[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Sadako, as was typical for her, was training alone. The dojo wasn’t private, but she had a habit of going during the dark and quiet hours, when it was less likely that anyone would be there to piss her off; no sensei lecturing her, no academy students bugging her, none of the genin to make smarmy comments or gossip about the exams just within her earshot. Used to be that she could scare them off pretty reliably, but her reputation had taken a hit since her less-than-stellar homecoming. Her aunt had given her Hung Gar Rings when she got back, as a hey good showing, kid, kind of gift. It had taken her weeks to actually bust them out, because she hadn’t wanted a gift in the first place, but— —there was something to these, she guessed. Just one pair each on her forearms and shins to start, about an inch thick and heavy. Getting used to the weight was weird, but they were satisfying, adding an extra heft to her hits that was a little harder to control, a little straining on her limbs, but satisfying. She’d been at it for half an hour already, repeating the cycle of combinations. Pain prickled at her wrists and ankles, like something was tugging on her limbs, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t ignore. It was acceptable. Clarifying. A bit like meditation, but less boring and frustrating than just sitting still. Sadako had done the Devil Bringer. She could do it. It had happened, however briefly, when she was sparring with the Tangerine Asshole of Iwagakure, when she was so overwhelmed with rage and hate that she channeled another power entirely. It felt good. But she hadn’t been able to do it again, no matter how angry she had gotten during the exams, no matter how dire her need. She lost her temper and she got absolutely nothing in exchange. Just her ass handed to her on the international stage, and nothing to show for it. All the pieces were there; she just needed to figure out their arrangement. In the meantime, she would train, and train, and train, until the Hung Gar Rings made her joints ache and her muscles were screaming for a break—and she kept going anyway, striving for that absolute clarity she got in the Devil Bringer’s wake, courtesy of her head getting smashed against the ground. She was tunneling hard, her focus so intense that she wouldn’t have heard a thing if someone else joined her in the dojo—especially since she wasn’t expecting to see anyone else at this time of night.

Gima Taro -- 435

LAIKA OF THQ

[Gima Taro]

Taro wasn't much for training. At least, he didn't do it often. Not that he didn't like it- On the contrary, a good hustle in the ring could be entertaining- But he found that experience on the field outweighed experience in the dojo a hundred times over- And he wasn't afraid of getting his ass kicked to learn such lessons in-person.

Still, it'd be a fools run to not hit the gym here and there- Punch the pillow, so to speak. There were certain things you couldn't really practice in most situations, and in those cases, it was good to have a place to run by and work on your technique. Well, if you could call it technique.

Today, however, Taro came into the dojo a bit under the weather. Later at night, to avoid the crowds. To avoid the wandering eyes. To avoid the Shinobi who would tell him to go bandage himself up. Yeah, it was another one of those days. Getting into trouble with thugs. Kicking ass and getting his ass kicked, though not always in that order. A bleeding nose, a black eye, and some bruises were run over his system. He'd stopped the bleeding with a piece of cloth stuck up there, but man, he looked like crap.

But he didn't feel like crap. As wet as he was from the pouring rain outside, as much as he looked tired, he felt pumped up. Those thugs got some cheap shots in, sure. But it wasn't a real fight. He didn't feel like he was in any danger. It made him wanting for more- And more then that- It made him want to really test out some of his more dangerous techniques.

Which is why he was here, at the Dojo, assuming he'd be just about the only son of a gun awake. Seems he was wrong. Eyes darted towards a girl on the other side of the room, who seemed to be tossing fists and training in the air with those strange rings. He wasn't a total bumpkin, Taro had heard a few times of training enhancers, but he had no idea what the hell they were really for.

So of course, without any of the tact at all one could expect from someone who could actually read a room or a face, he wandered up to the woman working her ass off- Someone he had never met in his life, outside of brief glances when the two happened to be at the academy at the same time- And spoke.

