Spoiler:

The darkened cloak that covered the individual well enough, no real show of if it was a male or female. The hood over the figures head hid what hair might have been shown and the mask was just as secretive of the individual in question. The land of Boufuugakure was no stranger to him and he to it, he had returned to Regnsky with no definite task in his mind other than the simple object of finding someone or something to bring into his possession, be it human or otherwise.

But that main thing was that he needed to find this thing first and foremost with no real other goal in mind. It was a typical thing for him and the occasional glance was thrown his way due to the garb that covered him so consolingly. The red clouds shifting with his walk as he moved through the streets and the swords crossed on his back in the form of a large 'X'.

Regnsky, Vex was here again; for no real person other than to inspect & re-imagine the fight she had with her mysterious friend; the fight itself had been a bit hazy for Vex, being berserked always proved difficult for memory and recollection of important events when she was fighting wildly. She wanted to know more about the masked figure and hoped that their previous battlefield might have some clues she could follow. This was her simplest line of reasoning, she didn't expect she could beat him with conventional means; even in berserked, he had gotten the best of her when most Jounin in her village had a terrible time keeping up with her, let alone not dying.

Today was a lot cooler than that day, she noticed immediately; she was trying to relive the memories of that day so she could regain a useful amount of experience with him from the battle. He was the first person who had truly bested her in a death match, but he had spared her... did he have no intentions of killing? Or had he just lost the heart for it? The man truly was a mystery, from his name to his appearance; though some of his skills were apparent enough to her now. Though he may have been able to hide his appearance, she would know him if they crossed paths again... he carried two large swords in the shape of an "X" after all. Much like her, but her weapons weren't fashioned in the X shape, rather they overlapped each other with Chastity lying against Vex's back with Wrath atop it, both of which weapons were hooked in a metal loop on her shoulder, especially designed for holding her unique weapon.

Vex stopped in her tracks and looked down, a large rat was scurrying across an open expanse; the creature had frozen in place and was staring her down. She slowly reached into her ninja pouch and pulled out a chocolate stick and stuck it in her mouth: she hated rodents, but wasn't afraid of them. She stomped her foot to startle the rodent and continued her walk. Around her was the ruined area of the village where her last encounter with the strange man had occurred, more specifically, where his massive Suiton jutsu had blasted her and carried her through the destruction of the buildings and ground. She stopped in the exact spot where the man had been standing when he had released the jutsu, she looked down the intended path where she had been blasted clear from the battlefield. He had still been able to see her even from the distance where the water had stopped carrying her... so, he had decided to let her live after all. But why?

She hadn't trained much since then, but she had done a few missions and now possessed some unknown potential- she hoped that she could fair better against the man now if she met him again in the future, but she still admitted to herself that she had a long ways to go. She relied too much on Wrath, she rarely used Chastity except as a basic weapon; it was a straight forward enough weapon, though misleading with its purpose. It was a fan, but also a sword- quite the unusual weapon... much like her mysterious friend who carried odd shaped swords.

---

Word count- 561

The cloak of the mystery man was one that few people did not know of. There were the occasional long glances but for the most part, he seemed to go mostly unnoticed. It was not too uncommon to see one with such weapons as his own though finding matches to them were unparalleled to say the least. It simply showed two things, that he was either a ninja or a samurai. Second that he was not some simple passerby. He would move off into an alleyway to which he would come to a stop.

Not to far off at the end of the alleyway was yet another road of sorts that held a few walking pedestrians but it was what was beyond that which caught his attention the most. It was a stretch of land that was all to familiar, one that would cause the figure to slowly tilt his head ever so slightly to one side as if to see it in a different angle. It would be then that something would come into view that would cause the figure to take his gaze a bit lower. It was a small boy, wearing torn shorts that came up to just above the knee's and a tattered shirt with several holes and tears along it.

The child stopped and simply stared at the mask on the man as if a contest had begun out of nowhere. The mask straightened itself and slowly, the figure began to make its way toward the child that seemed no more than seven or eight. Once he was a foot or so from the child, the figure would look straight down upon the boy, the height difference was too extreme. Neither spoke a word but it did seem like something was being broadcast between the two. Hate? Loathing? Sadness? What exactly it was, no one would know but the two but it was ended as the masked figure's attention was brought upward toward yet something else that would cause his hand to slowly bring it's way to the sword at his hip that would cause the boy to quickly look at the sword as if it was to be used on him but after a moment of nothing, the figure would move the boy to to side softly but keep his posture and his silence, she had shown herself yet again.

