~Defeating A Mirage~

[Usagi-Chan~]

OC: so how are we going to match up for the prelimanaries and is their gonna be a month in between the finals?


"Okay, whatever." Said Keiko." Now I belive that we should have someone scout ahead again before we head back to the tower."So, I will go scout ahead. So see ya!" Said Keiko as he jumped through the tree branches to get back to the tower

 

[Kansas]

"That kid... just doesn't sit still, whatever." He said as he watched Keiko leap away.

"We need to move fast. Akane... we would have helped sooner but tracking through wind isn't exactly like talking on a radio set...*sigh* Anyway, we need to form a moving strategy... we'll need someone who has the strength to fight in the front and back of the group and the largest concentration of people in the center protecting our fallen comrade. I'll take the tail position since i'm the fastest here and can get to the front for backup quickest... unless theres anyone who thinks they're faster... The center party can alternate carrying your team mate so we don't get worn out fast carrying her. Using this method we should be able to reach the tower in roughly.... 2 and a half days? But thats just my plan... its up to Team 11 really, since its their situation. What are your thoughts Akane? Or maybe you two?" He said, turning towards Yumi and Dansei (hasn't been introduced yet)

"Whatever we decide, we need to move fast... i'm sure other teams will find our position soon if the battle you 4 had was as big as i think it was. So what's it going to be, team 11?"

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

((Sharpay, unlike in the Chuunin Exam that the anime/manga has showed us, there is generally only a small amount of teams that end up in the tower, so no preliminaries are held and the Finals occur as normal.))

Dansei reached it into his pouch, grabbing his trench knives. "Buraindo Dansei," he said, looking at Fen as he slipped the weapons over his knuckles. "And you are Kurai Fenra..." The shinobi ran his finger over the blade of one of his trench knives, doing his best to analyze Fen's proposition. "Your formation is very stable," he finally said. "Unfortunately, we would be vulnerable to an attack from the side. If we want to make sure Hanako can stay safe, we should put two people on each flank. There are only five of us due to the current conditions. We could very easily switch out our carrier should he or she get tired." He scanned the haggled group of Konoha ninja, still analyzing the situation.

"Personally, I would like to stake a claim on the leading position," Dansei added. "For the time being, at least. I have a good amount of chakra --" he nodded towards Akane at this, "and my Fire Jutsu are ideal in a tree-heavy enviroment... Unless anybody objects?"

 

[Đ a r κ]

OOC: ;o How did you know Insane? Basically, Sharpay, he's correct.

IC: Souran listened strictly to the thoughts on how to go about transporting Hanako without interruptions. He then thought; what if one or two of them were to travel on the side, waiting for a team to ambush the group who would be handling Hanako. Souran thought he would excel in that subject, though he only had enough chakra left to shoot from at least two fingers on each hand, totaling up to only four out of ten. Souran was finished with just standing around; planning on something that happened to be taking longer than the time it'd take for an enemy to attack right that second.

"Listen, I'd love to speak tactics with you both, but I'm afraid Hanako isn't healing herself as we plan. I personally think...Dansei, was it; has the idea down. I'd also like to nominate myself to be the one to carry Hanako for a large portion of this transportation mission. With my jutsu; at any moment that Hanako seems in danger, I can easily get her out. I would much rather use it to keep her protected than waste it on an enemy that can be simply be taken out by one of you. There's also the chance that we have a safe travel. Anyway, I think we should get going, the sun is going down quickly. Night will surely be the most difficult part of this exam, and for this mission." Souran explained, hoping no one would object. Though he had a feeling that they wouldn't allow anyone other than themselves to carry Hanako, no matter what the situation.

 

[Kansas]

"Okay then, Dansei's plan will work. Lets gear up and head out, i get a bad feeling staying around here. Since Dansei specializes in Fire type jutsu, i'll take the position near the front next to him. I'll be the fan that spreads his fire so to speak. This way we can maximize our front destructive capabilities at least and minimize the chance of being over whelmed. That is, if theres no objections" Fen responded in acknowledgment to the formation meeting.

He walked away from the group a bit and stood near the edge of the clearing, showing his readiness to leave. He gently massaged his bandaged fist and looked into the trees with a lost in thought facial expression.

"What could have done this kind of damage to Team 11... I know i felt a serious disturbance in the wind flow but it was already gone by the time we got here... granted there is lag time between when i felt it and when it happened... I just don't know... the enemy vanished without a trace. I can't even feel movements in the forest anymore... We'll need to be on extra guard, I hope Keiko made it to the tower safely and is comin back with good news..." Fen thought to himself while staring.

