What Evil Lurks in the Burning Sands? [Chuunin Exam]

[Takahashi Aki]

The Arch Demon would continue to smile at the three. Taki remained behind them. It was perhaps a surprise. No. In fact it was a surprise. The smile was too perfect. The high cheekbones and the array of teeth. When two of them challenged her, the smile receded. The perfect lips curled into an O shape. "Let me show you something."<i></i> She spoke, "I'll paint a picture for you a living one. I have nothing to gain from lying to the heroes who stopped a rebellion."<i></i> The three of them would be stunned for a moment. Images like that of an oil painting that was animated would spring into their minds. Each and every single one of them. Chiyo would perhaps be the one in for a weird ride, seeing as how she had never met Masashi Mako before. The three would see in this oil painting animation a helmeted Mako as she was looking across the glass field. Her mouth was moving as she was trying to relay the information into her head sets. This lake of glass was of a surprise to her. For those who could lip read, could get a sense of frustration as Mako was having difficulty in trying to reach communications. The veteran would curse and curse and curse. She would remove the helmet and throw it at the lake of glass for it to shatter into one million pieces. This was perhaps a little bit of extra narrative put into the story being weaved in by the Arch Demon. Mako would with a furious look try to return to Sungakure. She was stopped by a specter like version of the demoness that they had fought earlier. Mako bit down on her lip and would engage the enemy. Her good eye turning into the famed sharinghan, but it was blue. It was a violent fight. Who knew that ghosts could bleed? The fight was long and hard. It felt like a life time, but a misstep by Mako let herself get impaled by this specter demoness. A ghostly hand rammed through her head and held the body there. For a moment the body swayed in the wind. The specter demon would close her eye and then the body would begin to twitch as the body was being taken over. The specter demon would become Mako and thus the events of today were unfolding.

The narrative was cut short as a gunshot was heard. Naoki, Chiyo and Michino would see a blackness. The sound of Taki gasping for air was heard. "Rude."<i></i> The Arch Demon spoke. The tone of voice this time was not silky smooth, but was filled with anger and malice. The oil painting animation would return. It would detail a history of the Arch Demon and the Demonss playing a long game of cat and mouse. Various little battles occuring. Each time the red skin demoness was just out of reach. It was a long history of violence, that today of all days had come to an end. A sudden happiness would fill the three of them. They would feel a joy, and then an annoyance. There was a feeling that the red skinned demoness would return somehow. "Take your reward. Just be careful of her pride."<i></i>

The oil painting animation would then spring to the image of Mako face first in the ground with our heroes looking at her, with a dead Taki in the background. The image would fade and the vision of the three would return to normal. Indeed Mako was facefirst in the sand taking a dirt nap. Taki was dead, with a snapped neck. The Arch Demon? Gone.

 

[Toraono Michino]

The young Michino stood his ground at the faces she made when Chiyo rebelled with him. The creature terrified the teenager on levels he couldn’t comprehend and the demonic blood boiled deep inside the Toraono as he waited for what was sure to be another attack. The heat of the desert beat down on him hard and his weapon hand twitched, ready to attack in any moment, when suddenly his eyes were caught by the images.

He breathed deep of the heated air as the power behind the illusion exploded against the demon-kin’s senses. This was a real Youkai. His heart nearly exploded out of his chest thinking off how charming the creatures he had met before when compared to the woman’s energy here. He was given a view of exactly how well fighting had gone for Mako. Just as the boy felt like he was about to be broken in fear a gunshot cracked through the air.
It broke the illusion just long enough.
Michino felt the images break and quickly formed the hand seals to break the next Genjutsu sent his way with all his might. Even then the images still played through his head, he just seemed less trapped by it. The elder’s body made a dull thump against the hot ground before them and all became real. The teenager gasped and dropped a knee into the heated sands as he tried to catch his breath and shake his mentality of the demonic energy that had caressed his brain. His wild blue eyes looked to makes sure, first, that his teammates were still alive before moving towards the dead Taki. His heart clenched in pain having barely known the man, but a human death was still a tragic death.

