Fandom Song of Rage

[Hanarei]

Shioreta Koino​

Shio felt quite glad to have a shield, I mean faithful companion who could be there to protect them. Given the lack of cover and hiding it made her feel a bit safer given he was doing such a job willingly rather then using him more so against his will. It seemed Sachiko's little fun with the fake scrolls was coming to an end as the lot of them went rolling away in a ball of silk. Not too surprising considering the danger they presented anyone foolish enough to go peeking at them. Even if it was beneficial for the more intelligent of them it still could be risky in the long term if some other idiot decided to open them up close enough to get them.

Shioreta heard Sachiko speak up about sticking with her giving a nod knowing already she was planning a sort of escape. She ducked in taking advantage of the cover, though a bit less gracefully feeling her arm tugged as she was more so nudged in the right direction by Sachiko. She huddled up close as the invisibility cloak was thrown up over them as they were up against a rock hiding them away from plain sight. Not exactly the most advance way of staying hidden but given all the commotion going on it would make it far more effective. So long as they didn't try and attack from it, the foe was going to have to actively seek them out in order to find them. Shioreta looked to Sachiko was she mentioned using her 'toys' blinking as she shook her head a bit.

"It would draw attention that there is a 'dog' around to try and find its 'master'. It's best to keep low for a moment." She spoke with a light smile the pair quite closely cuddled together which was perhaps a little awkward. She stood thinking a bit as she tapped her finger against her chin in thought trying to not move about too much in their little hiding spot.

"There is a lot more fighting then I expected. It might benefit us to just go taking advantage of the tracks of the other Shinobi who went ahead of us might have made. So long as we watch out for traps. I was thinking of something a bit more... flashy... but at this rate I really do think it will be a walk in the park with how much carnage is going on. Just focus on taking a more... 'scenic' route to avoid being seen, not that I expect too many more crazy lasers going off anytime soon. Once we get further ahead if there seems to be more left over then might be safe we can always then still strike then... though I still lean heavily it will bne more about making it to our destination then worrying about 'making the cut' particularly at this rate. Or hey, we could do something else too, so long as it doesn't involve fishing if its more fun." She spoke shrugging a bit.

Mentioned: Ganryu Orikanyo

 

[Ganryu]

Scouting Report​

AtlannianSpy IG42 Ace Cream

Spoiler

"Scouting, huh? Ain't that a kicker. I can respect that, but we ain't done, hear that funny nin! We gunna throw hands 'fore the exams over at some point! I wanna see you dance."

Ken, The Handsome, tipped his hat acknowledging Ryuuka as she flew past... and he didn't try to stop her in the least. Then pondering her question waved his hat over his head.

"Three Palm's Breeze by the way!" He hollered, and put his hat back on as the sun spot he was standing in faded away to clouds once more, the eternal threat of rain continuing.

Smirking, he tied the stampede strings on his galan, and spread out his trenchcoat, before jumping off the pillar, and letting the wind pick him up, and send him hurtling off into the distance like he was wearing some sort of squirrel suit. "Clothes DO make the man! Hahaha! YEEHAW!"

As Ryuuka threw kunai, lightning hit a total of... one of them. The first one was struck as it flew 10 meters above the the pillars. After that, nothing happened. A few rumblings in the sky, but the weather got lighter and lighter down the path.

The stone pillars began to end when Ryuuka turned back, a large plateau, and a canon ahead, with several caves, and a roar heard from one of them. Some sort of beast in the pillars. A few genin teams could be seen turning back, though Ryuuka just having come from her direction had the lead on them in every possible way.

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


Above Aya and Shibata as they made their way away from the chaotic starting point, the storm seemed to be growing worse. Lightning danced around them. The rumble of thunder wasn't so much a distance as a constant beat. In the distance, a massive strike of lightning left a boom loud enough to possibly knock the two off their feet if unprepared, striking, and obliterating a column of antichakra rock. The flash illuminated the entire area like the sun at midday in the desert. In the distance, a small tower could be seen with a shell around it where lightning couldn't pass.

From the massive lightning strike, what seemed to be a still frame of red was left for a moment. The smell of ozone filled the air around the two. The outline of red above them suddenly burst apart as molten plasma started to rain down from overhead at them like fireworks, hot and heavy

 

[Orikanyo]

Wakanaka
Team Miho

In truth, Wakanaka wasn't that worried about making the cut either. With all the things going on, the fact they had three scrolls including their own and general affairs as they are. They should qualify if they just get in the god damn door. And much like when he was fighting the Yuukionna, to get through you gotta walk right into the fire. He was starting to wonder if he was setting a president for himself to barrel through with as little grace as possible by now... But then again, he'd be competeing with Okimi for that, so he will say he is being "direct" rather than anything else.

Now...

He did however need to be certain of what he knew.

"The scroll guy mentioned the city is where the lightning is most dense... But... Just to be certain..." he speaks to his friends... err... Squadmates... Before walking towards Aito once more. The proctor was looking rather... Well... As she usually did in truth. Hell she looked recovered from his earlier blow...

...Unfortunately for her...

The battle only began...

"Auntie Aito~! I have a question." He spoke in abit to sweet and cheery tone, one might give to their favorite family member. "Aaaaauuntie can you tell me where the city is? I do not want to get lost in all these stone pillars. I'm ceetain you'd know since you ARE the coolest jonin I know. You definitly beat my sensei auntie!" Wakanaka practically sparkled as he piled it on, hard.

" I want to do very well in this exam auntie, but I need help~!" His blood red puppy dog eyes began to tear up slightly, truely, he was putting some of the wannabe kunoichi to shame with his verbal pressuring. The way he was hamming it up, also likely pretty close to their ameturish negotiation.

Ganryu Hanarei @ God as my witness

 

[Ganryu]

Aito Ukita ​

Aito sighed as more genin disappeared in puffs around her. The fighting seemed... mostly done for now. Her wings of blades occasionally moved blocking an errant kunai, or straight fireball, but she seemed unperturbed.

"Heh, already down half as many as the old serpent bet I'd get. Honestly worrying I'll get enough for an exam."

And then the fatal blow the jonin proctor was not prepared for. Wakanaka Tsube.

"Oh, hey kid."

He began. Aito's face turned from an uncaring 'cool' facade to bright red and blushing. "A-auntie!?" Her sword dropped around her, and she covered her face again as what almost sounded like steam came from her. Quickly she turned and motioned forward, one of her blades flying out into the distance, and smashing into something probably metallic... and definitely electronic.

Shifting side to side, she groaned. "Uhhhhh...."

Aito.exe had stopped working.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuhh..." Gulping, she just pointed behind her, back the mountain pass she had come from. In the distance, lightning blitzed from that area. Aito squealed, and then jumped off the side of the cliff. Her wings fully extended, and she flew off away from the starting area.

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

The Jonin Spectating Area​

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Auntie Aito! That's great... AHAHAHAHAHA! She isn't ever living this down... Uhue.... HAHAHAHAHAHA! -ugh... Hahahaha..."

"Is- is he going to be alright? I think he's literally laughing blood. I don't think he's stopped for air for the last 5 minutes?"

Most of the jonin in the room were gathered around the source of the laughter, momentarily looking away from the monitors. One of the monitors had gone static, the last site seen on it as massive claymore flying through the air at it.

Still standing infront of it, a dragon head bobbed up and down. Jin, the Raiju, Arashikage watched without looking away.

"Tsumi... is doing quite well..."

 

[Ganryu]

As Shio mentioned laser, Sachiko groaned.

"You know... I think I should probably keep a look out for crazy lasers... I swear if I go blind from this... Heads up, can't fight for a little bit doing this.

Spectrum Shift: Paryl..."

Sachiko held up a handsign behind the sheet. Her eyes again changed color, instead of their normal bluish purple shade, they began to almost turn a clear color, with only a slight purple tint to it. Sachiko didn't elaborate what she was doing, but seemed concentrated at least.

Sachiko watched as blades smashed into a camera in the distance, and saw wind chakra flying away from them. Wh-what had just happened? She lowered the sheet to see the area near deserted, and folded the cloak into her regular pack.

"Waka... did you just defeat a jonin?"

She blinked again, registering what just happened. Then shook her head as she looked towards the distance. She facepalmed.

"Oh come on! I had one job!"

She watched the clouds for a moment more, before sighing.

Sitting down she started to make a crude map of the area, where they were, and where they'd started.... and where Arashigakure would be.

"Should kept my head in the clouds! Dangit. I like this chunnin exams! Now... how do we get to Arashigakure from here? It's down a mountain path and all the smart teams probably have a lead on us.

And Shio's right. They could have set traps... I don't want to go through them. If we go slow, we could get ambushed, if we just scream Leeroy, we'll get hit by traps."

Sachiko frowned, then looked at Waka's sword, and a smile began to curl at her lips.

 

[Hanarei]

Shioreta Koino​

Shio wasn't one to usually stray from that fake little smile of hers. It was practically stapled on her face after all. 'A great entertainer always put on a smile no matter what they might really feel.' That was a lesson she took to heart always doing so. What she saw with Waka towards that one Jonin... and the fact she pointed in what was the direction to head down to. The expression on Shio's face changed to look as if she had just put a sour candy in her mouth. The taste was so bitter it looked almost as if she was about to cry from it.

Trying to put together all the pieces... calculating the lightning and figuring out a pattern... attempting to utilize the other Genin as guinea pigs to test out my hypothesis. That was all just overthinking... all that needed to be done was asking a Jonin.. and by Waka of all people. Maybe I should of just let myself fall down onto the net earlier. This is much worst then being used as a fishing lure. I feel... I think embarrassed for the first time ever in my life. This is what I get for actually trying to come up with something rather then just going with the flow and improvising from it.

