The Man of Your Dreams [Event-Halloween] (IO)

Missions:

Den often had dreams where he could still see. Sometimes Den could see as he did when he inhabited Sanctuary, where he was aware of all things within his domain and how they looked. Sometimes as when he had possessed the Sharingan, where the flow of chakra and movement became so obvious one could predict events before they unfolded. Other times Den looked through his original blue eyes, seeing the world as a human would. In some ways, it diminished the loss of his eyes as he could witness the colors lost to him in the waking world. Only occasionally would he find himself waking with a longing to see again.

This dream looked far more vivid than most. Denkiteki turned about and scanned his surroundings, his blue eyes wide as he found himself gazing upon the remains of Tengakure. Or, at least, his imagined version of it. The former Tenkage had never returned to the village after its destructions at the hands of Takeo and Xyxer, so the ruined skyscrapers that encircled the man weren't accurately damaged. Den imagined giant holes within some of the skyscrapers, victims of Takeo's Lightning Halberd Technique. Other skyscrapers had been felled as if they were trees, cut down by the same extending blade that Xyxer had used to cut Denkiteki in half. The only building left standing was the Kage Tower, though its windows were all destroyed and it looked to be in a decrepit state.

As he finished taking in his surroundings Den would notice his appearance was somewhat different. He wore the Jounin uniform of Tengakure, complete with his old flak jacket and headband. His skin had been altered as well, taking on the color of the monstrous transformation he had once been plagued with. His face and most of his body were now a bright off-white color rather than his normal light tan, and there were pitch-black markings as well. Den caught a glimpse of his face in a broken piece of glass and saw the black lines that trailed down his face from his eyes. Den's forearms and hands would also be this pitch-black color, and beneath his uniform would be a large black line that covered the center of his torso.

Still confused by the vividness of the dream the 3rd Tenkage began to slowly make his way towards the last looming skyscraper, slowly walking down the main street towards his old office. The village would shift as he walked, the images surrounding Den dancing between the imagined destruction and the functioning city Den had once helped govern. The street went from barren to bustling as Den walked through it. Sometimes the citizens wouldn't seem to notice Den when they appeared, going about their business as normal. Other times they would notice him as one of the refuge Jounin from Kirigakure, regarding him with a mix of wariness and pity. As he got closer to the Kage Tower they began regarding him as the 3rd Tenkage, looking upon him with respect and trust. Den couldn't look any of the citizens in the face, even in this strange dream. He had betrayed them when he abandoned the village, thrown away all of the goodwill they had extended him when they accepted him as one of their own.

Why does my most vivid dream have to be something like this? Why couldn't it have been Shimagakure or some light-hearted encounter from when I wandered? Den continued despite the discomfort, hoping that perhaps in his office he would be able to find some solace from the shifting visage of his former village. He quickly made his way through the front door, intact when he grabbed it but broken and falling off the hinges as he opened it.

As he took his first steps in Den's vision was filled with that of a shadowy ruin, the lobby empty and in disarray. Then suddenly it was full of shinobi and office workers making their way to the elevators, vying for position as they pushed their way into the cramped compartment. The kunoichi at the front desk welcomed Den as he made his way towards a side room. The kunoichi informed Den that his load of paperwork for the day had come in and that his shadow clone had dispersed in the middle of the night while having only completed half of the previous day's workload.

Sighing, Den turned to respond only to find the lobby barren once more. The former Tenkage shook his head as he let out a chuckle of embarrassment. This dream was strange. Den continued off into the side room and opened the door, finding the mangled remains of his personal elevator. He hadn't used it much as the Tenkage, but he had hoped to find it working now. Taking another sigh the former Tenkage would jump towards the elevator shaft, pooling some of his chakra towards his feet as he did so. As he reached the wall he shifted his body and landed feet first, the chakra in his feet clinging to the wall and adhering him there temporarily. Looking up the elevator shaft Den took a deep breath and began Surface Walking up towards the top floor at 35 speed. The vertical passage shifted between pristine and ruined as the former Tenkage made his way through. He had to make sure to memorize the locations of holes that existed in the ruined version, not wanting to step into one as the area transformed.

