“Stay with us.”
“Oh give me a break.” Tracy sighed against the stone talon. Mental exertion taking its toll. Behind her, the stone began to crack and erode, “We’re done here.”
She made a show of stepping out on her own two feet, but they were her last legs and she wouldn’t be walking her way out of the whirlpool. Sally had been with her two long to be fooled by a show of strength, but Tracy was a survivor, and her resourcefulness was champion among them.
Sally glanced to the surface where the river split about them, “Ago’s bitten off more than he can chew. I can buy a bit more time-”
“No need.” Tracy crouched down and placed her hands between the rocks.
Sally nodded, “Alright. See you at the rally point.”
The stone crumbled, unleashing a bone shattering current. The vortex shivered, shedding the last of it’s diversions as the natural flow resumed.
Ago felt his shins twitch as the flow to the shallows became negligible. The ground was soft and malleable, taking the edge out of his strides, but he used the reprieve to hone his focus. His torso and upper arms lined themselves with chakra, and his blade discovered a razor’s edge.
The first shinobi held their ground, applying pressure while the second made their way across the river. They were coordinating already, trying to make the most of their advantages.
For one, Ago was waterlogged as high as his knees. A sitting duck for those who walked on water. Or a bear trap if it came to a melee. The first had his number though, so the chances of landing a counterattack were quite poor.
There was still a fourth shinobi. The lighting user waited at the banks, and another was interrogating jack overhead.
Fight or flight. It would be really nice if I had some options.
The first shinobi squared and sprung at him again. The other moving into Ago’s blind spots.
The boy would have braced, but for the stirring of the sod beneath his feet, suddenly his stance switched to an opening one and dispensed with his guard. His odds just got better.
The first dove low to fake him out. A root providing cover from his first strike. Them might have been a pain to deal with - weaving in and out of those tight spaces - if not for a straight punch soaring into their abdomen.
They reacted just in time to roll away from the hit, but it shed all the momentum they had and Ago was on them in a heartbeat.
The second shinobi stalled him with a well placed kunai. It stopped the sword, but a spartan kick still sent their comrade reeling. That attack just then. A shaft had formed from the water level, and spanned the distance in an instant. A knife hand formed as it retreated into the water.
Another opponent? The ninja focused on their surroundings, for any cue or sign of a coming attack. They saw movement in the corner of their eye, and Leveled a shuriken towards it.
The star deflected off of stone. Fossilized coral, and a green gel crept from the surface of the water, forming a humanoid. A clone? With more force behind it, a kunai and explosive note found their way into the clone’s chest.
The shadows rolled with the explosion. Dust and debris sailed through the cavern, and the water rippled under foot. A second strike emerged from the surface, And the ninja managed to identify the one who threw it. Sally was nestled among the roots, and the strike mirrored her own movements.
It was not a one off, as a second blow soon followed. Sally closed the distance and began to scatter punches from several directions. The ninja was quick to avoid them, except that she had more than three arms to work with. Hidden blows formed from her chest and hips. Arcing in from overhead and ripping across the surface on which they stood.
The flurry was not so fast as to outpace even a genin, but they were coordinated, and the ninja found themselves taking a fight on all sides. It was a struggle even to backpedal from that onslaught. Just as they were about to clear her range, the shinobi crashed into something.
Directly behind them was a wax-stone golem, and it crossed it’s arms across their chest. A knife hand block arrived before them, and a wreath of baby blue flames crawled across her skin.
“You don’t have to fight us. If it’s information you need, we can cover this.”
The ninja curled a brow, “What’s the catch?”
“Well for one, we don’t just hand it to you. Assuming you can spare the time, I can show you what we are doing here. The downside being that you only get as much as we trust you with. That, and I can use you to harvest chakra.”
. . .
“Harvest?”
Sally rubbed her chin playfully, the aura around her thinning, “Well, Ninja have a really potent spiritual energy, and a scary degree of elemental proficiency. Basically, the more time you spend around me, the better I can accommodate those energies. As a bonus, your natural affinities will be enhanced, but that also means that - in the event you cross us - I’ll know what you’re capable of.”
“H-hard pass.”
“Ah well. There was an attempt. If that’s how you feel, I suggest keeping your distance. We draft a lot of elemental energy, and with any exposure-“
“What do you mean by ‘we’ exactly? You're not ninja, and you're not samurai. Are you even human?”
