~Defeating A Mirage~

[ThatInsaneKid]

Dansei stood up, muttering a few words about "women" and "troublesome" and "overactive". He quickly joined Hanako and Akane, picking out Yumi in the waves of genin and motioning for her to join them. He made sure to walk next to Hanako -- after Akane's marksmanship display after Hanako's encounter with Fen, he did NOT want to be near her -- and she had already tried to kill him earlier. The young ninja once again reverted to being blind, and slid the cloth that had been resting on his forehead back over his eyes.

No more writing... Finally. Now I can stop wasting my chakra and focus completely on the exam. After all, from here on out, it's going to be nothing but combat, especially by the sounds of the location of this next part of the exam... Dansei thought, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The Forest of Death.

 

[Đ a r κ]

OOC: I'm gunna go ahead and place everyone in front of the Forest Of Death gate to save time, and besides, nothing interesting would happen while we walk there.

IC: It truly seemed like no time had been spent getting to the Forest of Death, it almost appeared as though they had all teleported there. The mood, since standing in front of the massive forest, felt like dead souls were being emitted from the darkness of the forest. After glancing at such a thing, you would instantly gain shivers that would travel down your spine. After analyzing the area, Souran could tell that this forest was no playground. He shivered for a brief moment from thinking of what lies within the Forest Of Death. After giving the moment to sink into the genin, Anko finally introduced the Forest.

"Well, you guys scared yet?...Most genin give up after seeing this baby right here. It really is something once you set aside it's gloomy look. To many strange creatures; this is their home. I'd be careful of where I walked. Now, before I announce what this exam calls for, I need you to sign this form" Anko pulled out a large chunk of papers. ", then after reading through it, you'll need to sign it. It basically states that if you are killed during this test, you were aware of the risk and take full responsibility. As for this part of the exam, we are testing your survival skills." She stated as she handed out the papers.

"I'll give you a description of the terrain; the fourty-fourth battle training zone has fourty-four locked entrance gates. There are rivers and a forest inside. Held in the center is a locked tower, ten kilometers from each gate. Your mission is to obtain two scrolls, the heaven scroll, and the earth scroll. To get these scrolls, anything goes, even during battle. One half of the added amount of teams will have to battle for the earth scroll while the other fights for the heaven. In order to pass, each team must bring both scrolls to the tower, also the test has a time limit; five days. There are ways to get disqualified though. If one member of your team is unable to continue, or if you cannot make it to the tower with both scrolls within five days. Most importantly, absolutely none of you can look at what is inside the scrolls until you reach the tower. Alright, now take your signed consent forms to the gentlemen over there and trade them for your team's scroll, then pick a gate and wait to be let in. Also, a bit of advise...just don't die!" Anko had finally finished as she pointed to her right, where two chuunin were awaiting for the forms, and there were a good amount of gennin who weren't quite sure weather to stay or not. Souran didn't even hesitate to sign his consent form, all he had to do was wait for his team to sign there's.

"Finally, some action, and besides getting these scrolls will be a piece of cake with my jutsu, hehe." Souran giggles to himself, feeling eager to get into the forest. Souran had felt a pinch on his shoulder as he clutched his fists in excitement. It was then that he realized that he still had that blue jay under control. Souran had forgot about the poor bird. He decided to set it free, and so, his jutsu was released from the bird.

"Poor thing, I hope I didn't bring it too far away from where it was heading. Thanks, you were a lot of help." He thanks the blue jay as it flew away. Souran then walked around to check if his teammates had finished signing their forms.

 

[Shadow_Yue]

Following the strange woman to their next destination ,Team 11 reformed. This was something that Yumi was more or less happy about. She would have to hear Hanako's strange shouts of how awesome anko's outfit was or something else that she didn't care to remember. But Dansei was was quiet and Akane didn't seem to be making THAT much noise so that was ok. But still, Yumi made sure to stay a good 2 paces back from Hanako. When they reached theri destination she was quite surprised. The Forest of Death they called it huh? Doesn't sound the least bit scary. You could name your cat the Kitten of Death and wouldn't be afraid of it, so why be afraid of a forest. Besides she was fairly sure that Hanako's justu would be useful in here.