"...What are those?" He'd question. He waited until she had a lull in her motions. Didn't really want to startle her, after all. And he gave her plenty of space as well. Didn't want to smother her either. He was learning how to be a more patient person. Swearsies.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

All of Taro’s intent and effort to avoid startling her was there, but Sadako was startled regardless, flinching violently and jerking back in place as the boy’s question shocked her out of her trance like a bucket of ice water. For a split second she was absolutely certain that he had tracked her down, had found her here somehow, and that she was absolutely about to die. But it was just some guy. ”Fuck,” she swore, her breath coming short and heavy. "Fuckin’—don’t sneak up on people. God.” Now that she was looking at his face, she vaguely remembered him from the academy—he was one of the genin, but hell if she knew what team he was on. Not hers, she was sure of that much. It took a second for his question to register as a question that he had asked her, specifically, and that he was expecting some kind of response. "Uh—hung gar rings,” she said, lifting one laden limb. Something in her wrist and elbow joints twinged with the movement, but she ignored it. "Weights, kinda. Add more force and inertia to taijutsu moves, better than standard training weights.” She was still wearing those, too: a weighted vest around her torso, thick weights around her forearms and shins, layered beneath the hung gar rings. They looked old, far too old to have been purchased within the start of the genin’s career, and extremely well-worn. He hadn’t been at the exams, or if he was then Sadako didn’t remember seeing him there. There was the possibility, however slim, that the gossip hadn’t made its way to him just yet; untainted by rumors of her abject failure. He seemed strong enough by the look of him. Smaller than her, but most of the genin were, and his hands were calloused in a way that made her think that maybe he put some actual work in. Maybe this was what she was missing. Orange Fanta had whooped Sadako’s ass to Sunday and back when she’d tapped into that heightened state—maybe this wasn’t something that she could achieve in a vacuum. She just needed someone who could keep up with her. "You, uh, workin’ on something?” she asked, gruff. "Need a training partner?” She was carefully nonchalant, her gaze sliding off to the side as she wiped the sweat from her face with the hem of her shirt: as if she didn’t care at all if he said no, and would vehemently deny having any interest in a group activity at any point in her life.

Gima Taro -- 425

LAIKA OF THQ

[Gima Taro]

Watching her jump was rather funny, and Taro couldn't help but stifle back a laugh as he placed a hand over his mouth.

"If that's what sneaking up is like, I must be one hell of a ninja." He teased, as he slipped his hands behind his head and listened to her explanation. About halfway in, the cloth fell out of his nose, and he had to quickly bend over to grab it off the floor and stuff it back up there before he started leaking again.

"--Crap- Aint nothing ever easy, is it..." He muttered with a sigh, as he slowly picked himself back up, looking over her weights and equipment.

"Sounds useful. And expensive. Must be nice to have that sort of gear." He grinned, no animosity in those words. Taro was a poor boy, and that was fine by him. He couldn't afford rings and other expensive shinobi equipment- What was the phrase? Country boys make do? Something like that. The street rat was pretty on that grindset as well.

He stood there idly though, looking her over. It was true, he knew fuck-all about her disasterous failure at the Chuunin exams, and his opinion could have gone either way if he did know, so she was fortunate in that sense. When she brought up training partners, he gave a shit eating grin and crossed his arms.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind a training partner- If you think you can keep up with me." He shot a teasing glance back at her as he- Again- Looked like he just got out of a fight and was walking into another one. Never a dull moment, one would have to suppose, as his head leaned back slightly.

