Jackal Meets Hound

[Zahra]

Thread Title: Jackal Meets Hound
Participants: Zahra, Anthony Mortifero Kuchiki
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: PG-13
Location: The wilderness of the Rukongai
Special Conditions: N/A
Circumstances: Zahra is traveling through the wilderness, minding her own business, when Anthony runs into her. How will the meeting go?

[Zahra]

Zahra was half wandering out the wilderness of Soul Society. One second, she was fighting with Ajraka to see if she could join her crew, and the next she was gone. After waiting for several minutes with no retaliation for what she did, she had looked through the area where she should've been. When she wasn't there, she looked through the immediate area. She looked for hours trying to find her, but she had no luck whatsoever. She was abandoned yet again it seemed.

It was how her wandering started and how her bad mood appeared. She had finally thought she found someone that was going to try to help her with whatever curse thing that man put on her. But, it turns out that it was too good to be true. She was gone and now she was alone again. She sniffled and then clenched her fists tight. She was going to cry, not again. She was going to be better than that stupid curse. Going to be better than she was before. There was no crying towards self-improvement.

She took a deep breath and started walking again, grabbing one of her knives out of her knife holder and started to throw it up in the air and catch it. It calmed her down to think straight enough so she didn't run into any trees. She kept her ears flicking around the area, her tail twitching slightly, making sure that no one was sneaking up on her. It was then that she heard a twig snapping. She immediately stopped, her ears flicking that way and her noise pointing up to try to scent the air.

From what she could tell, a person was coming her way. The thing that was interesting, however, was that there was an animal with them. A dog, if her nose was correct, and it usually was. She had never seen anyone come out here with a pet before. Unless this dog wasn't a pet, but was being held captive by this person. Her mind started to think up a lot of different scenarios about what could actually be going on with that animal. They were coming closer and before they got to close, she threw her knife at a tree they would be coming to. "Who are you?" She would walk into view, growling and holding two knives.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Abilities}
Strength - 350 Points (430)
Speed - 250 Points (375)
Spiritual Pressure - 135 Points (81)
Reiatsu Strength - 100 Points (50)
Instinct - 150 Points (225)
Senses - 250 Points (187)
Energy sensory - 50 Points (37)
Healing Expertise - 50 Points

[Martial Arts: Hand to Hand] [2]
[Weapons: Throwing Knives] [2]
[Stealth] [2]
[Battle Focus] [2]
[Anti-Stealth] [2]
[Stealing] [1]
[Heat Tolerance] [2]
[Acrobatics] [2]

[Deleted]

Smokey was absolutely bouncing around from one tree to another and yet another and eventually finding a way to evade Anthony’s sight only to reappear right next to him. This was how their trek into the forested lands outside the rukongai had gone, Smokey playing hide and seek giving Anthony several heart attacks in the meantime. As much as Anthony loved his four legged companion some days he was just too damn smart for his own good. Anthony recovering from his most recent heart attack just shook his head as he chuckled to himself and took a minute to hug his companion. “ You are going to be the death of me if you keep that up. Fuckin asshole hehe. Still don’t go off too far alright? We both know I’d be screwed with finding my way out of here if you up and left.”



If Smokey could have smirked he would have and even went so far as to do his best “I’m an angel” expression. This dog was too much some days. Anthony just shook his head and continued on. So one might ask, why was Anthony and his dog here far outside the realm of the Rukongai? Was it a mission assigned to him? Was he here to train in peace? Did he intend to meet another for some cheesy reunion? The answer was far more simple than any of that. Anthony wanted to go for a walk. A very long and very far walk to somewhere he hadn’t been at prior. And if he was honest he knew it was a terrible idea to actually go out into the wilderness. If only because he was still an initiate to his squad. He was by far the WEAKEST person in that squad. Hell even his dog had more capabilities than he did just by his sheer experience and sensory capabilities.



Anthony had a lot of work to do but if he was honest he really just wanted to relax. Do something out of the norm and get away from everything. Sure he hadn’t been training yet nor was he terribly great at anything really but he was working in other ways. Talking and fostering relationships in the squad, looking around for others who’d be willing to train him, or even just being assigned cleaning duties. And if he was honest, there was no one better in the squad with a broom. Just saying. Anthony had acquired quite the ability to clean, so much he’d had to tease the maids back at the manor about it as he knew they’d all be shocked by him actually doing something so menial. Truly though it was a bit sad his experience was laced with small but funny events that occured on the daily.



Today however was not one of those days. As Anthony and his canine companion walked onward just enjoying the cool shade of the forest and the gentle breeze that carried on past them a flash of something came from the corner of his peripheral vision. Anthony had quite literally not been hit by what came to be known as a dagger by sheer virtue of the person who threw it at him not aiming to hit him. Worse yet even Smokey who was normally quite the attentive dog hadn’t even noticed the other until they allowed themselves to be known. “Who are you?” Anthony took a moment to look around but was unable to find the source until they stepped out into view of them.



By this point Smokey was growling low and quiet with the promise of harm towards the other being. Completely uncaring that what stood before them was yet another canine...except that it stood on two legs and had a fur pattern Anthony didn’t even know was possible on an animal. Worse yet it or more accurately SHE was another canine but not one that Anthony knew of. Anthony’s rising concern and fear was only matched by his curiosity currently. And though he was terrified, any one glance to his eyes would see it easily, he wasn’t shaking. . . just yet anyway. He wanted to know how the hell this being existed as he’d never heard nor met any during his time at the academy nor the squad. She was something to say the least.



