Time: Almost at end of Timeskip
Location: Mt. Kyuubi
The midday sun shone over the trees of the wilderness. They were far from home, but still in the Fire Country. In fact, it would seem that they are in the middle of nowhere if it wasn't for the iconic volcano, Mt. Kyuubi, being visible in the distance. Within a large clearing of the trees, four figures stood. On one end of the clearing was a tall, orange-haired teenager. He wore no shirt and his typical jet-black pants. There was a sword strapped to his back and a chakra suppression tag placed over his chest. If this wasn't identifiable enough, the confident grin let us know that the owner of the green eyes was Katsuko Moto. To his right were two more people. One was a short, white-haired woman with a cat tail protruding from her pants. Her name was Hana. Next to her was the renowned medical genius, Dr. Chang. And across the clearing from Katsuko...
''Let's see if you can pack a bigger punch than last time.'' A girl's voice said. Sitting atop of a big rock, another pair of green eyes stared in Katsuko's direction. Dressed in her Hokage Apprentice garb, Kiyomi observed Katsuko. Unlike him, there was no trace of a grin or any emotion other than curiousity shining from the glint in her eyes. Getting up, she placed her left hand on her hip as the white bandaged greatsword on her back produced a low growling sound. Her eyes were locked on Katsuko, as if they were the only ones around.
''I suggest you should wear a shirt or something.'' Kiyomi began, not really amused. She gained the idea that he wasn't taken her serious, at all.
"It works better this way," Katsuko replied, with a light chuckle as he spoke.
"And I haven't spent all my time doing nothing. Last time, you caught me at a serious disadvantage. If I couldn't pack a bigger punch..." Katsuko made a wide motion with his arm, as if he was demonstrating their battlefield.
"I wouldn't have taken us so far from Konoha." With his outstretched hand, he curled it inwards and removed the chakra suppression tag from his chest, before taking a deep breath.
"I'm not going to start off with any handicaps, because I know who I'm up against." Letting the slip of paper fall to the floor, Katsuko moved into a formal position, with the Seal of Confrontation before him toward Kiyomi. Seeing this as a sign to prepare, Hana raised one of her hands high.
"Are the fighters ready!?"Likely irritated by his words, as he stated he had been caught at a disadvantage, Kiyomi didn't talk back. Slowly, she made the Seal of Confrontation as well. Dropping off the rock, she landed with grace on her feet and kept holding the seal. staring back at Katsuko, she frowned.
''Don't start complaining when I will make you uglier.'' She said back, as she spread out her feet and seemed to stare at the chest of Katsuko. The teenager's grin turned into a smirk. With his free hand, he pointed to the ugly scar that ran over his shoulder.
"Good luck trying." Hana bounced on her heels slightly and raised her hand even higher.
"On your marks! Get set!" Katsuko closed his eyes now, still facing Kiyomi.
"Fight!"The teenager's eyes shot open. The green was replaced with a vibrant red, and his eyes were now glowing. While Hana poofed away instantly and a black sphere surrounded Chang, Katsuko shot forward in a blur of motion, fist pulled back to make the first strike. Still staring, Kiyomi didn't radiate a huge wave of Killing intent. Neither was her left eye changing of color. Simply lowering her hand, she narrowed her eyes as she kept staring at the blur that was coming towards her. The only movement she made was the twitch with her ears. With the fist of Katsuko coming close, the eyes of the girl widened as she seemed to move and Katsuko would feel that his fist would make contact with something. Though nothing of flesh.
Katsuko's fist had missed the target. But while Kiyomi was still nearby, he wasn't particularly upset. Rather, Katsuko had punched the large boulder that she had been standing on prior. Immediately, cracks shot around the entire rock before the pieces all went flying. The power of his blow shattered the boulder. While there was some blood on his fist now, since it was bare-handed, Katsuko seemed to show no effect.
"That didn't work as planned, did it?" Without even retracting his fist, he swung his arm outwards, to bring the back of his fist against Kiyomi's face, while he brought one of his legs up to block any potential counters to his midsection she may have had in store.
So he had noticed her kenjutsu move? Kiyomi realized that he wasn't on the same level as he was the previous time. This was proven by the fact when he managed to hit the boulder. Standing behind him, as she had evaded his punch, Kiyomi wanted to attack him. However, when she noticed him turning around, she made a different plan. With a quick backflip, she managed to avoid the attack of Katsuko. Only thing she did was grabbing a kunai and seemed to prepare for his move. When his fist met air, Katsuko planted his other foot and brought his hands together. Forming several handseals as quickly as he could, he finished and slammed his hands to the ground, before jumping backwards. From several spots in the clearing, the ground began to churn before a dragon of stone would erupt from the earth. In total, there were four Stone Dragons. They all curled around, to form a sort of perimeter around Kiyomi. Her only routes of escape now were up or down. And with that, all four dragons charged inward at the girl, mouths open ready to strike.
Slight surprised by the move, Kiyomi didn't made a move as she tried to divide her attention. She was aware of that Katsuko could perform Earth Release, but hadn't know that his level was like this. Lowering a bit, as she was expecting the dragons to attack her, Kiyomi dropped the kunai as she weaved at her fastest speed possible. A little drip of sweat was formed, but never would touch the ground as the dragons made of earth crashed against each other.
''Sparkle Disc!'' Kiyomi mumbled as she landed out of a tree and threw a disc made of lightning towards Katsuko. Panting, she was getting excited. It became clear that if she hadn't used the Body Replacement Technique, she would had have to burn too much chakra to repel the attack. The disc made of lightning, that was thrown was making his way to Katsuko and Kiyomi again started to observe Katsuko, making sure she didn't look at his eyes.
The teenager dropped low, to let the sparkle disc fly over him. However, as he was leaning back far enough, he could see it cleave through many trees on its path. As well, he was a bit irked. The power of the Stone Dragons colliding destroyed all four of them, causing the broken rocks to fall to the ground lifelessly. He hadn't anticipated her being fast enough to avoid them. Only that she would be strong enough to counter them. As he righted himself quickly, he formed a single handseal, before reaching for the sword on his back. The blade he wielded was not one that his father ever owned, but rather used to belong to the First Hokage. The recognizable feature being the flower trinket coming from the hilt. While he charged toward Kiyomi, blade in hand, tattoos began forming over his skin, slowly becoming tattoos of eyes with red irises.
Kenjutsu? Of course. Kiyomi felt a bit stupid when she noticed the blade. Katsuko had been member of Team 4, when Kensuke led it for quite some time. The bandaged blade growled again, in a more menacing way. As Katsuko charged towards Kiyomi, she bite her lower lip as she grabbed the hilt of the bandaged sword. Pulling it from the place on her back, she readied herself as the iris of her left eye started to change from color.
''Guess this is going to be very different.'' She muttered, readying herself to defend from his attacks.
Samehada was going to be a problem. Katsuko scowled when he saw her reach for it. He had something in store to counter it, but he didn't want to use it just yet. He would have to deal with it as is. Right as Katsuko was in striking range, the tattoos on his body finished forming and the irises of the eyes began glowing slightly. He had activated his secret technique, making every eye tattoo on his body work like his actual eyes. That is: drain chakra.
"You didn't really think that I was at my strongest last time?" Katsuko said, before making a single slash at Kiyomi. However, he planned on moving to a different angle before making another slash. Surely she wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed if she was swinging around Samehada. So he hoped.
And his hope would be smashed. The scales of the shark blade shivered after it made contact with Katsuko's blade. Kiyomi noticed the strange feeling that Samehada had warned her from.
''Maybe. You're still as cocky as then!'' She said back as she let her left hand go of the blade. The raising Killing Intent was a clear indicator that Kiyomi was letting more of Matatabi's chakra enter her own system. Clenching her left hand in a fist, she thrusted it forward in hopes of driving Katsuko back.
Not only did he expect her to have a hard time blocking, he didn't expect her to have the strength to block it even if she did. She barely budged.
