Be the Illusionary

[Willoria]

It was honestly a fairly pretty day, for Iwa anyway. Ume sat on a bench in the market, today wearing her mission outfit, complete with her jacket over the most revealing parts of it and zipped up to cover her skin. Her head was leaned back on the bench and her arms stretched out to either side of her across the back of the bench as she waited. Her eyes weren't closed, Ume knew better, but she was comfortable.

Meanwhile, little Kantai was off to try and secure a favor for her friend. The little green and white rabbit like creature, with wings attached as part of her ears, carefully pushed open the door to the tea house she'd been told to check and slipped in quietly. Her little nose twitched at all the new scents that suddenly assailed her and she stood up on her hind legs to get a better sense of everything. Careful not to disturb any patrons she might see, she chose to stay on the ground for the moment. She hopped along under tables and made her way from one end to the other, looking for a serving station or someone who appeared to be in charge.

When she finally saw someone, she finally unfurled her wings and gave a couple flaps to pull herself from the ground to about eye level. "Excuse me please." she said in her dainty little voice. "I'm looking for Lord Akari Kotaru. Where may I find him?"

[Kao]

The teahouse was mostly empty when the little summon arrived. The only person he would find was one of two young women who were unenthusiastically tidying up the place. One girl who couldn't be older than eighteen turned around with a startled help and nearly dropped the empty tray in her hands. Once she composed herself her cheeks flushed a deep pink. "Um. He's downstairs and he's a bit...preoccupied. But I'll go get him." The young staffer started cursing colorfully under her breath as she descended the stairs. Her blush deepened as the sounds of muffled moans filled the hallway.

With a nervous sigh the girl knocked gently on the door, but she was only met with sounds that made her want to cover her ears and run upstairs to where it was quiet and wholesome. Somehow she was able to steel herself and knock with more force. "Lord Akari!" she screamed shrilly. "So sorry but there's a-a little rabbit bird thing here to see you! I-I I know you don't like to be interrupted but usually when spirits summon you it's important, so I...." The girl trailed off when she realized the sounds had stopped and had been replaced by a woman's voice begging someone to "keep going."

A few seconds passed and the door flung open and the staffer came face to face with a very, very annoyed Akari Kotaru. She averted her eyes, knowing that he would have a glare that would absolutely paralyze her - not to mention he might actually fire her for the intrusion. The robed, discheveled bannin stomped past her to look for this so-called rabbit bird creature.

[Willoria]

Kantai didn't seem to understand what the girl meant by 'occupied' and only hummed happily as she went to find Kotaru. The summon herself found a nearby empty table to alight on and give her wings a rest. She nestled herself into a comfortable position with her front paws resting in front of her. Her whole body shook lightly as she breathed heavily, her nose twitching as she breathed and her ears and wings combination laying back on her body as she watched and waited for Kotaru. The sweet, naive little spirit was content to wait as long as she needed to.

She didn't hear much beyond some steps and sometimes what she thought were muffled voices, but soon she heard the heavy steps of someone stomping their way up into the main part of the tea house. Her ears and wings perked up, lightly waving back and forth in a slow motion to indicate her own content happiness as she caught sight of Kotaru. She suddenly sat up on her rear legs, her front paws dangling in front of her as she looked at him and waited for him to get close enough to hear her as she spoke up in her slightly squeaky little voice. "You must be Lord Akari Kotaru!" The young creature was clearly excited to see him. "You're just as she described you, just as grumpy too!" she said cheerfully, her nose wiggling a moment as if that was what she did in place of a laugh or a giggle.

"My friend Lady Akari Ume asked to meet with you. She waits for you in the Marketplace."

[Kao]

The perky summon was greeted with a look of pure loathing. He was already aching, and the spirit's cheery voice and demeanor set his bones on fire. After hearing who it was that was summoning him Kotaru groaned and rubbed his face roughly with both hands. "You must be Kantai." He nearly went back downstairs to finish being serviced by his whore of the month, but he figured it had to be important if Ume of all people was summoning him in the same way he had done just days earlier.

Within minutes he was following Kantai out of the teahouse and toward the meeting location. Kotaru glowered during the journey, and he refused to speak to the summon with anything more than a grunt of acknowledgement. His expression didn't soften one bit but it did become more troubled. The bannin's thoughts were a turbulent mixture of wishing he was back in the teahouse basement and being concerned about why Ume had called for him. It was a battle keeping the thoughts separate. The last thing he needed was to accidentally place Ume's face on the body of...whatever that girl's name was. When she finally came into view, Kotaru would twist his lips into a scowl and say, "This better be important, Ume."

[Willoria]

Kantai was completely unphased by Kotaru's demeanor. She was quite used to grumpy men at this point, after spending time around Jinsai and seeing his reactions to Ume's antics at times. She just seemed to grin up at him as he seemed to know who she was immediately. "Why yes I am!" she said proudly. Once he seemed ready to go, she gave a few flaps of her wings to get herself into the air slowly and led the way out of the tea house and down the road towards where Ume would be waiting for them.

Ume would be still be sitting on the bench she started on. She wore her dark pants and boots, a long-sleeved black jacket zipped up over her 'shirt' to keep herself covered and modesty in place. She didn't seem to budge even as Kantai landed on the bench next to her, at least not until she heard Kotaru's voice. She looked up at the clearly grumpy man and frowned slightly. "You didn't tell him, Kantai?" she asked, looking down at her summon before flinching. "Oh you poor thing." She scooped up the creature who was clearly quite exhausted and pet her a couple of times. "You're exhausted." she held her for a few moments before ending the summoning so that Kantai disappeared and shaking her head before looking over at Kotaru for a moment.

"She was supposed to ask you to help me with some difficult training." she explained. "I should have known she'd get too excited to remember that much though... but you're the only person I know that's strong enough in Genjutsu for what I need. And might be able to muster up enough anger for me to help me with this and yet not manage to kill me."

Ume pushed herself up to her feet and crossed her arms as she looked at him. "I need you to gen me. I need to build up my own resistances... so, willing to torture an old friend for fun?"

[Kao]

Kotaru's lips parted into a incredulous grimace as she spoke. She had called him for training of all things? "Ume you...I was letting off some steam, are you kidding me...." The Akari turned away for a moment, silently seething about his current situation. There wasn't much that frustrated more than being interrupted while he was burying the bone in some whore. Not only that, but he was presented with quite the unique dilemma. Kotaru was never, ever one to turn down the opportunity to subject someone to his genjutsu. It was typically the most fun he had weekly, and it always surprised him when his underlings willingly came to him for such training.

But Ume, of course, was different. Despite their rough history he didn't want to hurt her. But something deep within him, some beast whose rage had never been satiated, stirred. "Ume...." He locked eyes with her, his expression intense and unwavering. "You have no idea what you're asking for. But if you insist...lead the way."

[Willoria]

Ume raised an eyebrow as Kotaru mentioned that he was interrupted and she couldn't help a bit of a smirk and a chuckle. "I'm sure your distraction will still be waiting later... somehow I doubt you're one to disappoint and I'm sure you're worth the wait." she remarked, tilting her head as she looked at him. "If you're that pissed about it maybe you can take it out of my hide later." she quipped. "Though to be fair, that is exactly one of the reasons why I had intended on Kantai explaining more when she found you. I am sorry that she didn't explain and left you... interrupted." Ume shook her head, not entirely sure if he'd actually agree to train her now if he had been left in such a position.

But as she watched him think it over, for a moment she glimpsed a familiar look in his eyes she often saw in another as he finally gave an answer. For a moment it was Ume instead who was left with a slight stirring within and a touch of a blush on her cheeks briefly as she absorbed what he had to say and nodded quickly. "Uh.. I reserved a training space. It's a cave off the beaten path, but it'll work. Should be private enough." she told him simply, taking a moment to recover. "No one should interrupt us there either." she added, though she didn't say a name she meant Jinsai in particular. She had originally intended on doing the training at her home but thought better of it. If Jinsai came by for a surprise visit, he wasn't likely to react well to seeing an Akari using genjutsu on her.

