A/N: So, the action in this part can be mainly contributed to @Arctic_Sky. She and I (since these villains were originally designed during one of our rps) RP'd this scene to help me with the action. I've had trouble writing fight scenes recently- hence the slow updates- and thought the RP would help, which it did! So, you can contribute the majority of Yo's actions and lines to her! I did add a lot, however, and the ending is entirely mine~

Earlier

Tenten tore herself from her thoughts- this was no time to get caught up in their chances of winning. Rather, she gathered chakra to her hands, dropping one to a clip on her waist. Seemingly less than concerned by Tenten's actions, the man simply sent her a lazy glance before settling his gaze on where Jun was still attempting to draw air into his lungs Rather than attacking once more, he bent down, a large grin forming on his lips.

"Wolf-chan~ I haven't had any fun yet and you're not dead!"

Jun snorted, opening his mouth to snap a witty response. At that same moment, however, Yo spun away as his face lit up with an even brighter expression.

"Is Wolf-chan's girlfriend any fun?"

"You're fighting me, not her!"

Even as the words escaped his lips, Jun forced himself to his feet. A spark of pain cut through his torso at the movement, causing him to draw in a sharp breath. The reason behind the pain was obvious- he must have injured something, be it when he went flying through the wall or when the initial blow landed. Either way, it would be troublesome to deal with.

Tenten, rolling her eyes at the words of the two males in the room, simply pressed the clip. The edge of her scroll fell into her fingers and she whipped it out in front of without an ounce of hesitation. A cloud of smoke appeared from the scroll as an array of weapons shot from the paper, each easily dodged by Yo as he seemed to flicker out of view for a moment. When they managed to spot him again, he'd fixed himself to the wall opposite to where Tenten and Jun stood, chakra gluing his hands and feet to the decaying wood. She released the paper- eyes narrowed- as he simply let out a whistle of appreciation.

"Not bad, Kitten-chan~ You've got a cute purr!"

Then, without warning, he launched himself from the wall in Jun's direction. He'd far from forgotten the boy's earlier comment, a maniac grin in place behind his mask as he swung himself into a roundhouse kick towards Jun's chest.

"And I'm fighting both of you, Wolf-chan! That's the only way you're gonna last more than five minutes!"

"You're underestimating us."

Jun- pushing his pain to the side- flashed a kunai from his pouch just as he braced his feet against the ground with chakra. The blade was positioned perfectly in-line with the man's kick, if the blow landed the kunai would have left a bloody, open gash in the limb. Changing course last second, Yo twisted his body to catch his hand against the ground and propel himself over Jun's body, flashing a kunai out as he moved with barely visible speed. A hiss of pain escaped Jun's lips as the blow landed, cutting deeply into his shoulder and sending crimson oozing to the surface. Almost on their own accord, his fingers snaked up to press against the wound in an attempt to press back the flow of blood.

After all, the memory of how the events with Sadou had ended as a result of a similar wound was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't let himself get into a state like that again- a fuzzy mind was far too easy for Kurai to invade. Even as these thoughts crossed his mind, Yo landed in a low crouch just behind Jun. His sandals skidded across the wood, the speed of his actions making it impossible for him to instantly stop.

"Underestimating?" he questioned, his head cocking to the side as that grin curled his lips up on the ends once more. "Wolf-chan, I wanted to call you Tora-chan for a reason, you know? You're interesting- not like Kitten-chan! And I'm just playing along, now!"

Jun gritted his teeth, dropping the hand and digging a kunai out with its bloody fingers. The second he lunged forward with full intentions of sinking it into Yo, however, the man straightened as he sent a series of shuriken flying into the weak ceiling boards. The impact did exactly as he'd expected- sending clouds of debris and dust flooding the room. Jun's hand cut uselessly through the now empty air- a place where Yo had been standing only moments before.

The answer to where the man had gone came within seconds as a sharp, pained noise came from Tenten's direction. Jun cursed his luck, turning to face the situation. What met his eyes was the cloud of dust the debris had thrown up- blocking all view as Tenten sent shuriken flying in Yo's direction in reaction to the kunai that was now buried deep in her thigh. Blood drenched the wound, but the second the shuriken had left her hand she leaped back in hopes of putting distance between her and the criminal.