She is using the Nibi's chakra like before to make herself stronger, he thought. But before he could test his theory, she threw a punch toward him. He raised his hands, bringing the hilt of his blade up at an angle to block her punch. Upon connecting with the hilt, the force of it knocked Katusko backwards a bit, enough to break the deadlock their blades had.
Definitely using the Nibi. Rather than try again, Katsuko dashed past Kiyomi, jumping up in case she took a swing at him. He slashed his blade through a nearby tree, making it slowly fall. But to speed up the procees, and make it a bit more dangerous, he kicked the trunk at Kiyomi, sending almost the entire tree flying at her.
Still feeling strange as she managed to keep avoiding eye contact with Katsuko, Kiyomi only realized what was going on. Hearing the cracking sound of wood being splintered, she hissed as it dawned on her. He was leeching away chakra! Not having the time to ponder on how he did that, Kiyomi decided to first react to what was about to fall on her. Quickly, she managed to leap to the side to get away from the tree. Skidding to a halt, the green eyes searched for Katsuko as she tried to figure out where he was with her heightend senses.
She dodged the first trunk, but Katsuko still grinned. Wasting no time, he began running around the perimeter of the clearing, chopping trees as he went. However, he didn't send all of them flying at Kiyomi. He wanted to keep her on her toes, and besides if he sent too many they would collide in the air and miss for sure. Rather, he would occasionally kick a tree trunk toward her. After the third one, he let out a laugh.
"I know you aren't impressed by my strength, but I find it funny..." He now stopped sending trees and charged at Kiyomi himself.
"It just proves the differences between us aren't as great as I assumed." This time, he went for an upward slash at Kiyomi, hoping to make her dodge rather than block.
''Cocky again? Jeez, give me a break.'' Kiyomi replied as she noticed what he was planning. Her plan to rely on her speed to not show her strength wasn't going to work now. And if she would let of Samehada, she wouldn't be able to counter his leech seeping technique. Unless. A trunk was approaching her and slashed in two. Lightning crackled in the air as Kiyomi had used her Piercing Sparkle to defend herself. With more coming her way, she released Samehada, who slithered away as his master kept defending herself. Wood splintered and cracked as lightning cut it in half.
''I am not going to lose this to a cocky brat.'' She mumbled, hearing something in the air. With Katsuko coming at her, she readied herself as well aiming to slash the long blade of lightning towards him.
A scowl formed on his face as Katsuko swung to the side, deciding to give up slashing at her in order to dodge the lightning. However, he noticed a small cut form on his left arm, from the narrowness of the dodge. It didn't really bleed, but it warned him of her speed. Katsuko held onto his blade tightly before performing a small flip. Rather than to actually dodge anything or move, this turned out to be an offensive strike. Katsuko sent a powerful axe kick into the ground next to Kiyomi. The force of the blow turned the impact point into a crater and shattered the ground around the two. The earth beneath them became jagged and rocks pointed upwards. Katsuko intended for the blow to make her lose balance, and possibly even hurt her with the jagged environment, so he could take another swing at her.
Ready to defend herself, Kiyomi was launched backwards into the air. Gritting her teeth, she held her arms up as she felt pieces of rubble flying around her. Making a backward summersault, she landed on her feet but had to skidd some distance before she came to a halt. Lowering her arms slowly, she noticed several superficial cuts on her arms. As if this angered her, the Killing intent started to skyrocket as Kiyomi's left eye almost turned yellow, making it hard to see the slitted iris.
He hadn't expected Kiyomi to shift positions after the blow. Now she was too far away for Katsuko to slash at.
"I'll admit you're pretty good. This is fun," Katsuko said, barely loud enough for her to hear. In an attempt to surprise her, as he charged forward he tossed his blade at her. It travelled through the air in a blur. He anticipated she would dodge it, which pending how she did may leave her open for the incoming leg sweep he was going to give her.
"You might make me sweat here in a bit."Narrowing her eyes, Kiyomi dodged it like he had intended. With a quick step to the left, she briefly glanced to the blade as she could see her own reflection. Knowing that he was coming at her, Kiyomi already opened her right hand as some lightning started to crackle through the air. With her left hand, she tried to keep it up as a matter of defense in case she would be too late for her next move. With Kiyomi now to his right, Katsuko dropped low and swung his right leg across. He intentionally held back some of the power, since he didn't want to accidentally send her spinning. He just wanted her to fall on the ground, where she would stand no chance to defend from a follow-up attack.
Surprised as she had anticipated his speed wrong, she could feel herself being sweeped off her feet. Landing on her back, Kiyomi let out a yelp as she tried to remain focus of what she was aiming at. Chakra started to mould at her left hand. In one fluid motion, Katsuko finished rotating and raised his right leg again. He was going for an axe kick, and since she didn't have Samehada to block his strike, he knew that any connection at all would cause severe damage.
"Sorry about this," he said, his voice rather casual despite the power he was about to drop. He brought his leg down as fast as he could, trying to get her before she could dodge, with the blow aimed for her midsection.
Narrowing her eyes again, Kiyomi felt the heavy pressure of his technique.
'You...'' She muttered underneath her breath as she started to push up.
''Cocky... Annoying. Punk!'' Pushing Katsuko's foot away, lightning started to violently lash around as she got up. Looking angry, Kiyomi raised her right hand in the air as the lightning started to form a bigger disc than before.
'Eat this!'' Throwing the disc towards Katsuko, she was waiting to unleash a surprise regarding the disc she had thrown in his direction.
When she caught his foot, the ground beneath her immediately cracked like a large spider web. This surprised Katsuko, as he expected this blow to be near-fatal to her. Being blockable caught him off guard.
She's more resilient than I- He noticed her actually managing to push his foot up now, surprising him even more, before she managed to throw him back. Katsuko backflipped with it smoothly, landing on his feet and crouching low.
"Now I'm really impressed," he said, before Kiyomi launched her Sparkle Disc again. He already knew he was fast enough to dodge, so he shot to the side, to avoid the technique and try and close the distance to Kiyomi again.
She had already expected him to dodge his attack. In a fast blur, her hands came together to form a handseal. The dog handseal. As if it was a trigger, the dis discharged, filling the area around it with violent lightning lashing at every object in it. With that done, Kiyomi panted. Not because of using too much chakra, but due she did noticed some pain. If it wasn't for Matatabi's empowering chakra, she wouldn't have been able to survive the previous attack. Realizing this, Kiyomi weaved in a short moment several handseals and held the last one, the Seal of Confrontation to ready her next technique.
The exploding disc surprised Katsuko, and he barely got his arms up to protect his eyes. The vicious lightning gave him cuts all over his body, which was already mostly visible thanks to having no shirt. The electricity itself did little to slow Katsuko, but now it was clear he didn't get away from that attack without injury. The largest cut, which went across diagonally across his chest, was actually bleeding a fair amount.
"That smarted," he mumbled, lowering his arms so he could see Kiyomi. Katsuko wanted to use a sword again, but he had tossed his and would need to retrieve it first. And he didn't want to waste the time. Rather, he charged directly at Kiyomi again, this time knowing he would need to use more power to keep her from blocking.
Seeing how much her last attack had wounded him, Kiyomi slowly lowered her hand. She was sure that he wouldn't give up that easy as he had been quite stubborn during their previous match. However, seeing him charging at her while suffering such wounds caught her off guard. Her technique was prepared as a blueish coat started to surround her. But she wouldn't be fast to keep the distance between them, taking a defensive stance to defend herself against his next attack.
Just as he was about to reach Kiyomi, Katsuko stopped dead in his tracks. He shot his fist forward, but Kiyomi was way too far for him to reach.
"Surprise," he said, right before the blast would reach her. He had pulled his punch, but the force of it moved the air in front of it at a somewhat weaker power than it had. But with just as much speed. Even with the weaker power, the connection would send Kiyomi flying. A grin formed on Katsuko's face now, before he would perform the same attack again with his other fist, just for good measure.