The time to move out was now

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

Keiko was coming back from the tower when he heard "Fire".Keiko stopped and ran back."Fire Style Jutsu! I speacilize in Fire Style Jutsu!Same with my bloodline! So any fire stuff, I'm all up for it!" Said Keiko as he landed on a tree not too far behind him."So whats the plan!"Said Keiko quickly. "And I have some bad news, there is a team near the tower and they are waiting for people to come to the tower and steal there scrolls".

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

((Narutopedia FTW))

Dansei shook his head. "Keiko, if Fen is staying up front with me, then we'll need someone at the back," he said, looking at the new arrival. "I'd duke it out between the two of you, although, if I'm not mistaken, Fen, you had said you would take the rear, originally."

"As for the ambushes waiting for us... Bring them on. If they aren't scared off by the sheer number of us," he said, "we've got our scrolls dispersed and hidden quite well. At least, my team does. Akane and I each have a scroll hidden on our persons." He shrugged. "Plus, we have Fen's wind and Yumi's stealth. If anything, we can reverse the ambush and take them by surprise."

 

[Kansas]

ooc *Narutopedia? Intrigued... tell me more in PM*

"True... i did originally opt to take the rear position. But that was also a different formation, and without knowledge of your fire based jutsu. Any position will be fine for me though, i've got the speed to be anywhere i need to be. Well if we're ready to finally head out, then lets leave." Fen walked further from the group, hoping to lead them want to leave and get going towards the tower.

Fen was unusually antsy. It had almost been an entire day and he hadn't swung a single punch... not even to train. It was starting to get on his nerves a lot.

"This team has skills but wow do they stand around a lot or what?! Even the blind kid actually managed to be ready to leave faster than the rest of them. It must be all these women...causing us to be late" Fen thought to himself as he eyed the team during their preparations.

"Oi, Keiko. You can take whatever position you want in the group, i'll fill in the gaps as necessary. Souran...If this team doesn't hurry up, we need to do something." Fen called to his team mates.

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

Keiko got down to the ground."Oka I will keep the position I already had enless someone objects. And if they do I will be in position two." Said Keiko as he sat on the ground twirling a kunai on his hand.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

"Right. Akane and Yumi, take whichever position you want," Dansei said. He quickly stowed away his trench knives and pulled out multiple shuriken, holding them between his fingers. Each of them had a thirty foot long piece of wire attached to them, which were coiled up around his hands. "Let's go," he said. "Stay in formation and stay alert." The shinobi leapt to another tree, looking back at the rest of them.

"We can't afford anymore injuries."

 

[Shadow_Yue]

Yumi lowered her hands slightly before putting them down all the way. They seemed to mean no harm, though you couldn't trust anyone out in this forest. She was still going to keep her gaurd up incase they or anyone else tried to attack them. She looked around at all of them and gave them the fierce 'Yumi' glare. She would've thrown her shuriken at them for that comment earlier had they not been offering to help them. And even then she might've thrown it anyway when they left.

When asked for her name she glared at them and growled "Tanaka." Through her teeth. She didn't feel like telling them her first name, though she was sure Dansei had said it twice now. They had been discussing the quickest and safest route to the tower. She really just wanted to get there and be done with it. Hanako needed help and everyone else was probably low on chakra, they needed to rest. "I'll just take the rear then..." Yumi grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest. She would be able to watch everyone and everything around them from a good spot there. Everyone was getting on her nerves today and with a rough 2 days to the tower as predicted it was going to get worse.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

"We can't afford any more injuries, eh? Pardon me, Dansei, but I don't think Hanako could afford that first one," Akane interjected as she assumed her position in the column. "Where is my opinion in all this? Is it just because I'm a woman that I'm getting ignored here? I don't want their help! I don't-" It was too late, Dansei and Yumi had already taken positions and that idiot scout-boy was already back from his reconnaisance mission. Akane pouted momentarily. Why was it that nobody cared what she thought? Was she just an embarassment to them or something? Her hand strayed towards the kunai in her pouch. Perhaps if she stabbed one of them they'd understand that... no, Hanako would never have let her perform such an underhanded maneuver. Despite Akane's natural inclination to stab these people and run, they might genuinely be trying to help. If that was indeed the case, it wouldn't be prudent to kill them. Grudgingly, she accepted her fate for the moment. However, it was going to be a long night. The sooner they were out of the forest, the better.

Unfortunately, Akane recognized something immediately. "Nobody move!" she commanded suddenly. "Listen!"

