[Sora Minami]

Sora felt the pulse of the battle shift as she waded into the crowd of still recovering pirates, her instincts kicking in as she pivoted on her right foot and leapt up, a thick wooden bench swinging through the air beneath her. Her body torques in mid-air, speed on by the momentum of her pivot, and before the two men below her could retreat she formed a single hand seal, Raiton chakra surging up her gut and out of her mouth as she spat of bolt of raw electricity at the space between them, large enough to engulf the pair of men. "Raiton: Gian!"

The jutsu hit the ground with a bang, sending rocks and dirt soaring every which way- but the Jounin didn’t bother to check and see if it had killed her opponents. There were more pirates to deal with, after all, and even if it hadn’t killed the men they definitely wouldn’t be getting up any time soon. Landing back in the mist with a thud, Sora turned towards the nearest pirate and charged, Samidare held out at her side, ready.

---

Ikana’s foes reacted as one might expect when a child started throwing sharp objects at them; they dodged. Or, tried to anyway; the spear-wielder, unused to moving fast and unable to see well in the mist, tripped over a rock as he dived to his right, rolling in the dirt as a shower of rocks and debris crashed down from ahead of them. Two of Ikana’s shuriken found their mark on him, cutting deep lines across his right arm, but not immobilizing it. The swordsman proved to be more competent, calmly sliding out of the way of the projectiles and whirling to face the coming girl, his eyes cold.

He swung his blade at Ikana, a surprisingly quick cut that came from right to left, arcing up in a diagonal line meant to both ward the girl back and give his fallen comrade time to get up- and if the girl tried to simply stay out of range, she would be met with a terrible surprise, as the blade shone with the faintest traces of chakra, a familiar jutsu formed around the weapon, extending its range and cutting power.

Combat Info

SPOILER: Click to show

Sora used Raiton: Gian [Lighting Release: False Darkness] on the two Pirates, then turned to face the rest of the crowd!

Ikana's diversion successfully injured Spear Pirate, but Sword Pirate is unharmed and attacking Ikana with Hien enhanced sword slash!

[Miyamoto Ikana]

There was a momentary pause of reflection; before the wooden bench came swinging past her. As a bright flash of light filled the air from her gullet. Up until it shot forth. Gian. The piercing bolt of electricity that ripped through them, bringing forth an explosion that shook the cave in its entirety. Though; at least the pirates in question could generously say that their deaths in those moments were swift. Nearly instant even. Until Minami rushed forth immediately to the next pirates in the blink of an eye. For her? It was relatively easy to wrought slaughter and chaos. Her foes in consistent disarray as they scrambled to recover. Though...Recover from what?

There was little for them there other than the prospect of death. For as Sora rushed forth with the blade in hand? The pirate in question panicked, and sought to first, hurl forth some dishes with the sweeping hurl of the arm, before then instinctively diving underneath the table, screeching out almost artistically; desperate for survival as Sora rampaged forward. Other pirates drew forth their weapons more readily. As one charged straight for the pinkette; to his credit, bravely. His Katana in hand as he charges forth with a roar, more drunk than scared in their assault.

__

As for Ikana? As she released forth her salvo of throwing weapons? She analyzed as closely as she could; keeping in mind her opponents. Until one rushed forth. Far too skilled to be some mere bandit in her mind. Or at the very least, far more experienced than she could have ever imagined. As he evades her projectiles and closes the distance? Ikana crosses her arms along her shoulders as she leaps backwards. Her eyes widened however as she then swiftly arches her back and head backwards. A slash mark appearing along her headband sideways, as the lithe girl's head is slashed. The slice has her head beginning to slide diagonally; before she poofs into smoke. A chair from one of the guard stations near the opening of this cave. Kawarimi. Ikana soon reappears, just a few meters away.

A deep breath taken as she immediately rushes straight towards the swordsman in question. Her hands resting along her bracers as she makes her encroach. 

[Sora Minami]

Sora saw the man leap under the table in fear, his screams filling her ear as she pivoted away from him to face his braver, more foolhardy comrade. She had come here to kill pirates, yes- but if one of them happened to survive, it wasn’t a terrible thing. He could be captured and taken to the village to be tried for his crimes, pumped for whatever information he might have on other pirate crews, and thrown in jail to rot. Or hang, if his crimes were serious enough.

