[HHD] But I don't wanna hunt heads!

[TyDie]

Ryu had no idea why he even bothered to follow the instructions given to him by the courier. He knew what this was, the symbol that the scroll was sealed with was enough evidence for him. Shinjiro had gone ahead and recommended Ryu for the Head Hunters anyway, knowing that Ryu had no desire to stoop to such dishonorable methods to carve his way as a Shinobi. "But we're so good at it, Ryu! Think of all the criminals you could put down... and all the meals I'll get, hehehehehe," Ryu shook his head as he stood on the deck of the ship, looking out to the land that was once "tea country". The war had been kind to Kirigakure, they had claimed land that once belonged to Fire Country and the Leaf village.

As the ship got closer to the dock, Ryu looked to the captain with a small nod and merely hopped off the side of the boat, running along the water towards the docks. Once he was back on land, he simply began walking into the small port village, with the understanding that "The one who seeks you will find you." Stupid cryptic clandestine head hunter bullshit...

[Sia]

Like a moth to a flame, Maido was drawn to chaos. Whether she actively sought it or not was up for debate entirely it would seem, for Hisayo could never quite get a good read on her Master, even after all this time. Kayoko too, struggled to read Maido's motives today. And struggle she would. Maido slammed the hilt of her blade directly into Kayoko's stomach, knocking the wind out of her as well as sending her prone. "Are you sure you're ready then, Kayoko?" Asked Maido with a laugh. Kayoko cursed at her and returned to her feet. "Let's go then." Hisayo, Kayoko, and Maido left the training grounds.

---

Hisayo and Kayoko had their own assignment from Maido today. They were to track down with the assistance of some new blood a raving mad ninja that was causing quite the ruckus on the borders. Had some sort of special fireworks jutsu that made them difficult to get near, apparently. That was all well and done for someone like Maido, but Hisayo didn't particularly pride herself in long-range combat. No, she was more suited for thing up close and personal. Still, a challenge seemed like it could be fun. Suddenly, Maido's hand jotted out and paused Hiayo and Kayoko from walking past her as she stopped moving. Her eyes closed and she looked around, stepping off the boat with the two of them and beginning to take in the chakra signatures of the surrounding area. Bingo.

"That's the one." Maido pointed him out in the crowd to her students. He was actually just a few boats over, fortunately. But the crowd here was large at the docks and trying to move around quickly was just not going to happen. For regular humans. Maido floated, then swung her left, then right arm, causing Hisayo and Kayoko to be violently flung through the air towards the rooftops, though they were used to such actions and landed quite gracefully. The three of them Stalked Ryo for a few minutes from the rooftops, careful to stay out of sight as Maido gazed upon his unique chakra signature from the roof. How perverted, she thought to herself. This one isn't normal at all. "There's something else inside him." Maido said out loud to the two of them.

"See what he can do."

Hisayo and Kayoko jumped down from the rooftops, landing directly in front of Ryo. "You lost little boy?" Jeered Kayoko as the two of them sneered, looking up at him as he was, unfortunately, taller than they were. In fact, Hisayo was confident he had a few inches on Maido as well, though with her floating all of the time it may be difficult to tell. Kayoko suddenly ceased to be human, instead morphing heinously into a claymore, the handle falling into Hisayo's hand, whom immediately swung Kayoko the blade at Ryo quite hard.




Doton: Claymore
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
After channeling, Kayako will change her body into that of a claymore sword (taking approximately 1/2 a post to complete), roughly 6 meters long with a 20 centimeter guard, her core being the handle, covered in a thin layer of stone. This will last until she changes shape through another jutsu.

[TyDie]

Ryu made his way through the small town, quiet and alone, as he wondered when this bastard would hurry up and find him. "Grr... I wish they'd just find me. Aren't these guys supposed to be our best hunter ninja? Surely they can find a wandering chuunin in a small port village..." As if on queue, as the words left his mouth, the sudden appearance of two figures in his path gave him pause. "...I think they found you, Ryu. Hehehe!" Ryu scowled as the two shinobi approached, his hand flying towards his sword as one of them turned into a literal claymore. "...That's new..." Ryu said aloud as they approached, the other woman swinging the sword-woman at Ryu.

Ryu's own blade flew out from his sheath, his hand firmly grasping the hilt as he swung the blade to intercept the woman's strike with his own. The woman's strength was impressive, his own blade was faltering as steel met steel... He couldn't hold her strike back for long. But thanks to Hisan, he wouldn't have to - a tendril, red and vicious, lashed out from Ryu's chest, aiming to wrap around the woman's neck. Another, from his own wrist, would go towards the hand holding the claymore, attempting to rip it out of her hands.

