~Defeating A Mirage~

[Usagi-Chan~]

"Dang," Though Keiko angrily."We are still waiting for Fen and Akane!" Keiko thought while making a Tiger hand sign."Ninja Art Keckerogan Release!" Said Keiko quietly. "I'm now ready for any challenge from here on in!"

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Akane struggled to follow Fenra. Dammit! He's so fast! He's definitely his team's 'muscle', no doubt about that, Akane noted. And not only that, but his detemination is pretty insane. Maybe I shouldn't have written him off as a non-threat so quickly. If this guy does decide to turn on us later, it'll be trouble. Especially since... Akane stared at her left leg and winced in pain. She hadn't quite been truthful when she explained how she had defeated the ranged shinobi earlier. Yes, she had used the substitution jutsu to enter the treetops, but she had pinpointed their location by the directions of their bola. In order to do that, she'd had to take a few hits...

Akane started warily at her opponent- a Mitsu Bunshin clone. She had guessed her opponent would be directly above her somewhere from the positioning of the earlier attacks. Now all she had to do was implement a brilliant little strategy. Stealing up behind the girl, she quickly formed the seals for a transformation. The jutsu's effects were quite useless from a practical standpoint- all she had done was to change her hairstyle slightly- but it was the sound that counted. Her opponent would think it was one of the clones dispersing. Then it was a simple matter of a quick bait and switch. As the bola came hurtling in, Akane pulled the clone roughly in front of her. She averted her eyes quickly and pulled herself into a ball-like shape as the bola contacted the body of the clone, eliminating it. It had been her plan from the beggining: to pinpoint the opponent's locatin based on throwing patterns and to attack them. As the clone evaporated, Akane launched the flashbomb in her hand.

It was then that the last bola struck.

One of the clones had delayed its attack for some reason. Akane grimaced as she twisted to avoid the weapon. Thankfully she managed to avoid the thongs, which would have caused the bola to break her leg had they caught on it. One of the heavy iron balls slammed into the side of her left leg, however. If it hadn't been for the senbon brace she had strapped to her leg, the force of the blow might have resulted in a small fracture. As it was, the injury was painful enough. Biting her lip, she chided herself for not forseeing this and planning ahead. She should probably stop to check the injury, she realized. However, if she hesitated now the entire ambush's timing would be lost. Besides that, she wasn't about to show weakness in front of this Fen guy. Not now and not ever.

Curling her lips into a snarl, Akane attacked.

The leg wasn't in good condition. The blow must have numbed the leg somewhat at first because the moment Akane moved, she felt daggers stabbing it. Not only that, but Fen had just entered the tree canopy. Thoroughly disgusted, Akane followed, favoring her right leg as much as she could without making it obvious that she was in pain as she kept up with him. The moment she reached the tree tops, Akane spotted the kunai and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't need Fen's words to tell her that these kunai were a trail left by Yumi and the others. The sigh then changed into a slight gasp as she realized the obvious dangers of this set-up. What if another team spotted this trail? It would be oh-so-easy to track the group's movements then. And Hanako was still unconscious and still with them.

Kuso.

Akane leaped forward, shouting a hasty "Come on!" to Fenra. She had to reach the others before they were ambushed anyway, in spite of her work to prevent that. Unfortunately, in her haste Akane forgot about her leg's injured status. The pain caused her to cry out as she lost her footing and slipped from the treetops, saving herself only by grabbing the limb she had been standing on not moments before. Cursing, she pulled herself up with as much dignity as she could muster, praying that Fen wouldn't ask the embarassing question that she knew would follow.

 

[Kansas]

The two leaped through the trees in silence as they followed the kunai trail leading back to the group. Fen kept his steady pace when he heard a "come on!" from Akane. Fen assumed she realized what had been obvious from the beginning; if they can follow the trail then others could follow the trail as well. Fen watched her attempt to speed up and leap ahead when she landed oddly on her left foot, let out a yell, then fell below the tree line, grabbing on quickly to the branch. Fen stopped on the branch before her and watched her struggle to get up.

"Ugh... this girl is so damn stubborn. She must have gotten injured during her battle with that ranged ninja..." Fen thought to himself as he watched with frustrated eyes as Akane weakly pulled herself upright. He crossed his arms and gave her a stern look.