After some time Den eventually made it through the shaft and found the doorway onto his office floor. Fortunately, it looked to be ripped open already so Den didn't have to worry about trying to find a way past that obstacle. Taking another small leap Den would find himself walking past cubicles and into his old office. Even when the dream transitioned into the ruined visage of the village Den noticed his door was intact. When the villager shifted to a pristine visage he could see his name on the door, but each time it changed to the ruined and barren appearance he would see Xyxer or Takeo's name.

Opening the door he would find his old desk cut in half, the windows busted out, and the mini-fridge was nowhere to be found. Closing the door behind himself Den made his way into the office, walking towards the broken windows. He looked out into what was left of his former village, watching it continue to change from a dead ruin to a bustling city. His left hand would grab onto the frame of a window as he leaned forward, his right resting on the sheath of one of his two swords. The wind billowed and its cold gusts smashed against Den from the left as he stared out towards one of his many failures, the cold air smacking him even when the village shifted into its pristine appearance.

So what, is this an illusion? Within a dream? Just some strange manifestation of my memories and fears? As Den contemplated the nature of this odd dream and why his subconscious would have constructed it he continued to stare out towards the smaller skyscrapers and streets of Tengakure, unsure of what he was looking for.

Occasionally he would notice the far-off silhouettes of some of his former subordinates and comrades. He saw more than a few familiar-looking shinobi and kunoichi making their way about the cityscape, either on casual business or a mission. Den felt a pressure in his chest swell and well up as tried to focus on his breathing and remain calm, to not succumb to the emotions that were fighting to express themself.

Den tried to continue to analyze the dream and himself as a way to emotionally disconnect himself from the situation but he found himself staring and watching the distant figures below, trying to guess which ones were people he used to know. People he had abandoned. People he had betrayed.

TWC: 1,329
-5 AP for  Surface Walking
+10 AP and 1 Nature Stack from Natural Berserker

300 AP total
1/6 Nature Energy Stacks

As the bright moon rose in the sky Junko began her nightly routine. A nice hot cup of sleepy-time tea, with just a spoonful of local honey and a splash of milk. Often Junko didn't dream, and if she did it was primarily about her family which always brought up some hard memories the next morning. She slipped on some cozy pajamas, finished her tea, and climbed into bed. For about an hour she sat awake thinking, but she then slipped off into the dream world.

She soon opened her eyes and slowly climbed out of bed. To her, it seemed like the next morning, but in fact, she had awoken in the Land of Dreams. She began her morning routine but something to her felt off, things seemed a bit hazier. She shrugged it off, chalking it up to morning drowsiness. Going downstairs and looking for her housemates proved to be fruitless, nobody was home.  "Odd,"she thought to herself but began her morning chores.

Walking outside to the well and getting water for the morning tea was the first thing she did first thing every day. However as she walked outside to the well, there was a humanoid figure leaning over it and looking down into it. Not quite able to make out who it was, she began walking over to them, assuming them to be a neighbor. As she drew close the figure turned to her, it was her mother. Junko dropped the empty buckets and stood motionless for a moment trying to understand what was going on.

The figure opened its arms wide to greet her and began striding forward in an attempt to hug her. Junko stood frozen in confusion and time seemed to slow around her, but something in her head told her something was off about her "mother". She took a few steps back and began talking to it.

"M..mother, how are you here right now? How'd you know where to find me?" Her words were weak but loud enough to be heard.

"That doesn't matter right now my dear! I've come to take you home, me and your father have been looking for you." Her mother responded.

At the sound of her mother's voice, Junko's eyes began to well up. However, deep down she knew this wasn't her real mother. She hated Junko's father and continuously talked about how much she despised and loathed him. Junko now on alert took a few steps away from the creature, preparing to make a break for it. She knew if she bolted to the Tengakure Ruins, she could lose the creature in there if she had to make an escape.

"You're not my mother foul creature, you make a mockery of my pain. What are you?" She said as a few tears rolled down her cheek.

