutsu, but Itae was almost disappointed that Naruko hadn't called on a bit of her own chakra before falling to this. Granted, it was intimidating for a moment. Itae showed no fear though. She never really showed much of anything, though.

Naruko moved fast, but not as fast as Itae. She left a clone to face the chakra claw and moved herself safely out of sight. On contact with the clone, it would explode and hopefully surprise her out of the Kyuubi chakra. Itae could only hope, though.

[uzumaki_naruko]

Naruko howled in pain and fury when Itae seemed to explode in her face, knocking her back hard enough that she almost didn't get her feet back underneath her. Baring her fangs, she hissed, the hairs along the nape of her neck standing on end. It had been nothing more than a bunshin, well, two could play that game.

Releasing a burst of chakra that shook the ground, Naruko leapt into the air, only to dive underground, disappearing in a flash of her chakra tail.

Log (sort of..)

[hoshigaki_kisa]

Kisa had, out of curiosity, asked Itae about Maito Gaia after they left Konoha. She was apparently a taijutsu specialist, and if the appearance and title were anything to go by, Rock Leigh was her student. A taijutsu user who couldn’t use chakra. How interesting.

Flickering out of sight, Kisa re-appeared right in Leigh’s path.

“I’m sorry, but you won’t be fighting Itae-san.”

Leigh's answer was to draw her arm back to deliver a straight punch aimed for Kisa's midsection.

The girl was fast. Kisa dodged, but the fist still somehow connected, sending her flying backwards. Skidding to a halt, she tossed Samehada into the air and formed a few seals.

“Suiton: Bakushouha!”

Water poured from her mouth, quickly flooding their surroundings.

Fight Continued

[elder_uchiha]

Itae spotted the bunshin instantly. Would the Jinchuuriki ever learn how the Sharingan worked? The girl had worked with Sachiko, surely she understood that much. She knew the real Naruko was moving underground, Itae almost felt a spark of amusement as she heard Kisa call out her signature attack. Now the Jinchuuriki would have to go through water as well.

The enormous wall of water rushing at her and she avoided it with ease, standing above it and letting the water lift her higher and higher. A little water wouldn’t harm her, Itae had learned to be extremely comfortable around water, in fact. Working with Kisa made that a necessity.

The bunshin came at her fast and she blocked the blows with ease, striking it out of existence without much effort. Even easier than Sachiko. How did this child intend to survive?

[uzumaki_naruko]

With a surge of chakra, Naruko lanced through the water, propelled by Kyuubi's strength. She could sense Itae above her, her hands clamping around the Akatsuki member's ankles as she broke the surface of the water and kept going. They were far above the surface of the water when Naruko threw herself into a forward sumersault, releasing Itae forcefully and sending her plummetting towards the water below.

The Kyuubi's chakra boiled around Naruko, and even as she fell after Itae, she could feel the pull of another tail forming. She had to finish this soon, and the start of Rasengan began to swirl in an outstretched palm, the fiery color of the fox-demon's energy giving way to blinding blue.

[elder_uchiha]

Itae didn't generally let people toy with her. She held no enjoyment in being grabbed or tossed about as a rag doll. She had contemplated using a clone again, but it had seemed pointless. If she simply avoided the Jinchuuriki it might wear down the brat's chakra supply - doubtful with her hosting the Kyuubi - but it would certainly drag the fight out. And it wasn't as if she couldn't handle it.

During her fall back to the water Itae looked remarkably serene. A quick twist and she invaded the brats mind. The Kyuubi was spotted easily enough. Raging at the world, just as she had anticipated. The beast was even uglier than she'd imagined. Though Itae couldn't rationalize why she had momentarily wondered if the Kyuubi would be attractive. It must be boredom.