"Its going to be quite while before we catch up to the others. You're clearly injured. If we're going to get through this and make sure our team mates are safe, you're going to have to start trusting me and toss aside a little bit of that pride you have. If we want to make it, we need to make sure we know everything. So that we can work together properly." Fen said to her sternly. He paused for a moment then continued. "Look... i'll make it fair. To show you i'm serious, heres my current status. I have about 1/3 of my chakra reserve left, which isn't much even by normal standings. My fist works based on a separate chakra source. The stored chakra inside of the special wrap around my right arm; popping my knuckles triggers the release of the chakra flow and hand seals give it wind property for the explosion. Right now my fist can only handle the pressure of enough chakra for 3 shots. I've used 2 so I have one more left. On my current internal chakra reserves, i have enough energy to fight one maybe two opponents with all i've got. My mirror clones wont help the situation, because they are made the exact same as the user's condition when summoned." Fen finished and looked her straight in the eyes.

He clenched his fist for a moment at having released the majority of his ninjutsu and battle capabilities, but it seemed the only way he could possibly earn her trust.

"Now. You know everything about me, Akane. I don't expect you to do the same, but knowing this information... I just have to ask one question." Fen finished and sighed deeply.

"...Do you need help?"

 

[Đ a r κ]

A rush of cold air could be felt bombarding Souran's bones. His body shivered for a moment, but stopped once Souran positioned himself into a battle position. The enemy could be felt, getting closer. At this point, with two members absent, one injured comrade, high leveled opponents, and most of the team almost to their limit, the situation seemed drastic.

Just then, a blast of wind, came flowing through the trees, as a figure flashed into sight, landing his or himself, onto the branch in front of Keiko, Dansei, Yumi, and Souran. Eyes, opened wide, and with his mouth, open just a bit, being held up by his clenched teeth, Souran took a single look at the person, and knew instantly that, he was the enemy.

The man, leaned down from his forward leap, slowly pushed his body into an up-right position. As his face slowly appeared, an evil smirk could be seen, while his devilish eyes glared at each member of the team. Once standing firm, he giggled before he started to introduce himself. Sando didn't find these four shinobi very dangerous, and pondered the thought that Zurui may be slipping up.

"Why, hello there kiddies. The name's Sando...I'm here for your Heavens scroll." He took a glance at each ninja to find the scroll's whereabouts, but soon, gave up the search.

"I'll give you two choices...one; you hand over the scroll and you all survive. Or, I take it from you, by force. Make your choice." He finished, waiting for a decision.

"...It's so tempting..." Souran thought to himself, "But, we can't do it. We have to take him out quick. If I can completely control him, I could probably eliminate him from our area...Here we go." Souran moved forward.

"Al-alright, you can have our heavens scroll...but you have to let us live." Sando smirked as he slowly moved towards Souran.

"It seems you have one smart shinobi on your team...or a foolish one. Anyway, I'll allow you to live, but give me the scroll." Souran removed his kunai pouch from his leg, knowing it had no scroll in it, he lifted it up and handed it to Sando, who took it and turned to leave. Souran smiled.

"Who were you calling foolish?" Souran moved his fingers in order to turn Sando around.

"You've just been caught in my body manipulation technique...Guys, I need you to aim for his head, his will is strong, which means I can't hold on to him much longer." He stated, as he struggled to keep his jutsu in order. Attaching, his chakra string to the pouch, seemed very brilliant. Souran just hoped it wouldn't be for nothing.

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

"Okay Souran!" Said Keiko deviously."Ninja Art Fire Style Hell Flame Jutsu! Now Aim For his head!" Keiko grabbed a small bottle and drank it he then released his attack. Black flames flew out his mouth going at a rapid rate aiming twoards the enemy nins head. Gotcha thought Keiko happily.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

Dangit, Souran! We could've had him! My team's Heaven scroll is with Akane! We could've convinced him that we were one team, and only had an Earth... Oh well.

Dansei closed his eyes, creating a mental picture of the situation in his head. Sando is the center point here, he thought. A tree is directly right of him, and I am at a fourty five degree angle in relation to Sando... The shinobi smirked, opening his eyes. I've got it.

Dansei reached into his kunai pouch, pulling out several shuriken, wire attached to each one. He quietly stuck the ends of the wires in his mouth as he leapt to another the same branch as his opponent, keeping them stuck in the corner of his mouth. "You're screwed now, Sando-Chan," he muttered, throwing the projectiles at the enemy ninja as Keiko's attack subsided. The shuriken crossed in front of Sando, passed under his arms and circled around the tree, effectively binding him to the trunk as the shuriken repeatedly wrapped around him.