"I'll lead the way."

[Kao]

Kotaru didn't catch the implication. Jinsai was the absolute last thing on his mind as he allowed her to take the lead. She walked a few steps in front of him for a while, and he watched the way her hair bounced with every step as he tried to sift through his thoughts. He hadn't seen or spoke to Ume in years, and now he was in his second interaction with her within the span of a few days. It was as if he was standing over a deep grave where he had buried so many memories and feelings for her. Now wasn't the time to shove his fingers into the dirt and dig them out, but it seemed that's where this would eventually lead.

When they reached the training ground his expression was like stone. He had taken the time to mold his chakra as he walked in silence, and by the time they reached their destination he would be ready to unleash the jutsu. The bannin would treat her like any other shinobi who commissioned him for help. He would greet her with the same steely, unfeeling eyes and a frown that seemed to be carved permanently into his face. Kotaru wasn't armed, so he stepped closer to Ume and reached for the pouch on her lower back. "No kunai, huh?" the Akari asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He pulled out three of her push daggers, each between his fingers, then threw them deftly to his left. They landed with heavy thunks, one after the other, in a perfectly straight line. After he gestured toward the daggers, he would give a small sigh.

"We'll take it easy for now. Whenever you're ready."

SpoilerShow

The Pit
S-Ranked Illusion of Force Genjutsu
Prerequisite: 40 Willpower
After channeling his chakra, Kotaru will throw three kunai, arranging them in a straight line. Once the targets see the the three kunai hit the ground the genjutsu will activate. The targets will see the ground around the kunai collapse, and various areas near the targets will also collapse to form a gigantic pit. The target will stand on a thin sliver of the ground with the pit opening up around them. The pit will appear to be infinitely deep, and the targets will feel a force pulling them down with a strength of 40. If the targets realize this is a genjutsu within the first post, they can move their hands to kai. Otherwise the genjutsu keeps them in place lasts 7 posts.

[Willoria]

Ume was quiet for much of the walk to the cave. She found herself suddenly nervous about what was coming, not unlike the nerves she felt when she walked those steps down into the basement of a bar. Only this one was much different. Though Ume had of course trained Genjutsu before, she had never enjoyed it and it definitely wasn’t something she could imagine ever enjoying. She hated having her mind screwed with, but that was why she had reached out to Kotaru. Though the two had only just met again after so long, she felt he was the only one she could trust with this.

In the cave she took up a standing position in the middle, feeling more than a little awkward as she simply waited for him. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she waited, almost holding her breath as he got close to her suddenly. She gave him a strange look before looking towards the daggers.

As she looked at them, a pit sunk into her gut just as she saw the ground around the knives collapse. She hated heights, she’d never been overly fond of them. She only managed to fly with her eroshiin because it was something she made a choice to do. Being flung unwillingly into a position where the ground around her seemed to suddenly begin to collapse made her feel suddenly sick. All that was left was the sliver of ground on which she stood and she felt her breath quicken in her chest. She knew what it was of course, she had asked for this. One hand came up out of a pocket to clutch at the fabric of her jacket over her chest and gripped it. She was clutching at the necklace beneath, the red crystal that always resided there and she clung to it tightly as she fought the rising panic.

Her knees and her legs wobbled, she could feel herself being pulled down, but also knew it was fruitless to even bother trying to kai it. She knew Kotaru was that much stronger than her in it. Instead she stared down into the pit and fought against the pull to stay upright. Her stance wavered and her stomach churned but still she forced herself to stay standing as sweat beaded on her forehead. A small chuckle escaped her lips. ”I stare into the abyss, does the abyss stare back?” she muttered under her breath before shaking her head.

’Take it easy? Shit, I hate to see it get worse.’ she thought to herself, swallowing hard as she felt herself start to waver back and forth. She closed her eyes a moment and tried to force herself to stand still rather than to panic or try to regain a balance she hadn’t lost yet. But she felt like closing her eyes did no good, it was as if she could still see it. Of course the more it pulled down at her, the more other old memories seemed to rise up to meet her and she couldn’t help a wry chuckle as a thought occurred to her. ”This is like that damn drug…” she muttered, remembering a day years ago when Kotaru had found her drugged up in an alley in the middle of nowhere.

Stat Training: Willpower (553/1000)

[Kao]

Kotaru watched her struggle against the jutsu almost immediately. It was clearly at a level that she couldn't contend with, but unless she begged him to release the jutsu he would simply watch. "Like the drug from that day." It wasn't a question. Kotaru knew immediately what drug she was referencing. The memory made him bristle. "You willingly took drugs that would make you feel like this? That's insane, Ume, even for us Akari." The Akari circled around her, walking along a path that would be just at the edge of the illusory pit he was forcing her to envision. "I've been wondering why you suddenly want this training. Are you thinking about taking drugs again? Trying to resist the urge?" His voice was steady, bordering cold as he asked the question.

[Willoria]

The more it pulled, the more darkness swirled and called to her. She could swear the longer she stared down into the pit beneath her, the more she could see other things. Recognizing this darkness and its pull as a feeling akin to those days of wandering under the influences of a drug was slowly bringing back memories that had long been buried as well and Ume found those memories rising to the surface unbidden once more. Her hand gripped the crystal under her jacket all the tighter and bit her lip. Normally she was careful, as someone with sharpened teeth she had to be cautious about biting her lip even if it was just a nervous habit. But in this she wasn’t as careful and only a moment later a small trickle of blood ran down her chin. She could taste copper on her tongue, the taste of blood bringing on another memory unbidden.

Ume looked up suddenly, realizing perhaps for the first time that she could see him at the edge of the pit, and in some ways that was almost more terrifying. His question about why she took the drug, the way it had made her feel was a complex one, in her mind at least. ”I was trying to drown out other feelings, other memories, I… I don’t remember them all.” It was the truth to her. Of course she didn’t remember, she didn’t remember the strange man in the alley anymore. She couldn’t remember the memories he had wiped from her mind just hours before Kotaru had found her.

”Is the real danger what you force me to see? Or what my mind might conjure out of it?” she asked. It wasn’t necessarily a question to Kotaru, in truth she wasn’t even sure if she asked the question out loud. It was simply a realization that the longer she stood in the genjutsu it wasn’t just the pit beneath her and the fear of falling or being pulled into it that was pulling at her anymore. It was the loss of control that had once been visited on her before all those years ago and what those feelings brought back.

Like the addiction of the drug she found herself having fleeting moments of wondering what might happen if she let herself fall. What kind of genjutsu was this? Would she die? Or would she simply hit the ground of the cave? She still refused, pulling away from the pull of the pit below, a snarl boiling in the back of her throat as she fought against it, breathing hard as she told herself to suck it up, to ignore it.

She heard his question, and shook her head almost vehemently. ”Never.” she told him. ”I told you my plans, Kota. I need to get stronger, and this training is necessary for it.” she told him. ”I have to be as strong as I can, in every way I can, before I try. I have to be better at withstanding Genjutsu if I’m going to be serious about this…”

Yet her body felt like lead, to a point that she felt herself drop to a knee. She whimpered in the moment, grabbing onto what she thought was the edge to try and keep from falling and pushing herself back up to her feet. She nearly stumbled in the action and swallowed hard as she shook her head and snapped at herself under her own breath to focus and keep her own head on straight. ”It’s an illusion.” she told herself, over and over again for several moments. She couldn’t kai her way out of it, but it didn’t change what she knew about it. She tired to hang on to that knowledge for the moment.

Stat Training: Willpower (1182/1000)

[Kao]

"Oh, yes. Your plan to change the clan. Tell me, Ume, can you stop a corpse from rotting? Can you force the maggots feasting on dead flesh to stop doing what's natural to them? You can't change the clan and keep it intact." He continued to circle her, like a predator watching its writhing prey take its final breaths. "You'll have to uproot it. Quell any dissent - and there will be dissent - by getting your hands dirty and bloody. The clan will only change if it's burned to the ground first. You think you're strong enough to do that? You haven't even come to terms with the past."