The moment her foot touched ground she was almost sent pitching forward from the pain that surged through the limb. Blood continued to gush to the surface and her hands dropped to the wound as she barely steadied herself. Within seconds the weapon clattered to the ground, her fingers pressing against the spot that had already managed to coat her leg in enough blood to mat the majority of her pants to the trembling skin.

Seeing all of this as the cloud of dust began to clear, Jun instantly began flashing his hands through signs, aware that the fight had suddenly grown a time-limit. In an almost uncaring gesture, Yo simply flicked a kunai over his shoulder towards Jun as his feet began moving, taking him slowly closer to Tenten.

"Nuh-uh, Wolf-chan! Not gonna work! Illusions are easy for me to feel, just so you know!" he announced, a giggle escaping his lips as he hooked a single finger up to slip his mask away from his lips to betray the demented smile coating his expression. "Now, Kitten-chan... ready to give up? 'cause you're lookin real pale! Like you're already dead!"

"Tenten?" Jun called out as he dodged the attack, the words sparking a strange tightness in his chest that had nothing to do with the pain still stabbing him from whatever injury he'd occurred earlier.

Much to the sinking feeling in her chest, Tenten realized Yo words were probably far from false. There was far too much blood spilling from the wound for her comfort, she could only feel grateful that she hadn't dropped on the spot- that meant the kunai hadn't nicked the artery that would have had her dead within seconds. Still, she offered him another roll of her eyes as she forced herself to move her hands from the blood soaked limb.

"Give up?" she questioned, balancing her weight on her good leg even as dizziness began to flicker through her mind. Her fingers dropped to her weapons pouch, brushing the tip of each kunai before locating one with a string tied around the end. Instantly, her finger slipped through the hole on the hilt. "I'm stubborn, you know."

The kunai was swiftly snatched from her pouch and sent flying towards Yo's feet. His eyes widened in the barest degree as he instantly sprung back, hooking his hands around one of the remaining support beams in the ceiling and dangling there as the explosion resulting from the attack caused pieces of board to drop into the basement.

"No fair, Kitten-chan!" he called out, swallowing down a cough from the dust thrown up by the explosive tag. "If you hurt Wolf-chan there will be less for me to play with!"

The boy in question had noticed the tag only seconds before it blew. With chakra laced feet, he'd dodged backwards- in the end only receiving minor scratches as the resulting debris sliced through bare skin. All of this was beyond Tenten's knowledge, her eyes having never flickered from where Yo hung.

"Don't worry," she retorted, her tone full of far more confidence than she felt. "He's far too proud to get beat because of me."

Even as the words left her lips, her fingers dropped to the clip of her scroll once more, mind searching for something to pull them out on top. Yo simply grinned, heaving himself up and wrapping his legs around the support beam. The action freed his hands which were instantly flashing through a set of now familiar signs.

"Water Release: Gunshot!"

Jun cursed, launching himself towards where Tenten stood despite the pain coursing through his torso as a result of the swift movement. His hands caught her just as one of the resulting globs of chakra infused water clipped her shoulder and upset the delicate balance she'd managed despite her injured leg. In that same second, the sight of a familiar black-head of hair out of the corner of his eye sent a chill through his mind that even Yo couldn't have induced. Swallowing thickly, he almost shut his eyes as a result of the throbbing headache that spurred through his mind when he forced away the blackness threatening the edge of his vision.

Not now, he couldn't give in at this moment. Kurai might have thought he situation unwinnable for them, but that didn't mean he could afford to hand over the reigns. Not with Tenten in the state she was in. He would have to hold the boy off as long as he could.

"Why don't you come down here and fight me?" he forced out, his tone filled with his usual, cheeky edge despite the dire situation. "You're talking about playing, but where's the fun in focusing on the injured one of the party?"

He released Tenten, then, flashing his hands through a set of familiar signs. Yo, unconcerned by the tricks of a boy he'd already labeled as much less killed than himself, simply let his arms hang loose as he stared down at the two leaf shinobi.

"That's your fault, Wolf-chan!" he whined as a pout touched his lips. "You'll only come at me with your tricky tricks, not in a real fight! KItten-chan fights! Plus, if I come down there, play time'll be over like that."

He snapped his fingers to demonstrate, then paused, suddenly furrowing his brow in thought.

