Fandom Song of Rage

[Ace Cream]

Aya

Ehh, ehhh, ehhhhhh...!!!

When the referee declared her a winner Aya was looking more confused than anything. It took her a few more seconds to realize what it means. Yes, she wins! Then sudden surge of pride filled her and she waved back at the crowds, regardless of whether they're cheering or booing her. Only after she realized that she was out of her costume that she immediately retreated out of the arena while dragging the tattered bunny suit. She couldn't stand being the center of attention for so many people. At the backstage a nurse guided her into what seems to be the clinic room and Aya felt like she can relax now that she was away from the noisy stadium. She watched curiously as the nurse patched her up and listened to her talk.

"I'm... ready. Whoever my opponent would be! Promised mother to become a good ninja!" Aya seemed to be a bit more excited than usual as she said that. "Thank you Mrs. Nurse, I'm going to rest for a bit."

Ganryu

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Hearing stone cracking Shibata narrowed his eyes wondering what Shin was up to, was his opponent showing that he was actually capable of some form of learning? His cynical internal question was answered as the first salvo of rocks flew through the smoke cloud with one fragment punching through the crystal clone and striking Shibata in the shoulder with enough force to break the skin, without having already passed through an obstacle it would have undoubtedly have been powerful enough to smash bone.

Scowling Shibata created an oubliette to shield him from any more stones that were going to hit him, as they ricocheted or embedded themselves in the crystal he continuously repaired cracks as they were formed until the barrage finally ended. Hearing the cry of pain and the crowd's reaction he peeked carefully around the crystal to see the dark fire billowing from Shin's body through the smoke. Rolling his sore shoulder he spawned three more Crystal Clones from the oubliette, panting he leaned against the crystal for a moment feeling the constant chakra use starting to get to him.

Creating a blunt edged crystal blade alongside his clones Shibata was ready to beat Shin into the ground until his furious opponent staggered through the cloud revealing just how grievously Shin had been injured mostly by his own hands. With a mournful expression Shibata allowed Shin to approach then dispatched the clones to manhandle the exhausted genin over to the oubliette. "Tough as nails aren't you?" He said to the struggling boy. "Still if you keep this up you are going cripple yourself." Giving him a firm push along with the clones tugging Shin was once again forced into the crystal along with the clones, feeling confident that his opponent didn't have enough left in the tank to break out even if he was conscious Shibata left his head exposed so he could breathe. "Go and heal up so someone else can suffer you next time."

Ganryu

 

[KageYuuki]

Kurio Shimizu

Nine Lives are Hard to Kill​

In the hospital, a slight rumble could be felt, and the lights around him flickered on and off. Ichiro snarled.

“Meet me down at front in 15. I’m going to go convince them to hand me your weapons and release us a bit early. It will take a few minutes. Damn bureaucracy.”

Ichiro unceremoniously stomped off, snarling at a nurse as he went, looking more like a dog on a chain than a sensei in the chunin exams. A moment later from above Kurio a cat’s cry could be heard. Behind him on the door frame, a cat stood on the frame, purring as it stared at the lights.

“Do you feel him? Big brother….? It’s so exciting, isn’t it…? He’s going to wake up. Nyehehehe..”

Kurio shifted, glancing from the cat to the cityscape outside. He wasn’t entirely sure what he felt. An indescribable pull on his chakra and feeling that stirred in the back of his head, bubbling with excitement. He’d thought it had just been lingering adrenaline from his match against Okimi. But with how joyful the little black cat seemed…

“I feel . . . what is that?”

The cat turned. “Huh? Oh, sorry, I wasn’t talking to nyou.”

Leaping down from the door frame, it landed by Kurio, circling him endlessly, poking at bruises, and frayed clothing.

“But what is that? ‘That’ is kind of like a family reunion. And I haven’t seen my older brother in a very long time. Tsumi’s not the only village with us you know. Nyou guys are just more experimental about us. I don’t mind, it’s funny. Kind of.

I tried celebrating with Kiyohime, I even brought sake, but her container was sooo mean… Do nyou want to celebrate?”

Kurio winced as the cat prodded at burns and bruises, nudging it away a few times only for it to come right back. He huffed a sigh, sliding from the bed to pull his shoes back on. He glanced back out the window, tilting his head at the beams of sunlight briefly breaking through the clouds.

He turned back to the cat, Ichiro was waiting on him. And as agitated as the jounin was, keeping him waiting likely wasn’t the smartest idea. But the offer to celebrate sent another trill of excitement through him. Stronger this time. “I don’t really have a lot of time . . . sensei’s waiting.”

The cat stared up, cocking his head. “Isn’t that a nya-ice way of saying no. Well, nyou didn’t throw me into a thunderstorm, so I can respect that. We should celebrate if you live through our older brother! I’d say if ‘we live’, but cats have 9 lives, he couldn’t kill me if he wanted to. If nyou live, we’ll celebrate next time!

Tell Kaminari I say hi. Or run for nyour life. Meh.. prrr….”

The cat started to suddenly seem to turn to ash as it disintegrated in front of Kurio. He blinked at the pile of ash now sitting on the floor, crouching to lightly nudge it. “I think you have a lot more than nine lives as many times as sensei’s killed you…”

Shaking his head, Kurio stood and headed towards the door. “Kaminari…” He frowned at the name, something about it feeling achingly familiar. He stepped out into the hall, starting for the hospital entrance.

 

[Ganryu]

Team Hayate (The team of winners)​

Shin had quickly collapsed after Shibata's clones restrained him, the boy dangerously low on chakra. The battle field itself was a wreck, large stones thrown upwards, scattered debris on the whole around, holes in the coliseum wall.

While Hibiki vs Yoshiro proceeded, a break was announced afterwards while a couple of earth ninjutsu specialist releveled the field.

An applause filled the stands as the first round ended. Above, a few proctors could be seen taking notes, a few looking confused, a few looking proud. Most were Arashi nin, but Hayate beaming could be seen among them. They seemed a little distracted by the sky, however, a few more beams of light opening as clouds scattered, though thunderstorm was so heavy they never lasted long.

The same water medic nin saw to both Hayate and Ryuuka, healing any surface wounds they had, while chatting pleasantly.

A series of boos started from the stadiums as one of the competetors dropped out, Chiyome, the Raiju. Rumors abounded that her brother, the Arashikage had pulled her out for going too hard. The Tsumi crowd in particular seemed more upset than the rest, especially Tsubame's clan.


Stepping out on the field, Shibata's opponent stood waiting for him. A Inochi headband on his head, Shibata might clearly recognize the nin he had already fought before: Kiiro, the wood release genjutsu user.

Kiiro half covered his face with his robe's sleeves, while looking down at Shibata.

"Really, this is my second round? Some radioactive rat from the wasteland? Pity, this time my teammates aren't dragging me down, and yours aren't going to lift you up."

As he made the seal of confrontation, up his sleeve, Shibata would see a scar in the shape of a bit mark, it looked like it had come from a dog.

The moment after the round had started, a series of handsigns started, before a large flower exploded under Kiiro, it's bud closing around Kiiro and swallowing him whole.



A clicking sound could be heard as Ryuuka's opponent came in second. A blindfolded ninja who smirked the entire time. Hane cheered as he walked out, some voice amplified cheers making it deafening: Riku Orochi, a fan favorite, despite his obvious disability. He held up a hand to them telling them to shut up. A rose appeared in his hands, and he tossed it between them.

"Let's make this a beautiful match, m'lady."

The ref looked at him. "What did I tell you last round about gifts? Next time, you get disqualified."

Riku shrugged, before making the sign of confrontation at Ryuuka.

"You know the problem with these matches? You already know I'm a sealing specialist, and my teammates told me you're a taijutsu specialist. I don't know if you've prepared for me, but I've certainly prepared for you..."

His bow drew halfway back, and he fired straight at her stomach. The head of the arrow was white, and covered in symbols.


As Aya walked down the hallway, a genin bumped into her. "O-oh! Sorry! Just headed to my match, you...?" He was tall and lanky, a bit hunched over, and definitely shy. A headband for Arashigakure on his head, a particular symbol on an armband read 'barrier corps'

He looked at her and sighed. "Oh. Yeah. Uh, good luck? I'm Hibiki."

As they walked out, Hibiki walked the set distance away for the sign of confrontation. As soon as the match began, he pulled out his ninja pouch... and threw it away, before rushing straight at Aya, both his hands out with two fingers pointing outwards, the rest of his fist curled in.

"S-sorry!"

Purple chakra suddenly filled between his fingers, forming a shimmering knife out of the air, Hibiki stabbing at Aya's throat directly.

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
When Shin went limp Shibata stopped trying to shove his fallen foe into the crystal and instead had the clones deliver their burden into the hands of the medics before dispelling the clones. Looking to the Tsumi dominated area of the stands Shibata caught his sister's eye and gave her a cocky smile. Leaving the arena to get the debris cleaned up he got his shoulder seen to then wolfed down a soldier pill to replenish his chakra while he watched some of the other first round matches.

Once he was on the field Shibata exaggerated leaning to the side to see around Kiiro's sleeves. "You know that's not how stealth works don't you? I can still see you." Rolling his eyes he sighed at the blustering. "I miss Phoenix-kun already...at least he was someone new to deal with, not old news." Spotting the bite mark he wondered if Kiiro had been having even more trouble with those teammates of his than he let on if that dog thing the girl had used had attacked him.