The telltale swish of the leaves... the slight shrieking noise... it was unmistakable.

Akane's face paled. She yelled a warning, hoping that she would be able to escape soon. "Everyone, go! We've stumbled into flying leech territory, and Hanako's wounds will attract them! Run!"

 

[Đ a r κ]

OOC: Gah, I keep making small posts lately Dx

IC: When Akane had finally performed a reaction to all of this, Souran waited for an outburst, but oddly, she was acting gracefully. Then, a noise sprang from the air, and once Akane had warned the others of what was coming, he immediately leaped onto the branch Hanako laid upon, lifted her into his arms and placed himself into the formation discussed earlier. He moved his head to look for the flying leeches. He could see a large number of black dots becoming larger and larger as time traveled by them quickly. Souran moved his attention away from them and readied himself to start to take off.

"Come on everyone, there's no time to waste, lets get moving!" Souran ordered. Not even worrying about the others, he took off and stopped at the first tree branch which wasn't too far from the gang. Souran understood that his mission was to keep Hanako protected, and that was exactly what he planned to do.

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

OOC: keiko is not an idiot, he is smart like souran and fen just never acts serious.

IC: Keiko Jumped forward in the direction of the tower bored, yet ready to fight."Hey Guy, the people near the tower looks tough so be the same team Yumi, Akane, Dansei, and Hanako were fighting, so from the injury's you all have I would suggest to be on your guard." Said Keiko now jumping tree to tree backward to see what order we the others were in. ="ALso, anyone have I'm hungry." Said Keiko in a bad mood now that he was hungry.

 

[Kansas]

OOC: Sharpay, proof read your posts! its like nails on a chalk board ~_~

"heh... feisty..." Fen thought to himself, grinning at Akane's response to the scenario and formation. Suddenly she yelled something... indistinguishable at first... but Fen pieced it together.

"Flying leech territory... ugh if its not one thing its another." He thought to himself. "Everyone quick! get out of here, we can fix the formation when we're a safe distance away." He called to both teams. He pulled out 2 kunai and flung them, wizzing past Akane's face and sticking into a tree behind her, pinning two of the leeches against the tree.

"You gotta be kidding me, they're already here!" He yelled to everyone as he jumped backwards preparing to make his escape, but he wanted to make sure everyone else made it too. From behind him he heard Keiko say something about an enemy team up ahead, most likely the one that put Hanako in this condition.

This was not welcomed information, not in the current scenario. Souran had grabbed Hanako and took her to safety, but the leeches could follow the scent as long as she was bleeding. Simply shifting the wind direction using Gale Force jutsu wouldn't be enough, it would simply carry the scent farther. The only hope was to mask the scent, Fen knew what he had to do but was quite reluctant to reveal one of his jutsu to the other ninja outside of his team. But in order to safely make it out of here... it would be a necessity.

"The only choice... is to use the dirt, grass, and leaves and get them into the air, temporarily masking the scent of her blood long enough for us to keep a safe distance. *sigh* I'll have to show them my technique..." Fen said to himself in a low voice. "I'm going to mask our scent so we can make our escape!" He yelled to the other ninja as he darted back the opposite direction.

He jumped back into the air above the clearing as the other ninja made their way out. While falling towards the earth, he popped his knuckles and the sound echoed through the forest, and released a steady stream of visible chakra around his right fist. He cycled through 8 hand signs and the winds began to cyclone around his fist at high speeds, combining with the chakra. He neared the earth and it was time.

"WIND STYLE! DYNAMO FIST!" Fen yelled as he hit the earth hard.

His fist crashed into the earth, sending out a shockwave and forming an instant crater, sending dust and debris blasting through the air. Visibility was low as Fen stood up, shaking the dust off of his fist. He turned around and jumped back into the trees to catch up with the other ninja.

"That should buy us plenty of time. But I've only got 2 of those left left in me...damnit" Fen thought to himself as he caught up with the other ninjas.

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

((I'm going to assume that flying leeches are vulnerable to flame.))

Dansei leapt from branch to branch as the two teams fled from the leeches, rapidly unwinding the twine wrapped around his hands and putting it back into his pouch. When he was done, he put the shuriken back as well. He then started to slow down, eventually traveling alongside Fen. "Thanks," he said. "I could feel the massive amount of chakra that erupted from that technique... Having the knowledge of such a fact, one would assume that you have a limited use of it." He looked over at his temporary comrade. "I'll take care of them when they catch up to us."