"But Mat-chan did say not to take too long..."

"Well, don't worry, you won't be long," Jun retorted before dropping his voice to a level that was barely above a whisper. "Tenten, stay behind me."

She hesitated, opening her mouth to argue even as the boy shifted his stance so that he was standing protectively before her. Some, rebellious part of her mind wanted to tell him that he hardly looked big enough to shield her from whatever was about to occur. The rest of her- however- heard the sudden seriousness in his tone, something that when combined with knowledge of her memories prompted a nod from Tenten. Within seconds she'd shifted herself so that she was fully behind him.

In that same second he finished the jutsu.

"Silent Illusion: Leaf Storm!"

It was the same illusion he'd used at the beginning of the trip into the Moon Country, only this time there was an effect that he didn't notice. As Tenten watched the scene before her, her eyes easily picked up on the array of leaves that coated the room, the sudden wind sending them in sharp circles around the dusty, open space. She didn't say a word, but that uneasy feeling that had begun to spark in the back of her mind grew.

Jun's genjutsu was visible- even to her.

Neither male seemed to pick up on the fact, Yo staring, transfixed by the whirling leaves. Before the storm could pick up enough to reach him on the ceiling, however, the shinobi put a pout on his lips and brought his fingers to his temple.

"Release."

His eyes narrowed in just the slightest, unnoticable degree when the burst of chakra it took to pull him from the genjutsu was far greater than he would have thought. Despite this, he swung himself to a solid part of the floor- only feet away from where Jun and Tenten stood.

"Wolf-chan," he drawled, putting a disappointed expression on his face. "Tricky tricks are no good with me. Didn't I tell you? Mat-chan says..."

He trailed off, screwing his face up in deep thought as Jun instantly began shifting his hands through another set of signs.

"Mat-chan says I have a natural affinity for dispelling genjutsu," he finished slowly, brightening as he managed to quote the woman's words directly from memory. "Soooo, you're gonna have to try lots harder if you want to trap me!"

His eyes still fixed on Yo, Jun finished the last sign.

"Then that's what I'll do."

An almost cheeky smile touched his lips as he recklessly sent a surge of chakra into the illusion- more than he had done with the first. The room around them almost seemed to unnaturally shift as it settled into the air.

"Silent Illusion: Leaf Dance!"

This time, when the genjutsu swept through the room the leaves instantly proceeded to focus on Yo. The man initially allowed it to overtake him, confident he'd be able to break it as easily as he had before. Perhaps this time the kid would actually fight if he showed how useless trapping him was. When he brought his fingers up once more, however, the leaves only seemed to pick up in speed as they proceeded to slice through his skin leaving beads of crimson in their wake. Again, he focused his chakra into a the release jutsu, and again was rewarded with nothing.

The leaves clouded his entire vision as the genjutsu overtook him.

Jun- content when the man vanished from view in the cloud of leaves- flickered his gaze to the rest of the room before going tense. The genjutsu... he hadn't initially noticed it. The wind storm seemed to be spreading as the dull ache in the back of his head demanded attention once again. He could feel it, then, the way his chakra was still being dragged into the jutsu.

He spun to face Tenten when the black threatened the edges of his vision. The girl had slumped somewhat against the wall of the room behind them, a clean slice through her arm showing that even she wasn't safe from the spread of the genjutsu.

Before the thought had crossed his mind, he'd released it.

A dazed expression flashed across the girl's face, followed by sharp awareness as she realized what had just occurred.

"...Jun..."

"It's fine. I've got it," he replied stiffly, turning back to face where Yo was recovering from the release of the jutsu. "... don't worry. I've got it."

The man in question brushed his hand over his cheek, one eye closed in what could have been pain. His open eye flickered to the crimson stained hand a second after he'd pulled it from his cheek. He was far from unaware that the line on his cheek was one of the dozens coating his entire frame- many of them deeper than the shallow one he'd brushed.

"... Wolf-chan has fangs after all..."

Yo's expression hardened minutely as the awareness of what would happen if by happenstance these two managed to reach Matsu flashed through his mind. Without a word or even a sign of the action to come, he suddenly sprang forward. His foot sliced through the air, clocking Jun upside the head and sending the boy crashing to the ground, dazed. Without pause, Yo flipped back the second the strike landed, pushing off the ground to right himself as he landed. There were shuriken in his hands before Tenten had the chance to realize he'd reached for them.

