Ah, the Dunes. The area of Sunagakure that most people either feared or despised, full of the most infamous criminals and dangerous souls. Daraku entered the crappiest part of town with one mission in mind. Obviously, he wasn't there to hang out. He was there to kick some ass. He'd heard that bandits and thieves hung out there (well, he hadn't heard, he knew because he was sometimes one of them) and he figured he could steal the stuff they stole from their corpses. Not like anybody would miss them, anyways. The silent hung in the air as he tred through the sand. It seemed darker here, maybe tainted with the blood of some poor civilians that had strayed into the wrong side of town.

The shinobi unsheathed his blade, letting it drag through the sand as he turned through the streets, in search of some action. The sound of footsteps from behind caught him by surprise, so he activated his kekkei genkai and faded away into the night. Within seconds, the rogue that had caused the footsteps arrived, searching for Daraku...asshole was sly, Daraku gave him that, but he really shouldnt have been following. He reappeared at the left of the rogue, slashing forward with his sword. The rogue smirked as he swung his own weapon, and the blades locked together in a stalemate. Another bandit came, apparently partnered with the first.

"That's not very fair...2 vs. 1?" Daraku muttered as the second bandit charged at him. He dodged the strike effortlessly with his speed, and turned back to face his two assailants. He recognized their distorted facial features, a duo of bandits that plagued the slums, killing and looting innocents. Daraku had worked with them a few times before, and before he continued the match, he pointed his blade at them and said, "Shinyo and Makurai, infamous brigands of the Dunes. Keep in mind that I may have allied myself with you once, but that was merely for my monetary gain. Now, I'll kill you two for that very same reason. Any last words?"

"You've gone soft, Daraku. What happened to the master thief of shadows? Aligned with the darkness, destined for riches..." said Shinyo with cold eyes.

"Oh, you're looking at him. I haven't changed, I've simply made you my next target. All a part of my destination for riches." The two mongrels clenched their teeth, and Shinyo thrust his blade forward. Daraku parried the blow and followed through with a kick to the face and a horizontal slash. Shinyo staggered back, and Makurai launched a Water Dragon Jutsu from behind. The dragon hit Daraku directly in the back before he could react, and he was thrown back, hitting the wall of nearby building. The pain surged through his whole body, and he stood slowly, wiping the blood from his lip and shaking off the water (a pointless effort, as he was soaked).

"You're gonna pay for that. He pressed a hand onto his ribcage, which hurt the most, and healed the fractured rib using one of his Jutsu. The pain slowly subsided, and he infused his blade with Katon chakra when it finally faded away. Shinyo charged in again, like the dumb ass he was...Daraku blocked the incoming blow, then used a footsweep to ground the bandit before stabbing his leg to keep him down. He left his burning hot sword there as he ran toward Makurai, who looked to be preparing another ninjutsu. Daraku pointed a finger at the man's eye, and blasting a quick burst of flames, hitting mark and effectively burning and blinding Makurai. He then tackled Makurai down, somersaulted over him, and returned to Shinyo. After he pulled the sword out of Shinyo's leg, he stood over them, waiting for one to stand.

Shinyo coughed up blood, and started to get to his knees. He muttered under his breath, "You're pathetic, killing thieves to steal stolen goods." Daraku kicked him in the stomach to keep him on the ground and then replied, "You're just mad that I'm doing everyone a favor by killing you and your partner." he said as a final statement before driving his black blade through Shinyo's heart. He died immediately, and Daraku merely pulled out the blade and turned to Makurai. One more to go. Makurai looked down at his fallen friend and tears rolled down from his eyes. He then looked at Daraku, tears still bolstering, and said, "You're going to die."

Battle Theme: Vs. Daraku

Oh? Intimidation? It was hardly working. Daraku kept his blade held parallel to Makurai's head, waiting for a move. The bandits eyes flared before he gained a dark purple aura of chakra. "Water Release: Tides of the Dragon God!" an unfamiliar technique to Daraku, he watched in amazement as a massive water dragon emerged from the sand, its purple eyes gazing into Daraku's very soul. A battle between Water and Fire...sounded badass enough. He held his sword out, and it burst into flames, burning intensely with heated chakra. Analyzing the situation carefully, Daraku knew that Makurai couldn't hold this technique (which was easily S-Rank) for long; time would be on his side here. The dragon struck first, diving downward at the ninja full-speed. Daraku rolled to the left and sprinted away, dodging the dragon by about an inch. The water's impact with the ground was so forceful that he still sustained a cut across his back, but it was a mere surface wound. He pivoted his foot and sprinted toward Makurai.