Even with the technique of the Guardians, she felt she was being pushed back. Her arms in front of her face, she managed to keep standing on her feet. Closing her right eye, she felt the current being quite strong as it would have likely blown an adult man away with ease. When it was over, she noticed him trying to do the same again. Realizing it was pressured air, she had an idea. Flicking her right hand, lightning crackled as she then after a second send forth a hound of lightning towards Katsuko. Already her left arm was up to keep as she was sure what was going to happen next.
Katsuko saw the lightning technique, but wondered why she would use it. He could dodge it with ease at their range, with his stance. But as it got in the way of the pulled punch, the temporarily pressurized air detonated in an explosion. That caught him off guard. The explosion wasn't large nor fiery, but the pressure wave sent Katsuko flying back several meters. He first landed on his back, but as he bounced off the ground he landed on his feet and skidded to a halt.
I keep forgetting that she is intelligent, he thought to himself, wiping some sweat off his brow. But his grin quickly returned.
I like this challenge. Katsuko dashed off to the side, assuming that Kiyomi would be more dazed by her own explosion than he was, to retrieve his sword. He had a new plan for her.
''Not so fast.'' Kiyomi called out as two kunai flew towards Katsuko. On one knee, she was several meters back from where she once stood. The blueish chakra coat was still present. If it weren't for that, she would haven't been able to react that quickly. Not sure what he was up to, Kiyomi decided to use one of her best techniques to make it at least harder for him. Getting up, she then went towards him as the two kunai would try to keep slashing at him. Katsuko dodged the kunai initially, before realizing what was going on. She was using his father's technique against him. This brought a frown to his face. Though he could try to use the technique, the odds were that hers would overpower his. He still lacked the control required for mastery.
"Well then, you leave me no choice," Katsuko said, before grabbing a scroll from his belt as he caught one of the kunai with his other hand and barely dodged the other.
He tossed the small scroll up a bit, letting it open up with gravity. While he tossed the kunai in his hand and dodged another slash, he placed his hand on the paper and put chakra into it. In a large poof of smoke, he summoned his newest weapon. Now, in his hands, was a large weapon of solid steel. It was easily twice as long as Katsuko is tall, and half of it was several large steel spheres. The thing looked like it weighed a ton.
"Now I shall use my full power," he said, grabbing this behemoth of steel in both hands before slamming it down on the ground before him. Earlier, when his kick was able to shatter the ground and send Kiyomi flying, Katsuko had used pretty much most of his strenght. But here, it was a full power slam. The ground around him became absolutely devastated with the impact. The impact itself created a powerful gust of wind while the earth churned itself and became a large jagged crater. Trees were sent flying as the ground beneath them was disturbed by the force of the blow. And all the while, Katsuko wore a cocky grin.
Surprised by what Katsuko managed to pull off, Kiyomi couldn't help but to feel a bit impressed by his last act. As the gust of wind came before the earth got devasted, Kiyomi jumped up to be pushed back the gust. It was better than to try to keep her ground while that underneath her feet would be destroyed by Katsuko's powerful attack. Managing to land on her feet, she couldn't see through the smoke and dust. Her nose twitched several times as the two kunai came back to her side.
''I got to admit that. Impressive.'' She said, trying to use smell and sound to locate Katsuko.
Lifting Saihyousen up from the ground, Katsuko took a moment to admire the sheer destruction of that attack. But then he heard Kiyomi through the dust cloud that had mostly overtaken the area.
"Is that a compliment? I've never heard you use one of those before," he joked, before jumping up into the air. He shot above the dust cloud, and as he began his descent he looked in the direction he had heard her voice. By the sound of it, she was just barely within the dust cloud. So that was where he aimed. He brought the massive steel weapon to his side, and just as he landed near Kiyomi he made a horizontal swing with it. It was definitely slower than when he swung his sword, slow enough to be dodged with relative ease for someone like Kiyomi. But, much like with his pulled punches, the swing itself sent a blast of wind that scattered the dust and allowed the two to see each other. As well as the blast knocked over several remaining trees in the distance.
After locating him, Kiyomi saw him heading towards her again. Though she had fitting answer back, she focused on what she had to do. Not getting hit would be easy, but to get away from the attack radius was some different story. When he again attack her, Kiyomi waited for the right moment. With the weapon about to hit her, she leaped backwards. Feeling the pressured air hitting her chakra coat, Kiyomi narrowed her eyes. Even her kunai were send flying backwards as she did. Landing on her feet, she had to use her left hand to skid to a halt. Looking at the area, it became clear why he had wanted to fight so far away from Konohagakure. Sighing, Kiyomi closed both her eyes.
''I hate to admit it, but I am going to kick it up a notch.'' She told Katsuko as she started to weave several handseals. Taking some breath in, she leaned forward, spitting out a big column of blue fire towards Katsuko.
Fire? he thought, spinning the weapon in his hands around. This made the large steel part of it block, shielding him from the blue flames.
So she has more than just lightning. That may be a problem. After waiting a moment from behind his makeshift shield, Katsuko paused long enough for the fire to stop coming. The weapon heated up, he could feel that. But nothing he couldn't handle.
"Keiko taught you that, didn't she?" Katsuko spoke, before grabbing the rod part of the weapon and spinning it around. However, not particularly waiting for her answer, he made another downward smash with it, creating the same effect as the first time he used the weapon. He wanted to keep Kiyomi moving, to try and exhaust her. He knew it would be difficult, because she had the Nibi to help her, but he wanted to slowly tire her out. Perhaps outlasting her would yield his victory.
The question didn't seem to reach Kiyomi as she kept spitting the fire towards Katsuko's direction. However, there was a slight difference as she seemed to smirk when she noticed the big weapon being swinged around. The Blue Fire was being blown away, but a moment after started to spread around. Quickly, she made herself to place some distance with her last position as the fire started to spread. Thought it was an advantage that the Blue flames were much stronger than regular, the gust from Katsuko's attack would make it grow larger.
As if we haven't destroyed the terrain enough. Kiyomi thought as she managed to get some safe distance from the fire. Sitting on one knee, she kept using her senses to remain on watch.
The fire grew more intense after Katsuko's attack, which surprised him. He figured that it would blow the fire away, but her blue fire seemed to be strong enough to overpower the gust, which in turn made it even stronger. He grimaced, before forming a grin. As the fire began to wrap around him, Katsuko let go of Saihyousen for a moment to form some handseals and then quickly grab it again. A relative silence took the battlefield, aside from the sound of the flames and the rocks and dust settling. But this didn't last long. From the ground next to Kiyomi, Katsuko popped out. It was the Hiding like a Mole technique. His grin was still evident, and he actually made an upward swing. In this manner, the earth beneath him was shattered in a different way. It had an effect more like carving through it rather than destroying it entirely.
Hearing the cracks in the earth was the only warning she received. Quickly, she managed to roll backwards to avoid getting hit. Getting back on her feet, Kiyomi had to open her left eye. Being this close near him would mean to be ready in case he would try to come at her with taijutsu. Realizing that staying on the defense wouldn't work forever, a plan was starting to be formulated inside her head. She had to occupy his attention just a bit longer.
He had missed with his swing, but her prediction was fairly accurate. At the apex of his swing, Katsuko let go of the giant weapon, tossing it straight up into the air. With both hands free, he dashed in to Kiyomi again and tried to strike her. He started with a kick to her legs, attempting to break one of them, before fluidly going into an uppercut to finish her. He already anticipated that she might find a way out of this, so his mind was racing as he was deciding on how to follow these attacks up should they miss. The grin had faded from his face, as he now seemed to have a more determined expression.
Being able to dodge the attacks, Kiyomi was being driven backwards. Luckily, the area was void of any trees or obstacles that would prevent her from moving backwards. As she seemed to ready herself to attack him with a punch from her right hand, one of the kunai was about to fly towards Katsuko's back, trying to impale the boy at one of his shoulderblade's. Though he had a determined expression, Kiyomi's facial expression was more or less cold and focused.