Vex kicked a few loose rocks from where she was standing, she had to admit that his jutsu and logic had been quite impressive; he had defeated her with one clean and precise jutsu after much toying. If they ever faced off again, she would not give him the satisfaction of toying with her- he probably knew or at least was suspicious about Wrath's ability... but surely he didn't know about Chastity. If she wanted to beat him, she would have to take him by surprise and use Chastity's ability to overwhelm him when he least expected it. It seemed like a good plan, if a little deceitful, but then again... that was the nature of Chastity.

She couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the irony of that, the irony of all of it. Her life was full of irony. Weapons that gave great power but caused her to lose herself, having such powerful weapons on such a weak girl: so weak that she struggled to use her own clan's chakra efficiently. She was a shinobi who was part of Boufuugakure, but wasn't actually from the village- even inside the village, she was an outsider.

She gripped her fists tight into a ball and clenched her teeth, people never wanted to admit she was powerful, even if with just her swords; the arrogant shinobi higher than her would not admit she had true talent because of their pride. All she could do was suffer through their teasing because she was only a Chuunin; but soon, she wouldn't have to put up with their issues anymore. She would become stronger and show them that they were no match. She had tried to become allies with people, but they always abandoned her or died on a mission; then only ones she could trust, were her clan's spirits that residing in her own body and weapons.

Wrath and Chastity, the spirits of her swords- ever her constant companion and torment, surely there until the day she died. It wasn't such a bad life, but she longed for more, for recognition of her potential and to attain true power. She was a lone wolf type of girl and rarely got along with anyone, especially males. Females were easier to get along with, but Vex had a nasty temper and most girl's couldn't stand her violent side- at most, Vex would have a few good rounds with other girls before they realized her true nature and abandoned her. Vex was alone and would be alone... apparently, this was her life's ambition, such a great untapped potential had such heavy setbacks.

---

Word count- 436

The masked individual stood in silence as he had done many times before. Never was he one for showing off in front of large groups of people. There was always the occasional individual that he was come up against that he would put on airs or show his skills in order to either impress or possibly bring down safety walls that all people tend to have when confronted by a stranger. He was even more so the target for hiding his face from the public eye. This was something that human nature called for, to not trust someone that could not trust his face to the open.

This meant that when he was let in over such obstacles that were already against him that he was find himself in open fields of friendship or at least, well acquaintances. His motives and his goals were his own but he would use ever person he could to achieve them. He didn't rightly care for the normal individuals, he was more into the special cases or people that he himself could use for the future. Sometimes it is his taking on these individuals that only made them cling to him more. But it would take a while before he would actually open himself to anyone other than a select few.

This was one such person. The masked individual would drift slowly toward the corner of the building as he would spot the sword and fan on the back of the girl that he had tangled with not to long ago. He had thought of simply not coming back to this place after what he had done. The scale was overboard but it was....relaxing to be able to do such things and know that he could be able to do it. But it was this girl that had caused the situation prior.

Usually he never had to worry about conflict as his appearance was one that gave off a bit a 'do not mess with' with the swords that he possessed. But the sword that the girl held was something that he was extremely interested in. He aimed to collect all of the seven swords of the sages but he was not above taking in other weapons as well. But simply taking a sword from a swordsman that was still alive would even put a bad taste in his own mouth and that was saying something.

He would look around and toward the sky as the clouds were ever moving. It would rain at some point, that was something that the land hidden in the storm had for certain. He would raise up and stroke the curvature of the mask. He would figure that simply attacking without prior reason would be a bit barbaric. He would turn and begin to walk in the same direction but parallel to the girl, picking up his own speed till he was along side her but still out of sight of the public but he was sure that if she were to look, his mask would be noticeable in the darkened alleyway.