The Jounin met the roaring drunkard midstep, Samidare flashing down in a perfect left to right diagonal as she stepped forwards and slammed ehr blade into his, only to pivot and slash at him again, this time horizontally right to left. Her blade picked up speed as she brought it around for a third strike, the air itself slashing out with her cuts as she repeated the pattern of diagonal slash then horizontal slash twice more, weapon a blur of speed and power the radiated outward, hitting anything near her, even if was technically out of her reach.

"Rasenuki!"

---

The swordsman’s eyes widened as Ikana’s frame vanished in a cloud of smoke, his cut ruined despite its obvious perfection. "Shinobi!” He yelled, lips twitching down in a tight frown as he tried to find the girl in the swirling mists, his vision impaired. His spear-wielding friend beside him sat up then, his face twisted in a grimace of pain as he leveled his weapon, also looking for the girl. Neither of them could see through the mist, and though the swordsman clearly held a distinct advantage with his weapon, he could not hit what he couldn’t see.

"Come on out little girl. We promise, your death will be quick if you just stop hiding.” The spear wielder said, glancing back and forth as she stepped forwards, careful not to move too quickly. He was the diversion, the distraction meant to keep her attention while his comrade cut her down from the side- if, of course, they found her.

Miyamoto Ikana

Combat Info

SPOILER: Click to show

Sora has used Rasenuki on the pirate before her and all those within her reach plus 0.5 meters!

The Spear wielder has risen with a minor injury to his right arm and is trying to sniff Ikana out of the mists, while the sword wielder is standing steady, ready to fight!

[Miyamoto Ikana]

There was little difficulty for Minami to rip into the flesh of all those that approached her. For as the drunkard approached? Swinging his blade in an angered brave motion? The first wave deflected his slice. Her increase in tempo only sought to rip him, as well as everything around her into ribbons. Blood splattered and flew, as all those in her path were met with multiple slashes of wind and metal. Screams radiated from the cave as horrid echoes. By the end of her onslaught? Most of what lay before her was a pile of corpses. Poorly laid out in pools of blood, splintered wood, and ruined food and glass. A singular pirate attempts to drag themselves along the floor with their arms towards the exit. Survival. Desperate to get away from this monstrous woman.

Why? Why did she have to come kill them?...

As for Ikana herself? She listened and remained farther back. Until she grasped her wrist. With a flick, she would hurl outwards two Kunai towards the duo. They lit and flew forward, pressing into the ground between them. Ikana had little use for subtlety and stealth at this point any further. As the Kunai land along their feet? They'd promptly explode, sending forth black plumes into the air as well as likely dispersing her Kirigakure no Jutsu within the area. Assuming that she did well? She had to wonder. Consider to herself if her opponents were alive. She'd remain careful to the utmost degree then.

Were her targets neutralized?...

[Sora Minami]

Sora felt, rather than saw, the moment the pirates broke. It came as a shift, a subtle change in the atmosphere as the men around and beside her simply stopped living, cut to ribbons by her attack. Blood and viscera splattered everywhere, the death rattles of a dozen pirates filled the air- and one man, dragging himself across the ground in terror, trying to escape despite the dozens of tiny cuts that criss crossed his arms and legs. The Jounin let loose a long, slow breath, lowering Samidare as she walked over to the lone survivor and kicked him in the head, hard enough to knock him out but not enough to kill. Command would want to interrogate that one, after all.

A pair of explosions rocked the island, pulling her out of her thoughts as she turned towards the source, panic rising within her. Ikana. The thought set her legs moving, the mist fading around them as she charged towards the explosions… and found two husks, their bodies destroyed by the force of the flames. Ikana was there as well, off to the side, unhurt and seemingly unaffected by the carnage.

"Good job." Sora said, letting loose another heavy breath as she surveyed the destruction the two of them had wrought. "I guess we should signal the ship. We’ve got a prisoner to tow back to the village."

Miyamoto Ikana

[Miyamoto Ikana]

There was a momentary pause, as she took some time to compose her breathing. Though she did not feel the adrenaline fade just yet. "We're not finished yet." She expresses, before taking the liberty to make her advance. In truth? Ikana wasn't outwardly effected by the carnage, but internally, she didn't know how she should feel about the dirty work. Not that she had any sympathy or empathy for the actions of such people. No. Everyone had the potential to control their own destinies or attempts to defy it all the same. Regardless on if the outcome was the same. Everyone had choices to make. She advanced forward, and slowly; she points to the shoreline.