"Sorry any pain that came with that," Dansei shouted to Souran, taking the wires from his mouth and wrapping them around his hands. "Release whenever you're ready."

 

[Đ a r κ]

"Gah.." Souran uttered, as the wires that binded Sando to a tree, affected Souran as well. Luckily, Souran wasn't pushed too far back, so he was able to stay on his branch.

"Release whenever you're ready." Dansei commanded. Souran rolled his eyes some what. As if he had any other choices, now that he was unable to move, but something struck Souran's thoughts, he was able to move, so what happened? Did they defeat Sando? A sudden laugh roared from the battle area, but it was coming from the enemy, what could he have to laugh about?

"Oh, you genin are too funny...placing me into a trap, throwing fire at me, and then...-strings tied to shuriken, creative, but hardly effective against me." As the last spec of dust, from Keiko's attack, completely cleared, Sando could be seen, unharmed, and standing firm. Souran was truly astonished. How was it possible for a human to withstand a blast of fire, and be attacked by wire, and have absolutely no scratches, what-so-ever?

"I bet your wondering what's going on...how does he not have a scratch on him? kekeke...You see, I control my chakra on a whole different level than the way you're used to doing. I am able to force my chakra out of my body, and use it as a weapon, and afterwards, I can suck that chakra right back into my body. This meaning, I possess unlimited chakra. That being said, I was able to break those wires with this jutsu, and forced that chakra string, out of my system. As for the fire, I simply, shielded myself." Though scared, Souran had to admit that Sando's abilities were extraordinary.

"It seems like I wont be obtaining the scroll by being nice, so I shall now try force." He announced, before lifting his right arm in front of his chest, then pushing chakra out, in the form of a crescent blade. Sando readied himself to leap towards the team, his chakra blade becoming larger, in order to cover more distance.

"Ready yourselves, kiddies, and remember the name of the one who killed you...Sando!" He roared, as he jumped forward.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

Dansei leapt back to the branch Hanako was resting on, crouching down in front of her. This guy's big, to be sure, but he shouldn't have been able to break my wires... They wrapped around him at least fifteen times each. He bit his lip as he tried to formulate a new plan, but nothing came to mind. His chakra control is what's preventing us from having the upper hand... I bet Genjutsu wouldn't even work on him... So much for this being quick.

Dansei looked down at his trench knives, brow furrowed. I'm fairly proficient with my Flying Swallow technique... he finally thought. Maybe.. If I consume another hyorogan, I can extend my chakra in the same way he is. If I can switch places with someone else, we'll be able to stall in time for Fen and Akane to save us.

Maybe.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Akane bit her lip as she listened to Fen and attempted to block out what was happening. His statement had started with a slight criticism of Akane, she had been prepared for that and was quite used to statements like that from others. But what followed completely unseated Akane's reason. She didn't trust anyone male, with the possible exceptions of her family. She didn't want to accept that anyone could be trusted. She was a shinobi, and a girl. An easy target to guys, and a rival to fellow kunoichi. She wasn't prepared for a guy that essentially unloaded everything about himself- from the mechanics of his jutsu to his current chakra level- just to convince her to ask for his help. She tried to fool herself into thinking that he was planning to attack as soon as she divulged information, but it was no use. If he had really wanted to turn on her, he would have done so the moment he was injured. So what was he after? Maybe he was going to stab her in the back the moment she trusted him? No, it was still a shaky hypothesis. There was no alternative. Could he actually... want to help her? Was it possible?

Akane's lips pursed as she smiled ruefully. "It's not often I admit something like this..." she muttered, before moving to her feet, careful to shift most of her weight to the right leg. Before she could stop herself, she blurted it out. "Yes. Yes, I need some help. I think that bola shattered the senbon brace on my shin. I've probably got some throwing needles embedded in there now. I'll be fine, I just need to grab your shoulder or something so I can keep weight off of it, and I should be just fine." The moment the words were out, Akane's mouth dropped open in shock. For the first time in at least three years, she had actually been open with a male. She had admitted a problem and accepted an offer for help. Was she going soft? A wild impulse overcame her. Perhaps if she moved quickly she could take the words back and pincushion Fen with her remaining kunai before making her way back. After all, it wasn't like they were on the same team and he was probably planning something even if she couldn't figure out what it was. Common sense, thankfully, precluded this plan. Akane couldn't afford not to trust Fen. The others had marked their trail too carefully, and Hanako might need help. If Akane wanted to get there in time, she had to rely on him.