This could end up hurting us instead of helping us, Dansei thought, pushing up one of his SONAR Sleeves. And it's going to use a lot of chakra... But it's for the sake of Hanako. For the sake of the team...

Tiger.

Monkey.

Boar.

Horse.

Tiger.

 

[Usagi-Chan~]

Keiko jumped, heeding the warning Fen had gave him. This is why I hate bugs, At least there far off." Keiko kept on jumping in the lead." I cant wait for round three, I bet it will be easy. I wonder who I will fight? still cant wai for it to happen." Said Keiko eagerly

 

[ThatInsaneKid]

((Due to the lack of posting as of late, speeding up time a bit... :xxx))

Dansei rotated his torso to the left, sending out an enhanced amount of chakra from his sleeves while still accumulating chakra in his chest, the Tiger seal still in place. Much to his surprise, every single wave that had been emitted from his left sleeve had bounced back within seconds. "Leeches are catching up to us!" he shouted, turning his torso back to normal position. "Approximately 100 meters and counting, traveling at an average speed one point five times our own!" He tightened his seal, the chakra which he had been collecting moving up towards his throat. He grimaced at the large amount of chakra moving up through such a tiny passage way, his "vision" wavering slightly as he lost focus.

50 meters...

The chakra kept on moving up to his mouth.

25 meters...

Dansei stopped, pulling an immediate 180 degree rotation.

10 meters...

"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!"

Dansei held his fist up to his mouth, inhaling deeply. Upon exhaling, a monumental wall of fire burst forth from his mouth, incinerating the leeches as they approached. The shinobi held it as long as possible, until the tiny shrieking noise of the leeches faded completely. The stream of fire stopped at that point, leaving Dansei with minor burns around his cheeks as he put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

Executing another 180 degree turn, the shinobi leapt from tree branch to tree branch, catching up with his comrades in about thirty seconds. "Let's move," he said, wiping his mouth tenderly. "That jutsu probably revealed our position to the majority of the ninja in this half of the forest." He pulled out a few kunai, holding them between his knuckles. "If we're lucky, the ambush waiting for us at the tower will head over to that position in hope of an easy kill."

 

[Đ a r κ]

A sudden wave of warm air flew by Souran. It felt as though your crush had just planted one on you. He turned his head slightly to his right in attempt to uncover the source of the heat. As a result to moving his head, Dansei was discovered, performing a jutsu in which would hopefully rid the leeches from becoming more of an annoyance to the group. Souran smirked as he turned his head back to it's first position, and continued on as Dansei caught up with everyone. Souran couldn't help but congratulate him on his assistance.

"Nice one Dansei!" He remarked, his face impressed by the large blast of fire Dansei had created. Souran kept watch of his surroundings, making sure there would be no sign of an ambush from that major attraction. After a while, Souran had thought of an idea, and announced it without hesitation.

"Hey, if there really is a team at the tower, lets say they are those who harmed Hanako; do you think we could get past them? Once we arrive a good distance away, I think we should part ways. I'll hand Hanako to your team while mine deals with the ones at the tower. They wont know us since your team was the ones who fought with them...that is, if it is that team. either way, I think this plan would be best suited for when we arrive to the tower. Souran's face seemed quite serious. He could honestly care less about actually going into an all out battle with this team, but what ever it took to make this mission a success...he'd take it.

 

[Kansas]

Fen watched the massive fireball launch from Dansei in awe.

"Such an advanced fire jutsu. This Dansei is quite the interesting shinobi indeed." Fen thought to himself as he leaped through the trees. "Very nicely done, Dansei." Fen called to him as Dansei returned to position.

Souran, who had been quiet for the majority of the leech escape, finally proposed his plan.

"Hey, if there really is a team at the tower, lets say they are those who harmed Hanako; do you think we could get past them? Once we arrive a good distance away, I think we should part ways. I'll hand Hanako to your team while mine deals with the ones at the tower. They wont know us since your team was the ones who fought with them...that is, if it is that team. either way, I think this plan would be best suited for when we arrive to the tower." He said aloud to everyone.

Fen thought about the plan momentarily, then looked towards the unconscious Hanako whom Souran carried. This was what sealed the deal.

"I agree with Souran, you guys are in no shape to get into another battle. Why don't you all escape through the tower and make sure she gets the proper medical attention she needs. We'll handle the ambush that lies ahead of us. I'm still aching to fight for real." Fen said with a cocky tone to the other ninja. "Besides, Souran is obsessed with helping complete his little personal mission. Theres no point in attempting to change his mind at this point any how."