"Their ship. We shouldn't let any of them escape. If we can help it." That said though? That was a relatively trivial and easy thing to attend. The small girl walked through, and as she did, she proceeded to stop before the bodies before her. Either blown apart with fragments of stone or metal lodged in their lungs, if not battered and burned. She took the liberty to kneel and take forth the tanto from one of them, and proceeded to lean her weight upon the back of the pommel as she thrusts and stabs it into the back of the throat of the one she stole it from. Twisting it sideways as she feels a pop; before wrenching it freely. She stands, flicks the blood from it, and sheathes it.

It was hers now. This world was defined by what someone could hold, and what they could keep. Ikana seemed awfully quiet. Though, there was a momentary pause as she raised her head to the sky. Closing her eyes for a moment, she rests her right hand over her eyes, as she smooths it down her face and skin. Before she continues her advance. In truth. The stragglers were easy to take care of, and the ship and its cargo was bound to be taken, requisitioned by Kiri. However, what Ikana would find was far more valuable. Given quarter to loot, she was pleased to find a large scroll of which she strapped onto her back. As well as a small supply of tools for her to take in her own storage scrolls. Weapons primarily were her interest, as well as small bits and baubles.

She seemed relatively...distracted in her mind, and unless spoken to? She didn't seem to say a word. Not as she crouched down and began taking anything she found remotely valuable. From weapons and armor pieces, to things as trivial as a fishing rod and its line.

[Sora Minami]

Sora watched Ikana as the girl came down from her battle high, her own breathing slow and steady, blade arm loose but not relaxed, sky-blue gaze calm and sharp. She wasn’t entirely wrong, truth be told- there could very well be more pirates aboard the ship, men who hadn’t participated in the party, but the Jounin doubted it. Had anyone been on the ship, they would have made themselves scarce by now, but it was still there, anchored in the small cove that led back to the sea.

"I don’t think there are any left that could escape, Ikana." She said, intentionally jerking her head towards the unconscious pirate on her right. The girl seemed muted, almost as if something were on her mind- what it might be, Sora didn’t know, but the Jounin had no real desire to push things at the moment. Post-battle shock wasn’t something you wanted to mess with right away, not when they had a nice, long trip back to Kiri to talk things out.

"That’s a nice sword you found." Sora said once Ikana made her way to where she was, Samidare still unsheathed and ready, just in case. Ikana could afford to relax, probably needed to, but she couldn’t. Wouldn’t, actually, not until they were back in the village, safe.

Miyamoto Ikana

[Miyamoto Ikana]

Ikana found herself listening to those words. "I see." It made sense. Though in truth, the little Kirigakure genin wasn't on some sort of battle trauma. Nor was she in some form of shock. No. When she looked to the sword in hand, she took the liberty to gaze it firmly. It seemed like it'd be a useful tool. That it'd suit her well. However, at the end of the day, that's all it was. "It's a good tool." Unlike a number of Kirigakure folk, Ikana had little value in sentimentality like that. There was no legacy or meaning to the blade she held. It was only a tool, and it'd be hers until it broke. That was all.

Looking over the corpses, she took the liberty to keep her spoils to her person. In truth, there were many dark thoughts running through the girl's head. Then again, there very often were. She fantasized and thought about death several times in her life, and had very rarely thought about good things. It was easier to be in that dark place of mind; cut people off. So that if she was ever in a difficult situation, she could acclimate quickly. The world was a cruel and harsh place, and there were few in Kiri that could honestly say that they could see the same darkness as she had. The same level of it. Though that wasn't important.

Stepping off, she found herself in truth feeling numb about most of this. The only thing she restrained from herself in recent times was the feeling of pleasure in having the power to kill, to take a life. She'd realized in those brief moments that having power, true power over someone. It was intoxicating. The little brunette remembered that feeling on her earlier mission with Hozuki Kamui. Though Ikana didn't like that sensation for the same reason Sora might. Sora seemed to be the kind of person who liked the thrill and the adrenaline rush of battle. For Ikana, it was certainly different.

As she walked and she let negative thoughts consume and rest in her mental headspace, this mission was about done...It was time to head home.

[Exit]