JutsuShow

[Miserable Synch]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Discipline
Hisan and Ryu share the same body and the same senses, and as a means of survival the two have learned to synchronize their thoughts and actions. This training is reflective of that, enabling Ryu to fight with and around Hisan's actions and vice versa, ensuring that the two do not trip each other up on accident.

[Miserable Lash]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Hisan will manifest up to two tendrils from Ryu's body, using them against targets for various purposes such as grappling, piercing and lashing. They can also be used to pull Ryu in a direction, but this movement cannot exceed his speed.

[Sia]

In one swift fluid motion, Hisayo and Kayoko moved in perfect synergy. Taking a half step backwards, Hisayo tilted Kayoko downwards after recoiling from the first swing, Kayoko herself channeling chakra momentarily and shrinking down to only a meter in length before becoming engulfed entirely in flames. Now much shorter, Kayoko was used to cleave straight through the two tendrils, spitting flames about in the process. "That's a neat trick you got there. Reminds me of my master actually." Spoke Hisayo kindly, taking a stance.

As Maido gazed down upon the four of them, she grinned. How interesting, she thought to herself. Another freak of the mists, just like her. Why yes, Ryu would certainly fit in nicely here. Hisayo swung again, but again was met with a counter. This kept up for about a minute or so whilst Maido observed from above. The four of them were basically playing with each other here, but Kayoko was getting bent out of shape and heated. She began to channel a large amount of chakra, and her blade began to glow white-hot.

Maido jumped from the rooftops and landed directly in between Ryu and Hisayo. Spinning, she knocked away Ryu's blade with her off hand but outright grabbed Kayoko by the white-hot blade directly, and tossed her away and onto the roof. "Timeout for you, Kayoko." Loud thunder suddenly boomed from the roof, and a bolt of lightning pierced the heavens from Kayoko.

Turning her attention now to Ryu, Maido gave a polite wave accompanied with a smile. "You fight well for a human." She said to him before introducing themselves. "Muramasa, Maido. These two are Hisayo and Kayoko." She gestured first towards Hisayo, then towards the roof. "Shinjiro speaks highly of you." Spoke Maido, whom floated just an inch higher off the ground to become perfectly eye level with Ryu. "Not too bad looking either to be honest."

"Yeah he swings pretty good too." Said Hisayo. "Yeah...I think we can work with this." Added Maido as a tendril of her own began to escape her body, exiting outwards from her left cheekbone and wriggling through the air.

[TyDie]

Ryu hissed as the flames enshrouded the other woman, and as she chopped through Hisan's tendrils, the creature within hissed as well. The boy jumped back as Hisayo rushed in, Ryu prepared to duck low and slash through the woman's legs, but both his blade and the woman's were stopped by yet another shinobi. So effortlessly too... she didn't even wince as the white hot blade touched her hand. She introduced herself finally, and the name immediately struck a chord with him. "Maido... I know of you. At least, I know your reputation, and rank of course. What on earth is a bannin doing all the way out here? You can't mean... it's you i'm supposed to meet with?" The realization dawned on him, and suddenly this situation felt a lot more stressful for the young swordsman.

He was getting complimented though, not only on his ability to fight but on his looks... though that was a bit strange, admittedly. The three women had something in mind for him, and the sudden emergence of Maido's tendril caused Ryu to visibly cringe. "...Guess the rumors are true, huh..." The boy shook it off in the next moment, sheathing his sword with an audible 'click'. "So... You're with the Head Hunters... I know Shinjiro probably gave you a good impression of me, but you should know I didn't really want to join up with them. It's... the 'other' that fits with your needs."

As if on queue, an ominous tendril emerged from Ryu's shoulder, slowly taking the shape of a disembodied head, it's white eyes glaring at Maido and the other woman while it's sharpened maw wriggled back and forth, as if each tooth could flex on it's own. In it's own gurgly voice, it spoke up. "Yes... the 'other'. That'd be me - Hisan." It would hover in place beside Ryu, looking at the three women with keen interest. "You shinobi types never cease to surprise me... I wonder how you taste, hehehehe..." The creature stared Maido down with glee, drool oozing down it's chin as it's snake like tongue wriggled about.

Ryu, on the other hand, looked away, and felt like he was going to barf.

[Sia]

Flattered, Maido smiled at Ryu and his better half. Hisayo interjected. "I assure you, whatever stories you've heard about Maido, are quite watered down." To this, Maido sucked her teeth but otherwise let it go. "Yes, you are meeting with me!" She placed a lot of emphasis on the word before letting out a hearty laugh. "Relax, little one. When you get to be my age you learn to just enjoy it and go with the flow. There's nothing particularly special about me."