Beginning the match Shibata narrowed his eyes at the oversized bud, well aware that his opponent was also a genjutsu user he fired several crystal needles at it to gauge how it responded.

Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

Kiiro scoffed at Shibata's comments, the robed shinobi visibly scowling and reddening in the face.

"Oh, please. It's not to hide my face, it's to protect myself from breathing the same air as you toxic useless excuses of shinobi. I'm afraid I'll lose braincells. And unlike your last barbarian, I at least have class, you'll find that hard to match!"

The smell of rain and ozone faded to a strong lavendar at the flower, but it didn't have time to do more than burst into being than before several needles ripped straight through as if it had been paper... or flower petals.

A gasping 'oof' was heard, and a lip of the flower spilled out a wounded Kiiro, several needles embedded his his sleeves and robes, a hateful glance given to Shibata. A thud resounded in the distance. Kiiro struggled to make handsigns, the needles in his arms seeming to slow him down a bit.

"Best things take time. Best things take time. You won't be so smug- You won't be so smug- in a moment. in a moment."
--------------------------------------------

In the stands, a bag of popcorn appeared in Old Man Kei's face, who looked annoyed at the pompous Kojiro next to him.

"Aren't you supposed to play a noble...?" Kei said.

"What noble isn't obnoxious?"

"... how much...?"

"5,000 Ryo."

"Ph'tew. I hate betting against you."

"5,000 ryo is childs play!" the noble insisted.

"...Wait a second... hahaha. You don't want the bet do you. You're right. That is chump change."

"Naturally I do, why else would I make it?"

"You want my eyes for once? How humbling, for the card maker to need someone else. You know there are 17 people in this stadium alone who have a bounty out on your eyes."

"To be fair, I have all the detail I need-"

"But not all you want. You always were such an excitable child. Hehehe. You HATED that first round, didn't you."

"Tch." Kojiro reached into his pocket, and handed the bills to the old man who cackled to himself.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Ryuuka Vs Riku

"Huh? Oh yeah I totally knew that. Sealing specialist, absolutely,"Ryuuka said, as she returned her opponents seals and then started shrugging her way out of her jacket. "You know if you learn too much about a girl before you meet her people are gonna think you're a stalker," Ryuuka added teasingly. "I'm more of an improviser myself," As Ryuuka's opponent fired she tossed her jacket out in front of the arrow's trajectory and nimbly stepped away to the side so that should could safely observe the collision.

Okay so he's a sealing specialist! Good to know! I guess I'm Still it might be worth it to figure out what that arrows does, it looks kinda weird, probably some kind of seal thing right? Some kinda anti-taijutsu seal thing. Hmmm


---

As the opening salvo of the match played out, a stern, wizened figure observed from the stands, wiry arms folded across his chest.

She's still not taking this seriously, Ryuuga Tagamatsu thought, letting out an exasperated sigh. Sooner or later though she'll run into someone who pushes her enough to use that technique. I wonder if it will be this boy?


Ganryu

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

During her breaks in the infirmary, Aya spent her time watching the recording of the matches. When she watched her own match she felts... embarassed, seeing herself wearing a costume in the middle of a ninja tournament. It almost looks like she was mocking her opponent and didn't take her seriously.

"Your match is one of the quickest so cheer up!" Aya heard a familiar squeaky voice as a teddy bear climbed the bed she was in and sat next to her. The teddy itself looks like a regular one, but it wore a fitting white kimono and had 'Ogumo' sewn onto its forehead.

"Mama!" Aya squealed in joy and hugged the plushie. Aya's mother, and the former head of the Ogumo family had never been seen in the public for a few years now. She usually used some jutsus to assume the form of a walking plushie if she needs to do something outside of her room, like this one.

"You did good! As expected of my child. You make your opponent looks like a fool! Pupupupupupu." The teddy patted Aya's on the head with its stubby arms. "But you're holding back too much, Aya. I want to see that again."

"That what??" Aya tilted her head in confusion.

---------------------------

Aya knew her mother had been rather... eccentric ever since that night when she was almost assassinated. Shutting herself inside a fortified room was only the beggining, soon she started saying ominous words and claimed it as prophecy. She also somehow knew things that she shouldn't know, almost as if she spied on the entire village. Her mental instability didn't make Aya love her less but it did force the family to pass the leadership prematurely and its now in the hand of Hotaru Ogumo, the second of the Ogumo sibling.

Aya pinched herself on the cheek and told herself to focus on the match in front of her. Her second opponent was a rather big genin whom she met in the hallway a few minutes ago. Aya bowed at him to show respect.

"I'm Aya. Good luck. Too." She introduced herself awkwardly. For this match she didn't wore her costume and instead have her regular battle kimono. However, she still wasn't comfortable with being spectated so she put her hood up and wore a hannya mask to cover her face.

When the match began Aya was immediately alerted by him rushing in. Her hands quickly formed a sign before her throat got slashed by hibiki's chakra blade, at least that's what it looks like. There's no blood however as Aya's figure disappeared in a puff of smoke and in her place a coccoon made of silk was hit instead.

[Feint Weave]

The coccoon reacted to the attack, its surface pulsating briefly before it lashed forward. Releasing sticky threads towards Hibiki and threaten to encase him in the coccoon. Meanwhile, Aya appeared behind him and softly landed on his rather hunched back, using [Spider Walk] to latch herself on his body. On each of her hand was a wooden kunai which she then tried to jam into Hibiki's back!

Ganryu

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Genuinely surprised at how easily his attack landed Shibata watched the flower dump Kiiro into the dirt taking care to breath through his mouth as he noticed the odd scent and squinting curiously when for the first time since arriving in Arashi a sunbeam glinted off of one of the crystals.

"We're not holding a high society soiree class isn't needed here, what you need is the poise necessary to not be so easily riled up." He spoke mildly then noticing the odd echoing of Kiiro's speech he made a single seal. "Kai!" Flaring his chakra he blew away the distortion in his senses, flowing smoothly through longer series of seals he formed a Crystal Shuriken and marked it with Blade Manipulation. Pulling his arm back he threw the shuriken in a low arc that bypassed Kiiro to decapitate the flower bud, straining to keep his eyes on Kiiro as if waiting for his opponent to make a move Shibata faked a skip off of the arena floor that deflected the shuriken away behind Kiiro before making a sudden pulling motion that made it abruptly whip around as if yanked by an invisible rope to strike at the back of Kiiro's head with the flat side.

Lunging forward as the shuriken struck Shibata made a crystal blade to hack away at any defences Kiiro might create on the fly then lashed out with his bare hands hoping to land a telling blow or perhaps even restrain Kiiro before he could make use of the wood armour from their previous encounter.

Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

"Smells like citrus, doesn't it? Getting it soaked into the ink is a bit hard, but, well, you'd find hard to pick between arrows if your eyes were as gorgeous as mine. Really wish you had just let it go like most ninja, and not pay mind to it... It would have made this match easier for me."

Riku joked from behind his blindfold. Upon impact, the arrow smashed into the jacket, sending it as a green blur backwards, before bouncing off the wall. It didn't seem like the arrowhead was actually strong enough to pierce it, and as it rolled away, the fact it's head was made of paper might just explain why.

It slowly started to unfold as white paper began to expand, symbols unravelling in it, and the arrow taking the shape of a clone, the white fading from pages to the color of skin as a second Riku appeared, drawing back it's bow, and firing at Ryuuka several times, it's arrows much slower and less powerful than the original.

"Smells like steel, don't they?"

Each arrow seemed to be an honest to goodness real arrow, honest to goodness trying to pierce the genin.

The real genin dipped an ink pen into a pocket in his bag, ink coming out of it, smelling strongly of... regular ink. He began to write the words 'Explosion', and 'Immune' onto his forehead, smiling mischieviously.

"Besides, how are we going to make this a good date if I know everything about you, but you don't know anything about me? You should start asking questions then, otherwise this is just awkward."



Hibiki's slash violently severed the silk as it cut, not just slitting through it, but pushing it away mid cut. The cocoon surprised him, and made him step back. As it lunged at him, his entire leg seemed to shiver purple before he stomped it down on the ground. A barrier of the same sheen launched from the ground upwards, forming a wall between him and it, silk draping across the transparent wall. His foot seemed to loose it's shimmer, disappating like glitter into the air, though Aya might note his other foot seemed to have the same sheen still.

The moment she was gone, he began to scan around, his eyebrows arched as he seemed to lose the girl. His features seemed different all of a sudden. Beforehand, his face had been soft, and he'd been fidgetting. Now he was sharp, and his movements decisive. His hunch looked less shy, and more predatory.

Looking at the ground, he grunted, rolling at Aya's shadow, causing her to land a few inches away from him as he stood up from the roll, holding his fingers together.

Prowling, he began ot back away with a fixed expression, his facial feature's hardly moving more than an inch. He seemed to be backing towards his pack from earlier, his eyes not leaving Aya this time.




As Shibata held out the his handsign for 'kai', the area seemed to flicker for a moment. Kiiro himself seemed to disappear, flickering in and out of existance, before returning, still out of it on the floor. During the flickering, however, Shibata could still see the holes ripped in the flower where his needles had struck true. And the flower itself remained rooted in place.

