Fandom Naruto: Brave New World

In the enclosed space of the backroom, a couple of people were actively weaving in between and back out of the various shelves, where boxes were stacked high and drying dishes and other cookware were all piling up. Needless to say, the single girl in the room was standing in place, rigid, and trying to make herself as small as possible. Brown hair was pulled back from her face and fashioned into a bun, green eyes fixed on a much larger male. A lump had formed in her throat, and as another person in the room hustled past her, she backed up against the counter behind her, the edge digging painfully into her back, but the cringe on her face was just the same as it always was when she was trying to get out of someone's way.


The young woman was still rather new and was learning about the way things were done in the restaurant, so she still had a timid approach to everything she did, not wanting to make a mistake, but at that very moment she was particularly on edge. She wanted to talk to him at that moment, the man who had trained her and had been so kind to her so far, but right now he was hunched over the sink, pulling down a hose to spray at some bowls, then dunk it in the sink that was frothing up with bubbly water, rinse again, then throw in the sanitizing sink. Over the loud clanks of him going about his work, and the hiss of water being sprayed out and striking the glass of the porcelain bowls that the restaurant provided, there was no way that he would heard her.


So she waited for him to have the time to notice her. The girl pressed herself against the counter, even in the absence of any of her other co-workers in the room now, and wrung her hands against her apron, waiting with nervous patience.


Finally, the tinkering of a bell from the front of the restaurant instinctively turned the blonde's head over his shoulder, and thus his eyes finally landed on her. He unclenched his hand from the handle of the hose to cut off the water, looking over briefly to acknowledge her, before looking back to the sinks. "Oh, hey," he greeted, just as warm as he always was, "if you're looking for something to do, you could go check up on the soup, stir it up a little."


Instantly, the girl was put at ease. Tonishi was ranked high among the most unassuming, polite guys she had ever met, and he never seemed to be bothered by her constant questions or impatient when she was freaking out nearly on the verge of crying. She much preferred working with him, anyway, above all of her other co-workers, who had been responsible for her current state of being in the first place by avoiding a particular problem, making her be the single only person who would do anything about it, except maybe Tonishi if he weren't already working on something probably of much higher importance.


The man was about to turn back to what he was doing when she finally mustered up the courage to speak to him."Um, actually, we're pretty busy right now..."


It only took a moment for him to process the implications of her statement. He turned back to her. "What's up? Need a break or something?"


"N-no, it's just..." Well, she was as at ease as she could be at the moment, but thinking about the problem just raised her anxiety back up. "There's a guy outside with a senbon out. I mean, uh, there has to be some sort of policy against that, right? Even if it's on the patio. I-I mean, there isn't any reason to have it out, is there? What if-"


"Just tell him that our policy doesn't allow it, which, I mean, isn't completely true, but... if they're making you uncomfortable, they shouldn't be doing it..."


Relief instantly washed over her. She should have known he wouldn't call her out for totally overreacting or whatever else may be happening. "Alright." He turned back to the dishes, but she interrupted again him again. "Um..." Tonishi let go of the hose, allowing it to spring back up, bowl still in hand. "But, um, could you just... could you maybe do that? I mean, you don't have to-"


"You're fine. You know how to talk to customers, you'll be just fine. Things like this happen sometimes, and if you freak out a little, that's just normal. Customers understand, and you're good with them," he rambled on, though her nervousness at him telling her to do it anyways in his own way lead her to only partially hearing her words, she still felt a little better, in her own way.


"Alright. Thank you. Alright." With that, she left the back room to go back into the restaurant setting. Any ounce of confidence she may have just gained instantly vanished, but she knew that Tonishi was right. It was something she had to do on her own, because none of the other waiters or waitresses seemed willing to go through with it. She sucked in a breath and forced herself to press on, silently reprimanding herself for ever going to bother him in the first place. As she walked by the restaurant's occupants, she heard little snippets of conversations.


A group of young adults celebrating. "... this is his first time drinking! Make it good..."


A lone man ordering for himself. "... you have those, with the oysters? I know I shouldn't be having those right now, but to hell with..."


An elderly pair of women, both clearly long-time friends, smiling at each other under the lamp light. Scratch that. Elderly couple, evident by the exchanged kiss. "You know, our grandson will be in the academy soon..."


She made it across the hall and slid open the screen door, her dress shoes no longer being muffled against the carpet and instead now clicking against the wood of the patio. There the man was, slumping against the table he was sat out, looking rather bored, but still twirling the senbon around. He stuck out easily amongst the other guests, no one else possessing his fluff of salmon-colored hair. She sucked in a breath to steady her nerves before approaching him. The woman forced a smile, dimples pushing up the skin of her face until the corners of her eyes crinkled in a friendly manner. "Hello! I'm Karou, and I'll be your waiter for today." She mentally slapped herself, her steadily building apprehension causing her face to redden a little, but she forced herself to keep her eyes locked on him. "Uh, waitress- I mean..."


Karou jumped to her next line in her hurry. "Sorry, uh, do you need a minute to order, or-?" She chided herself internally once more, becoming more and more flustered by the second. "But, um- sorry." She swallowed her spit, the lump in her throat still very present and making that single action particularly painful. "Would-would you mind putting that senbon away? We're- uh- we're not supposed to have them here. Sorry." She couldn't stand it anymore. Her eyes dropped down to her feet.


@Ghost


- - - - -


Tetsuun's smile dissolved steadily as time waned on. Katsuro sure liked to take his time with responding sometimes. Mostly when his cigarettes were involved, he noted, as the tip of it glowed warmly, the edges burning just a little more before the drag was over, gray curls of foul-smelling gas floating up. Mockingly, he wondered if the jonin did it to be dramatic.


Whatever remains of a grin that had lingered on his features vanished instantly as Katsuro dished out his counter. He was stunned first, almost missing the implications behind the statement, but inevitably came agitation. A heat of his rose to his cheeks, flooding his ears so hot that they could have been on fire. It was such a nasty comment, which not only targeted him, but also his family. That was enough for him to feel genuine, inconsolable anger, much as he had felt just before being knocked out just... hours ago? He had no way of telling. He was tied to a fucking pole. This time, however, Tetsuun had no words to lash out with. He was speechless, face burning so hot it made him exhausted in a way.


He let his sour expression do all the talking. Katsuro had struck a nerve, one that Tetsuun wasn't going to forgive and forget so quickly as when the boy had purposefully been baiting the older male into a barely-contained rage. Faintly, he was aware of Mizu staring at him from out of the corner of his eye, in what was probably a glare, from the prickling feeling he seemed to feel against his neck. He would have gladly returned the look, doubled over in his cold fury, but at the moment, his pursing, angry frown, coupled with a slight furrow of his brow and a hard stare were all reserved for the jonin in question.


He tuned out his surroundings, focusing solely on the furious swirl of his thoughts. And what's she so pissed off at me for, anyway? What, does she like being tied up to a pole? Did Katsuro make it so comfortable for her or something? She can't possibly think this is okay. Stupid, stupid... Tetsuun was oblivious to any outside altercations, focusing intently on staring the jonin down, even past when Katsuro could have very well decided to ignore him altogether.


@Gilzar @Ghost

Katsuro


@Ghost @Pine


It didn't take him long to notice, just from the turning of Tetsune's face, that his insult actually hit some heart strings of his rather unpleasant student. That was to be somewhat expected, but what followed completely blindsided him. Tetsune didn't say anything back! Katsuro was in such disbelief that he wondered if he may have tied the ropes too tight, and that Tetsune isn't replying simply because he doesn't have the air to do so. His right eyebrow even slightly raised, while the grip his lips had on his cigarette loosened, causing it to hang down near his chin hairs. Even his eyes showed a slight disbelief, but they still for the most part narrowed due to how irritated he was.