"'Long as you don't mind me fightin' dirty. I aint the type to play fair, but since when was what we did supposed to be fair, right?" He questioned, glancing back down at her.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Her pride rankled as he laughed at her, visibly bristling—and visibly holding her tongue. If you can’t say anything nice… Sensei’s scolding echoed in the back of her head like a mantra. She had learned what running her mouth before she knew what she was up against could earn her, and she wasn’t so stupid that she needed to be taught a lesson twice. "Try it,” she said, taking the rings off and holding them out to him. Her expression was on a scale from friendly to mean, somewhere in the realm of neutral to unpleasant; but the gesture was sincere enough. "I can take a hit.” A beat, and then a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You’ll need ‘em if you wanna keep up with me. I don’t play fair either.” Irritation still itched at the back of her mind, but that could be a good thing, if she used it right. "Takeda Sadako, by the way,” she said after a moment—forced out of her mouth, stiff and awkward, like she wasn’t used to being the one to willingly offer her name. Sadako backed up a bit, giving Taro some time and space to get himself set up with the hung gar rings, if he wanted them. She bounced in place, shaking her limbs out—they felt a little tingly after training with the rings for so long, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. "What happened?” she asked, jerking her chin to indicate the tissue stuffed up Taro’s nose. As she twisted her wrists, the bells on her delicate silver bracelet jingled. Sadako carefully molded chakra at the forefront of her mind—focusing on a basic genjutsu technique, much like she had with Taki. Test his sensitivity and awareness of illusions, and adjust from there.

Gima Taro -- 299

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Naru Kane: Kurikaesu [Ringing Bells: Repeat]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Very Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Auditory
DESCRIPTION:
The most simple of techniques in the Naru Kane tree. This technique has the effect of repeating the ringing of the bell even after it ends. It doesn't amplify the volume of the ringing in any way. The ringing originates from the position of the bell that activated the genjutsu and nowhere else. This fake ringing of the bell can not activate any other genjutsu, it is primarily used as a teaching device for the technique tree to allow genin to understand the basics of the techniques. It can however be used as a small distraction if used properly.

[Gima Taro]

Taro stared on as she asked him to try the rings. With a soft shrug, he pulled them into his hands, looking over the rings with careful eyes as she basically told him he'd need the crutch. He shrugged slightly, putting them on for a moment as he looked up at her.

"Sure, why not. I'm not going to pass on free training gear. Might help." He smirked. It was interesting that she had such an annoyed expression, and he could feel some sort of anger from her voice, or at least discontent- Yet Taro himself didn't really see a reason for it. It was just light ribbing to him.

"Taro. Just Taro." He explained calmly, as he readied himself to fight. He wasn't really a Taijutsu user, so the rings would have a very limited effect on him other than tiring him out, but it gave him a great opportunity for an advanced challenge as he listened to her question his injuries.

"Got my ass kicked by a coupla thugs. Nothing exciting." He said, his eyes moving down to the bracelet she wore. The genjutsu had its effect- And having no clue about the bracelets, he was quite honestly distracted- Which left him open for a free strike. Yeah, truth was, as it stood, Taro was pretty bad at fighting genjutsu. The only thankful part right now was that due to his previous injuries, he was already in minor pain, though his wounds were more moderate. It was going to take a while for him to be in the type of pain to break genjutsu, that was for sure.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

A better person might have felt bad. Taro had been through at least one scrap already that day, and Sadako knew from recent experience that hung gar rings could be painful to use for extended periods of time—she was built different, but she had no way of knowing that this kid had some of that selfsame mettle. Giving him the rings meant that he could hit her harder, sure, but it would pay off for her if she could draw the fight out long enough for Taro to feel their strain. Sadako was not a better person. By most metrics, she was a starkly bad person, and since Taro cracked the door to fight dirty, that meant it was open season. She grinned: sharklike, predatory. The echoing bells of her jingling bracelet drawing Taro’s eyes left him vulnerable; something that Sadako immediately strove to take advantage of, pushing off from her back leg to leap up and whip her other leg around in a round kick to Taro’s face. She was careful to maintain the chakra flow of the genjutsu technique, holding it in place—it was rare that a distraction like this worked for more than a fraction of a moment, but on the off chance that Taro was a real dummy, she didn’t want to cough up a potential ongoing advantage.

Gima Taro -- 222

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Dainamikku Entori - [Dynamic Entry]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/a
DESCRIPTION:
After utilizing a distraction, such as throwing a kunai, the user will perform a jump kick into their opponent's face from their blind spot.

