While Ringo was amusing herself with A, B found himself in an unfamiliar place and instantly got on guard. He also tried to disrupt his chakra flow to mitigate any possible illusions but... nothing happened.
That told him this was not an illusion and he was indeed transported... somewhere.
This was stirring a strange feeling of deja-vu inside of him, one he didn't like at all so he decided the situation needed a few good rhymes to alleviate his nervousness.
"Oi, Hachibi, this feels like the work of the flash, we should prepare for a hard clash, yo!"
Despite the cheerfulness of his voice, beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead. He wasn't afraid for himself. He was the mighty Hachibi jinchuuriki and the best rapper under the sun, Killer Bee! Kono yaro, baka yaro!
No, he was afraid for the safety of his good brotha A. The thought of the Fifth Mizukage being capable of transporting him away with just a touch just like Yellow Flash... B didn't like the sound of that. He was not stupid. Just sometimes brash.
It was then he heard a soft giggle from behind him and abruptly turned around!
Only for his dark complexion to drastically pale as he spotted his opponent.
"Haa~, this is unfair." B dryly said, his shoulders slumping as he even forgot to make a rhyme out of his sentence.
Mei chuckled and, "Ah, grow a pair." She amusedly finished the rhyme for him with her hand on her hip in a completely relaxed way.
B's eyes sparkled at that and his uneasiness completely vanished. He whipped out his personal rhyme book and started writing the rhyme he just heard into it.
Seeing him, Mei's eyebrows momentarily furrowed as she wondered what that was about but then her eyes gleamed in the exact same way B's did when she suddenly had an idea.
'Oh, I see! He must really like rhymes as I like making harmless Jutsu!'
That made sense to her. She heard his peculiar predisposition for rapping but she didn't expect him to be so driven! If this was the case, he definitely must be as good in his hobby as she was in hers.
Mei could admire that kind of dedication and patiently waited for B to finish.
Needless to say, she was supremely glad neither Rei nor Konan observed her because letting her opponent have the time to make a proper strategy was the very first thing they had beaten out of her. But apparently, she needed remedial classes for that lesson.
The sweat on B's forehead increased. He expected an attack the second he started writing into his heavenly book of knowledge! Everybody got pissed at being ignored and instantly attacked him, giving him the upper hand of deciding how to counter-attack!
But his opponent didn't attack this time!
'As expected from the first SS-rank kunoichi! She is not falling for my scheme, she knows her stuff to the extreme!'
'B, I think you should focus.' The irked voice of Hachibi resounded through B's mind.
'Right-o, partner!' B replied and started to devise a battle strategy while pretending to write into his book. As taken off-guard by Mei's actions as he was, he was also still a ninja and could make use of the opportunity presented to him.
Of course, the previous rhyme was already written down. He would not let it be forgotten!
That's why when half a minute later he finally put the notebook back in his pocket and looked at Mei... their eyes barely met and red chakra instantly engulfed B as he started turning into Hachibi, releasing an oppressive pressure all around.
His transformation did not take even three seconds, which was impressive in itself, and at the end of it, there was only a crimson-haired girl facing a huge eight-tailed monster in a grassy clearing surrounded by trees.
Any other ninja in Mei's situation would be shitting their pants after being stared at by Hachibi but...
"Final form right from the start?" Mei asked with a calm smile, cocking her head to the side in interest.
"I am sorry but I can't hold back. You are a tad bit too strong for that. Let's roll, Hachibi! Wheee!"
B wasn't about to entertain Mei's childishness. He at the very least recognized this was a dangerous situation for him and acted as such.
Before Mei could even retort to his statement, she received a point-blank bijuudama straight in her face... or rather, at her position... causing the surrounding land to tremble from the powerful explosion that engulfed the entire clearing and created a massive crater while ripping multiple trees from the ground alongside their roots before the following shockwaves proceeded to throw them back and crush them into a powder midair.
The resounding earthquake and big angry red ball of doom caused by the explosion of the bijuudama were heard and seen even in Konoha despite the massive distance between the place and the village.
And then the red ball cracked, causing the heatwave to hit... evaporating everything in a three-kilometer radius, leaving the land barren of all life.
B waited with abated breath as the dust cloud started setting in the unnatural silence after the explosion.
Half of him refused to believe an SS-rank ninja would be felled so easily and another half wanted to desperately believe his attack worked.
His hopes were, however, completely dashed as a cheerful voice resounded through the area and the wind slightly picked up, revealing Mei patting the soot away from her shoulders.
"Hum, passable destructive capability." She nodded, still sporting her easy-going smile on her face.
"I knew it wouldn't be so simple. This is quite the pickle." B muttered in a disheartened tone under his nose but because of his Hachibi form, his voice could be heard kilometers away.
Mei giggled at that. "Of course, it won't, silly! We are just warming up! I always wanted to fight a bijuu but it just had to be that hag who got the first chance." She pouted.
Her face was so expressive, B almost started pitying her but he caught himself in time, suddenly having an internal turmoil. He wondered if this was some kind of genjutsu supposed to make him sympathize with his enemy but...
Once again, he didn't find any trace of foreign chakra in his system.
'This woman is weird.' B thought.
'More like touched in the head.' Hachibi snarkily replied before quietly murmuring Not that you of all people would recognize such a state.'
'Huh? You said something, partner?' B mentally tilted his head.
'No, B. Nothing important.' Hachibi deeply sighed, knowing this was a lost cause. No matter what he said, B would not correct his behavior. He tried. For years. And here they were... 'You better prepare. She is going to attack soon.'
Realizing the truth behind Hachibi's statement, B once again focused on the battle where Mei was just finishing complaining left and right about this or that small detail in her personal feud with Ringo.
"But have no fear! I finally got permission to fight you from hubby! He even told that hag to help you get to me! Hehehe!" Mei cheerfully chirped, almost bouncing in her spot with shining eyes.
For some reason, B had a bad premonition that-
"In my own final form, at that!" Mei added and chakra engulfed her, causing her to transform into a titanic form of nine-tailed of the same color as Mei's hair.
Needless to say, both Hachibi and B were stunned speechless, and rooted in their spots at the sight.
---
Author Note:
Sorry guys, I just needed a small break from Ringo's plotline since ideas were running a bit dry.