"Better not punk out.." Yumi said under her breath. She had worked way too hard to get here. Listening to Anko's speech about how it would be ANOTHER 'if your teammate fails you fail' test got her very agitated with this entire thing. All this team based business was giving her a headache. Why didn't Tenten-sensei give them any teamwork excercises? It would've prepared them a lot more. After finishing everything she had to say,Anko pointed over to where 2 other ninjas were with forms. She had said they had to sign them to take full responsibility for if they die or not. Yumi smirked and folded her arms over her chest, they couldn't kill her. Not even if they tried. She walked over to the two ninjas took the form and signed it, but made sure to read it carefully first. After confirming that it was ok to sign it she gave it back to them and walked back to her team satified with herself. They had better not hold her back.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

Why nust EVERYTHING involve writing?! Dansei thought, clenching his fists. He walked up to the front and got his release form, then returned to the rest of his team before actually signing it. He quietly nudged Hanako in the arm, blushing slightly. "Could you..." he started, holding his form out to her. "Could you please tell me what it says?" the young man asked. "Just... simplify it, if you could... I don't have any chakra left to get my sight back, so I can't read it." He bit his lip tentatively, frowning slightly.

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Gah, sorry, I would have had this post up yesterday but I was shooed off the computer. And it was only one AM too. xD

Anyways, happy new year's, everyone. ^0^

IC:

"Forest of death?" Hanako echoed, trying her best to avoid any tone skepticism that may have been interpreted as disrespect for the person who was currently her favorite exam proctor as she observed the forest in front of her. Oh, it was respectably tall-grown and spooky and all that, but if there was one thing that a Tamori clan member was not likely to be scared by, it was a tree. Having a lot of trees didn't really up the intimidation factor that much. The young swordswoman stared into the woods for a while, but contrary to what one might have believed, this had nothing to do with fear.

"It's...kind of pretty." she said at last, "Young, though, hasn't been there for more than a century, I wager. Hah, I bet my great grandpa even cultivated some of those." she chuckled for herself, unable to resist giving her ever-silent but slightly worried-looking teammate an encouraging pat on the back -- pat, brutal assault, pick and choose -- "No need to sweat it, Dansei-kun." she informed him cheerfully, grasping her own consent form and jotting down her name without any sign of hesitation, "I'll get us through this, no problem. This place doesn't look much more dangerous than Yuukiji's back garden."

Hanako grinned for herself. Battle and woodland survival were her first and second nature respectively. This exam would be her chance to really shine. She was on nothing short of a complete adrenaline high as she slammed her consent form down in front of the form-handling shinobi.

"Alright! Bring on the forest of death!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

"Now, my dearest sempai, do you feel a bit more...co-operative?"

The light, feminine voice was already enough to send a shiver down the examination aide's spine, the fact that those disturbing, emerald green eyes were mere inches away from his own did little to improve his comfort. The smooth, doll-like face with its long mane of auburn hair would have seemed beautiful were the memory of the recent massacre not fresh in his mind...and the blood thereof still on her nails.

Casting a fleeting glance around him, the shinobi attempted to assess his situation. Judging by the fact that both of the men accompanying his unknown assailant were standing guard over him, it seemed fair to assume that the rest of the squad wouldn't be much help. Escape in his current condition would hardly be an option, overpowering the trio even less. That left...the signal flares! They were still there, though the pouch had been tossed aside in the fight, only a a few inches from his hand, but pinned down as he was, reaching it was easier said than done. If only he could reach it...utilizing his opponent's seemingly complete focus on his face, the shinobi inched his fingers a bit forward along the branch. Just a little more, just a few more inches, and-

"Gah!"

The pinning, he realized, had been carefully balanced to avoid unnecessary damage, but the lithe, manicured hand that was now nestled on his seemed to have no such considerations as it clamped the hand, steering it aside in a would-be gentle manner while applying a nearly bone-crushing force to it.

"Now, now..." his tormentor purred, shaking her head in mild disapproval, "That's not very polite of you. Just ignoring me like that...it makes me sad." the force on his hand increased, "So very, very sad."

"Eeergh..."

"Careful now, one might mistake that kind of behavior for poor breeding, you know."

A score of chuckles escaped the surrounding henchmen, but the woman soon silenced them, speaking up once more.

"For the last time, sempai...the location of the Tamori brat, give it to me."

"For the last time..." the proctor retorted through grit teeth, "I don't know, and even if I did...I would never divulge it to the likes of you, demon!"

"Demon, is it?" not a muscle twitched on the woman's face, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes, "It's a real pity, sempai. I was hoping that, with your kind co-operation, this matter could be settled without any more unpleasantries. But...it can't be helped, I suppose. Lend me your hand for a moment, will you?"

The proctor could do nothing to object, even as his assailant brought her own free hand to meet his captive one, moving the latter like a puppet as the two came together to form a quick succession of hand seals, a soft purr escaping her lips.

"Houseki style, Crystal Seal."

Brushing herself off, the woman rose to her feet, casting a disdainful glance at the frozen expression of terror on the petrified figure's face, "How wasteful..." she mumbled, "Have the other two been dealt with appropriately?"