NAME: Naru Kane: Kurikaesu [Ringing Bells: Repeat]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Very Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Auditory
DESCRIPTION:
The most simple of techniques in the Naru Kane tree. This technique has the effect of repeating the ringing of the bell even after it ends. It doesn't amplify the volume of the ringing in any way. The ringing originates from the position of the bell that activated the genjutsu and nowhere else. This fake ringing of the bell can not activate any other genjutsu, it is primarily used as a teaching device for the technique tree to allow genin to understand the basics of the techniques. It can however be used as a small distraction if used properly.

[Gima Taro]

Taro wasn't a slouch. Tricks like that would easily work on a lesser shinobi, but this guy- He was used to fighting. More then that, he was used to fighting at a disadvantage- He'd done so his entire life. Uphill against an opponent that had the element of surprise, well, it was nothing new to him.

If anything, it just made him more excited. The ringing in his ears was a small bit of distraction, which gave this girl the perfect chance to pull off a kick. Taro didn't see it until it was too late to dodge- But this wasn't his first rodeo. He knew how to chin into an attack, and although it looked rather devastating, considering it send him flying back a bit, this was a ruse.

It hurt a lot, of course- But he wasn't down and out yet. His mind worked double time in the disadvantaged point he was in- Sitting on the floor, that is- As he twirled back around, a handful of sand and dust from the floor of the arena flying up directly towards his opponents eyes!

This though, was much like her own attack- A distraction. Hoping to blind her for but a moment, he'd blow water out of his mouth, a slippery surface being shot across the arena floor she was standing on. The idea was two fold, here.

Taro couldn't reasonably go on the attack. It was clear she had a lot of skilled techniques in taijutsu and, it seems, genjutsu as well. But Taro was an adaptable fighter. Where some ended up edged into one particular style, Taro was always watching for openings, always trying to create openings- And with any luck, this combination of seal-less jutsu would give him the perfect opportunity to level the playing field- Considering he started this fight injured from the get go, a steady trail of blood now on the floor.

- Taking the kick to the face, chinning as much of it as possible, but ending up on the floor.
- Spinning up off the floor with Pokettosando [Pocket Sand], using it as a distraction to deploy Suiton: Ayamariue [Water Release: Slip Surface] onto the floor beneath Sadako, before standing up and watching to see her next move.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

There was a satisfying crack as the flat of her foot made brutal connection with Taro’s chin and he hit the floor. Sadako didn’t have much time to revel, though; even as she barked a laugh, Taro was getting back up, and a fistful of sand hit her in the eyes quicker than she could see it coming. Dirty trick—one of her own favorites. Her begrudging respect was rising. She stumbled backwards, her eyes squeezing shut to protect herself from the worst of the stinging granules—and froze in place when she felt a spray of water against her legs, and her footing slid treacherously on the now-slippery floor. A subtle flow of chakra to the soles of her feet helped anchor her to the floor, but this left her in a position of now needing to split her attention between multiple techniques; a degree of chakra control that she still struggled with, and in exchange for regaining her footing, her focus on the genjutsu slipped from her grasp. Blinded and put on the back foot, Sadako felt her temper rising—but bit it back, her teeth sinking into the meat of her cheek as she quickly thought through her options. She kept still, one hand in a loose guard in front of her while the other scrubbed the sand from her eyes, waiting for Taro’s next barrage of attacks.

Gima Taro -- 222

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

- ate a fistful of sand
- using water walking... or tree climbing? whichever is more appropriate here ig? to keep her footing on the slippy floor
- lost the genjutsu as a result
- [d&d voice] i take the dodge action and end my turn

[Gima Taro]

Taro watched her struggle to get her bearings on the floor now, as the ringing cleared from his ears. Huh. So he managed to pull that one off. A grin grew on his face, as he spit some blood out onto the floor next to him.

"Is that the best you can do? Give me a break..." His stare was brutal, and yes, he was one hundred percent trying to egg her on, because he was nowhere near done yet. He felt that wind running through him- His blood pumping, his body moving... Action. He was a machine motion, and he loved every second of it, even as he drained life essence from his lips.