Something within him sparked. A blaze ignited in his gut and it took every bit of his restraint to keep it from burning out of control. "You don't remember your feelings? What kind of bullshit - are you trying to piss me off?"

[Willoria]

Her eyes were more on him now than on the pit, and in some ways that helped. She could still feel the pull of the pit beneath but he was a distraction. She had never really seen him like this before. He was authoritative, he was measured, in some ways she liked him better this way and in others she simply had the sudden wish to disrupt this persona of his much like she enjoyed disrupting Jinsai’s. But the distraction of him almost cost her as her foot slipped and she gasped, taking a moment to regain her balance as her eyes quickly returned to her feet as she fought to keep balance. ”You’re right, I can’t do those things.” she told him, panting as she finally let go of her jacket and used both of her arms for her balance. ”But I can find us alternatives. I can use Iijutsu to replicate the shin! The Arena can still exist without as much death, fighting for the right to consume replications of the opponent’s shin so that we don’t have to dwindle our numbers and lose our strength!” She lifted her head to look at him. ”Alternative and compromises can be found.” she insisted.

She shook her head and looked down again, whimpering as she tried to keep her feet. ”I’m well aware that even this is enough to get me targeted, even killed. But it’s a chance. Our clan needs one of our own to become an expert in these things to push it through, so I’m going to at least try. If I do, so be it, at least it’s me for once and not someone else. But I’m not going to just roll over and give up anymore, I refuse!”

She panted and swore under her breath, shaking her head again and rolling her eyes as he took a stab at her missing memories. ”I told you in the past, there are blocks of things missing, and they still are. I still have gaps between when Koyama died and how I wound up in that alley and on the drugs. I just remember that something happened and… and I was trying to forget it. I guess it finally worked because I still don’t remember shit between those two things.” she couldn’t help lifting her head however to look at him but quickly looked back down at her feet. ”I remember plenty of feelings.” she muttered under her breath.

In spite of being under a genjutsu, she tried desperately to keep away from specific topics, namely the hurt she had put Kotaru and Tatsuo both through so long ago. Though she had tried to move on from it, it was certainly something that still nagged at the back of the woman’s mind, and a distraction she felt was only going to make her fall if she let herself even think about it for a moment.

”I’m not trying to piss you off.” She finally managed to straighten herself up again, wiping sweat from her brow as she risked a glance towards Kotaru again.

Stat Training: Willpower (515/1000)

[Kao]

Kotaru raised his brow for a moment, but the expression quickly iced over once more. It was an interesting idea, but it wasn't one that would be implemented easily. He started to break down the flaws in her plan, but those thoughts were interrupted by her self-sacrificing intentions. "Shut up about you being killed. I already told you that won't happen. If anyone tries, there won't be anyone left. Fear is the only thing our clan understands. Fear, not hope for a better and brighter future."

The mumbled words about remembering feelings didn't reach his ears. All Kotaru heard was that she had was trying to forget, and there were only a few things she would have been running from during that time. "You sure about that?" he spat, not breaking eye contact. She might have been too afraid to breach the topic, but he certainly was not. Watching her mental struggle reminded him of his own turmoil in the past, and she and his brother had been in the center of much of it. He had moved on - he thought he had, at least - without really discussing it with either of them. It apparently still weighed on him more than he realized. "When I got here you suggested I would use my anger towards you. I didn't think there was any anger left, but hearing you talking about 'forgetting' and 'blocks' is really testing me."

[Willoria]

Ume shook her head as he seemed to get angry about the idea of her dying. Her footing once more wobbling as her eyes shifted to him again she found herself getting frustrated at how angry he got about it. ”I’m just trying to be realistic! It’s a serious risk with what I’m doing.” she couldn’t help but feel her own angry coming back, but quickly shoved it down. ”Our clan as a whole may seem like it doesn’t understand hope, but some of us need that, Kota. Maybe you don’t feel it, maybe Tatsuo has lost it too, but I can’t. I have nothing else left but this slim hope that maybe I can fix something. There has to be something I can do that I won’t destroy the moment I touch it!” A tear snaked its way down her cheek that she hadn’t even felt form but the girl ignored it, tearing her eyes away from Kotaru in her own anger.

But the motion was just enough she couldn’t counter it in her balance. She hardly had time to suck in a breath at her own shock as her entire body went with the motion and the pull of the Genjutsu suddenly pulled her down into that pit. It was like getting sucked into a vortex. For a moment she was falling and she could see Kota’s cold expression. Then a second later the darkness swallowed her whole so quickly she wasn’t even sure she had a chance to scream.

This was when it was suddenly difficult again to remember that everything around her was an illusion. The darkness engulfed her whole with a gasp and the sensation of falling made her suddenly feel ill as if everything she had ever eaten in her life was suddenly about to come up all at once. She could hear Kota’s words but it was as if they were echoes at the edge of her hearing now as her hands lashed out to try and find something to grab onto, anything, but nothing would come of the darkness. It all just wanted to consume her, again and again it wanted to take her whole. ”No no no…” she whimpered, pleading as if the darkness itself was just going to cast herself out and back into safety although it never would.

”I’ll never forgive you if you die.”

Memories of words came back to her and she hate it. She could hear Jinsai’s voice in her ears, a more recent memory from after the Arena and it made her snarl as she swatted at the darkness as if she could make it go away.

"Do you really think I'm gonna let you be alone now?”

A less recent memory. Even as she fell, Ume froze in place as she heard the voice of a much younger Kota the day he’d come to find her. It was the day he’d saved her from that drug, the day he’d brought her home and it’d almost been enough to make her cry all over again. She tried to push the memory away, the thoughts out of her mind but as always they would just linger somewhere barely out of thought for awhile until she dwelled on them again.

Finally she thought to speak, ”Kota, please let me out of this!” If she thought she sounded calm, she didn’t, the words came out as a pleading scream.

Stat Training: Willpower (1086/1000)
2 Stats

[Kao]

Hearing her say she had nothing left felt like a blade sliced across his chest. It shouldn't have hurt in the slightest, he thought. Plenty of time had passed and he figured he was now strong enough, unbothered enough, to be around her. But that one stung. Based on her body language and the sheer terror of her expression, he figured she had fallen into the pit. He took a step forward, then another, watching her as she buckled under the force of the illusion. When he brought his hands up to form kai, he hesitated. It was only for the briefest possible moment, too short for most people to even perceive. But it was long enough for the bannin to take notice. 'Is this what I want? For her to suffer internally the way I did?'

Kotaru shook the thought away and completed the hand sign, dispelling the illusion. Before she could blink he was kneeling at her side with his hand behind her head to lift it off the ground. He swallowed and helped her sit up, his expression somewhat softening with their proximity. "I told you, Ume. You didn't know what you were asking for."

[Willoria]

As the illusion was dispelled Ume came out of it gasping for air. She blinked several times, looking around wildly as it took her several moments to register reality that had come rushing back in. She sat up as he helped her and she almost immediately buried her face in her hands, wiping sweat from her forehead and running her hands through her hair and she tried to catch her breath. As he spoke, she shook her head. "No, I knew." she insisted. "But it's necessary." she added. She hadn't looked up at him yet, keeping her eyes focused downward on her lap as she gathered herself.

After a few moments of quiet she finally looked over at him, blushing lightly. "Sorry, I was hoping to last longer in the first one." she said quietly, chuckling to herself before she forced herself to get up to her feet. She reached up and pulled her hair back in a single ponytail before pulling off her jacket finally and tossing it into a corner of the cave. She was sweating enough she just couldn't stand it anymore, and felt it wasn't worth leaving on for the training. Of course this also revealed what little she wore underneath that barely covered her, leaving her entire back bare, and only two straps of material that came up to cover part of her chest before going behind her neck with little chains across the center. This also left her tattoos, including her newest on her arm that covered her old plague scars, on display.

