Goku Private Thread

[Riku]

As for me... well... I'd give an arm for this country. Hikaru looked around frantically as if the walls would give her some hint of what to do, how to prove her loyalty. But they remained silent, unforgiving as ever. They wanted her to fail; taunting her mercilessly with their blank expression, pausing for a slip of the tongue. Any moment they would close in on her and trap her on Iron country forever, forcing her to play the role of a pseudo hero.

Rrrraaagh! Hikaru reached her right arm over to her left and gripped it tightly, subsequently tugging and twisting and pulling until she felt an abrupt popping sensation she ripped off her own arm. See? I'd give an arm for this country. she threw it underhand at this accusers feet as a peace offering.

The Iron Elder entered the room where Hikaru was continuing her training. she stood along the wall watching Hikaru exert great efforts to build her strength and speed. she nodded, this girl will be a formidable fighter. she has the determination and motivation to be great if she so chooses she thought to herself.

Hikaru lifted her head, looking up at the figure in the room. she leaned her feet back, tilting over until she almost fell. she then pushed off with the one hand she had flat on the floor and landed on her feet facing her new Hikaru, “Hello Hikaru.”

She chuckled softly, “Hello Hikaru, please don’t let me interrupt your training.”
Hikaru smiled, “You aren’t interrupting. I was just finishing that session.”
“Well good then, I have something to speak with you about. I need your help.” The Iron Elder said, pacing the training room.

[Riku]

“There is a situation that must be resolved quickly.” she stopped and looked at Hikaru with a serious expression. “One of our most sacred artifacts on Iron country has been stolen from this school. The scrolls of Iron country have been stolen and they must be recovered quickly. If these fall into the incorrect hands the world could be in extreme danger.”

Hikaru looked up at the Elder, “I’m listening Elder.”
The Elder nodded down to Hikaru, “You must find the thief. she will be difficult to defeat now that she has control over the scrolls. she must be a formidable opponent if she was able to get through our most secure chambers and retrieve the scrolls.”

Hikaru nodded, “I will find them for you Elder.” Hikaru ran for the door.
The Elder yelled after her, “Trust your senses boy! You will need them to find her.”
Hikaru jumped through the doorway and took off into the air, her brow furrowed in concentration. she heard a high movement, higher than average. It was over there. Then it disappeared and it was over there. Hikaru turned her head quickly from location to location following the thief with her senses.

"she has incredible speed! How am I going to catch up to him…” Hikaru began moving toward the last position that she felt the abnormal movement. Suddenly she felt the movement coming closer but about 45 degrees to the left, so she turned to continue approaching. “How am I going to fight against a person as speedy as her… this is going to be tough…” Hikaru said to herself.

Hikaru ran over where she last felt the movement, it was still in the area. As she looked down she saw a small market. she saw some kind of confrontation and ran lower to get a better look.

[Riku]

There were two women fighting over something. One woman knocked the other down and a moment later she was gone, disappeared. Hikaru felt the chakra she had heard disappear below and reappear a great distance away. “What the…” Hikaru jumped down to the woman sitting on the ground. “Hey, what happened?”

The woman looked up and saw Hikaru jumping down, "she stole everything from my safe and just… disappeared!” Hikaru’s pupils went wide as the concept sunk into her head, “So she was the one…” Hikaru took off into the air at full speed chasing after the thief. I will find you and I will stop you Hikaru thought to herself.

It had been a hell of a day. Shinobi Hikaru had spent almost all of her morning either training or doing various tasks for the Elders even small ones with due diligence. After that she'd bent sent out to deal with Iron Beasts, far less threatening ones than the one she fought days ago, and by now she'd almost gotten eliminating them down to a science. Of course, she patently ignored orders to eliminate the unnecessary ones... but she didn't like killing anything if she didn't have to.

Sitting on an oversized stone in the midst of a vast desert plain with an Iron Beast at her feet, the shinobi sighed audibly. It was all good training, but it was getting to be utterly boring. "...When are we going to be allowed to take that test...?" She turned her pupils skyward, staring beyond the clouds overhead in thought. Tucking her arms close to her chest, she leaned forward just a bit idly, "...What is all of this for anyway...?" Truthfully, she started this whole trip intending to train with the master of all Masters

[Riku]

But she'd not given it much thought beyond that recently. It was almost like she had an inner drive to grow stronger, but couldn't debrief the why of it. It briefly had her wondering if, perhaps, she had in fact received some teaching from Sensei Ginny she didn't know about.

