Silence

62. Behind the Mask.

Previously...

Shizukana jumped back to create distance between her and Takada. Taking a breath to plan her moves, Shizukana raised her arms in defence as Takada reached into his pouch and pulled out a small metal baton.

The baton glowed a bright blue before it elongated into a staff. "Let the battle begin," Takada muttered.

Third Persons P.O.V.

A flash of lightning filled the sky with light as Takada sprinted towards Shizukana.

Dodging his attacks, Shizukana moved around the rooftop, trying to come up with a proper solution. Eyes landing on a metal pole, Shizukana picked it up in time to deflect the incoming staff.

Both the metal poles gave out a loud 'twang' as they crashed into each other. Manoeuvring the pole, Shizukana aimed her attack at Takada's legs, which the Shinobi dodged with ease.

Continuing her attacks, Shizukana pushed toward Takada with all the strength she had.

Takada skillfully deflected the attacks before he lifted his weapon and struck Shizukana in the shoulder.

Stepping back, Shizukana winced when she felt a sharp stinging sensation engulf her shoulder. Tiny droplets of water fell from the sky as it began raining.

Flashing Shizukana a sneaky smile, Takada transferred Chakra into his staff before running towards Shizukana. The Kunoichi lifted the metal pole to defend herself but just as the weapons touched each other, Shizukana's pole shattered into pieces as she was forced to back away.

Cursing under her breath, Shizukana tried to find another weapon to defend herself, but to no avail.

Having no choice but to use her bare hands, Shizukana dodged most of the attacks, deflecting a few with her forearms. Cursing every time the staff hit her arms, Shizukana quickly searched for an alternate plan. Going for a terrible idea, Shizukana caught the staff and attempted to pull it away from the Shinobi but Takada merely let go of the staff causing the young kunoichi to fall back.

Falling to the floor, Shizukana lifted her body off the ground just in time to avoid the staff hitting her face. She placed her hands back on the ground and swiped Takada's legs, causing the man to fall to the ground.

Using this moment, Shizukana grabbed the staff and brought it down on Takada. Takada dodged all her jabs. Before he could reach into his pouch to grab a weapon, Shizukana struck him in the hand, causing the older shinobi to curse.

"I regret teaching you how to handle a staff," Takada muttered before he lunged at Shizukana. Grabbing the staff from her hands, Takada threw it away and engaged Shizukana in a taijutsu battle.

Shizukana dodged and swerved many attacks. All she wanted was a few seconds to make the hand signs. Usually, Shizukana didn't need to form the hand signs to teleport short distances, but seeing as her chakra was affected by the curse mark, she couldn't afford to make a mistake and get stranded in the space-time dimension.

Just as she brought her hands together, Takada swiped Shizukana's legs, causing the younger kunoichi to tumble to the floor.

Without hesitation, Takada brought out several kunai and pinned Shizukana's sleeves to the floor and pointed one kunai at her.

"Checkmate," Takada said, flashing Shizukana a smug smile. He walked towards her and all Shizukana could do was try to wiggle out of the kunai's grip.

"I trusted you," Shizukana spoke, her voice breaking. She didn't stop her attempts to remove the kunai. Shizukana hoped that talking might give her some time to come up with a plan.