Sally tapped two fingers together and the golem lowered its arms, “We are people. Beyond that, I can only find new people to ask.”
The pressure had shifted viciously since the start of the skirmish. From a scouting mission to an intervention, and then to mess. They had made the mistake of spreading themselves thinner and thinner, and the moment that flame erupted from the river was probably their last best chance to retreat.
Through substitution, agility and reflexes, the shinobi manage to hold his own against the ronin Ago. Then again, it was a slippery slope. While the initial rush had harried them, the true threat was Ago’s reactivity. He managed to deflect and avoid projectiles by the narrowest of margins, and still managed to guard his flanks. He was like a mirage, bending and distorting around obstacles, and holding the ninja in his gaze.
It wasn’t obvious at first, because of just how much was affected by it, that Ago’s hearing was unparalleled. Every breath and step they took. Every tool they retrieved, and every technique they used. Ago managed to track their position without fail.
The worst part? Once the shinobi did pick this up, they used an explosive note to level the playing field. They never even saw how he managed to parry them.
Ago’s gaze drifted through the middle distance. Eyes sharp and dancing, like a rem state, but his stances were unbelievably stable and precise. Even though the blast was close enough to pressure him, his balance seemed unaffected.
There was a glow of sweat about him-
Oh, but it wasn’t just the light. It was faint, but there was a vein-like glow about his arms and a glowing mist so fine it was difficult to place. As they rallied their focus to it, The shinobi could actually see an aura diffusing into the air around him. A shimmer that could only be seen against the more stable background.
Or a beam of sunlight. Like dust drafted through a room, it clung to him, shifting acutely to the air about him. At first, it was overlooked, barely worth the distraction. But as it converged on every parried blow, the shinobi recognized its significance.
He was using chakra to somehow center his blade, homing in on projectiles that he couldn’t actually see, and tracing motion in the area around him.
So If it had to be a moving target…
The ninja took a risk and began a melee campaign. They intercepted his sword twice, sloppily holding it off while they flailed to keep themselves balance-
And tagged the area around them. They separated with a whirl, and the shinobi substituted to a vantage point. They drew back a kunai for one last push.
The tag snapped as the blade it was attached to was torn aside, but it exploded with perfect timing. Stinging through the blade itself, Ago flinched back, and struggled to avoid the two projectiles that followed.
Then a branch behind him lit up. The blast hit him between the shoulder blades, and swept his neck. Another blade soared down from the canopy, and he ducked. Another tag lighting up behind his shin.
Suddenly, The ninja was on him with a flurry of punches and swipes. Ago narrowly avoided the most of them, but he was driven back. His steps reversed through a minefield, and each one battered him without fail. The ninja pushing and tugging and priming and slugging him to maximum effect. His skin bruised and nerves burned as the tandem blows shook him from all corners. Finally he stumbled past the earliest of the tags, and the Shinobi slammed a straight across his jaw.
The water more than anything else broke his fall, as Ago’s strength gave out almost immediately.
The Shinobi wiped their neck. As exhaustive as that effort had been, it left them feeling revitalized. The maneuver had gone better than they hoped for, and now the ronin was down at their feet.
Still moving through. The ninja was immediately prepared to deliver a finishing blow, but the whole mangrove was suddenly cast in a golden light.
Fairy lights, golden dust, so thick along his back that only his upper arms and back of his head were visible. The whole mass reacted to their intent, and the Ninja hesitated.
Massive dips lurched toward the surface, and it rolled and Ago drew himself up below it. Bruises darkening before their eyes, and burn marks evident beneath the flame. White and grey blended to form the glowing ambrosia. Blood from the cuts in his skin darkened and the color from that two entered the mix. Ago raised his sword arm, his hand callous and internally scarred. With a deep breath the aura around him agitated.
The ninja felt a tug, and gawked.
With a groan, the air in Ago’s lungs reversed, and a ghastly battle cry grazed his lips.
He lunged forth with his arm outstretched, and pivoted to bring his off hand about in a wild swing.
The Ninja was completely taken off guard, and the blazing stiletto buried in his chest. The grove darkened in an instant, a narrow and gentle glow marking the last light of their eyes. Then they toppled into the bog.
Ago rolled himself to get his airways out of the drink, and exhaled as his shoulders found purchase, “Aoow. What’s left of me hurts, and the rest will be screaming tomorrow.” He looked over to the slow rise and fall of the Shinobi’s chest, “You gonna tell me what we’re fighting over?”