The moment his superior's gaze traveled towards them, both henchmen bent down on one knee, respectfully lowering their gazes.

"As ordered, Kurodaiya-san." announced the one on the right.

"They are hurt...but stable, they should be alright as long as the seal holds."

The ends of the woman's lips curled up ever so slightly, "Good." she replied, her gaze already turned to the thick canopy branching out beneath her, "Then fan out, investigate all signatures of compressed chakra but do not, I repeat, do not engage in combat with the teams unless absolutely necessary. Even then, aim to incapacitate and escape. Our target is the Tamori brat and I do not want any other casualties, is this understood?"

Both men nodded dutifully, rising to their feet and disappearing in their respective directions, leaving their superior to survey the scenery alone, "The hunt is on...blood traitor."


OOC: Ohh...plot twist go! Big encounter due to occur...in my next IC, so stay tuned. :3

 

[Đ a r κ]

OOC: :o Can't wait. I forgot to mention which teams will get which scroll. This decision is completely random. A.K.A. Heads or tails x] Alright, team 11 will get the Heavens Scroll while team 4 gets the Earth Scroll. While I flipped the coin, I hopped that they'd be different. that way, things will be more interesting if we cross paths >;D

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

Dansei sighed. Hanako wasn't paying any attention, as usual. With another sigh, as well as the random thought of how much he'd been sighing lately, he pushed the cloth residing over his eyes up to his forehead again, cycled through the appropriate hand seals again, and blinked rapidly as he regained his sight again. Rubbing his back tenderly (he still wasn't used to the brute force that Hanako thought was a pat on the back), he began to read the form, then signed it and handed it in. Then, he dispelled his Kekkei Genkai again.

At this rate, I'm going to run out of chakra before the exam even starts, Dansei thought irritably. And then I'll just be weighing down my team... He "looked" around at the aforementioned three people, reaching into the pouch on his hip. I guess it won't be too big of a deal, since we've got an extra member compared to the others... But I'm one of our main fighters. The ninja made a quick inventory of his equipment, then pulled out his trench knives. I'll just have to rely on my basic Taijutsu skills for the time being. Dansei slipped the knives over his knuckles, balling his hands into fists.

"Let's get this started."

 

[Scarlet Weather]

OOC: Righto, long-overdue IC. BTW, Evkay has temporarily willed over Fenra to me, since he's going to be absent. (Go ahead and ask him about it if you want to hear the full story, or I can forward the PM.) Anyway, not sure what I'm going to do with that particular character but I'm usually pretty good at playing the ham. XD

Akane admired Hanako's confidence and knew that this forest was definitely a place where she would excel, but she still felt a pang of uncertainty. This place was far more dangerous than the Tamori clan member had let on, she knew. Dimly she remembered stories of giant insects and accounts of Konoha's infamous flying leeches. She shuddered, remembering how her older brother had come home after the first time he had failed the exams, a victim of the leeches. He had been too cocky, and stepped into a trap. When he had finally made it out of the forest he had lost so much blood that he could barely stand. He had been hospitalized for nearly a month before he could train again. Akane didn't plan on a repeat performance, she had spent at least two days memorizing the signs of flying leech territory after her brother's failure. Her main concern, however, wasn't the forest. The other applicants were probably well armed and quite probably included at least one or two genin of exceptional caliber from other villages. She had to be sure to steer clear of conflict unless it became obvious that she could obtain a scroll from it. Speaking of the scroll... she reached up and accepted it as it was handed out before slipping the large roll of paper into her weapons pouch. After rearranging the contents so that her kunai would be easier to remove, she turned to her team mates. "I'll carry the scroll, if you don't mind. Out of us four, I'm the best for spotting stalkers. People have told me that I'm paranoid, but out here, that's a good thing, right?"

Fen quickly signed his name on the medical waiver with a flourish. "Finally... We're gonna see some action!" He turned to Souran, beaming. "Can I carry the scroll? Right? I'll take out anyone who comes near it!" Suddenly, he was interrupted as a sheet of paper blew into his face. Removing it, he read the following message:

"Dear Idiot,

Normally when I throw a kunai at someone, they get the hint that I'm sending a warning. Now, you look just stupid enough that maybe I can chalk what you did up to pure ignorance, so maybe just this once I'll give you a second chance to listen to what I've got to say. If you come anywhere near Hanako or attempt to do anything remotely perverted near her, I swear that I will slit your jugular vein with my kunai and watch you bleed to death. I've been training with them since I was old enough to hold the things, so I don't miss. Ever. And I am a shinobi. I don't hesitate to kill.

Fen wrinkled his nose. What was it with this creepy girl anyway? Couldn't she just mind her own business? Annoyed, the shinobi crumpled up the paper into a wad and hurled it over his shoulder.