"I am your mother," The figure said, but as it realized the jig was up it began to change. The voice became muddled sounding, as if on a scratched record.
"I love you, and I just want a HUG" The figure jumped to grab her, but thankfully she was prepared. As soon as it moved an inch she bolted through the plains of Moon, rushing towards the Tengakure Ruins.

As she began rushing to and through the ruins, she noticed that there seemed to be a few people in the ruins. It was an odd sight to her since she was told by the couple she was staying with that it was abandoned. As she rounded a corner, she came upon a young child playing alone with a ball. Not wanting the child to get hurt by the creature following her, she attempted to scoop the child up into her arms. However, to her surprise, her hands simply passed through the child, like waving through a hand through a thick fog. Unflinching, the child turned and began speaking to a figure she wasn't able to see. Then ran off down the street and into a home.

Confused but with no time to process the events, she followed the little boy and hid out in the ruins of what seemed to have been this child's family home. She quickly headed into the only room she could find with a door, and used some of the rubble to bar the door closed. In the room, there was a bed, part of a broken mirror, and a wooden dresser covered in dust. As she sat on the bed, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and was taken aback.

She also seemed to have changed, her hair was a bit longer but the most noticeable feature was her eyes. They were glowing a deep crimson-red color. The more she examined herself she noticed that any insecurities she had were no longer an issue. The faint freckles that previously appeared on her nose and cheekbone area were gone. Her nose was smaller, lips slightly larger, waist tinier, and legs longer. She was in her own perfect image now.

While admiring herself two figures began forming in the room. She jumped immediately and got into a defensive position, but when the figures formed it seemed to be a happy couple. The woman was all dressed up in a beautiful evening gown and was using the mirror to put on makeup. The man sitting on the bed was also dressed incredibly well and was putting his shoes on. She observed them for a few moments and they looked as if they were preparing for a date night. As the scene in front of her played out, she couldn't help but feel a slight ping of jealousy of them and their relationship. However, she remained in the room for some time, hoping the thing chasing her would have lost interest by now.

As she moved through the ruined city she passed hazy faces of people unknown to her. To her, the place lay in ruins, but among the crumbling buildings, a tall tower-like building stood out to her. It was the only building that looked to be standing, but as she drew closer she found that it was made of the same fog-like haze as the people, but this one was.... solid? She touched out to reach it, and like hitting stone, her hand collided with the hard surface.

Finding the door, she entered into the ruins to find it partially inhabited by the same hazy people as before. Once these people were living out their everyday lives, then something happened. She never actually learned why this place had been turned to ruins, and now was curious. She watched them for a moment, before heading to a large staircase. She spent days, even years tracking through rough roads, high mountains, and hidden paths. A set of stairs wouldn't stop her now.

She climbed for what felt like hours, but in reality was only roughly 10 minutes. Every now and then she would pass by someone carrying files, papers, or various items up or down the stairs. One of them, she watched tumble down the long stairwell after seemingly being shoulder-checked/ Hazy papers flew into the air and quickly dispersed as they hit the ground.

At the top, she found a handful of office-like cubicles, some with remnants of those who last inhabited the area like family photos, some dissolved paperwork, and some other personal items. Most had some sort of broken-down desk, what once was a luxurious desk chair, maybe a couch here and there, and some filing cabinets. Rummaging through some of the files she found them to be blank, confused she continued through the top floor.

As she came upon the last unexplored room she could hear some shuffling and footsteps on the other side of the door. She took a second to adjust her clothing and hair, not wanting to be rude she knocked lightly. If it was another living person surely they'd respond.

"umm, hello?"she said as she knocked.

WC: 1,330

Den wasn't sure how long he stood there, looking out into the village from atop the Tenkage Tower. As he lingered he saw the silhouettes of most of the shinobi he had known during his time in the village, some walking along the streets while others were traversing the skyscrapers of the village. His heart grew heavy as he looked upon all he had given up when he had taken Kokou's power for himself and gone on a quest for vengeance. Tengakure wasn't a perfect village but Den had appreciated it more than his hometown. He had fostered his talents here and had become a shinobi capable of defeating bijuu thanks to the resources that had been provided to him. He had many trusted comrades and subordinates, and even a few people he had considered friends. He hadn't realized that he would never talk to most of those people again when he left to go avenge Minorin. He pondered if he would have still gone down the same path had he known.