What the fuck?





Katsuro had been so irritated with Tetsune that for a while he actually forgot that he was a kid, and that in spite of being a shit Tetsune did have a heart. He let out a sigh, before inhaling on his smoke, then exhaling it through his nostrils, feeling the warm dark smoke bristle through the hair of his rough beard. Then out of the corner of his focus he saw Mizu and her uncomfortable gaze, as if someone had brought up the topic of a dead-parent or something. He noticed she always acted funny when people brought up her markings on her face. She must be self-conscious about them, especially with that scar splitting one of them in half. Probably not the best time to talk about them. Then he shifted his gaze over to his new student. Oddly enough he didn't actually feel she would be a problem, perhaps she'd emerge as the leader of the squad if Tetsune doesn't realize his natural capabilities for it.


"I shit you not." He said abruptly, equally shifting his gaze to each genin while raising his finger in the air to strike his point across.


"I'm going to be a hell of a lot more pleasant to be around if you all buck up and listen to what I say."


Then his eyes stared down Tetsune, who still was giving him that stare. He approached Tetsune, until he was close enough to feel his breathe. His finger lowered to Tetsune's forehead, and he pushed his finger against the boy's forehead for a few brief seconds, and he stared at him again for a few brief moments with his eyes, the odd eyes that seemed to be familiar with pain and suffering, tormented to the core of his iris "And that includes you. I don't know how much of a push-over your last sensei was, but if you ever fuckin' tell me no again you'll be spending the rest of your days in the academy learning how to wipe your ass with the gaping hole left by my foot."

Akira clutched his side, starting to feel the pain pulse through his side as he quickly checked his wound. It was a fourth of the way open, from the bottom of his armpit down to the bottom of of his chest, and it was bleeding just as bad as he had thought. The stitching couldn't even be repaired, the strings used to hold his wound shut now frayed and damaged beyond reuse. 'This isn't good...' Akira thought, closing his eyes and trying his best to calm down. 'Look what I went and done! Why did I even get like that anyways? What the hell even WAS that just now?! I felt really heated...but that doesn't matter right now...If Hideo-sensei didn't notice this, then I'll just keep going.'


He covered up his open wound once more and followed his sensei, doing his best to ignore the pain as he walked at a quick pace. 'I can't let this slow me down...' he thought, keeping his hand firmly on his side. He kept a firm pressure on it to curb the blood loss as much as he could, wincing softly. 'I'm pretty much already going to be a burden to the rest of the team already, so I have to do as much as possible to keep up, even if it hurts really bad. We'll probably be back before this gets any worse...hopefully.'


@MemoriesUnknown @Gilzar @Gabriel Leko

With a burst of speed, Aimeka and Tsukiki in toe, their new battlefield came into view. Without a second of hesitation, Riku hit the ground and launched forward with blinding speed. She would of been in awe except for the fact that he did this because Riyoshi, their sensei was about to take twin water dragons to the face.


Aime knew her abilities would be naught in comparison to the jounin and if Riyoshi was still alive it meant he was stronger than both her and Tsuki. They couldn’t even get Riku for that matter. Jumping off the last branch, her last ounce of adrenaline kicked in. Her heart raced, feeling like it would burst from from its cage. Pulling out her last kunai and pulling her right hand up to her face with a one handed sign, she decided to use her forbidden jutsu.


Throwing the kunai, she watched it travel in almost slow motion, towards Riyoshi, as the water dragons closed in. She would make it but just barely. As her body appeared to float in air, she braced herself. This was reckless, she knew it was reckless, but if she didn’t sacrifice herself, then all of them might die.


Fractions of seconds felt like minutes, even hours as she waited, watching for the precise moment to activate. Riku closed on his target, The water dragons on their’s and in that moment, her two fingers stiffened straight up, her grasp tightened and she closed her eyes.


In a split fraction of a moment of time it was as if time itself shifted. Before anyone else could of probably comprehend what just happened, Riyoshi and Aimeka had instantaneously switched positions. Her kunai, now digging into her arm.


Her face would of churned in pain, and her legs would of collapsed under the weight of her own body from having expended a dangerous amount of chakra if not for the twin dragons from Hawk exploding into her. The attack engulfed her being in a watery explosion that consumed the whole area in between the two Hawks.


After a few moments as the water all fell to the ground, an what followed was Aime’s lifeless body. It had been tossed up a little from the explosion but she had long since lost consciousness. Her clothing looked like it had been through a tornado. Hair wild with no ribbon, shirt torn into tatters, showing most of her midriff and back and most everything else on her body torn into ribbons with cuts and scratches adorning her entire body.


It was almost sickly how her body crumpled upon the ground in the moments that followed.


@Infinities Lover @backlash @Gilzar

Makoto was inwardly shocked and appalled by what Ayako said about how Hideo's jutsu affected her. The jutsu was suppose to only calm them down, so how the fuck does it have any to do with the bitch giving pleasure to herself? Wow, even I'm disgusted by what she just said.


She looked at Ayako with the same blank expression, still only able to talk in that dull voice. "Ew. What the fuck. You make it sound like you did it with the old geezer. And even if you are into that, that's just fucking weird." Makoto glanced up at Hideo to see his reaction, and she couldn't ask for a better look from him. If she could show her true emotions, she'd be smirking from ear to ear, and/or laughing her ass off.


Hideo's face was priceless. The man looked completely horrified by the orangette's comments. Hell I don’t blame the guy. I puked a little in my mouth too hearing the shit that came out of her mouth. It took him a few moments to regain his normal composure, except now it was more angry. After complaining about how terrible the trio have been, he finally released the seal on his hand, and the 'calm' symbol disappeared from his eye, releasing the ocular jutsu.


A rush of emotions hit Makoto instantly. The ongoing anger towards her new teammates and teacher. The irritation of that damn jutsu from Hideo. The utter disgust from what Ayako just said, all coming in at once. The conflicting feelings were a little overwhelming at first, but Makoto was able to adjust quickly. It's not like the emotions are new to her.


The anger, if not already, boiled over from Hideo's command to the young teens. "Hey wait a second! Like hell to spend more time with these freaks!! You see how these introductions are going and you want us to bond together in the fucking woods?!! The fuck kind of sense does that make??!" But the squad leader was ignoring any complaints. He had already left the trio, heading out of the village gate.


"What the- Get the fuck back here!! You seriously think I'm gonna take this shit?!" She ran ahead of the group towards Hideo, trying to get his attention.


@LeafKnight @Gilzar @Gabriel Leko

When the ocular technique was released, most of the feeling Ayako had previously felt left her. But she still retained a calm disposition. 'The hell?' While she was reflecting on what exactly was going on with her, she barely registered what the older male had said. Simply shrugging in compliance, though it was likely she would defy whatever he had asked of her.


She was required to listen to him on the field with out any complaints or defiance. Off of it was a different story, while serious commands would be adhered to, she would not curb her social attitude simply because he was a bit prudish. They had sent her into the outside world to kill, steal and cheat at the drop of a hat. At that point she would act however she wanted to in social situations that weren't related to missions or in the presence of a high ranking official.


As the short one of team continued to wail on and on about the next exercise Hideo was putting them through, Ayako could not help but roll her eyes at the female. 'Kami, I know she's as new as a spring lamb but does she have to act like it too? You would think the treehuggers would install at least some sort of respect for hierarchy...' Glancing over to the younger male of their squad, Ayako frowned. The Lightning wielder was not pleased with his state. Perhaps it was out of camaraderie because they were from the same village or respect for him not making a big deal out of his injuries (Which could get quite serious), but she found herself filled with concern for Akira. It seemed that even her previous comments had not alerted their "teacher". Another thing that had filled her with disgust. He was so focused on the lewdness of her comments, that he hadn't even thought to actually listen and see that one of his students was injured. 'What astonishing perception...should be expected since he's half-blind. Fucking cyclops.'