Hisan introduced himself and absolutely none of the Muramasa were phased by existence whatsoever. "Which ones the chick?" Hisayo asked Ryu and Hisan. Kayoko snorted and turned her face away to hide her smile. Maido however nonchalantly ripped her own arm off in that moment. "Why don't you find out then?" And tossed it to Hisan. She wasn't necessarily an expert on the way her body tasted, but if she had to guess based on its current chemical makeup...she assumed it tasted like blood and iron. A piece of Maido's cloak moved and stabbed into the hole where her arm used to be, immediately changing shape and forming into a brand new arm.

"All jokes aside, we've been tracking someone for a few days now, but I'd like you to take point on the capture, show me what you can do. I love surprises." She pulled out a scroll and opened it wide, revealing a photograph and a name. "Muim, Hotik." A pale man with jet black hair. A shinobi of quite low rank, having deserted his comrades in circumstances most dishonorable. Someone far to easy for Maido to capture. In fact, she had already identified his chakra source, which meant he was within two hundred meters of them at that exact moment. However, that wasn't information that Maido was sharing.

"Find him and capture him, before Hisayo and Kayoko do." Hisayo turned to stare at Maido with her mouth open. "That's not even remotely going to be fair."

"You're right, my apologies." Maido's hand came up and violently jerked to the right, causing Hisayo's knees to leave her legs, landing on the ground in front of Ryu. "You can have a head start."

Hisayo screamed. In hindsight, perhaps this is what Ryu meant by Maido's reputation.

[TyDie]

Ryu crossed his arms and looked away from Hisayo, clearly not interested in the least in answering her question. Hisan opened his mouth as if he was going to, but Maido's sudden treat got the creature to lash out like a dog catching a bone, greedily tearing into the discarded arm as if it was a last meal. His tongue slithered around hungrily, viciously lapping up every drop of blood that he could, letting out a satisfied gurgle as the arm was devoured. "My my, you're a juicy one aren't you? And you can just make new limbs whenever you like? Ooh... I really like this one, Ryu." The creature slithered back into Ryu's body with a hearty chuckle, leaving the boy to handle the rest of the conversation... for now, anyway.

"A test, is it? What's to stop me from throwing in the towel? I just told you, I don't even want to do this - It's Shinjiro's fault i'm even here." Ryu uncrossed his arms and kicked the dirt a little as he eyed both of his 'opponents' carefully, wondering which one would be the bigger threat if he did decide to go through with this... Ah hell, he was going to do it anyway. The competitive spirit in him was too strong to resist, even if he didn't want to be part of the Head Hunters. He could always turn it down after the win, after he proved himself superior.

The question of "who was the bigger threat" was very quickly and decisively answered, however, as Maido removed the woman's kneecaps. Ryu fought the urge to wince with pain - he had no doubt that was probably extremely painful. And with Maido's signal, Ryu would look at Kayako for a moment... No, he wouldn't play dirty yet. He'd find their prey first.

Turning to take off down the streets of the village, Ryu was admittedly at a loss for how the hell he was going to track this bastard down. He had a picture and a name to go off of, and a small port full of people who probably had no idea who this guy was. "Well, you shinobi tend to smell a bit different than your typical fisherman. If you get close, I might get a whiff of steel instead of seafood." It was the best chance Ryu had aside from asking random people about it. Running up the side of a nearby building, Ryu began hopping from roof to roof, while an extension of Hisan hovered out from Ryu's shoulder, sniffing audibly as they searched for a scent that stood out from the fishermen. Ryu, meanwhile, would keep an eye on the streets below, searching for the face he had just seen in that scroll.

It was a long shot... but it was all he had. Maybe he wouldn't be such a good fit for the Head Hunters after all.

484/1250 for B rank "Scent based Training Taijutsu"

[Sia]

Bored. Yes, bored was the look on Maido's face, were Ryu and Hisan to happen to look at her in that moment before they began their hunt. She looked at Hisayo with a bored expression upon her face. "You're so...human, Hisayo." Her eyes began to glow bright red, and she began to send a surge of chakra throughout her body in a splendid yet simultaneously horrible fashion. It kicked up, with such force that the ground around her began to shake. Buildings rattled, people stopped and stared, others shielded their children's eyes from the gruesome, bloody display that was now apparent to the world. Maido began to do an incredibly long series of hand seals, many of which Hisayo and Kayoko didn't even recognize as being part of the basic twelve. They were executed so fast, so flawlessly, and so precise, Hisayo and Kayoko couldn't even begin to register all of them accurately.