However his mind caught back up to the question that he was certain if he didn’t answer would result in the next knife coming to find itself between his head so he quickly answered, with only minor cracking of his voice. “I-I’m Anthony. Anthony Mortifero. W-w-who would you happen to be?” Solid he’d only stuttered a bit. Progress considering his initial meeting with the head of the Kuchiki as well as Hotaru. Still it showed his fear at both the other as well as his concerns with himself and how weak he was. If she looked to Smokey it’d be questionable if he’d actually just rolled his eyes at him. Anthony of course couldn’t tell, he hadn’t even looked at him but regardless Smokey didn’t back down. His only concern was that Anthony’s potential last breath coming sooner than later given the other was easily capable of it.



Meanwhile in Anthony’s chaotic mess of a mind OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?! Also how the hell did it throw a fucking knife at me?! Let alone with the accuracy to have hit an apple off my head?? Also that is an incredible fur pattern let alone coat. Note to self I need to look into the library more because I’ve never seen both colors together like this. Wait what the fuck am I saying? I have to get out of this mess and not get KILLED prior! Maybe? Just MAYBE I can get away by the virtue of god or whatever deity persuaded her, that is a female right(?), to not hit me initially. Wait where’s Smokey. . .



Looking over Anthony finally noticed how Smokey was, crouched low. Growling and with a sharpness in his eyes he hadn’t seen since the day they met. Hell even his teeth looked longer. That literally shouldn’t be possible but here he was with teeth that he never remembered being large enough to kill another. This was probably just his mind reeling at the current situation but he needed to focus and do everything he could to ensure he wasn’t killed. Or that Smokey wasn’t harmed. So long as those happened he’d consider this interaction a win in his book.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}
Stats

Strength: 25

Speed: 50

Rieatsu Strength: (40) 28

Spiritual Pressure: (60) 90

Instinct: (55) 74

Senses: 50

Energy Sensory: 0 (0)

Healing Expertise: 0

Light Aura: 75

Dark Aura: 25


Skills

Strength of Will: 1

Damage Recovery: 1

Battle Analysis: 1

Weapons: Roman weapons 1

Pain Tolerance: 1

Mental Incantation: 1

[Zahra]

Zahra stalked out of the trees, looking over the two that walked in her nearby area. It was one of those people that she's seen before while she walked through the more populated areas. Shinigami, if she remembered the word they called themselves correctly. She then looked down at the dog that was growling at her. She smirked at it and then growled back at it, louder than it was, baring her teeth towards it slightly before she turned her attention back to the person.

So, this person is Anthony. His last name was unimportant to her. She started to spin the knives on her fingers (they are kunai more than actual daggers) while answering him. "Name's Zahra. Not seen you before. What you here for?" Glaring at him, she started to scent the air slightly. There were a few things she could tell just from her animal instincts that was going in the moment right now. She was being slightly aggressive to these newcomers that came into her current area.

The dog was definitely being protective of his man. The posture alone told her that. The dog was seeming to get even more aggressive as the seconds ticked by. She had no doubt that this dog wouldn't pose a threat to her, but she did commend the dog for trying to look vicious to protect his person. The man, however, was the complete opposite of his dog. He seemed a little on edge and fearful of her. She assumed that was an appropriate response, since she was a two legged canine that just walked into a clearing.

"Don't see many of you out this far. You looking for ones like me?" She looks at him menacingly, slowly walking towards him. She is reminded that she was supposed to work as a team to get this curse removed, to actually want to work with others. But, the pain of what just happened to her was too strong and she just couldn't bring herself to actually try to put that into action. She was always getting left behind it seems, and this time would be different. She kept walking towards him, kunai spinning on her fingers while she glared at him.

[Deleted]

Anthony’s mind was continuing to reel over the fact that a literal two legged canine of some sort was walking his way. Talking to him, and well at that. And was probably going to kill him if he wasn’t careful about what he said. Or maybe she’d just kill him anyway, honestly he didn’t know. The only thing he could think up of currently was that she was the equivalent to a werewolf so chances were she’d kill him. Fuck. And there she went walking towards him again. Shit! He needed to act fast but he couldn’t even cast his kido mentally, he just didn’t have the spiritual prowess to do that so he was limited more so than usual. For now he just took an appropriate step back once Zahra was within 40 feet of him and would continue to do so if she continued approaching.

In the meantime however he’d speak to her in about the same manner. Voice a bit shaky but still solid enough to only resonate just a bit as he spoke. “I-I’m just taking a walk..It’s rather crowded in the Seireitei and Rukongai. N-not to mention. . . both have their fair share of violent people. I really just wanted to relax, I swear.” Anthony without realizing it had brought his right hand towards his Gladius. On a subconscious level he was ready to respond if she threw a kunai his way as he would at least attempt to reflect it. Granted he wasn’t terribly skill at sword play but he wasn’t some random pleb that just picked up a sword, for all that was worth. But regardless of course this would make him look like he was lying. His eyes spoke volumes of the opposite but his actions spoke more of self preservation. And self preservation could mean anything, because what reason does one need to live but because they want to?