Slowly making her way towards the injured redhead, she leaned down as they walked to speak in a tone that only the two of them could hear, "Hey, you're bleeding. Like really bad. I could smell it from a few meters away. You should tell Hideo-san and go to the hospital before it gets worse. I severely doubt that either of our other teammates are Medic-nin."

When the concerned ninja came up to Akira's side and whispered, he instinctively clutched his side tighter, eliciting a gasp of pain from him as he quickly covered it up. He looked up at her with a weak smile and nodded softly, feeling more of the warm substance cover his shirt. "I guess that would be sensible," he said, suddenly coming straight to a halt. "To be quite honest, I really don't think that either one of them even have the patience to be medical ninja in the first place. Except for my nurse back at the Academy, since she always seemed way too worried about me when I came in there every other day. I really don't think that was how tag was supposed to be played, now that I think about it...and is it just me, or is it getting to be night-time a lot sooner...?"


The world starting to go darker and darker, Akira fell to his knees and felt his head moving in a million different directions, doing his best to not only keep conscious but to also keep his small lunch from coming right back up onto the dirt as he saw the blood on his hand. "S-Shit, it's bleeding more than I thought..." he muttered, desperately clenching and pressing against it in some vain attempt of making the bloodflow stop.


@Gilzar @MemoriesUnknown @Gabriel Leko

Hideo


With the time of daylight that remained, Hideo remained hell-bent on getting them to the intended destination, and to his surprise he was actually making very good time, it was probably just over the hill. That all changed in an instant though when he heard someone falling down from behind. Almost instinctively, he halted and turned to investigate, with a look of curiosity shining over his only eye. In the blink of an instant, that curious look was soon replaced with a jutting terror from the sight before him, and Hideo's eye stretched open as far as it could to fully take in the sight before him.


Hideo let out a sudden gasp, stepping back for a second. "What the...?!"


Akira was on his knees, head turning about in almost every direction trying to make sense of it himself. Blood was pouring out of him at an astonishing rate, staining his clothing and tainting the very ground below him. When did that happen? Hideo stood in a state of shock for a few seconds, a stern look of concern taking over his face as his mouth slowly opened, and eyes barely blinked. How did he not notice? It must have been all the drama...Akira never mentioned it either, and he must have been covering it up well for Hideo not to notice. It seemed he was in a critical condition, and action would need to be taken now. However, Hideo just stood there, body almost trembling as he saw the blood.


'Hideo-Chan!' The voice of two young girl's echoed through his soul, pulsating his heart to a faster beat.


It seemed that for a second, Hideo was lost inside of another world, not aware of even his own existence as the voice of the two girls bounced around inside of him echoed through him like a voice screaming through an infinity. It was only in about 15 seconds that he grasped himself, and started pacing toward Akira. He knelt down, staring at the wound and put his hand up to it, examining it. Just as bad as it looked, if not worse. He tried to hide a look of concern on his face, yet he knew he was doing a poor job at it. "Don't worry." Hideo said, and he changed his expression to a smile, closing his eye to hide and emotion. "It's not nearly as bad as it looks!"


Hideo then leaned in further, and put his arms around Akira and picked him up. It took him a few seconds to find his balance, but eventually he stood firmly with Akira laying in his arms. He turned to his other two students. "Alright you two!" He said with an odd enthusiasm.


"This is where you make camp! In other words, you'll be staying here for the night, roughly 100 yards off of this path in that direction!" Hideo then pointed his finger to the left of the path in the woods. "You'll know where it is, as it's marked by a blue pole. Don't leave, because there will be consequences if you do." His eye then traveled up to the setting sun, and the sky that surrounded it. "May I advise you two build shelter. Looks like it's going to rain tonight."


Then, without saying another word Hideo turned around and began walking back to the village, while pinning his black leather glove against Akira's wounds to prevent further bleeding. A temporary fix. Hideo looked calm enough about it. Just after a few steps he stopped. "Oh. And don't try and make clones or anything like that to make it look like you're here when your not. I'd get very upset if you did that."


Then, Hideo took a few steps, then leaped himself into the trees. Normally he'd treat such a wound on the spot, however Akira had lost so much blood that treating it would be just a waste of time. He needed to get to Sakura Haruno hospital as soon as possible. On foot he'd make the time just fine, as long as he prevented further blood loss that was. If things were to take a turn for the worse however, Hideo knew he'd have to summon something. As quickly as possible, Hideo leaped branch to branch, leaving himself barely any time to recover his breathes in between jumps. It was a necessary sacrifice.


@LeafKnight @Gabriel Leko @MemoriesUnknown

Riyoshi took in a deep breath, he was about to take a twin water dragon head on and he was short his defensive jutsus. Just before the attack landed upon his person, a quick flash appeared before him and he was teleported to another location. A location that had his other member of his team, and the prisoner Riku.


"What the hell?" Riyoshi said aloud as he turned to look upon the location he was previously in.


What was in his spot, was the young Uchiha girl and she was now laying upon the ground, her body seemingly lifeless.


"What the hell was she thinking?" Riyoshi yelled out at Tsukiko.


"We need to get that Hawk person out of the game and question what the hell is happening." Riyoshi spoke out in a calmer voice.


Looking over at Riku, Riyoshi took in a deep breath before his exhalation in anger.


"If you even think about killing anybody, I will personally put you six feet under. We are going in for information." Riyoshi spoke out as he soon turned his attention back at Tsukiko.


"Riku and myself will handle that man while you go and get Aimeka. Listen, that man is a water user. Just be on your guard just incase he launches a water style at you." Riyoshi spoke out as he looked away from Tsukiko and back towards Aimeka whom was lying upon the ground.


@Infinities Lover

The world wouldn't stay still, not even for a single moment. His stomach wouldn't stop turning, and his eyesight was blurred beyond compare. And the blood, the blood that he did his best to hide was now just oozing out onto the bare ground, and all Akira could really do was look down at it to keep himself from vomiting. Something muffled entered his ears but he didn't exactly bother to pick up on it, instead moreso focusing on trying to stay any form of conscious as he felt someone scoop him up. Too weak and disoriented to really argue against it, he kept quiet, his mind going into what seemed like a frenzy as he was being carried away. 'No no no no no!!' he thought, closing his eyes. 'This really isn't happening...I can't be bleeding out again! I thought I was done with this stupid thing a long time ago! Why am I even getting so worked up about it?! What the hell even is this?! I shouldn't be worried about what the others might think because...because what do I have to prove to them? It's like back home, yeah. No one cared about what was going on with me, so why do I care now?'


Well, at least his inner confusion was more than capable of keeping him awake, letting Akira finally notice the trees that Hideo zipped past with him in tow. "Why...are we leaving...?" he managed to sputter out, barely keeping back a bloody coughing fit. "The camp's...the other way, right...? I'm gonna fail...if I don't make it back.."


@MemoriesUnknown @Gilzar @Gabriel Leko

Jakunen


Jakunen watched as her new teammate's face began to flush, and even though she was tied to a pole her body language became apparently uncomfortable, then bothered.


'So whiskers is a touchy topic.'


Despite that, Mizu managed to mutter out a reply. "Thank you, but I didn't draw these."


"Oh!" She had given Mizu a friendly smile, but it faded as nothing more happened or was said.


'They're not there by choice... that's good.' After all, what kind of idiot would draw whiskers on themselves?


Next she glanced toward Tetsuun. He looked infuriated, like his mother had just mailed his naked baby pictures to every resident in the Leaf. Jakunen's left eyebrow raised a bit- had she ever seen him that upset before?