He had a split-second decision now. Dodge the incoming attacks and in turn not be able to strike Kiyomi, or take the hits and be able to strike her. It was risky business, but Katsuko made up his mind. He planted one of his feet hard and crouched low, before shooting a fist forward. In her punch, Kiyomi had her side exposed, and that was where Katsuko aimed. His fist passed under hers as he attempted to strike her in the ribs. Surely the chakra cloak would keep the blow from killing her, especially since he was holding nothing back in his strike. But because of his decision, the kunai knife stabbed deep into his upper back, and he felt it for sure, letting out an audible grunt from the pain.
Looking down, she cursed before she was stumbling backwards. While she hadn't no time to dodge or parry the attack, she managed to try to brace for the attack. Feeling like the air was slammed out of her lungs, Kiyomi hissed as she leaned a bit forward. Panting, she looked up with a cold look in her eyes. Clenching her hands, she straighten her back as the second of the kunai flew towards Katsuko's side while Kiyomi charged him. She would attempt to use her speed and agility to keep him in defense for a turn.
His blow landed, and a smirk formed briefly. But Kiyomi didn't seem to be ready to quit. Katsuko took the moment that she was dazed to reach over his shoulder and pull the kunai out of his back. He could feel the blood streaming down it, and could see it in his hands. But he didn't have much time to reflect on the pain because the other kunai was approaching. Katsuko used his other hand to grab that one before it could stab him, but now both his hands were occupied resisting two blades that were trying to kill him. There was no way he could use his fists while stopping the kunai. Since Kiyomi charged at him for a change, Katsuko jumped backwards a bit, lashing out with a weak kick as he made his slight retreat. However, upon touching down, he jumped into the air. Saihyousen was now approaching the ground again. Even though the power of gravity wasn't as strong as Katsuko's attacks with it, he didn't want to be on the ground as that thing impacted right next to himself and Kiyomi.
''Come back here!'' Kiyomi sneered as she kept chasing him. Dodging his kick, she pulled out a kunai with some wire attached to it. At his second time jumping into the air, she aimed for his legs. Instead that the kunai would pierce his leg, it would wrap the wire around it and then Kiyomi would pull hard to make him crash against the ground. Katsuko had expected her to dodge the incoming devastation like he did, but rather she seemed more intent on making him suffer it with her.
"Shit," he let slip as she pulled him to the ground. She had him by the leg and he was on the ground. Normally that wouldn't be too bad, but now he didn't have enough time to dodge Saihyousen's impact. Rather, he swung his free leg around to kick Kiyomi's legs out from under her. In that same motion, he rolled to the side and put his hands on the ground, trying to get off it. But just as he was getting up, the massive steel weapon slammed into the ground.
Even though she managed to dodge Katsuko's attack with quickly stepping back, she wouldn't be too late for the impact of Katsuko's weapon. However, before the impact would be upon them, there was a smirk on her lips. With the massive steel crashing into the earth, Kiyomi could feel the gust coming up. But this time she wouldn't make it to be blown away to avoid getting slammed away by the earth. Send rolling over the ground, she came to a halt as she laid on her belly, not moving anymore.
The impact was close to Katsuko, and the gust of wind pushed him a bit before the ground he was laying on shot upward in a jagged spike. This launched him, as well as giving him a hard impact to his gut. He initially landed on his back and rolled several times, before hopping up onto his feet and skidding to a halt. He took a few deep breaths and felt his side. He could feel that none of his ribs were broken, but the impact still hurt.
That went bad, he thought, rubbing his side for a moment before looking back toward where the fight was. The steel weapon was simply sitting there upright, almost as if nothing happened. But the ground around it was devastated and dust was everywhere. He could barely see his weapon, and couldn't see Kiyomi at all.
"How'd that... work out for ya?" he called out, dashing forward to retrieve his weapon. But he had one hand at his side still.
The two kunai suddenly went up and would try to prevent Katsuko from reaching his weapon. Getting up, Kiyomi revealed no expression as she wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were half open as she kept looking at the ground. Slowly the blueish chakra coat vanished.
''I think that I have realized something.'' She said back as she dusted off her clothes. Suddenly her voice became colder again.
''I am going to give Chang a hard job to put you back together!'' Sneering the words, Kiyomi weaved a streak of handseals before moving her right hand towards her mouth. She would perform another Blue Fire Technique. This time, she would spit out fireballs towards the steel weapon of Katsuko, that would try to stick to the steel surface.
Something in Kiyomi's tone brought a smile to Katsuko's face. Not that he enjoyed being threatened, but that it meant the fight would only be more difficult.
"I hope you realize I'm hard to pick apart," he snarked, dodging the two kunai and reaching Saihyousen. However, blue flames shot through the dust cloud, forcing Katsuko to duck behind his weapon again. He grimaced, realizing that this would trap him like last time and he couldn't use the same trick before. As well, the kunai would be coming back soon. He quickly formed some handseals and slammed one of his hands on the ground. The trapdoor technique made the ground underneath him rotate to a vertical position at high speed. Which, since Katsuko and Saihyousen were on the ground, effectively made it a catapult. This launched Katsuko, and he grabbed his weapon in the air. The steel was hot, like last time. However, rather than being thrown at Kiyomi, he passed far beyond her, landing in the forest that was not yet destroyed.
"This will go great," he commented out loud, upon realizing that he was standing in the middle of many large flammable objects.
Waiting till she heard the crash, something slithered towards Kiyomi. Slowly, she leaned forward to grab Samehada and place the sword in the special made sheath. It started to shiver and gave some chakra to Kiyomi. Knowing it had been around and leeching blue fire to keep itself unharmed, Kiyomi started to wave the same handstreak as last time. Taking a deep breath in, she then spitted out the blue balls into the air as they would land into the forest, like some kind of hail. As the blue fire began to rain down, Katsuko began running through the trees. The giant metal weapon in his hand poofed back into a scroll, and Katsuko stored it on his belt. He wanted to be moving at top speed, something he can't do carrying a giant hunk of steel.
I need to get out of here before there is too much fire, he thought. He contemplated running toward Kiyomi, but he looked in her direction and saw that was where the majority of the flames were. Scratching that option, he ran the opposite direction.
She'll have to give chase, and I'm bound to find a spot that has sparse trees to set on fire.With the last ball of blue fire being launched into the air, Kiyomi brought her right hand up. Samehada made a soft growling sound, to which Kiyomi scoffed as she kept her focus at the forest in front of her.
''We'll see. But first... Katsu!'' Forming the handseal, the blue balls of fire started to detonate. The small explosions caused the fire to spread in a much faster and deadlier way. Walking slowly towards the forest, Kiyomi stayed on guard as she would let Samehada devour any blue flame that was coming to close to her.
As Katsuko ran, he could hear the explosions. This made him concerned, and he looked over his shoulder just in time to see some nearby blue flames detonate. This sent him flying from the pressure, crashing into a tree trunk and nearly shattering it. The impact did little to faze him, but he was certainly startled.
She has too many tricks with her ninjutsu. I need to get rid of that somehow, he thought as he continued, now being wary of the fire. But the treeline ended, and he found himself at the base of Mt. Kyuubi. Considering the lack of trees here, he figured her fire would be less deadly now.
"That's some scary fire," he mumbled, fully aware Kiyomi couldn't hear him. With a smirk, he formed several handseals before slamming his palms to the ground. From the ground to his sides, two Stone Dragons erupted and began to smash through the trees, carving a loud path through the forest as they hunted for Kiyomi through the flames.
Still walking calmly through the burning forest, Kiyomi noticed something strange. Samehada shivered and warned her of the incoming attack. Slightly irritated that Katsuko made use of the jutsu twice, she grabbed the hilt of the sentient greatsword. Readying herself, one of the stone Dragons rushed through the flames as it was about to crush where she had been standing. With a quick leap, she managed to land on the head of the dragon and started to run over the back of it. Only to hear and notice the second was was about to launch itself in an attempt to crush her. Readying herself, she quickly leaped of the back as the second stone dragon crushed into the back of the first. Landing outside of the forest, Kiyomi turned around to look where Katsuko was. After she noticed him, she remained still with the burning forest behind her. The bright blue flames casted a shadow on her as the two different colored eyes seemed to look colder than before.