"Okay.... another one." she said after pacing a little bit and turning to look at Kotaru.

[Kao]

"I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did." Kotaru's hand dropped to her lower back as she sat up, and with a no small amount of hesitation he allowed it to fall away from her body completely. It was the only way he knew how to comfort her, especially since the weight of their previous exchange still hung in the air. Still kneeling, he watched as she removed her jacket and revealed she wore next to nothing beneath it. Usually a sight like that would have emptied his mind of all thoughts completely, but the effect was brief. He imagined his fingers tracing the expanse of her skin, and then he snapped out of it when his mind tried to replace the image of his fingers with his tongue.

Kotaru stood up with a huff and turned away from her. Ume was frustrating him more and more by the minute. He started to channel chakra and silently pace in an attempt to lower the level of his agitation. When the genjutsu was ready, the Akari released his melashiin and three tendrils sprang to life behind him.

SpoilerShow

Eye of the Basilisk
S-Ranked Warp Genjutsu
Kotaru will perform a series of hand seals, and when the targets look at Kotaru’s shiin the genjutsu will activate. The targets will become overcome with fear, becoming dizzy and unable to move whenever they see Kotaru. They will feel their heart racing painfully as if having a heart attack, will feel they are unable to breathe, and will feel ill to the point of uncontrollable heaving or vomiting. This technique lasts 9 posts.

[Willoria]

Ume paced a few more times before turning to look at Kotaru. When she did his Melashiin had manifested and she wasn’t expecting the effect that came when she laid eyes on them, on Kotaru. Fear encroached on her mind in such a way that she hadn’t felt since she was a child. It was like she was a child again, running away from her mother and screaming for help. Or the time she was running from her father before Tatsuo had saved her from him. She felt her breath quicken and her heart began to race. She was frozen in place and the world swam beneath her feet. She felt her body sway as she dropped to one knee almost immediately. ”It’s not the same…” she told herself. She repeated it to herself a few times as if it were a mantra, feeling an illness settle in deep into her gut.

There was also a familiarity to this feeling that took her back to Koyama’s death. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the overwhelming fear was pushing her mind back to a place she couldn’t find, a memory she couldn’t grasp. As she panted for breath and tried to fill her lungs and failed over and over again the only thing that came up in her mind was absolute nothingness.

More than once she lifted her head as if to say something to Kotaru, but each time she did the feeling would wash over her anew, her body shuddering in horror. She pushed herself back up to her feet with a snarl of frustration, baring her teeth at the ground as she tried to force herself to set these feelings aside and fight the Genjutsu. She found herself doubling over as the urge to vomit came up but she stifled down the act itself, her body heaving with no pay off as her arms folded over her stomach. ”God this one is worse…” she managed to mutter in her current state. ”How do you come up with these things?”

The sickness though almost made her laugh. ”Heh… it’s like that awful tea…” For a brief second all she could think of was that awful tea that Kotaru had given her to help her cleanse the drugs out of her system. It had made her feel sick as hell for a minute too, though she had also been so drugged up she wasn’t sure if that was even an accurate memory of what had happened. Regardless, it was a brief memory that almost made her laugh, before she had to cover her mouth to keep herself from actually throwing up.

She found herself shaking under the effects of the jutsu as well, shaking her head before she forced herself to look at Kotaru again. Some part of her kept hoping that she could overcome the effects even though she knew better. So long as he exerted his will over her, she was under the genjutsu. She just wasn’t strong enough to resist. Looking up at him a third time only sent another wave of the feeling over her again.

Stat Training: Willpower (521/1000)

[Kao]

Her question went in one ear and out the other. Tension and anger ebbed and flowed and he listened to her struggle, and he only turned around when she mentioned tea. It took him a while to catch the reference, and once he did he lowered his eyes and became very focused on a jagged rock nearby. That day and the days that came after were something he tried not to think about. Every once in a while the memory would resurface, usually in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep and his mind decided to cruelly bring up every regret he'd ever had.

"Oh, you remember the tea?" he mumbled without looking at her, his voice barely audible. "Good to know. Wouldn't want you to have to block that out, too."

[Willoria]

She knew something was going on, something was bothering him and eating away at him. Ume just couldn’t be entirely sure what it was. And in her current state she couldn’t exactly ask him about it either. The longer they went, the more she started to think asking him for help had been some kind of huge mistake. ’He was happier without me back in his life.’ She looked at him, catching his expression as he looked at her. Of course though whatever emotion she wanted to convey was quickly ripped away by the genjutsu as fear washed over her once more and she shook from head to toe. This time a cry erupted from her lips and she involuntarily jerked her head away as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. She found herself cowering. Her arms covered her head, she had dropped to one knee, and her entire body trembled in fear. Her abdomen convulsed with the urge to heave whatever contents she had to the ground but she held it back and she panted for breath as she tried to force her body to stop reacting the way it was.

But so far all she managed to do was swear at herself repeatedly. Somehow it made the entire thing worse, not that she was feeling such an intense fear all over again, a fear she had only felt once or twice her entire life. It was the fact that she was feeling it every time she looked up at Kotaru. She trusted him with her life, it was why she had come to him to train something like this. Anyone else could have easily killed her in this state, in truth he could kill her easily in this state but she knew he never would. She trusted him not to. And yet when she looked at him a fresh fear washed over her every time with an intensity she had never felt before.

The harder she pushed against it, the worse it became. She put a hand over her chest as her heart raced and pounded against the cage that was her ribs. She almost felt like it was going to burst forth from her chest. She clenched her jaw so hard she could taste blood in her mouth again. She hissed her breath through her sharpened teeth as she fought for it over and over again, whimpering against the fear as she fought the hold it all had on her mind.

”I hate this…” Ume managed to hiss out between her clenched teeth, keeping her head down as she stared at the ground. ”This fear… I’ve felt this… before.” she managed, panting between words and shaking her head. ”Not at you… never at you.” She tried to take a deep breath but instantly regretted it as she almost threw up and barely managed to hold it in as she fought against the effects. ”Is it… is the sickness part of the jutsu?” she tried to ask him. ”I can’t tell if it’s that… or if it’s because its forcing me to feel this when I look at you.”

Stat Training: Willpower (1044/1000)
3 Stats

[Kao]

He didn't answer her right away. Instead he took a moment to kick at the rock and then watch it disappear into the shadows. The Akari was irritated, frustrated, all because he should have seen this coming but he had deluded himself into thinking he would be okay with interacting with her again. "It's a little of both. Being so afraid to the point of being physically ill is something I felt a lot as a kid." Kotaru approached her from behind, purposefully making each footfall noisy by scraping his boots in the dirt. "Close your eyes. You've figured out the trigger, you know this is genjutsu. You have that as an advantage."

He stopped just behind her, focusing on the way her shoulders rose and fell with every strained breath. "If you know you've never felt like this when you look at me, use that. As real as it feels, it's not. Focus on what you know is real, something you can see, touch, hear, smell."

[Willoria]

Hands and knees, rock and dirt pressing into her pale and soft skin hard enough she felt she might be bleeding though she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t quite pinpoint when she had fallen to this position either. She felt like her body was wobbling from the sickness, and she pressed her eyes closed all the tighter to fight against the nausea. She could hear his voice not so far away, and yet moving. ’When did he get behind me?’ she wondered silently. He mentioned how ill he felt when scared as a kid sometimes and she nodded slowly, pushing herself to speak in the hopes that it would help her. ”I remember two times in particular… when my mother tried to kill me, and later when my father tried to do the same.” she admitted. ”There was a time too when I thought Tatsuo hated me so much I thought he might… I even feared him that much.” She shook her head at the thought, knowing how foolish that was. No matter how angry he'd ever been with her she knew that had been a stupid and paranoid thought. ”I never feared you like this though, no matter how angry I made you.”