But as if (and possibly) to break the rising tension in the silence, Katsuro spoke up.


"I shit you not."


Jakunen turned her head to the side so she could look at the speaker. Katsuro was pointing at the heavens.


"I'm going to be a hell of a lot more pleasant to be around if you all buck up and do what I say," he approached Tetsuun, and Jaku tracked him with her gaze, "And that includes you. I don't know how much of a push-over your last sensei was, but if you ever fuckin' tell me no again you'll be spending the rest of your days in the academy learning how to wipe your ass with the gaping hole left by my foot."


At that threat, she couldn't help but smirk. She didn't hate Tetsuun, but all his whining and bickering could get annoying and their former teacher never did anything other than politely request them to "Stop it, please."


She remained quiet, observing Katsuro stare down Tetsuun.


@Pine @Gilzar

Tetsuun could feel his gut churning in his rage, matching the squint that the elder man was directing at him. He looked... shocked? The biggest giveaway was the quirk of an eyebrow, lest Tetsuun have just been baffled by the sudden lack of animation in the jonin. What does he have to look so surprised about, anyway?


Katsuro seemed to recover from this momentary state soon, though. With a point of his finger, he cut the silence that had settled onto the group with a sudden reassurance that he wasn't always like this, or something equally sappy. The boy exhaled a light puff of air from his nostrils. Yeah, and pigs will fly right out of my ass. Tetsuun would have said as much, too, save for the fact that he was committed to giving the jonin the best silent treatment he could afford.


Katsuro, however, seemed content with breaking this unspoken agreement that Tetsuun had thought they had settled with. It didn't take long to know that for a fact the man was approaching him, pale green eyes locked on his murky brown pair, as opposed to the coming close to the group as a whole. The boy had to fight to lock his hard expression where it was, as opposed to the uncomfortable grimace that his face wanted to pull when he saw that Katsuro wasn't going to respect any personal boundaries.


The color had once again drained from his fact to its more natural pallor, and the boy couldn't help but widen his eyes just a little. Tetsuun pressed his back closer against the pole, but it was to no avail. Katsuro was now just inches in front of him, and the full force of his stench hit him like a trunk, leaving a faintly nauseated sensation agitating his stomach. In spite of him attempting to back off, as much distance as he could put between them while tied to a pole, he refused to break eye contact, though occasionally allowing his eyes to dart over the jonin's features.


For a brief moment, he regretted having ever broken the man's glasses. Now I have to see all his ugly wrinkles.


Then, in that next moment, the worst possible thing that could have occurred did indeed happen, and the boy was powerless to stop him. Katsuro poked him... and he wouldn't stop poking him. Tetsuun's head was pressed up against the pole long before the jonin had decided to push against his forehead, but the man seemed determined to hold him in place. He bared his teeth and slipped a quiet, annoyed hiss through them, itching to bite down on his stupid little finger, but if he smelled like this as it were, he didn't want to find out what he tasted like.


The jonin's threat was a concealed dagger, sticking under the boy's rib cage and without warning. There was no helping the look of surprise that sobered up his glaring, instead leaving him staring blankly forward. He... he can't be serious. He can't do that. This reassurance aided in his recovery, turning his eyes back into an irritated squint. Still... at the moment, it was not something he wanted to challenge - not while Katsuro was still freshly annoyed with him. Tetsuun would hate it if he somehow ended up back in the academy... no, he couldn't afford to do that.


Instead, he did his best to turn his head away with the jonin pushing up against him, his eyes snapping to gaze upon nothing in particular. "Don't touch me," was all he allowed for himself to say for the moment.

Note: The sun is setting


"Don't touch me."





Those words bounced around inside of Mizu's head as once again, the little Tetsuun was being a shit to Katsuro. Hasn't he figured out by now that Katsuro basically owns us? God he's stupid... She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She began to wonder just why she was tied up, when all that she had done was start a few brawls, nothing more? The thought of her bindings made her feel more constrained, and she tightened her mouth shut, protruding her lips out as her senses became fogged with a bitter annoyance. Above her eyes, her eyebrows peaked down. This is bullshit! Right away she tried kicking her legs out, and shaking her torso rigorously just to see if that would work.


The effort was in vein, and instead she just struggled in the ropes like a complete idiot. The starker side of her temper began to show as her face reddened with anger, eyes scanning for anything to get out, because all the escape techniques she was trying weren't working. These ropes were just too tight to escape from, but what else would be expected from a Jonin? Just then her eyes locked onto her new Team mate, Jaku! A glimmer of hope shined beaconed through her eyes as they locked onto Jakunen, face still red as fire and her body still trying to wiggle its way out.


"Jaku could you please cut me down?" She shouted eagerly, putting extra emphasis on the please while ignorant of her tone


Mizu's eyes quickly turned to Katsuro, then back to Jaku, and stopped tampering with the ropes. "I mean, he never said you couldn't cut one of us down..." she said in a calm, persuasive demeanor.


Katsuro


"Don't touch me"


Big talk, considering that as of right now Katsuro could do whatever he wanted to his tied up monkey of a student. For a very bright Genin Tetsuun sure did whine a lot, but by now Katsuro was getting a knack for ignoring his annoying student. Rather than bark back, Katsuro just simply rolled his eyes while letting out a small sigh mixed with a groan. It had been a long day, but now the sun was setting, and the day would soon end for Katsuro anyway. The same couldn't be said for his three new genin.


Just then Mizu began struggling in the ropes, and Katsuro immediately took notice of it through the sides of his vision, breaking eye contact with Tetsuun and backing up to observe it further. It seemed like Mizu finally had enough of the ropes, as she began frantically kicking and shaking herself to try and get loose. Good luck, I tied those ropes with knots way more advanced than your liking. Mizu would probably figure out eventually she couldn't get out, but as of right now her face was growing red with irritation. Katsuro just shrugged, the sight of the struggling genin surprisingly clamed him a bit, enough to let him lean back against one of the trees nearest to him, planting his left foot firmly against it. He closed his eyes, then rubbed against them with the fingers of his right hand. A sigh was let out, with his eyebrows still narrowed much like that of Mizu.


The Silence he was enjoying was interrupted by another annoying genin, but this wasn't Tetsuun. "Jaku could you please cut me down?"


Katsuro once again opened his eyes, a slight disbelief overcame him. This was the first time he'd actually heard one of them ask one another to do something. The manner wasn't the most pleasant but it was a start.


Mizu then spoke in a much more polite term "I mean, he never said you couldn't cut one of us down..."


She had him there, as much as he wouldn't like to admit. He was about to impede and demand that she couldn't, but an idea overcame him...One that might be able to build friendship. His face slightly brightened as the clever thought became more structured in his mind. Yes. This would definitely be effective in treating the dislike in this group.


"You're right." Katsuro said in a confident and proud tone. "I didn't. You could cut her down."


Katsuro then let out another shrug. "Hell, you could even cut Tetsuun down once he starts behaving! But there's something I need to tell you."


He paused. Then he stood straight up and walked toward his three students, pointing at the sky above. "The sun is setting. That means you all should make a fire, since you'll be guarding the shrine all night while I sleep."


"I don't want any bitching either. All of you are going to stay up and talk during the night. None of that 'sleep in shifts' bullshit..."


@Pine @Ghost

Tsukiko was frozen, eyes wide as she stared at Aimeka as she moved in slow motion to the jinchuuriki's point of view. As she watched who might be her only friend disappear only to reappear where their sensei should have been, the steel-blue haired teen felt completely helpless. As the attack hit the smaller girl, Tsukiko felt as if her entire being had froze.