I've squandered more than most people have ever had, I am quite the fool.

Den was pulled from his thoughts when he suddenly felt an unfamiliar chakra signature walking up the stairway. It confused him for a couple of reasons. The first was that every other chakra signature he had sensed in this dream had been familiar to him, someone he had met while within the village and whose unique characteristics had been memorized. The ebb and flow of the chakra approaching him now was alien to him however, the only thing he was able to gleam was that the torrent of energy approaching him was wild and untrained. The other reason was that the chakra signature persisted even when the village changed to its ruined state. Confused and suddenly feeling wary, Den turned away from the window and towards the door to his office.

His anxiety rose along with his confusion, wondering why this dream was playing with his senses and memories in this way. He focused on the new signature as it walked about the top floor, seeming to explore the cubicles before finally heading toward his office door. Den walked over to his desk, standing behind it in case this dream made a strange turn and became violent. He was honestly surprised that this one had been so quiet thus far.

As he got into position the person possessing the strange chakra signature would knock on his door and hesitantly say hello, further confusing the former Tenkage. Resting his right hand on the sheath of his katana Den would call back to the newcomer, "Who goes there?"

WC:442
TWC:1,771

2/6 Nature Energy Stacks

Anxiety rushed through Junko's mind as the adrenaline in her body began pumping through her veins. She hadn't actually thought somebody would respond, she assumed it was something like the monster pretending to be her mother. So it instantly set her on edge when the commanding, yet tense sounding man's voice called back out to her. She took a second to calm her nerves, and steady herself once again.

As her nerves rose, the questions in her mind began racing. She was unfamiliar with the man's voice, and the question he presented seemed to be directed at her. She supposed it could have been similar to the memories she witnessed happen before, maybe she's just witnessing another memory now? Or it could be similar to the monster she saw earlier that day? figuring the best way to move forward was to be as nonconfrontational as possible, and see if this being had any answers for her.

Now slightly on edge herself, Junko cleared her throat quietly and spoke with a bit more confidence this time.

"My name is Junko Tsukiko, I'm not really sure what's going on here. I was chased from a home in the plains of the moon to here by a shape-shifting monster... pretending to be my mom? Are you a person? I..I'm actually just going to come in okay, please don't do anything crazy"

She hesitantly reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly giving him a chance to intervene if necessary. Swinging the door open slowly she found a similarly ruined room to the cubicals she previously explored. There standing behind a spit-in-half desk was a man? Monster? Creature? She truly couldn't seem to discern what this being standing in front of her was, but said nothing in regards to its appearance, not inclined to piss it off.

Noticing his hand resting on the sheath of his katana made her a bit uneasy but curious as to what would happen next. To the onlooker she gave off an air of nervousness and curisosity, but not even a pinch of fear. Maybe she didn't know the potential danger she was in, or she's really good at hiding it. Who's to say?

As she walked in she casually put her hands over her head to signify that she meant no harm, hoping this would allow for a peaceful outcome. The only weapon that seemed to be on her person was a tanto that was sheathed, and wrapped with leather bindings around her upper thigh. Other than that she seemed to be unarmed, and unarmored.

WC 427
TWC 1,757

Denkiteki heard the words of the stranger as the gibberish of a dream. This one kept taking the most random twists and turns, so there was a shapeshifter out in the plains. The former Tenkage expected the village to remain in the pristine state and build up some wild storyline of a mission back in the days before Tengakure's destruction but the village continued to sway between states. And as the world shifted around them the woman he sensed on the other side of the door seemed to remain constant.

Denkiteki let out a deep breath and relaxed his body as the doorknob began to turn, preparing himself to have to move if the woman became violent. His right thumb began to lightly press against the guard of his katana, not yet dislodging the sword from its sheath but mentally preparing to grab the hilt with his left hand and draw the blade if he detected anything threatening. He genuinely hoped the dream wasn't about to turn violent, he so often found it hard to get restful sleep.