Akane took note of this fact as she turned to Hanako. "If your 'guy-to-beat' over there doesn't wise up," she stated matter-of-factly, "I may have to borrow him from you long enough to really kill him. I don't like sadistic perverts, idiots, or males in general. This guy just managed to place himself under all three fields. Oh, brother."

 

[Đ a r κ]

"Can I carry the scroll? Right? I'll take out anyone who comes near it!" Fen had suggested to Souran, just before removing a sheet of paper from his face. Souran felt the wave of wind pass by his face before it attacked Fen. Souran slightly turned his head to gain sight of the one throwing paper around. He noticed a girl who was quickly given the evil eye by Souran.

"If that came within another inch to my head, I swear, one of us wouldn't be partaking in this exam, and I bet you; it wouldn't be me." He stated under his breath, just enough for at least Fen to hear.

"As for that scroll, I'd much rather it be in my possession since I would be able to most likely stop anyone who comes within distance to it, but now that I think about it; you'd be a much better candidate. Using your wind jutsu, you could escape quickly or even use long ranged attacks to make sure an enemy doesn't come too close. I think it'd be a perfect idea, and besides, I don't want that scroll to hold me down when I battle." Souran had clenched both his fists, even more excited. Once he was finished with his moment, Souran finally handed in his paper and then took a quick glance back to that girl who threw that paper as he returned to his teammate.

"So...what business do you have with that girl...or girls, might I add?" He asked, realizing her other teammate who she seemed to be conversing with. Then Souran began to think; "Hey, that's the girl from the ramen shop this morning...what in the world is she doing here?" Souran's memory had then taken over his sight, showing this morning when he had gotten breakfast at Ichiraku. Then, the woman's voice bursting out; "So, Mr. Early Bird, I hope you enjoyed your ramen here, I was up at five in the morning cooking it. And by the way...If you come within three feet of me and attempt any romantic advances I swear I'll make you live to regret it." Souran smirked before turning his body in her full direction and taking some feet forward before coming within speaking distance of her.

"Hey there sweaty...Whats up, remember me? You know at Ichiraku this morning." Souran began, giving a thumbs up while holding his right eye-lid down. Souran knew, by the way she reacted this morning, and to Fen, that she'd go completely ballistic, which forced Souran to brace himself for a punch across the face, heeding her warning from this morning.

 

[Alter Ego]

Hanako gave a sympathetic wince as Fenra proceeded to crumple his second warning. It was very unlike Akane to be this patient; testing that patience was nothing short of suicidal. This, however, was child's play compared to the danger the shinobi's teammate had just placed himself in. Provoking Akane? Hadn't Shikamaru-sensei taught these people the first thing about survival? Never annoy a short tempered shinobi with a fondness for kunai.

There was only one method that would get to the point quick enough, and it was at times like these that Akane wished that she had mastered the Flash Draw technique. Even without it, however, her sword had come out of its sheath with alarming quickness, its tip coming to a halt mere inches from Souran's neck, with full suggestion that it could go the distance if necessary, while Hanako's other hand intercepted her friend's before it could reach the kunai pouch.

"You. Far left gate. Now." it wasn't a suggestion or even a request, it was an order, and the kunoichi's voice made it clear that she wasn't about to tolerate any objections on this. Before any could be raised, Hanako had set off in the opposite direction, hauling Akane with her, "Not here, Akane-chan..." she whispered, still not relinquishing the other's favored throwing hand, "That team has a scroll opposite to our own, meaning that we can settle this in the forest and pass the exam at the same time. So please...let's not get ourselves disqualified until then, okay?" raising her voice, she called out over her shoulder, "Yumi-chan! Dansei-kun! We're going in here!"

Meanwhile, up in the top of a tall tree by the edge of a forest, a particularly imposing shadow broke away from its tree, a pair of shaded eyes observing the still-drawn sword with great interest as a small, sadistic grin broke from the darkness.


OOC: Okay, fine, so encounter will be in my next post since I thought we'd already have gotten into the forest but we didn't. :3

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

Dansei heaved yet another enormous sigh as he watched another encounter between Akane, Hanako, and Fen unfold. Women... How troublesome, he thought, scratching his chin very lightly with his right trench knife, noting that the blade was getting dull. Slightly ashamed to be with them at the moment, the shinobi followed the two kunoichi at good twenty five meters away, realizing that he had forgotten to tell them about a could-be-crucial part of the upcoming exam.