She took a few deep breaths to try and steady herself, closing her eyes just as he instructed her to. She tried to follow what he said, reminding herself that this was all an illusion. She forced herself to her feet, stumbling slightly as she coughed, fighting for breath and tried to focus on his words. He mentioned smell and she took a deep breath, a small smile coming to her lips as she did so. ”…you still smell like mint.” she whispered, keeping her eyes closed. She turned her head back as if looking over her shoulder at him and yet kept her eyes closed. ”Can you… can you touch me?” she asked quietly. ”If it won’t disrupt the jutsu I mean… it could help. I know they’re covered now but you traced my scars on my shoulder once when… when we had a good day.” She almost said ‘when we had a date’ but quickly buried the words, suddenly feeling awkward about them.

She took a deep and shaking breath as she tried to steady herself, the wave of nausea nearly passing on its own. She’d had her eyes closed long enough and hadn’t looked at him for a few moments she was wondering if she was really fighting off the effects of the genjutsu, or was it just that she hadn’t triggered it in awhile. Knowing she had to find out she finally opened her eyes. In her hesitance they opened in almost a light flutter before she really was looking over her shoulder at him. She felt her knees try to buckle, and her heart began to pound once again. Breathing became difficult once more but she also noticed one key detail missing. There was no bile rising in the back of her throat and the nausea wave hadn’t come flooding in just yet.

Stat Training: Willpower (511/1000)

[Kao]

Her question caught him off guard. The last time he'd been asked that very same questions was only hours ago. Within minutes he had found himself undressed, skin against skin with someone he cared nothing about and likely never would. This time the question sent a shockwave through his body that, given the situation, wasn't entirely pleasant. The implications might have been completely fabricated in his head, and she may have expected a simple touch on the shoulder. But that didn't stop his mind from going completely elsewhere at mach speed. "I don't think that's a good idea." He was firm, perhaps a bit more than what was necessary. But he was still annoyed, still too on edge as her earlier words continued to echo in his head.

"We're training right now. No distractions." Oh, but he already was distracted. Distracted by her bare back, by the thin top that may as well have been a bra. When she looked at him again despite his instructions sucked his teeth and lifted his eyes to meet hers. This time, however, she was much more composed. The progress was good, but the Akari was barely focused on it. When he spoke again his tone darkened with just barely concealed lust and frustration. "You have a lot of balls, asking me to touch you. It's probably better if I keep my hands to myself."

[Willoria]

Her body was shaking from the fear effects of the jutsu as she tried to fight it off, but she found herself suddenly blushing in embarrassment as Kotaru told her ‘no distractions’. She shook her head as she wondered if she’d given him the wrong impression. ”You said to… try and focus on what was real. You mentioned touch and I thought…” She took a deep breath as she felt the nausea slowly start to settle in again, realizing she was actually losing focus as she spoke, more of the effects settling in now. ”It was a stupid idea.” she breathed, swallowing hard to push down the rising bile.

Though as she was looking at him and he spoke again she found other thoughts running through her head. The fear affects simply pushed those thoughts further and a deep blush spread across her cheeks as she sudden turned away from him in an attempt to keep her thoughts to herself. ’How the hell can I think about that with this fear running rampant through my head?’ For a split second the effects were minimized though it didn’t last long as she stole another glance at Kotaru. Just as she started to wonder what it might be like to be bound by the man, glancing at him again just brought on the gen again and wiped the thoughts away as quickly as his look and comments had brought them on.

It was almost a relief to clear her head so quickly. She brought her hands up and buried her face in them with a groan as she felt the pains in her chest begin again. Her breathing picked up and she almost felt like she was going to hyperventilate. She dropped to one knee again and forced herself to take a few deep breaths. She found herself chuckling in spite of herself however. ”This was a bit of a dumb idea wasn’t it…” she muttered under her breath. ’I can’t tell if he’s just mad at me again, or did I somehow manage to hurt him again?’ She wasn’t sure what it was, but as she tried to push herself through the effects of the genjutsu she wondered if when she was done training if she should leave him alone.

Still she tried to focus on what he’d said before, pushing out her own regrets for the moment and her fears of what she might be doing to him now just with her presence and took another deep breath. She could still smell a hint of his scent, of the mint. It was ironic really, the very scent was something that was known to quell feelings of nausea and yet nausea was a primary effect of the fear induced by the genjutsu he had put her under. ’Does he even realize his scent is a comfort for his own jutsu?’ Another wave of dizziness came on and she rested a hand on the ground, digging her fingers into the dirt as she tried to catch her breath yet again.

Stat Training: Willpower (1019/1000)
4 Stats

[Kao]

"Dumb? Maybe. You're not the first person to ask me to gen them, and you won't be the last. It surprises me a little every time someone asks me to do this. You're lucky I don't make you fight at the same time." She kept glancing at him, and each time she did, he knew it renewed the genjutsu's effects. With a roll of his eyes he placed a hand on each side of her head and turned it so that she was facing forward. "I told you to close your eyes. The more you look at me the less you're able to focus. You're so stubborn." If it were anyone else, Kotaru would make sure he stayed in their line of sight in order to maximize the genjutsu's effects. But Ume didn't seem quite ready for that. For now it seemed like she needed a distraction, something to calm her enough to get her head on straight.

"Don't focus so much on what the genjutsu is making you feel. Again, it's not real. Yes I mentioned touch but not from me. I meant the hair on your neck, the dirt under your fingertips. The...whatever that is you're wearing as if it's a shirt." Once again his eyes wandered, and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep his thoughts at bay. "You've pushed through fear plenty of times. Walk me through it. In any other situation, what do you say to yourself to push past this feeling?"

[Willoria]

”Such a relief to know I’m not the only masochistic idiot out there then.” Ume replied with a laugh as Kotaru made clear that others had asked for the same kind of training from him before. Though in truth she did find it a bit odd that he wasn’t making her fight him through the Genjutsu. It surprised her even more when he came and forced her to look forward rather than back at him. ”I thought the point was to keep exposing myself to the trigger… to force myself to keep encountering and push against it.” she said as he called her stubborn, her confusion evident on her face as she finally closed her eyes again as he had instructed her previously. She rolled her eyes as she began to realize that while she felt like hell trying to battle the effects of his Genjutsu, the fact was, he was taking it easy on her.

She only rolled her eyes again as he mentioned her clothes, what he saw as her lack-there-of apparently. ”I wear this when training in case I need to manifest my shiin for any reason. Tearing and ruining clothes gets old really fast. Believe it or not, I’m not doing it to show off skin, that’s just a side effect.” she told him, resisting the urge to open her eyes and glare at him. ”I honestly thought you might make me fight you through this, otherwise I might be wearing a dress or something more modest right now instead. I didn’t expect you to take it easy on me… not that I realized until now that you saw this as taking it easy on me.” She exhaled out of her nose sharply, wishing she could push the nausea out of her body with it though that clearly wasn’t possible.

He mentioned her pushing through fear and the woman couldn’t help a light chuckle, with very little to no mirth behind the sound. ”I am Nothing. I am No one. I am Empty.” she recited to him, a mantra she hadn’t used in the last couple of weeks at Jinsai’s request. Ironically one born after what she had gone through with Kotaru and Tatsuo, though it was one she used to calm herself at times, Jin had pointed out to her the way it put herself down more than it calmed and had asked her to find another. But so far she didn’t have another to replace it with.

Yet as she spoke the words again for the first time in a couple of weeks, she found her breathing calming as it had before, in spite of the effects of the genjutsu. Her heart still raced, her chest still hurt but she found she cared about it just a little bit less. ’Nothing cares about Nothing after all… Nothing feels Nothing…’ With her eyes closed she forced herself to take another deep breath, yet again smelling that mint. ”Normally there’s a task or a target too…” she said quietly. ”Something that needs taking… or someone that needs killing… focusing on the task at hand helps to push past the fear. Though that damn sickness is the hardest part…”

Stat Training: Willpower (532/1000)

[Kao]

"Forcing yourself to endure the trigger over and over is one way to do it. It also puts you at risk for doing a lot of mental damage." Most of the time Kotaru didn't care enough to ensure he didn't do more harm than good when he trained others. But he had found that method to be reckless and it often led to his trainees need a lot of recovery time, and he wasn't willing to risk Ume's health. "Frankly, you're not ready to fight while in this level of genjustu. Besides, you won't always have to fight like this, and a lot of the time you won't be. It's an art more easily used outside of combat."