Smokey on the other hand just glared daggers at Zahra and continued his growling. However he moved closer to Anthony with every intent to jump into the mix if things got violent. Needless to say though Zahra’s intimidation was pretty unsuccessful but it was clear he wasn’t going to do much but make time for Anthony to run if push came to shove. Really. No amount of experience was going to help when the difference in abilities was that great. Smokey stopped in front of Anthony between the two of them and though he never lost his defensive posture that “experience” in his eyes showed giving him a curious gleam. Certainly something no basic animal should have even if they fought others frequently as instinct should take charge, not mental faculties.

Tension was rising, Anthony was seriously considering using his kido Sazanami but that’d require he speak out the phrase given he needed the incantation effect. Not the bare minimum. Not a luxury he had currently. And then there was the question, “You looking for ones like me?” And the look on Anthony’s face said it all. Tension left his face for genuine confusion as until this point he seriously had no idea beast clan even existed. Sure he heard an occasional rumor or horror story about a were-animal but nothing like a beast clan. Besides such rumors and stories were obviously fake. So what did that make Zahra? She was no figment of his imagination, that was for damn certain. But she held far too much intelligence to be a were creature. Anthony’s posture slacked some mostly because confusion took over but not fear based instead it was clueless based. In the calmest he’d been since meeting her Anthony simply responded to her question in kind. “I genuinely had no idea you existed. At this point you and myself are on the same page because I came to just be away from the stress. Smokey’s here because I’d be lost without him in this area. So searching for your kind? I couldn’t even search for my way home, let alone others for a collection of beings I didn’t even know could exist until now.”

Anthony took a small moment to mentally pat himself on the back for finally speaking without a stutter. Sure he wasn’t relaxed or collected but that genuine moment of “I’ve no idea what your talking about” served as a sort of refresher for him. He kept his hand near his blade but even his hands muscles seemed less tense and reactionary instead being more still and patient. Put simply Anthony so caught up in the fact that he couldn’t even fathom the idea of himself looking for Zahra or others like her had gotten into a “zone” of sorts. Smokey on the other hand took notice but didn’t drop his stance. He wasn’t taking the chance that Zahra would be anything but hostile until she dropped the kunai or at least put it away. The predatory walk she had been doing as well as he retaliation towards him made him highly unconvinced.

[Zahra]

Zahra kept moving towards the shini, not even acknowledging the dog again. She could hear it, which was good enough for her. Her fingers were itching at her to throw the kunai at him. She had already been hurt so much and she doubted that one of his kind would be able to help her. From what she was told from that man, it seemed like she needed to belong to something akin to a pack, and she believed that no shinigami would be able to help her with what was plaguing her.

From what she's seen of them, they do nothing but expand their own presence by walking around out here and disturb what's here. They didn't know how it ran out here, and it seemed like this shinigami just showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time. When she walked by the kunai she threw earlier, she pocketed one of them and easily pulled the kunai out of the tree, spinning it with the other one. She was getting angrier and it seemed like his dog was as well. Obviously, his dog had never really interacted with her kind before. Either that, or he was insanely loyal to this man.

When he answered her by saying he didn't even know she existed, she paused for a few seconds before walking again. She had met other Beast-Clan out here so how had he not seen any others like her? Were they trying to stay farther away from the Seireitei than she was right now? Could they fly away or sneak like she could so they just hid in plain sight? Were they fast enough to run by so quickly that they weren't noticed? It was interesting to think on and it made her think that she needed to be stealthier in the future when she walked around.

Growling low in her throat, she remembered that there was a shinigami there with her when her curse was place upon her. It solidified the fact that they couldn't help her. The shinigami didn't even care enough to say something about what was happening before their eyes. She stopped spinning her blades and glared at him. "Your kind is part of the reason I was exiled. I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU!" She screamed that out as she stopped her walking and threw one of her knives towards him.

She was curious how he would react. The knife would be aimed towards his head, but off about an inch to the right side, so it would closely fly by his face. Would he react in time? Would he do anything at all? With his attention hopefully on the knife, she would pull another knife out of her holder and run into the bushes, hiding in the shadows in the hopes that she could hide there. If the dog decided to attack, this could be another way to evade the dog. Once in the shadows, she would start slowly walking around, using her stealth to her advantage hopefully.

[Deleted]

With every step that Zahra took Anthony’s concern continued to grow. She just looked like she was getting more and more annoyed at him. Upset at him for existing was all he could gather as currently he’d never met her nor had he ever done anything to her. Perhaps it was a territorial thing? He doubted it only because that would be something more akin to even temper, something even Smokey would show from time to time. This however was more personal and it wasn’t until she screamed at him that he was proven correct. She’d been exiled. That was nothing short of agonizing, and Anthony was certain he’d not survive long if he’d been under similar circumstances. Hell despite her being as upset at him as she was, Anthony genuinely felt upset for her. He couldn’t begin to imagine it but it made a lot more sense as to what was going on currently.

A shame though that understanding doesn’t equate to foreseeing future events or preventing another from preventing harm. Because if it did he’d have been able to react more aptly let alone more appropriately. Anthony was only JUST able to see the knife thrown his was and even more fortunate that he dodged in the correct direction. He didn’t have time to move much more than an inch to the left. Which gave him two inches to work with as far as not getting hit by the flying knife which promptly hit the nearest tree behind him. Anthony probably would never admit to it but he did something between a gasp and a small shriek. Had the situation been less life threatening he’d be more apt to enjoy the reaction. However currently? He just wanted to not get hit again. And upon turning back around to see exactly nothing. Zahra was gone. Completely and utterly.