A sigh escaped from Shioreta's lips as she shook her head. No reason to let herself get bogged down about it now. She looked towards Sachiko shaking her head putting back a light smile on her lips. Back to her normal self!

"I don't think we will have to worry much about other teams arriving and filling up the roster before we can make it there. Though being quick would make it much harder for them to ambush us. Moving fast the biggest threat from traps is something that might come from below us which we will be the most vulnerable to even if we manage to move fast enough to avoid ambushes and traps from our sides."



Mentioned: Ganryu Orikanyo

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Taking a step back from the melee Shibata watched Aya thunder about the area scooping up errant scrolls as she went, seeing her toss the bundle off the cliff he created two crystal clones and sent one of them into the throng until it was able to use an explosion to feign being launched into the abyss to retrieve the scrolls while the second clone went after Ryuuka. "Let's move Aya." Not interested in any further shenanigans at the start point he took hold of her sleeve and led her down the trail before the genin that were still standing calmed down and wondered why they were going the "wrong" way.

Once they were a decent distance away from potential eavesdroppers he released Aya and spoke barely loud enough to be heard over the intensifying thunder. "All right now that we have a moment I can explain, in case you cannot yet tell the proctor pointed us in the wrong direction." Smugly he gestured up at the boiling sky. "If you will recall the words of our lift attendant he told us that the weather would grow calmer the further we travelled away from the village, meaning that to reach our goal we must follow the thunder."

Thoroughly satisfied with himself he started moving again towards their destination then stumbled as a particularly explosive bolt shattered one of the pillars sending him sprawling on top of Aya, blinking frantically he made out the image of the tower in the afterimage and pointed towards it. "There! That way!" Looking down directly into Aya's eyes he realised their position and hurriedly rolled off of her onto his feet busying himself with straightening his clothes and double checking the concealed scroll was still on his person to hide his flushed face. "I-i-in any case one of my clones should be fetching your scroll package and the other is going to collect Ryuuka so-." Glancing back he caught sight of the light blue inner lining of Ryuuka's jacket against the dark clouds leaving the clone floundering behind her. "Oh sod, I expect she'll need help with landing that."

Ace Cream AtlannianSpy

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

Aya nodded along the way as she listened to Shibata's explanation. Her face and voice stays still as if she didn't have much reaction about that but her mind was actually keep screaming 'eeehhhh' since she didn't realize that, she was too focused in getting the scrolls. They're pointed to the wrong direction?? So they just need to follow the thunder, got it!

Then a massive lightning strikes, destroying one of the stone pillar and barraging then with searing red shards of rock. Aya shrieked as she wrapped her lashers around her body to make herself a smaller target. She just didn't like fighting fire. If her clothes get torn it can still be easily mended, but if its burnt or eaten then she must make a new one. She just ran in panic until Shibata crashed into her.

They stumbled out of the rock barrage but landed in an embarassing position with Shibata on top of her. Aya could felt her face becoming red and even after Shibata get off of her she still can't get over it. As a girl who grew in mostly female family being too close to a boy threw her mind into a frenzy. A boy touched me! Did he means something? Sorry mother, now I can't get married. and other silly thoughts.

She was so distracted that she didn't hear what Shibata was saying and only realized Ryuuka was going to fall on her just moment before they're going to crash, but it was enough time for Aya to use Silk round up to transforms her kimono into improvised airbag and caught Ryuuka from falling.

IG42 AtlannianSpy

 

[InsaneAsylum]

There was no more time to waste. They needed to just get out of here and get to this damn village. Feurey could still fly, but he wouldn’t want to go for too long. Okimi hopped onto Feurey’s back, and Feurey dashed forwards near Tsubame. “Tsubame we’re heading out!” Okimi reached out, grabbing her arm and swinging her up onto Feurey behind her. Next was Kurio. It didn’t take long to scurry up beside him and tug him up onto Feurey’s back as well.

“Alright let’s get the hell out of here!” Okimi said to her teammates as Feurey dashed in a random direction. In said direction on the edge of the starting area, a poor genin was trying to catch up with their team who had taken off earlier. A devilish look spread across Okimi’s face. “Let’s take this one,” she whispered to Feurey.

With his hindlegs, Feurey snatched the genin by his waist, causing him to twist forward, parallel to the ground. Feurey then hopped upwards, before slamming the genin into the ground. Afterwards, Feurey took off into the air with a powerful wing beat.

Despite the hole in one of his wings, gliding down a slope was no problem. However, the young kunoichi suddenly realized she had no idea where she was going.

“Hey Kurio? Which way do we go again?”

KageYuuki S n o w

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Ryuuka Tagamatsu
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-Uhff. Thanks Aya!"

Ryuuka let out a shaky breath as she slammed into Aya's silkball landing pad with a dramatic *POMF! before bouncing up and down a few times as the kinetic energy of her fall petered out.

"Oh by the way I solved the puzzle! It turns out that was the wrong way! You can tell because of the lighting. We're supposed to be going this way after all so that was lucky," Ryuuka sounded pleased with herself but her self importance was somewhat undermined by her ineffectual attempts to free herself from the cocoon of sticky silk she had mercifully landed in. "Just gotta....yup... If I can just...sorta-get my arm out aaaaaaand I'm stuck," Ryuuka sighed defeatedly and slumped backwards, until her expression brightened again moments later. "You know I bet we could save a lot of time by just rolling along in this thing! It's mostly down hill from here right?"

IG42
Ace Cream

 

[Orikanyo]

Wakanaka
Team Miho
​

Having single handedly defeated a jonin and gotten his answer, Wakanaka turned back to his squad to conviene on the newest problem..

How to move fast while being protected...

They could simply try hopping from each pillar..

But they would still lack speed...

Open to attacks from most angles, it was a true test not only of their skill, individually and as a squad, but also their problem solving... To rely solely on chakra is to fail, raw naturally skill is required to beat this test. In truth, he wished Miho had sat them all down lessons more.. But he DID get a few tutoring sessions from Sensei ichirou. But even that wouldn't help... So... You had to think... Think... Think.....

What could you do...?

He frowned, furrowing his brow, shuffling his foot in the slightly flattened rocks.

"Humph... if we're unlucky, we may just end up slipping off these stones..." he sighs, kicking a small stone as it goes skidding across the stone surface...

He rose an eyebrow... leaned back to standing straight, eyes watching the stone...

"...Hey." he paused before turning to the others.

"I think... I have a plan stupid enough to work."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So we lay in wait." the brawn inoichi nin spoke first. "Uhuh." the scrawny one nodded "Then, when the come to this rock, we grab em!" the brawny one, with his all so complex plan, slammed his hands together for emphasis. The scrawny nin, shrugged in comeplete disregard for the plan being laid out by their squad member.

"What does it matter if we do it here or anywhere else? The other squads could be anywhere." A third less brawny, but more than the scrawny one nin spoke up, this one seemed to be trying abit to hard to be that cool ninja archtype, type who probably tries to do everything in his power to seem dark and mysterious when actually hes about as dark as a dimly lit refrigerator with the light burning out.

"Well I dun hear you making a plan." The brawny one pouts, getting a scoff from the mediocre one.

"And what? You expect a squad to come flying in outta nowhere? Idiot, we should just focus on getting to the city and finishing the test before we all get struck by lightni-"

"mmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAKKKEEEEE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!"

The sound of metal scraping on stone and the yelling of a young man echoed throughout the landscape as a trio of genin came flying through afixed atop of a giant sword, Shio in the front guiding it with her threads, Waka in the middle keeping it flat and steady and Sachiko doing what she does best in the rear, the three affixed on the flat of the blade and useing it like a sleigh.

Which nearly flattened the talking Inoichi genin, merely clipping him and sending him spiralling to the ground before clashing against the stone pillar's top before sliding off to yet another in the distance.

The brawny genin's jaw dropped, eyes widdened, as the Scrawny one scoffs. "Guess they did just fly in outta nowhere..."

Ganryu Hanarei

 

[Ganryu]

Team Hayate:

Ahead of Team Hayate, the tower flashed again as a lightning bolt big enough to seem like the entire sky was falling crashed. Interestingly, it seemed to strike an invisible dome around the village and disappate around it in a dazzling show. Only one tower, the Arashikage's tower, stood above the dome.

The other jonin proctor from beforehand greeted them.

"I see, good job on being one of the first team's to make it... assuming you have your scroll to enter. That's your 'bye' to get past me, the real first fight."

He held out a staff as if to fight... before just holding his hand out to accept the scroll.

Once accepted, he tapped the barrier with his staff, a hole opening up from the ground, the air shimmering around the torn air.

"Meet your senseis at Mainway and 4th, they will take you to your temporary lodging while you are here. THe rest of the exams start in 2 days."

(can off screen, in free time.)

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

Team Miho

Rokuro waited as the next team approached. He heard a scraping in the background. "Huh...?"

A shower of sparks could be seen in the distance travelling down the mountain path, coming towards the village at an incredible speed.

"What... is that?"

The impromptu sled flew past the jonin.

"WAIT!"

With a sudden impact, the three crash into the electrified barrier like a fly against a windshield. The lightning was dispersed enough to do little more than a sudden shock.

Rokuro blinked at the three.

He blinked again.

"What the f-?"

He shook his head, and held out his hand for the scroll, and opened up the barrier for the three.

==================================================

Team Ichiro

As Okimi carried off the random genin, his team ran behind him.

"Wait! Give Ojiro back! Waaaaait!"

Fuery was faster though. Ojiro flailed in Fuery's grasp. "I-I'll give you my scroll! J-just let me dooown! I'm afraid of heights!"

--

Rokuro would open the barrier for the three as well.