After all, it was just his weakness leaving the body.

Slapping three handseals together in quick succession, his body moved backwards, slowly stumbling as he caught himself on one of the punching bags. With a shake of his head, and a realization that he wasn't exactly getting any younger here, he was of the sudden thought that, perhaps...

Perhaps he'd need to push himself a bit further. Dropping one of the rings to the floor, he pulled a kunai from his pouch. This one was, well, simple inspection showed it was a lot more dull than your average Kunai- It was likely one he used to put up tents and other things, so it wasn't likely to cause a grievous wound if it cut into someone.

But it opened Taro up to the ability to attack with even greater speed, distinction, and tenacity.

"Come on... Can't even finish off a wounded animal?" He grinned, still egging her on further, hoping he could use her anger, her rage, to get her to snap at him.



-Taro uses taunt.
-Taro stumbles, and tries to be slick setting up a kawarimi on the punching bag.
-Taro steps back again, grabbing a dull kunai, and taunts again, leaving himself open to an attack.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Is that the best you can do? Sadako’s teeth ground together, her jaw aching with the pressure of it. She scrubbed the last of the granules of sand from her eyes, blearily opening them again to catch the sight of Taro pulling out a kunai. So he preferred weapons—made sense, even if it wasn’t for her. Range was a huge boon that Sadako would never benefit from, and she had to make up for her lack of range with speed and tactics. She had some of the former but struggled with the latter, especially when she was being goaded. Her heartrate jackrabbited, her fists clenching. "You talk too much,” she said shortly. She pulled a fistful of sand from her own pocket—but instead of throwing it in Taro’s face, she tossed it to the wet, slippery floor, adding some texture for her to keep her balance on. "Big smack from a guy getting his ass beat.” A sharp jingle of the bracelet again, and chakra flowed from the soles of Sadako’s feet to the forefront of her mind: another genjutsu, this one taking the form of two clones flanking Sadako’s either side. As they materialized, Sadako surged forward, launching a new offensive of a series of punches to close the gap and re-engage Taro in melee.

Gima Taro -- 216

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

- pocket sand on the ground to make it less slippy

- used a genjutsu: NAME: Naru Kane: Kakashi [Ringing Bells: Scarecrow]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Auditory [bells ringing]
DESCRIPTION:
The bushin technique creates clones. This technique attempts to do much the same, without actually needing to create clones. Instead, it causes the victim to hallucinate and see multiple images of the user, each with a swaying bell hanging from their waist. These images are not independent clones, and simply do the exact motions of the user. Because it will be difficult to tell the real one apart from the illusions, the user can take advantage of this and attack the target without much trouble.

- moved forward on the offensive, just standard non-jutsu punches to close the distance

[Gima Taro]

She was coming in for another attack. Perfect. His eyes seemed to be playing tricks on him, because as he stepped back, he saw more then just one of the girl. Clever trick. Taro stared for a moment, trying to figure out which one was the real one, but--

No such luck. The real Sadako had fists meeting body, and with a grunt of pain, he fell backwards...

Only to poof into smoke- Revealing itself to be a double... One big punching bag. Fitting. Instead, he was already behind her. His eyes darted from one place to the other, and he knew which one was real by the physical reaction he'd felt from the actual Sadako.

It was a good thing he'd pushed himself back a bit- Now that they were both out of the slippery floor, and she was focused on his double- It gave him the perfect opening he was looking for...

For a backstab. Swinging his Kunai in an arc, with an impressive amount of speed, clearly chakra based, he aimed to send a swift slash across the womans back, across her shoulders and away as he spun around to see her more clearly. He was panting now- Even someone with Chakra reserves like his had limits- And he'd already come into this fight wounded, but...

He had a hunch that had worked, at least to some degree. He hoped it had.


-Gets hit, but alas, its the Kawarimi he just set up! She's punching a bag!
-This gives Taro the perfect chance to enact part two of his plan- [New Shadow Style: Bounding Rasp Cutter], using the distraction to quickly jump behind her and swing for the real Sadako's back, the Genjutsu presumably broken due to her punching his Kawarimi!