If there was one thing Anthony knew to do it was cast this particular kido for this EXACT reason. He spoke quietly to himself the incantation to Sazanami. “Throw the pebble in the pond; ripple across the still waters, trace the boundaries, return. While it would have looked odd to Zahra his holding out his palm served a purpose. It was the center point for a damn near impossible to see pulse of reiatsu. It was such a thin pulse that it didn’t even move the debris on the ground nor would Zahra be able to sense such a thinned out pulse of reiatsu. However what happened next would tell her that he used a kido of some sort because he was able to sense her immediately, as well as everything within 50 feet. And with that he turned around towards her and pulled out his gladius. He was still nervous and really only had it out for defensive purposes.

“Z-Zahra that was your name right? Look if you want I can just leave! I don’t have any intention of actually doing anything to you! I-I’m sorry for what happened but c’mon why are you taking this out on me? It doesn’t fix your exile, your just taking your anger out on someone who doesn’t even understand what’s going on!” Though Anthony yelled at her he didn’t move. And even more representative was that though Smokey himself could smell Zahra out he managed to grab a hold of Smokey before he could run after her. Granted this was an awkward position to be in as he had one hand holding onto Smokey and the other holding onto his sword. If he wasn’t careful he’d easily trip and potentially harm himself or Smokey with his gladius. “Smokey stop! You and I need to stick together!”

Smokey was absolutely against it. 100% and if Anthony thought he could override his protective nature as well as natural instincts he was VERY wrong. However to his luck he managed to catch Smokey’s neck before he’d run off after Zahra. Anthony had his arm wrapped around Smokey’s neck and was barely able to hold him back because Smokey hadn’t yet gotten in motion. Had he managed to actually sprint off Anthony would have been fucked and ended up running after him. Thankfully that wasn’t the case so instead he was in an awkward tumble between them with Anthony balancing his sword in his free hand. There was no doubt that had Anthony not casted this kido he’d be in a position that would prevent him from doing anything but getting the next knife thrown into his skull or wherever she’d end up throwing the damn thing. For now he was just doing his best to multi task and hoping that he could get through this without him or Smokey getting hurt.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sazanami}

Technique Name: [Bakudo #3: Sazanami (Ripple)]

Class: 7

Technique Type: Kido

Technique Element: Spirit

Technique Description and Effects:
Sazanami is a particularly simplistic and straightforward Bakudo that at first seems to have no actual ability about it. When activated, this Bakudo sends a pulse of Reiatsu out in a spherical ripple from the user’s palm. This Reiatsu has no actual effect on anything, traveling until it reaches another object with some form of spiritual energy. Once it has done so, it bounces in the direction of its origin, giving an idea of the direction of any nearby active spiritual objects. This excludes environmental objects such as buildings within Soul Society, which do not possess an active spiritual energy. Such objects simply cause the rippling Reiatsu to stop without rebounding. When mastered, this technique can also be sent through objects, such as the ground or a building, rather than stopping upon impacting them. Additionally, mastery allows a constant ripple effect for the duration of a single post, regardless of incantation, that originates from its casting point. The range of this technique varies by the Reiatsu Strength of the user; for every 50 Reiatsu Strength the user has, this technique has a range of one hundred feet in radius. The ripples themselves travel at an astounding 4000 Speed. Due to its incredible speed and the thinned-out nature of the Reiatsu, the technique is undetectable to any but the user unless one actively knows that it is there.

How to use technique (How is it activated?): The technique’s user simply raises their hand and releases a pulse of Reiatsu. The incantation can be spoken before or after to release it.

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc)
Despite its speed, this technique’s effects are minimal. The pulse of Reiatsu is useful for tracking a target’s position or revealing cloaked targets, but unless the incantation is used, the cost of repeated use adds up.

Incantation and Effect (If Kido only):
When the incantation is used, the Bakudo creates a continuous ripple effect for three posts using its initial casting point as an origin. The user can intercept reverberations from the technique even if they have moved, giving a continuous feed of the directions of active spiritual energy. (“Throw the pebble in the pond; ripple across the still waters, trace the boundaries, return.”)

Made By: Zeich Yajuu

Reserved?: No


In Anthony's case he has only has 28 RS so he's only getting 50 feet due to the percentage of RS necessary for the full effect.

[Zahra]

Zahra was hiding in the bushes, surprised that the dog didn't immediately run after her. Then, she looked towards the man, Anthony, to notice why. He was holding his extremely protective dog back from going after her. She chuckled silently to herself but then noticed something weird that he was doing. He was muttering and holding a hand out. She thought she saw something coming out from his hand but shook her head. She had to be seeing things. But, the next thing she knows, he's looking right at where she's hiding. How could he do that? She had always believed her stealth was her greatest asset.

Maybe he was holding back some surprises. She had never seen shinigami throw Kido around, so she had no idea that he could do anything like that. But, maybe this was a fluke. She was in the shadows hiding like normal, it just had to be coincidence that he was looking in her direction. Yeah, that was it! It was just a fluke and nothing more. He began speaking, saying that he was willing to leave. But if he was willing to leave, why did he have a weapon drawn? He then spoke of this not fixing her exile and that just made her livid. How dare he talk about her exile like that!? He had no idea what she was feeling?