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Nodding to the proctor Shibata took out the concealed scroll and allowed the crystal surrounding it to crumble away before handing it over. "Just a moment please." He said as the jounin motioned them inside and turned back as his clone approached holding the bundle of webs and stolen scrolls. "We also obtained these scrolls from the other teams, there are...some in there." He shamelessly let the clone hand off the sticky package and stepped through the barrier, watching it harmlessly repel the lightning he hoped it would also muffle the thunder at least a little.

Once inside he stopped for an exaggerated self-satisfied stretch. "Well that went quite well didn't it? I feel like I could still go for a spot of practice." He smiled smugly with his teammates. "Let's go find sensei first though, perhaps he knows a good spot for lunch in this place."

Ganryu Ace Cream AtlannianSpy (no need for reply if you'd rather work on something else)

 

[Ganryu]

​

Sachiko laughed like a mad woman the entire trip down the mountain. It probably wasn't too far from the truth but, hey, they were doing something insane... and she hadn't even suggested it. WAKANAKA had suggested it. Wakanaka! Balance wasn't too much an issue, Sachiko even standing on the massive sword/sled, using tree climbing jutsu to root herself in place.

She eyed a trio of genin looking stunned below them.

"Swing left, Shio! I think we can hit them!"

However, all good good things must come to an end. And while the plan was admittedly awesome, they maaaay have forgotten about breaks. "Hey, guys, do we have a way to stop this thing? ... guys?"

Sachiko didn't quite recall the next few minutes, but she could swear she could hear a ringing in her head. And her hair was on end. Aw... Sachiko took good care of her hair! Standing up, half dazed, she blurrily saw the jonin with his hand out. She handed him a scroll.

He kept his hand out. "Oh... right..." She threw the scroll in the distance where it exploded, and handed him a real one, before passing back out.



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

The inside the village was exciting at least. Lightning shot all around the little dome, but the residents didn't even seem to notice. If anything, Sachiko's Tsumi headband drew more attention than the mountain sized lightning bolt in the distance that left a red trail in its mix.

"Whoa, is that a Tsumi nin?"
"C-can I touch it? I think they're poisonous."
"Shit, were the chunnin exams today! I gotta go check my bets! Team Mizuchiro had better have made it!"

Sachiko was severely tempted to act like she had the plague at that moment, and poke one of the bystanders, but shrugged instead. It almost looked like a festival with all the booths and such around. Sachiko narrowed her eyes. It WAS a festival! She could even see banners with the words 'chunnin exams' over. Sachiko elbowed Waka. "This place is weird... So, Waka, we got three days before the fighting. What'chu doing for them? Don't suppose you have any extra secret forbidden techniques you plan on learning in a day, then pulling out on everyone for the exams?"

 

[Ganryu]

The Dragon Graveyard
-1 month ago {Past collab we just now finished}-
Sachiko & Okimi​

Spoiler: Past Events

- 1 month prior to the exam -

“Sachiko! Hurry your skinny ass up!” Okimi yelled from the village gate. If they didn’t hurry up and get going with this mission, the village might change their mind about wanting a cut of the profits from the soon to be bone selling operation. Okimi needed to get there, kick some greedy ass, and claim the graveyard for her own clan.

Feurey huffed loudly from it’s seat in the dirt beside her, annoyed that Okimi was being so loud. Okimi rolled her eyes. “Just because you got a little bigger doesn’t mean I’m gonna deal with your attitude all the time! I can still kick your ass!” Okimi growled at Feurey.

The not so little green dragon let out a puff of smoke, before standing tall, almost to Okimi’s own height. Feurey stretched out his newly developed wings wide, and let out a menacing growl Okimi’s way as the two prepared to face off just inside the village gates.

“We’re not all super human monsters!” Sachiko called back, actually panting. She normally would love to find some way to tease or laugh at the situation, but Okimi just didn’t stop… “What did she do… just stick a straight shot of energy drink into her arm or something…? Hue…”

Nope… nope… why did she get wrangled up on this. She was trying to pick a nice easy mission to fail when she’d gotten dragged away by Okimi! This was not a nice easy mission she could fail and no one could care… was it? Sachiko didn’t know, she didn’t even know what was going on right now! Did Waka set her up? Sachiko was more mad that her normal unflappable trolling persona was being destroyed by this monster’s just sheer stamina! Maybe she shouldn’t have just hid in a shed last time Miho-sensei had tried getting them to run laps?

“Can I- Can I read the mission scroll yet? Also, you know you picked literally the worst kunoichi possible for … whatever this is, right…? I was literally trying to figure out how to mess up delivering some nobleman’s lunch, accidentally getting wasabi in it, I didn’t say yes to this, and… ugh”

Both Okimi and Feurey perked up at the same time when Sachiko came huffing and puffing over to them. With a hop, Okimi was next to Sachiko. She grabbed her by the collar. “You’re the perfect shinobi for this. All you need to do is help me make sure there isn’t any funny business going on when we get to the graveyard! Don’t you have funky eyes or something? You’re like uh… a scout!”

Okimi let go of Sachiko and ran over to Feurey. She hopped on his back and held out the mission scroll. “No time to waste, read on the way there!”

Sachiko blinked innocently with a smile as she was held by the collar. “I don’t think my eyes are that funky…?”

Whoever leaked her dojutsu was going to die. She thought about. Kurio. Kurio was on her list. He was about to be pranked like he’d never been pranked before. She was going to put Itching powder on his bandage in his medical kit. Wait… that’s hurt someone else. Meh, 50/50 it was Okimi anyways, no unacceptable losses

Nobody revealed a magician’s best tricks…

Near collapsing, she picked up the scroll. For a minute she looked at the wasteland around them, looked at Okimi, then the nearest hole in a Ravine. No one would have to know…

---------------
”Hey, Okimi!”

-Thud-

Glorious.
--------------

Opening the scroll as she dreamed of homicide, she started to read the first line. Sachiko’s eyes narrowed. She stopped, and held up her hand. She snarled, and then through the scroll at Feuery, knowing full well what he’d do.

“Okimi… can you keep a secret better than Kurio apparently can?”

“Wha~ I mean, yes! I have a lot of them so what’s one more?”

Okimi’s eyes followed the scroll just before Feurey incinerated it with a brief blast of flames. Sachiko suddenly talking about a secret got her interested, especially if it had to do with the mission.

Sachiko cocked a smile, her head tilting. “I don’t believe you.” She then pulled out a book from her side Dragging tails & brave nights, and opened it. The center was hollowed out, and in the middle, three bo-shuriken’s could be seen strapped inside. Sachiko picked up, and hefting one of the three, before moving it to her main pack.

“But I’d be oh so flattered if you’d lie, and if anyone asks, I ran away like a coward. Cause you found a mission I miiiight want to help with. But naturally, Sachiko fails a lot of her missions, so deeefinitely wasn’t me along. Capiche?”

A handsign appeared, and Sachiko’s eyes opened slowly, becoming Red.

“Spectrum Shift: SubRed” She muttered. “I’ll help.”

“So you’re not helping me, but you actually are? Sneaky! Wait, but why? Ah, nevermind let’s just get going. Let’s see those funky eyes in action!”

With that said Feurey took off into the air a mighty beat of his wings. Although there wasn’t a saddle on his back, Feurey had spikes on his back spaced far enough apart to sit between, and the perfect size to hang onto. Once in the air, the trio headed north. Okimi was pretty confident that any Hanegakure ninja wouldn’t be looking at the sky, so they could safely travel their territory. Just to be safe, however, Okimi remained relatively close to the Land of Ember’s border.

After a long ride filled with Feurey chasing the occasional bird, and a single bathroom break, the dragon graveyard was in sight. Okimi let out a gasp as her eyes washed over it. The ground itself was dead and lifeless, only the occasional bush lived on the black charred terrain. The dragon bones stood out like lanterns in the night. Even from here the skeletons of long dead dragon’s were visible. Most were about Feurey’s size or smaller however. Okimi didn’t see any adult skeletons.

“You see any movement from up here?” Okimi asked, turning to face her scout.

As the early morning sun burned away the thin mist that had settled over the graveyard, a lone swordsman with an eyepatch stood surveying the field of bones. Hanegakure nin had once guarded this area jealously, warding off any would be intruders with surprising force for the laid back village. But something had changed, and the place was fully abandoned now.

Which suited their purposes just fine. People were willing to spend heaps of ryo just for a small fang from a dragon. Complete skeletons were worth their weight in gold. Especially the larger ones.

“See? What’d I tell ya, the place is a goldmine.” A lanky looking man called out as he approached the other. Wild strands of red hair spilled over his shoulders.

The one with the eyepatch nodded, “Bishamonten is definitely pleased with the new wave of income, Akane.” He turned to face the other swordsman, “are these the largest you’ve found?”

Akane shrugged, “so far anyway.” He crossed his arms, “though we did find this weird wind wall yesterday. None of the boys can get through it. Maybe the bigger ones are back there?”

“Show me,” eyepatch followed after Akane.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Akane spoke again, “so are the rumors true? About the boss?”

“Yes.”

A wide grin spread across the redhead’s face. “So that mean we’re done helping these weirdos?”

Eyepatch shook his head, “Master Nobuyuki pledged his sword to them in return for his freedom.”

Akane’s grin fell as he let out a dissatisfied sigh.

From above, Sachiko watched, barely able to make out the figures from the sky. Fuery wasn’t exactly the fastest, so… getting spotted would be bad.

“Hmm… scouting report. I’d say the red head’s a 6/10. That eye patch guy though…” She gave a fake growl with a laugh. She then shook her head.

“We should leave. They are all wearing katanas, and in good condition. I said I’d help, but I don’t see a reason to put my life on the line. Those swords are in good condition. They aren’t bandits. Bandits would just use whatever was lying around, and the boss would have the best conditioned blade. ALL of their swords look pretty good. Which means they're trained in them. I’ve never even held a sword! Do you know what a 5 body test cut is? Cause I think they do from the looks of it.”

Sachiko tapped her chin as she kept thinking. “Oh, and 10 of them I could see with heat vision, turned it off though, takes chakra. I don’t have a lot of chakra. Or ninjutsu. Or genjutsu. Or taijutsu.”

“We aren’t leaving! Their swords can’t do anything to us while we’re up here!”

Okimi stood up on Feurey’s back taking a step forward so she had a clear view of the graveyard below.

“Turn those eyes back on! You got to help me aim!”

Sachiko stood up behind her, swaying slightly from the uneven ground, but tree climbing jutsu was sooo underrated. “Got it!” She said happily, before standing behind Okimi, leaning against her very close. Her arm extended past Okimi’s shoulder, pointing below, a kunai in her hands, which she used to point with.

“There’s the guy furthest away, don’t aim there.” Her other hand reached into Okimi’s bag, ‘sticky fingers’ unlatching it as she reached in. “The biggest target is the guy with the eyepatch, who would toootally murder us, and he’s…”

Suddenly Sachiko’s arm bent back, grabbing Okimi’s neck in an armbar, and the knife pressing against her chin. Sachiko threw a treat for Fuery from Okimi’s bag, and fell back, laying against Fuery’s back.

“Sorry, but I’m not going to get myself killed today, Okimi! Friday’s a terrible day to die, least make it a Monday.”

The treat flew behind a giant ribcage in the distance, giving them cover to hide behind, and closer to the ground to dismount from.

Feurey took off after the treat like a mad dragon, assuming Okimi had thrown it. Meanwhile Okimi was wriggling around trying to free herself from Sachiko’s hold. Unfortunately Okimi had no such luck. Eventually Feurey landed inside of the ribcage, grabbing up the treat with his tongue. He then laid down calmly, letting Okimi and Sachiko wiggle around on his back.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Okimi grunted out.

Sachiko shrugged. “My parents never hugged me as a kid? Sensei doesn’t care? Dead brother complex?” She finally let go, sliding off the back of the dragon, and putting her kunai away.

“Also, said I’d do the mission, but I don’t love the village enough to die for it. Or really at all. If we’re going to do this, let’s be smart. If I let you charge in, I’D be dead, and mission wouldn’t get done at all. I’m only doing this because I want it done. If you don’t, go ahead and charge’em, just leave me out of it!”

Sachiko sat down, and started to draw in the dirt.

“What’s your plan right now? If you say ‘run in there’, I’m leaving right now, and reporting you dead to the mission office with a smile on my face.”

Okimi could feel the heat puffing from her nose with each angry exasperated exhale. Her fists clenched tighter and tighter before Okimi let out a furious roar and stomped on the ground.

“You messed up my plan! The only reason I ain’t ‘bout to blast you into ash is because I can’t give ‘way our position!”

Okimi stomped on the ground several more times, before plopping down cross legged on the ground.

“If you want me to make a plan, then you need to tell me everything you can do. And I mean everything! You seem pretty useless to me so far,” Okimi explained with a pout. As much as she wanted to get payback for the humiliation, she had more important things to do.

Sachiko raised an eyebrow. “You do know we’re ninja right…? Sides, if you don’t know what I can do, you don’t know if you COULD do that!” Sachiko laughed wildly, before pulling out a few bo shuriken.

“You’re really lucky I wanna do this mission… I don’t like talking ‘bout it. Ugh…” She sighed, before putting the shuriken back… and pulling out a book from a black bag. She opened it up, revealing 3 special, off colored ones. Picking them out, she tossed one to Okimi so she could feel how much it weighs. It was a lot, more than steel or iron, the metal in question being depleted uranium. She then sat back down, and continued to draw in the dirt.

“I’d say I’m probably about as good at shuriken jutsu as you are with fire release. Haven’t seen you do it, but you seem pretty confident in it. Oh, and I like chaos, misdirection is fun! In fact, I’d say collapsing teams is my specialty!” Sachiko smiled sweetly. “Best summary I can give.”

The dirt was starting to form a map. X’s began to mark the people Sachiko had seen.

“The best thing we could do would be to report back to the village and have someone else do this… but I think you have reasons for wanting it done here, right? Well, here’s my plan. This person was scouting on their own. We’re going to have you blitz him, as flashily as possible. We want them to notice, and to be on high guard. Cause when people are overly cautious, they make mistakes. Run immediately afterwards, and I can join in with them. After that, I’ll throw in a flare every so often. Ignore it, and blitz their camp every time I do it. I think you can rack up a few wins that way, and we’ll be picking them off one by one. I think they might be stronger than us though… So it’ll be tough.

It’d be a lot better if we can take them alive, but you do you. There are supposed to be Hane nin here, but, well… I think they’re all dead.”

Sachiko sighed, and leaned back, finished with the map. “And once you’re dead, you don’t come back… So, I’m just going to take the safe route and let you do everything!”

Okimi listened intently. The plan didn’t sound so bad, but she wasn’t entirely convinced. “They can’t fall for this forever can they? If I see a chance to take out a group of them at once, I’m going to take it. And what about their leader dude? You think it’ll work on him?”

“No.” Sachiko said plainly. She sighed, and laid back against a massive rib of a dragon, sighing as she though, looking at her map, and sorting through her gear. She pulled out a kunai that didn’t look any different than the rest other than having red wrappings. “You’d better get me through this Koki…” She put it away, and squirmed, before grabbing her head and throwing a tantrum and kicking her legs.

“This is waaaaay too much thinking!”

Another moment passed by, then she stood. “Have Fuery get help. Only way. We need a jonin.” She blinked, then corrected herself. “We need your jonin? Mine’s probably passed out drunk. Or reading things she SHOULDN’T be!” Sachiko looked pissed for a moment. “Anyways, we can take care of the small fry. He’s the problem. And the others with the fancier swords. Think there’s 3 of them. Anyways, I’m good to start when you are, unless you got a better plan. I’m all ears.”

“I think our plan will be fine. I’ll try to include those sword fellas in my sneak attacks so we wont gotta worry bout them! Don’t worry Sachiko, we can do this!”

Okimi smiled, “Lets get rich.”




-------

In reality, Okimi hadn’t thought a lot about how she was doing to take out the enemies. What she did think about, however, is how many of them she could take down in the fastest amount of time.

Now back in the sky, Okimi started speeding through hand signs, before firing her Hellfire Bullet jutsu one after another towards the men on the ground. The bullets moved slowly, shining like distant stars in the sky as they descended. However, as soon as they would reach the ground, numerous explosions would no doubt give them a big surprise!

Unlike the two swordsmen the genin had spied earlier, a majority of the men milling about the boneyard appeared to be no more than common bandits. A man carrying a basket of small bones paused, looking up at the shimmering orbs that made their descent. “Ey, Shosuke, you seeing this?”

“Eh?” Shosuke stopped digging in order to look up. “That’s . . . uh . . . “

The first fireball exploded nearby. It only took a few seconds for the camp to devolve into panicked yelling.

As soon as the detonations began, Okimi swooped down towards one of the swordsmen. She hopped off of Feurey, letting him swoop back into the air. Meanwhile, she herself landed on the ground, and flew through a swift series of hand signs before firmly planting her palm onto the ground. A trail of glowing scorched earth snaked its way towards the swordsman, with the goal of exploding beneath him.

The redhead from before, Akane, stood looking out at the chaos overtaking the camp. “Ah geez,” he sighed, “again with this?” He blinked, turning towards Okimi when she landed. “Eh?” Before he could say anything else, the swordsman was engulfed in a torrent of flame.

“You’re not one of Hane’s brats.” He continued, as the flames died down. Akane seemed completely unscathed.

“Shut up, cherry top! Why aren’t you burning alive?!” Okimi yelled, before flying through more hand signs. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Feurey circling back around to assist Okimi. He already knew what to do.

Again, Okimi slammed her palm onto the ground. Another trail of burning earth snaked towards the swordsman.

Akane blinked, “cherry—? That’s a new one…” He took his time drawing his sword. The blade was a dark bronze with 爆 engraved near the hilt. “I’ve been wanting to test the edge on my new sword.”

Again the flames engulfed him, and again he stood unflinching. “That little flame isn’t gonna help ya, missy.” He raised his sword, “I am Akane Uematsu. What’s your name, ninja? I wanna know who I’m about to cut down.”

“Feurey,” was all Okimi said before the green dragon came soaring in hot. Literally. Feurey was covered in scorching flames, and was aiming to crash directly into the swordsman. It was a risky move, considering he had a blade, but Okimi needed a few moments to gather chakra in her mouth. She wanted to see how much heat this guy could really handle!

Akane raised an eyebrow, “odd name.” He raised the blade over his head, “but I’ll be sure to put it on your- gah!” Feury slammed into his back, sending the samurai sprawling across the ground. His sword released an explosive shockwave that just barely missed Okimi thanks to her partner’s intervention. “I forgot you had a pet,” he reversed his grip on the sword, stabbing back towards the dragon with another explosion.

The blast sent Feurey sprawling backwards in a daze, tumbling over himself with a pained cry. It was likely the first time Feurey had ever been struck with such force. Hearing Feurey in pain sparked something in Okimi. A rage that she had yet to feel before. Okimi shot up from her kneeling position, and a blast of superheated flames burst forth from her mouth like a laser right at the cherry man. Okimi was betting everything on this. If it didn’t work, she had no backup plan.

The samurai had pushed himself to his feet by the time Okimi unleashed the stream of flames at him. The brightness and heat was enough to make him hold his arms up and shield his face. When the smoke cleared, he remained standing, though singed and breathing hard. “Got the stubbornness of a samurai, I’ll give ya that.” Akane shook his head, “Though you know, you’re not the only one that can use chakra, little ninja.” He rushed Okimi and swung his sword towards her, threatening to strike the genin with another blast. “You guys took the idea from us, ninjutsu’s a mockery of our techniques!”

Upon seeing the man still standing after her most powerful jutsu, Okimi’s expression turned to despair. But only for a moment. He was at least a little roughed up after it. She had to be smart now right? Like Sachiko… smart like that trickster… tricks! Okimi formed a handsign, and as soon as the blast contacted her, a chunk of dragon bone was blown to pieces. Okimi, now hiding behind Feurey, gave him a new order.

Feurey quickly turned to blast a spout of flames at the samurai as he lept at him. However, in the middle of the leap the green dragon pushed himself up into the air with a powerful beat of his wings. When the flames disappeared Okimi was nowhere to be seen.

Akane blinked as the bone sent white shards all over the battlefield. “Eh?” Hearing Feurey drawing in a sharp breath, he spun and swung his sword using another blast to disrupt the incoming flames. “Running and hiding? I’m disappointed.” The samurai kept his stance at the ready as he listened and waited.

From above, Okimi was falling down towards the samurai. Earlier, with Feurey as a distraction, she had body flickered into the air, where Feurey caught her after blasting fire in the samurai’s face. Now, Okimi had hopped off of her dragon, and was falling down with her spear pointed downwards. It was a desperate act, she knew it. But she was outclassed. Were all samurai this powerful?

Sharp eyes continued to study the scorched battle ground. Noticing his shadow growing, Akane’s head snapped up to see Okimi plummeting towards him. “Shit!” The samurai’s blade ground against the tip of her spear, an explosion erupting between them.

Akane dropped to a knee as the smoke cleared, breathing heavily. A deep gash ran along his back and wooden shrapnel jutted out of his arms and chest. “Didn’t think . . . this blade would be so greedy . . .”

The blast sent Okimi back up into the air a ways before she landed back onto the ground with a dull thud face first. What remained of her spear was still tightly grasped in her hand, despite being reduced to a broken stick. Some splinters were stuck in her face, chest, and torso, but luckily none in her eye.

Okimi lay still for a few moments, feeling the cool dirt against her face. She knew she couldn’t let herself die here. Her clan’s history was laid to rest here, and for all she knew she was the only one who gave a damn about it.

Okimi pushed into the ground, heaving herself up onto her knees. Her green hair hung before her face, dirty and messily. She looked to see the samurai actually wounded by her attack. A grin spread across her face.

“Why are you out here?” Okimi asked. Her voice sounded a bit rough, but it didn’t seem to phase her.“I didn’t know samurai did grunt work guarding a bunch of graverobbers.”

Akane chuckled at the comment, shaking his head. “It’s the last place I want to be, but I’m here because my master willed it.” He shrugged and winced, “Collectors love these things apparently, willing to pay a huge sum for ‘em. Bishamonten needs money, so here we are.”

“Bishamonten?” Okimi questioned aloud. She quickly figured it was just some bandit group though. “Heh… and here I was thinking that samurai held honor in high regard… you said you’re fighting because your master willed it right? He wanted you to help criminal scum dig up the graves of my clan’s dragon companions? That’s why I’m here. To protect my clan’s memory and legacy.”

As Okimi spoke, she wobbled up to her feet. She was still shaken by the blast earlier.

Feurey swooped down beside her, letting her lean against him with one arm.

“For an honored graveyard, the Hane nin certainly don’t seem to care.” Akane braced himself against his sword and stood. Though he swayed slightly. “They used this place for a training ground apparently, why we’ve had to do so much digging.”

He shook his head, “what’s honor matter to a ninja anyway? Lord Nobuyuki can’t achieve his dreams until he repays Bishamonten’s favor. If we have to stray from the path to do that, then so be it.”

Okimi spit a glob of red into the dirt. “Then go pay your debt somewhere else. I can’t stand idly by and let my deceased clanmates have their graves desecrated like this. Just because you have to return a favor.” Fighting wasn’t much of an option anymore, much to Okimi’s dismay, but she could at least try to convince this samurai that this wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Why don’t you tell whoever’s giving you orders that the operation got blown to bits. Then maybe you can take a trip home and appreciate the well kept graves of your own people. I’d rather not have to finish you off here considering how pathetic you look.”

Akane laughed, “You’re one to talk. I’ll give you credit for still standing, little ninja.” He raised his sword, though it wavered slightly. “You’ve made a massive mess of things here. Challenged me to a fight besides. Can’t just let you walk away after--”


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


In the distance, Sachiko rolled her eyes. About what she had expected. Okimi had gone straight for the throat. So much for the plan.

Sachiko bowed her hat for a moment of silence.

She then hummed and used a transformation jutsu, turning into a plain lower ranked she’d noticed. While it would be fun to be eyepatch guy, it wouldn't be as effective if people stopped to ask questions.

“Hmm… not good enough…”

Sachiko ran over to a nearby fire, and stomped it out. Grabbing some of the soot, she dirtied herself.

“What a survivor of Okimi would… probably look like, yeah, sounds good.”

She headed a bit further away to where some carts were, and began to prepare them for transport… to Izunami. A few tags across them, while looking like she was loading them up with bones.

“Tch, menial work.”

Another explosion sounded in the background. What was Okimi doing… And what needed two plus explosions?

As Sachiko worked, a few workers scrambled past her in search of shelter from the attack. One paused and looked at her with wide eyes for a second before continuing to run. If she wanted to keep working while ninja were attacking, that was her problem. No Ryo was worth this.

Explosions and bursts of flame continued to erupt off in the distance.

In a cave near Sachiko, the sound of howling wind could be faintly heard.

“Oi, what’cha doing, don’t’cha think he can handle it? When I’m asked what happened to you chicken shits, ran is exactly what Imma say.” Sachiko called out to the fleeing bandits in the burliest voice she could muster. So crude a language. Sachiko would never curse like that unless in character. Oh well.

She really hoped there was a ‘he’ they all were afraid of. But bandits rarely did menial labor, so… chances were high they were scared of someone. If they paused, she’d have her answer. Still, she was glad the bandits were gone. Would make ‘disposing’ of the area easier.

“Wonder if Okimi’s dead yet. I really should check up on her. But, well… I told her what was stupid, and no way I’m dying over it.” Shrugging, she noticed the cave.

“Is this a thread of fate I see?” Walking briskly with a puzzled face of a bandit, she began to crawl into the cave, looking to see if the coin was inside, or what else they’d store. “Probably effluvia of rotten dragons inside….”

Navigating the narrow passageway, the only scent that greeted Sachiko came from the slightly damp air. The large puddle a short ways in was likely to blame. Rain water that had trickled in from a recent storm. No signs of dragon bones or treasure could be seen in the dark cave. While the wind continued to howl, she wouldn’t be able to feel the slightest of breeze.

As she continued to wander further down the path, the howling wind steadily grew louder and a light eventually came into view. The samurai with an eyepatch she’d seen earlier stood at the path’s end, a wall of violent winds barring his path. If Sachiko were to look, the winds would consist purely of chakra. Her pendant reacted faintly to the presence of the chakra, despite the fact it should’ve been completely dormant.

Sachiko stood for a minute, internally screaming. Yup… all the things she didn’t want to do. Leader guy she was afraid of, no backup/Okimi to throw under the bus. But it was alright, she could just play this off, Sachiko was a great actor!

Her pendant started a dull glow. Does the universe just hate me? Does karma exist…? I don’t even have most of my explosive tags. D-do I try to keep up the facade…?

Sachiko shrugged, and tucked the pendant away. In for a Ryo, in for a gold bar.

“H-hey boss. Thing’s a-ain’t looking too good up there. Most of the guys are, uh, running away. Think they know we’re here, and we ain’t so good ‘gainst ninja. Even those mad sword guys ain’t doing good.” Sachiko lied on the last bit. Man, talking like a thug was gravelly on her throat. Trying to pass off as a guy was hard! Hopefully he just packed up.

Okimi, get the hell out of there!

The samurai sighed, leaning his head back slightly. “Is that so?” He rested his left hand on his sword, thumb lightly brushing the tsuba. Intricately carved, it was black with a golden dragon and leaves. “Perhaps Nagareboshi was wasted on him.” His stance shifted as his thumb unlocked the blade from its sheath. “Very well, I will clean up his mess once I’m finished here. You may wish to duck, miasma blooded.”

He drew his sword in an iai slash, blade moving faster than Sachiko’s eyes would be able to track.

“Boss? Huh… Wah!?” Sachiko dove to the ground, unfortunately not missing the bit about ‘miasma blooded’.

Did I forget to transform pants? Seriously, what gives me away every time! I’m the best in the class at this. Wait… yeah, best in the class ain’t saying much. Imagine Waka trying…. Ugh….

For a brief second, silence reigned over the space before an eruption of wind chakra threatened to blow Sachiko away. The cavern was plunged into darkness once more as the swordsman’s lantern extinguished in the assault. As the gale petered out, the air fell still and the sound of howling wind resumed once more.

He paused a moment to relight his lantern before looking over the opened pathway. Another barrier of wind chakra waited a short distance away. Though as the samurai started to approach, he hissed and withdrew. Sachiko’s crystal glowed slightly brighter now.

Sachiko crossed her arms and braced herself as the explosion of wind chakra started to pick her up. She managed to only fly about 3 feet, but with a poof, Sachiko’s transformation faded. Sachiko had, however, bigger concerns as her crystal started to glow bright enough to be seen through her blouse, and burned against her skin.

What was this guy doing? He cut a barrier, and so much… akuma chakra! This should hurt a nin not from Tsumi… unless…

Sachiko held up a hand sign.

Spectrum Shift: Blue

Her eyes shifted colors to pure blue as she watched to see what the chakra looked like… and if this man had stolen a Tsumi crystal.

The barrier before her was nearly blinding, the entirety of it composed of pure chakra. Duller chakra seeped from it and spilled around along the cave floor like a fog.

Or miasma.

It did not seem the samurai had one of Tsumi’s crystals on him though as he retreated another step from the seeping chakra. Sachiko, however, remained unaffected by it. Though it would feel as though she was back home in Tsumi’s crater.

“I suppose this is one of those ‘gates’ he spoke of,” the samurai mused, looking over the barrier before turning to Sachiko. “Why are you here, Tsumi nin? I doubt Hanegakure would hire another village for bandits in their own borders.”

“I suppose too late to say sight seeing?” Sachiko looked at her clothes, and sighed.

“I’d rather not fight, and not sure I’d win. Why am I here, well, we’re not actually SUPPOSED to be here. But desecrating a graveyard just doesn’t sit well with me. The dead should stay dead… So guess you just say I’m riled up a bit.

Take it from the miasma you’re trying to open a seal on a strong akuma that was sealed away? … The graveyard part and selling dragon bones is just a pretense to get your men in on it, isn’t it? You needed time to research this, and giving bandits money is a good way to get them to stick around, kill anyone who would be snooping, and then just say you were making a profit. Huh. The Akuma past there alive or dead? ”

“Dead. If the legends are to be believed. And one that makes the creation of your village seem miniscule.” He returned his sword to its sheath, “But you’re a perceptive one, I’ll give you that. From the sound of it, you’ve already made a mess of our little operation.”

The samurai started to step around Sachiko and head back down the path. “But we have what we want, so I suppose we’ll take what bones we’ve retrieved and leave for the time being. Report this encounter if you wish, any defense the village could think of would just fall to Lord Nobuyuki’s sword.” He paused, glancing back. “Unless, of course, you wish to fight me?” Killing intent would flood the cavern with those words.

Sachiko shivered at the intent. “What sort of ninja fights? Moment you found out I wasn’t one of the mooks, I was no longer a threat. I wouldn’t want to fight you even if I was the Tsumikage.” She shared, confirming she was from Tsumi. At least something for him not starting a fight. She calmly saluted him off.

Watching him exit, Sachiko stood in the same stance for nearly a minute before falling to her knees, and retching, her eyes wide. He could have killed her… he could have killed her…

====================================================

“Enough.” The samurai with an eyepatch from before approached, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “We’re leaving, that lead of yours bore fruit.”

The redhead lowered his sword, “what about the ninja?”

“Forget about them. Though the fact you’re struggling so much makes me question if you actually deserved Nagareboshi.” The comment earned a noticeable flinch from Akane.

Okimi was happy to find that the second samurai that arrived was taking her opponent and leaving. If he had come around earlier she might not be standing here in one piece. Had Sachiko done something to trigger their departure? Okimi didn’t know or care to complain.

“I’ll be seeing you again Cherry-top,” Okimi shot out.

He scoffed, sheathing his sword. “Maybe next time, you’ll be a better fight, Feurey.” Akane staggered after the other samurai, the gash from Okimi’s spear clearly visible now.

============================================
For awhile, Okimi wandered the graveyard to see the main area the bandits had dug into. Seeing the effects of their intrusion compared to the untouched parts of the land struck a nerve in Okimi’s heart. She was too wounded to release any of her anger though. To conserve energy she had unsummoned Feurey, giving him a break as well.

In the graveyard, it seemed still, no bandits in sight, but as she looked the other way, a sheet came down from the wall, revealing one bandit with torn clothing and a beret. Pulling out a knife, he leapt at Okimi, trying to get a knife held to her throat.

“What’cha got there, girlie…?”

“Fuck off!”

Okimi formed a handsign and a fireball appeared in front of her already wounded face. Okimi then proceeded to headbutt the fireball at the bandit.

As the bandit was behind her, the fireball would have difficulty hitting the bandit. The headbutt, however, hit straight, a transformation popping and a distinct girly ‘oof’ sounding.

“Ow… don’t you know nobody wins a headbutt, Okimi?”

Rubbing her nose, Sachiko put the knife away. “So… see you’re still alive. Good job! Think we got mission accomplished!”

“Oh, of course it was you…” Okimi grumbled. She rubbed her own head, regretting it entirely.

“Yea somehow I’m alive… you find anything out here? All i found out was that the samurai were helping this “bushy-mountain” group of people get money from the bones here. Wait was that what he said?”

“Meh, not much. My job was to get rid of the carts and such. And I did. Besides, do you really care what I found, we got rid of them. Look alive! Now, do we go report this as a completed mission, or, seeing as I don’t think you did any paperwork for it, do we just go home, get food, and call it a day? I’m in a good mood, I’ll pay for dinner! I want ice cream.”

Sachiko giggled while holding her hands behind her head. If any was perceptive, they might notice her hands shaking a bit, but, well, Sachiko doubted that would be Okimi.

“Yea… ice cream sounds nice right now,” Okimi replied with a sigh. “Thanks for putting at least a little effort into this for me. It means a lot.”

“Oh, you were wanting effort. Sorry.” Sachiko shrugged before forming a sign for ‘explosion’ with her hands. In the distance, dozens of explosions could be heard shaking the graveyard. Sachiko smiled with a slight head cock.

“Now we can have icecream.”

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

Aya let out a sigh of relief as they finally passed the exam. Moreover, the village welcomed them with festival! At least Aya likes to think that way. She could spot some people stared weirdly at them but the sight of a peculiar person among the crowd distracted her. A black haired girl with a rather dirty clothes as if she had just crawled out of a jungle, but the most noticable feature of her would definitely the massive backpack towering on her back. It almost twice the height of the person.

"NEEeChaN!!"Aya called the person over, her voice sounds slightly broken from the shout. The girl with giant backpack turned her head towards Aya and waved her hands.

"I'm going to meet my sister." Aya excused herself from her teammates and ran towards her sister.

"Neechan, why are you here?" Aya asked her sister curiously, her was slightly louder than her usual whisper talk.

Sakurako Ogumo was the fifth daughter from the Ogumo clan, 6 years older than Aya. She's currently working with one of their relative to manage a shop in Chowaku, but occasionally she would came to Tsumigakure to visit her family and sell some goods from the city. Simply put, she wouldn't have any reason to be here in Arashigakure. Except...

"Of course to cheer on my lil sis! You see, I almost lost while walking through the forest. My compass stopped working so I ended up going by intuition alone." Sakurako playfully pinched Aya's cheeks. "Also, I watched your exam from afar. Never thought you would be that close to a boy."

The older girl bursted into laughter when she saw Aya's face turned red again. After a while she decided to stop the teasing and guided Aya through the festival. Sakurako had been binge-shopping ever since she arrived at the village, and she kept throwing various items into her bloated backpack.

"Neechan, what is inside that backpack?" Aya asked. She might be wrong, but it seems the backpack was wiggling for a brief moment there.

"Everything." Sakurako just winked and dodged the question by buying Aya a cotton candy, which she gladly accept.

IG42 AtlannianSpy

 

[Ganryu]

Sachiko elbowed again, only to turn and realizing she was currently elbowing a very annoyed ninja, who looked like a pro wrestler. His Arashigakure headband strained against his shoulder as his muscles flexed.

"Can I help you...?"

"You're not Waka...?"

Sachiko, unrepetantly jumped standing on his massive shoulders, and peered around. "You can't get away from me Waka! I know what you did last summer!"

A vein in the ninja's forehead bulged, before he grabbed the petulent genin by the ankle, and did a ring throw, sending her flying in the distance.

"Wahahaha~! Why do people keep throwing me like a cannonball!? I'm a little angel, not a biiiiiird!!"

With a thud, Sachiko luckily hit a bazaar stall canopy, before bouncing off into the street, and then fell head first into some large sack. Her feet could be see kicking out below.

"Thank you for not throwing me into a wall!" Sachiko called out from the bag with a muffled cry.

Pulling her head out, she looked down. She thought she recognized the person...?

"Aya...? You look so much more mature. When'd you get so much older... and a large backpack... and you're not Aya, are you...?"

Sachiko cocked her head to see a smaller version of the person she was literally piggy backing off of.

"Aya! I think! I dunno, we never hung out...? How's the new squad treating you!? My squad mates suck. I keep wanting ot praise them, but then after that sign spinning incident, huehue...." Sachiko shuddered, still not leaving the backpack, now sitting upright on it. "We're no longer allowed to hold up a sign as a squad, orders signed by the Tsumikage. And you, are you Aya's... mom? ...Sister? Crazy aunt? Family criminal no one is allowed to talk about? Hi, I'm Sachiko Kounna! Worst ninja of the Kounna family! Pleasure to meet you!"

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

Aya and her sister was browsing some festival masks when Sachiko fell right on top of Sakurako's backpack, getting half of her body buried into it. Inside she would get her face cramped by many things. Rocks, devices, snacks, books, another backpacks, but the biggest item inside would definitely be a large wooden box. It was big enough to fit a person inside, if she wants to, it's also placed in the very middle of the mess as if purposefully arranged so the other items would cushion the box should something unexpected happen.

"Sachiko! Sachiko!" Aya who was now wearing a scary hannya mask pointed at Sachiko and jumped in joy. "Sachiko this is Sakurako-neechan. My big sis."

"Hello, name's Sakurako. My hobby is pinching cheeks and I'm also the worst ninja from the Ogumo family." Sakurako tried to crane her neck upward to get better view of the newcomer. "Do you want a mask? Come down here and pick one or two. My treat."