''Count on it that I will pick you apart.'' She hissed.
A smile formed on Katsuko's face.
"We'll see about that," he said, before a third Stone Dragon erupted from the ground right under Kiyomi's feet. The odds were that she would find some way out of it, because she was crafty, so Katsuko took advantage. While the jaws of the Stone Dragon began to shoot from the ground first, Katsuko ran up the mountain, slamming his feet into it every now and then to send rocks tumbling down toward Kiyomi. All the while, his smile had actually vanished to be replaced by a more determined look.
We shall see.The mouth of the dragon closed as it snapped Kiyomi in it. A moment after, it crumbled to pieces as Kiyomi swinged Samehada around. Most of the bandages were gone as the blade had became more excited. Kiyomi noticed that Katsuko was moving up the mountain and gave chase after pondering and waiting for a moment. Using Samehada to fend of the rocks, she kept chasing Katsuko.
As Katsuko reached the top of the mountain, he smirked and turned around.
"I'm afraid this fight is about to end," he taunted. But there was a confidence in his voice, rather than a cockiness. Katsuko asserted a new fighting stance, with his arms crossed over each other somewhat with his left palm facing Kiyomi.
"Meteor Style..." he mumbled, before shooting his hands forward with a twisting motion. Though Kiyomi wouldn't be able to see it, Samehada would be able to feel it. Katsuko had created a vortex of chakra and sent it at Kiyomi. Simply touching it would launch her straight into the sky.
His words made her come to a halt. Looking up, she seemed to ponder on his words. As he was about to use his technique, Samehada shivered. A suprised expression shot over Kiyomi's face as her eyes looked down on the ground. As the vortex was trying to launch her into the air, she tried to keep herself standing on the ground with the use of the Tree Climbing Technique. Still, she had some hard time to keep remaining with her feet on the ground. Not to mention to keep her attenion at Katsuko as well.
He was surprised that she managed to stay grounded, but he didn't show it. With a boost of chakra, Katsuko launched himself high into the air. Far higher than a normal jump could achieve, as it seemed that he practically reached the sky. Just at the apex of his leap, he removed the scroll from his belt and brought back the massive steel weapon. From how high up he was, he could barely see Kiyomi. In fact, if she wasn't wielding Samehada, she would just be a little black dot beneath him.
"Meteor Drop!" Katsuko shouted over the wind as he began to descend back to Earth. He was high in the air, so it would take him a moment, but he hoped the vortex would keep Kiyomi standing still just long enough. As he began to pick up more speed, Katsuko began spinning, swinging Saihyousen around wildly as they went faster and faster.
Swinging Samehada, she drove the created vortex away. Sighing, she then tried to locate Katsuko again. The sound and smell of him was what made her look up as her eyes widened. Seeing him coming down towards the ground, she wasn't sure how safe that would be. If that weapon would have enough force to cause an area to be leveled, she knew that letting it coming down on the volcano could be a bad thing to both of them. Lightning started to crackle as a reddish chakra started to coat Kiyomi. Putting all her focus into it, she sheathed back Samehada before lowering her right hand. Her eyes were locked on her opponent that was coming down. As the red chakra had fully coated Kiyomi, the lightning made a more menacing sound than it usually did. Waiting for the right moment, Kiyomi was going to try to stop the attack with her attack. Or at least attempt to not cause them to be smashed into the volcano.
Even with his rapid spinning, Katsuko could see that Kiyomi broke free of the spinning chakra and was preparing something. It would seem she realized what he was trying to do and was finding a way to stop his attack.
Not happening, he thought to himself. As Katsuko drew near, still spinning and falling at an incredible speed, he tensed his muscles and braced himself for what was about to come. But while he was several meters from impact, Katsuko suddenly stopped spinning and tossed Saihyousen at an angle, away from Kiyomi. A grin formed on his face, as he felt accomplished for what he just did. Though this left him still flying directly at her, which would surely go bad in and of itself, Katusko still went through with his plan.
Where the steel weapon slammed into the volcano, the ground began to shake violently from the power. Though this was fairly distant from Kiyomi, the entire side of the mountain shattered into many large pieces that now rained down over the burning forest. The half of the volcano that was not destroyed was severely shattered, but managed to remain somewhat existing. Even though he was still in the air, Katsuko could feel the power of the impact and couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt if that had hit Kiyomi like he originally planned. But regardless, the volcano they were once standing on was essentially no more. Now, he had to deal with the consequences of practically falling onto Kiyomi herself.
Feeling the ground shake, she was aware of what was going to happen. Readying herself, Kiyomi could do two things. Either smashing her attack full against Katsuko or getting away. A feeling started to boil inside the girl as she seemed to experience everything at a slower rate. As if the world was slowing down. Lowering her head bit, she glared in Katsuko's direction. Her right hand was clenched into a fist as she readied herself. For once, she wasn't going to take the more reasonable and logic decision. Instead, her pride was what gained the upper hand. Feeling she would lose balance, she stepped forward and pulled her right hand back as she aimed for Katsuko's stomach. The lightning wouldn't cut through the flesh and bones, like it would normally, but it would give him a new meaning to the word 'stunning'.
''Annoying punk!'' Kiyomi sneered as she thrusted her fist forward to deliver the blow, trying to slam him away from the fact the volcano wasn't likely going to hold itself together.
It seemed that Kiyomi wasn't intent on avoiding the coming destruction. Katsuko got his hands up as her fist collided with his arms. But, to his surprise, her power was greater than before, and his own arms slammed backward and hit him in the stomach. The power of the punch knocked the wind out of him, and some blood came out as well. But as Katsuko hit the ground following that punch, the very ground beneath them began to shake violently again. The warning was very limited, because it exploded very soon afterwards in an eruption. This double-whammy sent Katsuko flying, still holding his stomach where he just took damage.
She wasn't supposed to stick around, he thought, his voice sounding pained even in his own mind. Still in the air, he saw a plume of lava shoot out of what was once Mt. Kyuubi. The fire beneath him and now the lava before him.
"What was I thinking?" he asked himself with a light chuckle, before removing his arms from his gut and landing on his feet on a tree that was miraculously not on fire yet. He heard a powerful impact further into the forest, indicating that was where Saihyousen landed following the eruption. With a look of determination, he wiped the blood from his chin and began to scan for Kiyomi.
''NOT...OVER...'' It came from a distance, but if Katsuko would look up, he would noticed something heading towards the ground, like he had done before. The bandage wasn't present and most scales of Samehada were black as there were burn marks on her clothes. Clenching right hand into a fist, she aimed where Katsuko was as a grin was seen on her face. Dirty by the rubble and such, she made a summersault before trying to slam another fist into Katsuko. This time she wasn't using Matatabi's chakra, as she was aware of what her punch could inflict if she would.
The teenager looked up and smirked as she came down.
"You look like you're out of the Nibi's chakra," Katsuko noted, though perhaps not quite loud enough for Kiyomi to hear. As such, when she tried to punch him again, Katsuko jumped sideways off the tree and let her fly past him. He hoped that she would crash to the ground and hurt herself, but in the back of his mind he knew she would be fine. As such, when he landed on the ground himself, he took a moment for a deep breath.
"I knew this would come down to who could last longer. It would appear that in the end, it would be me," he taunted, asserting a fighting stance. The blue flames around the forest were still going, creating an interesting light. But in the distance behind Katsuko, he could hear lava crashing through the trees.
"I have to say, you are probably one of the strongest opponents I have ever had the honor to fight. But this looks about over for you." Though his words seemed almost like a taunt, there was a seriousness in the tone that suggested it was more honest and respectable than it was a threat.
The dust cloud that was created by her attack was swept aside. Blood was seen on her right fist, but she wasn't fazed by it. Raising up Samehada, she let the greatsword rest on her shoulder.
''You talk too much. In fact, I have quite enough chakra to last.'' The grin re-appeared on her face again.