"Look, you two," Dansei said, lowering his already quiet voice so that no one except his team could hear him, "I'm low on chakra because of having to use my Kekkei Genkai so much in the past two hours. Very low. Which means that I'm going to have to lay back a bit until I can regenerate a good portion of chakra, because the little I have left is being siphoned into my sleeves." The blind young man frowned deeply, casting a "glance" on the two teammates in front of him. "The most I can do is basic Taijutsu, and maybe some cloning techniques. Point is... You two'll have to be our major fighters for the time being."

This is going to SUCK.

 

[Shadow_Yue]

So far Yumi was pretty irritated. Hanako and Akane were picking fights and completely ignoring her. She had been sitting there waiting for everyone to sign their forms and leave to the gates to start. Dansei had asked Hanako about the slip but he was ignored also, forcing him to have to use his kekkei genkai. That used up most of his chakra too, which only made Yumi even more irritated. Couldn't Hanako have just helped him instead of picking fights with the other ninja. All that noise was creating a headache for her. She normally had more patience than this but now they were just pushing. Akane had taken the scroll, which Yumi was also a bit miffed about because she wanted the scroll, but said nothing of in fear of causing even more problems.

This was a team exercise, something that required teamwork and from what Yumi had observed her team had nothing even close to teamwork. Then Hanako started yelling her name again. Yumi whipped around with a dark glare on her face wanting to make sure everyone knew just how angry she was with all of them. Normally she wouldn't do that and ignore them as much as she could but they were really getting on her nerves this time. With the second test about to start being angry would break her concentration. It was then that Dansei reported he could not see because of low chakra levels.

Oh Yumi was beyond angry now. She practically had flames coming out of her nostrils and would've screamed at all of them if she had been that kind of person. She knew it wasn't good for her health but Yumi decided to atleast try and hold all her anger in until she found a good target to release it on. Her eyes drifted to Hanako. She sighed, she had wanted to be one of the main fighters but there was no way she would let Akane get close to Dansei and she didn't want Hanako by him either. "I'll cover you Dansei, I'll let you guys know if an enemy is coming or not." she finally said sounding a little bit more irritated than she wanted to.

'I'll be your eyes.'

 

[Alter Ego]

OOC: Ooookay, going to take the liberty of shepherding team 11 into the forest. Hope that's okay with everyone. :3

IC:

Hanako tilted her head at Dansei's words, "Aren't we always doing most of the fighting?" she had always been on the forefront of the battlefield, at least as far as she could recall, but then that was probably a byproduct of charging straight into the fray the moment trouble arose, "Like I said, Dansei-kun, don't worry about it. This is one, big homefield advantage for me and we've got some pretty keen sentries on our team. We'll spot trouble long before it spots us. You can hold back for a while, no problem."

Confident as ever, the kunoichi increased her walking pace a bit as they stepped in through their chosen gate, "I'm taking point." she informed the others, finally relinquishing Akane's hand, "Watch where you step and try to keep up with me, alright? We'll have to travel on the ground for Yumi-chan's kekkei genkai. Akane-chan, I'm going to need your help in covering the air lookout. If you see something suspicious, throw a kunai first and ask questions later, alright?"

The forest, she had to admit, was...impressive, all dark, foreboding shades beneath age-old trees, the ground riddle with roots and vegetation which made walking a chore at best. Hanako was accustomed to this environment, however. Part of the family duty was to see to the well being of Konoha's surrounding forests, and though she had not failed to whine incessantly when valuable hours of sword practice were squandered on inspecting tree roots after a particularly violent storm, the current situation made her thankful for each and every moment. Though she hadn't understood it at the time, her great grandfather's insistence on forest excursions had actually served a purpose in her training: to acquaint her with the forest, not just by layout but with the ambiance of it, the sounds of every forest animal scampering through the vegetation, of leaves rustling in the wind versus leaves brushed aside by another force, the difference between an insect's cry and a whispered message. Out here, it would all come to good use, all of-

At the rustle of leaves in the canopy above, Hanako suddenly froze, her eyes darting to the disturbed branch and her eyes narrowing in concentration. That hadn't been a squirrel or bird; it was something heavier. The branch was still trembling from the mass. Hanako's free hand casually moved to the equipment pouch on her thigh, procuring a kunai of her own as she peered into the canopy again. If she waited for Akane to catch this, it might already be too late.

It was then that she saw them, the eyes.

With a sudden jerk, Hanako froze on the spot, kunai still grasped in her hand. One could have thought of it as terror, but that wasn't right either. In terror, there was a subtle kind of motion, a quivering of muscles in indecision, but Hanako's body was stock still. She tried to lift her hand, she tried to finish the toss, but her body promptly refused to obey commands, a constricting sensation spreading up her body. No, that wasn't right either. Constriction implied an ability to move, but right now both arms and legs felt cold and hard, like they weren't even part of her body, like they were...stone, and the sensation was rising fast. Hanako tried to scream, but her throat was already lost, and it wasn't until the sensation neared her eyes that the obvious realization suddenly struck her:

'Genjutsu.'