Slowly, the patches ripped in the flower began to regenerate, pink petals refilling holes where they had been, and filling the bud once more to where it had been.

The flower didn't seem to happy at the fuma shuriken thrown at it either, as the earth crackled, and then a series of roots rose up, and attempted to grab at a perceived string at the end of the shuriken. There being no string there, however, made grabbing them a wee bit hard. The roots, flailed, before seeming to panick. Infront of the flower, more and more roots popped up, tryiing to form a half shield against it, the shuriken cleaving through them, but diverting it away. It sliced the flower itself in half, large petals, cut in twain the size of Shibata fell to the ground, as phloem leaked from both the flower and the cut roots. The inside seemed to reek of lavendar far more than the inside as the audience gagged. At the bottom of the pistils, a small tube could be seen.

Across the cut roots, Shibata could see thorns placed up and down it.

With another skip, the flat of the shuriken hit Kiiro dead in the head, a sudden jerk from the body as it hit. It leaving Shibata free to grab Kiiro and manipulate him as wanted, not objecting to being manhandled at all, seemingly for lack of consciousness.

Under Shibata's feet, the earth shook again, and roots sprang up, aiming to wrap around his ankles, the flower seemed to be an angry flower regardless!

Slowly, it's petals began to reform.


"Your stuff."

Ichiro roughly threw Kurio and Okimi's ninja packs at them, snarling as he paced back and forth, looking uneasy, before motioning at them. "COME ON!"

He seemed more than a little tense.

Outside, the two would walk into a patch of sunlight, the warm sun against a wet glistening road. The air pressure outside, however, was intensely negative, causing everyone's hand to feel on end. Ichiro scanned the sky.

"Tch... Tornado weather. Arashigakure's supposed to be prepared against them, but... something ain't right. Something ain't right at all."

Ichiro scanned to see a small spec in the distance, flying towards the edge of the city.

"Okimi, Kurio. If you were an enemy, and wanted to cause a distraction in a ninja village, what would you target first...?"

 

[Ganryu]

'drip... drip...drip...'

A groan echoed in the valley, the sound and smell of rain around Sachiko, everything spinning around her.

She could hear the rain, but she couldn't feel it. Things just felt cold.

Sachiko groaned, putting her hand out infront of her. She pulled against it, only for it to collapse. Her other hand wasn't moving at all.

Another groan, everythign spinning, Sachiko pulled herself inches forward, before realizing she'd passed out for a second.

Fumbling infront of her, she felt something numbly in her trembling hands. Metal. Cloth. A carving of Inochi's symbol.

"Hehehe... Hehehe... I won guys... It's alright... you two are stronger than me. It'll... it'll be fine."

Rain continued to fall, Sachiko could feel globs of what was her low quality die running down her cheeks.

"Is... this what ... he meant... by ... love... the vill-"

----------------------

"Why'd Koshirou not come out his room, Mom? I want to play! I wanna show him my shuriken jutsu! I hit a pidgeon! It was gross."

"It'll have to wait, Koshirou's... not feeling well."

"But Koshirou doesn't get sick! He told me he's too stupid to!"

Oko cleared her throat at it. The noblewoman was dressed regally, even in her house, her hair trailing behind her in a beautiful shimmering black, kneading a dye into Sachiko's hair infront of her. Oko didn't look happy. Grunting for a moment as she had Sachiko reposition, she grunted, before finally sighing. "That is exactly the problem. Stupid gets its... own type of sick."

"If he's sick, why's Dad mad at him...?"

"You're father's the one who found him."

"Did he fall over."

"Yes..." Oko hissed venomously. An 'ow' from Sachiko made her ease up, realizing her fingers were digging into her child's scalp. A moment passed by. "He'll get better... Miasma sickness can... be cured."

"Oooh. Did he go to the well? Did he? OW! You're hurting me!"

"How'd you know about the well!?" Oko turned Sachiko's head around, holding her head by her cheeks, dye now painted in them.

"Koshirou told me he was going...? Said you'd be, well, he said the 'p' word about it. Said you'd not be, uh, happy. Then bribed me with candy ot be quiet."

Oko screamed before letting go. "That dumb bast-... idiot child! That well is dangerous! You don't go to it until you KNOW you can handle it! Gradually! STEP BY STEP! Are you alright Sachiko...?"

"Ow... I don't think I want my hair done today..."

"It's almost done, dear. We've come this far. At least you don't have to tie ornaments in it yet. I'll teach you that when you're older. And when exactly did he 'bribe' you."

"Last night. He was looking at a squad poster of his sensei. You know, Tida-sensei, said he quit recently."

Oko stayed quiet, before washing Sachiko's hair, and letting her go. Hyper energy immediately bounced out the chair, near blurring around the kitchen. "He wants to be a jonin so bad he'd kill himself to do it. He's lucky he's not dead."

A sudden frantic knocking from the door interupted her thought. Sachiko hummed, before blurring to open a massive set of steel doors. Oko facepalmed. "Sachiko, leave it to the servants..."

"Koshirou! Koshirou!" A young teenager practically spilled into the door, falling over his own shoes infront of Oko.

She looked down at him. "Koshirou is unavailable right now. If you have business, I'll let him know when he's feeling better."

The teen look liked he'd seen a ghost. "B-bu-bu-but..."

"He's unavailable right now. IF you have business, I'll let him know."

"Jin and Ai! They were attacked by Inochi nin! We need reinforcements! Right now!"

A tea cup dropped. Oko grunted. "Koshirou's badly poisoned... he can't fight."

Behind them, a door slid open. Everyone in the room went deathly quite as they turned to look at the pale boy stumbling out of his room, and tying his headband on, nearly falling over, and retying it, before grabbing a tool pouch.

"I'll be right behind you... let's go."

"Koshirou! You can't!"

"Sorry Mom... I got to... To defend one's comrades, and to love this village... that is my ninja way. I'll be fine... I don't have Miasma poisoning that bad."

Oko tried to tackle him into his room, only for a poof to reveal a log. She turned to him. "Young man! Get back here right now!" He was already gone.

Sachiko gulped, looking up. "Uh... is he in trouble."

Oko snarled. "Yes. Big time... If he's not dead, I'll kill him myself."

"Couldn't you just ground him instead...? He looked pretty sick. I don't think he'd survive getting killed."

"Oh, Sachiko darling..."

---------------------

Rain continued to fall. A small chuckle followed by a cough continued to be drowned out by it.

"Nope... still... hate...it..."

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Shibata's frown at 'Kiiro's' lack of activity turned into a grimace as the sickly sweet stench of the flower intensified, testing a theory he sliced away the grasping roots at his feet then stabbed through the leg of the floored body looking for some sort of reaction. Pulling up his scarf he tightened it over his face trying to block at least some of the fumes he suspected were continuously pumping out genjutsu, pressing the attack he jumped onto the flower drawing an explosive tag in mid-air, as he slapped it down into the centre he spotted the tube and pulled out a smoke bomb which he shoved and stamped inside before jumping clear of the detonation.

Skidding backwards as he landed Shibata tried to dispell the genjutsu a second time hoping that the explosion would burn up the plant and the nectar putting out the smell. Unwilling to simply wait for results his hands moved rapidly making a crystal sprout below his feet raising him off the ground out of reach of any roots trying to snag him, from his perch he dispensed four clones from the crystal that formed up in a loose wide circle around the flower with blades at the ready.

Ganryu

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

Aya instinctively stepped back to create distance between herself and the big boy. Just like his badge said, barrier, and it's proven useful for blocking her silk. She wanted to wait for Hibiki to made his move but it seems he was trying to get back at his pouch.

"So I must be the one in offense now." Aya mumbled at herself while wondering about her mother's words. Was this what she meant by her holding back? Aya couldn't deny that she prefers to not become the one to initiate an attack, but she had no choice now. Performing a short handsign, four lashers made of clothes appeared from Aya's back and launched themself towards Hibiki. Each of the lashers had a kunai attached at the tips to allows Aya to launches barrage of attacks while keeping her at safe distance. Each of it would try to slash or stab Hibiki from four different angles simultaneously.

Ganryu

 

[KageYuuki]

Kurio Shimizu
A frown painted Kurio's features as he made his way towards the entrance. The cat's words continued to bother him as his chakra continued to bubble and stir. It was beginning to give him a headache if he were being honest. He rubbed his eyes, It'd be so much easier if I could just ask Dad what this is. It was obvious it had to do with some kind of Akuma, that much he could figure out without the cat's excited prattling. An Akuma named Kaminari if he were to venture a guess, whoever that was. Whatever it was, it definitely felt more powerful than the steadily more familiar presence of the little cat.

He'd barely walked up to the main entrance when Ichiro threw his gear at him. Their sensei pacing and snarling was nothing new, but there was a more dangerous edge to it than usual. Kurio wasn't sure he liked it. Stepping outside, the genin tried to smooth his hair back out before quickly giving up. It felt a lot like the time they'd fought the minor akuma on the outskirts of the Land of Lightning. Wasn't Arashigakure's barrier supposed to help with that?

"Okimi, Kurio. If you were an enemy, and wanted to cause a distraction in a ninja village, what would you target first...?"