He smiled when he picked up on her displeased tone. "You're right, though. I am going easy on you, but maybe I shouldn't be. Stand up." The bannin took a few steps backwards as he listened to her mantra. It was dark, but it somehow didn't surprise him. "That's really fucking morbid, Ume. But if it works, if telling yourself that you're nothing makes you feel nothing, then stick with that. And if it helps to have a target then you can throw your daggers at me or something."

[Willoria]

Ume found herself shrugging as Kotaru mentioned the possibility of mental damage done to herself. ”Well, that isn’t exactly new for me. I haven’t met a gen yet that could do more damage to me that I haven’t already been through. Even this fear isn’t new, as much as it sucks.” she admitted, knowing it probably just came off as cocky and overestimating her own experiences. Of course there were things she hadn’t experienced before, but again she trusted Kotaru enough she knew he wasn’t going to throw something at her that was beyond what she had experienced before. He wasn’t going to risk her like that. Though she also knew he wasn’t exactly wrong either, telling her she wasn’t ready to fight while stuck in something like this either. Rather than try to argue with him fruitlessly she just made a face, wrinkling up her nose in annoyance.

He told her to stand and she did, groaning and even stumbling a bit as she did. Her hands went to either side of her head as she did and she forced herself to open her eyes again. It wasn’t the wave of nausea getting to her the worst this time though, it was the waves of dizziness that kept coming and going this time. She felt like the world was spinning, to the point that she was having a hard time standing still and keeping her footing. When she shook her head it didn’t exactly help either. His comments about her mantra just made her laugh however. ”It just reminds me what I am.” she replied, not really thinking through the implications of her own words. Trying to keep her balance was keeping her mind too occupied to really think through what she was saying.

”Jinsai heard me say it before the arena fight and he’s been a bit pissed at me about it ever since.” she admitted, drawing a couple of her push daggers out of her pouch as she spoke. ”Keeps telling me to pick something else, something that doesn’t require me to put myself down to calm myself.” she just rolled her eyes as she thought about how much they’d argued over the subject lately as she frowned at Kotaru. ”You sure you want me to throw these at you? Not sure how great my aim is gonna be…” She intentionally wasn’t looking directly at him, her eyes more focused to his left as she still tried to keep in mind that he didn’t want her to keep restarting the genjutsu’s effects on her.

As she waited for his reply she spun one of the daggers on her fingers haphazardly, and assuming he answered in the affirmative she’d finally throw them, aiming one at a time for his right shoulder. She knew he could probably deflect or catch them just fine given how far he outclassed her as a shinobi at this point. She was more worried about the fact that her aim might be off due to the genjutsu, and an unlucky hit could be worse than a lucky one at this point.

Stat Training: Willpower (1049/1000)
5 Stats

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Flawless Aim Style • Tracking]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
After much training and study, the practitioner has learned how to read an opponent's movements and adjust their aim accordingly to compensate without penalty. This Discipline allows the practitioner to accurately hit moving targets, though sudden changes in the opponent's movements will still affect accuracy.

[Kao]

"Throw as many as you like. You can't hurt me." It wasn't meant as a taunt. He said it matter-of-factly, and as if to illustrate that fact he drew a kunai at seemingly the last second and deflected her daggers one after the other. Getting Ume on her feet seemed to be a step in the right direction. At the very least she wasn't shaking and gagging anymore. "Is it really putting yourself down? You're an assassin, last I checked. An assassin works in shadows, faceless and nameless. Unfeeling. It's not the most cheerful way to push yourself through, but when you're in the middle of a job it's not entirely wrong. And right now, it might be what you need. Pick them up."

The Akari spun the kunai with his finger and waited for her to retrieve her weapons. Once she did he would change his position by walking around to her right side, and his melashiin would spread out behind him like a fan. It would force her to divert her eyes even more since looking at his shiin would also trigger the genjutsu's effects.

[Willoria]

”Oh I know. If I had to target someone as strong as you I’d never be stupid enough to take you on like this.” Ume replied, chuckling to herself. She’d had targets that were stronger than her before, though not to this degree. Kotaru outclassed her on literally every front, her concern had been more on what she might do by accident rather than on purpose. She saw he was able to deflect her daggers with ease and she rolled her shoulders, stumbling slightly as the dizziness came back for a moment. Out of reflex her Temershiin tail formed from the small of her back and unfurled, lazily flicking back and forth to keep her balance better. Her eyes weren’t entirely focused however as she still fought with other effects of the genjutsu but she found herself sighing with slight relief as her tail helped with at least one effect. Much like a cat, the tail shifted back and forth slowly to counter the movement her body felt the earth was making and that caused her dizziness as a result of the genjutsu. This counter kept her level, and maintained her balance.

”It probably started as a put down.” Ume found herself admitting. ”I think I started using it after… well. You can guess.” She paused a moment as she picked up her two daggers from the ground and spun them around her fingers, closing her eyes briefly as another wave of nausea came and went. ”But yeah, when I started training more as an assassin it came in handy, came into meaning as something much more and helped me to push myself into my work. Glad someone understands what it means now at least. I keep telling Jinsai the same thing but he doesn’t listen much. I think he forgets he isn’t around to judge my mental state anymore, he’s just my mission partner now.” She shook her head again, fighting off the waves of nausea and the chest pains, but also remembering how Jin kept harping on her about the little mantra. She understood his concerns over it but also couldn’t shake the strange, albeit cold, sense of comfort it brought her in the moment when she was on mission.

She grinned as she turned to face Kotaru again, but this time as she went to keep her eyes slightly misdirected she wound up looking right at one of his melashiin and swearing under her breath. It was like getting hit in the face with it all over again and for a moment she staggered before throwing both daggers at him in her frustration. ”One minute its, quit looking, next minute it’s a dirty trick.” she muttered, hissing between her teeth as she bent over double with her hands on her knees, the rest of her shiin manifesting out of reflex. When she lifted her head and looked right at Kotaru through her Astrashiin for a moment her temper flared, and her tail curled up over her shoulder and her Derghoshiin fired off and she snarled.

Stat Training: Willpower (509/1000)

Jutsu UsedShow

~Basic Formation: Astrashiin
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Channeling chakra to their shiin, they cause it to inflate, fully forming into its full glory. Taking the form of a helmet, the astrashiin is perhaps the weakest of the shiin, having only half the user's strength.

~Basic Formation: Temershiin
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Channeling chakra to their shiin, they cause it to inflate, fully forming into its full glory. The temershiin takes the shape of a wide and powerful tail. The strength of a temershiin equal to the user's strength.

~Basic Formation: Eroshiin
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Channeling chakra to their shiin, they cause it to inflate, fully forming into its full glory. Taking the form of wings, they are incapable of flight on their own, however are very aerodynamic, allowing for the user to slowly float down, based on their prerequisite taijutsu. The Eroshiin has a strength equal to 3/4ths the user's strength.

~Basic Formation: Phasmashiin
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Channeling chakra to their shiin, they cause it to inflate, fully forming into its full glory. The phasmashiin takes the shape of a scaled and skeletal weapon over one of the Akari's limbs. The phasmashiin have a strength equal to user's strength.

~Basic Formation: Derghoshiin
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Channeling chakra to their shiin, they cause it to inflate, fully forming into its full glory. Taking the form as a pseudo-crown on the user, the derghoshiin has a strength equal to half the user's strength.

