"I should do something with my life." spoke Aethir, lying on his back. His large eyes focused on the flickering stars above, his arms and legs stretched as far as they could go. "It's been months since I went on a mission or something." His head leaned to his left, looking at his reflection on the 'ground' under him. "Last adventure I went on was some pirate king thing. That itself was-..." An eyebrow was raised, along with a hand, the man scratching his head. "You know, that felt pretty odd to say." he commented, grinning afterwards. Then, Aethir heard the sound of metallic footsteps, they soon coming to a stop.

"Sir," a high-pitched male voice spoke from below, "according to your list, it's lights out. Can I go ahead and...?"

Aethir sat up, sighing.

"Sir, you are up there, aren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Aethir finally replied.

The man came to a stand, walking towards the voice. Below, another man stood on some sort of metallic catwalk, looking upwards. He eventually saw Aethir lean over from on top of some metal structure with an exaggerated tired look on his face. The man on top of the structure yawned before speaking.

"How long have we been on lazy mode?"

"About... two to three months, sir!"

"God damn..." the ronin sighed, looking off to the horizon. He saw nothing but a sea of black trees, the darkness giving them such a color. "Well'p... How about once a week, we go do something?"

The man below looked around himself before returning his gaze back to the ronin. "Just us, sir?"

"No, the whole everybody."

"The whole-... The whole everybody?"

"Yes, that's what I said." Aethir nodded, his tired expression changing to a serious look. "The whole everybody, just out doing whatever! Come on, it's almost summer!" The ronin smiled as the other man scratched his head. "You sleep on it." he finished, looking back to the horizon. "Go ahead and turn the lights out, I'll-"

A blue glimmer in the sky caught Aethir's attention, the man looking up to see what it was. It appeared to be some sort of comet, flying across the sky.

"Well, will you look at that..." He smiled and then pointed to the horizon, wanting the man below to turn and look as well. He did so, nearly jumping out of his skin.

"A comet, sir?!"

"A comet..." Aethir confirmed. The smile on Aethir's face faded as the comet appeared to be growing in size. It soon hit him that the comet was going to land nearby. Aethir simply stated the word 'brace', a loud 'sir' being returned to him as both he and the man below clung onto something. They both had it in their heads that this comet was about to create a massive shockwave when it hits the ground. Oddly enough, it didn't. As it hit the ground, it just lit up the area in a bright blue color, no audible sound being heard!

"Well, that's... anti-climatic."

"Sir, what do we...?"

Aethir glanced down at the man, and back to the glowing area. "I'll go check it out. You, get busy with the lights inside. Afterwards, if you want, you can..." The man grinned to the guy below, who was blinking.

"M-me, out there on the field, sir?"

"Actually, you aren't part of the combat group, are you? Never the mind then."

"S-sir, I can-"

"Nope, no need getting yourself killed on your first field task. You know, a task besides plucking fruit of a vine."

"I- But sir, I-" The man watched as Aethir had leaped off the top of the metal structure, falling below the catwalk, towards the forest grounds. "I can fight too if I wanted too! I just- I ... I didn't have to!" He shouted, eyeing the running ronin. "I... I totally can... B-but it's bed time, so..." the guy commentated, slinking into the doorway from the catwalk.


Aethir walked closer to the glow, finally stopping as what looked to be a wall of slow moving blue flames was in front of him. He eyed the slow-mo flames for a moment before reaching forward, a soft warmth being felt. Finally, he passed through the wall, quickly taking note of the changes occurring on him. Any color on his had turned to a different shade of blue, including his skin. His hair floated as if it were underwater, however, the fact that he can breathe led him to believe otherwise.

"Freaky..." he looked around himself, seeing nothing but different shades of blue in his radius, the flames still fanning around him as slow as ever. His attention turned to the center once he heard a male cry. He didn't hesitate to sprint forward, immediately taking note of something that had blended in with the blue flames. It looked like a rectangular crystal of sorts, the size of a person, maybe two people. It spun slowly, just like the flames, Aethir seeing his reflection from within a few times. From behind the crystal came a man, appearing to be dressed casually. He trudged in a direction with both eyes closed, almost like that of a zombie. The ronin ran over to him, leaving about two arms length between themselves.