Another strange impulse overcame Akane. Raising her eyes to meet Fen's, she whispered "Thanks." It was only one word, but coming from Akane it meant volumes.

The remains of what could have been a beautiful picture of a girl learning to trust were shattered by the explosion of black flame not thirty meters ahead. Akane's paranoiac instincts isntantly turned on in overkill. "Those... IDIOTS!" she fumed, tugging at her own hair wildly. "Do they want to get themselves killed? Every team for miles probably saw that, and now they're all going to attack! I mean, I can understand not being concerned for their own safety, but Hanako's? Alright, that does it!" Pulling her eyes away from the flames, she pointed along the path. "Well, let's go! If we don't get there in time, those idiots will probably have half of the shinobi in this forest who don't already have scrolls after them!"

 

[Đ a r κ]

"Ready yourselves, kiddies, and remember the name of the one who killed you...Sando!" Sando bellowed, plunging forward, in the direction of Keiko, Yumi, Dansei, and Souran. The situation at hand did not seem in their favor. An enemy who could extend his chakra to his likings, while not sparing any of it. This would mean that Souran's chakra strings could be easily exerted along with the chakra he forces out of his body. The only way for the strings to get inside would be to catch him off guard like before with the kunai pouch, but surely, he wouldn't fall for another trick. Though, Souran isn't all knowing of Yumi and Dansei's arsenal, with such a robust defense, their attacks may not be as opposing to Sando either. It even struck Souran that even with Akane and Fen's added support, it may not be enough. And, if that wasn't enough, the explosion from Keiko's attack may have placed the area on the spot for attackers. The entire situation just forced more and more trouble for the team. They had to think quick, and before Sando reached everyone, he realized a fault in Sando's attack. Though, he exerts chakra, there must be a way to keep it stable. The answer, which came to Souran, was that Sando hardens the chakra, only adding more when needed. This meaning, his blade, is real, but that could be a weakness, if the right moves are used. Having this information, Souran quickly front flipped above Sando, then pushed out his second chakra string, a foot away from Sando's right arm, hoping that he'd strike the blade. After, there was no time to hope, so Souran pulled the string over his head, and flung his arm toward the tree Sando previously stood upon.
Just then, Sando was stopped, slowly being lifted from the ground.

"Yes!" Souran shouted in success. Before he knew it, Sando began to head for the trunk of the tree, but before crashing, he exerted enough of his chakra to break the force, resulting in his being safe. Then Souran realized that he wasted yet another one of his five strings, leaving him with only three chakra strings in his possession.

"Hm...seems like there are crowds of more ninja heading for this direction. If I stay around, I'll get too caught up in things. Best to leave now. After all, if we had the key, what would Riki have to do?" Sando thought to himself. Once landing on his feet, he brushed off some hair away from his face, and spoke up.

"Well now, I think I'll be making my exit now. It was a good workout. Maybe we should try it again sometime..." Sando stopped as he turned to walk away, his head turned back to the group of genin. He realized Hanako laying on a branch. "...That friend of yours...she's injured, correct?" Souran glanced at Hanako and back to Sando, replying, "What's it to you?!" Sando giggled, turning his head to it's forward position.

"Nothing, I just figured I may help her get to the tower...that is where your heading, right...to get her some help I presume. Would you like me to escort you all to the tower?" Souran clutched his teeth together in anger, thinking it would turn out to be a trap. Though, he didn't want to make decisions for everyone, and so, he asked, "...Well, what do you guys think. Depending on the situation we have on our hands that is." He then waited on the rest of the group to reply.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

((Man... I wanted a battle. D:))

"No," Dansei said strongly, glaring coldly at Sando. "I'd rather kick your pudgy little butt than fall into an obvious trap like that." The stern ninja held up one of his hyorogan, one eyebrow raised. "Leave, or I will consume this pill, and you will die."

This bluff had better work...

"Being able to manipulate your chakra like you do, you should be familiar with the Flying Swallow technique, right?" Dansei asked. "It allows you to extend the blade of a weapon -- any weapon, really, with your chakra." The ninja smirked, his piercing blue eyes boring into Sando's forehead. "My chakra is at about, oh, 80 percent right now. With this hyorogan, my chakra levels will increase to about 160 percent."