Faintly she could hear voices, but she couldn't decipher them. Not well anyway. The voice sounded male. Though if she thought about it, it couldn't be female. She wasn't talking, was she? And...and Aimeka wasn't talking either...No. Because Aimeka couldn't talk.


The ice she felt around her suddenly cracked as rage filled her entire being. The girl who might've been her only real friend since her life became worthless, and she was hurt....lying lifeless on the ground. Crouched on a tree branch overlooking everything, Tsukiko's head fell forward, her bangs covering her eyes, a dark aura surrounding her body as chakra that wasn't her own seemed to flow like raging water around her. Rage. Rage was all she could feel. Rage at the one who hurt the one she called friend.


Her head shot up, eyes narrowing as she searched and found Hawk. Her lip curled up into a sneer as her left hand clenched the trunk of the tree in anger, causing small pieces of bark to fly. She would kill him for what he'd done...


Tsukiko froze.


Her thoughts washed over her being like a cool wave, releasing her mind from whatever dark hands clutched at it. "Wh-what...?" she murmured to herself, glancing at her hand, covered in a few small scratches. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what had just started to happen.


It was at Riyoshi's voice that her head whipped to the side to stare at him, her eyes still wide in horror. It took a moment for her gaze to clear, and when it did, she nodded before disappearing onto another branch, trying to push her disgust for herself away. She couldn't deal with that at the moment. Right now she needed to get Aimeka out of there.


Taking a deep breath, she finally shoved her thoughts away before focusing on her mission. Dropping down to the ground, Tsukiko landed in a crouch, one hand placed out to balance her. Shifting fluidly into a standing position, she dashed towards her fallen comrade, keeping one eye out for Hawk.


@Kaine @backlash @Gilzar

Her hand paused on the door's knob as one of her new teammates greeted her, accompanying the greeting with a rather odd question. Wasn't the answer obvious? "Of course I'm going to be training with you," she responded, confusion clouding her gold eyes as her smile faltered slightly. Was he trying to be a jerk? "I'm your new - " she broke off mid-sentence as the thought that maybe her new teammates hadn't been informed of her joining their squad occurred to her. It had been a rather hasty switch. "your new teammate." she finished.


She wasn't aware of either of her new teammates names, but it seemed they wouldn't have time for an introduction as their sensei was still waiting for them to enter the hot-springs. Her thoughts once again turned rather excitedly towards the training activity they would be engaging in. Rather distractedly, Shai pulled open the door, holding it open to allow space for her two other teammates to come through. Her attention was more focused the task their sensei was engaging in with the strange grey box on the other side of the room.


What was he doing? A slam of a door was accompanied by another quick motion before her new teacher's attention was fixed on his students. The activity was explained, that one of them would have to grab him to complete the task. It sounded simple enough, but this was a seasoned Jonin they were up against, which made the task all the more difficult. Shai was releasing the door as steam begin to flood the room, bringing with it an overwhelming heat.

Hawk


Before his very eyes, the unexpected had occured. Hawk had Riyoshi in the perfect execution stance, afterall with the clone advantage slipping away would be unlikely. But somehow...in some way that Hawk just couldn't even contemplate Riyoshi just vanished. He was gone, and replaced with the small Uchiha girl. Aimeka, he believed her name was, somehow was able to move her sensei out of the way using some kind of teleportation jutsu. "Wha..." Hawk was almost speechless, as he watched his two water dragons barrel down and crash through the young Chunin like she was just a piece of origami. No scream, just a crash than an odd silence...


"What...?" Hawk broke the silence, utterly confused by what had just happened. Did that Chunin just teleport? His mind tried putting together the pieces, and the coldness of his ego subsided for just a moment as he contemplated everything that had just occurred. That was a marvelous display of skill that girl had just displayed, not to mention she had just shown more heart in a few brief moments than her Sensei had shown the entire time Hawk had been watching him. "Pitiful." His breathe muttered out from under his mask. "Waste of Chakra."


Now his breathing became more tense, and he lost most of the feeling in his chest, an obvious sign of how dangerously low his chakra was. By now he was at his most venerable state, the only thing keeping his legs from collapsing was pure willpower. "Ronin..." Hawk turned over to the cage to see the masked swordsmen crawling out. "My chakra levels aren't promising..." His attention though was once again shifted by a sudden change in chakra. The other Chunin now journeyed across the field of battle to save her comrade. Something just didn't feel right though...deep down inside of his chest, beyond the numbness Hawk sensed a change in her Chakra. A volatile presence her chakra now was, overbearing with power that is well beyond that of just a Chunin. A chilled breathe left Hawk's mask "These Chunin are just full of surprises aren't they...?", slowly he began to realize what they were up against.


"Brother." Ronin declared. "Get back."


Ronin


From behind hawk, Ronin appeared. Chakra levels were not favorable right now, but he had a plan to turn this situation around. A glimpse of his hand could be seen entering his pouch, and pulling out two smoke grenades. He fixed his attention onto Aimeka and the girl approaching her. "Hawk. Retreat."


"I have a plan."


Under his mask, Hawk showed a hint of confusion. "Hm?" yet when he noticed the smoke bombs he right away knew what Ronin was going to do. "Understood." Hawk then limped a few feet, before diving into the brush of the forest beyond, and using all the strength of his that remained to take off. Now it was just Ronin and his enemies. Truth be told this mission couldn't have gone worse. Intel did not say the would have such high level shinobi guarding them, let alone an actual experienced Jonin. They got cocky, and expelled far too much chakra. For a brief moment, the thought of it made Ronin's gut cringe in pain from the lack of chakra. He let out a grunt, then with a focused determination he hurled his smoke bombs forward, creating a shroud of smoke across the field.


Footsteps could be heard, and underneath the shroud of smoke Ronin charged forward and swiped Aimeka up with his remaining strength, before quickly dispatching himself back into the center of the smoke. Yet another surprise awaited him though...this girl...was still alive! Even after taking two water dragons she still clung onto life barely...a huge stroke of luck considering that's Hawke's signature execution move. And just when he thought he would have to fake this entire deal. "All of you halt or I kill her!" Ronin shouted through the smoke for all to hear, and he even unsheathed his sword so that its sound may sink in the situation.


"Believe it or not, you're Uchiha is still alive." He tightened the blade in his grip just barely over her neck, even though no one could see them. "I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse: Bring Riku Iseya to the Border Bridge of the Land of Water by next nightfall or this girl dies!"


Realizing the dominate stance he held over the situation, Ronin added onto the conditions. "Only the Jinchuriki girl can exchange him too, if you're there Riyoshi the deal is off. That means no reinforcements of any kind, just Riku and the Girl. Oh, and that bastard better be in his shackles too!" With the final demands said Ronin finished up his thoughts, before using the cover of the mist to flee out of combat, sheathing his sword then firmly grasping Aimka as he used his knowledge as an ANBU to make a quick getaway while under the present conditions. No sound, no note. Just a vast expanse of forest, and a set of conditions that Aimeka's life depended on.


Riku


"It's too late to go get information now bigshot." Riku said in a sarcastic and annoyed tone. Damnit, just when he thought he'd be able to run off scott-free this damn situation comes in. The dread built up in him as he just realized how complicated the situation had become, as within moments it had turned from an escort to a hostage crisis. "Fuck!" He yelled in anger, thinking of something to do yet getting no ideas. By now they were too far gone to track, and by now Riku's wound was acting up again so there was no hope of fleeing now. Why am I still in chains even though I'm unshackled? Now all that could cross Riku's mind was just trying to convince them not to shackle him.