~Bullet Spray
D-Ranked Ninutsu
Prerequisite: Derghoshiin or Dergoshiin combination
By focusing chakra on their shiin, the user is able release bits and pieces of the shiin, causing a kunai-like projectile to be launced by the shiin with strength and speed equal to the user's [Control]. While effective, much use can tire out the shiin, just as throwing a kunai with a single arm would overwork it.

[Kao]

"Mission partner, eh?" he echoed wistfully while ignoring how pleased it made him to hear of her status with this Jinsai. "Sounds like he just doesn't get you beyond a professional level." When she accidentally looked at his melashiin he snickered, and when she threw the daggers haphazardly his suppressed laughter exploded into an outright guffaw. It only took a few effortless motions to parry each of her attacks. "Dirty trick? You're the one not watching where you're looking. Pick up the daggers, Ume-chan."

If she had the energy for her little temper tantrum, then maybe her mantra was actually working. His gaze lingered on her astrashiin, and his expression shifted from an amused smirk to an almost disdainful sneer. "Oh boy, the astrashiin. Someone's getting serious. Some people would take that little snarl as a threat, too. Not feeling that paralyzing terror in the pit of your stomach anymore?" He drew another kunai, goading her to keep attacking. "Careful though, wouldn't want you to barf all over your pretty shiin."

[Willoria]

”Oh there’s some parts of me he gets…” Ume muttered with a bit of a smirk. Of course her mirth didn’t last long in the moment when frustration eventually set in, and so did anger. Both seemed to drown out several of the genjutsu effects but never for long. She picked up her daggers from the ground as instructed and glared at Kotaru for his use of ‘chan’. ”There’s the ass I remember.” she retorted, rolling her eyes even though the eye motion immediately made her stagger a bit. No matter how much she thought she was past the effects, the dizziness would come back, or the nausea, or the chest pain. Something always came back. She put her tongue behind her sharpened teeth briefly and hissed at him in annoyance even as she forced her shiin away. Something had always bugged her about the way he looked at her when her Astrashiin manifested, it made her hate the thing too, and since she had never meant to manifest any of them to begin with it only frustrated her more.

’I am Nothing. I am No One. I am Empty.’ She exhaled sharply out from her nose as she paced around in a circle.

She closed her eyes and kept them closed as she put her knives away, instead slipping her hands to her back and taking out her bow. ’If he can deflect my Derghoshiin so easily, he can deflect these just as well.’ she thought to herself, her eyes still closed. She eventually stopped her pacing and simply stood still, taking a few steadying breaths as she listened to her own erratic heartrate and even listened for Kotaru. She could still smell that mint and shook her head. ”I’ve always wondered, is the mint a shampoo or a cologne? You must really love the smell to still use it… if you’re going to use genjutsu meant to make people sick I hope you don’t use it on mission since mint is supposed to quell nausea.” she spoke idly, not just to fill the silence but to goad him to speak.

She stood and she waited, not just to hear him speak though in truth she was certain she knew where he was in the room even with her eyes closed. She was waiting for another wave to come and go. She felt the dizziness and nausea come on and felt her stance wobble for a moment. Yet oddly enough it just made her smile. Her gut twisted up painfully and her chest ached but still she stood as still as she could. The moment she felt the wave begin to ebb away she drew two arrows quickly and fired them both. One of them she fired at the wall before twisting directly towards Kotaru and firing the other at his left thigh. The first, if it ricocheted the way she had aimed, would bounce off the wall and head straight for Kotaru’s right shoulder. It wasn’t the most graceful of shots that she had fired but she just hoped she had timed it right between the genjutsu effects to at least have them on target. Though she doubted either would actually land as always.

Stat Training: Willpower (1045/1000)
6 Stats

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Flawless Aim Style • Blind Sight]
B-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
After much training and study, the practitioner no longer needs to rely on their sense of sight, instead using their other senses to locate and attack targets. This Discipline represents the practitioner's ability to launch attacks at targets that may be behind, above, to their sides, or even behind terrain without sacrificing any accuracy without having a line of sight on their opponents. This Discipline does not allow the practitioner to ignore terrain or obstructions, merely allowing them to account for those factors when aiming and launching projectiles.

*[Flawless Aim Style • Bouncing Shot]
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The practitioner launches a projectile at a shallow angle, targeting the ground or a hard surface. The shallow angle of the shot causes the projectile to bounce off of the surface, moving at -1 Speed and striking with -1 Strength after the bounce. This technique can be used to launch an attack from an unexpected angle or to shoot around, over, or under obstacles.

*[Flawless Aim Style • Uncanny Shot]
B-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
After much training and study, the practitioner is able to launch projectiles from previously impossible positions. This Discipline represents the practitioner's ability to launch projectile attacks without any detriment to their aim regardless of the position of their body. This includes while contorting their body or making rapid adjustments such as dodging attacks or performing acrobatic maneuvers.

[Kao]

At the mention of Jinsai understanding her parts, Kotaru scowled. The implication didn't escape him, and for a minute or two his chest burned with jealously. He quipped back by saying, "Thinking about my ass now? Whatever steels your mind is fine by me." He watched as she circled him like a predator, slow and deliberate. The sight pushed Jinsai out of his mind for now and he was able to focus on the task at hand. "It's my conditioner, actually. And don't worry your pretty little head, I don't wear it on missions. Unfortunately for you, I doubt it does much to help with the nausea from the genjutsu. You're still pretty unsteady on your feet, like a wittle baby giraffe."

His eyes darted toward the arrow that she aimed for the wall. It stole his attention for only a split second, barely a distraction, giving him enough time for his brow to jut upwards quizzically. The second arrow sped toward his left thigh, but when it was close enough he simply side stepped it. His new stance exposed his left shoulder to the first arrow's attach rather than his right. For a moment it seemed like the arrow would find its mark, but a tendril curled around him and intercepted it instead. The projectile dug into the dark red flesh of the shiin, but Kotaru didn't flinch. "That stings a little," the Akari said with a smirk, and with a flick of his melashiin the arrow was dislodged and sent flying into a corner. "It's like you want me to stop going so easy on you, Ume."

SpoilerShow

Natural Defensive Awareness
C-Ranked Taijutsu Discipline
Kotaru has mastered the art of simultaneously using multiple limbs. While is he is aware of his surroundings he is able to coordinate his melashiin tendrils respond to surrounding stimuli defensively without requiring to entirely take his attention away from any one target This will work as long as he is entirely aware of his surroundings. This also allows for defensive counterattacks with his melashiin.

[Willoria]

Ume grinned widely at the mention of Kota’s ass as a whole other train of thoughts came to mind. ”Don’t tempt me, I could think of a contraption to strap you in and plenty to do to your ass, Kotaru… it’s been a couple years, there’s plenty you don’t know about me.” Ume started up her pacing again, opening her eyes as she kept them fixed on the ground and the shadows to avoid looking at him, and yet chuckling at the mental picture she had from her own words. ’Wonder what it would feel like to be in Jin’s shoes for a change…’ Of course as entertaining as the thoughts were, they were also a distraction and she almost tripped over her own feet. She couldn’t help rolling her eyes at herself and putting a hand on the wall to steady her own walk for a moment before she kept circling.

”Good to know you still think I’m pretty at least.” she muttered, rolling her eyes again and she breathed slowly out of her teeth to steady her stomach again. His comment about wanting him to stop going easy on her made her laugh. ”Maybe I like a little danger nowadays, Kota.” she said with a laugh. ”Maybe a little danger gets me hot, or maybe I just bored using the same weapon and I figured I’d change it up… you’re a Bannin, I figure an arrow doesn’t mean much to you.” She could feel the effects starting to bear down on her energy levels. She was feeling sick all the way through of course, but also feeling tired. As much as Jinsai had worked with her to try and get her to act more and more like a proper “lady”, she just was losing the energy to care so much. More and more her vulgarity was returning, and her penchant for making things awkward.

