SHIONxxxxxMORI Even if the girl's moves werent as telegraphed as they were, Shion have no trouble at all dodging. The preternatural grace and reflexes granted to her by the Nibi sealed within her allowed the hosts body to contort into unsettling shapes to get out of harms way. A quick bend backwards into a simple flip, and Shion was out of Mae's threat range. "I dont have time to deal with you right now," Shion would say, reaching into her pocket and tapping a small clicker twice.
Within mere seconds, two cloaked ANBU agents would flank the girl. "We got the call, Captain. Where's the... oh are you kidding me? This seems like a gross misuse of power," the first agent would say, almost scolding Shion. "Yeah, dude. Normally id hate to agree with the kiss a**, but she doesnt exactly look like a threat." Shion would simply point to Mae, dodging any attacks she may throw her way, "She's a threat to me! Right now!" The second Agent would scoff at the thought. "oh please. From what I hear, the only threat to you is a bottle of booze and a cute boy." Shion's eyes would narrowly glare at the second agent; she was going to kill Mae... uh... her Mae. The one at the bar. "whatever. Lets just get her out of here so I can go home," the first agent chimed in, attempting to break the tension betweem his two squad mates. "Fine." With that, the three of them would simultaneously strike Maeko, hopefully sending her into an unconcious daze. From here, it'd be a short hop and a jump to CORE for processing.
"Tchh, wimping out?! Need help taking me down?! WELL DO IT! HIT ME! MAKE ME BLEED, ITS WHAT I WANT!" Tears kept streaking down her cheeks. Maeko was broken, mentally, she didn't know what she wanted. She felt horrible. She, even if it was a small part of her, felt like she wanted to die. She bellowed at Shion, screaming, when the two Anbu appeared behind her.
Her head snapped back, giving one of them a death glare, waiting for them to move as they talked. Then there was a mention of a cute boy. "I hope you don't make the same mistakes I did..." Is all that came out. Solemn, she meant every word, directing it to Shion. Her head was bowed, bangs concealing her eyes. A flat line formed across her lips, until that very last moment, after all three made their move. She wouldn't move, she wouldn't even evade. A sick, toothy grin spread across her face. Each fist met a hardened plate of bone, only to have a spear of bone harpoon out at each of them. The Anbu and Shion. "AHAHAAAAHAHAH!" Maeko's tears kept falling, even in the midst of her laughter. She was crazed and entirely gone from reality, for the moment.
Dance of the Larch: Absolute Defense [ A ] This is a supplemental technique. The user first prepares themselves by channeling chakra throughout all of their bones. Then, when the user is struck with a tai or bukijutsu technique, the user is able to have a plate of bones first protect the area which was struck equal rank to the strike provided. Then, the user launches a counter attack, which converts the opponentโs strength stat which they used the technique into the speed of which the bone blades rise out of the user to impale the target. Can only be used up to the rank the user has access to. Cost one activation to block the strike, and another to launch the counter strike. If the user only has one activation left, then the block will occur, but not the counter attack. If the user has no activations left, then this ability does not work. This stance last for 6 post. Activation DR: [ +0 Strength || + 0 Speed || +0 Reflex || +0 Fortitude ] โต
SHIONxxxxxMORI The three protruding spikes struck hollow peircing through clouds of smoke to reveal they hadnt met their intentded targets, but random city biys instead. The situation suddenly went from a simple civil disturbance to an actual threat. "You two, secure the perimeter and get the civilians out of here. Ill handle the girl." The two agents didnt need to respond; she knew they understood. And just like that, they were off.
Shion's response was quick and contained, a stark contrast to the wild and untethered Maeko. One... two... in a quick succession, Shion let off two stun-grenade fists into her foe. The first, a shot to sweep Mae off her feet, the second, a targeted blow to her head to incapacitate her. Through rippling with the raw might of an explosion, Shion was careful to limit the blasts to deal minimal damage. Nonlethality was the name of the game... and attrition
In the time between her spikes piercing the decoy bins and Shion barking orders, Maeko'd fished a scroll from her hip pouch and tossed it up letting it fly open. In a puff of smoke her gunbai would fall back down and she'd snatch it, resting it on her shoulder. All the while one long blade of bone pushed out of her right wrist, till it stopped at the length of a longsword. She didn't break it off, but kept it protruding, hand gripping it tight so as to not lose it if someone tried to knock it free. Though, unfortunately for Maeko, she was still outmatched, she saw her move and was barely able to even get ready to perform a block. "AAAAAH!" She yelped out, feeling that fist knock her off her feet. She was falling to the wayside, that blast sending her flying backwards across the ground. Maeko rolled, and skidded to a stop. All she could see was white, and her ears were ringing. She tried blinking it away, stumbling up to her feet, but she was unfortunately still out of it.