"Now, let's do the math," Dansei continued. "With an overly large amount of chakra, in addition to my excellent chakra control, I would be able to create an equivalent of your fighting style. That, in addition to the fighting prowess of my teammates here, and, well, you'd be much more than screwed. In fact, you'd leave this battle with a few bones, at the least."

Oh crap... I wish I hadn't done that now...

"Now, if you're smart, you would leave."

Why didn't I think this through beforehand?

"Go."

Shiimata...

 

[Đ a r κ]

OOC: But we gotta get out of the forest Dx

IC:

"Don't underestimate my abilities. I'll admit, you'd all be worthy adversaries at that point, but it would be for not. I honestly could have killed each of you before I came into plane sight, but I wanted to view your techniques." Sando began, warning the others of his powers.

"And if you don't take my help, you will die without a doubt. By either my team, or by the herd of other genin heading this way. The way I see it, you need me to take you to the tower. I understand how untrustworthy I am, being the one who barged over, commanding for you to hand over your scroll, but...I don't need it, in fact, I'll tell you why I don't need it, and perhaps you'll then believe me." Sando turned his body to face the team, and quickly hurried, before the opposing teams arrived.

"In the tower, there is a key within the stone hand-seal on the floor where you'll be greeted by the hokage and other ninja. The key is the same color as the stone; gray. It's exact location is in between the two index fingers and the two middle fingers. Now, there is a switch, that pulls the two index fingers away from the middle fingers, revealing a blank book. The key is inside of it. The switch, is the thumb, to activate it, you must pull it backwards, away from the other fingers." Sando finally came to his conclusion of it all.

"Since, my team needs a scroll, and no team will just hand one over, I'd like you all to get the key for us. It's either that, or your lives. Make your decision." He finished, rotating around, readying himself to take off. Souran saw right through it all, he'd escort them to the tower, but his team would be there to help him take the scroll from us...but on the other hand, he may be telling the truth, and it's either trust him, or battle countless enemies. Souran looked to Dansei.

"Let's take his offer, we have no other choice. If we stay here any longer, the other teams will murder us all, and our entire attempt to help Hanako will be in vein. Though it is a risk to trust this guy, it's the only choice we have." Sando had his head turned to Dansei to see his reaction.

"The offer doesn't last all day, it's either now, or never." Sando added. Souran made a promise that if Dansei actually refused, he'd use his technique on him, unless there was a good reason. He didn't even care if he wasted another string.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

((ZOMG I THINK I SENSE STORY DEVELOPMENT.))

Dansei slipped the hyorogan between his fingers back into it's container, shaking his head. "Fine," he said sourly, his gaze still focused on Sando's forehead. "It's the only choice, so I guess we have to take it."

This did NOT turn out as well as I had hoped, Dansei thought, turning around and slipping his right trench knife off his knuckles. He took the weapon into his left hand and started carving into the tree behind Hanako, frowning.

Hurry... Up...

When he was finished, he took off his other trench knife, and put the weapons back into his pouch. Then, he knelt down, picked up Hanako, and turned back around. "There's a single condition here," he said, after a slight pause. "If you betray us in any way whatsoever, I will knife you down on the spot." Dansei looked at the ground momentarily. "And if I can't do so," he continued, "I've told our back up where we're headed." He pointed back at the tree he had carved into, which now held the message, "Hurry Up."

"And now that we've got terms and conditions set, let's go ahead and shove off."

 

[Kansas]

the massive explosion made Fen's hair stand on end. Even though he was accustom to giant explosions and large jutsu, the chill was not that of being startled. It was the fact that he knew where the jutsu came from.

"tch... damnit Keiko...we aren't fighting for our own safety here..." Fen said under his breath as his brain flashed through possible solutions. "theres no time, come on. We're going to need to hurry and catch up to the others. No telling what kind of trouble they're drawing near them."

Fen turned, looking towards the now smoking area where the flame jutsu had previously been seen.

"I'm going to get us there as fast as I can but we're not going to make direct contact immediately. okay?" Fen quickly cycled through a few hand signs. "Wind Style - Whispering Winds Jutsu. Hang on tight."