She growled while trying to keep her voice down, as she started to slowly make her way around him, keeping to the shadows and trying to throw him off. "You should let Smokey free. Would be good fight. But, think I win. If you want leave, why draw weapon. What you speak and what you do differ. Not trust what you do." It was then that she would throw another kunai at him, aiming for the head again. Against her better judgement, she didn't want to actually kill this shinigami, so she aimed with now centimeters away from his head.

This was starting to turn more and more like a game to her. Keeping to the shadows, she started to mock him. "You should use sword if drawn. If don't use, a waste. You seem like you want fight. If so, FIGHT!" She creeped back farther into the shadows, waiting for him to make his move. If this was going to be turning into a game for her, she would play the predator, waiting for her prey, Anthony, to make one wrong step. When he did, she would strike quickly to end it.

[Deleted]

Anthony could only imagine Zahra’s surprise. Of course he didn’t know she was surprised but he imagined she would be because his kido was the only reason he knew where she was hiding. He himself couldn’t tell where she was and he had to admit he thanked the gods for his forethought on putting this kido to memory. Smokey , unlike his kido, however was making his entire situation much more difficult. Anthony was going to more than likely lose his dog if he let him go. And Smokey at this point wasn’t going to be the normally smart dog that he was, he went into pack protector mode. His thought was kill before being killed. So that left Anthony in the weird position of having to figure out how to retain Smokey until he calmed down and how to get himself out of this situation in the meantime.

Thankfully, before he could consider a method at doing this Zahra decided it was time to speak her piece. Weren’t conversations with a shadow in the forest fun? "You should let Smokey free. Would be good fight. But, think I win. If you want leave, why draw weapon. What you speak and what you do differ. Not trust what you do." As Zahra pulled out another knife to throw Anthony caught notice and his attention was drawn to where Zahra’s arm was. He was in a very bad spot. He knew she’d throw it and while he had his free hand holding his gladius to block with he wasn’t certain if he was fast enough to use it. He also wasn’t going to let Smokey go just yet so he was limited to one spot currently. Fuck what was he going to do? And then the knife was thrown. Anthony had to work off of his instinct at this point because he was certain to be screwed otherwise.

So what was Anthony’s master plan for moving his head? Literally lowering it down onto Smokey so he could dodge by going underneath. This… well it worked yes. But it ended up still with him getting cut but only the skin on his head, the top portion. Anthony noticed pretty quickly but was able to push the majority of it’s annoying stinging pain out of his mind. Unfortunately the vessels in the head bleed far more than one would prefer so it took only a couple moments before some of the blood was coming down on his face, and over his right eye. Oh that’s just great. Now my scalp is cut and I’m bleeding over an eye. Exactly what the doctor ordered. For fucks sake. Anthony was getting frustrated by that more than anything as he wasn’t trying to hit this beast clan and yet here she was lobbing knives at him. Looking back at the knife at least it was stuck to a tree near the other tree with a knife.

"You should use sword if drawn. If don't use, a waste. You seem like you want fight. If so, FIGHT!" Ooooh he was definitely getting to that point. He knew he couldn’t actually fight her and win. She was already showing with their game of hide and seek that she could hit him whenever she wanted and he’d have the utmost difficulty dodging anything he wasn’t already moving in the right direction for. He had to breathe though, lest he become Smokey and get himself killed. Then it clicked, right she could only have so many knives. She’d need them to keep the game going. But he wasn’t exactly able to keep Smokey in place so what did he do? He’d have to bring Smokey over towards the tree’s and grab the knives. That was the only thing he could do. Would it be easy? Fuuuuuck no. Was it the right answer? Aside from trying to run and getting pinned in the back and possibly paralyzed or killed? Definitely.

Smokey forgive me but I’ve gotta be a bit more aggressive given the current situation. Anthony stabbed his sword into the ground next to his leg and then using his now free hand smacked the shit outta Smokey. Needless to say his dog looked at him like he was the insane one then quickly realized Anthony was bleeding. Smokey’s eyes narrowed immensely but he stopped struggling so thankfully he seemed to understand why Anthony had smacked him upside the head. “I am sorry and I’ll make sure to fully apologize when we get back to the manor but for now please don’t run off alright? You know I’ll come after you if you do and then we are going to fall into her trap. I really need you to just stick by me Smokey. At least for now.” Smokey huffed but he didn’t give any other indication of going against Anthony’s idea/apology. Slowly getting up Anthony and Smokey got to their legs with Anthony making his way to the knives.

Smokey followed but kept his nose on Zahra. He wasn’t going to lose her scent if he could help it and thankfully due to her moving herself she’d gone into the upstream of a breeze so Smokey could smell her easily. Anthony on the other hand had his kido up so he wasn’t too concerned now that he could move more freely but he was still annoyed at how much blood was going over his eye, reddening it. Once he was at the knives he pulled each out of their respective tree, with a good bit of effort and placed them inside his uniform. Then he’d turn around to Zahra again for the third time now. “I want to live Zahra. Preferably with my dog and my family. If you haven’t noticed I’m only trying to defend myself. Believe it or not that’s the truth. Also in case you're wondering yet I can see you. I’m not unaware of where you are.”