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

She could see the look in his eye as he tried to suss out the details of her technique, and grunted as her fist made contact, driving her knuckles in deep—only to swear loudly as she realized that her fist had made contact with a fucking substitute, and not Taro himself. He must have set it up while she was blinded. Blood flooded her mouth as she bit down harder on the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her cool. Sadako whirled in place to meet the sound of Taro now moving behind her, bringing her arm up to block his swing, but she didn’t move quickly enough—the blade of the kunai sliced across her back. It was dull enough that it didn’t bite cleanly through her skin, but blood welled up in its wake, and it sliced through the strap of her loose tank top as if it were butter. The fabric fell, pooling awkwardly around her waist as it hung sadly from her other shoulder. Sadako hardly seemed to notice. Her eyes were narrowed, nostrils flaring; she barely felt the sting of the kunai’s slice, pushing it out of her mind as she swung her fist around in a heavy haymaker to clock Taro in the jaw. Wisps of vibrant yellow chakra smoked off her knuckles—she was focused now, teetering on the edge of vicious rage, striving to keep her mind clear and her emotions in check as she beat the everloving shit out of this boy.

Gima Taro -- 250

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

- keeping up the same genjutsu
- cut with the kunai on her back, thru the tank strap, whoopsie wardrobe malfunction
- sadako does not notice or care
- aiming w/ a hook shot for Taro's jaw
- if ok with you, tryna tap into a little of that yummy Takeda KKG for training purposes, channeling the vibe of the starter transformation technique without actually going full power:

NAME: Akuma Tamashī ( 悪魔魂 ) [Devil's Soul]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low, Medium Drain
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: 0
ACTIVATION: A transformation that can only be obtain through a great deal of emotional stress, with the user giving up control of such feelings in exchange for raw power. Thus activating this form.
DESCRIPTION:
A form that only few people in the Takeda manage to achieve, but within certain reason as it is regarded as more of a curse than an actual achievement. The transformation itself is often used as a way to evaluate the condition of ones emotional state by Devil Preceptors. The user becomes a slave to whichever emotion triggers it, and unlike its successors form its strength gain is universal throughout the body. However, in exchange for such power the amount of drainage the user has is higher than its successor. The user also doesn't remember much of what happened while in this transformation as they become blinded by their feelings. This form is not a prerequisite of the Devil Bringer, while its power does come from within it, this transformation itself is not required for one to achieve the the Devil Bringer spectral arm. In this form the user is covered in a shroud of colored chakra ( Of which will be the same color in all transformations once achieved ), with the color being based off the personality of the user. Their eyes also glowing with the same chakra color being emitted from them. Under circumstances of great stress and lack of emotional control this form can be activated by the user. In this form the user gains strength beyond the measures of their current physical abilities. Its power Varying depending on the current level of ones current strength meaning no one form may hold the same power as another. In this form the user fights purely with instinct, and is not to be used with a rational thought in mind. It will be played as such.

Non-Specialized ➠ Secondary Tai Str
Secondary Tai Str ➠ Primary Tai Str
Primary Tai Str ➠ Sole Tai Str
Sole Tai Str ➠ 1 Rank Increase With Sole Tai Str

[Gima Taro]

Oh crap, her- Shirt was down. Awkward. Incredibly so, actually, as he stepped back, watching this woman absolutely foam at the mouth. Now, here was the thing. Taro didn't know about her like, secret abilities, or any sort of... Weird, techniques her clan could pull off, because he wasn't really paying attention to her clan name.

So when her rage manifested into some sort of yellow aura, and she hit him so hard across the cheek that she damn nearly threw out a tooth, he slammed to the ground hard, rolling around a few times before he picked himself up, ever so slowly.

In truth, that had knocked the sails out of him. His fighting energy was already teetering around, but getting punched that hard? You might as well have clocked him with a baseball bat. Not to mention she hit again, where she'd already hit before. That was going to leave a nasty bruise... And she had definitely unhinged his jaw with that hit.