"Reverse siphon!"

With a second violent jerk, Hanako's rigid posture was finally broken, the kunoichi nearly tumbling over from the chakra loss. Working her bloodline in reverse was taxing, especially when you had to do transfer a lot of chakra at a time, but the genjutsu had effectively been broken in the process. Without missing a beat, the young swordswoman flung the kunai in her hand towards the location the eyes had been at with all her might, only for the projectile to fly straight back towards her, forcing Hanako to leap backwards.

Panting slightly from the recent exhaustion, Hanako raised her weapon in preparation, the hilt bearing a most unusual rose shade as a result of the recent transfer. Instead of the follow-up attack she had expected, however, the casual but clearly audible clapping of hands resounded from the tree, soon joined into by another score of applause from behind her on the left, and a third from the right.

The young swordswoman grit her teeth, immediately backtracking closer to her team. Great...they were surrounded.

"Well, what do you think, gentlemen?" inquired a feminine voice.

"The compression signature appears...similar enough and it is a katana." mused a more passive male, "Certainly the most likely candidate thus far."

"That was the reverse siphon technique." intoned a solemn, deep baritone, "Crudely executed, but there is no mistaking it."

"So it's unanimous, then." concluded the female.

Hanako's eyes narrowed in suspicion, her eyes scanning the canopy as much as she dared as she attempted to locate the owners of the voices, but to no avail, "Who's there?!"

"Rather loud, isn't she?" remarked the impassive voice.

"Brazen too." his baritone companion added, "As is to be expected of one of such heritage."

"Indeed." the feminine voice concurred, "But I suppose we must do the civilized thing and introduce ourselves all the same. On my lead, gentlemen."

With another slight rustle of leaves, a lithe figure emerged from the canopy above, landing elegantly on the forest floor in front of Hanako. Though her outfit was nothing spectacular, consisting of a simplistic black shirt with matching black trousers, covered by a tan coat with a Sound village forehead protector secured around her neck like a collar, there was something distinctly regal in her posture and in the doll like face with the pale pigment the light green eyes. Most eye-catching, however, was the small indent in her forehead, which bore a single, pitch-black stone shaped like a six-pronged star, apparently fused into her very skin.

"Houseki Kurodaiya." the woman introduced herself, her hand resting calmly on a small, black, rectangular object hanging by a chain around her waist, "These are my associates, Murasaki." she nodded towards the figure emerging on Hanako's left, a person whom she soon recognized as the sound Genin from the written exam, though now that his trench coat was open an ornate silver necklace with a small amethyst cut into a simple square shape embedded into it was in plain view. The expression accompanying his shades was impassive as ever, and to further confound the casual onlooker, the only thing akin to a weapon he seemed to hold on to was...a hand mirror? Who were these guys kidding?

"...and Suigyoku."

With slightly less grace than his companions an imposing giant of figure clad in an outfit similar to Kurodaiya's, save that his forehead protector was secured around the right one of his muscular arms, emerged on the right of the group. How he had escaped her notice during the written exam, let alone managed to sneak up on them, Hanako could only imagine, but as he stood there in his full height with the short, black hair combed neatly back and a severe expression on his crusted face, there was certainly no missing him. Even moreso, there was no missing his weapon, a two-meter long staff made of an unidentified gray material which was currently slung across the giant's back. In all honesty, though, he would have been more imposing had he not donned a pair of triangle-shaped earrings, each with a small emerald fragment in the center.

"We wish to parley." Kurodaiya announced.

Hanako's grip around her sword tightened immediately. There was something wrong...not just because they were cornered, but with everything. These people had already snuck up around them, so why give up a perfect ambush position to request parley? What was the deal with that mirror? And what was that they had said about her heritage?

"Why should we?"

"Why should you parley?" the kunoichi echoed, now thoroughly amused, "We've got them surrounded and outpowered and she wants to know why they should parley." the sound Genin broke out into a score of mirthless laughter at this, much to Hanako's annoyance, "Well, little girl, there is much to be gained from conversation with another sentient being, especially one more powerful than yourself. But for now, suffice to say that if you agree to our terms your team will be in possession of this."

Grinning like a cheshire cat, Kurodaiya procured a scroll from the depths of her coat, holding it up for inspection.

"The earth scroll..." Hanako mumbled.

"Indeed, the earth scroll." the older kunoichi replied silkily, storing the object back within the confines of her clothing, "And since I'm feeling so generous, I will even let you have it...on one condition."