"You okay, guy?" Aethir spoke. He watched as the man continued trudging off somewhere. With a quick look around himself, he jogged closer to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, sir?" The man stopped moving, his body twitching suddenly. Aethir stared at his head as it turned towards him, the man's eyes opening slowly. Nothing but the whites of his eyes were there, the man's mouth slowly falling open. Aethir was about to react, but a large blue and black beetle had flown close to his face, about the size of someone's hand. This caused him to leap back, watching as the beetle crammed itself into the man's mouth, a large bulge appearing in his neck. The bulge slid downwards, and with a loud gulp, the man groaned as he vomited some sort of blue liquid. The stranger huffed and puffed, blue liquid pouring from his mouth as his head hung low now. With what sounded like cracks of bones, his neck bent and twisted in all directions, the man hunching over as he eyes the ronin.

"Really wishing I would have just gone to bed..." Aethir blinked, assuming one of the Taijutsu stances he's learned. His left arm stretched forward, his hand entering a fist, his right arm pulled back with the hand made into a fist. He slid his legs close together, standing up straight as he began controlling his breathing. "I don't often tell people they're going to die, but sir, you might die." Aethir nodded as he said this, but then hopped back as the man ran and lunged at him, falling to the ground. As he got his footing, Aethir entered the stance once more. "Now see, this is the part where you explain what the hell you're doing. Or, you turn around and go." The man on the ground inhaled and wheezed, his body letting out disturbing sounds as he bent backwards. His face was now upside down, eyeing the ronin with his back bent, the man's neck twisting suddenly, following by the rest of his body. He now stood hunched over, just as he did before the lunge. "Or, you know, twist your body in non-humanly possible ways. That works too."

The man's body twitched as the flow of blue fluids from his mouth continued. He ran towards the ronin once more, Aethir not moving like last time. "Don't say I didn't warn you." he spoke, waiting for the man to get in range of his body. As the man leaped towards Aethir, the ronin gave a strong right punch to the man's chest. This caused the man to stop where he was, the force of the punch countering the speed of the man's leap. This made it seem like he simply froze where he was. The ronin now tensed his right arm, keeping his waist twisted to the right side as he focused his energy. With a shout, Aethir's body twisted as he pulled the tensed arm back, using it as a weight of sorts so that he'd spin with greater force, his right leg outstretched upwards. The heel of the foot made contact with the side of the man's skull, sending him about four meters away.

"He-..." Aethir leaned in, looking at the man's still attached head. "He still has his head on? Damn, I must be rusty..." The man shrugged, a small grin on his face as he backed away. "That should be enough to fracture his skull though, maybe have it caved in. Time for some sleep-" The man stared, his eyes showing surprise as the kicked man turned to face him. The cracking sounds came from his body as he twitched more as he usually would, however, the man's face... Part of the man's face looked crushed. This itself wouldn't surprise Aethir, he having had done this multiple time, even kicking so hard that the neck's bone and skin gave. However, under the man's skin, he saw something reflective. The man's hands reached up to peels away the wet piece of skin, revealing a large green eye rolling around in its socket before stopping on Aethir. A slit for pupils, and hints of yellow present in the green. That eyes was the only thing in the area that was not blue. It was here that Aethir put two and two together.

"Aw no..." he looked around himself, looking onto the ground at the blue liquid. "This is...blood. This is his blood." He looked over to the blue skin, now leaking the same blue liquid that was coming from the man's mouth nonstop. "What the hell is this thing?" Aethir's face showed even greater surprise as the man's arms began to inflate and soon explode, blue liquid flying forward. The arms' skin and bones fall, making room for what looks to be blue neon glowing scythes, typical of that of a mantis. The man's mouth opened, a growl that sounded like it came from a drowning lion being heard. As aggressive as the growl sounded, there was sorrowful tone coming from it. As if the drowning lion, who was once king of everything, was crying out for help for the first time in its life. "This is horrible." Aethir shook his head, assuming the Taijutsu position. His eyes narrowed as the man sprinted towards him, the left scythe being swung horizontally. The ronin ducked, but then hopped back as the other scythe was brought down towards him. It sliced into the ground, the dirt letting out a hiss as it began to dissolve.

I have a feeling this thing's done playing around. Aethir shook his head as he stood. The man, if you can still call it that, ran towards Aethir once more. As it did, the man's legs began to inflate as well, the skin exploding as bones and skin fell to make room for large flat insect-like feet. Grunts came from the creature, the human eye rolling and twitching with each swing of the scythe. Aethir made sure to dodge each one. While it was true that he may be curious sometimes as to what enemy attacks may do, he was definitely not this time around, not wanting to end up like the dirt.