He seemed to be furthest away from the elder and closer to the gunman that tried to save their lives. Exhausted to no ends the Genin slowly stood up and walked over to the man’s corpse and reached down to pick up his gun. It was beautiful and didn’t seem to weigh near as much as it looked. With a sigh Michino tucked it into his pants and crouched down to run his hands over Taki’s eyes to make sure they were closed. There was no way they’d be able to drag his dead weight corpse and, the hopefully unconscious, body of Mako back at the same time. He would take the gun to Sousuke and tell him about what happened. Perhaps he would be able to take care of it…

Slowly standing back up the young teen wearily helped pick elder up out of the sands thinking of how long the trek back to Sunagakure was going to to be.

 

[Samejima]

Unlike her younger colleague, Naoki was not as skilled at detecting genjutsu, but at the very least she was able to discern between being able to see and hearing the ambient sounds distort to the objects around her. Using what little knowledge of genjutsu she had, she too attempted to dispel it, but there was not much hope nor time for that as she hadn't even thought about that school of the ninja arts in a very long while and this had trouble remembering the seals required. As she watched the scene unfold in her mind, it was rather bizarre to have this be the first instance of color she had been able to enjoy in a while. It was a shame that the scene had to be so... disheartening.

There wasn't much Naoki could do but stay transfixed until the end, observing the demoness move and how she was able to evade the Arch Demon for so long. This'll probably be useful for later on... I should try and remember how she fights. Her years in the ring necessitating one-on-one opponent analysis activated automatically as she put herself in the Arch Demon's shoes. She would watch for the demoness's twitches prior to every attack (as best she could, seeing as it was an unfamiliar sense to her at this point) as well as the various dodges that the demoness employed to get away from the Arch Demon's offense. She noted too, that by being in the shoes of the Arch Demon, she seemed to be able to detect the emotions that she felt at the time. This made it possible to grasp when she got hit, and the pain was felt somewhat more acutely than she would normally feel from a regular sparring match. These fights were no-holds-barred.

Once the animation ended, Naoki would collapse onto the sands, eyes wide open, trying to keep the sight that had returned for one brief moment. She contemplated practicing the technique taught to her ages past when she first lost her ability to see, then shook her head. She would live with this. There is no going back to having that as a normal state of being. Once she got her bearings, she realized that Michino was picking up one of the bodies on the ground. ...wait. What?!

The genin rushed over to the unattended body to ascertain its owner, and sure enough it was the gunman. She said a silent prayer, then rushed over to help Michino. "Hey, let me carry--wha--" She froze as she realized who that was. "When the heck did... is she...?" Naoki's arms were still held out to carry Masashi Mako, but she tried desperately to detect any sign of life coming from the body.

[Not sure if I need to attempt a check to learn some battle infos from the genjutsu? Also I would like to know if she is alive pls ;_;]

 

[Chiyo]

[[Sorry! It's been a super crazy month.]]

Chiyo watched the battle unfold before her eyes, her expression twisted with annoyance. If there was one thing that pissed her off more than anything, it was having her mind or sight taken over. She had spent a good deal of time with her father throwing genjutsu after genjutsu at her during training at random times just to keep her vigilant, as he said. For a long time it had caused her to live in a constant state of paranoia, so no, she wasn't a fan. Normally she would try to break it, but there would likely be something to gain from watching whatever the Archdemon had to show them, even if it all ended up being a lie. Although, the tale definitely had a ring of truth in the fact that it further explained what she had seen in the old woman's eyes.
As suddenly as it had appeared, however, it was gone and she turned toward the sound of labored breathing, but before she could ascertain what had happened, the vision was back and they were forced to sit through a history lesson. Something akin to a growl rumbled in her chest as she watched the pair of demons pick at each other throughout the years. Seriously? Didn't they have something more productive to do with their time than play with each other? As powerful as demons were, they were really quite narcissistic to the point of stupidity.

After what seemed like forever, Chiyo regained her normal sight and dropped to the sand with her companions to regain her bearings. Having turned to face the gun slinger before the second vision her eyes zeroed in on the limp body laying in the sand, his limbs bent at unnatural angles. "Dammit..." she whispered before turning her head toward where the Archdemon had stood moments before to find no sign of her. Michino immediately moved to ensure Mako wasn't dead, of course, and Naoki walked over to check Taki for signs of life, but there was no need. The Uzumoreru's golden irises were once again surrounded by black and she could no longer see the glow of lifeblood flowing through his body. Quickly enough, however, the woman moved away from the man, leaving his body to be picked apart by the creatures of the desert.