Her concentration was broken momentarily by a sudden beeping noise and data flashing across the desert backdrop in her vision. Her internal sensors had picked up on something again, and alas always felt the need to tell her about it. She was almost tempted to dismiss it as another unnecessary bit of info until two things came to her attention: two of the movements were Seleina and Gosai, and they appeared to be chasing a third movement that was... rapidly blinking in and out existence?

Standing to her full height, and turning to face the direction they all appeared to be in, the female shinobi contemplated heading over in that direction to see what was going down. Especially since that movement appeared to be great or more...

...Bursting off into the direction suddenly in an explosion of chakra, the shinobi ran up and away and was out of sight in less than a moment or so.

"I tried to warn you!" The shinobi shouted at Seleina, on the tail end of gloating about her battle proficiency. Turning the business edge of her sword toward the Shinobi, she prepared to strike out again with her tremendous speed. ... Only to get clocked suddenly by the female shinobi from the side suddenly due to not being able to sense her. Hikarus punch sent the brown skinned shinobi skidding across the dusty plain for a few moments... dropping her sword in the process.

[Riku]

Almost as soon as her momentum came to a halt, even so, she leapt back to her feet and sighed across the way at the blonde. "...You damn, dirty, trickster! Why can I not sense you?" Touching down on the ground softly, she debriefed with a bit of sarcasm in her tone, "Because I'm not really alive." Taking a fighting stance across the way, she continued, "Take that as you will. ... Seleina, kid, what are we doing here?"

She was asking why Gosai. and Seleina were fighting this guy, of course. She hadn't been present for the news about the thievery. "...I suspect this idiot's done something incorrect. What is it?" "...Idiot?! You stupid..." the shinobi cursed her under her breath, and then performed handseals suddenly before charging, "I'll break you!" A shoulder check came almost faster than she could see, followed by a punch to the gut, and a palm strike that sent her flying through the air at high velocity.

No sooner had she sent her flying, even so, and she reappeared about her as smashed her in the back with a hammer blow the sent dust and dirt flying everywhere. Mocking boisterously the moment she'd floored her, she asked, "How do you like that, bitch?!"

Climbing slowly to her knees after she impact, and spitting Iron soil, she replied... pained but defiant... "...I've had little girls hit me harder than that." The insult made the Shinobi scowl again almost immediately, but she stood again almost immediately and smirked. "...Wanna try that again?"

chapter 7:

It was a very arid day. Being on Iron country only a short time, Hikaru couldn't tell if this was the normal weather or if a terrible drought had swept through; claiming the lives of every plant woman, woman, and child on the surface.

[Riku]

Almost as soon as her momentum came to a halt, even so, she leapt back to her feet and sighed across the way at the blonde. "...You damn, dirty, trickster! Why can I not sense you?" Touching down on the ground softly, she debriefed with a bit of sarcasm in her tone, "Because I'm not really alive." Taking a fighting stance across the way, she continued, "Take that as you will. ... Seleina, kid, what are we doing here?"

She was asking why Gosai. and Seleina were fighting this guy, of course. She hadn't been present for the news about the thievery. "...I suspect this idiot's done something incorrect. What is it?" "...Idiot?! You stupid..." the shinobi cursed her under her breath, and then performed handseals suddenly before charging, "I'll break you!" A shoulder check came almost faster than she could see, followed by a punch to the gut, and a palm strike that sent her moving through the air at high velocity.

No sooner had she sent her moving , even so, and she reappeared about her as smashed her in the back with a hammer blow the sent dust and dirt moving everywhere. Mocking boisterously the moment she'd floored her, she asked, "How do you like that, bitch?!"

Climbing slowly to her knees after she impact, and spitting Iron soil, she replied... pained but defiant... "...I've had little girls hit me harder than that." The insult made the Shinobi scowl again almost immediately, but she stood again almost immediately and smirked. "...Wanna try that again?"

chapter 7:

It was a very arid day. Being on Iron country only a short time, Hikaru couldn't tell if this was the normal weather or if a terrible drought had swept through; claiming the lives of every plant woman, woman, and child on the surface.