Vex could clearly recall how skillfully the masked shinobi had tormented her during their fight, between showing great sword skill and playing her in the mist so well. There had been few other times when a Jounin had been able to so easily evade and counter, as well as right out match and overcome her skills. In those very few cases, the shinobi who understood the value of her sword Wrath had tried to claim it for themselves. Unfortunately, the weapons only worked for those of the Xanadu clan; both their blood and chakra were required, because the swords were directly linked to the spirits born with the Xanadu shinobi at birth.

Of course, nothing could anger Vex moe than someone trying to take her weapons, even if they were a heavy burden. They proved that she was still alive, they were given to her by her violently insane father who had slaughtered villages for no reason. He was a killer for no reason except to sate his bloodlust, he had even taken her along and gotten her used to killing without emotion.

She clearly remembered butchering a man to death when he had underestimated her. Vex's father had made her a crude knife when she was very little, while her father had been slaughtering villagers, Vex had strayed from riding his shoulders as he sliced people in half while dashing about. This time she was on the ground and a man saw her walking around in the mayhem; in desperation to save her, he had picked her up and began to run. Four short steps later, he had fumbled and looked down to see the knife deep in his chest. She had struck his heart perfecty. As he had fallen to the ground, she repeatedly stabbed the man until she was covered in blood; but the time her deed was done, her father returned and collected her. Both father and daughter had left that village covered in blood, unphased by the brutality of their pointless murder.

Vex shook off the dark memories, mostly because of her sweet mother. Vex didn't mind killing people, in fact, she still did sometimes when they angered or annoyed her enough. Her mother was a sweet innocent woman though, she had kept Vex's father sane for so many years... but after she died, her father changed and gave in to Wrath's maddening call. Vex feared that one day, her mind would break as well and she wouldn't be able to return to her sanity.

The sword was a foul gift, only given to her by birthright and in some twisted hope that she would carry on her father's maddened rampages. She had accepted the weapons from her father and lopped off his head  as he knelt and waited for it. He had been too old to be useful anymore and she knew it as well, he had even requested her to do it. Which she did of course, without emotion.

She cleared her head again, why were these memories springing up in her head so suddenly? She had managed to repress them for a long time now and she hadn't even used her swords' power in months; why was the nostalgic pull so strong today?

Just as she began to clear her head, she noticed something- a familiar figure in the distance with a crowd of people. She knew at once who it was, only one person wore such ridiculously suspicious garments and carried such impressive swords. Her rival! Well, she considered him her rival anyways; even though their last match had been a blood match and she could only remember bits and pieces of it. This time would be different, she was sure of it. She took two steps in his direction and then began to pick up her pace as she ran straight towards him within the crowd- she grabbed both on her weapons and leapt high into the air. She slashed diagonally downwards at the man with Wrath, not caring about the villagers nearest him, she kept Chastity in a reverse grip behind her back, in anticipation for a counter-attack. I have you now! We'll see what you look like behind that mask!

She would have been fine just talking to him casually, but he had hurt her pride last time they fought and she seriously doubted this man wanted to "just talk"

---

Word count- 732

The masked man was most curious about the girl. She had such a frail exterior but her strength said differently in terms of just how much her strikes hurt. It was surely something in terms of jutsu or some rare bloodline limit. The mere though of it sent a little giddy chill up his spine. It was like trying some new food or something, was it going to be good or bad? Was it going to leave a weird aftertaste or was it going to be sublime?

There were questions that few people would ask themselves when it came to this delicate topic but for the masked individual, it was something he wondered constantly with each new person he came into contact with. Was this person going to be any more special than the last person he met? Were they going to be just another passerby that would catch his glance for a moment and then fade back into obscurity?

All these questions and more would move their way into his mind with each passing though and each passing person. But this girl was surely something different. Her weapons and attitude deemed it so. She had to have something special, be it her blood or her skills with a sword or simply the swords themselves. It was something that he would figure out one way or another but at the moment, it would seem that he would be figuring something else out as his presence was known and she was making quite a dash at him, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed.

He would quickly draw the katana from its sheath and reach back to take hold of Ketsuekigasu. He would mimic her position almost exactly as his katana Chikyu-jin would clash with her massive blade, it taking the blow far greater than one would think given the size differences between the two. He held the handle of his massive sword over his shoulder with every intention of striking at her own fan-like blade that she held on her own back.

"Aren't we the hasty one. Ever so quick to start our little roles again. What would seeing my face accomplish?"

Hi Lee, mind if we pick this up? I'd like to explore Lee & Vex's interaction some more. I've just been very low on muse lately; I find that if I listen to techno music, I can get into the groove and pump out posts. Craving for a good fight right now, so how about it? :D

Of course he would be ready, this man was unusual and always ready for the unexpected. Even though her first strike had been fully frontal and brutal, due to the sheer weight of her sword- Lee had countered her sword with his smaller sword with little effort. She expected this though, Lee was a shinobi of skilled swordsmanship and renowned control over his actions and patience. Seeing the face of the person who matches my sword skill and then defeating him, is a goal I set for myself since our last battle.

Once Wrath had connected to Lee's sword, the weight shifted entirely, causing the weight from her sword to change direction even though Vex was still in mid-air. It was a skilled and tricky move, her position above Lee vaulted over him and landed behind him in one instant as she slashed with her fan Chastity- intending to strike Lee's arm before he could finish the counter he had intended to aim at her while she had been in front of him. She lashed forward over her shoulder with Chastity as she brought Wrath back around in a low-stance guard at her waist incase Lee countered with an under-armed swing from his hip with his first sword.

As her fan would strike, a boost of flames would burst from under her foot and blast her fifteen feet into the air. She pulled her arms and legs into a tight ball as she flipped higher into the air and then suddenly straightened out. She angled her descent down and pointed both of her weapons straight down towards Lee's head. The tip of Wrath suddenly began to glow simmering red like hot iron as she extended it down upon Lee's location. A fiery elemental blade appeared over Wrath as she nearly connected to Lee's location.

As she would connect, her weapon was hot enough to heat up her opponent's weapon or cause 3rd degree burns if it neared his body. It was a reckless move, very much a glass cannon-but she had a plan. Chastity blinked once and his jutsu became empowered; whereas it was a C Rank jutsu, the elemental blade would grow in size and heat, quite possibly over-compensating on Lee's plan of defense. Now the jutsu was A Rank and would explode in a fiery blast on contact. Once connected, the flames would leap out and catch anything near on fire, including the villagers, their clothing and their buildings. Vex had not yet mastered the difference in power of jutsu that Chastity allowed her, but burning down one village for the price of defeating this man was little to pay.

---

Word count- 442
Chakra- 85/150

jutsu:

The masked man held his ground, he knew the kind of power that this girl had and he was not going to assume her strikes were as light as she made them appear. She held a force like that of the winds on a frozen tundra. Destroying and taking over everything and if something got in its way, it would be buried beneath the onslaught. Behind the mask, the smile was ever present as she gave her reason. He never really thought of that to be someone's own goal and it thrilled him. Would she truly go so far to see his face?

She was a tricky one, that much was for certain. Due to her small frame, it allowed her movements and weight of her own weapons to her own advantage. He would have to make sure to pull out more than he did prior, she had already seen him in normal situations so she would surely aim to push him into a corner that he might not be able to come back from. He had too much invested in the future to let something like that happen.

She aimed to strike and take his arm and that was something he used a great deal. With a shifting of his wrist and hand, he would flip the katana around and protect his arm with the blade, his massive blade stopping in its own attack as she was no longer in front of him and kept his massive sword in a protection of his back with no real counter against her onslaught, better to play the defense so he didn't mess himself up.

But it would seem that she too was not done as she would rocket into the air and this would be his chance as he would release Ketsuekigasu from his grip as he would slap his hand against Chikyu-jin as he saw her coming down and the sword would take on a rock-like appearance. The burning heat from the look of her weapon caused him to take in a deep breath and with a flick of his neck, the mask would raise to reveal the long smile that soon turned into swollen cheeks. As the weapons would connect, the masked man's feet would crater into the ground and the heat from the weapons would radiate but that was his chance "Suiton, Suijinheki. Water Release, Water Encampment Wall!"

The torrent of water that would flow from his mouth would easily overpower the raging flames and protect those around him, more unknowingly than anything. The water would encircle the masked man and push Vex away but that was not all that was down as he would then take this time to use Shunsui (Instant Water) under his own feet to dash at her with his katana, swinging it as a simple strike attack, aiming at her weapons more than her but it would look as if he was aiming to strike her body. The torrent of water making any sort of massive offensive to be neigh.

Spoiler:

Chakra: 5 - 30 = 250/285

Vex was a reckless girl by nature and willing to do just about anything crazy to accomplish a goal once she set her mind to it; this man was the first male besides her deceased father which she found herself truly fearful of and respected. She disliked that part about herself, but she couldn't deny it either. This shinobi was very skilled and required her to go all out against him to stand on even footing.

She was fairly certain she had him now though, last time she had surprised him by her boosted physical features; surely he couldn't expect her to switch it up so drastically and perform skills through jutsu thought beyond her limit? She smiled, seemingly victorious as her heated strike came down. Half of her thought he would turn ad run from seeing such a deadly technique. Her victorious smile faded though as he stood his ground and used one of his weapons to negate her attack. A sudden change came over his sword and took on a unusual rock formation.

Her sword struck it solid and stopped, the impact of the explosion rocketed out sideways, spreading the fire and jumping to the nearby humans and buildings. The closest humans stopped running around in panic, their bodies suddenly covered in 3rd degree burns as they screamed and began their panic anew. Some ran about ablaze and others rolled in futility on the ground as they burned and filled the air of sweaty burnt meat. The houses instantly caught fire, their upper walls and roofs catching abalze instantly and going up in flames.

It was still late in the day and the sun had somewhat began to set but was still plenty of light. It gave off an eerie glow from the wild fires around the combatants, surrounded by agonizing screams and moans of the burning innocent bystanders. Everywhere Vex went, she left corpses. oooh! Nice block! I thought for sue you had him! Ahahaa! Wrath teased her. She didn't respond, fully intending to disable Lee before he could counter. Too late. Water suddenly rushed from his mouth and surrounded him, pushing her back with great force and keeping her at bay while he gathered his composure from her strike.

She pedaled backwards, half in the water and half on the ground; with a great effort, she freed herself by throwing herself backwards and running backward while facing Lee. He advanced hastily, his movement expedited by the water. His sword was raised, seemingly aiming at her body- she raised her bladed fan directly in front of her and tapped the water and provided a frontal shield from his glancing blow. Water was a great asset, but he had put himself at a great disadvantage against her, especially in her heightened state.

Electricity subtly flowed from her bladed fan and coursed through Lee's water wall and jumped to the water beneath his feet which propelled him forward. Normally, the shock would be very light and cause mild numbness for, but sing Chastity had increased her jutsu by 2-fold, now making the jutsu B Rank and the lightning to be extremely dense, more so with including the water's conductive power. Things would go terribly wrong to him before he could finish his sword strike.

Lightning would shock him if it succeeded, causing 3rd degree burns to where the electrified water connected to him and would cause heavy numbness for 2 posts. Vex would ground herself for safety because she knew how deadly electrified water could be. Electricity passed through Wrath and she grounded the weapon into the earth by plunging it into the soft dirt as the water splashed onto her. A foolish move if ever I saw one! she laughed loudly despite the nasty smell of burning flesh around them. Surely the electricity shooting from his water would be a flashy show indeed.

---

Word count- 645
Remaining chakra- 65/150

Spoiler:

The masked individual was not able to ignore that which was going on around him. The flames were something he had truly never enjoyed. This was one of the things that caught him about this girl in particular. It was an unrefined rage that actually held power behind it, a power that actually could be improved. The sounds of screaming was something that he was not fond of but was also not new too. While he would usually aim to save whom he could for future events, this was not such an occasion as he needed to take this fully and seriously.

He did not have to worry about the flames himself as he protected himself from them without worry. But this was not his full on plan but it seemed that she was not going to be going down as easy either. The sparks reminded him of what had happened in their fight and it brought back many things. To take her lightly would end in a very different outcome but to go out of his way to show everything he had just wasn't in him. He needed to find a way of ending this in his favor but without wounding her to an extreme. But to do that, he wasn't entirely sure on how this was going to be done.

She did not seem to be the kind of person that listened to reason and death was too simple for her. She seemed like she would fight even it off and his planning was only going to get him so far. The here and now demanded that he push the situation to its limit and see just what kind of gambler he was. He wasn't sure just how much further he would be able to go but he could not let his attack let itself up. He would continue forward as his own momentum would allow as he would continue his onslaught of stabbing motions, striking at the minimum of four times against the weapon as the electricity would hit his legs and the instant burning and numbness would strike.

This would be against his favor but to her dismay, the forward motion of his water jutsu. He would not let up his strikes on her guarding weapon. He needed to get them away from her at any cost but this was also to his advantage. She would speak to him about foolish moves to which he would reply "Then you have more to see Vex." He had to think of what he was going to do when he would come to a stop as his position would become more dire.

He would loosen his grip on the massive sword as he would soon act but the grip on his katana would be firm.

Spoiler:

For sure she ha him this time, she grinned with a bit of unease as she noticed the electricity start dancing from underneath and onto his legs. To her dismay, that didn't stop him however: it seemed his jutsu would continue to carry him forward regardless of the effect on his person. This man leaves no path unfinished it would seem... She thought to herself as she shielded herself against four separate sword swings of his. His strikes were not that heavy at first, but as they continued, it felt as though he was striking harder with each swing.

By his fourth consecutive strike, Chastity was extremely heavy and her arm felt that it would give out if she lifted it up more. Still, onward Lee's Suiton jutsu carried him, threatening to crash straight into her if se refused to budge from her position. She couldn't afford to become ungrounded with Wrath, for she would shocked as well. Plan your next move wisely girly! Wrath rang out quickly as the spirit realized the harsh reaction if she didn't think of something quick.

There was very little she could do however, for some reason- Chastity was far too heavy to wield. The bladed fan was naturally heavy to begin with and her body had been conditioned to wield it- but now it was at least four times heavier. Easily weighing three hundred pounds in its current state. Far too heavy for either of them to lift it without some jutsu assistance and Vex wasn't in the position to be able to switch her state's of power currently. With a begrudging growl and glare at Lee, she released her grip on Chastity and allowed the weapon to fall heavily onto the ground. She gripped the hilt of Wrath which was still stabbed into the ground and pulled herself out of harm's way. As Lee would pass by on his course with his Suiton technique, she would use her upper strength to lift her body up and over the right side, out of Lee's charge. Her legs would go above Lee's head, one leg performing a quick kick at his mask in an attempt to dislodge it, while her other foot aimed at his back, her heel attempting to strike deep into his lower back.

She would land on the ground behind Lee's charging position and stomp her foot on the heavy Chastity. She would begin to perform quick hand seals directed towards his back. She would mold chakra in her stomach and suddenly open her mouth and release three fireballs from her lips. These fireballs would increase in size to fifteen feet in diameter and capable of 4tth degree burns. These three giant fireballs would sail forward through the air and attempt to crash into Lee's back and explode ina large radius, creating charged ground and causing the nearest buildings to collapse from sheer heet and kinetic explosions of the fireballs. Vex was sure she had gotten the upper hand just now, but she could never be sure she truly did. This Lee was a smart and shrewd man: as such, she began to charge some chakra from her spirits  for her final technique.

---

Word count- 532
Chakra pool- 35/150

Spoiler:

The masked individual had put himself in quite the bind but it was one that needed to be made. He knew few things about this Vex girl and even less about her abilities. The few things that were for certain were that her weapons were things of beauty. The edges were razor sharp and the pure black appearance of them were an almost breathtaking sight. He had to know more about them, not just the specifics of the weapons themselves but of their origins, if there were more.

The thought of this only solidified the fact that he had to have her. He needed to find a way of bringing her down without death being involved but it was sounding more and more like a hassle. Not once had he had the luck of finding a weakness...that wasn't aside from the unbridled rage. But that wasn't the only thing but the other idea was something that he could try and act on so it was the shot he would have to take.

His jet had cut itself off as its need was only something to be short lived anyway. His body would not be able to stand on its own for long but he wouldn't really have much say so in the fact anyway as a well placed strike to his mask would ring in his ears and the heel that would dig itself into his back and send him further forward, the mask that he wore over his face would seemingly take forever to hit the ground. The flames that would be shot in his direction would aim to take his body and turn it into a black crisp.

He released the katana to his hip, the rocks falling off to the ground but his hand on Ketsuekigasu, water flowing from seemingly nowhere along its blade as he would then tighten as he would speak to himself "Hyouga-Ryū Sukuea." And with a swift slash to the area in front of him, seven foot high waves of torrential water would fire up from all sides around the once masked individual and the waves launching outward toward Vex in an attempt to extinguish the flames being the prior objective and protecting himself rather than trying to catch her in the technique as the sixteen foot gap between them would disappear almost instantly in the waves rage.

Jutsu:

Chakra: - 30 = 220/285

Vex was nearly out of her chakra and the fatigue was great on her body. She breathed heavily as she was standing behind Lee, his mask on the ground. Finally, the mask comes off! Now if only my fireballs don't burn his face... she said to herself, slightly cringing from her overuse of fire. She knelt down as her fireballs sailed forward, eager to catch a small break. That wasn't a break she would get though, Lee had recovered from her well-placed kicks and managed to counter her deadly fireballs.

She was secretly glad that he had managed to counter her deadly technique, she wasn't ready to kill such a worthy foe. He was a wise man, using Suiton techniques to weaken her fireballs. That wasn't enough though, as soon as the fireballs hit the waves of water, the middle one exploded and incinerated the water nearest it and evaporated. The other two, clashed violently with the water and were reduced drastically in size but still passed through the water on either side of Lee. They would explode, one taking a house with it, the other exploding in the dirt and burning any grass that was left.

Despite the desperate measures Vex had given to ensure her victory over the man, it wasn't enough and she was nearly at the breaking point. With very little chakra left, using much any more and she would pass out- but leaving things how they were now would men his victory. She gasped for air momentarily and then sucked in a long draft of air as she placed both hands on Wrath and stood up straight, prepared to perform a real sword technique. She had already concentrated on transferring the chakra from her spirit side and was now ready to perform her final technique. He hands Katon and Raiton well... but let's see how well he deals with spiritual chakra!

She smirked, casting her last chips on a bet she wasn't sure she could win. She dashed at Lee, temporarily abandoning Chastity as she held Wrath low to her left waist. She would rush the hot steamy area where the water and fireballs had clashed and dissipated. She swung Wrath in the air, twice in rapid succession- The first flash seemed unnatural, raising the hairs on her body as the first slashed slowed time in the area around the two combatants. The raging fires slowed down but did not weaken, a mournful cry of a burning woman turned to slow motion as vex finished the first slash. The sword was aimed at Lee's legs, attempting to force him to evade by moving aside or trying to block with his weapons.

The first slash was deadly but avoidable, it was only the set-up for the second strike which was more deadly. If he would evade in any direction, the quick second slash would barely miss his body- followed by a sudden red burst of chakra from her blade, the chakra- the spiritual chakra, erupted from Wrath. In the overlapping area of her second slash, twenty medium-sized crimson spiritual projectiles the size of windmill shurriken appeared and homed in on the evasion location Lee had made. This technique was B Rank in nature and the projectiles were much sharper and faster than the average projectile. Each projectile would be capable of piercing his body if they connected. The second strike was always more difficult to evade because no one expected such an unusual follow-up or the evil spiritual chakra.

After completing the technique, Vex dropped Wrath, much too tired to wield either weapon anymore. She barely had a meager amount of chakra next as she swayed from side to side only a few feet from Lee's position. Her arms dropped to her sides lifeless-like as her head drooped from a tired expression, her eyes still trained on Lee to see if her final attack hit or not. Too late, she wouldn't see what happened: she had been reckless with her chakra, trying to overwhelm her powerful rival and now she was paying the price. Her fatigue was too great and had caught up with her body. Her eyes closed before the projectiles found their target and she fell backwards, Wrath falling to the side. She lay on the ground, passed out, her hand subconsciously finding and gripping the hilt of Wrath and not letting go. Oh deary, Vexy went and passed out on us!

This is a dire situation Wrath, if this strange shinobi manages to survive her attack, there's no telling what will happen. the spirit Chastity said to Wrath, though the crimson spirit already knew what its silver companion was saying- both equally unable to do anything about it.