Unlike most of her peers, she had become accustomed to death, but the man had died helping them. He didn't have to, didn't even have any real reason to agree to accompany them back to the village, but he had and had lost his life because of it. Scrambling to her feet as the other two started back toward the village with the old woman in tow, Chiyo crossed the sand to Taki before dropping to her knees beside him. "I'm sorry, but I doubt you would have wanted these laying around in the desert for anyone to find." Her voice was quiet as she set to work removing his gloves, stowing them in her backpack. It didn't feel right to leave his body here in the open, but she wasn't sure she would have the energy to get herself back to Suna, much less try to conceal him somehow, so she touched the man's chest briefly before running off to catch up with Michino and Naoki.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Michino acquired the gun from the fallen gunslinger. Indeed the weapon was a thing of beauty . The handle was crafted from wood, and the weapon carried with it an unnatural balance. The barrel of the weapon was silver with black lines which upon closer investigation seemed to look like roman numerals which dictated the number of shots left. Perhaps most amazing of all was that the weapon was truly neat and tidy. It was clean despite the surroundings. Pistols and firearms were clumsily weapons in the desert and were prone to jamming, yet there was no evidence of this. Perhaps the weapon was indeed enchanted? Taki's eyes were full of anger even in death. The man seemed to be frustrated and Michino would do his best to close the man's eyes. It took a few tries, and with a few coins mount upon the eyes they remained closed.

The other item that was taken from the Gunslinger were his gloves. Chiyo received a jolt when she took them. The instant she touched them the gloves dissolved and reappeared not in her hands, but actually on her hands. The runes on the gloves glowed blue as they were attuning to a new owner. The body was there by itself, and once removed of its goods, the body caught ablaze. The skin and cloth burned quickly enough. An insurance policy or so it seemed to make sure that unlike Mako the body would not be possessed. The three decided to get moving before they acquired more attention from the denizens of Inferno.

Between Michino and Naoki the two discovered that Mako was indeed not dead. It was the oddest thing. She was breathing, and despite the narrative they watched, this body was unharmed. It was as if it was brand new. A full medical would need to be given, but certainly not here. The two were able to make a solid effort and were both capable of carrying the old veteran. For Naoki in particular, the genjutsu being used against them was a most curious sort. It was a bind, but it was a visual one. The overall concept here was that the Arch Demon wanted them to see this and so it was willed. As they carried Mako through the desert, Naoki was picking up on oddities. She could feel like she was being watched and indeed they were. As she progressed from time to time she would in the back of her mind sense something that was watching her. The natives of Inferno be it the wildlife or the actual residences were watching. Remarkably no one was attacking them. Merely watching. Perhaps they were all told to not interfere. Go home little Pumpkin. Go home. No one will hurt you.<i></i> A voice resonated in her head. Indeed the way back was quiet, but the land of Inferno continued to burn. The sound of flames ever present in their minds as they returned back. In one piece.

The Steward would certainly want to hear of this.

[Exam ended, please make your rank up requests and mark this post in your requests]

 

[Samejima]

Their new companion seemed to have lost his heartbeat, but it sounded like their proctor was alive... At least for now. The man laying before her had been of much help to them during the battle, and seemed to have been very good with his gun. She wasn't certain of how the exam went, but she felt unease leaving him out in the open like this. "You guys go on ahead, I'm going to try and get this guy back to Soon's Haven to find someone he might know..." If I remember right, it's Takisuta? Something like that. I'm going to need something to cover him in... With Naoki's extensive training in endurance and general strength, she would do her best to get the man back to the trade city. It was probably the best bet with how little she currently had in her, and she would undoubtedly be able to purchase some linen to cover him in if she couldn't find anyone to honor the man's death there.

Just then, when Chiyo took the gloves from the man, he burst into flames, leaving a shocked Naoki very jarred as it seemed the problem had taken care of itself. "...a-alright then, I guess we'll head straight home! Ahaha..." The nervous laughter was mostly to try and calm herself down, wary as she was of the watching eyes around them. She didn't know what to make of the reassurance that they wouldn't be attacked either. What exactly was she supposed to think? That this was thanks for helping quell the rebellion? That she was toying with them because she didn't think them worthy of killing? The surrounding noise was too much for her to bear for too long, but hopefully they would make it back safe, albeit somewhat messed with in the head.

[MFT]
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