She continued, her sealwork causing chakra to spew outwards from her visibly in a blue aura. The blue aura began to bulge, now growing layers of dark red within itself, bubble of blood and chiton chakra coming into the aura from Maido's body. Still she performed more hand seals, and purple chakra began to spew outwards from her eyes. Her eyes? They were no longer just red. Mostly purple, with small traces of her crimson blood just barely showing through now. The ground beneath her cracked and began to even boil, yes boil. Green spits of acid shot out from her hands somewhat viciously. She refined it, controlled it, honed it, and brought it home. The light purple permutations of Kakujutsu began to take fold, spewing outwards from her hands and entire body now and reaching outwards to engulf Hisayo. By now, onlookers had gathered, for it was indeed quite the thing to witness. Maido's chakra spewed outwards, dark flames, acid, and plumes of mist rolling along the ground around her, keeping the crowd somewhat at bay for fear of touching it. Still she performed more hand seals, her hands now beginning to secret copious amounts of sickly green and purple chakra in unison. Suddenly, in a singular swift motion, she stepped forward and plunged her left hand, covered in acid, directly into Hisayo's chest. As her hand entered, the acid immediately washed away, kakujutsu chakra engulfing Maido's hand and immediately entering into Hisayo's body.

Hisayo's bad day was far from over. In an excruciating pain unlike any she had ever felt, she was living a very real nightmare. None of the body possession instances Maido had put her through began to even compare to this. Maido's hand wrapped around her heart and Hisayo's pain shot off the charts. If what she felt before was a ten, this was a twenty. She passed out, then came back to immediately, then passed out again. This continued on for several moments and Maido paid it no mind whatsoever. Kayoko looked on with obvious delight and amusement. "This is my favorite part." She said to Ryu and Hisan. Maido paid her no mind, continuing her work. With her other hand she had continued her extremely long, strenuous, and tedious set of hand seals. Finally, she maintained a seal, keeping her middle and pointing finger extended towards the sky and the rest of them closed. She ripped Hisayo's heart out of her chest and encased it entirely in purple chakra, Hisayo's lifeless body falling to the ground.

A chunk of rock escaped the ground beneath Maido's feet, floating upwards to her right hand which had held the seal, carved out by a splash of acid. She continued to perform more singular hand seals then, maintaining her concentration. The stone carved out, rocks crumbling away and compressing tighter and tighter, compacting down until it was precisely the size of a heart. Maido released Hisayo's heart from her left hand and began to perform hand seals with that one as well, purple chakra now engulfing both Hisayo's heart and the stone. Bringing her hands together, even still Maido performed hand seals, a large black onyx flying outwards from the bag inhabiting Hisayo's corpse. The purple chakra surged, bubbled, hissed, and smoked. The black gemstone glinted, having been chiseled to perfection. It was the size of a heart, quite appropriately so. Next, a spout of dark flame shot forth from Maido's eyes, encompassing the stone, the heart, and the gemstone. The three containers began to move towards each other, purple tendrils and chains of chakra interlocking and intermingling between them, spreading out over their surfaces and piercing through each other like threads. They wrapped tighter and tighter, squeezing into each other and blending and carving into one another. The lines where Hisayo's heart ended and the onyx gemstone began began to fade. Splashes of green acid seeped into the stone, the heart, and the gemstone, and Hisayo passed out again.

Red and blue mist now fumed outwards from Maido's eyes, encircling Hisayo's heart and seeping into the cracks formed by the acid and kakujutsu. Black flames engulfed it then, script encircling and encasing Hisayo's heart into the onyx. Maido continued to perform hand seals, now spewing forth acid, fire, and blood mist in equal amounts. It writhed and coiled around Hisayo's new heart, encircling it and protecting it, intermingling with Maido's purple kakujutsu. At the end of it all, Maido performed her last hand seal, and Hisayo's new onyx heart fell into Maido's outstretched hand. With her other, Maido began to perform another series of hand seals, though this one was much quicker. A plume of acidic mist immediately escaped her lips, dousing Hisayo's corpse and missing limbs in acid and causing it to begin to melt away. "Sleep, for now, dear Hisayo. You will become a flame soon."

Kayoko began then, and took a mighty leap over the crowd. "Get the hell out of the way." In her ear, she heard Maido's voice transmitted through the fuuinjutsu. "Building on the far east dock with the red door, second table from the door on the right, sitting alone facing the door. He's armed and fidgety. He's nervous." Maido withdrew a scroll, opened it, and performed the chakra kai, causing a jar with a piece of cloth in it to pop outwards and fly towards Ryu and Hisan. "You better hurry, Kayoko's pretty fast."

1059/idgaf(400ithink)

Kakujutsu: Become God
S-Ranked Acid Ii Kakujutsu (Fuuin)
Performing an incredibly long series of hand seals and/or channeling, if the user is able to grip a targets heart for an entire post and has access to an appropriately-sized item, they will turn that characters heart into a core comprised of that item, releasing them from their mortal coil of the previous body. However, it will then be up to the target to figure out how to create their new elemental body.