Still, Taro wasn't one to go down easy. She didn't know this, but fuck, she'd soon find out. He seemed to not be getting back up, and when he was, it looked like the fight was over.

Not quite. Focused on the blood filling up his body, channeling the inner energy of his pure, blood born roots, Taro kicked himself back up to his feet and stared the woman down, one hand wrapped around the Kunai, the other, fist around the ring.

He spit more blood to the side, and the entire arena was going to need some serious cleaning after this, as he gave her another grin. It wasn't malicious though, this time. No, it was excited. He was excited to have an opponent who pushed him so far, who growled so dangerously, who had some sort of... Secret power to her.

He wanted more. Regardless of whether or not she followed up, he nodded towards her, telling her he was okay to keep going, even if it wasn't for much longer. She may have had him on the ropes, and he may have looked like he should have been down, but by some disgusting push against the nature of the world itself, he was still standing- A crooked, half hanging jaw making him look like some sort of fucked up zombie, blood dripping from it.

And with that, he went in. He knew it wasn't a particularly great idea, and he didn't exactly have any special techniques to throw around, but it didn't matter. He went in anyways. A left hook, but it was just a feint, as he swung his kunai up into her gut. But even that was just something to follow up with more strikes- Knees, kicks, punches, slices.

Taro used weapons, yes, but that was just a small part of what he was. He used ANYTHING he could get his hands on. His fists, his legs, a sword, a piece of wood that had dropped from their nearby fighting. He wasn't someone trapped if he lost a weapon- No, on the contrary.

He always had a weapon, and in a manner of speaking, he was that weapon.


-Hitting that DETERMINATION SA to get back up again, broken jaw and all, blood pouring from his mouth.
-Giving it his all because he aint got shit to use anymore. Punches, kicks, feints, slashes with his Kunai, a last hurrah of vicious strikes. Unintentionally, there's some hope here that the sight of someone still fighting despite the injuries given to them are enough to make them trip up a bit on the defense, but seeing how Takeda work, that's not likely.

[takeda sadako]

KILLING YOUR IDOLS IS A CHORE

Taro hit the ground hard. Sadako knew distantly that she had whalloped him with a heavy hook, but it wasn’t like she was using any particular style of taijutsu—she’d expected it to hurt, but not for him to go down like that. She almost felt bad. Almost. Satisfaction rolled thick and oily in her gut as she cracked her neck, rolled her shoulders—and shifted into stark disbelief as Taro, jaw hanging crooked, blood flying out of his mouth, got back up. "Fucker,” she said, panting—impressed despite herself. Heat flared in her chest as he grinned at her, lopsided and misshaped, wet with blood and slickly fierce. That yellow chakra surged up her fist, coating her forearm, her bicep, licking over the curve of her shoulder and across her chest: losing her grasp on that fickle, fine-tuned control, though not to anger. Just to heat. For a critical moment she was paralyzed, and that was all Taro needed. Taro threw himself at her; she fell for the feint, took a blunted, aching slash to the gut from his kunai, returned the favor with a knee to his crotch. Techniques and taijutsu went out the window; she was scrapping like she had on the street as a kid, pulling hair, nails to the face, teeth to whatever unfortunate piece of flesh came too close to her mouth. Pain was nothing, background noise: a low, buzzing hum that anchored her body to her mind, kept the yellow aura from overtaking her completely. "Stay the fuck down,” she hissed, struggling to regain the upper hand—but there was a grim, bloody joy sparking in the deep black of her eyes, bone-deep satisfaction in the knowledge that for once in her life, she didn’t have to feel guilty for not holding back.

Gima Taro -- 296

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

- bro that genjutsu is so far gone
- she's having Some Kind of Feeling about all of this
- losin her grip on that transformation a lil bit but still hanging in there
- taro lowkey beating the shit out of her but she's tryna give as good as she's getting
- alarmingly happy about this turn of events