[Zahra]

Zahra steadily watched the man as his dog calmed down enough to stay by his side and he started to take her knives out of the trees. Well, at least he wasn't so weak that he couldn't pull one of the knives out of a tree. But, he was still a coward. When he mentioned being able to see her, she glared in his direction. So, he had the ability to see her even with her stealth prowess. This was going to make the fight more interesting for her, if she wanted to continue to hide from him in this way.

For him trying to defend himself, he was doing a pretty horrible job. To defend himself, he would need to actually do something, not just stand there trying to control a dog and yelling at her that he wanted to live. He was just acting more like a coward than anything else. She knew of one thing that might be able to throw him off balance enough that she could knock him out. The only real question was would try to side step it. She noticed that him trying to avoid stuff wasn't working all that well.

Her mind was made it. All this talking was making her angry, so she decided to use the one technique that she knew really well. She took a deep breath, gathering reiatsu in her throat. She quickly glanced over her shoulder to make sure that he was still there. When she got the confirmation that he was, she quickly turned around and screamed at him. The sound waves from her scream would reverberate in the surroundings, hopefully being loud enough to disorient him.

After she screamed, she took a deep breath and knelt back into a nearby bush, looking at the both of them to see what the technique did to them. The vibrations would hit him with a strength of 107.5 (the technique itself lowers the user's strength by 1/4) and if his senses were low enough, she would more than likely notice that the technique had affected him, making it hard for him to keep his balance and try to move quickly around this area. She would kneel in the nearest bush then, waiting to see his reaction.

OOC: Remaining Reiatsu: 660/810, -150 for Howlrazer.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Howlrazer}Creatures of sharp senses themselves, Beast-Clan members know how easy it is to have them overwhelmed by sensory stimulus. They make use of this knowledge and apply it to their own abilities, creating a vocal technique that fills the ears of those around them with the loud vibrations of the roar or scream. In practice, this technique is initially a loud sound that fills the victim's ears, using one fourth of the user's Strength as the value. (i.e. 100 would be 25) It automatically causes confusion and disorientation as the mind swims from the powerful wave of sound. However, the real strength of this technique comes when the Strength of the technique is 50% higher than the Senses of the victim; at this point, the eardrums burst, and the victim's sense of hearing is completely removed. Atop that, it also causes loss of balance, preventing any high-agility or complex maneuvers. This includes making step techniques unsafe for the victim, as without their sense of balance, they are likely to injure themselves by losing their footing mid-step.

How to use technique:
Take a deep breath, build Reiatsu in the throat, and release it with a scream or howl of some sort.

Technique Drawbacks:
This technique costs 150 Reiatsu per usage. Obviously, this technique cannot be used by mute characters. This technique also targets everyone except the user, including allies.

[Deleted]

Placing the two knives into his sash Anthony nodded to himself as he turned around to direct his attention towards Zahra. Well at least where Sazanami said she was. His wound continued to bleed over his right eye, blurring his vision some and making the world a far more menacing place given the red shade. He frowned as silence was the only companion around aside from Smokey. It was only a matter of time before Zahra did something else. Throw another knife or god forbid get tired of their game and do something else. He honestly didn’t know what she’d do but he needed to think up something before she made her move. He had Smokey but he’d not do much more than pester her. He himself wasn’t terribly strong either and knew he’d only end up burning more time than anything hell aside from Sazanami all he could really do was use shunpo. And even that was strained.



And then even that got taken away. Anthony while still in thought hadn’t realized just what Zahra was doing. Hell he couldn't. He didn’t have any energy sensory abilities to try even so when Zahra yelled out he didn’t realize just how much more fucked he’d be by someone screaming at him. It wasn’t immediate but the sound alone was deafening and his mind was thrown into a chaotic scramble. Then out of nowhere he felt a sharp pain in each ear with liquid quickly following after. Anthony looked at his hands only to see his blood staining them. With eyes wide in shock he didn’t even realize the real problem that came out of this. His sense of balance was gone but given the hectic state of his mind he didn’t think much of it but worse yet he couldn’t hear now. The world was silent. Dead. Silent. While Zahra wouldn’t have intended it she’d basically trapped Anthony in a red, silent, and overly menacing world. As much as Anthony’s mind told him to get over it fear grew inside.



He was losing his touch with the world around him by Zahra piece by piece and if he wasn’t careful he’d lose every trace of it by dying. At least that’s where his mind went. In the meanwhile as Anthony was just looking at his hands in abstract horror Smokey managed to recover quick enough. His ears rang like a mother and would continue to for a short time but they hadn’t shattered like Anthony’s. He looked toward Anthony seeing him just starting at his hands and tried barking at him. Realization occured when it became apparent Anthony wasn’t responding and needed Smokey to do something other than bark to get his attention. Walking over he’d use his tail to smack Anthony and get him to look at him. For Anthony there was a bit of relief thankfully due to just still retaining his sense of feeling. Glancing back over towards Zahra though he still didn’t know what to do.