Now if Aimeka was to live, they would have to cover an enormous amount of ground and he would have to go to those sick men, and he very well knew what they were going to do to him once they got ahold of him. He wasn't going to go back into those shackles, that was a definite no. He held up the Wakizashi he now had in his hands into a defensive position, and focused his scorch style chakra for the first time in what seemed like a century into the blade. The result was truly an awe-aspiring sight. A smooth, glowing bright red flame covered the entire blade, and generated an extreme amount of heat. It was such strong heat that it could be felt more than five feet away! This was the Iseya clan's famed Kekkei-genkai, much like that of the famed Pakura's scorch style. After a moment he died the flames down, after all if he let it go on for too long the blade would melt, as it was glowing a bright orange even after the ninjutsu was off.


"I'm not going back in shackles. And there's no way in hell I'm going back to those men. I don't care what I have to do."


@Infinities Lover

Riyoshi's shirt was shredded from the fight, the back of his shirt just hanging from a few strands revealing the large scar across his back. His chakra was seriously low and the only thing that he could accomplish at this point, would be throwing kunai and hoping that he would not be forced to move to quickly. Riyoshi listened to what Hawk was saying, but he couldn't completely focus. His anger raged within himself as he looked upon the young girl laying upon the ground.


Why would she risk herself to save me? I could have saved myself. If she knew any better, she would realize that I am better than she is. How is it a young girl like her would risk her life for someone that she does not even know? Riyoshi thought to himself as his mind began throwing out tons more questions.


How was she able to switch placed with me? What the hell is going on the hidden leaf nowadays? Riyoshi thought as his mind was halted and his body went weak.


It was as if a presence had a grip around his body and pressing him down to the ground. Clenching his hands tightly, Riyoshi gritted his teeth at the aura he felt. Exhaling deeply as he kept himself in his stance, Riyoshi Looked around for the presence, but as it faded he could see Tsukiko with a shocked look upon her face.


Was that really her? I know i felt something different about her, but to have that kind of power? What the hell is going on with my team? Who did they place me with? Riyoshi thought to himself as he snapped his attention back towards Hawk.


"You watch your mouth!" Riyoshi yelled out at Hawk as he pointed at the Anbu.


He was clenching his fists tighter then before and his nails began cutting into his palms. Riyoshi was going to make his move and kill Haek, but his attention was taken as Hawk said 'brother'. His glanced changed over to Ronin and his exression switched to anger.


He was able to figure out my jutsu? What are these men? They aren't just anbu, they are extremely smart. Riyoshi thought as he cringed slightly as the pain from his hands finally reached his brain.


As Ronin spoke out about the Uchiha being alive, a slight sigh escaped his mouth. His emotional state had began to fluctuate from anger to a feeling that he was unsure of what it was. Was this joy, happiness? But as soon as Riku spoke, his attention snapped away from the unfamiliar feelings and back into a slight angered state.


"I know it is too late. You were taking your sweet time." Riyoshi replied in an angered tone.


"Do not worry about going back to them just yet. We have other things to figure out first. Why are they wanting my team to eliver you while I am not allowed to join?" Riyoshi spoke out as he looked up at Tsukiko.


I wonder what is going on with you. Is there anything that you need to tell me? Riyoshi thought to himself as he just looked upon Tsukiko.


Riyoshi exhaled deeply just before looking upon Riku and his intense jutsu that was upon the sword. It had radiated an intense heat that could be felt for a few feet, but he cancelled it, but the blade still was glowing a bright orange.


"Our first thing we need to do, is head to the land of water. I understand that you do not want to go with those men, but I WILL be getting my other team member back. Is there anything that you can tell us about those two men or whoever the hell they work for?" Riyoshi asked as he looked upon Riku.


@Infinities Lover


@Gilzar

Sliding to a halt in a crouch, Tsukiko scowled, her muscles tense as she watched one of the men hold Aimeka. While she felt her hatred rise in her again, she felt some small relief at the fact that her friend was alive. She didn't know what she'd do if she wasn't. The thought scared her. She didn't want...what didn't she want? There were so many things. For someone else to do die because of her? To lose someone else? Swallowing, she forced herself to stand so she could face Ronin, one hand balled into a fist at her side, the other resting on her second wakizashi blade at her spine.


Listening as the man spoke of his want for Iseya, the blue-haired chuunin could care less, but it was his next words that got her. Her tense form instantly went slack, her hands falling to hang limply at her side, eyes wide. 'How did he...?'


You accidentally tapped into my chakra when your hatred spiked. You lost control of your emotions, and tapped into my power.





Tsukiko gulped at the knowledge, her calm composure gone now.


Blinking, she shook herself from the trance-like state she put herself into by speaking to Saiken. Glancing around the area she was alarmed to notice that Ronin and Hawk were gone, taking Aimeka with them. Her head dropped in shame. She let them get away. Clenching her hands into fists, her lip rose into a snarl at hearing Riku's voice.


Gritting her teeth, this time Tsukiko realized what was happening as sudden and intense feelings of hatred washed over. In one fluid motion, the Rokubi's chakra starting to surround her in a faint dark blue glow, the jinchuuriki drew her second blade and vanished from sight, reappearing a foot behind Iseya, her blade pointed at his neck. Her eyes were dark as she spoke through clenched teeth, her glare directed at the back of their prisoner's head.


"You'll do exactly as he says, understand?"


@Gilzar @backlash @Kaine

Riku


"What the fuck?!" Riku gasped, not only sensing a huge change in a nearby chakra level but his eyes actually caught onto what it was. The chunin girl, what was her name, Tsukiko? She was...emitting a dark blue chakra that...that just felt...demonic. It was just then that Riku finally put the pieces together about this strange blue haired girl, and the strange chakra she had inside of her. He guessed it before but he didn't fully buy into it fully, he just couldn't believe that someone would put something so sinister inside of a girl?


His thoughts were short lived though, as the Jinchuriki influenced girl now did another surprising feat, halting Riku in place like a deer struck by headlights. His eyes showed off a ghastly fear as he felt the presence shift in just a single move, dashing straight behind him with a Wakizashi being held firmly to the back of his neck.


"You'll do exactly as he says, understand?"





"What are you...I thought I was the only monster here." Riku murmured as he stared behind him. That was check mate, he could do nothing. This chakra...had an overwhelming sense of power to it, and it just felt...sinister. The very edge of the lining of chakra Tsukiko had around her burned the back of Riku's neck, yet his legs were paralyzed by the fear that if he moved she might mistake it for him fleeing and take his head clean off. This wasn't good...to make things worse all of this tension was beginning to make a part on the lower portion of Riku's neck tingle with a burning sensation.


Just then Riyoshi began speaking to Riku "Our first thing we need to do, is head to the land of water. I understand that you do not want to go with those men, but I WILL be getting my other team member back. Is there anything that you can tell us about those two men or whoever the hell they work for?"


So now he asks for my intel? Riku let out a sigh, annoyed by the whole situation. "Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" He mocked as he cooped with himself. So what now? The three of them all go walk off into the sunset to the land of water where they'll go and save some fucking Uchiha girl who had the unfortunate luck to survive two water dragons. Then they'll all happily march to the Hidden Mist where he'll gracefully be executed for serving his nation in the way he was ordered. This fucking sucks. The left portion of his mouth raised into a sneer as he eyed down Riyoshi, hating every bit of this man who was ordered to escort him to his death.


"You wanna know about Ronin and Hawk, and the men that they work for? Fine, it's about damn time you asked anyway." Riku groaned.


"Ronin and Hawk..." He paused, trying to get the right words. "Where to begin..."


"Wait, I know! How about the fact that they are probably two of the most loyal hit-men I have ever met. At one point both of them were actually regulation ANBU, but they felt the taste of Ryo was more important than serving their nations about halfway through the war. Now they're employed by the most powerful underground organization throughout the five great nations, that keeps all of the smaller underground organizations in line. That underground organization happens to want me back there and alive because I happen to hold some valuable information they want for a client."