Ganryu

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Ryuuka Tagamatsu
"Ooh what are those deep fried things? Can I get two- no three? Three of those yeah, with extra katsuoboshi, thank you,"

Ryuuka forked over a handful of coins and the street vendor was happy to hand over the golden croquettes, impaled on a wooden skewer and sprinkled with flakes of dried fish. Food in hand Ryuuka drifted through the bustling streets of Arashigakure, alternately munching on her skewer and taking sips from the interesting tea drink she had prpcured from a different stall, which featured little round balls of...something. Ryuuka wasn't entirely sure what the little balls were but they were cool. In fact nearly everything in Arashigakure was cool Ryuuka was beginning to feel, or at least cooler than back in Tsumi. The food was cooler here; the food was cooler here; the streets were cooler and the people that walked them were cooler here. The clothes on sale were sure as hell cooler as well: Ryuuka had already dropped most of her hoarded up mission pay on new shirts, pants, shoes and jackets that were stuffed into bags hanging off her wrists and she was sporting a brand new hat that was too cool to no wear fresh out of the store.

Ryuuka was humming to herself contentedly and wandering idly if there was some kind of exchange program here she could apply to when she caught a flicker of something black out of the corner of her eye moving rapidly towards her. Ryuuka turned, but only quickly enough to catch a flying kick right to her midsection that sent her tumbling into a nearby alley and her shopping bags and feed flying all over the sidewalk. Ryuuka skidded across the ground and rolled backwards onto her feet, gritting her teeth and retaliating with a powerful straight punch as her opponent: a wiry figure wearing baggy black clothes and a mask that obscured their features: leaped forwards to close the distance between them

wyvern straight

But the wiry, black clad figure swayed easily around the straightforward attack, grabbing Ryuuka's wrist and elbow with both hadns and shifting her weight to throw her over their feet, sending her flying to land heavily on the pavement below. Ryuuka gasped in pain and then rolled to the side as her adversary stomped downwards from above her. Ryuuka stumbled forwards into a clumsy forwards roll that nevertheless put enough distance between the fighters for Ryuuka to find her feet and whirl around in time to block a lightning fast punch from the black clad figure, then an elbow strike aimed at her head and then a knee at her stomach that forced Ryuuka to hop backwards to avoid it.

But Ryuuka had been gathering chakra in her legs throughout the last exchange of blows and when her backwards hop broke up the melee she took her chance to body flicker fowards and upwards. Ryuuka hit the alleywall and instantly was able to flicker again with the chakra stored in her other leg, this time cutting downwards sharply to hit the ground behind her opponent. Ryuuka landed upside down: cushioning her head with her arms and cooiling up her body like a spring, which she immediately unleashed as a powerful, two legged kick that rose to meet her opponent's chin as he spun to face her.

Rising Thunder

Ryuuka felt a satisfying thunk as her feet collided with bone, but the impact seemed to fade away as the black clad figure threw themselves backwards to lessen the impact; converting their momentum into a backflip that ended with a kick at Ryuuka's exposed back, sending her flying backwards again, this time landing upside down n a pile of trash bags.

Ryuuka groaned, watching the reversed figure of her attacker take off their mask and rub at their wizened chin, where a nasty bruise was starting to form already.

"We shall call that a pass for today," said Ryuuga Tagamatsu gruffly, walking over to help up his granddaughter and set her on her feet.

"Could we have done this- I don't know- some other time?" Ryuuka asked as she brushed herself off, wincing at a foul smelling brownish green stain the trash pile had left on the sleeve of her jacket.

"This kind of training is most effective precisely when you least want to do it," said Ryuuga sagely. "It's supposed to teach you vigilance, preparedness,"

"I am prepared!" Ryuuka said shortly, as she walked back to where she'd dropped her shopping and food, finding to her dismay that the latter had gotten smeared all over the former. "I dunno if you were watching the first stage of the exam but we kinda aced it! We woulda been first if weren't for those Miho guys and that crazy sled thing,"

"You may be sufficiently prepared for the challenges faced by a normal genin," said Ryuuga sternly. "But you are not a normal genin, there are greater threats and greater challenges awaiting you. As the-"

"As the chosen one of fate you must be prepared for the ultimate battle between good and evil, yup, yup, yup," Ryuuka nodded along with a strained smile. "I remember I just... I dunno even heroes probably take a day off every now and then,"

"The dead ones do," Ryuuga said. "The ones who have to sacrifice their lives to accomplish their destinies. But my vision has forewarned us of your destiny which means we can prepare you for it ahead of time so you might actually live through it. But that requires-"

"More training," Ryuuka said. "I remember from the last time we had this conversation," Ryuuka screwed up her mouth as though she was going to say something but didn't . Instead she forced herself to exhale and relaxed her posture, letting her shoulders loosen up. "I get it Gramps, I get it. Tell you what: if we can swing by a drycleaners and get this stuff cleaned up for me than I'll tag along to a dojo or something and we can spare a while,"

"Deal," said the elder Tagamatsu, looking satisfied as the pair began to walk down the street together.

"And you gotta buy me takoyaki," Ryuuka added quickly. "You did wreck my lunch,"

"No deal!" Said Ryuuga firmly. "We can make takoyaki at home that's just as good!"

"No Gramps it's not the same!" Ryuuka protested. "It's gotta be from a hip street vendor! I wanna take pictures of it!"

"Take- why would you take pictures of your food? You're supposed to eat it!"

Ryuuka sighed. "Nevermind, you wouldn't get it. Let's just go,"

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Wandering among the festival stalls Shibata hummed and hawed to himself in between scoops of shaved ice, he'd wanted to take advantage of the event to try and get some practice in with some new partners but anyone who had passed the first stage was a potential opponent he could be tipping his hand to and those that hadn't might blab to their comrades or even try something underhanded to incapacitate him out of spite. He could just grab his uncle but that was something he could do anytime and indeed did do most of the time.

So instead he was left to enjoy the festivities. The food wasn't bad or anything but it wasn't helping him prepare for tournament stage or demonstrate his skill to other villages. "Come one, come all! Demonstrate your skill!" A nearby peddler cut into Shibata's thoughts to advertise his target shooting stall, pausing Shibata watched for a moment and saw that the size of the targets and the size at which they moved had been adjusted to accommodate the enhanced abilities of shinobi. "I'll have a go if I may." He said approaching the stall, when presented with choice of kunai or shuriken to use he waved them away. "Hmph you using your lucky kunai kid?" the stall owner scoffed as he set the targets running. With a chuckle that definitely didn't sound slightly evil Shibata clasped his hands together in a seal and used it as a finger gun to cleanly pierce each target with an emerald green crystal needle.

Leaving the stall behind Shibata found his smugness only slightly dampened after the vengeful peddler had thrust the pinkest stuffed animal he had upon the boy, deciding that there might be other games that could be an fun efficient use of his time he went in search of new conquests.

Orikanyo because this was meant to be a thing with Waka but anyone else can drop by

 

[Orikanyo]

Wakanaka

Finally.

Freedom.

God it felt like a month he was trapped with his duo of torturers. Is it bad to say he'd rather deal with a village of strangers than listen to Shio's prattling about minutia of whatever he said or did? Girl was a god damn english teacher the way she was hung up on small petty shit trying to make it bigger than it is.

Door is red, doesn't mean a prelude to violence it means the fucking door is red!

...

Enough griping, its practically a festival! He had to enjoy himself somehow!

The street was full of games, and he, an entrepnurial young man, was more than willing to rid the stalls of their prizes!

Lets try something easy... More stuffed animals he brang home for mother, the happier she will be.

Hell, maybe she'll even smile!

...Low bar to hit really, but he does love his mum, his father... Abit distant... But no doubt he'd enjoy a present? Something befitting him? A souvinier? He was an akuma hunter, one who had clung to luck and good fortune to drive the bad away.

Maybe abit of a lucky charm from the lightning village would help him?

Ah!

Theres a game! A strength game. No doubt he will be more than capable of sending the weight to the top.

He handed over abit of ryo and grasped the hammer tightly. "Come on little guy, don't buckle under the hammer now!" The guy manning the station smirked, which got on Waka's nerves immedately. So with abit of chakra molding... A tight grip, he slammed the hammer down on the point, sending the weight rocketting up and denting the bell up top!

With a grimace, the man gave him the largest reddy bear, one that was... Abit to big for Waka to hold comfortably.

But as he looked around, he locked eyes with Shibata for a second, eyed his prize and smirked, hefting his much larger stuffed teddy with smug pride.

"Heh, wonder how he got that one? Mid grade prize? Consolation?" His smuggness only got worse.

IG42

 

[Ganryu]

Sachiko glanced over at Aya, in the Han'ya mask, before jumping. "Wah!" Flailing, she finally left the backpack, falling with a spill of random items on the ground.

"Scary!" Passing her hand over the ground, a bit of chakra kept her fingers attached to each item, letting her return most of them to the backpack with a single pass.

Sticky Fingers

She kept a bag of chips, unrepentantly opening them.

"I liiiike her." She false whispered to Aya, leaning in, though she was way to loud to not be heard. A Bird like mask was quickly picked up as well, Sachiko all for mooching.

"So, looking forward to Aya's match? I just hope I lose mine quickly and get it over, but know Aya had some... uh, scary jutsu in the academy. No offense, Aya. I'm just glad I don't have to fight you! I'm from the Kounna clan, so collateral damage might be a thing when I fight. Might not got the Kekkei Genkai, but I do have the penchant for mischief and making things go boom! So, uh, you guys wanna go eat something on me? Oooh! Oooh! You should tell me embarrassing stories about your sister!"