The door opened and Den was stunned to see a beautiful woman walk through the doorway with her hands held up. Her pale skin and curly hair caught his attention and he found his eyes drawn to her face, admiring her features despite the glowing red eyes sending danger signals to his brain. Locking onto her eyes Den reassured himself that he wasn't in danger as he couldn't sense any of the wild chakra within the woman to be focused into her eyes, and he also didn't see any tomoe to indicate that a level of Sharingan had been activated.

"I'll play along, but you stand right there." Den would say as the woman began to walk into the room, his voice keeping the same commanding but tense tone that it had carried before.

If the woman didn't stop he would attempt to accentuate his point by pressing his thumb against the sheath of his katana with a bit more force, the sword making a slightly audible noise as a few centimeters of the blade would reveal itself. "I apologize but please don't get close, this is quite a confusing dream and I don't trust strangers."

If the woman did stop, either at his command or after being further directed, then he would continue speaking, "Now which of those questions did you actually want an answer to? I can't claim to understand what's going on here either, I've been trying to make sense of this dream for some time but my efforts have proven fruitless thus far."

As he spoke Den would try and relax a bit more, fully resheathing the sword if he had drawn it and then letting his hand rest at his side once more.

WC:466
TWC:2,237

3/6 Nature Energy Stacks

Hearing the man's words Junko stopped her advancement into the room and softly closed the door behind herself. Her nerves began to relax, realizing the creature didn't seem to be jumping at the chance to attack her. If it was similar to the one that stole her mother's likeliness, why did it take on a form she didn't recognize? All this was very confusing for her.

What did he mean by "play along" is this a game to him? Is he in my dreams, or am I in his? I feel like I have more questions than I had before running into him.

As she stood near the doorway she relaxed her arms, crossed them over her chest then shifted anxiously to one one side. She very clearly was giving off a non-threatening vibe and seemed to just be looking for some answers. As he responded she watched his body language precisely, waiting for him to make a move but fortunately, he seemed to be as confused and without answers as she. This knowledge slightly put her at ease, she was happy to not be the only one not knowing what was going on.

"Oh, so this is a dream! I honestly wasn't sure, I thought it was the next morning. I normally don't have dreams like this, so this is sort of unsettling. I suppose I'd like first and foremost to know if you're a real person. Secondly, should I be afraid of you? Then third, what is your name?"

As she spoke she locked eyes with his, making sure not to break away from his gaze. She wanted to present herself as confident and competent but was having a hard time restraining herself from looking quite uneasy. She had hoped that he knew the answers to those questions, and actually would willingly tell her the truth. She didn't know much about other Ninjas and never encountered another other than her father. He taught her that some were very kind, thoughtful people. However, others were ruthless killers who would do nearly anything to accomplish their goals. She wondered where this one lay on the spectrum if he was a ninja after all.

Of course it's a dream, that explains the mom bit.

WC: 373
TWC 2130

Den internally chastised himself as the stranger crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one side. Of course, his imagination would conjure up some unrealistically beautiful woman to barge into the room and confound him further as he was trying to catch his barrings within this dream. The former Tenkage would stand with his posture seemingly relaxed as he listened to the woman continue, though he was somewhat surprised that she responded to his comment about being in a dream. He listened as she bombarded him with a new set of questions, almost smirking as he realized that she was acting as though she wasn't part of the dream herself. He wondered where his subconscious got such silly ideas, conjuring up a woman who believed she was in a shared dream with him.

"Yes, I am real. As for whether or not you should be afraid of me, I can't say for certain. You might want to point me in the direction of this shapeshifter of yours and then find somewhere safe to hide." Den tried to remain vague, not wanting to alarm the woman too much. It seemed that in this dream he was struggling to control his Nature Energy intake, his chakra mixing with it in sporadic bursts that he couldn't control. He had only just noticed that his body had actually absorbed quite a bit of the energy within the office, and it was quickly reaching a point where he was worried he would lose control of himself.