''Besides, I recover from my injuries. Unlike you are.'' She said in a mocking tone, refering to Samehada. Pointing with her left thumb at herself, Kiyomi spoke again.
''But this is getting dull. I suggest we end this once and for all. No ninjutsu, no weapons. Just you and me. Or are you too cowardly for that?'' Kiyomi taunted.
"You already know the answer to that," Katsuko said. He dropped out of his fighting stance and removed the pouches that contained his shuriken and kunai, as well as removing the empty sheathe from his back and tossing that on the ground as well. With that done, he went back into his fighting stance.
"You lost the moment you challenged me." The eye tattoos vanished from his skin and his own eyes stopped glowing now. After all, he was going to be fair and not use his dojutsu on her now. He glanced over his shoulder at some blue flames, planning just in case she betrayed her new conditions, before looking back at Kiyomi.
"You are strong, but your strength comes from the outside. It comes from others. Even with the Nibi you have befriended. My strength comes from within. It is mine and only came from my own will. So we will see which path is stronger, won't we?"Removing her pouches and Samehada as well, Kiyomi glared into his direction. As she kept removing her tools and such, she spoke back. In a colder tone than before.
''Its true that Mata-sama has always been there to help me. But,'' She glanced at her right fist, where there was still some trace of blood.
''It was me that trained hard to understand the things I know and have learned. It was me that kept spending days training to get where I am now. And it was only me that always fought. But you're right though.'' She looked back at Katsuko. Straight into his eyes.
''I had help. No matter what, I always had and still have the luck or bad luck somebody is around to keep my up. To make sure I get to see another day. Just like how somebody important to us both taught me a great deal of things. So, I think you're nothing better than me. Kat.'' With that said, she started to charge towards Katsuko.
The confident look vanished from his face now.
Surely she must know that she stands no chance if she won't use ninjutsu, Katsuko thought, trying to decipher her planning. Her last comment reminded him that she was smart, so she surely had a gameplan for this. But he just couldn't figure out what. Without the Nibi, he was both stronger and faster than her. The only advantage she had was that she had less injuries presently.
"Sometimes, with a strong will and iron determination, I can beat people that I'm not better than," Katsuko commented, before dashing at the last second. He brought his right arm up first, in case she tried to send out a quick punch. Hopefully it would goad her into sending out a kick. Precisely what he would want to end this fight.
She also dashed forward, moving at fast speed. Kiyomi narrowed her eyes as she focused. She closed in the distance with Katsuko as he would likely see the growing smirk when he was paying attention to her face.
''Stupid jerk.~'' The smirk grew into a wide grin as her eyes widened. The left eye shifted suddenly from color as the red chakra appeared. Moving faster than before, she launched herself in an attempt to collide against him and making use of that to grab him with a chakra tail.
''Got you.'' she mumbled.
"Knew it," Katsuko commented, letting the chakra tail grab him. However, he didn't budge at all.
"I may not be smart, but I have one thing." Katsuko grabbed the chakra, feeling the burning sensation of it against his bare hands.
"I have will!" Using his strength, he removed the tail from himself and swung it around, intending to throw Kiyomi at her own blue flames. As well, as he rotated around, he saw the lava approaching fast now. This battle was about to have to move. Once he released the chakra tail, he picked up the sheathe for his sword and began running away from the lava.
Letting herself being launched, Kiyomi kept her eyes on where Katsuko was. However, the blue flames would prove to become a problem. Even with her Bijuu chakra coat, she had never tested if the coat would provide protection against the deadly flames. Whistling, something slithered towards the flames to provide a safe landing ground. Landing on the ground, Kiyomi still had a wide grin on her face. Samehada shivered, but he didn't move without another command of Kiyomi. Rising up from her crouched stance, she rolled with her left shoulder as the tail of chakra swept around.
''You seem to have some. Only I wonder for how long you will go on before you succumb to your wounds.'' She said, in an amused manner.
Katsuko jumped over the chakra tail, before looking over his shoulder.
"These are nothing!" he called back, before making several handseals. As he landed on the ground, he sent another two Stone Dragons at Kiyomi, going at slightly different angles. His goal was to push her back toward the incoming lava. So as such, the Dragons fanned out before closing in. This would cut off the flanking option, unless she simply destroyed one of the dragons. Now there was only forward and backward. Forward Katsuko, backward was fast-approaching lava.
"You'll need to do more to me than this to slow me down!"Again with that technique? As she noted the lava, she would chose for the lesser danger. Turning her back to the lava and not paying attention to the dragons, the red chakra started to spike suddenly when the two approached her. Moving her hands close to each other, she spread out her arms to unleash a strong gust that blew them from her. Panting, she still had a grin on her lips.
''I was planning to. Though I wonder how much chakra you have left. I noticed that you have leeched some before. However, I can fight decently without my eyes.'' She taunted him as she closed her eyes. Grabbing Samehada, she was however planning to rely also something else than her sense of smell and hearing.
That's right, I cancelled my dojutsu. I need to get it up again, he thought, before seeing her close her eyes. This made him frown.
Nevermind that. Katsuko continued running in the opposite direction of the lava, but that didn't mean he planned on doing nothing.
"Go ahead and fight without your eyes," Katsuko said, slamming into a tree. As he ran, he began slamming into trees, knocking them over. Though she would obviously be able to hear the falling trunks, it still made more obstacles for her to deal with while chasing him down. Katsuko just wanted to find another spot without trees again so she can't use her fire like before. Also, he needed to find Saihyousen before the lava could get to it.
Somehow she had no trouble of evading the tree. Still chasing him down, she was starting to close in the distance. Taking out several shuriken, Kiyomi enveloped them in lightning charka before throwing them towards Katsuko.
''Yeah, run away. I doubt you were good for anything else than that. Weren't you?'' Kiyomi taunted Katsuko, with a mocking tone as she readied herself to launch her next attack. Her last words struck a nerve, and Katsuko looked over his shoulder.
"You have no idea..." he mumbled to himself, before knocking another tree over to block her. Upon looking forward, he saw his sword sticking out of a tree trunk. It was likely tossed here after his first attack with Saihyousen. Wasting no time, he grabbed it, which cut the tree down in the process, and put it back in its sheathe before putting it on his back.
"You started off pretty skilled, didn't you?" Katsuko spoke up again, so Kiyomi could hear him.
"Well I didn't. All I was ever good at was taking a beating. I had no skill, only drive. But that wasn't ever good enough. Countless times I have been beaten and defeated at the hands of people who were just inherently better than me. But no more. I grew, Kiyomi. I started a nobody, but here I am now, fighting on par with the child that was always the shooting star of the Leaf. I receive no compliments, no respect. Because nobody sees what I am capable of doing now." Katsuko turned around now, sensing that Kiyomi was getting close.
"Even with your eyes closed, you will see why I will win this one battle." Katsuko charged forward, removing his steel knuckles from his pockets and putting them on.
Without any problem Kiyomi managed to continue. The lightning infused kunai were still heading towards Katusko while he talked.
Really? That sucker really is missing points. Kiyomi thought, coming to a skidding halt as she laughed at Katsuko.
''Is that what you think? Miserable bastard. As hell if I like started skilled!'' Kiyomi said, weaving a streak of handsignals as she prepared for the next. Her patient with Katsuko was now seriously over and done. That he thought he could beat her was one thing. But to think he could spin such a tale about how he had worked his way up and assumed she had started off skilled? The memories of being beaten every time, every day in her much younger days never had faded. They were still haunting her nightmares. Still peeking through the small opening of her eyes, Kiyomi already saw and heard him charging. Likely the kunai had passed him, but he would then noticed something else. They were all heading back to his back at a fast speed.
''The Lightning Flash is a title I earned with the blood of others. You fucking jerk. I will make it now once and for all clear.'' Kiyomi said with a cold tone.
''That you're a real idiot.'' "Am I?" Katsuko swung one of his hands backwards, hitting both kunai just before they reached his back with the steel knuckles. The power of the impact sent them flying into the trees out of sight.