[Riku]

It was because of this she spent her spare time underground, where the hustle and bustle of the village life continued to flourish life found a way. Instead of spending her time adventuring or fighting, Hikaru decided to seize the opportunity of being on foreign soil to explore. she found strange glowing algae lining the cave walls, lighting the way to what could only be a new discovery.

The shinobi followed it to an open room with dissimilar colored glowing fungi, making mental notes of which types grow where. Until out of the corner of her eye she noticed a very large cluster of algae bouncing slightly up and down at the same rate of a heartbeat, never slowing down or accelerating though. Fascinating...

The sound of metal impacting the ground softly echoed and bounced off of the walls with each step Hikaru took, closing the distance between her and this surreal organism. As her hand drew near, and her breath held, the algae ceased to move up and down, and began to turn around. It wasn't a plant it was an Elder! Oh, excuse me. I thought you were a fun guy. If not for what happened next, Hikaru would have assumed this Iron country original had been down here for quite a while. But the creature began plucking the plant life off of her skin to reveal that she had just recently, and purposely, placed it on herself. "It keeps the skin young."

Hikaru shrugged her shoulders. After all, weirder things have happened. she followed the elder to a staircase behind where she once was and walked into a building to find Gosai and Seleina run out.Well, where are they off to in such a hurry?

[Riku]

The head honcho of the Elders tilted her head to the wall to reveal the sword she had recently retrieved, and the hint was taken Hikaru grasped the blade in her hands, swung it over her shoulder, and walked out the door to follow. she, of course, took her time. Seleina and Gosai would have to do this on their own (whatever it was) as payback for making the metallic adventurer execute the last mission almost on her own.

At least, until her ears picked up a movement of great speed. Whups.... Rushing off, but being very conscious of her sword not falling, Hikaru ran off towards the movement of Gosai and Seleina, mostly due to the fact the higher one kept disappearing and reappearing. It didn't take too long to get there, so she observed what was happening before rushing in.

If the two Shinobis got hurt, well... a painful lesson learned about rushing into battle. What she had learned and stored in her memory was that this green shinobi, that looked similar to Kathy, could shnshin and the two inexperienced fighters couldn't seem to let their attacks hit.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Hikaru slammed her fist into the fighter's jaw; sending her staggering back across the field. She also replied to her shock with a few badass oneliners... Hikaru was genuinely impressed. But she couldn't let her have all the fun. Deciding it was time to make her entrance, she casually walked across to the green woman and stared her down. Normally she'd make an awesome oneliner, but seeing as how one shinobi already did that, Hikaru didn't want to be redundant. Although she would have to talk to her about that later...

[Riku]

With a simple nod, Hikaru picked the sword off of the ground and tossed it underhand to the Shinobi fighter before pulling out her own. A point from the shinobi gestured the fight would continue, as she charged the foe with a horizontal swipe of the blade. Hikaru was speedy, but the shinobi was faster she easily shunshined out of the way. Even so, Hikaru simultaneously spun around and fired off an lightning attack; causing the thief to fall back from the force and unexpectedness. See guys? You were attacking where she was instead of where she was going to be. Leave this to the master.

Again, Hikaru fired an lightning attack at the cocky fighter who promptly shunshined in the usual pattern behind her attacker... and was met with the sharp end of her sword. For the entirety of this fight between Shinobi and Shinobi, Gosai had said nothing. But as she stared down at her once attached ligament with sword in hand, squirming around on the floor with purple blood moving about, she let out a sharp scream.

Hikaru now felt like a stumbling child who all of a sudden realized its powers, and walks for the first time alone; boldly and with an ego. A feeling of exultation took control of her as she grew daring and reckless, overestimating her own strength. she wasn't becoming something through deviant Darwinism:

she was simply embracing what was always there. Hikaru turned around with a huge grin on her face as she bowed towards the other fighters, cheering for herself as if the fight was over. But it was not. Instead of Gosai and Seleina learning a painful lesson, it was Hikaru as a sharp, flaming pain registered in the middle of her chest. she looked down with wide pupils to see a sword protruding from her sternum.

[Riku]

Regeneration is a bitch.