"As for my name, well I suppose you could call me.." Den cut the sentence off short, his eyes suddenly looking past Junko and towards the door behind her. His chakra sensory began to pick up strange sensations, something he wasn't quite familiar with was making its way up the elevator shaft. Whatever it was wasn't a person, and it certainly wasn't a jutsu. The closest thing he could compare it to would be the physical form of a bijuu, but even that didn't quite fit.

Den's left hand went to the hilt of his katana as he looked Junko in the eyes once more, "Something's coming, get away from the door." His voice would be a bit above a whisper, not wanting to alert whatever was making its way towards Junko and him.

Regardless of whether or not Junko listened Den would draw his katana and make his way to the door, positioning himself a meter to the right of the doorway. As the unknown entity made its way out of the elevator shaft its movements started to become audible through the closed door, the sound of some lumbering thing knocking over cubicles as it seemed to beeline straight for Den's office.

Can it smell us, or does it possess a form of sensory beyond the normal five as well? Den remained in the same position as the creature advanced, hoping that he would be able to cut whatever it was with his sword. He felt that his ability to mold and manipulate chakra was limited right now.

The beast began to charge through the cubicles as it got closer to Den's office, and the former Tenkage was now certain that the being was heading directly toward him and not the door itself. Taking a step away from the wall Den turned towards it and brought his sword up above his head, gripping the hilt with two hands and bringing it down as he sensed the creature was about to slam into the wall.

A strange mass of black muck would smash through the thin wall of Den's office easily, but thankfully the sword cut into the mass as though it were flesh. The strange creature would fall, sliced in half vertically by Den's sword. As it fell Den noticed that from the otherwise shapeless mass, there were 2 thin arms and legs so small that Den couldn't believe they would have the strength in them to move the body of the creature. At least, not through natural means.

"Was this the creature that was chasing you? I don't believe I've ever seen anything like this before."

As Den looked down upon the now unmoving mass of black muck he could sense the strange chakra within it disappear, leaving it an empty husk as far as Den could detect. Still unsure what to make of the being Den would take a step away from its remains.

WC:739
TWC:2,976

4/6 Nature Energy Stacks

He thinks I should simply go and hide? I'm not incapable man, what's this guy's deal anyway "

A little off-put due to his vagueness about being afraid of him, she listened intently to the man's words not showing a sense of fear. She kind of felt safer knowing that there was someone else here and that they weren't immediately intent on causing her harm. Suddenly she stopped speaking, cut off just before he revealed his name. He seemed to have been listening intently to whatever was on the other side of the door, then soon he quickly warned her to move away from there.

As he instructed she quietly moved away from the door, now heading over to where he once stood near his desk. Now pulling out her tanto and ducking behind the desk for cover they waited still for a moment. Soon the creature busted in through the wall, and the man swiftly stuck it down with no assistance from her. After the creature fell she stood up and sheathed her tanto.

Hopfully it's just the one, that's all I saw while on my way here at least. If there were more surely I would have seen them.

As they gazed at the remains the room fell silent, but there were sounds like footsteps climbing. Junko rushed over to the window and poked her head out. There she saw an alarming sight. Dozens of these disgusting, bubbles, small limbed creatures now beginning to encircle the tower. Some now began slowly making their way up the side of the tower, crawling their way to the window. For now, only about 4 of them were climbing the side.

She quickly turned back to the man in the room and said in an alarmed voice.
"Hey guy, I think more are on their way. They're starting to climb the side of the tower, I don't quite like the idea of getting trapped in a room with this swarm. So I think we should make our way up to the very top.. you can walk on walls, right? I just feel like that'd be the most advantageous position"

Looking down at the four approaching her, she decided it best to try to remove them as soon as possible. The first time being in combat was a wild thought that flicked through her mind, even wilder it's in some dream realm? How could any of this be real, is she harmed here, would it harm her in the real world? Taking a deep breath, she calmed her thoughts, centered herself and then perched on the windowsill.