She found herself wishing she could go in for a more direct attack, using her garrote or something just to try and wipe the smirk off his face. But she knew nothing she threw at him would land enough to leave her such an opening. Even on mission she usually had to resort to her love gen to cause such an opening and obviously that wasn’t going to work on him. With a sound of annoyance through her teeth she put her bow away and drew a couple of knives once more. ”Fine, back to the knives.” she muttered, putting her hand on the wall again. Her heart pounding so heard she felt it was going to come out of her chest, she still threw two daggers at him once more and drew a third to throw just after the first two, all three clustered to aim for the dead center of his chest.

Her face felt flush after the throw however, and her legs wobbled. She dropped to a knee again, panting for breath as she heaved and barely managed to keep from throwing up. ”Goddamnit…” she muttered, shaking her head. Both of her hands were on the ground as she remained on her knees for a moment to try and catch her breath. ’Did I look at him again and not realize it when I threw those?’

Stat Training: Willpower (545/1000)

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Flawless Aim Style • Hidden Shot]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
By launching two projectiles, one immediately after the other, the practitioner attempts to create a decoy for the second. The first projectile is often larger or of equal size, and the second projectile is slightly behind and below it, the second projectile hiding in the first projectile's shadow. This masks the second projectile and makes it more difficult for the opponent to completely avoid. Opponents with a Perception technique equal or higher in rank may be able to see both projectiles clearly within a reasonable distance, though they'll still have to properly defend against it.

[Kao]

"You- wha- strap my what?" This would have been the perfect moment to land a hit on him. He was actually flustered for once; his mouth hung slightly agape but somehow he maintained a slight smirk, and a few of his melashiin tendrils twitched and swung side to side, much like a cat. The initial shock had nearly passed, but then the kunoichi mentioned danger and getting hot and he became completely unfocused. He swallowed thickly then cleared his throat, realizing it had been a while since he added a little danger to his favorite pastime. It was a good thing she wasn't looking at him. If she had been, she would clearly see he was the one becoming hot and bothered.

"You cannot say shit like to me, Ume, especially when you're half-naked from the waist up." he declared as he readjusted his bulge so that it wasn't so...distracting. There was genuine irritation in his tone, but it was dampened by the way he trailed off slightly when he referred to her clothes. He found it all a bit unfair, especially since she had cockblocked him not even an hour ago. The way she could irritate him - even anger him - one minute and turn him on the next was infuriating. "Sure, sure. The knives are a bit more intimate."

It gave him some satisfaction that he could toy with her by effortlessly dodging her attacks. This time he was more flashy about it, crouching as the daggers flew toward him. The bannin avoided them with a backflip, digging his melashiin into the ground for added lift. Kotaru stayed poised in the air for a moment before gently setting himself back to the ground. By that time Ume was bent over on one knee, and he slowly walked toward her. "Is it time for a break? We've been at it for a while." Even as he said it, the genjutsu was at its end. A few seconds after he would ask, the jutsu and its effects would fade.

[Willoria]

Even as the genjutsu faded, Ume stayed on her knees to catch her breath for a few moments and rolled her eyes. "You really like showing off, don't you?" she asked, looking up for a moment. She didn't miss a certain detail as she did and couldn't help a laugh as an evil idea came to mind. "If my outfit bothers you that much..." Ume felt an evil idea come to mind as she was about to suggest she put her jacket back on but suddenly decided to do quite the opposite. It wasn't hard to slip the shoulders down as she stood up and turned towards him. What little she had that served as a shirt fell away, hanging from her waist and baring all as she looked at Kotaru as if she were completely innocent and nothing were amiss.

It wasn't a hard look to pull off considering the things she'd done in front of an audience only a week or so ago. "Is that better than half naked above the waist?"

She brought her hands up to cup his face, and gently down to his neck before executing her little prank. Bringing her hands forward, hoping he was too distracted to notice, she hooked her two rings together. The rings were a weapon nicknamed 'A Lady's Threat', in hooking them she hooked a wire from one to the other and unwound it before throwing one hand over his head. If it went off without a hitch, the garrote wire would be around his neck and she'd hook a foot behind his knee to trip him up and bring him down to the ground and sit on his chest. Though of course she was only trying to scare him for a laugh, not cause real damage with the wire so she didn't pull it fully tight.

If it worked of course.

[Kao]

What an absolute blessing this was. Kotaru was now at full attention as he stared at her completely bare chest. 'No thoughts, head empty' was the only way to describe her effect on him. As soon as she touched him, however, the Akari inhaled sharply and he nearly snapped out of it. As much as he wanted her he was still so sure that it wasn't a good idea to cross that line. The bannin tried to keep that in mind as he lifted his hands to pull hers away from his face, but they somehow found their way to her hips instead. Before he could pull her closer the kunoichi tricked him - bamboozled him, even - and in a few swift movements on her part he found himself on the ground.

Eyes widened in shock, he choked out a strained "Ume, wait, I-" as his fingers pulled at the garrote that was suddenly around his neck. When she didn't pull it tighter, the surprised and briefly panicked movements of his fingers slowed and eventually stopped. The man groaned and closed his eyes, one hand still on the garrote, and he let several seconds pass to calm his racing heart. His free hand found its way to her outer thigh, and his thumb dug into her skin. When the bannin spoke again his voice was deep, sultry. "Is stripping, choking me, and nearly sitting on my face part of your training regimen?"

[Willoria]

Ume was smirking down at him as she sat on his chest, straddling him, her legs on either side of him. She tilted her head and looked at him for a few moments before she finally leaned forward to take the garrote wire from around his neck. She made sure to be careful and slow about it. She didn't answer him immediately, holding the wire out in front of him before unhooking it from one of the rings and allowing it to wind up fully into the other one as she looked down at him still. "For genjutsu? No. But technically it could be." she replied with a bit of a chuckle. "An assassin has to be prepared to take out stronger targets after all... and sometimes I do have to think on my feet. And I wondered for a moment if I could get you off your feet... I honestly didn't think that would work." She giggled lightly, scooting back on him until she was sitting just below his belt before she finally pulled her shirt back up to cover herself.

"I'm not convinced you entirely hated that." she said before she finally stood up and held out a hand as an offer to help him up. she chewed on her lip lightly for a moment, that playful smirk still on her face. "Maybe I should borrow you for that kind of training sometime."

[Kao]

Kotaru hissed when she slid past his hips, rubbing against the stiffness in his pants. There was a split second where he nearly grabbed her by the hips to keep her there, to have her grind against him until she soaked her clothes. But he had godlike self-control and mental strength when he needed it, and right now he absolutely had to hold himself together. This hadn't been the plan when he warned her a few days ago to stay on her guard. Most of Kotaru's relationships were strictly professional, and enough time had passed that he thought he could do the same with Ume. But the woman still had an affect on him in more ways that one, and he didn't know how to begin to sort through the multitude of emotions that he had cycled through that day in the span of just a couple of hours.

'I thought I was over her, fuck,' the man thought as he began to berate himself for not seeing any of this coming. It seemed like such an obvious outcome now: Ume on top of him, him ready to take her right there on the cave floor, and the flood of mixed emotions that came with being in such a position. He opened his eyes in time to watch her breasts disappear behind the fabric, and he gave a small tsk as she began to stand. With a sigh, he allowed her to help him up and he didn't bother to hide the growth in his pants. Initially the bannin returned her smirk, but then his eyes fell and so did his expression. For a long while he stood there motionless, silent, his eyes practically glued to her collarbones. "Training, huh?" His voice had lost all flirtation. Instead his tone was unsure, and it clearly conveyed the fact that he was a little drained.

Without warning, Kotaru stepped forward and buried his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply to take in her still-familiar scent, and if she allowed it his hands would snake around her and rest on the small of her back. He held that position for several seconds, then he lifted his head so his lips brushed against her ear. "Don't tempt me, Ume. Not unless you mean it." With that he took several steps back, refusing to meet her gaze. "I think that's enough for the day. Go rest. We'll meet back here in two days time, at sunset." He would barely give her a chance to respond before leaving in a flash, leaving only puff of dust in his wake.