"A distraction...?" Kurio frowned, following Ichiro's gaze. "I'm . . . not sure about a distraction, but the hospital would be my first target." Medics were invaluable in ensuring the survival and success of their comrades. Taking out a large number of them - even if the village could repel the attackers - would mean a much slower recovery for the village as a whole. Whittling down the village would take much less time.

Ganryu InsaneAsylum

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Ryuuka Vs Riku
Heeey my jacket isn't busted! Ryuuka thought cheerfully as she carefully sidestepped the incoming arrows from the clone one by one Those are going to be a pain to dodge in the long term though. "I mean if it's a date..." Ryuuka said as she brought her hands together to weave hand seals while she stayed mobile. "How bout we dance instead?"

Water Dragon's Gift: Jewel Scale Awareness Method[/b]

A thin film of water chakra covered Ryuuka's skin, making her shine subtly and she body flickered forwards into melee range with Riku, positioning herself so that his clone was exactly behind her. Once in range Ryuuka unleashed a simple flurry of punches and kicks, trying to pressure her opponent out of having easy access to his tools and probe his defences without over committing. With her jutsu active Ryuuka could feel the air around her reasonably well and she'd be able to respond to any arrows flying towards her back from the clone, in fact she planned to dodge such a projectile at the last possible moment, hopefully letting it carry forwards into Riku, though Ryuuka suspected the clone wouldn't endanger its master by shooting while they were so close together.

He said he prepared for taijutsu so we might as well see how well it works. If punching things is totally off the table I'm gonna have to get pretty creative though...


Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

The blade seemed to easily draw blood from the Kiiro on the ground. No reaction.


As he pulled up his scarf, with the earlier kai, the Kiiro from earlier dissipated like dust, pollen swirling from the place, before fading. Beneath where his head had been, a large crack in the earth where the fuma shuriken had hit with it's flat revealed what had actually bounced, and the stab mark on the ground similarly where his leg had been.

The jump finally drew action though, the flower popping open as the tube expanded, a missing black haired ninja smiling in the center, finishing a handsign. Whelts covered his skin at odd points, at his wrists, knuckles, finger tips, and down his sleeve. A few pressed out on his neck and across his face at regular points. A few medic nin gasped in the stands. It wasn't a good sign. Chakra points being over used...

His sweaty demeanor and general grunts of pain seemed to affirm this. Still, he smiled.

"Mid-air, Yamamoto rat? And holding something? Handsigns will prove difficult with a blade on one hand a tag in the other. And my win condition is right infront of me!"

He held his hands together like a gun, aiming at Shibata's scarf, seeds growing at his finger tips. Kiiro waited for Shibata's hands to move, expecting a defense, before he lowered at the last second, sending a volley of seed bullets at Shibata's stomach instead. The cocky bastard leapt out of his flower, still sweating from the sheer pressure of chakra being forced through his points.

That flower was eating a massive amount of chakra, that was for certain. Assuming Shibata was able to land the explosive tag with several bullets aimed at him midair, or not, the nin still back away, leaping several times with chakra enhanced jumps, the welts going worse as he did so. The flower was left defenseless to detonate, there wasn't much Kiiro could do to defend it, despite spending so much chakra on it.

Around his body, his sleeves and robes seemed to ruffle and shake. As the clones came to existance, he muttered under his breath "Finally. Almost was out of win conditions... Can't... keep these... jutsu up..."

(Side note, yeah... did counter that flower well, the thing was a monster that used a lot of chakra for a reason.)

-------------------------------------

"Dancing blades: Two flowers."

Hibiki turned as he heard the silk stretching. With four kunai coming at him, he slashed at the kunais, two of them severing and flying into the distance while two more cut across him, drawing blood. For a second, Hibiki stopped, looking confused. Then he began to lower his stance, a dangerous look in his eyes. His arms shifted, flowing like water as he bent down low, his eyes locked on the flowing kunai.

"Four Flowers"

His body stayed still as a snake as he observed Aya and the kunai around. For the moment, at least, he wasn't moving towards his bag, nor towards Aya, apparently the taijutsu required concentration. His leg began to twitch though, building up for a rush. If he couldn't get to his bag, he'd have to just take on Aya full force..

(Yeah, it's totally this, sue me:
)


-------------------------------

"Aw... Dancing, you're so romantic."

Behind Ryuuka, the clone's bow could be heard drawing, halfway as it had. AS she rushed the real Riku, it smiled... and then stretched to bow back all the way, his muscles visibly tensing under the strain. "Smells.like.lemon."

And he fired straight at her back, dead center, another white tipped arrow. This one flew through the air in a blur, about the speed of the original's half drawn arrows. Not only would it shoot Ryuka in the back, if she dodged, it would hit Riku full force in the chest, the clone not showing the fear of betrayal.

The original did seem a bit shocked by Ryuuka's sudden assault, flicking his ink brush at Ryuuka eyes, and scrambling for his hip quiver. (Gan refutes back quivers, they are stupid...)

He held up his bow against the first punch, while scrambling to throw a scroll in the air. A second punch by Ryuuka would land just about no matter what as he was off his game was ranged, but as the scroll landed in the air, it poofed into a larger one, the size of a genin, unravelling and scattering hundreds of smaller tags around the area, floating like thousands of cherry blossoms. They read 'explosion' on them.

The clone waved. "Having a blast?"

It went to make a handsign.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Okimi Bajirisuku

Okimi had never been more sore in her life, yet sensei was already dragging her out of her hospital bed. She should've expected it honestly. Perhaps she thought doing her best in the chuunin exams would have given her special resting privileges. Of course not. With her gear in tow, and after a swift change, Okimi hurried after sensei and Kurio. It was too bad this wasn't just a quick training exercise.

Suddenly, Ichiro-sensei asked them an incredibly serious question, one Okimi didn't know the answer to. However Kurio had a good answer. However, it took her a oment to process exactly what that meant with everything that had been said. Something wasn't right... sensei was asking what an enemy would target... was

"... Wait... does that mean-" Okimi stopped as she turned to look back towards the hospital, then back in the direction sensei was gazing in. Okimi didn't know what he was looking at.

“Tell us what the hell is going on!” Okimi demanded, visibly frustrated. If sensei was implying that something was about to go down, Okimi wanted no part of it. Not only was Feurey still recovering, she still had yet to recover enough to be confident.

Nonetheless, she had no intention of acting like a baby and backing down. Reputations take a lot of work to maintain afterall!

 

[Ganryu]

Spoiler: The Gremlins

Walking down the crater to the canyon, a figure stooped over the crater of an explosion, looking at a pink haired genin barely breathing.

“And they say you’re the one WITHOUT explosion release… Tch. Where are your teammates, you small annoying chewing gum?”

Holding out his hands straight to the side, he took a deep breath, then pulled out a scroll, and with a poof, she was gone.

“Going to have to be fast. This is a good opportunity I guess. Just don’t die on me.”

--------------------

Walking into a cave, the scroll poofed open, three genin falling out, and the figure in a blue hood hollered, cupping his hands together. “Hey, boss, I found some near dead genin. I smell a recruitment opportunity! Also, can you make them, not near dead? I’d really appreciate that, cause otherwise this is just going to be me dumping 3 dead kids in your room, and that’s just awkward.” He smirked at his own joke.

“Any sign of what happened to them?” The boss’s voice was soft as he moved towards the unconscious trio. He wore a cloak like the first shinobi, though his hood was pulled off revealing white hair and golden eyes. While several red tattoos decorated his face and hands, the large white ears were his most striking feature.

He knelt by them, looking over their wounds. “Tsumi nin?”

“Yeah...Nepotism miiiiiight have something to do with it. Same village and all. As for what they were doing, I think they were intercepting a delivery Inochi had for us. Well, don’t think they knew it was a delivery, but still... I swear, Mizuki scares me sometimes. She told me ‘if I go whisper about a powerful sword, Inochi will try to take it’. And they did.” His voice went falsetto mockingly as he quoted Mizuki.

Nudging one of the genin with his foot, he pulled up a large blade from under him.

“To be fair, they did stop Inochi before I could. And I was worried I’d have to break into the village and cause a scene. Now the blade’s not going in bad hands, just us for a little bit. Also, boss, can you break 5,000 Ryo? I owe Mizuki a bet...”

“My, my, and I doubt the Inochikage sent genin to spirit away the sword.” He stopped examining one of the genin and frowned, “this one’s missing his crystal. Inaba, could you take care of the sword while I take care of this?” He began a series of handsigns, glowing seals appearing beneath him and the genin.

“Yeah… It’d be really awkward if I were here when they wake up anyways. One of them might recognize me!

Quick update by the way. Mizuki and Nobuyuki are in place. But, well, if I were a trickster, and we all know that’s beyond me, I, the completely innocent god of cute rabbits, but if I was, I think Arashi might have a few more tricks up its sleeve with that barrier of theirs. Still, if anyone can cut through a barrier like butter, it’s Nobuyuki. He also scares me!”

Taking the sword, the corrosive chakra didn’t burn Inaba, frost barely forming on his hands. A purple crystal glowed on his chest however. Thinking for a minute, he took it off, and tossed it onto the genin missing one, hissing as the sword hurt a bit now, but shrugged, and carried it deeper within the hideout.

“Anything else before I let you do your magic, boss? I might be eccentric, but you know I get the job done!”