Makurai wasn't going to let him by. The dragon the was just reduced to a giant puddle reformed and blasted a sphere of water at Daraku, who turned and swung his blade. The blade spat forth a tornado of flames, which collided with the sphere and nullified it to mere steam. The dragon charged in for another tackle, and this time Daraku didn't have time to dodge. He held out his flaming blade in front of himself, in defense, and the water dragon tackled it before exploding into a vortex. Makurai stayed in place, immobile as a fortress, and Daraku was swept away in the vortex, getting thrown against another building dozens of meters away before falling face-first into the sand. He felt his bones crack on impact, and his cut on his back was bleeding; a new trail of blood dripped from a cut on his cheek.

"This is nothing! You're not so powerful..." Makurai said, laughing with satisfaction. Despite his demeanor, it was obvious that the dragon had put a deep drain on his chakra supply. Daraku stood, slowly healing his fractured bones and cuts using his Basic Recovery Method as he said, "You have the perfect chance to kill me now, but you're not taking it, because you're chakra is already running low...pathetic..." Makurai opened his mouth to counter, but by then, Daraku's wounds were fully healed, and he sprinted forward at his top speed (which was pretty impressive) while the bandit wasn't ready, slashing with his blade in a vertical fashion. The blow landed, and the new laceration bled slowly. Makurai grabbed Daraku's arm just before he could jump back, and made a hand seal with his other hand. "Water Prison Jutsu!" and with that chant, Daraku was trapped in a pressurized ball of water, struggling to breathe.

"While I've got you here and forced to listen...I may as well tell you what you've just done. You killed my only friend, the only reason I had to be alive. In turn, you've taken away my only true weakness; I have nothing to live for, and I will make it my sole purpose to destroy you before I end my own life...." Daraku feigned listening has he struggled to move his arms. The pressure was killing him, it was almost impossible to move...he could care less about this guy's problems, he just wanted to hurry up and kill him. He finally managed to grip his blade, and he increased the amount of Katon channeling through it until the water began to boil near Makurai's hand. The bandit flinched, breaking the jutsu and dissolving the water. Daraku took the opportunity to use one hand to hold Makurai steady, one foot to keep him from falling, and then followed through with a 180 turn slash that successfully decapitated the thief. Makurai's head rolled through the sand, steaming from the blade's flames. There, all finished. He sat down in the sand, breathing hard as he looked at the corpses around him. Shinyo was easy, but Makurai definitely put up a fight.

Daraku reached down and wiped the blood from his hands in the dry sand. After resting up a bit, he stood, and started searching the corpse's pockets for whatever loot he could find. Shinyo was carrying about 10 ryo, really crappy. He also had that sword of his, so Daraku picked it up, gauging it's weight and swing speed, before putting it on the strap that held his own blade. He poked around a bit more, before moving onto Makurai. Makurai had a few things that were better; a sum of 50 ryo, and also a few shuriken. A profit of a new sword, 60 ryo, and a few shuriken. Really not what he was expecting at all, but his hopes were too high; it's not like they were famous and wealthy targets. They were thieves themselves.

Now, the task of hiding the bodies. The last thing Daraku needed was to get locked up or have to go Missing-Nin over killing some bandits. He used his kekkei genkai to pick up the first body, Shinyo's, and phase it deep into the sand, about 20 feet. He was bound to be found eventually, but not anytime soon. As for Makurai, he took the torso and phased it underground alongside Shinyo. The head, he just burned with a jutsu. Rather gruesome, as the place now smelled of burnt death, but at least he wouldn't get caught. He gave the area one last survey, to guarantee everything was alright. The blood that streaked through the sand in various places simply had a darker tint, no one would guess that it was blood. So, he finally turned and left the slums, heading back to Ishido Castle.

The rush of killing someone never really got old. It was a mix of nervous scare at the thought of the consequences, and pure power. You had just ended someone's life with your will and your blade, and to Daraku, that meant he was better than his victim. A half smile sat on his face throughout the walk home, and the sun began to set in the sky until it sat on the horizon and finally faded away. The moon came into sight by the time he got home, and he went to his chamber. As he shut the door and began to undress, a knock came to his door, and his father's familiar, raspy voice echoed, "Where have you been all day, Daraku? I was worried." Daraku contemplated what lie he should tell for a moment as he took off his shirt, before approaching the door and opening it a bit.

"I was just out on a walk. Sorry I was out so late, I got lost in the scenery of the village."

With a skeptical look, Tsurugi accepted the lie as truth, unknowing of what to think. "...alright then. I'm just making sure you're not getting yourself in any trouble." Daraku smiled and closed his door, throwing his shirt onto his bed and unlacing his gauntlets, as he said under his breathe

"I'm not getting into trouble...I am trouble."

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Training Katon C > B
Word Count: 2,002/2,000
~Complete~

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