Dance of the Larch: Absolute Defense [ A ] This is a supplemental technique. The user first prepares themselves by channeling chakra throughout all of their bones. Then, when the user is struck with a tai or bukijutsu technique, the user is able to have a plate of bones first protect the area which was struck equal rank to the strike provided. Then, the user launches a counter attack, which converts the opponentโs strength stat which they used the technique into the speed of which the bone blades rise out of the user to impale the target. Can only be used up to the rank the user has access to. Cost one activation to block the strike, and another to launch the counter strike. If the user only has one activation left, then the block will occur, but not the counter attack. If the user has no activations left, then this ability does not work. This stance last for 6 post. Activation DR: [ +0 Strength || + 0 Speed || +0 Reflex || +0 Fortitude ] โต
โโ Activations Used
Bone blade thing [ D ] Made bone blade Activation DR: [ +0 Strength || + 0 Speed || +0 Reflex || +0 Fortitude ] โต
SHIONxxxxxMORI Her blow landed; it was now or never. Shion rushed Maeko at full force, driving her knee into the girl's stomach and using the momentum of the blow to wrap the boneweilder in a leglock. With her target secure, Shion formed a single hand seal, and the two disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
SHIONxxxxxMORI In the time that it took the couple to walk from the compound to the shopping district, Shion would regale Kaito about the time she went on a mission to stop some terrorists, but accidentally wound up finding, and subsequently fighting, the wrong people who turned out to already have defeated the terrorists. She left out a few minor details, like the death and Resurrection of Black, but if you think she was going to cut out that brawl, you were dead wrong. Shion was in full force now, back to her usual loud self, punctuating every detail with her own sound effect and spastic movement. Once they had made it, she'd stop to catch her breath and see if Kaito had come to a decision on food. "So, what sounds good, dude? My treat."
Whilst a squidman was interrogating a bonegal and while a hot-headed spunky commander was on a 'not date' with the ball of doofy smiles and awkwardness atop the roofs of the villages busiest district did a man sit. Enveloped by a dog-shaped shadow. With another revealing itself from behind to nuzzle its master only to have its hairs raise at Shion's direction. Did it know of her tailed beast that resided within her? Dogs and cats were after all, natural enemies in a sense. He'd pet his mutt to calm it down and speak something ominous. "Soon."and the typical villainous soliloquy that nobody would hear would occur. "My crossbreeding these past years have been fruitful, the agricultural district proved this much, soon my mundane pit fights of the past will look like playpens when I perfect my creations and what better arena than this now hidden flying rock. The only problem is its filled with these...people." he'd pet his doggo behind his ear. "But we can solve that can't we Brutus? After all what good is a product you don't test first."the man would click something within his coat. What this meant...well only time would tell.
((Gunna let ya get your giggidy on a bit before literally releasing the hounds))
Kaito walked with Shion with anticipation for one of her awesome ANBU stories - he had always idolized the group and was dying to hear of her heroics. He hung on to every word as she recounted the craziest brawl he'd ever heard of with plenty of animated movement and sound effects to match.
Then, her question threw him off-track for a moment, so he shrugged and said, "I know it's simple, but I could go for some ramen." He looked up to see a ramen shop right beside them, one he knew didn't try to be 'modern' or 'innovative' by throwing weird things into the soup, so he would be safe from fruit in his ramen. An allergic reaction to strawberries on a date would be real embarrassing, and for some reason, he really wanted Shion to think the best of him.
"I mean, I used to be quite the foodie, before the war. I had tried, at that point, every restaurant I could find, a few that were more underground. I guess when I came back, it took me a while to readjust even if my deployment had been comparably short." His eyes got that far-off look again, and he bitterly remembered killing his first man - two of them, simultaneously - and how his hands wouldn't feel clean for years afterwards.
SHIONxxxxxMORI Shion knew that look. You don't get to her position in life without knowing that horrible, horrible look. Before the mood turned to sour, shion threw an arm around Kaito, giving his upper arm a comforting rub. "Hey, ramen sounds great." Her words flowed smoothly, like a gentle breeze; the only trace of her usual self was the light rasp her voice naturally had. Wait, was that too much? Are you allowed to half-hug on a first date? The rubbing of Kaito's arm quickly ceased as she quickly broke away, a pink blush flooding her cheeks. "sorry... Hey, tell me whats good here, Mr. Foodie!" The nerves came and went fast and, before you knew it, she was back to her old self. Planting herself firmly at the bar, Shion would lean over the counter and flag the chef down. "hey dude, two of whatever he orders! she'd exclaim, pointing to Kaito as he took his seat.
Kaito was warmed out of his memory when Shion threw an arm around him. He leaned into the touch though with the height difference she really had to make an effort to do it, which made him grin.
"Uh, can we get the house special with extra shrimp?" He looked at her, hoping it didn't sound disgusting to her. Usually he went with extra onion or garlic but both might suggest he didn't want a repeat of last night and that was not the case. He thought she was delightful to be around.
"So, what made you pursue the APD?" He inwardly cringed at the question, also hoping she didn't think he was a workaholic or felt his life revolved around the APD... but now that he thought about it, he really buried himself in his work these days... Was this the first time he'd gone out of his way to enjoy himself since the Kogarashi attack?