“No, you’ve done well. I’ve already prepared the seal for the sword, put it there and it won’t cause any trouble.” Still weaving handsigns, he glanced back at Inaba, “you’ll find the Ryo you owe by it.”

------------

It would be some time before the genin started to come to. Settled onto bed rolls, their wounds had been tended. Though they’d still hardly be in any shape for a fight. Firelight danced off the cavern walls, something bubbled in a nearby pot. “Welcome back to the world of the living,” a man’s voice said. He sat near the fire with a teacup in his hands. Three more teacups sat across from him.

Wakanaka’s eyes felt heavy, hell his whole body felt heavy, his head, arms, legs, his whole body screamed to go back to sleep and not bother moving anymore… But the voice, unfamiliar, greeted him, prompting his eyes to open once more… His eyes were on his body first, he was bandaged, heavily, some were a bit bloody, most were new...His whole body ached, he barely felt like he was in his own body, like he was something else in a dream of some sort. He was hurt before, but.. Not like this…

He remembered… the fight before… he was either dead, or… Somehow he survived… judging the fact he had the other two nearby him, he was not fully certain of either. If this was hell, it certainly held its cards close to its chest…

The last thing he really remembered was… his eyes widened, his breath shortened, his hand, the one not currently in too much pain to move, reached up to his head… the symbol of his transformation stood piercing out of the middle of his forehead. It was tender to the touch, but one could tell it was sturdy, like a rough hewn blade sticking out of his skull. It had a dark reddish hew up its length, ending at a tip that looked like metal ripped from a forge fire.
He grasped for his neck… A crystal? How? What?! But… his eyes turned to the man, the light of the fire stinging his eyes, wincing and covering his eyes a bit before coming to terms soon with the light source.

His usual red eyes were shifted now, the whites of his eyes were replaced with a dark black, likely an effect of his transformation much like the impossible to ignore horn out the top of his head.

“Who...Who are you?” Wakanaka asked the all important question to the fellow, No clue where he was at this point and time.

Shioreta stirred as her eyes opened slowly the light slowly turning from a blur before she could finally make out shapes. She moved her hand tracing to find it bandaged up. Thank goodness her organs were still in her body, it would have been a real pain having to deal with that while fixing up her puppets.

She could hear Waka’s voice feigning being still asleep more so out of a desire to observe the situation. Her little movements and all weren’t exactly the best in being convincing if they were in the least bit observant over them. Then again, the fact they bothered to bandage herself up to such an extent at least made the idea they were taken to be interrogated and tortured a little less likely. She closed her eyes, relaxing a bit more, allowing Waka to speak. Not the best person to speak up but she could gather a little information while allowing him to potentially dig his own grave and use it to walk right over it.

Sachiko went from a blissful oblivion to curling up holding her stomach with a long ‘uuuurgh’ sound. Looking over and seeing Waka and Shio, she tried (badly) to turn it into a stretch, like she’d just woken from a nap. Looking over Waka looked like a blob. So did Shio. So did her hands. Blurry as all get out. Shaking her head, she lurched again from the feeling. Poison was poison it seemed like.

She looked over Shio, not able to see much, but stains of red under her, worrying. But her breathing seemed regular from how the blob expanded and shrunk. She was fine.

Waka she couldn’t see well, but from what she heard… he was attempting to get himself killed. So… status quo.

“Heck of a nap.” Still stretching badly.

She looked up at the 4th blob in the room. Blue outline with lines of white from behind him. “I take it you saved us? Sweet. Thanks.”

“I did, yes. With some help from a mischievous rabbit.” The man set his teacup down with a quiet clink. “As for who I am, you may call me Katsuhito.” He rested his chin on his hand, golden eyes studying the three. “Though the question remains who might you be? Aside from three genin that bit off far more than they could chew.”

He saved us, and doesn't know who we are? He has to know we are Tsumi ninja… Wakanaka noted, wincing a bit as… His stomach growled like a hungry beast… Man that was loud… When was the last time he ate?

He dragged himself out of the bed, his legs mostly fine, damage more or less localized to his upper half it seems. He shuffled himself over to the table, trying to get a better read on the situation.

"You saved us, so… Really I can't say no, and you know our village, and the fact we are genin.

My name is Wakanaka, and I guess I failed my chuunin exam…" the young man grumbled half as much as his stomach did.

Shioreta kept quiet even as she heard the familiar voice of Sachiko. So she was alive it seemed. Thank goodness it would have been awkward if it was only Waka. His response back wasn’t quite a good one though. He didn’t say which village they were from, he sure as heck casually confirmed they were Genin and even more specifically part of the Chuunin exams.

Oh well it was probably fine, and if not they would deal with it later. They managed to escape death so that was one more tally in her favor for days defying death and a more interesting one at that. She kept her eyes shut pondering more about fixing her puppets or tinkering with the frame while passively listening to the conversation.

“Sachiko Kounna. Not very good ninja, but I’m lucky to be around. And, ha, Waka, how does it feel!?”

Sachiko laughed wildly before realizing she’d blacked out for a second. Her lungs hurt. Her everything hurt. Still, she recognized not everything was good. She didn’t know of Katsuhito. And that was a bit concerning. He could be an enemy probing them for info. Or a good natured person. Best to act like an idiot. She’d let Waka be in charge!

“I’m afraid you’re likely correct,” Katsuhito gave Waka a sympathetic smile. “The three of you were out for quite some time, the finals will be well underway at this point.” Lifting the teapot, he poured a cup and offered it to the genin at the table.

One of his ears pivoted towards Sachiko as she spoke up next, “Very lucky indeed, miss Sachiko.” He poured two more cups before moving to stir the contents of the bubbling pot. As close as Waka was, he’d likely notice the tips of tails at the hem of his cloak. Or perhaps it was ornamentation on his robe? “I’m afraid I’m no medic-nin, but the worst of the poison should have passed.”

Katsuhito glanced over at where Shio still lay silent, “and what of your quiet friend over there? Oddly enough, her wounds were the easiest for me to tend.”

Wakanaka sighed, shaking his head. “...But I think the exams are the least of my worries now…” he gives a soft thank you, before smelling the tea, and taking a sip. “How did you… Or… Why did you…” he pauses trying to figure out his words, god his head was buzzing. He couldn’t think straight…

The movement of the cloak wasn’t exactly to his attention, he was more or less just… uncertain of everything at this point.

“...So you bandaged us up then? Why did you do that?”

Shio was a bit relieved hearing about her wounds being easiest. It meant that she managed to not get impaled in a vital organ. She couldn’t exactly get one of those very easily after all. Waka speaking up even after her silence being questioned made her half ponder if he purposely was trying to distract them away from her, though it was a conjecture very quickly shrugged off as highly unlikely given it was Waka.

Sachiko slowly got to her feet, still blinking at the blur of colors around him. Worst of the poison still wasn’t all of it. Still, they had done well… right? Wait. Was this an Inochi nin? Sachiko felt the cave around her. No, Inochi was overgrown. Third party? At the sound of warm tea pouring Sachiko froze, sniffing the air. “Ume Akakobucha…” A local favorite of the land of… Sango?

Who’d have ever thought those hours of tea ceremonies could come in handy.

Sango nin were not good news. A lot of her clansmen had been abducted by them. And Sachiko could still feel the pressure in the cave. Still in Arashigakure. Well. There could be worse ways to go. Hehehe. And this ninja was going to be so pissed when he found that Sachiko had no Kekkei Genkai then. None of them did. All worthless little gremlins. She liked her team. Still, news of them having had failed… she did like to tease Waka, but it still sucked for him. Sachiko winced as she remembered her brother had come to watch her. And her family. And Mih-

“Oh no… sensei is going to kill us. And not figuratively…”

Sachiko stumbled falling over.

“You know what, I’m good down here. Floor’s nice and cool.”

Hearing Waka she shrugged. “Think Waka means how did you remove some pretty bad injuries…? I mean, I’m fiiiine, but I don’t think the other two looked pretty. And sadly, sleeping beauty’s always had a bad constitution. I once knocked her out in a pillow fight. Granted, the pillow had a brick in it, but…”

"A shame it didn't do more…" Waka stated out loud… Which he quickly tried looking the other way, as if that slipped out rather than him thinking it alone.

“Oh? You know your teas.” Katsuhito chuckled, “though I suppose I shouldn’t expect less from a scion of the Kounna.” He hummed, “Why indeed? Perhaps I was once a genin with a lot to prove.” The cloaked nin picked up a bowl, filling it with the pot’s contents. A simple rice porridge with herbs and root vegetables.

“Perhaps I want something in return?” Katsuhito set the filled bowl in front of Waka before filling another and taking it and a teacup to where Sachiko had collapsed. “Or perhaps it was just out of the kindness of my heart? Three children on the verge of death were deposited at my doorstep after all.”

Wakanaka tried to be cautious, he really did, but the fact his stomach started to roar incessantly betrayed the fact he wanted the food.

Now.

His one workable hand started to pick at it… Then he sort of… Forgot how table manners worked. It was the best damn thing he's eaten in his life! Oh gods it was truly heaven.

How could something so simple look taste so good?

Was he really that hungry!?!?!?!

Shioreta let out a light sigh as it seemed Waka had seemed to fail in continuing the conversation. He could make an offhand comment about Sachiko nearly killing her (thank goodness she realized in time to switch it out or she could have been dead) but not speak up more about what the woman was saying as he just started gulping down the food without hesitation.

