[center][B][U]Tetsujin, Iyana[/U][/B][/center]

Hearing the roar moments after the ground shook beneath her, Iyana braced herself, narrowed her eyes and preformed the handseals to reactivate In'ei Kabaa. [B]"I'll do my best,"[/B] Iyana stated simply in response to Remi, [B]"But I won't promise not to kill it before you finish."[/B] Iyana glanced at Remi with a smirk and fire in her eyes. She finally had a challenge, but if someone had really looked into those eyes, or if any of them had truly known her...they would have noticed the other emotion in the chuunin's eyes: Fear.

Turning from Remi, Iyana bent her knees and then shot into the air, lightning sparking off of her shade cloak as it sprouted wings and began to form plate armor over the surface of her body. As she flew past Izari and Keiko she glanced at them, that same expression on her face, and called out [B]"Beatcha there!"[/B] She was then gone, blasting off into the distance towards the towering monstrosity that was the Shukaku. However, while she put on a brave front on the surface, deep inside she was panicking. She had no idea how she was supposed to handle something so massive. Her jutsu were focused on dealing with things roughly her size, maybe a bit larger. On the other hand she did have a few incredibly effective cutting techniques...maybe she could damage its limbs? Perhaps infusing lightning into one of her cutting techniques and using her sword would do it?

Well, that seemed to be the only choice anyways. Touching her left palm with her right hand she withdrew her katana, sheath and all, from the seal that was upon it. She held the sheath in her left hand and the katana in her right, wreathing it with her chakra cloak even as she began to channel chakra into the blade [I]this is not going to be easy...[/I] she mused, feeling the pangs of worry begin to enter her heart. However, before they could take hold to strangling her chest, and cripple her mind she suppressed the emotions and exhaled sharply, reversing her grip on her blade and streamlining her chakratic wings, making them suited for high speed, high altitude, and general maneuverability.

She was going to have to be pretty careful with this one, but if she could circulate her chakra just right she would likely be able to cut through even the demonic sand that composed the Bijuu's body. Smiling a bit at her own cleverness, she felt a wave of enthusiasm wash over her, comforting her. Perhaps she stood a chance afterall, but who knows? She'd have to test it out first.

[center][B][U]Reitemu, Shijima[/B] – [I]Tsuchi no hokkyokusei[/U][/I][/center]

Having stayed at the top of the cliff when the others departed, Shijima watched the battle from afar, sensing the vibrations that emanated from the battlefield. Nodding his head a bit, Shijima acknowledged the skill of those the Empress had sent to take care of the enemy's army. However, seeing one of Remi's hornets fly in the direction of the Empress made Shijima wonder and with this he was not okay. Thus, taking initiative, Shijima stepped off the edge of the cliff, executing handseals as he did so and then sending a pulse of chakra from his feet and into the ground he was about to make contact with. As he landed the natural energy from that ground would return to him and as it did his technique would take effect.

[B]"Chijō no kyōmei – Kōkai shindō (地上の共鳴 - 更改震動 'Earthly Resonance – Renewal tremors'),"[/B] as he stated the technique the earth would bend downwards in a crater, acting much like a trampoline to dissipate the momentum he had gained during his freefall. From there the ground would act as a high speed platform however, instead of continually using Kōkai shindō to facilitate his travel, Shijima would simply cycle the earth in front of him much like the tracks on a tank, allowing him to move forwards at high speed over land, without using much chakra to do so. Then the earth shook, but he was grounded and so his movements weren't destabalized by the tremor. Narrowing his eyes, his brown cloak waving behind him in the wind, Shijima took in a deep breath and then allowed the earth to slope down beneath him and then sling shot [I]with[/I] him into the air, locking around his feet so as to be lifted from the ground along with his body.

He had utilized extra force so as to keep him aloft for roughly 8 seconds. While in the air, the Shukaku roared and he saw it standing there, its massive body having appeared almost from nowhere. Sighing slightly, Shijima executed the 23 handseals that would later be necessary for his technique before he landed, the ground caving beneath him before pushing him forwards as it had before. [I]This is unlikely to be simple,[/I] he thought, noting the different vibrations around him and filtering out those htat came from insects and other animals. Finally he felt vibrations that ought come from a human and followed them, heading towards the location that he had seen the hornet head back to a minute after he had departed. [I]Remi should be in that direction,[/I] he thought, remaining completely silent in the storm of monstrous and tiny footsteps both, as if he were the eye of the storm.

After only another minute, Shijima arrived in Remi's location and saw that she appeared to be preparing for something, likely a larger summoning. The queen perhaps... he mused silently, allowing the earth to trail behind him and remain fluid so that he could walk without being weighed down. Walking till he was only a meter or two from Remi, Shijima stopped, glancing at the charred bones, ignoring the smell, and then gazing up past the trees to where the Shukaku was. [B]"Remi,"[/B] he said simply to get her attention, [B]"Did the others go?"[/B] He gestured towards the Shukaku to indicate which way he thought they had gone. Whenever she responded he would ask one last question, likely before nodding and then departing depending on her response, [B]"You stayed behind...summoning the queen?"[/B] He spoke in this way, not because he considered her a child or less than adequate, but because he felt it was quicker and easier for her to process.

He had dealt with her before, though not for too long, and so he had adapted to her somewhat. Around others his speech would change, if he spoke at all. It was all about effectiveness so that he would only have to say as little as possible. He didn't care much for social interactions....