Looking down at the creatures she recalled what Akira had taught her a few days ago, a type of water ninjutsu he had picked up as a young man while he was a village ninja called Water Release Shuriken. As she activated her ninjutsu she balled up saliva in her mouth and shot four spitballs in the direction of the creatures. As the spitballs flew through the air, they morphed into shar, deadly shuriken.

Making contact, two of her shurikens struck the creatures in what she assumed to be their face. They were just big blobs after all but it seemed to have penetrated their anamorphic black bodies deep enough to make it stop its movement toward them and plummet to their death below. The next shuriken severed the limb of the creature, also causing it to plummet to its death. However, due to a slightly off aim, the last one simply dug itself into the hand of the last one, pinning it to the side of the building.

"Want to make this a game? I've already gotten 3, catch up would you?"

After flashing a smile at the man, and giving a playful wink she focused her chakra at the bottom of her feet and began Surface Walking out of the window and to the very top of the tower. From there she had a better vantage point of the ruins. Through collapsed allies and roadways, she saw what looked to be a horde of these creatures meandering to their location. What exactly had attracted them to their location?

Well this has turned into an absolute shit show, how in the hell are we going to fight through all of this with just a katana and some shurikens? If it weren't for the monsters, this place honestly wouldn't be too bad.. the view is amazing up here.

She plopped down, sitting on the edge of the building allowing her feet to dangle off the edge, and waited for more of these things to make their way to them. She didn't want to over-exert herself or bite off more than she could chew, so she decided to act defensively and allow them to come to her.

Water Release Shuriken -20AP
Surface Waling -5 AP

WC 802
TWC 2,932
1,105 AP Remaining

Whatever these creatures were it seemed that they weren't that powerful, if Den could defeat one so easily in his current state then they had to be monsters that even a Genin could slay. At least his dream wasn't throwing unbeatable foes at him, it would be unfortunate if he had to take on foes like the ones he had faced in his prime. As he carefully used a cloth to clean the blade of his katana and return it to its sheath he took a deep breath, hoping that his good luck persisted.

That hope was quickly dashed as Junko ran over to the edge of the office and informed him that a bunch of monsters were traversing the side of the building. Cursing under his breath Den would briskly walk towards the woman, his right hand resting on the sheath of his katana as he contemplated how to deal with this next situation. As he made it to the edge it seemed that Junko had already come up with a plan of attack, activating a technique he wasn't familiar with. It seemed to be a decently powerful ninjutsu, or perhaps her chakra was so potent that it was simply an empowered low-rank technique. He watched as the shuriken rocketed down towards the approaching blobs and took out 3 of them.

Den looked back towards the woman as she proclaimed that they should play a game and that she was now in the lead. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle as she smiled at him, "I'll see if I can manage."

As the woman went up towards the top of the tower Den decided he should head down. Apply chakra to his feet he began to surface walk as well, traversing the side of the building and heading down towards the monsters. As he moved he began to quickly perform the tiger, boar, dog, and then rat hand seals to activate the Ninjutsu Amplifier Technique. He then began doing another string of hand seals, this time performing the tiger, rat, horse, and snake seals. As he finished this second string of hand seals he clapped his hands together and activated an amplified Water Severing Wave, shooting a high-pressure stream of water down towards the monsters below. The attack ripped through some number of monsters as it traveled 30 meters from Den and down the building. Den would turn his head side to side, causing the stream of water to cut through more of the beasts as they tried to climb up the side of the building he was on.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the entire building was getting swarmed, not just the side Denkiteki was standing upon. As Den attempted to cut through the beasts running up the building he noticed some were beginning to maneuver past him by running up the connecting sides, hoping perhaps to get behind him and begin to surround him. Realizing he was being reckless he deactivated his technique and halted his advance, beginning to backpedal back up the building as the flood of mishappen monsters continued to swarm up the Tenkage Tower.

Drawing his katana Den began to swing at each beast that attempted to rush him as he made his way towards the top of the building, cursing himself for being so slow now that he couldn't easily outpace these creatures.