“Shioreta…” She muttered as if putting on a bit of a play sitting herself up yawning a bit as she got her first real clear look around the room. At the very least Sachiko managed to figure out some valuable information identifying the tea. She started to stretch out a bit, putting up a little bit of an act still.

“I suppose we already did a favor in return though?” She commented more offhanded. It made far more sense they had been going after those thieving Anbu if anything, and the three of them happened to be there having taken care of them. At least she assumed her teammates had done so. It seemed a bit unlikely they would have bothered to retrieve their bodies if they were still chasing them down.Or perhaps they were after that thing Waka was so gungho about getting from them.

Sachiko both felt like eating, and felt sick looking at the food. As Waka was scarfing down everything, it didn’t seem like she’d get a chance, and she was alright with that.

Shio’s comment did spark a thought in her.

They need that sword… from Sangogakure with that tea, likely, still in Arashigakure. They could be scavenger nin looking for KG, but we’re worthless there, and if he knows I’m scion, he knows I don’t have my clan’s Kg.
Last time a Sango nin was involved was that prison break.

Sachiko sighed, then elbowed Shio. “Can you watch his expression when I say this…?”

Adding a small bit of what was left over of the porridge to her bowl. She bowed to thank him for the food, and pulled out chopsticks respectfully. Sachiko seemed to have a grace and posture she never used around her teammates.

“So where’s Mizuki right now?”

Don’t throw in last name. I could be wrong. And can play it off. If I’m right, he’ll react a bit. If I’m wrong, just play it off.

Seeing that Shioreta had decided to show she was awake, Katsuhito filled a third bowl and cup and placed it beside her before returning to the table. He glanced at Wakanaka’s display, quirking an eyebrow before gingerly moving his own teacup out of the splash zone. “Oh?” He rested his chin on his hand, studying Shioreta intently. “And why do you believe you’ve already returned the favor?”

As Sachiko spoke up, one of his ears twitched slightly. The corners of his mouth quirking up in a faint but knowing smile. He found himself quickly taking a liking to this one. “I’m afraid you’ll need to be a little more specific.” He leaned back and raised his teacup to his lips. “Where I’m from Mizuki is such an awfully common name. I know at least a dozen off the top of my head and have met many more besides.”

Wakanaka finished his bowl, placing it upon the table with abit of a resounding clatter thanks to the walls around him. His stomach satiated, somewhat, his mouth tonguing the rest down his maw he began playing with the newfound sharpness of his teeth with the muscly appendage. His countenance already looking better, much better really, looked like he could actually move around, and actually listen to the words coming out of the man's mouth.

"So-" he pauses to wipe some rice into his gob. "I don't suppose you know what happened to me?" He asked, as if the rice all but gave him his spine back. "I didn't always have a horn." Hell he was referring to it, truly the wonders of a filled belly.

Shio looked over towards Waka as he mentioned a horn blinking. Wasn’t it always there? Then again she neglected to add that feature on the puppet so maybe she somehow missed it? No, it would have looked wrong so it would have made sense why she didn’t include it on her puppet. If she was making a puppet to replace Waka she would want to make sure it was an improvement over the original.

She turned to the bowl that had been placed in front of her being a bit more hesitant to eat at least for the moment. The response given to Sachiko’s question she prodded her about paying attention to was about as she expected. There was a good chance he was being coy. It likely meant they knew who Sachiko was talking about or if not it wasn’t at all of much importance outside potentially fishing out more information from her teammate. Trying to get one over on the man was quite unlikely. Still, no sense in being direct herself when she can speak in metaphor.

“Surely a Hawk wouldn’t bother to follow a Mouse when a Raven is within sight as easy pickings. The mouse would surely lack the sustenance to fill the Hawk’s belly compared to a much larger prey one of which might already be carrying a prize in its talons that the Hawk might crave to have a taste of itself. Particularly if the mouse might of lead the Raven into a tree to knock itself out for easy pickings for the Hawk.”

Sachiko shrugged at the man’s response. “Guess it was a common name. Last name didn’t come up. If I come across a more unique name, such as Chunchunmaru, I will be sure to ask though, good for a laugh.”

She looked over at Waka visibly squinting at the comment of a horn. “I thought you already had one…” She said coyly with an unmoving smile. She patted him on the back, almost like she was grabbing at something before shrugging.

At Shio’s metaphor, she just blinked. Nope, not touching that with a ten foot pole… and no signal about it. She’d better get a report later.

Sighing, Sachiko put her bowl down, untouched. Stomach was not complying Her voice turned sullen and dry. “And I think we returned that favor, because you rescued us. You wanted something, either you already got it, or you think you’re about to. Waka doesn’t have that sword of his. Don’t know if he got it back, but… I don’t think it made it to Inochigakure, did it? But you’re still friendly to us, so there’s something more you want?" She tilted her head, her voice back to its high pitched squeak. “But lucky for you we’re just some of the friendliest idiots you’ve ever met, how can we help you?”

A low hum rumbled in Katsuhito’s throat as he studied Wakanaka for a long moment. “Akuma chakra can warp and twist the body beyond recognition. My best guess is being exposed to a high concentration of that chakra is to thank.” He gave a slight shrug, placing more porridge in the genin’s bowl. “But there could be something else at play as well, a latent kekkei genkai perhaps?” He flashed a sly smile before settling back onto the cushion he’d been sitting on.

He canted his head to the side at Shio’s metaphor. After a moment he shook his head and poured more tea, “Perhaps less a hawk and more a sly fox? But crows are rather fond of shiny baubles.”

Katsuhito glanced at Sachiko as she set down the porridge, his expression softening for a moment. “There are medicinal herbs mixed in that will help. Even a few bites would do you some good.” As he was bluntly questioned, Katsuhito chuckled. “Very well, I suppose I’ve played around long enough. You’re correct the sword didn’t make it to Inochigakure, nor did it make it to where one of my comrades was lying in wait.” He watched their reactions, “I tended to your wounds partly in thanks for saving us some trouble and partly to make you an offer. It’s not every day genin take on ANBU and not only survive, but emerge victorious.”

“...Oh so… I won then…” he paused for a moment. “...I beat an ANBU agent… from the pig village…” he couldn’t help but feel.. A bit smug about the fact. Who needs an exam against people your level when you can take down an ANBU! Nearly dying in the attempt but yea!

But… That reminded him about the crystal breaking… Latent bloodline…?

He didn’t really know anything about that, as far as he knew, he was just your average guy… ish… Okay he was pretty far from average. But still.

He raised his head up, realizing that his head has been slowly tilting down thanks to the new weight. “So.. You guys were planning on taking them on regardless…?” he had digested the words long enough to click onto it.

“Well, they say one good turn deserves another, what would you be offering?”

Shioreta looked to Waka almost questioning what he had to say though quickly dropping it not bothering to say anything else about it. He had a horn growing out of his head no reason to speak up and say anything that might upset him. She could show a little pitty for him.

“So what exactly is this offer?”

Shio asked, deciding to not beat around the bush since it seemed he was done doing the same. No reason to continue playing little games if they were going to be more direct after all.

Sachiko lurched at the thought of getting down the porridge, but shrugged and went for it. If they were poisoned, oh well, no point in just saving them to kill them again. Coughing she stopped. She didn’t want to look bad in front of her friends? Acquaintances? Teammates. She didn’t want to look bad in front of the sla-teammates.

She sat back for the offer, a little less pleased than Waka was. Breaking into the kage’s office had one heck of a list of consequences, who knew? Still, the sudden interest in blood lines wasn’t good.

To everyone else, it just looked like a more serious Sachiko staring deep in thought in her bowl of food.

“Uh, yeah, offer, what is it? Is it for Sango with that tea choice?”

“You may rest assured that I’ve long since severed ties with Sangogakure.” Katsuhito folded his hands in front of him, “simply put, what I require are shinobi. The Originators have been reborn and it’s only a matter of time before they bring this world to ruin. It would be quite the boon to have three shinobi from Tsumi in our ranks.”

Sangogakure… Wait.. Which one was that…? Damn.. Wakanaka paused to consider what was just said. “...A moment… What are the Originators? Obviously the origin of something but…” he paused, trying to bait more than.. Well.. A name drop with literally no meaning to them.

Shioreta looked to Waka briefly, hearing him be a bit more direct in his questioning. Not a completely horrible thing given they were asking them to supposedly join their ranks. She raised her hand gently resting her loosely balled up hand to her chin. Her thumb lightly scratching at her chin.

“Shinobi perhaps, though what real value would some Genin be compared to those of a higher rank and experience?” Shio asked much more curious about the why over the who or the what.
Sachiko put her finger to her chin, half glazed eyes looking at the man.“Rogue nin from Sango…
World’s scariest swordsman…
Some other woman who passes as Sango nin currently…

Originators… World in Ruin… “

“Man, we’re just some friendly idiot genin, I think this is above our pay grade! Thankfully, I don’t think we noticed anything here, random stranger we don’t know in a cave we don’t know where it is, who definitely has no connections prior to any village we don’t know.

