[OPEN/CLOSED] We are not alone in the dark with our demons..

[highly_strung]

WHO: Sunalings and various friends.
WHEN: All throughout the month of May.
WHERE: Sunagakure.
NOTES: Rasa is dead, tensions are all over the place and.. Well, at least things can't get any worse?



[ See top-level comments for threads. Feel free to attack this with any other top-level you crave if your character is in Suna at any point in May! ]

Link to War Timeline just in case.

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[tenten_san]

[ Rolls her eyes, trailing behind him and keeping in step with his pace until they could take their usual places before beginning. ]

In case you haven't noticed, Team Gai doesn't shrink away from failures. [ Despite recent events. But let's not dwell on that. Still, the statement was not completely wrong. They were a squad of low expectations and last chances. ] We use them to get stronger.

Besides I have better things to do with my time than worry about what you think.

[ It was the same song and dance, familiar and somewhat comforting in all its beautiful cruelty. ]

[highly_strung]

[ The same song and dance, sure, but that thing about failures -- we use them to get stronger -- strikes a chord, and Kankuro's grin twitches into something a little more forced. ]

Yeah.. [ Ooh, ouch. A crash and a burn on his side for a complete lack of a witty comeback. It's one of the first times he's failed, and failed that badly... He grunts with the realisation, and springs Karasu out to clatter into the space at his side as he gets into position to round on his opponent. ]

Whatever, let's just get this started. [ His face is full of discontent and firey intention to fight. ] First one to call Uncle, right?

[tenten_san]

[ And that's something she takes note of, frowning, even as she wants the spar to begin. Because in all these months of bickering and fighting, he never missed an opportunity to throw back an insult her way. And never one this lame. Which is her first sign that something was up.

So sorry, pussy cat, but she's gonna stall the start of the game a bit. Cuz natural curiosity wind out over the need to kick your butt. ]

Is... Everything alright? You don't seem like your usual grumpy self. And by that I mean somewhat tolerable.

[highly_strung]

[ He makes a tutting sound and Karasu responds to a flick of his masters finger by unsheathing the blade from his wrist. It's new, sharper and if it's tinted with poison, it's impossible to tell. ]

Everything's fine. Are we doing this, or are you just gonna stand there and make excuses? [ He hitches a grin onto his face. ] It's alright if you're scared, little girl.

[tenten_san]

[ And the glint of steel is what catches her attention, the young kunoichi looking on with newfound interest at his main puppet. ]

The only thing I'm scared of is how many times you stabbed yourself trying to fit that thing in.

[ Shifting her stance, she unhooks the giant scroll from her back and sets it on the ground beside her with a soft thud, reminding him just how heavy with sealed weapons and surprises it really was. ]

[highly_strung]

Heh, I'm not young enough to keep on making that mistake...

[ Who does she take him for? Kankuro is head of the puppet core; the best of his kind; and if he can't do as much as a simple upgrade for his most favoured weapon, then what good is he to his village?

.....Thoughts of his talent and worth outside of the village resurface, and he finds himself once again bowing under the weight of responsibility that seems to be, at times, incredibly misplaced. It would be great if everything would stop reminding him of his insecurities, and with a grunt of frustration he flings his hands outward without even attempting a comeback, to cast Karasu down on the leaf-nin with his blade bared and jaw clattering. ]

[tenten_san]

[ Oh don't you fret, pussycat. She has the utmost confidence in your puppetry and management. Months of this little dance of theirs has given her several opportunities to witness it first hand his level of expert skill. But weapons were her domain. And while it was of some interest to her just how he planned to incorporate blades into his defense and offense, she would be damned if some arrogant upstart from the Sand Village outmatched her in that field.

So as the Black Ant descended on her, the kunoichi stood her ground and prepared herself for the fight to come.

With a click and a flurry of motion, Tenten unfurled her giant scroll and called forth a barrage of projectiles to shield her from the assault, buying her some time to start developing her own strategies. Even from where she stood, there was no helping how her mind instantly started taking in the wooden monstrosity and ripping apart it's entire structure in her mind's eye. ]

So you admit that you did stab yourself putting that thing in...

[ Did you miss her smirk, Kanks? Because sheets p she's gonna be flagging it to you a lot during this spar. ]

[highly_strung]

Are you kidding me? [ He actually laughs at that, his spirits wildly improved by being able to firmly deny her taunts. ] Weapon installation is one of the first things puppeteers learn after general building--

[ Karasu catches the flying blades in his cloak; a good majority of them tear the fabric but get caught in it, and the few that dig into his casing luckily manage to miss his joints. It wouldn't break him if they did, of course, but Kankuro doesn't need any points of weakness to juggle right now. Tenten is fast, and though he's familiar with her fighting style, she's excitingly unpredictable. ]

I've been installing upgrades for years, but never one like this. [ This blade is new, after all, a massive improvement to the tiny dagger Karasu used to wield.... but the focus is on the barely visible poison coating the blade. He's been dabbling in new areas of study recently. Kankuro uses his other hand to send a string out to tear the cloak away, sending the projectiles clattering offside as Karasu looms to lunge downward, his wrist aimed straight for Tenten's arm. ]