A Lion and A Bat

One could smell the scent of marijuana in the night air, smoking dancing in the moonlight as it ascended to the sky. He made little to no noise as he navigated to the meeting place, the tail of his long black leather jacket trailing behind him. His all black attire served as a camouflage under the cover of night. Only the moon itself offered a glimpse of the one known as the Black Lion of Kumogakure. His eyes were half closed and his neck length black hair a complete mess. With all his duties as a leader and his own personal plans, there was little time to bother with appearances. Though a bit out of his normal nature, this particular meeting guaranteed that less than noble appearance would be the least of his worries. Taking another hit of his blunt, he came into the clearing of the location. Even before doing so, Gambaldi knew exactly where to go. It was a natural habit to sense the chakra of others while masking his own. The element of surprise was something the Raikage had grown fond of, especially before a meeting. Appearing seemingly from nowhere usually put most at a social and physical disadvantage, a disadvantage that Gambaldi constantly capitalized on.

Across his back was the gift from his now dead rival. Even now the weapon seemed to thirst for chakra, like a shark hungers for blood. Up until now the weapon, known as Samehada, had been starved for chakra; left locked away until Gambaldi saw fit to reveal it. Today was that day. Tied to his waist on his left, opposite of his dominant hand, was the weapon that was synonymous with the name Black Lion, Masamune. The long katana was sheathed in a black cover and on it was a symbol carved into the wood fashion in the likeness of a lion's head. His left hand rested on the top of the hilt, as was his habit, while the right always remained free. A minor ploy that Gambaldi did to make one believe the left was his dominant side, when in truth it was his right side that he was most lethal. His anbu armour remained hidden from sight, carefully put on so that they remained perfectly hidden to all except those with an eye for such things. Only the anbu mask remained visible, tied to the right side of his waist by string. The mask serving as another means of knowing who the owner was being that it was fashioned to resemble a lion's face. For this meeting, this test, Gambaldi wanted to come as a fellow shinobi; not the leader of a village.

As he neared the man, lightning danced in the sky leaving a loud clap in its wake. It was as if the sky itself wanted to introduce the one who claimed ownership of this domain. The brown eyes of the Raikage looked upon the one who would be tested. Being a well read and well informed man, Gambaldi had done some homework on the man. What was learned seemed unreal, however. Notes suggested that the man was a creature rather than human, a monster if you will. The only fruitful information on the man was that he was one that few knew anything about. Needless to say this intrigued the Raikage, the desire to acquire knowledge was always something that outweighed even the man's desire for fame. Exhaling the smoke and flicking the blunt away, Gambaldi stopped a mere 8 meters away. "My apologies for my being late. The job of a leader is never done. With so much to do and so little reliable shinobi, it falls to me to get things done. Which actually brings me to why I bothered with this invitation. It has been suggested that you are a capable shinobi, one that can be viewed as reliable. Sadly, I am not someone who is moved by suggestion. I, Raionhato Gambaldi, will require something a lot more convincing if you are to have my trust. Of this, I am sure your aware," he stated plainly, tapping the middle finger on his left hand on the hilt of Masamune. "Though I already know it. State your name, my friend, and bring all of that bad ass monster rumors right here." As he finished his statement, Gambaldi pointed to himself with his right thumb, with a mischievous grin on his face.

[Sorry for the delay. Idk how much I know about you IC so if I put something that doesn't fit let me know.]

Fashionably late was the arrival of the Black Lion, whose physical presence was beaten to the area by the wafting smell of high-grade marijuana. It was a peculiar scent that Kazimir noted, turning around to face the advancing Raikage, who seem to came prepared and ready for the occasion. Although hidden carefully, the night did nothing to hinder the vampire's nocturnal sight capabilities. Kazimir took a deep breathed and blinked casually, although his eyes became solid black. He could not afford to waste any chakra, and simply initiated the Innate basic stage of his eyes. Of course, Gambaldi would not know the difference aside from his eyes turning black, and in that sense of possessing that information that the Raikage did not know was in its own special way an advantage. There was a strange sword upon his back, aside from an ornate katana he held in his possession. The sword-shaped thing had its own life force, something that weapons were not known to have. Could this sword in question be...

Kazimir's own ANBU uniform (which was his own Drăculești uniform with the clan's symbol over his left breast) was visibly on, if the Raikage could see well enough in the dark. He had not his mask, as he felt the need to keep his face seen for the time of the battle. It was shinobi vs... "shinobi", and even though Kazimir did not fully comprehend the custom of shinobi he felt that not hiding his face was a sign of respect... or something along those lines. As the clouds began to converge over the image of the moon, the landscape grew considerably darker. Sure, it was still visible for the human eye to see, but it was a job that required a decent amount of squinting. The Drăculești's fangs began to elongate, his nails extended into claws and his skin became grew a few shades paler. Kazimir's hair became unkempt and somewhat shaggy, and if he opened his mouth wide enough one could see his sickly purple tongue that had a devilish point at its end. Although Kazimir did not possess a physical arsenal of weapons and the like, he himself was a weapon of sorts.