His head tilted slightly to the right as he began to thoroughly explain this next part. "Hawk and Ronin won't kill that Uchiha girl since that's their edge over us. And by all means if you do cooperate they'll honor the deal...but then they'll probably kill all three of you for making their task so difficult."


"Well actually...except you." Riku's eyes glared back at Tsukiko. "Once they figure out what you are they're going to do everything in their power to capture you, then sell you away to the same client that wants my intel."


@Infinities Lover @Kaine


Kaito


@Azalea @Ghost @Atom


Kaito now watched his new squad through the mist, simply evaluating all of their moves. This exercise wasn't about skill...but rather teamwork. He could care less about wether or not they'd find him, but rather how they worked together to scan the area. Afterall, this was the closest thing he could get to an actual scenario with a hidden enemy under cover. Using things such as steam or fog for escape was actually a tactic that Kaito had used to escape enemy intelligence spies quite a few times in his time behind enemy lines.


"So what?" Kaito said in a mocking tone, his voice echoing off of the rocks and making his location nearly impossible to directly locate.


"Are you waiting for a special invitation or are you all going to find me? I promise you I"m not moving anytime soon..." Kaito echoed out in a mocking tone. One thing was for certain, he'd have to get this group's work ethic up quite a bit. In reality, Kaito was actually just standing across the room, on top of the water patiently waiting to see if they'll dare to cross and find him there but...that was easier said than done.

Makoto stopped in her tracks when she something collapsed behind her. Instinctively, she turned around. She already had a guess as to what could have fell....


Or 'who' in this case. Makoto saw Akira on the ground. He was obviously on the brink of losing consciousness, seeing as he’s shaking his head to try to stay awake. Blood was soaking through his sweater and was already forming a decent sized puddle on the ground. At this rate, the kid was going to die from blood loss.


Makoto’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. She faintly remembered noticing the injury beforehand, but the thought had been crushed by the wave of emotions that smacked her earlier.


Ayako, to Makoto’s surprise, was already at the dying teammate’s side, a look of concern in her eyes. She didn’t think the oversized ape was capable of emotions like compassion or just giving a damn about the welfare of other people’s health. "Damn, even the stone-cold bitch has a caring side."


Makoto looked back to Hideo, to see if he'd deal with the matter accordingly, because for one thing: even if she did want to help, Makoto doubted that Ayako knew where a hospital was, and by the time she would ask for directions and manage to find the place, Akira would be long since dead. On the other hand, Makoto sure as hell wasn't about to get his blood on her clothes, especially if it wasn't from a fight. And she wasn't in a charitable mood to sacrifice an article of her clothing to help stop the bleeding. Not that anything would make a big difference at this point.


But even now, the older man hadn't budged from his spot. In fact, he looked like he was lost in his own world. The thought crossed her mind to throw something at him to bring him back to reality. Hello? Earth to Cyclops, one of your so-called students is dying as we speak. Do something!! But before she could act on that thought, Hideo moved to Akira and knelt down beside him to examine the wound. Then he put on what was suppose to be an assuring smile, saying that the injuries weren't that bad.


Makoto gave the older man a deadpanned look.. “...Are you fucking kidding me? The little shit's bleeding out as we speak and you're telling him it's ‘not that bad’? And who the hell do you think you’re fooling with that fake-ass smile?” This guy is way off his game, judging by his fidgety demeanor and stupid happy-go-lucky attitude.


Hideo told the girls to set up camp off the path 100 yards to the left. Then he gave the girls some last minute warnings about leaving or not following directions before he left with Akira in his arms.


Makoto sneered in the direction that Hideo left. “Damn bastard. None of his stupid, so-called threats have worked so far, so why the hell should we listen to him now?” she grumbled. She had a right-mind to leave despite Hideo’s words. In fact, Makoto’s had it with this fucked up group. Fuck Hideo and his empty threats. Fuck her “teammates”. Fuck this whole “meet-and-greet” ordeal. Unless Hideo was going to teach Makoto some new badass jutsu, she wanted no part of this group. Hell, she didn’t need them.


“And what if I do leave!!?? What are ya gonna do, huh?!! Make me calm again or some shit??!! Like that worked the last time!!!!” Makoto yelled out in Hideo’s direction. She growled under her breath. Her hands were balled into fists, her knuckles already turning white.


“Fuck this shit, I’m leaving!” Makoto started to stomp away from the path and deeper into the forest, away from the village and the campsite.


@Gilzar @LeafKnight @Gabriel Leko

Satoru's eyes were locked on the dark broth of his ramen, a ripple breaking the surface with every brush of the wind and subtle shake of the table. Heat poured from it, warming his cheeks uncomfortably, but he refused to look up. Finally, over the formal exchange of introductions, he heard the decisive snap of chopsticks. He dug the pads of his fingers roughly into his shoulders a final time, receiving an appreciative feeling from his muscles in response to where the pressure was before he let his hands drop, one retreating to settle in his lap while the heel of his other went to rest on the edge of the table.


He breathed out a terse sigh and finally was able to relax his posture again to a more casual slouch. Of course Ren wasn't going to kill him, he was overreacting. A restaurant would be too public. Satoru's lips twitched uneasily, grimacing at the thought, but overall he was a lot more calm now. As far as he could tell, he and Ren had reached a silent agreement to avoid talking about that for the moment... whatever that may be.


The clicking of wood against a ceramic bowl alerted him that someone else had already begun eating. Without further ado, he snapped the pair of chopsticks before him apart and submerged them into the meal before him. A lump of noddles were dragged up, and with them a veil of steam erupted from the bowl, puffing up right into his face. Satoru briefly considered how nice it would be if he could just hide behind that, but after shaking the noodles to shake any excess broth off, the steam had already blown away. He nearly looked up, just to ensure that no one was staring at him, but Satoru forced himself to keep his head low and face the contents of his ramen.


He brought a hand up to cover his mouth as the remains of a sliver of beef slipped into his mouth. The boy still had that nagging feeling from before that there was an expectation for him to start the lunch conversation properly, but any time he opened his mouth to speak, the words seemed to jam in his throat. He paced himself in his eating, partly to have an excuse not to have to speak, but also in hopes of filling himself up with the small portions he had ordered. Privately, he wished he had gone for the large bowl like he had truly wanted.


"U-um..." The quiet stutter finally wrenched itself free from between his clenched jaw, but to him the noise seemed to practically shatter his eardrums with how loud it must have been, and he was sure now everyone expected him to follow it up with something. He searched frantically for something, anything to say. "Sensei you said that... er, I mean, you mentioned that we were doing something later today?" Finally, he couldn't stare at the green onions bobbing up a second longer and he permitted himself a quick glance around the table just before he shoved another mouthful of noodles into his mouth and stared down to examine the tiny scratches on the table that were suddenly really fascinating.


@Infinities Lover

Riyoshi felt that dark and overpowering aura once again as his knees slightly buckled under his own weight. In an instant, Tsukiko appeared behind Riku and with her blades pointed upon his neck, she spoke out. She did not sound like herself, she sounded extremely angry, and that is when he seen her eyes. His expression shot into shock and fear ran through every fiber of his being. He knew exactly what she was. How is it that she was one of them? How is it that a young shinobi was able to house such a power lie that. Why did it seem as if he was getting passed up in power? Clenching his fists in an attempt to gather his balance, he took in a deep breath.


"STOP IT!" Riyoshi yelled as he glared past Riku and looked upon Tsukiko.