There was a gap between slashed, Aethir taking this moment to punch the creature's human face. As he did, the teeth of the face quickly feel, large jagged sharp teeth erecting from the gums along with the more blue fluid. The gums themselves began to peel away, the teeth now attached to what looked like a metallic surface. The sorrowful roar was heard once more, Aethir staring at the creature to realize what else was left that he could call human.

"Just the torso and the-..." He stopped in mid-sentence, staring at what looked to be sweat running down the side of the human face. No... It couldn't have been sweat, coming from so close  to the eye. It then hit the ronin.

Could that man still be...?! Another bead of liquid came from the human eye, followed by another roar. "That's...inhuman..." he stared for a moment before taking note of the scythe being raised. Once again, he hopped back, the ground dissolving as the scythe was stabbed into it. "Forgive me." he spoke, nodding to the creature. It's response was another barrage of slashes. Once again, there was a gap between attacks, Aethir once again taking this opportunity to attack. A powerful right punch to the torso, followed by the left, alternating between the two until the creature fell onto it's back.

Aethir, once again, entered his stance as he waited for the creature to stand. His eyes narrowed as he saw the creature's chest and back began to inflate, both exploding like the limbs. The ronin hopped in surprise as the creature ascended into the air, large insect wings  flapping rapidly in the air, an annoying buzzing now present. The creature dove towards the ground, zipping over to the ronin with one of it's scythes pointed outwards. At the level it was flying at, Aethir assumed it was trying to behead him. With a simple roll, the man was able to evade the attack. He turned to see the creature ascend back into the air, turning to look at him. The insect looked at it's scythes, slowly raising it to cut the last bit of 'human' that was on it, the face. With it's form now truly revealed, the insect let out a loud cry. It, unlike the growl, did not sound sorrowful, the blue flames suddenly rising high and increasing in speed. The ronin looked behind him, feeling an increase in the heat's temperature. The blue flames took on an orange hue, the once blue field now having its respective colors on objects. Aethir took note of his non-blue skin and red shirt before speaking.

"Alright," Aethir took a deep breath, looking up to stare at the still blue insect hover in the night air, "now its done playing around."

The insect dropped to the ground, crashing into it. The ground shook as it landed, both of the insects green eyes eyeballing the ronin. The pupils widened and narrowed from and back to slits as it stared. The insect pushed off the ground, as if sprinting towards the ronin. However, instead of bringing it's other leg forward to continue the run, it's wings flapped strongly, propelling it forward quickly. It brought it's scythe up, ready to slash at him once more.

Aethir, on the other hand, kept the scythe in his view as he attempted to counterattack. The attack connected with the insect's blue exterior, however, that did not halt it's progress. It was almost as if the ronin hadn't punched it at all! He received a slash from the blunt side of the scythe, which sent him flying in a unique way to the right. He slid across the ground on his back, eventually sliding on his feet. He came to a stop finally, near the wall of orange fire, the heat causing his skin to burn slightly.

That's hot... he mentally commented, jogging forward to get away from the flames. He stared as the insect stood where it was, it's green eyes locked onto him. It began moving  what the ronin could only assume was it's mouth, the sounds a dog would make coming from it before an incredibly deep voice was heard.

"Humans..." it said, the ronin staring at it in surprise. "Humans...obsolete. Impenetrable, me." The creature took the blunt side of the scythe, tapping it's chest before the sound of what could be called 'laughter' was heard.

Aethir snapped out of his shocked state, staring at the insect. "Obsolete, huh? Well, I guess so. I mean, you can fly. I can't punch you for beans, and you're probably immune to intense temperatures such as that fire, huh?" Aethir pointed behind himself at the raging flame, the insect's laughter continuing as it began walking towards him, extending both scythes to its sides. The laughter stopped as the insect spoke once more. "Exterminate."

"Exterminate, oh well, don't let me stop you. I mean," Aethir put both of his hands to his side as he flicked his head to the side with a smile, "Dissolving acidic scythes, impenetrable armor, and the ability to fly. You got it all, don't you?" The man watched as the insect came closer. "Then surely, you can do ninjutsu, right?" This question caused the insect to halt. "Yeah, ninjutsu. You know, that thing us obsolete people do?" The insect continued walking, now raising its scythe. A rock was suddenly thrown at it by the man, causing it to laugh. "It's okay if you can't. I didn't quite get it until I was like...sixteen."