When the clouds let the moon shine again on the sacred earth Gambaldi would witness the transformation of the vampire known as Kazimir into his more "natural" form. His voice was a few notes deeper, and seemed to carry two extra voices along. None of which, however, were pleasant to hear. They did not sound normal; daemonic voices they were, but it all came from a single throat: Kazimir's own. He breathed calmly and gave a wickedly-natured smile towards the Raikage. "Kazimir Romanov is my fifth name in the near five hundred years I have graced this earth with my unnatural presence." With that statement, he quietly and briefly noted the fifty meter difference between the two and nodded silently. With a single step advancing at Master Taijutsu speeds the Vampire would transmute his body into a cloven of hundreds of bats. All the creatures swarmed and flew with the same speed as the original form of Kazimir, flying straight for the Raikage. Strange it was to attack head on, but the Vampire felt it was needed to show just how ready he was

Jutsu Used:

Chiropterafication:

245 CP Remaining

Even before he could see him clearly, his vision only slightly hindered due to storm clouds blocking the moons light, Gambaldi could feel something was afoot. Already the mind of the Raikage was planning, several ways to begin coming as natural to him as breathing. Once the moon revealed the shinobi, Gambaldi hid his surprise behind a stoic expression. This man who claimed to have lived 500 years, this monster, was the real deal. He trembled with excitement and noted every feature the man known as Kazimir Romanov had. A man of many names is what he called himself, but that proved to be less impressive than one might think. At least in the mind of the Raikage. One name is all one needed if they were truly great. Despite his own opinions, Kazimir seemed proud of his names. The thought caused an even wider grin to come across the Raikage's face. His slightly large canine teeth gave him a more feral look.

The very moment Kazimir moved a muscle to step forward, the Raikage responded with the first of his plans. There would be one seal made by the time a swarm of bats was 8 meters away. The seal brought forth an identical clone directly in front of Gambaldi, only two feet away. By this time the bats would be a mere meter away, such was the timing of the Raikage. He wanted to ensure that they all well within range for what was to come. A second seal would send the Raikage forward by 16 meters exactly at a 60° angle. The speed of the jutsu would make it appear as if the Raikage had teleported from his previous spot. Continuing his first plan, he turned round swiftly and grasped a kunai with a flash tag on it. The tag was hidden from plain sight being that Gambaldi had it wrapped around the handle. This was to be the setup for his next attack. Matching the timing of the kunai being drawn with the right hand, the clone would explode. All within a 15 meter radius would feel the effects of the devastating blast, the more closer to the source the more deadly the damage. Dust and dirt would cause a temporary smokescreen that dissipated almost as fast as it came due to the increasing turbulent weather.

This was the simple hello the Raikage offered to his opponent. Never the type to underestimate his opponent, Gambaldi watched for any signs of Kazimir. The man was still an unknown to the Raikage, but there was still a silver lining to this. The Raikage was an unknown to the anbu and Gambaldi had intentions on using this to his advantage. "A man with many names," he said in a low tone, his eyes scanning the dissipating dust left behind in the wake of the clone explosion. "I only require one." Thunder would resound immediately after he spoke, the entire sky growing bright for only a moment as lightning danced in the skies above.

Jutsu Used:

[281.25/300]

From where he stood, the Raikage had a clear view of where his opponent was. In order to escape the blast, Kazimir used his clone as a means to jump up out of the blast radius. However, the clone would blow just as Kazimir had leapt off the clone. Gambaldi could see and recognize the jutsu his prey intended to use, and in response released the kunai he had prepared. The blast from the clone had served its purpose well by forcing the monster deeper into the Black Lion's trap.

The blast had granted Gambaldi a single moment to take advantage of the slightly disoriented Kazimir. The kunai would be thrown with speed and accuracy, worthy of one who has mastered such things. Gambaldi could easily see which direction his prey was jumping in and aimed, but not for Kazimir himself. In order to lock the final snare on this trap, a final distraction was needed. The kunai was aimed so that by the time Kazimir was a mere meter away from where he jumped, the kunai will be directly in front of Kazimir's head by at least a meter. The kunai would fly directly above the location that Kazimir's own clone had just been. Simultaneously with the kunai being thrown, Gambaldi would let out a defiant roar as he unleashed his jutsu. A blast of wind would come directly from Gambaldi's position and cause the speed of the kunai to increase exponentially. Reducing the time of the projectile meeting it's destination to a mere second. The roar itself being done for dramatic effect and personal enjoyment. The jutsu would be timed to the extent that the kunai alone would be caught in the range, this was to ensure that Kazimir would not be blown away as well by the jutsu. Once kunai arrived at it's destination, the hidden flash tag would ignite and cause a blindingly bright light to fill the immediate area.

Knowing full well what the effect of the lights would have on his own vision, Gambaldi shut his eyes and relied on his most reliable talent, sensory. It took no time at all for the Raikage to know where his prey was and immediately began to dash towards his direction. With his adrenaline pumping, the grin on his face grew wider as he closed in on Kazimir. He controlled his pace as he closed in, ready to respond at a moments notice; avoiding going full speed as a precaution. The technique he planned to use was so fresh in his mind that Gambaldi could feel his muscles readying themselves for what was to come. His right hand had already been resting on the hilt of Masamune ever since it let loose kunai. He had no clue how his prey would respond to the greeting, but that was part of the fun. "I may as well enjoy myself," he thought, still locking on Kazimir's chakra.

Jutsu Used:

[273.75/300] Chakra Reserves

Topic Voided Due to Kazimir quitting.