Fen quickly spun around and swept Akane off her feet, cradling her in his arms as the gentle breeze began to wrap around them. Fen stepped forward then vanished into the air, darting through the trees at super high speed to catch up to the others, only hoping that it wouldn't be too late.

"Even if we get there in time... Akane is hurt, and my chakra level depletes exponentially with every jutsu I perform..." Fen thought to himself while moving swiftly through the forest. His eyes focused on his bandaged arm. "Only one punch left....low chakra levels...and....." Fen winced in pain for a brief second.

"My arm.... it hurts so much...."

Fen caught sight of the group and stopped short, being sure not to get too close and be seen. He set Akane down against the tree trunk, being careful of her leg. He kneeled down to eye level, rubbing his arm in an attempt to numb some of the pain.

"Okay Akane. We're working together this time. I see them following another shinobi. We can't act rashly. What do you propose?"

OOC: hope you didn't mind a little minor bunnying, ACC.... i just want to speed up the forest of death

 

[Scarlet Weather]

"I propose..." Akane gritted her teeth angrily and cuffing Fen on the back of the head lightly, "That you put me down! I asked you to support my leg, not attempt to romance me!" Extricating herself from his grasp, she managed to pull herself onto an overhanging branch using her arms before crouching down, careful to rest most of her weight on her right leg, before taking a good look at the other shinobi. Immediately after doing so, a chill crept up Akane's spine. That guy wasn't one of the shinobi she remembered seeing earlier. Was it her imagination, or was he with another group? Plus... her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. He reminded her of an animal she had heard of once. It was some kind of parasite, a creature that entered the body of its host and absorbed nutrients from it in order to survive. Why she felt that way she couldn't exactly say, but she decided to chalk it up to a combination of the shinobi's ability to sense the opponent's motives and her woman's intuition.

Satisfied with her assessment of the situation, Akane turned to Fen and whispered to him. "I think they've formed an alliance with that guy, for whatever reason, but they don't trust him entirely. See the way that they've all tensed up? They're ready to turn on each other the moment the oppurtunity presents itself. Anyway, we can't just charge in and attack. That'll just put them in danger, especially Hanako. We'll follow behind and pitch in if it comes to a fight." Slipping through the branches while keeping weight off her injured leg, Akane slipped her arm over Fen's shoulders and used it to support herself. "Just so we're clear, Kyokou-kun," she stated emphatically, "This is what I mean when I say I need you to support my leg. If you attempt to seduce me again, it'll make it very hard for me to work with you. Do we understand each other? Good, because I'm not going to say this again. I am not, repeat, not up for grabs. You boys think you can just waltz around and make eyes at a girl and she'll fall for you, oh yes..." The rest of Akane's rant petered off as she attempted to calm herself down.

 

[Kansas]

"ya you're right... they don't trust this guy at all... I can see it through Souran's movements." Fen whispered silently in response as they crept through the trees.

Akane proceeded to veer off of the original conversation and return to the topic of Fen trying to hit on her as she slung her arm around his shoulder.

"This is what I mean when I say I need you to support my leg. If you attempt to seduce me again, it'll make it very hard for me to work with you. Do we understand each other? Good, because I'm not going to say this again. I am not, repeat, not up for grabs. You boys think you can just waltz around and make eyes at a girl and she'll fall for you, oh yes..." she rambled...

Fen cut her off right there and stopped dead in his tracks and gave her a slight shove off of his shoulder.

"Listen up. If Souran wasn't so hell bent on saving your team mate, i wouldn't even be here right now. Seduction is the last thing you should be concerned about. You're awfully self-centered for such an average looking girl. Every guy isn't out trying to get you, its actually quite the opposite. The only reason i've tolerated your constant nagging is because Souran would never forgive me if I had left you in the forest to die. I picked you up... because you don't have a chance in hell in keeping up with me when it comes to speed." Fen said scornfully. He was clearly frustrated with females in general by this point, being as they had been the center of all his troubles in the forest.

"We could be done with this part of the exam by now but chose to help you guys. Show some freaking gratitude because you'd still be staring down a team of 3 had no one else realized you were gone. And cut that Kyokou crap. My name is Fenra. Now if you're done complaining about things that aren't even of concern, I'd rather be concerned about my team's lives." Fen finished, pounding his fist into the trunk of a tree, splintering the wood a bit.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

A disturbance... Close, too... Dansei thought. Two people...