Riyoshi took in a deep breath, he was wanting to get her back to her normal state and not anger her more then she already was. He knew what anger did to a persons soul. This is when Riku spoke up about the men that he faced in combat. Two of the most loyal Anbu ranked shinobi. Riyoshi was shocked that shinobi would turn against their own nations for money. He knew that would not fly in the hidden village. The raikage would not have approved of that very much but he was trailing off in his own thoughts for a moment before snapping back into reality.


"A powerful underground orginization? Well, I am going to assume that they would not kill you, at least right off the bat. So we have some time to think of a plan. This whole situation sucks since I will not be able to be there to take on those men myself." Riyoshi spoke out as his tone became slightly angered.


"There must be a way that we can take out these men without losing a single person. Riku, I can't think just giving you up to them would be an acceptable plan in your eyes. And when it comes to my team, I will not let Aimeka be killed and I will not let Tsukiko be captured and sold to god knows who." Riyoshi spoke out as he started to regain his composure.


His mind began running through countless scenarios. Each one of them was ending in him killing hawk and ronin. His lips began to curl in an expression of joy. His eyes seemed distant and he was mumbling under his breath.


@Infinities Lover


@Kaine

Hideo


@LeafKnight @MemoriesUnknown @Kinzu Hekmatyar


With every branch that passed, Hideo jumped faster and faster. While he remained optimistic that he could get there in time, the gravity of the situation was still present. Akira had lost a lot of blood, and he could see the red-headed boy grow paler with each passing tree. Konoha was just a mile away now, there was no turning back at this point. Bracing his shoulders back, Hideo puffed out his chest so he could suck up one last moment of air. Then he launched himself yet again, and he kept going from branch to branch. If Akira died during training it certainly wouldn't look good for Makoto or Hideo....but at least Akira wouldn't have to experience the evils of this world...


He shook his head, trying to clear out that thought...there was no being optimistic this. That's exactly what he would want...that bastard. The very thought of that man, who ruined Hideo's life made his blood boil. This squad had been a challenge from the start, but he knew things would get worse before better. That's why Hideo took Ayako out of the squad after all. Couldn't have someone like that on a team, it just doesn't work out. This new recruit he found would be much more suitable candidate for their little dysfunctional family. All that he needed to do was simply find him once he arrived in the Leaf, after dropping Akira off at the infirmary.


"We're almost there. Just hang on a little longer Akira..."


Now he just hoped that Makoto would stay in place and actually do as he said. As threatening as he was he really didn't want to have to discipline his students for disobeying orders.

Riku


@Infinities Lover @backlash


In spite of all of his concerns, Riyoshi still was tempted to continue onward in spite of Riku's warnings. Perhaps he had not been direct enough...the last thing he wanted was to become apart of this hostage negotiation. Furthermore, if they all thought this encounter was bad it would be worse the next time. Hawk and Ronin were the type who learn from their mistakes, which is what made them so dangerous. There was no doubt in his mind that the next encounter that Ronin and Hawk would kill Riyoshi, yet he watched a smug grin begin to form across the Jonin's face. He probably thought opposite of what Riku was, an idea which frightened Riku as Riyoshi would surely pursue such an act. "You just don't get it, do you?" He snarled, now visibly showing his anger and emotion through a set of narrowed eyes and a raised side of his mouth that showed teeth.


"Those clients happen to be the Akatsuki."


Ronin & Hawk


@Kaine (Maine)


"That girl." Ronin casually yelled back to Hawk, who was carrying the Uchiha girl named Aimeka, "She was a Jinchuriki. Vessel of a demon."


Hawk heaved his chest back and fourth in a far less casual manor. Most of his strength had worn away, and this chunin named Aimeka normally wouldn't have been a problem for Hawk to carry...but in this state that was a different case. She just simply wore him down more, dead weight as one could ironically call it, though she wasn't dead yet. "Yeah, she was." The ANBU muttered out in frustration It really did frustrate Hawk that just one Jonin could fend the both of them off and do this to him. He let out a sudden cringe from under his mask, and he let out a slight screech of pain. Ronin quickly turned around, but what he saw before him completely took him by surprise.


Hawk was lying on the ground, completely incapacitated yet visibly groaning. "Grr..." on his back the Uchiha girl lay completely unharmed, which was a lucky considering hte previous turn of fate she had encountered. Ronin rather unwillingly turned around and approached Hawk, "Get up".


Hawk seemed to visibly shake in anger from Ronin's rather crude statement. "This bitch better be worth it!"


Ronin knelt down. "Oh she will be. After this is all overwith we'll have an Uchiha, an Iseya, and a Jinchuriki as long as we play this card right."


"...That's you're plan?" Hawk cringed out in pain as his muscles all began to cramp up on him. "Take all three of them and sell them to the Akatsuki?"


"Don't say our client's name. We've been instructed not to do that." Ronin said, now eyeing the back of Aimeka.


"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get this fucking Uchiha off of my god damn back!" Hawk screamed in a roar of anger, trying to shake her off.


After that Ronin didn't hesitate to pick Aimeka up and set her onto the ground, checking the bindings on her. He wish he had zipties, but this wasn't exactly a planned kidnapping. So he had to improvise with thickly braided metal wire, wrapped around her wrist and ankles. Tied in just the fashion that all ANBU knew to prevent the escape technique, incase this girl found a flash of inspiration to escape.


"Can you get up Hawk?"


As if that question had commanded him to, Hawk tried to lift himself up. He was able to lift himself up a few inches, but his strength waned and he collapsed into the ground again, letting out a slight groan upon hitting. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. It must have been chakra exhaustion...and if that were the case Ronin knew that he wasn't going anywhere soon. So in a rather reluctant manner, Ronin reached into his pouch and pulled out a GPS, along with a small black cell phone. Pressing a series of buttons, he activated the GPS, and dialed in a phone number with the phone. While most would be hesitant to use a phone in a situation like Ronin's, this cellphone only could call one number on a secure line. The cellphone rested up against his ear as he patiently waited past every beep of waiting.


"Ronin. Why do you call?" A dark, mechanically altered voice called out from the phone.


"The shutters are closed. Need an evac to..." Ronin then began to call out numbered coordinates.


"Evac on route." Ronin then closed his phone. Help would be here soon. Until then, he would need to keep both his comrade and prisoner alive, and he pulled out what little medical supplies he had and began to equally work back and fourth on each individual, utilizing everything he had learned about first aid.

With a rather loud thud. Aimeka hit the ground but it wasn’t the ground. It was something softer; grass, or sand. She really couldn’t tell with how disoriented she was at the moment. Her eyes wiggled and tugged, trying to open, but just not listening to her commands. People could be heard talking, but for some reason she just couldn’t make out the words. Finally the panic set in when something or someone lifted her up and set her down roughly.


“Uhn...” she moaned slightly with the movement. Finally her senses started to come back and with it all the pain that her body endured came surging back. Her arm throbbed unlike any pain she had ever felt before. In between the throbs was sharp pain that traveled up into her chest and left her nearly breathless. Struggling for a few moments to get her rhythm of breathing back down, Aime moaned again, this time considerably louder.


Finally her eyes started to open, and through the slits, light came flooding in, allowing her to finally take in all that was in front of her. Her hair, folded over across her hair. She was laying on the ground, and her hands where right up by her. They were bruised and the pain of the wire that dug into her skin. She tried to move her hands, but even with all the strength she could muster, only one hand would twitch. The entirety of her body screamed in pain and most noticably, to which her eyes fell on was her arm. From the large purple bruise which now replaced where bandages use to be, it was almost immediately obvious that her arm was broken. Not completely, but definitely to some extent.


Aimeka’s lips parted and as loudly as she could she tried to speak, “Heeeelp.” But her voice was just raspy and very quiet. The words only came out as a whisper. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what was going on.


@Infinities Lover