Fortunately, his katana still proved to be enough to dispatch the beasts, and he cut down each one that managed to catch up to him. The remains of the nightmares fell towards the ground as the former Tenkage fought his way back up the tower, backpedaling as the village continued to sway between how he remembered it and how he believed it looked now. He had to be careful to avoid places where the windows were destroyed in the ruined state, forcing him to mostly stay away from the windows in general as he navigated the side of the building back up towards the top of it.

It took him longer than he liked to get to the top, but he had managed to get a moment's worth of breathing room between himself and the advancing swarm as he got onto the roof of his office and looked towards Junko.

"You have a plan? Tell me or follow me into the center, now." The former Tenkage quickly made his way towards the center of the roof as he spoke, trying to speak quickly before the swarm reached them. As he did he felt sweat upon his brow and his heart began to race, the Nature Energy within him was getting harder to manage by the moment and he was worried he wouldn't be able to control it soon. He just hoped he could hold out for at least a moment longer, if this mysterious woman didn't reveal any other special abilities he was going to have to try a desperate maneuver to deal with all of these monsters.

WC:829
TWC:3,805

-30 for Ninjutsu Amplifer
-28 for Water Severing Wave
-4 for Surface Walking
+10 from Natural Beserker

248/300 AP
5/6 Nature energy Stacks

Junko looked on in confusion as he rushed down the side of the building, he was going closer to them? She was stunned to see him shooting out that much water, which made her almost jealous. She thought that she was pretty strong but apparently not compared to him.

What in the hell did he just do! I've never seen anybody do anything like that before. I suppose I underestimated him?

She watched on in awe as he nearly flawlessly sliced through more of the creatures. For a moment she wondered if she would be able to wield a weapon as good as him someday. For now she really only had her tanto and hardly knew how to handle that little thing. Her nerves began to rise as she noticed them beginning to attempt to encircle him.

"Hey!! They're trying to surround you!!" She yelled to him loudly.

As he began to run back up toward her she stood up from the ledge and spitting 4 of her remaining water shuriken. Similar to when she used it previously, except this time she was able to dispatch one with each of her shuriken. She took a few steps back and then performed the ram hand seal, as she did four perfect illusory copies of her flickered into existence.

Her heart was now racing, nearly pounding out of her chest as she stood there shakily. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as the situation increasingly seemed to be worsening by the second. Soon she snapped out of it as the man rushed up beside her and gave her some direction.

"Uhhh yeah, okay. I'll follow you, I didn't really have another idea. Do you have a plan? Also, I think you won already."
She sounded extremely nervous, and out of breath


She then unsheathed her tanto and sent her clones down on each side of the wall to provide a bit of distraction for the two of them while they discussed a game plan. Then she followed him to the center of the roof. Unfortunately, this wasn't quite enough as some of them dismissed the illusions and proceeded to them.

One was able to catch up with her before she was able to make it to the middle. It was able to cut her off from the side and intercept her. She brandished her tanto with one hand and waited for the creature to position itself to strike while she continued running towards it. Using her momentum she was able to lower herself and slid underneath the creature's bulbous body to slice it down its stomach.

Using her hand to keep herself balanced thankfully worked out since she was able to remain upright.  Unfortunately, this caused some of its "blood" to splatter on her hands and face. Stumbling slightly as she stood right she then shook off her hands and used a piece of clothing to wipe her face.  

"That was the most disgusting but cool thing I've ever done in my life. Definitely don't want to do it again though."

As she reached the center she turned to the man, hoping he would have some sort of idea as to what the next move should be. She looked around nervously at the approaching beings and began quickly doing the dog, then dragon handseals using the mouth shot technique. After they were completed a small stream of water began forming itself into a senbon in front of her mouth. Then it quickly dashed through the air, hitting and dispatching one causing a small water explosion that took out two more. Luckily they were close enough to the edge that it caused them to fall back down the side of the building, hitting and eliminating a handful more.

Maybe I am getting good at this, but I really do hope this guy has some kind of plan."

WC 647
TWC 3579

-10 upkeep Water Release Shuriken
-5 Surface Waling
-20 Clone Technique
-10 Mouthshot

1,060/1,130AP