The insect brought the scythe down onto Aethir's neck, his head slowly sliding onto the floor. The blue residue from the scythe began eating away at his body as it fell to its knees. The insects laughter grew in volume, watching as the body continued to dissolve...until it exploded in smoke. The insect stepped back, looking around itself before turning behind to see Aethir tossing the rock he threw into the air, only to catch it as it came down.

"By the look on your face, I can confidently say you've never seen ninjutsu before!" The insect's wide eyes were locked onto Aethir, turning the rest of it's body towards his direction. It watched as the man rose his hands to form some sort of hand sign. "Let's fix that." Rushing from Aethir's mouth was a mist that soon covered the area around him.

The insect looked around itself, searching for the man. As it turned it's head, it was greeted by a large ball of water, smashing into its face. Two more crashed into its chest, and two more on both the face and chest. The insect shook it's head, slashing in front of itself, jumping to it's right to avoid anymore that could be on it's way. It then felt the ground shift below him, causing it to look down at its feet. Water rose, delivers small cuts through it's 'impenetrable' body. The water slowly ran down it's body, the insect roaring around itself. The roar caused the mist to spiral and spin around it, eventually clearing the mist from around it. It quickly spotted the man, charging towards him. However, it stopped, seeing another man that...looked exactly like him! It turned, seeing two more copies of the man, and turned behind itself to see one more. A total of five copies were seen by the insect so far, however  as it noticed a hint of red in the distance from within the best, it realized that there was another. It roared once more, clearing more of the mist, it's eyes widening at nearly a sea of clones from the man, the mist blanketing the many legs present in the background.

"Trumpet lock 'em." One of the copies shouted, the insect's head turning towards it. It then looked up, seeing the night sky covered in an innumerable amount of tiny water streams. They all met in the center, eventually creating a pseudo waterfall on top of the insect. The insect stood where it was, looking around itself, the large amount of water falling appearing to not have any effect. However, when it tried to move, the force of the water practically tripled its body weight. It struggled to even lift it's leg, forced to stand there as the water continued to fall. The five copies the insect had initially spotted  formed a hand seal, and then extended both hands forward. "By the way," one of the copies spoke, "this is ninjutsu. Just one of the obsolete features, you know?" Almost simultaneously, the five copies shot lightning towards the falling water. The roar of the insect could barely be heard due to the rushing water and the sizzling flames being put out.

The water finally came to a stop as one of the copies fell on their knees. The other copies began to revert into their respective elements, the leftover chakra returning to the copy that was on his knees. Its hair was beginning to turn white from the roots, and the once blue eyes were now having a purple tint. This copy of Aethir, the original, panted. "Takes too much chakra to pull stuff like that off." The man turned to look at the insect that looked charred in random places. It's mouth was wide open as it's eyes were staring off somewhere. The glow from the scythe had ceased, the man coming to a stand. He walked over, placing a hand on the insect's chest, feel the heat present. Upon closer inspection, he saw small streams of smoke rise from the creature's shell.

The man shook his head, turning away to go back to the metallic structure, but stopped as he noticed the floating crystal still there. He stared at it, and then back at the insect, a sly smile on his face.


"Sir, what are you doing?" spoke the man from the catwalk.

"I've got me a new trophy! Giant bug man, and ...and a very ...annoyingly huge crystal!" Aethir replied, pointing at the floating jewel.

"You're keeping these things, sir?"

"Yes, I am."

"Even the monster that tried to kill you?"

"Yup, it'll make me stronger."

The man from the catwalk stared for a moment. "Sir, how in the- ...Forgive me for asking, but how does this make you stronger?"

"Everyone knows that punching super hard stuff makes your fist super tough!" Aethir replied, watching as the catwalk man began laughing. "I'm serious! I saw it in movies! They punch water, sand, wood, stone, then trees!" He watched as the man walked away. "I couldn't even damage this guy physically! Its body will make me powerful!" the ronin shouted, running after the catwalk guy. The charred insect remained still as the crystal continued to hover silently. Suddenly, the insect's pupils narrowed into slits, a soft growl being heard soon after.

[WC: 3838]
[TWC: 3838]

Katon - B->a 3838/5000

OOC: