Hunting Grounds

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A forest surrounding the mountain outcropping of the Howling Wolf Village. It is a densely forested area full of herbivorous animals with only a few predators to balance out the eco-system. It is ultimately kept in balance by predation of the villagers themselves who go out routinely to hunt animals and gather medicinal plants. There is a large river which seems to have wound its way through the area and is often used as a camping spot for those who find themselves outside the village for the night.

As the sun set, and the light over the mountains was shone only by the full moon, the tall male called Lo'lo' from the Howling Wolf Village wandered into the hunting grounds for his second round of the day. There were only five hours until the moon shone directly overhead, which left him plenty of time to gather food for the village before the promised hour.

As this man from the village in the mountain set out to hunt his prey, he was himself being hunted. A young girl who was a bit taller than average and dressed in almost all white was prowling a great distance away. She'd taken the high ground and was perched in the branch of a tree down wind. Her eyes activated at the full moon state so that they were pupil-less and white as she traced this man's chakra around the area. She'd been watching his activities in the village and for it, for about two weeks and she knew for a fact that if she had to hunt one of them, he was her best option. Even so, she hadn't quite decided the best time to strike. She seemed constantly at the ready, her hand hovering over one of her blades as if waiting for the perfect time to strike.

A few minutes passed, and Lo'lo' would be found by the riverside, crouched at the shore. He had made quick work of a few deer by simply chasing them down and snapping their necks, and currently had them rope-tied to drag behind himself. Now, it was time for him to rest for only a moment. As he leaned over the river, his bare right arm reached out, and he used his hand to bring water to his mouth for a drink.

Aiko continued to watch as this man she was stalking hunted and killed for his family. Still she knew he had to die here, and as such she exhaled. In this moment she watched him drink from the stream she knew his guard was at least somewhat down. With this in mind, she figured a quick and easy strike would be enough to take down this man as he was, and push her a step closer to her own goal. Given the limitations placed on this particular trial, she would rather avoid close combat, if at all avoidable. As such she soon launched herself forward from the tree, drawing her blade in a single deft motion she aimed to behead this man in a single swirling strike of the katana, in order to give him a quick and painless death.

As he drank, Lo'lo' heard something abrupt occurring in the distance. A special trait of the Kouga clan which allowed them to rival the Oborozuki, was their heightened natural senses. Lo'lo' could not only hear the shifting of Aiko in the distance when her movements began, but also the drawing of a sword. The sounds reaching his ear gave him enough information that he could even tell the size, weight, and velocity of his attacker. "Muda muda!" he yelled while turning toward Aiko and, with seemingly flawless timing, opening his mouth with the intention of snapping through the girl's blade when he closed it again.

Aiko would have been very surprised by the reaction speed, if she hadn't already been warned about the prowess of this clan. Even so, she couldn't say she was absolutely used to such speedy recovery from anyone not in her normal circle of training partners. What was very surprising however was the action which came to snap her blade. Though this was one she crafted herself, it was well above standard quality. "Sou ka... that was pretty unexpected," the girl mentioned, now fully understanding what Youko meant when he said they couldn't be hunted. Unlike most who would have been completely distraught by having their blades snapped, she simply looked hers over before placing it back into its sheath. She still had another, so it wasn't as if she was completely defenseless though given the state of her first blade, it would probably be for the best if she didn't risk the second unless she absolutely had to. The white haired lass possessed all the poise, and stillness of a good shinobi. She didn't let a single setback change her overall goal. Instead, she began planning around this particular setback. 'Alright, ridiculously strong, very quick reflexes, hearing has to be about as good as my sight, and.... he's about twice my weight and a good foot taller than me,' she thought to herself. The girl could almost face palm her own decision but it was far too late to turn back now.

After chomping through the blade intended to take his head, Lo'lo' got a proper look at his assailant. It was easy to determine what clan she was from, as his and hers had been mortal enemies for generations. "Didn't expect another one of you to show up around these parts. Haven't seen one of ya' since I was a kid." he said, unknowingly referencing Katsuhara Youko in particular. "Not gonna lie... I've been hoping I'd get to run into your kind. C'mon then. Let's have a bit of fun!"

"Sumimasen..." the young girl apologized. Not because she felt bad about this particular moment, but because he'd been exposed to such a thing when he was much younger. Having such experiences herself she could at least empathize with the damage such an upbringing could cause a young person. Beyond that point, it seemed like this man was apt for revenge. This was something Aiko could at least understand, given her own way of dealing with her past problems. Even so, she had something she needed to do, and as such she couldn't help this particular situation. "If that's what you want, who am I to argue," the girl mentioned, she was still just as calm as she had been. Her hand hovering above her secondary blade she moved forward again at increased speed, but instead of drawing the weapon, she lowered herself a bit aiming to kick the man's legs out from underneath his person. Apparently this young girl had no problem being the target of this man's rage, in fact, she wanted to use it to figure out the point of this trial.

"That's the spirit." With that said, Lo'lo' immediately went on the defensive against the white-haired girl. Her feint maneuver with her sheathed sword would have likely drawn defense to the wrong location with another type of opponent, but being of the beastly Kouga clan, Lo'lo' fought using his instinct alone. All of his reactions came at the last possible moment, evidence coming when he hopped over Aiko's leg just before her sweep would connect. Immediately following this, he would descend with his right arm outstretched, aiming to drag a long pair of claws down Aiko's fore. "Don't worry. I'll keep your head as a trophy, so your kind stops coming here just to hunt us down!"

Aiko was trying to sweep this man's legs out from under him. He apparently was up for this fight regardless of what the girl tried. Even so, his reflexes were quick enough that a feint as simple as the one she tried made him counter instinctively hopping over the sweeping leg and aiming to bring claws down upon her torso. The girl's first reaction would be a rolling maneuver which would take her out of the line of the strike leaving the man to strike the ground where she'd once been, but she didn't miss the use of claws by the man, and thought of how he probably managed such a thing. Her speed was just a bit better than what would be expected, and as such as long as she was careful she'd be able to dodge most heavy damage. She'd recover quickly as well, standing again hearing the man's statement made her smile. "I mean, that's good, if you can. I collect weapons as trophies so I understand that. But I doubt anyone else would be coming here anyways. We killed the rest of them ages ago," she wasn't taunting this man, she simply didn't intend to die here, and such was always her attitude.

"All of 'em, huh? That's the kind of power-hungry shit that makes me hate your kind, and you're all the same." After having his claws burrow into the ground, Lo'lo' withdrew his arm and turned toward his challenger. He seemed to have much disdain for this girl's clan, but in fact, he had every reason to. With a powerful movement of his armored left arm, he jabbed in Aiko's direction. He was too distant to land a direct attack with his fist, but the gauntlet he wore sent his chakra forward like a bullet, adding range to his assault. This movement was repeated many times over in leading strikes aimed at the white-haired lass. "Let's speed this up a bit. I know your kind doesn't know anything about this, but I've got family to take care of."

"Power-hungry?" she questioned this because it seemed like a very strange thing to say, but after a moment of thought she remembered how the Blood Cult tended to do things. Given this she supposed she understood where he'd get the idea that everyone who was from the family was that way as well. Aiko herself wasn't any such thing, but this man had no reason to know this. "Sou ka," a small smile came to the young woman's face, she'd indeed chosen the right person for this, because he would fight the same way she would and likely for similar reasons. She also carried quite a deep grudge against the Blood Cult for similar reasons.

As if to affirm the girl's suspicion, he went on to do something she'd never seen before. She found herself soon dodging multiple hits from a distance as she watched Chakra travel towards her at speed she was able to keep up with but that was something else entirely. She now felt a bit slighted by this experience considering she assumed she wasn't allowed her own weapon because of things like this. 'Hmm, something about this seems unfair. Whatever, I'll tell Onii-sama about it later.' she thought as she dodged yet another attack, all of the girl's movements were taking her closer and closer to the man mostly so she could position herself around him. Once she was in position, she'd draw the broken sword swiftly aiming to jab it into the shoulder of his left arm arm, with all the accuracy and force she could manage. Her aim to slip between the armor plates and disconnect muscle tissue so he'd lose control of the arm. She needed this barrage to stop while she wasn't able to use her normal means to counter it, and a critical injury was enough to make most things easier to kill. To his final statement though she had but one thing to say. "Iie, taking care of my family is exactly why I am here. It's why we killed the others, and it's why I knew it had to be you."

Aiko's response seemed to strike a nerve in this man. As such, when she drew her broken sword to stab at his shoulder, he actually chose to push forward and meet the blade's penetration head-on. As it dug into his shoulder, he reached out with his right hand with the intention of grabbing the hand of Aiko's which held this sword. This was aimed with enough force and proper placement to force her into releasing the weapon, or remain in his grasp as he raised his right leg to kick at her torso with much fury powering the strike. All the while, his already beastly physical qualities seemed to be intensifying. "Don't give me any of that shit! You can't help anyone by hunting another human who isn't threatening the lives of anyone else!"

Aiko found this man's reactions to her statements to be very strange. That being said, she could sort of understand them, she'd had similar kinds of problems when she'd been fighting her own mother at some point in the past. Even so, she soon found that her broken sword had indeed met its target, but that wasn't enough to stop the man. Instead he moved to grab her hand at which point she let go, simply because the idea of being captured wasn't at all one she was alright with. Once she had the kick which was coming towards her was one she met with her now empty hands sending her flying backwards unharmed and barely winded. Though this was a lot of physical exercise it wasn't anything the girl couldn't handle, though the pressure of it send her a great distance away. Not that it mattered she could still see her target growing in a way she hadn't expected, and knew for a fact he could likely hear her. "Normally, I'd agree completely. But, I know that sometimes deaths which don't seem necessary are the most necessary. Like I said, after this, it is likely such a practice will likely be all but forgotten. If my own life would work for this, I would have given it already," the young woman explained as she moved forward, until she reached a reasonable distance in which case she'd slide under the man's legs then rise, aiming to retrieve her broken blade from his shoulder while jumping into the air. 'He will probably become whatever beast he is soon, but if I couldn't kill him with a swift strike in human form, I got no idea how I am going to manage a proper kill against anything bigger.'

Lo'lo' had successfully created distance between himself and his opponent, which freed him up to continue his barrage. However, he did not resort to use of the gauntlet again. He was beginning to grow, which was something that made him discard the gauntlet altogether. "I don't buy any of your shit," he said as the girl began her next charge. During her approach, he used his right hand to retrieve the broken blade from his shoulder, slashing out with it at Aiko's head. Sadly, with her aim to slip beneath him, his attack drew nothing but air, though she would be rendered incapable of retrieving her weapon. In fact, as deep crimson fur began to sprout from the body of Lo'lo', his hand became large enough to crush it. Moments later, the man would increase his growth rate exponentially, until reaching a size which rivaled even the Tailed Beasts. This form was bipedal, somewhat lionesque, albeit with wolf-like features in its jawline. His hair and musculature retained their original aspects, but his strength and weight alone were enough that his first step left a crater in the river he was near. "This is what you wanted!?" he bellowed. "Fine! See how worthless your efforts are against a Kouga elite!" Marking his own words, Lo'lo' swung downward with his right fist, aiming to crush Aiko within another crater. Even if she were to avoid this, the raw force of the attack was great enough to produce a massive shock wave, blowing over trees far from the point of impact with the ground, and scattering debris across the hunting area to add additional threat of injury.

"I know, I wouldn't believe me either... I've been in the same position, so I won't really push," the girl said, surprisingly understanding of this entire situation. If it had been any different, she likely would have helped in an effort to atone for the sorts of things this man had been through, but right now she knew there was nothing she could do. Instead she was barely able to get out of the way of a coming attack which would end with the man hitting nothing but all but shattering the sword she'd created. 'I guess that cements in the no weapons thing... gotta beat a guy way bigger than me without using a weapon or proper ninjutsu, Onii-sama, these people are too much,' the girl thought as she twisted and jumped away. Of course, in doing this she was able to witness the transformation of this man into a beast unlike any she'd ever seen before. It was actually quite stunning, and his yell to go along with it, gave her an odd feeling inside.

One might have thought Aiko would have felt bad about this killing of a random stranger, but she realized long before this point that killing was simply part of life, be it for food or for safety it was all part of long term survival. But everything deserved respect and right now looking at this giant man, wolf-lion, she could do nothing but appreciate him as a being. "Sugei!~" she seemed stunned by the sight, and if the man wasn't trying to end of her life right at the moment, she probably would have spent more time questioning this massive form. The way she figured, this man would be about as big as she was, if she turned into Shukaku. Which suddenly made one of the other stipulations of this particular endeavor a bit more clear. 'Really? They want regular people, killing bijuu sized beasts... for no reason at all? I wonder how Onii-sama actually managed something like this as a kid?' she mentally questioned as she found herself hopping away from the coming attack and having to draw blade to deal with the coming debris. Much like an earlier match up she spun the blade quickly slashing through various bits of things directly in front of her, to protect herself from damage, all without this sword having any particular abilities. This was simply a matter of skill, an ability to apply the pressure of her swings in a very specific way.

His fist failed to connect, but Aiko was left dealing with the debris from the shock wave. This did not cease his efforts, as he immediately followed with a swat of his left hand at the girl's new location. If he could not crush her so easily, he would aim to eliminate her by sending her crashing into the mountainside with more than enough force to shatter most, if not all bones in the human body. Whether this swipe was successful or not, he would follow with a mighty roar, which unleashed a gale with power rivaling that of a high-tier Wind Release technique, meant to accomplish anything his swat could not.

Aiko had very little time to think in the front of her mind, because soon enough the beasts large hand was flying towards her again. She jumped this time, landing atop it as she strode forward with light steps. She wasn't allowed to be a ninja, she wasn't allowed to use Shukaku, obviously she needed to resort methods she'd consider less conventional. All the avenues she'd normally use, were being cut off from her, but she tried to remember what this trial was set to prove. 'Alright, I am hunting something which by definition I shouldn't be capable of hunting...' she thought as the follow up roar sent her flying back towards the mountainside. As she flew she sheathed her weapon and took a few moments to gather her thoughts the impact which should have been jarring for her flat body would be tempered by movements meant to help slow her down a bit as she used her feet and legs bent at the knee to cushion the impact though it'd sent a shock-wave clean up her body which would stun her for a few seconds as she tried to recover. 'Hell, the only way I'd be able to do this, is if I was a beast like that myself...' she had this absent thought as she started to fall away from the rocks surface and towards the ground. "Oh... " she said as she made contact with the ground arms first.

If hitting this man with a sword wasn't an option, she'd have to use her body. But her body couldn't take any real damage. She'd have to try and stun him with something which wasn't part of her ninja arsenal. As her hands made contact with the ground claws were created from her extended fingers. She'd not done this consciously it was simply done as an after thought of the idea that she needed to be beast like. Her eyes glanced downward and she saw the difference remembering an odd skill possessed by Youko which she'd never thought much about. 'Oh, that must be what that is...' she thought. Still, she couldn't wait to see what happened, she ran towards the man again, this time, she didn't slide down she ran towards him aiming to hit him with her hand extended in an almost dagger like fashion in the right side of his torso. As she did this, she forced her own yin chakra into these newly created claws to add damage and would unwittingly try poisoning the large beast of a man. It was not a conscious thought, but an instinct, picked up from fighting against such ridiculous odds.

Lo'lo' failed to connect once again with his swatting maneuver, but his roar seemed to at least serve his purpose of pushing the girl to the mountain. When she landed, though, she showcased an ability much like his own prior to the full transformation. In this form, Lo'lo' feared no damage from this girl. As far as he was concerned, she had come less prepared than those he'd heard of in his childhood. Her claws dug into his fur and flesh without so much as a hint of resistance, with Lo'lo' thinking nothing of it. He swung his left arm around, aiming to crash his forearm into Aiko as she flew by. As he moved, though, he began to grow weaker than he was mere moments prior.

Aiko seemed to have adjusted to this new ability of hers, her first strike connected and she knew given the feeling of her hand. She found this kind of direct damage to be a bit barbaric but, she supposed she didn't have much choice, given she couldn't lose another sword before returning home. Soon enough she was ducking under this man's left arm and attacking again, but she noticed that there was much less force in the arm of his as it went over head. "Nani?" she questioned aloud. This wasn't what she expected, but she couldn't let fortune like this go to waste. She shifted around his person aiming another deep puncture towards his left kidney hoping to finally fell him. Or at least keep him from attacking. She didn't know what to make of his new ability of hers, she could only assume it was some sort of poison, which only made her wonder how long this man's death would actually take. 'Sou ka, to hunt a great beast, become beast-like, and injure it with something it can't fight against. That kinda makes sense... I don't get why against people though...' she thought after the fact.

While he could not see whether his arm connected with its intended target or not, Lo'lo' felt the girl's claws pierce his flesh once more. This confirmed that he had not landed the strike. Also, with Aiko's second claw attack, he was able to feel the effects occurring within his transformed body. His flesh was being eaten away by this acidic substance, and it was weakening his nerves long before this erosion even began. Somehow though, his fur remained intact. "You've got some nasty tricks. Whatever. I'll crush you anyway, and we'll all have you for dinner!" It seemed, the longer this man was in this form, the more primal he became. His next action was to turn toward Aiko and perform a simple clap, though he did so with enough power to send another gale her way. In doing this, his left arm ceased to be of use, as if the poison was strong enough to eat through the entire massive limb in only about a minute.

"Sumimasen, I didn't know I could do that until just now," the girl said in a strangely apologetic fashion. As she looked the man over she was able to confirm the movement of her chakra within him as a poison but that was a bit stranger than normal. It was like her own was taking over to an extreme extent and soon enough she'd get confirmation of this. The man's clap soon came her way, sending a gale force blast at the girl which she couldn't really avoid. She was sent flying away but much like before she was able to brace herself so she didn't fly into anything massive. "And please tell me, it is the beast thing getting to you, and you don't actually eat people." she added when she stood again dusting herself off. She was approaching the large beast again, but she seemed to be doing so much more markedly. She knew this man to be more the warrior type, informing him of his impending demise likely wouldn't go over well, so she readied herself for her final stand. She stood in front of him and exhaled once slowly but surely, and then she launched herself forward, aiming to strike again, this time in about the place this man's heart should be. She aimed to kill him with this strike and hopefully end his suffering.

By the time Aiko questioned his most recent threat, there were no more words to come from the man known as Lo'lo'. It seemed this transformation had indeed taken hold over him, which had been the downfall of many of his clansmen, unbeknownst to him. The implementation of Yin chakra to the body had woken the dormant beast within, taking away reason with each passing second. Otherwise, he likely would have done something about the attack encroaching upon his heart, having realized the poison had an effect on him. But, alas... he was struck. A mighty roar reached to the sky as his own veins carried the poison throughout his body, degrading him from within. Soon enough, the screams would die down, and nothing would be left of Lo'lo' besides a massive pelt of fur.

Aiko's final strike found its home, just as this man became more beast than human being. She didn't doubt that he likely would have tried to consume her if he'd been given the opportunity, but this time, it wasn't to be. His cries rang out over the night, and unlike most, Aiko stayed and watched as this man met his demise. She didn't feel particularly bad about this situation, and instead took a deep breath after having the entire situation finally end.

"Yare yare, Onii-sama didn't tell me enough about that, it was actually sort of dangerous," she muttered just before she opened the scroll she would use to seal away the giant fur left behind by the man. The poison she possessed by virtue of existing was quite unlike anything she'd ever figured possible. Even so, she rather calmly used the seal to make her kill something more convenient to carry. Once she was finished she tucked the scroll back into her obi and looked around at the mayhem created by her first real hunting experience. She took note of the remaining things belonging to this man, a gauntlet and a set of armor which she propped up using the scabbard of her shattered blade. She wasn't a collector of armor so she thought to leave it in memorial to the man she'd killed here. And when she was done she sighed. "Ah, it's gonna take like two weeks to get back..." she thought as she started to walk through these woods towards her destination, once she reached a different space, she'd take an easier method of travel.