Suddenly everything became clear to the egomaniacal shinobi: she was being toyed with, given a false sense of power. she would've face palmed if not for the sword in her chest, which the girl promptly pulled out. Blood spilled down as Hikaru fell, blacking out with a smirk. Note to self... But she never finished her thought.

Hikaru watched carefully as Seleina engaged this new foe. she was speedy, and powerful. This wasn’t going to be easy. Hikaru heard a spike in their new enemy’s movement. “Oh no… she is even more powerful than we thought.” Hikaru said softly, slowly jumping down to the ground.

Suddenly Hikaru ran into view and slammed into this Goeki person sending her hurtling. she quickly recovered and continued her attack against Hikaru. Hikaru showed up and entered the fray with her usual cocky demeanor. Unfortunately her cockiness met its end as she was run through by Goeki’s blade. As Hikaru fell Hikaru’s anger boiled over, “YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!” Hikaru yelled as her energy burst forth and her chakra expanded to engulf her.

Hikaru rushed forward at Goeki catching her off guard. she slammed her shin into the side of Goeki’s head slamming her into the ground. she jumped up into the air and ran straight back down slamming her knee into Goeki’s back, pounding her harder into the ground. she pushed off again into the air, “CHIDORI!!!!!!!!!” Hikaru cupped her hands against her hip and pulled them forward sending her signature lightning attack into the back of Goeki from above. The beam slammed into the ground exploding on impact sending a huge cloud of dust into the air.

As Hikaru jumped in the air she watched the dust clear, revealing a instead of large crater.

[Riku]

Finally the cloud of dust at the bottom of the crater blew away and revealed a small pile of rubble. Hikaru sighed relaxing her shoulders. The rubble shifted and Goeki stood up out of the fresh hole in the ground, “Not bad kid…” Goeki said, brushing dust from her clothing. she removed her cape, which was smoldering. “Almost had me there, barely had time to defend against that attack.” she smiled up to Hikaru.

Hikaru’s pupils went wide, her attack was completely ineffective.

Goeki pushed off from the ground moving straight toward Hikaru. Hikaru put up her defense but it wasn’t enough. Goeki’s knee slammed into Hikaru’s midsection knocking the wind out of her. Goeki grabbed her by her legs and threw her straight toward the ground. she charged a small energy beam in one hand and fired it after Hikaru sending her into the ground with a significant amount of force.

Hikaru slowly pulled herself out of the fresh hole made by her impact and moved back into her combat stance. she looked over at Hikaru and nodded, then over to Seleina and nodded. “We are going to have to work together, none of us can take this girl alone.”

Hikaru rushed forward at Goeki preparing to attack her as a team with Hikaru and Seleina.

While Gosai and Seleina busied themselves with entertaining 'Goeki', the female shinobi darted away from the all too powerful Shinobi thief to the place where a certain overconfident swordsman lie. Stooping low with an intent to pick her up, she furrowed her brows at all of the fluid around the unconscious body of the other shinobi. She couldn't tell by looking whether or not the Shinobi had actually managed to hit anywhere vital but...

[Riku]

She had to assume she'd be okay. Shinobi were typically made of much sterner stuff than fleshy organisms, and Hikaru was even more of a machine than she was. Hefting her unconscious body upwards, and getting her arm around her waist, she brought her right arm around her neck for weight support. Surely if she were conscious she'd be having a fit right now at her being this close to her. If she weren't in the shape she was in, she might've slapped her too just for making her even think about it.

Pushing off from the ground, she ran out and sped away from the battlefield... attempting to get as far away from the danger zone as possibly with their friends vulnerable body. Despite having trained at Konoha's stress this past week, she could still tell she was much heavier than she was and it slowed their pace a bit. When she heard an explosion in the background, she was half tempted to turn and look to make sure the others were alright. But... the dead weight on her shoulders was a firm reminder why she should not do that.

Getting far enough away that she could no longer hear the sounds of battle, even with her sensitivity, Hikaru slowly lowered herself and the limp body of Hikaru down onto an empty stretch of land. The moment her boots touched the ground, she paused low again to roll her over onto her back... before immediately speeding away again toward the battlefield she'd just departed from. She would have taken her farther away, but, she felt that given how powerful this girl was... they were going to need her help again as soon as possible. Hikaru would, hopefully, be okay until then.