I kinda wanna hear the spiel though. What WOULD you say to convince us? Do we have pamphlets to read? Or is there a seminar?“

Katsuhito turned towards Wakanaka, chanting his head slightly. “You come from a village that toys so heavily with their progeny yet don’t know? Interesting…” He paused a moment, drinking more of his tea. “They are the reason Akuma exist, they’re the original Akuma. Each one is one of the five elements in its purest form, and they’re powerful enough that their mere presence permanently warps the world around them. Have you ever wondered why Arashigakure is enshrouded in an eternal storm or why the island of Hanegamure float in the air?” He shook his head, “They were slain in ages past, long before the villages existed. Powerful seals and barriers were erected over the remains in hopes of preventing them from rising again. Perhaps it only succeeded in slowing them down, or perhaps the Originators are that slow in reforming. I cannot say.”

He leaned forward, steepling his fingers in front of him. “As for your other question: yes, I would much prefer adding jounin to my ranks. But recruiting them tends to be . . . delicate work. The three of you are still fairly green, yes, but you have potential. You proved as much in defeating those ANBU.”

"Not… To be an issue here, but… It really isn't the only doomsday foretelling out there, how do we know this isn't some wool over our eyes. We're genin, but sworn nin regardless… You have saved our lives, that is to truely be certain.

But we cannot simply cut out ties to family and loved ones so easily…" Wakanaka scratched behind his head, his arm and feeling in it coming back to him.

"Speaking of the village… We are essentially A.W.O.L, in foreign lands and right during the exam as well…

I believe we should at least keep communications open, we are in dire straits, to be certain, and you did save us, we owe you the benefit of the doubt in the very least and a true favor at best. I think, however, when it comes to joining, a pin should be put into it, there is no disrespect meant to your organization.

But previous allegiances should not be cut so easily, the last you need is us spotted and hunted down as missing nin, no matter even as genin, and then your group is wrapped up in it.

Not to mention, at this point, we are likely being searched for… That would likely complicate your work further. You have shown magnanimity, we should show it in kind. But… Jumping head first into the fire has landed us in this situation, no doubt you will forgive me for being cautious when the wounds from the land still are fresh." The meal finally hit Waka's belly and set a fire in his furnace. He began speaking and thinking for once today.

Shioreta looked towards Waka glancing upon him with a rather blank expression. He sure liked to run his mouth more than he should. Some things were far better kept to yourself even if it was true. At least entertain the idea over stating why you might be against it. If someone held a kunai to his neck and demanded he say the sky is made of mochi he would just deny it rather than lie and live.

“What my good friend Waka is trying to say is it might be a bit… fishy… as it stands considering we disappeared from the exam so joining in your cause might be… well.. A little troublesome for both ourselves and possibly your cause.” Shioreta spoke scratching the back of her head with an awkward smile.

“Sorry for any bit of hesitation in jumping in immediately… though I would be lying if I were to claim I had no interest in joining in and getting to learn more about it… at least when the time might be right for us to do so.” Perhaps trying to put a little more reason into not immediately joining would work. It was the truth that even with the bits she was told that it didn’t fascinate her to at least some extent. After all her own condition… well in short she had at least a mild bit of investment in it personally even if more indirectly.

Sachiko looked at Waka, then back to Shio, then back to Waka.

“Waka knows the word ‘magnanimity’...? What the fu-f-freak…?”

She shrugged after nearly 10 seconds. “So, uh, think we’re all more trouble than we’re worth. Thankfully we’re kinda known as the village idiots, so, uh, not like they’re going to expect a lot from us when we get back. Infact, this whole series of events has been so unbelievable I’m stiiiill working on a cover story, cause no way Sensei’s believing us. We kinda all… skipped our chunnin exams to chase down some ANBU cause that sword has something valuable for Arashigakure in it.”

Sachiko put her finger to her chin. “If Sensei’s going to kill us anyways, does make the offer more tempting though… Waka’s feral, I’m a coward, and Shio’s probably got a knife to my back right now. We’d make dang good rogues.

Buuut, they’re probably searching for us, and I got a promise to keep.

That said… We did put our lives on the line for that sword. We still need to barter for it, but want to remain friendly: We owe you, and you could probably turn us to paste. What else is it worth to you in return?”

Katsuhito silently listened as the three genin voiced their concerns and refused his proffered hand. He sighed. “So that’s to be the way of it then? A pity. But I suppose it can’t be helped.” He stood, studying the three of them intently. “If you are feeling bold, and wish to verify my claims for yourselves, then go to the country I once called home. See the destruction wrought by Watatsumi thrashing against its bonds with your own eyes.”

He held his hand out to the side, “and if it’s the sword you desire.” A seal appeared on his palm and he summoned the weapon into his hand, the large blade piercing the stone floor through its weight alone. The metal was still ice cold to the touch, though it no longer spread frost everywhere, nor did its seals pulse with chakra. “Then your silence will do. There is much work to be done and I’d rather it not be hampered by the villages.” He extended his hand towards them, “a simple oath and a handshake to seal the deal. If we are all in agreement?” Katsuhito smiled, “otherwise, I’m afraid the blade is mine to keep. It is rather nice and kitsune are oh so fond of their trinkets.”

If the genin shook his hand, his claws would glow before piercing their hand. A brief flash of pain as the foreign chakra entered their system. Though no wounds would be left in its wake. Only a small seal on their palm that would soon fade from sight. He smiled again, “not to be an issue here, but forgive me for the extra insurance.”

Waka grimaced, he had taken the shake… But now.. he wished he didn't. But, well, he was close to getting out… And the sword, well, it was there, and would be returned.

But… kitsune?

If he was a kitsune, he was a terrible negotiator and barely did anything to convince him to be on his side save for something you'd get from an old man on the street screaming the end is nigh.

Plus…

Waka couldn't count the tails, but claiming himself to be a kitsune… Definitely meant he wasn't a Tenko, which would’ve meant more, given their truly beneficial and divine origins. Therein, he was a pretty lazy trickster fox.

4 tails meant good, any more or less meant trouble.

Unless it was Inari, then, well, whatever tails that goddess wants she wants. Was he gonna tell a goddess what to do? Hell no.

…

But seriously, this offer was about as appealing as a man offering you a piece of dry stale bread for your shoes.

If you were starving? You'd take it.

But… They weren't, they had their home, hopefully… He would get a talking to when he got home for certain… And these two will no doubt throw him under the bus and say this was all his idea-

Oh wait…

It was…

Not the infiltrating the tower portion but..

….

Well either way Miho was killing him.

"...I see… If that is all then.. I guess I should drag my squad back to the closest village then…"

“Your squad?” Sachiko raised her eyebrow again, flicking her wrist up and down, the injection marks fading with the seal. Of course. Who knew what else was in the contract, but one thing was for certain, a dead ninja was useless to their village.

Wait. Why did she care? She just didn’t want to be dead. Hefting the sword up, Sachiko blanched, falling back over, and briefly passing out. Yup. Twitching, the thought of how much fun the next few weeks were going to be crossed her mind.

She stood and handed the sword to Waka. Meathead could have it…

Bowing before Katsuhito, Sachiko took a surprisingly regal stance. “Goodbye for today, May tomorrow bring again, greetings of full joy.”

“Let’s dance, guys! We wanna terrorize anyone while we’re dead? I mean, do we haaaave to make a beeline for the village? If we wait a bit, we could walk back to our own funerals. Wouldn’t that be funny? I bet more people show up to mine than yours, Waka. I’m more likeable. I’d show up to yours, Shio, but y’know… whole death thing. ”

“Tsk, I’d sooner bet on a small search party with Miho aiming to bring back only our heads.” Wakanaka caught the sword in his working hand and… Hmm?

Hmm...?

“..Lighter…?” he questioned, looking at it. It certainly felt cold as hell, but...Certainly didn’t feel as heavy as his old sword. Hell he felt like he could use it in one hand now! Something was up with his body for certain, beyond having a gigantic damn horn out the top of his head.

A horn that, when he stood up, made him grimace as the tip met with a tiny stone from the ceiling of this cave.

“Tsk… Gah… Shio, are you able to walk? Or should I put you in a sack and drag you?”

Shioreta was rather calm despite the painful little ‘contract’. Perhaps a bit too calm given her drifting into thought about the whole situation only to hear Waka speak. She blinked looking over at her squadmate.

“Oh… I suppose, though perhaps that would be more practical to carry me on?”

She spoke pointing away over to a nearby rock. As she did so her other hand lifted up her Chakra strings connecting to the hilt of his blade. With a swift tug she pulled upon the hilt sending it flying straight towards Waka’s face. Her head turned towards the rock still pointing as if innocent of such crime.

“Then again maybe it isn’t that practical… I’ll do my best to follow on foot… ah... oh since you seem to have some trouble yourself.”

She responded back blinking feigning being a bit puzzled looking back towards him.tilting her head to the side blankly.

Sachiko sighed.“Yup… Just the friendliest idiots…”

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

He still refusing to move!

Aya frowned as she watched Hibiki partially countered her attacks while still refusing to attack her. Instead, he set up another defensive stance and seems to be building up his jutsu. As if she would let him take his time!

Another new pair of kunais emerged from the tip of the lashers where Hibiki disarmed them. Aya performed another quick seal and gathered her chakra towards the blade of her kunais. Blue aura could be seen emanating from the blades as her jutsu took effect. [Line Cutter]. A simple yet strong ninjutsu that sharpen thin surface, she learned it when trying to mimic her sister's [One String Beatdown]. Well, this jutsu was an inferior imitation, but it was enough for her. She rarely use this because most of the time she prefers bloodless clash, bloodstain on her kimono wouldn't look good!