"And just what condition would that be?" Hanako asked cautiously.

"Entertain me." Kurodaiya said matter-of-factly, "One-on-one, me against you. Win and the scroll is yours to keep, lose and...well, I'm such a kindhearted person that I might very well give you the scroll regardless, provided that the show you put up is amusing enough. Regardless, the rest of your team goes safe from persecution...at least by our group. If you refuse then we shall simply have to battle in a more...uncontrolled manner, but I'd rather avoid that if possible. I've never had much of a taste for needless violence and it's only you I'm interested in."

"And why is that?" Her decision seemed obvious, but she still felt a tad uneasy about going for it. Something about this seemed too easy.

"Why is that?" Kurodaiya broke out into another fit of laughter at the question, "Oh, Hanako, Hanako, Hanako...you truly are an amusing little girl. I'm Houseki Kurodaiya, heiress of the Houseki clan's second house. You know, Houseki clan? Formerly of the hidden village of Stone? Any of this ring any bells?"

At the sight Hanako's blank expression, the woman shook her head in disbelief, "So you really have no idea what this is about?" she asked, "Looks like the traitor house even lies to their own...unbelievable."

"Traitor house?" the girl echoed, her temper flaring up, "What are you talking about?! The Tamori clan has always been loyal to Konoha!"

"Clan?!" Suigyoku's affronted baritone briefly silenced the other two, his clumsy hands curled into fists, "They call themselves a clan now?! The third have become bolder than we thought."

"Insolence." Murasaki scoffed.

"This...isn't what I expected." the woman admitted, her confidence temporarily faltering, only to come back with a vengeance, "But...no matter. Ignorance is no excuse for a capital crime." she grasped the object by her side, pointing it towards Hanako, "This is between me and you, traitor, don't involve any innocents with your own cowardice."


OOC: Okay, yeah, no charging at the NPCs, please, as I'd much prefer a clean one-on-one match. :3 Mind you, if you really feel the itch to have your characters fight these guys, keep in mind that the Houseki style is primarily earth-based Jutsu (specifically techniques involving crystals and jewels) with chakra-enhanced weapons capable of doing a number of cool tricks. No touching Kurodaiya, though; she's mine.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

"Hanako, we're --" Dansei started, the hair on his neck standing on end, but he was interrupted by the appearance of Kurodaiya's eyes. By the time Hanako was done dealing with the Genjutsu the woman had cast, the others had already appeared. "Surrounded..."

Now this is... certainly confusing,Dansei thought, listening intently to the conversation that was currently unfolding.The only thing I can gather from this is that we're completely, utterly screwed. He calmly slipped off his trench knives, holding them tightly in his left fist, all the while trying to formulate some sort of a plan.

"Hanako," the young ninja whispered. "I've got light bombs, and plenty of wire. We could blind them, and then I could tie each of them to a tree using my sleeves to see, allowing us to escape." Dansei bit his lip. "Unless you intend on following through on the bargain. What's the plan?"

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Akane had been on edge since entering the forest, what with Souran Maindo's annoying attempts at a romantic advance. So that was his name, the stalker. She'd have to remember it in order to carve it on his tombstone. And that Fenra... ugh. She would have to keep an eye on him to make sure that whatever he did, he didn't get close enough to Hanako to touch her. Granted, she didn't think Hanako was enough of a pushover to just let the genin walk all over her, but she was still sore about the idiot ignoring her kunai. Revenge seemed to be in order. Perhaps the reason that Akane didn't notice the Housekis until it was too late was the fact that she was busy thinking about those two idiots. The moment that they dropped she had pulled a pair of kunai, and held them ready to launch even after they had announced their intention to parley. It was only after Hanako had agreed to a one on one battle that Akane relaxed her grip even slightly, before walking alongside her friend. "So, a one-on-one battle, is it?" Akane asked before locking eyes with each one of the opposing shinobi in turn. "Well then, I hope you don't mind if I inform you right here and now that if I see any shady business from you three I will personally kill you right here and now. I mean it."

Her piece said, she marched to Dansei's side just in time to hear something about "tying them up and running." With a groan, she grabbed her team mate's sleeve and roughly pulled him aside. "Don't be an idiot. These three are way out of our league. We're lucky that they want to fight one-on-one. Hanako is our combat specialist, so she's the best one suited for responding to something like this. We need to stay calm and think of an escape route in case things turn sour. Besides, if all it would take to get rid of them is a wire and some flash-bombs, I would have offered. Yamato flash-bombs are the best there is, and I've got quite a few." Slipping past Dansei, she next addressed the espionage agent of the team. "Yumi-chan, please, don't attempt to trap them unless they make a move to help their representative. We're going to do this one-on-one." Finally, her attentions returned to the Housekis. "You three... I have one warning. If you kill Hanako-chan, I won't forgive you."