This game was way more than he could handle. He didn’t have any long range kido to fight back. His sword was a mere gladius and the only “ranged” weapons he had were knives she’d thrown at him. All in all if she kept hiding he wasn’t going to be able to keep up and that was that. There wasn’t much else to do was there? Anthony needed to get away not that they’d make it very far but if he kept up the kido perhaps there was a chance. At least he’d know where she was or if she threw any knives where they’d be. Looking at Smokey then Zahra and back at Smokey he’d sheath his sword and quickly scoop up the dog. Make no mistake Anthony was not the best person when it came to carrying heavy objects, Smokey being no exception but if he could get them both out he was going to. With but a moment Anthony Shunpo’d the complete opposite direction losing Zahra in the process as his field of sensing moved with him.



He was noticeably slower however with Smokey being held just due to the sheer extra weight. Moving instead at only 7x than the normal 10x the Shunpo would allow. And to make matters worse while he’d made it a good bit away his landing could not have been worse. Remember that loss of balance issue that Anthony pushed to the side? Yea that came to bite him in the ass like a motherfucker. His last step saw him completely miss it and instead end up dropping Smokey and rolling into one of many trees. Smokey though he was a bit bruised from the sudden drop didn’t really suffer anything serious.



Anthony had managed to merge his face with a tree, widening the cut some and getting a lovely face full of splinters and bruises. Smokey quickly came over and looked behind them to keep an eye out for their predator but even her scent was gone by this point so he was basically trying to find her via his sight. Anthony on the other hand was slowly trying to get himself up again. They needed to keep moving so every second he wasted was allowing that distance to close between them. And if he could just make it to the outskirts of the rukongai he’d be fine. There was bound to be another shinigami out there let alone other people. He just needed to make it, easier said than done however with Zahra but gods helping maybe he’d make it eventually.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu}
-50 for Shunpo

875-50= 825 reiatsu

825/900 reiatsu remaining

[Zahra]

Zahra glanced as she saw what her technique did to him. Now, she had only used it once before, against one of her own kind. The reaction from that opponent was that nothing much actually happened. He was able to pretty much shake it off and continued attacking. What happened to Anthony, however, was not what she was expecting whatsoever. She watched as blood started coming out of his ears and it seemed he was completely freaked out. When he didn't respond to his dog's barks, she knew what happened.

She had screamed so loud, he had lost his hearing. It must be why he was bleeding out of his ears. She cocked her head, trying to figure out what to do next. The man wasn't fighting back and he obviously didn't want to fight her. The bleeding probably, well it did, freak him out. So, if he was going to run and Zahra wanted to end this, she needed to do something else to get him to stop. There was only one thing that she could think of. She smirked and when he picked up his dog, she acted.

Releasing, bone growths started to appear over her fists, her fur changed and she started to tighten the muscles of of her right arm. The knife that was in that hand started to slightly heat up from her release. She followed the man with her eyes and once he seemed to disappear, she started to run after him in the same direction. She kept her eyes and ears alert, just in case she heard or saw anything. It didn't take her too long to find the man, who seemed to have face planted into a tree.

Trying not to be seen, she would hide in the closest shrubs that she saw when she got a visual on him. She would slowly start to sneak up on him, keeping her right arm tensed and feeling the heat pass onto her knife. While she was sneaking, her left arm would start tensing as well, preparing it just in case she needed to punch him in the face. She would stay a fair distance away (about fifteen to twenty feet) and just watch him. Her ears would stay on the move, to make sure she didn't hear anyone trying to sneak up on her. What would the man do next?

OOC: Reiatsu remaining: 420/810, -200 for yaseishin

[Deleted]

Anthony was slow to get up. He wasn’t seriously hurt but he was aching everywhere, his head especially for obvious reasons. He thanked the gods though that he and Smokey weren’t harmed anymore than bruises as it could have been worse while moving at such high speeds. Slowly but surely he got up to his legs, though wobbling, and realized his kido had ran out mid Shunpo. He didn’t have time to waste however so he called Smokey to him, who’d already been right next to him but he couldn’t hear him. And slowly started walking onward. Call it what you will but Anthony was certain Zahra was still watching him and the foreboding feeling wasn’t getting any better. Though he tried to be quiet he was speaking at normal volume as he spoke the incantation for his kido. “Throw the pebble in the pond; ripple across the still waters, trace the boundaries, return.” [/color] Within seconds the orb formed and popped in his right hand releasing the familiar waves again. It took only a second to realize that Zahra was FAR closer than she’d been prior.

Anthony didn’t try to make it abundantly obvious but at this point it didn’t really matter. He tried to scoop up Smokey again but found moving down to me more difficult than it was worth. This honestly sucked if he were honest. He’d never experienced NOT having his legs work. In all honesty this frustrated him more than he would ever admit but at least they worked enough to still function. Hell he knew he could still try to use Shunpo but it’d end up badly again, maybe worse if he were less than fortunate. He’d have to get Smokey though and that was the part he’d struggle with. Trying to bend down once more Anthony’s legs started to wobble heavily again. However despite the fact he was slower than before he was able to actually pick up Smokey. And assuming Zahra wasn’t going to be reach him in time he’d Shunpo away yet again. This time however he was even slower only going at 5X the speed and to make matters worse he’d actually tripped half way through it so the distance he did make wasn’t as much as either of the two needed. Smokey again however managed to land without too much trouble. A few bruises but otherwise alright.