"My turn again then."

Raising her four lashers high. Aya started another barrages of attacks towards Hibiki in such quick succession that people without great perception would only see her attacks as a blur while Aya herself remain stationary several meters away from Hibiki. She returned Hibiki's dangerous look with her own predator's eyes: eight smaller pupils looking at eight slightly different angles.

Ganryu

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Ryuuka Vs Riku

The impact of the ink on Ryuuka's assault was minimal thanks to the layer of water chakra covering her, diluting the ink fairly effectively. Although Ryuuka had in no way whatsoever planned such a defence she was quick enough to take advantage of it, swaying around the lemon scented arrow launched from behind her and scoring a couple of easy hits as Riku threw his scroll into the air, although she was forced to glance upwards as it unravelled and spread its payload of smaller tags.

Yeah I did sorta when that was gonna get paid off, Ryuuka thought, with a dogged, slightly forced grin. Sure hope I guessed right about how this works

"Hey before we get any closer though," Ryuuka said, aiming a knee at Riku's stomach to distract him "You got a little somethin' on your face," she said, striking his forehead with both thumbs, using a combination of friction and the water chakra still coating her body from her jutsu to try to smear and wipe away the word immune on Riku's forehead

Ganryu

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Seeing the real Kiiro preparing an attack Shibata twisted in the air sending a few of the seeds astray and taking the rest in his side and back rather than to the gut. Atop his crystal he placed the smoke bomb back in his pouch with a grimace at the line of stinging bruises across his body, schooling his expression back into one of cool disdain as he looked down at Kiiro he could see that for all the earlier talk of superiority his opponent seemed to be burning himself out even faster than Shin had been. "Is fainting at me the next stage of your plan?"

Spotting the odd shifting under Kiiro's clothes Shibata sent a pair of his clones forward with their blades ready, sweeping in from both sides they slashed at Kiiro's sleeves seeking to lay bare whatever he was trying to hide. From his own position of relative safety Shibata fired another salvo of needles trying to hinder Kiiro's movements for real this time.

Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

Kiiro panted, one eyed shut from exhaustion as the welts seemed to pulse, but he showed no signs of slowing. He looked up wearily. "Please, I figured I could pump away most of my jutsu, and be an equal to you. Maybe if I pass out, I can equal your intellectual one as well."

As the clones approached, Kiiro smiled, mischeviously. It wasn't an insane or desperate smile, but of a man who had just the right hand. As both clones slashed at him, he held his hand out, and two vines with thorns would shoot at at their wrists, to wrap them before they could cut him. The thorns were annoying, but not likely to even come close to popping the clones even if they did hit, though they did have a faint blue hue to them, something no genin should be able to do with a simple jutsu.

The needles, however, were a real problem as they peppered across the genin, a few getting tangled in his mess of clothes and vines, but blood seeping from others, direct hits that Kiiro couldn't just brush away. He clenched his teeth, and collapsed to one knee. "Sadly, you still lose. Nnngh..." He seemed to have gone mad.

-----------------------------

"Eight petals."

Hibiki struggled against the barrage of blades, but seemed suddenly much faster, moving in the same breath of time his two earlier slashes had come, a couple of cuts decorating his arms and legs, but his speed preventing any lasting blows. Sweat began to drip down his body as he danced with the lashes.

"Sixteen petals!"

HIs speed doubled once again, this time his teeth clenching and muscles visibly bulging as he moved, keeping in sync with Aya's incredible speed, fending off each and every blow as he went.

"THIRTY TWO PETALS!"

His hair seemed to stand straight as his entire body seemed to blur, slashing at the sides of the kunai this time, not just blocking them, but deflecting them far to the side. His eyes slowly started to turn red as he gazed at her, and then body flickered straight at her. He didn't seem to have any other options than a bull rush with her, his fingers raised like knives.

"End of Spring! SIXTY FOUR FALLING PETALS!"


------------------------------

(I, uh... apologize in advance?)

Riku tried fending off Ryuuka with his bow, trying to deflect her punches and kicks to glancing blows, but the problem with Ryuuka was, a glancing blow was still quite hefty, an audible crack heard at once of the strikes to his chest. Yet as Ryuuka went to knee him, the arrow struck Riku dead in the chest, and she would find a cloud to meet her knee as a 'poof' sounded, the arrow flying past and striking into the side of the arena.

Enclosing Arrow

Behind her, the clone started to unravel into ink and words as the original broke., but still held a smile as he finished the handsign and held it up, before finishing dissolving.

"If it helps, I'm not actually immune to explosives. Au revoir, ma cher."

The bright side, most of the hundreds of tags fluttering in the air and surrounding Ryuuka were fake.

The down side? Not all of them were. A series of explosions and bangs of bright light filled up the arena as a dozen tags, explosive and flashbang went off at once all around her, with Riku conveniently gone with the arrow. While Riku didn't know she would dodge, he didn't exactly mind the result.

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Despite their attempts to slash away at the tendrils some were still able to snag both clones with the thorns scraping away at the thin veneer concealing the plain crystal beneath. "Perhaps your words would have some weight if you would actually do something." Beneath his confident words Shibata hid a twinge of doubt at Kiiro's surge of confidence at getting hold of the clones one that remained even after taking direct hits from the needles, electing to err on the side of caution he dispelled the two potentially compromised clones leaving them to crumble into glittering dust, if they were somehow essential to Kiiro's scheme for victory then Shibata need only deprive him of them.

Taking a look around the arena he tried to see if there was some other ploy Kiiro intended to carry out, perhaps the still smouldering flower was merely the only visible part of some root system running under the arena? Shaking off his worries before he started thinking himself into a corner he readied another half dozen needles and launched them in pairs to precisely control them with Blade Manipulation aiming for critical points to either cripple Kiiro or force him into tipping his hand.

Ganryu

 

[Ganryu]

​

As Team Miho began to emerge from the cave, a maelstrom awaited them outside. A column of wind could be seen passing infront of them, whipping and flinging rocks from the local area like bullets sprays in random directions.

A moment later, the mountain range they could see from the mountain turned white in a blinding flash. A moment later, the tornado was gone, a faint red outline of plasma in it's place. And then a thunderous boom shook the entire mountain side, the earth rumbling below them, and threatening to send each of the genin careening in the air away. And then it was calm. The dark sky disappated, and a clear sun could be seen, with no rain, wind, or lightning around. The pressure dip Arashigakure was famous for was also gone.

A calm after the cataclysm.

In the center where the lightning had been a moment ago, polished stone shone against the sun, and water glistened in a nearby lake. All around them, clouds were spontaneously forming and disappearing in the distance.
--------

Sachiko went flying off as the thunder struck, landing in a pile of rocks, her legs sticking out, and her boots falling out pathetically. Survival skills were not kicking in for her, and how her stomach felt, if mother nature wanted to finish her off, so be it. But after a moment, she felt something weird. THe pressure rising, and sun on her legs.

Undigging herself, her head bobbed. "What on earth was that...?" Sachiko squinted at the sky, before shaking her head. Crapbaskets, how do I ask which way stupid clouds are without looking bad.

"So, uh...which way we going? Hey, Waka, you said it was your team, right? Which village we going to? Shio, you're the bright one... how we getting there?"

 

[Ganryu]

Ichiro snarled as normal at the question, a gutteral growl, but it didn't seem to be directed to Okimi directly. He shook his head. "Don't know. Gut tells me. Gotta listen to it." He cocked his head like a dog as he though, suddenly leaning against a building, then nodded as if answering a question, standing up and prowling once more. "Do you feel something in the air. The pressure keeps rising and falling. Arashigakure ain't like that normally. It's always gloomy here, on account of the- anyways, it's not supposed to ever change. Ever. During one of the brats fights, a burst of sunshine came through. Some patches of ground here haven't seen sunlight in decades."

He shook his head. "Everyone else is busy with the chunnin exams. You guys did awesome, know you can take on higher stuff now, recommending you to chunnin. But part of that comes with acting with or without your village's input. We might be the walking dead, but we're the only one's around. Putting your life on the line don't only work for when you feel like it. Sometimes you gotta drag yourself feeling like shit. But we ain't full health either, so fighting ain't exactly a high priority. We're the scouts right now."

As Ichiro prowled suddenly a shockwave shot through the area, blowing out windows, and resounding a loud bark, like a dog snarling. In the distance, a thick fog, purple and crackling with electricity began to roll in. Ichiro cursed. "Shit, that stuff ain't good for a hospital. You two, make your choice, either go get help, or figure out what's going on! Getting help, go to the arena! Figure out what's going on, go towards that shit. Man... I ain't no ninjutsu specialist... What were the handsigns again... Toru, Mi, Ne, Mi, Toru..."

Ichiro began a series of handsigns before slamming his hand down on the ground.

Water Release: Water Wall

A sudden column of water surrounded the hospital, rebuffing the fog around them momentarily, but keeping Ichiro to the spot.

"Make your choice! Ninjutsu aint' my style, and don't know how long I'm holding this up. That shit ain't gunna be good for you either, but deal with it. First part of you guy's next step anyways."