---

Word count- 785
Chakra pool-10/150

Spoiler:

With his mask gone, he felt something more inside of him. Something that was more akin to anger but not completely. There was also a bit of joy though it was a swirl of feelings. He did not like the fact of his face possibly being seen but at the same time, he could not worry about it fully and that meant he was more interested in the battle at hand than his identity.

He remembered when he wasn't one for secrets but people were too trusting to a liar. They couldn't show their true colors to someone that looked to be nice and calming. Someone who hides their face is someone that was the opposite, no matter how night he may act, it was nature to be skeptical. It was that doubt and skepticism that brought out the trust in others. They would state their thoughts about him and what they would not do, what they said was what they would mean.

They would be the perfect one's to follow him into the future. Once he had them, they would trust him and he would aim to bring them to their fullest. It was finding these people that aimed to be the most troubling factor. It was finding those that needed guidance and had that open hole in themselves, Vex was a loose cannon but a cannon none the less.

As the flames came into contact with the sword skill, the eruption would cause steam to burst forward and the area around him to either burn or explode. He would not let this chance pass him by, if he could not see her at that moment then he would assume the same toward her. No matter what, he needed to keep himself alive and for that, he would let the grip on his sword lessen. His hands come together in a flash of handsigns but what would come next was surprising.

Vex would come through the steam with the expressed intent on ending his life. Lee would move to the side of his blade, pushing against it as he would pull his fist into his palm as his sword would take the brunt of the attack but it would seem neither of them were completely through with their respective jutsu's. He would try and dodge backward and would move from the second strike but by a hairs breath as he would watch as it was still not the end as suddenly, what seemed like an onslaught of evil was upon him.

He would release the pull on the blood and extend his fist which was now covered in a thick red substance, commonly known as blood. It would rapidly expand to cover the area before in a thick wall that would seemingly root him in place as he be brace himself. The weapons would each systematically inject themselves into the wall that he he created in front of himself, the impact digging deep and even piercing through, one cutting along the side of his face, another actually piercing along the top side of his arm, another sticking along the side of his stomach.

These were not the weapon he had thought them to be. If they were the sword she was using, his chances would have been greater in his defense. This was..."Remarkable." It was a simple word but a word that he could only use to describe the entirety of the situation before him. He took more than a standard moment to see if their was another follow through or another explosion of some sort but nothing. Nothing but the sound of a body hitting the ground which was not something he could pinpoint as Vex or some poor soul that had been caught in the cross fire between them.

He would bring his fist back slowly, the thick wall of blood liquifying back into his system and the flames around them bringing full effect of what was going on and amidst all of this, Vex laid on the ground, driven to her limit but a limit that Lee wasn't sure he was very far from himself. Pulling out these sort of techniques was a feat in itself. He would begin to move himself toward her, his hands coming together in a flurry, sign after sign in an seemingly endless fashion.

He would stop just over her, his eyes opened slightly, glaring down upon the girl. The girl that had caused all of this chaos but more importantly, gave him such a rush. The handsigns stopped as the water around them, both on the ground and in the air circled before him and fired off a torrent of a cyclone of water. It tore through a burning building, carrying it along but taking a turn toward the sky, raising upward and bursting into a fountain of heavy rain.

His attention would then be brought back down to the girl, the rain pouring down upon them now. If she continued to live, as great an asset she may seem, she could cost him. His hand slowly reaching down, the fingers dripping from the rainfall but inching ever closer to her neck. It wouldn't take half of his strength to wrap his hand around her neck and with the subtle activation of his Kegaretate, her head would come clean off without less than a thought and it would be a problem gone. He could even take her weapons and use them for his own.

His hand would inch ever closer but quickly he would reach down, take hold of something and pull his hand back, bringing the cracked mask to his face. He would then reach down, placing a single finger on her shoulder "Kotsuniku." his vision growing dark but her entire body being outlined in dark red, her pulse erratic at best, many others around them were also in frantic states, some dim, lifeless but still. The other bodies around them, panicking and some of them still, dark and lifeless, blood leaving their bodies as he looked but it was the one before him that took precedence. "Miss Xanadu."

jutsu:

Chakra: 20 - 20 - 40 - 10 = 130/285