SHIONxxxxxMORI Shion nodded approvingly at Kaito's suggestion. The idea of a self-described 'foodie' ordering ordinary ramen with a little extra meat seemed weird, but hey, he's the expert. Maybe the soup was just that good. While she struggled to comprehend his choice of order, his inquiry into her career path was simple. "Eh, i didnt really pursue APD; i was in it for the ANBU track. I uh... have a bit of a history with the law," she gave a few taps at the desk as she thought about how to finish her story. Kaito seemed like he took his job really seriously. Would he still like her if he knew she wasnt exactly the law-abiding type? "It's nothing serious, just petty stuff." a nervous laughter slipped past her lips. "I joined ANBU cause they have so much freedom to do what they want. No one ordering you around, you can come and go from the village as you want..." the more she spoke, the more her aura glowed; each word oozed with a radiant passion that few rarely saw from her. "I can just... do... you know what I mean? Go where I want, be with who I want..." she quickly stopped talking at the risk of inciting another Jin-cident. Shion, learn when to shut up, please.
Shion admitted some trouble with the law in her youth and Kaito leaned closer to her as he waited for the ramen to come. Really? He didn't know the ANBU allowed those with infractions in their past... but maybe she was really, really that good.
"Freedom can be really good," he conceded, trying not to dwell on her criminal past that made her uncomfortable. "I guess I don't know what to do with my free time. My mom is here, she's all I got. I guess I've never felt the need to leave. Yet, I want to protect the village more than I am now - the logical step is ANBU, isn't it?"
He looked at her more seriously as their ramen arrived. "What have you used your freedom for so far?" She'd mentioned being with whoever she wanted, and he couldn't help but want the same freedom himself. If he kept up with the APD at the rate he was, he'd either die alone or marry an equally busy officer. Not that he was thinking that far ahead... but he liked her.
He took a hearty bite of his ramen, eyes fluttering shut at the way the house special flavors tasted.
SHIONxxxxxMORI The moment her food was set in front of her, Shion went to work, tackling it like she tackled most things in life -- head on and at full throttle. In a display that could be called anything but flattering, Shion had downed half her bowl before Kaito had finished speaking. After a moment of brief contemplation, the voracious kunoichi would wipe the broth from around her face. "What anyone else woulda done. I protect what's important to me..." Ugh, did she really say that? That must've sounded really corny. Shion quickly shifted gears, trying her best to salvage what seemed like a bad situation. "Enough about me though. Like... I wanna know more about ya. APD aside, what do ya like? Surely you're more than a cute face."
He might have a problem with hero worship, as it turned out, because watching Shion tackle her bowl of ramen so readily made his heart almost jump out of his chest. Oh gods, was an idiot for being so head over heels for this woman? He thought she was infinitely cool for saying she was simply protecting what was important to her, like some action film heroine.
"Ah, well over five years ago, I was that crazy foodie. I did a lot of odd favors for elders in the community. I thought really hard about becoming a teacher; of course, at that point I had no real rank under my belt and I wasn't experienced in much more than my flower release and light release techniques. I mostly did small jobs and kept my mother company, I guess." He shrugged and looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his lack of accomplishments.
"These days, I pull doubles at the APD and save my friends from weirdly frequent devastating events. I guess I'd like to run a shop one day, maybe a flower stand or something on the smaller side. I should stop neglecting my shinobi studies too, and finish my sensory training, especially if I want to be an ANBU. And I think I do. One day, y'know, I might be good enough to be Arashikage." He laughed strangely after the last confession as if he had known it was true until he said it. Or perhaps it was an embarrassing, far away dream that he didn't think he'd ever be good enough to achieve.
SHIONxxxxxMORI It wasnt until Shion was about half way through choking down her second go at the ramen bowl that she realized just how awful she must look. Goodness, he must think she's an animal. He's so nice looking, taking his time and everything, and here she was with a mouth crammed full of shrimp and noodles. Her embarrased blush returned, getting the better of her; thankfully she could blame the soup's heat for her discoloration.
She'd finish her current mouthful, then wipe her face, trying not to snicker as he went into detail about the last five years. None of it was laughable, imfact Shion found it rather endearing. It's just... of course the cinnamon roll used flowers and light. And the boy scout behavior? Cmon... it's just too perfect not to elicite a giggle. "Being ANBU is tough, and getting in is even tougher," Shion would state rather bluntly. Pausing for a breif moment, she'd take another bite of her ramen, only this time much, much smaller... clearly an attempt to save face. "But if you're shinobi skills are half as good as your taste in food, I'm sure you'll do fine. Hey, I know! Why dont we throw down sometimes. What better way to see if you're ready than to have a. ANBU captain test you herself? I can even give you some pointers if you need." Crap... what did she just say?! Immediate regret flooded her head. What if she hurt him too badly? It might damper his spirits. Should she hold back? No, then he might get a false confidence.