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

Dansei pulled away sharply as Akane lectured him. "And I'm our team's jutsu fighter, with or without chakra," he hissed, brow furrowed as he followed Akane. "Hanako hasn't even agreed to the conditions. We have no clue what we're doing right now."

I can't believe we've been shoved into a corner like this, Dansei thought, clenching his free fist. It all depends on Hanako... He glanced at the aforementioned kunoichi, then at Kurodaiya. She better be able to beat that woman...

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

Keiko watched Souran walk uo to a women and talk to her."Jeez, Souran can we stay on task here!" Said Keiko. He walked up to Souran stared and screamed at the top of his lung's into Souran's ear. Then Keiko said "That is for not staying on task!"

 

[Đ a r κ]

Souran's ear rang for at least a minute until his hearing returned to normal from Keiko's sudden and unexpected outburst. Souran turned to Keiko with glaring eyes fixated on him. Souran truly gave the idea that he would instantly beat someone to death with his angered look, but being his comrade, Souran knew he couldn't harm a hair on Keiko's head even if he wanted to.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that." He joked, with a faint smile on his face. Souran had then noticed that there were no other genin around the area. This was oddly suspicious, but then Souran noticed Anko, the proctor lost in the sight of the forest. Souran called out to her to gain her attention which had been instantly given to him, surprisingly to how into the forest she had been. Souran had asked her where everyone had gone and she seemed shocked, and then answered, "Are you kidding me, I thought you three gave up, but your telling me you are still in this thing...oops, I would have came over and told you that the exam started but I figured-"
Souran's mouth dropped, eyes bulged.

"So, your telling me that we are late, does that mean we can't continue in the exams?!" Souran asked, actually scared and angry that such a mistake was made. Anko had moved her hand to rub her neck as she sweat dropped. She then told the team that they could still continue, it had only been but a minute since they let the gates open. Souran sighed, glad to hear what Anko just said.

"Well, there's no time to lose anymore, lets go guys!" Souran commanded to Keiko and Fen as he headed in, towards the forest.

"I wonder who we'll have to face first...whether or not that team has the scroll we need or not, I wanna get the chance to fight that girl with no restrictions...not like I'm interested in her or anything, she just seems like a good opponent, heh." Souran spoke to himself in his thoughts.

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

"Sorry but i had to get your attention somehow, I noticed the other Genin were gone so I took the funnest approach to get your attention!" Keiko said then gave an slight chuckle. "So, lets get this exam started!" Keiko said as he grabbed Souran and Fen's arm, pulling them through the gate." I expect other genin will try to attack us not to long after we get through the gate." Exclaimed Keiko after he pulled them through the gate.

 

[Shadow_Yue]

The minute they had gotten into The Forest of Death, Yumi knew something was wrong. She had just begun to start her handseals for her kekkei genkai she felt a presence there, but she had realized a bit too late. "Guys-" she started but was cut off by small clapping she heard off in the trees. As soon as she saw the genin drop from the trees she began doing her hand seals for Crow's Mind but stopped when she saw they were about to say something. They had struck up and offer, a deal. If Hanako fights one on one with the kunoichi then she gets the earth scroll. They needed that but what else would they try to do? Apparently they held some kind of grudge against Hanako and her clan. Houseki….. She knew that name from the libraries but couldn't remember anything for them to have a grudge against the Tamori clan. Yumi frowned and let her hands fall down from their tiger seal position but kept her guard up. No doubt this is the danger Anko was talking about, these genin will do anything to get their hands on a scroll. But still they were genin just like the rest of them. What gives them the right to try and strike up a bargain? Are they that confident that they'll be able to take them down? They wish!

"What about the other two? Are we allowed to fight them? "Yumi inquired. It wasn't until then that she noticed the condition Hanako was in. 'Hanako…what did they..?'

Maybe they were trying not to fight as much as possible and want to send their strongest member out against another. They wouldn't touch any of her teammates without leaving with a bad concussion that's for sure. Yumi was ready to fight and all that previous anger was starting to get to her. That's when she heard Akane's voice.

"Yumi-chan, please, don't attempt to trap them unless they make a move to help their representative. We're going to do this one-on-one."

Then she heard Dansei's angry one.

"And I'm our team's jutsu fighter, with or without chakra, Hanako hasn't even agreed to the coniditions. We have no clue what we're doing right now."

That's right. It depends on Hanako's choice of one on one or mindless attacking. Either way Yumi was gonna fight and someone would be leaving with bruises.