Anthony had instead gotten himself into more trouble. He’d tested fate and fate said he wasn’t going to win the lotto today. This time he’d managed to twist his ankle, swelling already making itself present as well as the noticeable pain. So here is Anthony maybe 50 feet from Zahra now. Far slower than he was normally, unable to hear, unable to fight back, and stuck in a red world due to the blood that was coming down over both his eyes at this point. The fear Anthony had grew in his heart greatly. The effects of Sazanami only furthering this point as he couldn’t just turn off the effects. No he’d feel exactly where she was without even looking. He’d know that every moment he wasn’t moving she was. That she would be closing the distance and that she’d probably come kill him. And the only thing that he could think of at this point was that despite his death he was so incredibly frustrated in his lack of ability to repay the family he was apart of at all.

That was the worst part of all this. The psychological hell he was trapped in where he was going to lose Smokey, his life, and amount to literally nothing for his family. Never repay their kindness for taking him in. Hisano would be horribly upset at him right now he knew but at this point it was all he could do to not start crying to himself. His body was aching and he was quickly finding it more difficult to stand up even though he hadn’t really been mortally injured yet. The mental stress was weighing him down that much. Speaking of Smokey however without Anthony even realizing it he’d managed to get himself up, glance back and make his way over to Anthony. Though Anthony had lost himself in his mind Smokey hadn’t and was trying to get his attention and bring him back again. It wasn’t happening though as Anthony continued to struggle and fall underneath his mental chaos.

At this point Anthony was so lost in his fears that he wasn’t going to be able to do anything assuming he could even get himself up. But what did it matter if he did or didn’t? Zahra would no doubt take the opportunity that was given and that’d be that once she’d made her way over. All Smokey could do in the meantime was try to keep an eye on things and continue trying to bring Anthony out of his internal chaos so that they could continue trying to run away. The sad thing though? They were both still far away from the rukongai’s edge. At least a couple miles. If Anthony could Shunpo effectively he might have been able to make it if he’d pushed himself but in this state it wasn’t going to happen. So there he sat practically waiting for Zahra to come up and finish whatever she was going to do.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu}-50 Shunpo
-25 for Sazanami

825-75=750

750/900 reiatsu remaining

[Zahra]

Zahra watched as the man started to say something, it sounded like the same thing that he had said earlier when he said that he could see exactly where she was. So, he now knew where she was. The way this fight was going, however, she didn't think that this fight was going to last much longer. Looking down at her hands, she saw the light glow coming from her knife and her fist respectively. She was getting tired of this game and knew that it had to end sooner rather than later so she could move on.

He was close now, trying to run but failing again, she had made up her mind on what she was going to do. Continuing to tense her left fist, she would throw her heated knife, aiming for the man's back. If it hit, he would experience pain close to second degree burns around that area. She didn't know how painful that was, but she had always assumed that it would be pretty painful. She would then start to creep closer to where he was, trying to keep herself hidden.

After that, she would grab another knife from her pouch and then throw it towards the dog, curious as to how he would react. Would he stay faithful to his master? Or, would his instincts take over and he would run away from the stronger enemy, the predator in this situation? She grinned to herself, grabbing a little stick quickly and start to chew on it. If the knife didn't work, she at least had her left fist ready. But, just to be on the safe side, she would tense the muscles in her right arm next, forming a fist and feeling the familiar heat there. Time was running out and Zahra was ready to take him down when he finally gave up.

OOC: Release 2/6, Fist tense: 2nd post for left, first for right

[Deleted]

To say Anthony didn’t “see” the knife coming to him was a bit of a half truth. No he didn’t literally see it but he could feel it coming ever closer via Sazanami. But given the place Anthony was in he wasn’t even really paying attention to the situation as he’d ended losing himself into a mental hell. So it’s no surprise that with Zahra throwing a knife at a sitting duck she hit is right where she wanted to. The heated knife slid into Anthony’s spine cutting through the nerves, bone, and small amount of flesh like butter. Anthony swore he saw white replace red with how intense the pain was, sure normally he was ok resisting some but this was an agony he’d never experienced prior.

Smokey and Zahra would be able to easily see what happened with Anthony. No blood came out as Zahra’s blade had effectively cooked the flesh and blood as well as it singing the clothing he was wearing. Anthony in the meanwhile had screamed out in agony tensed his back and even unknowingly scrambled to try and reach the knife. He couldn’t though, he was not flexible enough and it had hit him dead center ensuring his nerves were fried. After a moment Anthony fell face forward. His upper body now able to feel but his lower half was gone. Well as far as his sense of touch told him. That is what happens though when one cuts the spinal cord of another they lose the ability to use their limbs from that point down.

A few moments after Anthony fell down on his face he finally went unconscious. The ordeal in and of itself was too much and the pain from knife that was hurled into his back put him over the edge. He didn’t move aside from breathing. Smokey in the meantime was able to see the knife that was hurled his way. He’d move to the grab it with his mouth though he wasn’t exactly fully able to accomplish this. He’d grabbed some of it but ended up cutting the side of his jaw before the blade bounced off somewhere else. Smokey whined some but ultimately didn’t stand down as he continued to glare at Zahra. There in his eyes though was that look again if Zahra looked at him. It was too experienced for a simple hound any other hound would have just come her way and attack or even gone off and run. Smokey wasn’t he just stood there glaring at her with a low growl even while bleeding from his mouth.