"I can't sense humility from you," Katsuko began, changing his charge into a curved advance, so as to come at Kiyomi from an angle.
"How many compliments do you receive a day?" Katsuko's voice sounded surprisingly calm, despite the intensity of his eyes. At this point, he was upon her and made a downward punch. Even if he missed her, his attack would devastate the ground, possibly doing something to her balance like that.
Suddenly, Kiyomi lunged forwards. Seems that Katsuko made one big mistake. Not only had she seen this coming when he took on his steel knuckles, but she couldn't wish for a better situation than this. Though Katusko was stronger than her, that was when she wouldn't use the empowering chakra of the Nibi. She had prepared the chakra while weaving the handsignals. The technique that would now surely make it clear that Katsuko had done it now. The punch he was intending to make wouldn't land the ground. Lightning crackled through the air as Kiyomi gathered lightning as she lunged forward. With the gathered lightning, she made a quick movement, letting it lash out as it extended towards Katsuko. Both his hands seemed to move in another way as his balance would surely become a problem. The moment that Katsuko had hit the kunai, he had actually slammed against the lightning of the technique. True, his endurance would mean the zapping power of the kunai wouldn't likely stun him, but the move had made it much easier for Kiyomi to influence the steel weapon. The other knuckle was influenced as well, pulling Katsuko's arm up as well. With the distance and speed of her technique, Kiyomi tried to lash out to Katsuko's side with a sweep. Of course, she wouldn't slash him in half, but she wasn't going to spar him.
His fists began to meet resistance from his own steel knuckles. That was a pain. The lightning coursing through them did nothing to slow him down, but the surprise of the technique caught him off guard and allowed Kiyomi to not be struck by the attack. But she underestimated him. Again. As his arms began to move out of the way, Katsuko resisted Kiyomi's control through brute strength, keeping himself balanced. And as such, when she tried to strike him with lightning, she had failed to put distance between herself and him likely thinking he would be defenseless. So as her lightning closed in, Katsuko's left leg was a blur as it shot forward to plant itself directly in her abdomen. A bone-crushing strike that would likely kill a normal human, but she had already demonstrated hardiness, so he held nothing back. In this manner, he had no way to dodge her lightning either, but he was more focused on making her feel pain than him avoiding it.
Growling, Kiyomi felt something against her stomach as the lightning slashed through Katsuko's side. She felt how the air at her stomach was pushed out, but she was still able to keep focus. The growling became worse as the sentient sword had taken quite a hit, even while had done his best. Not stopping the lightning, Kiyomi turned her hand, focusing on intending more internal damage to Katsuko's body. The single beam of lightning, that she held, would form spikes inside Katusko's body. Panting, Kiyomi felt something warm at her side. Though not intended, the sharp scales of Samehada had scratched. Placing her left hand on her right arm, Kiyomi focused more. The lightning started to expand, trying to rip more flesh and organs apart as it kept moulding spikes inside Katsuko's body.
''J-Jerk...''Katsuko felt the lightning attack tearing away. This was new and unexpected. Though this was probably her best offensive yet, in the fact it was actually damaging him, he refused to stop.
"Oh, I'm so much more than that!" Katsuko shouted, his voice clearly pained. A devilish smirk formed on his face.
"I'm also a thief!" As soon as he said that, red chakra began glowing from his body. He could feel the burning sensation already as it began to expand and form a cloak. Perhaps stealing biju chakra would backfire. Perhaps it wouldn't. But already he could feel the power of it. Steam began rising from his skin, and the devilish smirk grew even more sinister. Now he could totally overpower the control over his steel knuckles, and as he brought his foot back down he made another swing, even faster than before, directly at Kiyomi's chest. She could only block with Samehada so many times before it would be done. He knew it was a living thing. Even that sword would feel the pain. As he swung again, even more blood flowed from the wound Kiyomi was giving him and the ground beneath began to crack from the pressure of the two fighting on top of it.
Kiyomi frowned. The hand of Katsuko stopped. Holding his wrist with her left hand, Kiyomi still kept the lightning going on.
''You're not worthy to be called his student.'' With her speed, she had barely stopped the fist in front of her chest.
''Know a fun fact about Bijuu chakra?'' Kiyomi asked as she tightened her grip on his wrist. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked at the wound. Samehada's mouth went open as he spitted out shards of metal towards Katsuko. Or coughed it up. It was a surprise for Kiyomi, but she decided to not focus on it.
''Bijuu chakra works in two ways. To improve one's body and power, it needs time. If not, the destructive power works against you. You lost by sheer arrogance.'' Grunting, she then kicked Samehada to come in contact with Katsuko. She knew too well that Bijuu chakra wasn't so simple to use. There was a reason why she couldn't go further with her chakra cloak. Pulling her right hand back, the lightning would slowly stop making spikes, but now she was causing more damage to his body. Together with Samehada starting to leech chakra back, Kiyomi scoffed.
His grin turned into a scowl.
"I haven't... lost!" The red cloak began to diminish, likely not lasting particularly long thanks to Samehada being so close. He could feel the pain inside his body and the blood practically spraying out. But his will hadn't died in the least. Katsuko rotated his wrist around to catch Kiyomi by hers, before yanking her toward him. In that same motion, not only did he scrape Samehada against him again but he also slammed his head forward directly into hers. Since he was holding her wrist with the same grip she had on his, it was a simple matter of overpowering her again. But the very moment the two would collide, Katsuko would let go and give a light hop, planting both feet on Samehada and kicking off with enough force to either send Kiyomi back or give himself soom room and away from her lightning attack. As he landed on his feet with surprising grace, his left hand went to his side, covering the wound that was now bleeding profusely.
"You think this is all it takes to win? You better be prepared to try harder than that." His irises began to glow again as he slowly removed his now bloody hand from his wound.
"And I was never his student. I'm his son." The grin came back to his face.
The afterimage faded away. As if she would fall for the trick of twisting a wrist. She had used her Secret Sword Technique to make it what he wanted to see. Only Samehada was now growling high pitched sounds. She had taken a little skid backwards to avoid getting in range. Looking at the sentient blade, she heard Katsuko's words.
''Indeed. A son who hasn't learned a thing.'' She said calmly. The wound at her side were some scratches. Nothing compared of having a deep cut and several deeper stabs in the internals. Knowing enough of the human body, she had made sure to stab through his stomach and liver. Probably more. It was however a feat worthy of Katsuko's strength that he was still able to stand.
''Your father, thus my grandfather, haven't been that long enough to teach me more. But he made some things very clear.'' Kiyomi said as she would dismiss the lightning at her right hand. Walking towards the wounded sentient blade, Kiyomi would stay listening to every sound Katsuko would make.
''You keep on talking like you had it hard and I easy. You seem thus to know nothing of my past. Neither do you think before you act.'' She wondered how long it would take before the rather acid fluid of the stomach would start to tear away more flesh. Something she could even smell. Not a very nice parfum, she thought to herself.
His grin slowly faded away.
"The past doesn't matter, you idiot," Katsuko said rather bluntly.
"That's what I'm proving here. That despite how I was just a few years ago, I can stand here." He brought his clean fist across, pounding it against his chest.
"That I overcame my weakness. I did it without compliment and I did it to the point I wasn't even decent anymore." Katsuko made several handseals, before holding the last one. A look of strain formed on his face and the ground began to crack underneath his feet. Blood began spraying out of his wound, and the blood loss combined with damage was starting to take it's toll on him.
"My father made things clear whenever he opened his mouth. But let me try to make one thing clear..." Katsuko looked up to Kiyomi now, his grin having returned.
"I am going to win. If not this fight, then at life. My days of being a loser are over." Just on time, perhaps with enough time for Kiyomi to notice it, trees began crashing to her right as Saihyousen came flying toward the battlefield. Without care for his own safety, the steel weapon immediately twisted around and slammed itself into the ground halfway between Katsuko and Kiyomi. Like before, the earth was absolutely destroyed, turning it into a massive crater full of jagged rocks and kicking dust everywhere.