[Riku]

Tearing through the air with as much force as she could muster, the shinobi sped back onto the battlefield not more than a few moments after Goeki had sent the kid hurtling toward the ground. Stopping suddenly just a few feet from the Shinobi, she arrived like a small thunder clap as the sudden burst of energy she used to stop her momentum rent the air. The Shinobi smirked over her shoulder at her, with a touch to her lips. Wiping it away with one smooth brush of a finger, she chuckled darkly, "That kid actually managed to make me bleed. How insulting. she isn't even half of my movement..."

Turning her pupils back to the hole the kid had just sprang from, and arrogantly ignoring the other two fighters, she said... sounding almost forlorn... "Oh well. It just means I now have a reason to obliterate /all/ of you. ... Hahahaha!" The Shinobi shook suddenly with laughter, seemingly ignoring the kid's attempt at an assault. The moment the Shinobi kid got close enough to strike, even so, she simply blocked it with her forearm and grinned. "Not quite yet."

... and Hikaru appeared above her again, suddenly, looking to take advantage of the opening. Punching her in the back of the head, she sent the scroll thief moving... giving the kid time to nail her with another attack. She then immediately followed it by shunshining directly in front of her and slamming an elbow into her face and sending her hurtling toward the ground.

...Flipping right side up immediately, and skidding backwards across the dusty plain, the injured Shinobi ran at her again near immediately. "Diiiiiiiiiie....!"

Unfortunately, she made the mistake of attacking headon. She shouted, so quickly her words almost appeared to blend together,

[Riku]

Whilst making various intricate hand signs in the air and weaving a net from her own energy to hurl at the Shinobi. She would be attempting to use a technique the Elders taught her to attempt to paralyze her midflight.

...Surprisingly, the enarged Shinobi ran straight into the net probably hoping to be able to break it only to find she was left dangling helpless in the air. "...WHA...? HEY! WHAT THE..."

"Seleina! Hit her with it now!" She shouted toward their other companion on the sidelines, and immediately gave the kid a stern look, "Let's go! When that thing hits this place and everything in it is going to be dead." The moment she did so, she heeded her own warning and ran the hell out of dodge as speedy as she could. ... But not before grabbing the ancient scroll.

Once they had all managed to clear the area, Seleina unleashed the enormous blast of lightning chakra she'd been charging at the Shinobi who was still suspended in the air above the plains like a puppet on strings. Looking up into the blast, helpless to stop it, Goeki's pupils went wide and she opened her mouth to scream... but it could not be heard for the explosion that soon followed. An explosion that atomized her the moment it struck her and turned the whole area into a blackened wasteland.

...never turn your back on whoa what? Hikaru's pupils flickered to life as she observed her surroundings, carefully noting where she was. Or more of significancely where she wasn't. she turned her neck slowly as to not break anything, despite her having a gaping hole in her chest, and searched for Hikaru, Gosai, and Seleina. But she saw no one.

[Riku]

No signs of life. Nothing on her tool.. near her anyway. Two movements picked up not too far away, which she assumed to be Gosai and Seleina. But that didn't account for Hikaru and Goeki... had they done it?

Hikaru moved a bit, and stood up to find she was glowing. Well, part of her was anyway. she swiped the algae off of her chest to reveal the hole completely closed up. What the hell? Turning her head up revealed the same Yaidrait elder from before, and the only explanation she had to offer for her presence was: "It's good for the skin." This didn't warrant a shrug, but that is all Hikaru could do.

Perhaps this country was too interesting for the shinobi. she ran off to become acquainted with up with the others, and sure enough, Goeki was dead. Not that a body could be found... but the entire battlefield was imploded. she turned to look at Hikaru, who was well away from the scene. Guess this makes us even? Of course she had been the one to save her Seleina was in a rock for as long as she could remember, and Gosai..... Gosai just stood there.

But in truth they were not even. This was due to Hikaru's cockiness, and almost cost more than her own life. But it was a lesson learned better she know it now than later. With a nod of the head she gestured for them to go back to the Elder's abode while the metallic casa nova searched around for her sword before retuning as well.

Not but a day after they had finished retrieving the legendary Artifact of Iron country for the Elders, Hikaru found herself standing in the Elders chambers again. In this dimly lit room, nestled in the shadows,