"Well? Come on, she needs medical treatment," Dansei snapped, nodding down towards Hanako while focusing more chakra to the point where Akane and Fen were hiding. "If we don't go now, this stupid agreement will have been pointless."

Oh, good... It's our good ol' teammates... he finally thought, looking at Souran, trying to convey the message with his eyes. We've got some insurance, now...

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Akane clenched her fist as she listened to Fenra rattle on about how ordinary she looked, and how grateful she should be. Honestly, how could he object to the nickname Kyokou? It suited him perfectly! The moment, however, that he insinuated that she was out to get guys rather then the opposite, Akane instinctively launched a kunai directly into the tree where it lodged next to Fen's head. "Sorry, habit," she explained, clenching her teeth. "If you ever in your life insinuate that I've been chasing guys, I swear that I'll kill you, fast or not. I don't particularly want to kill you, because I know that you aren't chasing me, and I really am grateful to you for helping me out. But I've been hurling kunai since I was old enough to pick one up, and the one thing that'll gurantee your death around me is calling me a floozy. Got that?" It was then that another part of Fen's little speech hit her. "Wait... you called me ordinary, didn't you?" A playful smile flashed. "Well, in that case I apologize for thinking you were attempting to show off by lifting me up like that, and thank you for being the first person with the common sense to notice that I'm not a prima donna. I wish there were more people in the world like you."

The movements of the group ahead distracted Akane. "Dammit! Dansei's looking this way! I hope that creep ahead of them doesn't notice. I don't know any Genjutsu, so I can't distract him." Suddenly, her face turned slightly thoughtful. "Listen, Fenra-kun..." her voice trailed off. "If it comes to a fight, I want you to drop me. I'll be fine, but concentrate on protecting Hanako. Forget that I even exist. Understand?"

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

Keiko quickly glanced at Dansei, then looked back to see Fen and Akane coming back."So they are almost here, I guess we have a bit of backup. Keiko was really glad now that he had backup he thoguht he was in the clear."Ugh!" Said Keiko as he fell to the ground."That move I used,it took alot of chakra and I worn out and I don't have much chakra left."

 

[Kansas]

Akane responded to Fen's anger in the way he imagined her doing so... by throwing another kunai at him and threatening his life.

"ugh... tool users are so obnoxious and arrogant, just like that Ten-Ten chick... everyone knows tool specialists don't stand a prayer against wind style... but whatever..." Fen thought to himself annoyed as Akane continued to talk on and on.

He finally tuned back into the conversation when Akane said something about Dansei looking their way. Fen shot a glance towards the still moving group and definitely saw that Dansei had turned his head slightly to see them.

"Calm down Akane, you're rushing things... even the guy they're following isn't dumb enough to not realize that Dansei is blind..." Fen was cut off by another movement.

Fen watched as Keiko completely craned his head in the opposite direction to look straight at them. This look triggered a reaction that was very common among Souran and Fen. Fen muttered the two words that seem to be instinctive and said way too often through out the team.

"....Damnit Keiko."

Fen clenched his fist, attempting to contain his anger, just praying the shinobi didn't realize how dumb of a move Keiko made.

"Listen, Fenra-kun..." her voice trailed off. "If it comes to a fight, I want you to drop me. I'll be fine, but concentrate on protecting Hanako. Forget that I even exist. Understand?" Akane said to him as he prepared to pick her up again and zip out of sight.

"Drop you and forget you even exist? I can't imagine having too much trouble with that one..." Fen said as he stepped in front of her and wrapped her arms around his neck, then bumped her up into piggy back position.

"This is the best way to move without throwing off my weight. I don't want to hear any complaints." Fen said coldly.

without waiting for an answer, Fen took off and moved through the trees zipping to the opposite side of where they had been spotted in an attempt to at least keep their location a secret. Fen called back to Akane, letting her know his plan.

"Its only a matter of time before confrontation occurs. If we travel like this, it should be harder to sense both of our chakra approaching. I'm going to stick to the trees until that happens. As opposed to just dropping you, i'm going to leave you in a tree and lead the battle to a vantage point. If your aim is as good as you boast, we should be able to catch them off guard and stick them full of kunai before they get a chance to blink. Using the element of surprise, i'll have my mirror clone go into a defensive position on Hanako, my team should know what to do from there so that we can gain the upper hand. I'll be back to get you when the battle clears. Got it?"