The blood on her right hand would serve its purpose. Sighing, Kiyomi weaved the handsignals as fast as she could. Dropping to a knee, a black rose would crawl out of the ground. Looking at what was coming, the black sphere was surrounding her and Samehada, blocking view of both. The dust that was whipped up, together with the rubble also would smash into the sphere that seemed to bring night on the earth for a few moments.
Appearing next to Chang, Kiyomi looked worried at Samehada. She wasn't doing bad. Her chakra levels were half up, but she had burned a lot of what she could get from Matatabi. Placing a hand on her side, she checked if it was still bleeding. It started to sting a little, but she was more worried about Katsuko. Not about the grave wound he was suffering due her attack, but due the fact how he had spoken. All she could have now was just pity.
''Doctor Chang-san, he is gravely injured. This fight is over. You better check on him. I am not going to continue.'' Kiyomi said with a stern tone. Kneeling down, she would check on Samehada again. The sentient blade kept coughing and shivering. Turning it around, she could see how some scales were badly damaged. Some were even slammed inside the body of the strange being. Softly patting the blade, she was starting to think how she could help her companion.
As the dust settled, Katsuko had his arms over his face. He cancelled the technique as soon as Saihyousen impacted, to preserve his chakra better. Not waiting for Kiyomi to do something, as he couldn't see her through the dust yet, he made some more handseals and placed his bloody hand on the ground. A puff of smoke appeared in front of him and Hana had entered the battlefield.
"Let's finish this," Katsuko told her with a weak grin, bringing his hand back to his wound.
"What happened?!" "Focus."But as the dust settled, Kiyomi was nowhere to be found. This confused Hana, but Katsuko was still wary. Hana took advantage of the lull and moved to his side, first spitting into his wound and then bringing her hands over it with the Mystical Palm technique.
"I don't feel her chakra anymore..." Katsuko noted.
"Did she stop using the Nibi?" Hana didn't care to converse with him, as she was more concerned about his injury.
"How did she do this to you?" "I messed up a little. Do you hear anything?" Hana's ears twitched.
"Nothing." Katsuko began to walk toward Saihyousen, despite the fact his wound wasn't even close to fully healed. Hana chased after him as he lifted the giant weapon. There was an angry expression on his face.
"She used the Void Rose. But why?"Panting, Kiyomi looked with a bitter look at the blade she held. It was broken in half. Probably due the way it had been stored, together with the blunt damage and that the scales that were sent inside all together had damaged her favorite blade. Samehada was slowly becoming quiet as it was devouring some chakra. Not that she risked with giving him too much. Burning through more chakra would tire her out by this point. Patting the scales of the sentient blade, she whispered some words to keep calming down the sentient blade.
A black sphere formed in the concrete room, and Katsuko and Hana stepped out of it. It could be noted that his external wounds were all dealt with, but Hana still had her hands over his midsection with the Mystical Palm.
"What the hell?" Katsuko said first, directing it right at Kiyomi.
"Please don't tell me you left because you were worried." Though his face suggested he was enraged, his voice sounded more like he was just irritated.
"Don't tell me you respect me so little that you won't even finish the fight."Not looking at Katsuko's direction, Kiyomi kept patting the shark blade. The sounds had now stopped, but the blade seemed like he was breathing. Something that he never did, unleashed excited or probably in this state.
''I don't respect somebody who is putting his life on the line just for a simple spar. You've some great power and I was certainly at some points in awe.'' Turning around, Kiyomi had a disappointed look on her face as she rose up and straighten her back.
''But you clearly forget how to act as a true shinobi that is proud. You give everything to win and stop wondering about what you did. Neither were you clearly thinking. A shinobi must know his or her limits. But you instead thought with pure arrogance you could do things that others can't. I can't even bring myself to say what I think about how disgusting your further kept going on. You may be Jinkama's son, no doubt. But I am sure that you need to think about why I refuse to continue fighting.'' Kiyomi kept talking with a rather calm and stern voice. Her disappointment turned in disgust.
''That wasn't a fight or anything near it. It was you trying to prove something that doesn't exist. You're a sad, sad being Katsuko. I am done with you. Until you see the truth.''Her words clearly enraged him.
"This wasn't to impress you!" Katsuko raised his voice now, though he wasn't quite yelling.
"This was to show the start of a new time in my life. The day that I have proven that I am no longer weak. And you got something else wrong. I wasn't going to die. I wouldn't die for anything, especially not a simple fight." In one quick motion, Katsuko reached into his only remaining pouch and withdrew a kunai knife. Before Hana could stop him, he stabbed it deep into his own chest.
"Kat!" He continued looking directly into Kiyomi's eyes.
"I live. Not die." He yanked the knife out, splashing some blood on the floor.
"She gets it, now stop doing that!" Now Hana's hands moved over his new wound, to heal that too.
"What I think is disgusting is how full of yourself you are. You don't act arrogant and you don't carry yourself like a cocky brat. But I can sense it in you. It was like when Keiko was your age. You think you know more than you actually do." He turned away, stowing the kunai knife back in the pouch.
"The truth is that you believe you're something you're not. Don't act like you're my mentor." He closed his eyes and sighed.
"You may have been worried... but despite how mad I am... I have to admit." Katsuko opened them again and a smirk formed on his face.
"That was fun."She wasn't even blinking or turning her eyes away from his. Standing there, her arms slowly crossed out front of her chest, Kiyomi would let him. He was missing everything she said and she already assumed he wouldn't listen at all. But still, she would try it one last time. She owed to some people. Though it was clear how she was thinking of Katsuko now. The disgusted look on her face hadn't vanished.
''Am I? I never said anything about being your mentor.'' Kiyomi started, clearly sounding a bit amused about that.
''And stabbing yourself, while proclaiming you wouldn't die for anything? You are aware that you quite dumb with doing that? Other than losing more blood, I think that it is pretty clear your brains are lacking some of it now.'' Kiyomi's tone started to sound less amused.
''And if I was so full of myself, I would haven't hit you in the side. You seem on the other hand to think that my skill is lower than you. That you know what I would have done if this was a real fight. Kat. I don't like saying this, but.'' Kiyomi paused. As if she was considering her words.
''You claim you're not a loser. But you are. You see what you want to see and forget what we have both learned. If you think that I am like mom, then so be it. But even she wouldn't risk her life on the line to show something. No victory like these is worth dying for.'' That having said, Kiyomi spoke to Chang, who seemed to be silent.
''Chang-san, mind to look at Sharky?'' After the man would nod and be silent, Kiyomi had a hunch that this wasn't over yet.
''Next time if I see you acting like this. I am going to aim for the spot you have stabbed yourself. That is a promise.'' Half turning around, the bright eyes turned dark green as she had made her promise with a cold tone.
"Let me promise you this," Katsuko said, waving the back of his hand at Kiyomi as he turned away.
"If you keep looking down on me, you'll find one day that you'll be looking at my back as I surpass you." Katsuko began walking away while Hana was still healing him.
"I told you once. I die for nothing. I live for everything." He glanced over his shoulder at Kiyomi one last time.
"And I don't hide behind my past. That's how I move forward." With that last statement, he drew his attention forward and walked through the doorway into a hall. Not quite out of hearing range, Hana spoke up again.
"You need to stop getting hurt so much. I always tell you this but I can only heal wounds, not bring your blood back." "I have plenty of it. For now. I'm going to skip training for the day."With Chang still healing and trying to figure out how he was going to help Samehada, Kiyomi looked at the back of Katsuko. Surpassing her? Looking at his back? She shook her head. Childish and rather boring in her opinion. She thought about his words, but all she could think of was how her opinion on Katsuko had been lowered. She had thought first he would be actually better than her. But the way he had spoken and acted today had shown her that she couldn't bring anything else but disgust for it.
I don't hide behind my past, I move forward.'' It seemed like he was suddenly attacking her with that. Or was he trying to show still that he was more than he used to be? Kiyomi found it sad and still childish. But more off, disgusting. Kneeling down near Samehada, she patted the sentient blade softly as she hoped that her comdrade would be able to get patched up.