Playtime was over.

Her gaze flickered to Jun and despite the fuzziness in her head- the same fuzziness that had her almost slumped against the wall behind her- she managed to realize that he was far from recovered from that strike to the head. Her trembling fingers pulled free two kunai from her pouch, determination fluttering through her.

"Of course he does," she announced, hoping to draw Yo's attention to herself. Her voice was far from the steady, forceful tone she'd tried for. "He told you you underestimated us."

Yo paused for a moment, an odd, thoughtful look coloring his face as he studied the duo.

"Nope... I didn't. I judged you and Wolf-chan fair and square..." he decided. "That wasn't Wolf-chan."

Those words spoken, he flung a shuriken at Tenten- causing her to real to the side. Her eyes just caught sight of him flipping himself into the air in the seconds that followed, heel extended in a course set on driving it into Jun's stomach.

"Jun!"

The cry startled the boy into attention, one of Tenten's kunai sent flying towards the man. It was easily deflected, but in precious time Jun had managed to collect himself enough to instinctively roll to the side, the foot slamming harmlessly into the wood where he'd been only seconds before. A sharp hiss of pain escaped his lips as he forced himself to his feet, the action threatening his field of vision with spots of black.

His legs almost buckled beneath him when he tried to take a step forward and the world swam. There was no need for him to worry about such matters- however- as the choice of moving was stolen from him the second that Yo appeared next to him, his leg slamming into Jun's side and sending the boy sprawling across the ground once again. An audible crack hit the air with the blow, leaving no question as to the severity of the damage. Still, Jun attempted to pull himself up, an action that was met with a kunai slashed across his chest.

Blood coated Yo's blad, his foot slamming into Jun's torso once again, sending him sprawling backwards.

"Jun!"

The cry was dragged from her lips by desperation as the enemy shinobi poised his kunai to deliver a final blow. Only moments after it'd hit the air, smoke encased the room as a result of a smoke bomb deployed from Tenten's weapons pouch.

Yo's eyes narrowed as he rocked back on his heels, the kunai dropping uselessly to his side. His sharp gaze searched the smoke for any sign that Jun had managed to move, his mind locked on the single thought that he couldn't allow his prey to escape.

"Bad, Kitten-chan, just let me kill Wolf-chan! Please? Wolf-chan's gone rabid, you know?"

"Like I'd just let you--"

"Tenten, get out of here, now."

The harsh tone of the words was betrayed by the harsh coughing that followed. Jun- just on the edge of consciousness- had dragged himself to his feet once again. He clamped a hand over his mouth as if to ward off the coughing, blood splattering the calloused skin of his palm. The coughing only grew worse, causing him to double over with the effort of keeping himself from collapsing where he stood.

Tenten faltered if only for a second.

He'd sounded as if he'd given up on any chance of them winning. Within a second of that- however- she'd changed her mind. She shook her spinning head, forcing herself to take a step forward despite how her entire leg attempted to give beneath her weight. It was pure strength of will that kept her standing as she unclipped her scroll once again.

"I'm not leaving."

'I can't.'

She pulled the paper before her, a cloud of smoke hitting the air-

Then was sent flying back as Yo appeared before her, his fist slamming through the paper and sending the crashing into the wall behind her.

A crack hit the air as he crashed his foot down on her useless leg in the seconds that followed, a shrill noise of pain escaping her lips. The fuzziness took over- then- Tenten's entire world going black.

Yo turned back to Jun, a kunai flashing through the air and sending the boy tumbling back in an attempt to avoid it. The man was on him in a second, foot trapping Jun to the ground as Yo raised a kunai towards his throat.

"Bye-bye, Wolf-chan."

Black seemed to overtake Jun's vision, his hold on the world slipping and Kurai forced him back, not about to let them die like this. The last thing he heard was an explosion as the world above them came crashing down.

How had a trip to the hotsprings turned into this?

A/N: Oh, yeah, remember how I said we had about ten chapters left quite a few chapters ago? Well, I got that wrong. This arc was supposed to end about two chapters ago and it still has another or so to go xD Hope you guys are enjoying it as much as I am!