Sachiko laughed madly, before looping arms with Sakurako, and practically pulling them towards a ramen stall.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Ice Cream Social
with
Kurio and Okimi​

“Alright! Who woulda thought that we’d end up in the one village that has the best mochi ice cream place in the world!” Okimi yelled out loud despite her squadmates being right next to her. “If either of y’all get boring old vanilla I’ll shove it up your noses! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Kurio winced slightly as his teammate cheered. The trio had finally made their way into the village, directed towards where they could rest until the finals. Though they had barely set foot in their rooms when Okimi began badgering them to go out and explore. “Wonder if they’ll have matcha flavored,” he mused.

“I bet they’ll have everything! Let’s gooooo!” Okimi cheered as she grabbed Kurio and dragged him towards the door. “Keep up Tsubame or we’ll be fat on ice cream without you!” Okimi was quick to burst out the door and into the foreign village. “Um… which way is it do you think?”

Her teammate looked out at the crowded streets. “Uh…”

Several people paused to gawk at the Tsumi nin. “I heard they’ll burn you if you touch them,” one passerby murmured to their companion.

I mean, Okimi might, Kurio noticed signs flickering down one of the main streets. “Looks like there might be some restaurants that way. Maybe worth a try?”

With a nod, Okimi headed in. Being in a village that wasn’t her own filled the young girl with a sense of excitement. It was like her life was finally expanding beyond the wasteland she grew up in. The unnerving gazes of the village folk didn’t bother Okimi though. She was too busy gawking to notice.

“I never thought the other villages would be so cool!” Okimi exclaimed, turning to Kurio. “I kinda figured other villages were about as depressing as ours!”

Kurio rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around. Bright neon signs advertised various restaurants, many of them seemed to be bars with jounin and chunin filtering in and out. “I . . . guess our village is kind of boring compared to all of these lights and noise. Don’t think I’d call it depressing though.”

Ariyoshi Cafe was situated at the corner of two main streets with large glass windows offering a view of the brightly colored interior. While mochi ice cream was the cafe’s specialty, the menus sitting outside showed there was far more on offer. Various cakes, cookies, and teas waited to be tried as well.

“Whoa,” Kurio peered in the window, “guess this place is kind of a big deal.”

“I told you it was! Let’s eat!” Okimi said with a bright smile before pulling Kurio into the door. There were a lot of people seated along the walls. It was a busy cafe. Fortunately there wasn’t a line at the moment. Okimi rushed up to the front counter, nearly pressing her face against the glass that showcased various flavors of mochi ice cream.

“Welcome!” A young woman walked up behind the counter, “what can I get you two?”

“There’s so many . . .” This was way more than Kurio had been expecting. Chocolates and vanillas, matcha, candy filled, fruity flavors, there was even a purple carrot one. “What’s a mango?”

“Is there a woman go flavor?” Okimi asked sincerely.

The woman blinked at the genin a few times. “N-no . . . it’s a kind of fruit.”

“Oh…” Okimi replied in disappointment. Her eyes scanned across the flavors for another moment before a loud gasp escaped her lips. “DRAGONFRUIT?! I want it. I want dragonfruit flavor!” Okimi stood up straight, leaning dangerously close to the woman.

A few patrons stopped to look over at the sudden commotion. The poor worker just smiled nervously and nodded, ducking into the case to collect the mochi. Arranging the pieces on a small plate, she hesitated before holding them out to Okimi. “And for you?” The woman turned back to Kurio.

Put on the spot, he scrambled for an answer. “Uh . . . I-I’ll try the mango and purple carrot ones, please.” The juice back in the Vermillion Markets had been pretty good. Mochi secured and paid for, the duo found an open booth towards the back of the cafe.

Okimi was already eating by the time they sat down. Her face was lit up with joy as the dragonfruit flavor flowed over her taste buds. “This is so good! I wish Feurey could try it!”

“I don’t think they’d like you summoning him inside the shop,” Kurio bit into one of the bright orange pieces of mochi. “Bet you could get some to go and give to him. Huh, mango’s pretty good. Wanna try?”

“Of course!” Okimi replied, quickly snatching a mango mochi from his plate and eating it. Okimi looked up in thought as she tasted it, evaluating it. “Oh, mango is good. Why do they call it that though? Does it make men go? Where does the man go?” Okimi asked. She shook her head. “Never mind, try a dragonfruit one!” Okimi didn’t wait to hear Kurio accept as she leaned forward and jammed one of the mochi against his lips.

“Sure, soon as I finish-- ack!” Kurio struggled not to choke on the treat. It was good though, even mixed well with the mango flavor. “Half expected it to be spicy with a name like dragonfruit,” he commented once able to breathe again.

“I knew you’d like it!” With a smile, she started on another mochi. “Ya know, I find it funny that we’re gonna be kicking ass in the rest of the exams not too long from now,” Okimi began with her mouth full. “I intend to be the best of the best out there ya know! I gotta show everyone how awesome Feurey and I are! Shoot! We both got clans to represent!”

Her teammate nodded, brushing some of the powdered sugar from his fingers. “I heard it’s going to be a tournament for the finals tomorrow.” Kurio gave her a catty smile, “So you better not be eliminated in the first round.”

“You wish! I’m gonna win the whole thing! You’d better hope you don’t gotta face me because I’m not gonna hold back in a tournament. I hope lots of people are watching too, this is a perfect opportunity!” Okimi shot back, still smiling.

“Oh? We’ll just have to see about that.” He stretched, leaning back as his back gave a satisfying pop. “I hope there’s a big crowd too. The whole reason it’s a public event is to draw in clients for missions.”

“Do you think the kage’s will be there to watch?”

Kurio nodded. It was partly why he intended to give it his all during the finals. Maybe if he managed to impress Ema enough, she’d be willing to train him at some point.

“Wow, guess we can’t afford to embarrass ourselves…” Okimi tossed another mochi in her mouth. Gazing around at other people in the building, Okimi wondered if any were ninja of the village. They probably kept an eye on foreigners that came in. Especially for the exams.

“Then you should just withdraw if you don’t wanna do that.” A genin called as he and a his teammates approached. He wore an Inochi headband, a pair of tessen and a small gourd hung from his belt.

Okimi’s brows furrowed and her mouth bent into a snarl as she turned to face the rude newcomers. “Who the hell are y’all supposed to be?” Okimi asked angrily.

The Inochi nin smirked, “your superiors.”

“Oh really?” Okimi growled, popping another mochi into her mouth while standing up. “what village are you from? I didn’t think villages let academy students travel these days.”

“Knew you Tsumi nin were pathetic, but didn’t think you were weak.” He got nose to nose with Okimi, “We’re from Inochi. The better village compared to you wasteland dwellers.”

“Mmm big talk from a team that didn’t pass the first portion of the exam.” A new voice chimed in. A kunoichi had settled into the booth beside Kurio, a prodigious pile of mochi on her plate. The crystal pendant and headband marked her as a Tsumi nin. Though her crystal was a deep purple, even darker than Kurio and Okimi’s. “Meanwhile every Tsumi team passed.”

Okimi didn’t question the sudden appearance of another Tsumi nin, she just grinned. “What she said. Now go plant some trees or something. I got mochi to eat.” Okimi tapped the Inochi nin on the nose and sat back down, putting one of the last mochi into her mouth, chewing it happily.

While Okimi had wanted to incinerate the kid right there on the spot, she didn’t want to risk getting kicked out of the exams.

The Inochi team spluttered for a moment at the other nini’s sudden appearance, though a glance from her sent them skulking away. “You won’t be such big talk once you get your asses handed to you in the first round.” The leader called out as he left.

Kurio sighed and shook his head. Sure the villages were enemies, but didn’t all the posturing get tiring after awhile?

Now Okimi turned her attention to the newcomer. “So what do you want?” She asked flatly. While this person was obviously from Tsumi, the fact that they snuck into the hooth with them annoyed Okimi a bit. Mainly because she didn’t notice them until she had spoken.

“I’m just here for the mochi,” The Tsumi kunoichi shrugged, popping another piece into her mouth. “Figured I’d join in on chasing those Inochi brats away.”

“Judging by your flak jacket, you’re at least a chuunin, correct?” Kurio noted hesitantly.

She nodded, “Mhmm, name’s Akemi.”

“Akemi? Nice name. Mine’s Okimi. I’m sure you’ve heard of me,” she stated boldly as she brought a hand to her face delicately. “You come to watch me kick ass? Or you just here for snacks?”

“Of course I have, you’re one of the three genin that took down an actual Akuma.” Akemi shrugged, “as for why I’m here . . . lil of column A, lil of column B. I always stop at Ariyoshi whenever I get to visit this city. The mochi vendor we have at home has nothing on this.” Another treat vanished with a satisfied sigh, “but, I might be convinced to tell you anything you want about the exam.”

Okimi smiled a bit, knowing that her reputation was starting to grow. But she wasn’t sure what someone could tell her about a tournament. “What kind of info could you provide about a tournament? We just kick the other person’s ass right?” Okimi questioned, curious as to what she meant.

“Well, yes and no.” Akemi leaned back with a slight stretch, “You could win the entire tournament and not get promoted to chuunin. You can also lose your first match and still get promoted.”

Kurio frowned, but remained silent.

“Really? I figured you had to at least win once or something…” Okimi said, tapping her chin for a moment. She never thought there was anything more to a tournament than just showing off your skills and beating up the opponent.

“Ninja from your village watch your performance to see if you have the qualities of a chuunin.” Most of the mochi had vanished from Akemi’s plate. “Winning matches just gives you more chances to show your skills.”

“You hear that Kurio? Looks like you have to become a chuunin after all,” Okimi said with a smirk, leaning and jamming her thumb into his arm.

“Guess you do have a chance.” He returned her smirk and taunt. “I already told you I’m planning to pass here.”

“Yea, yea. I already know you will. Just not before me!” Okimi turned back to the stranger. “Can’t you get in trouble for telling us info like this?” She asked curiously.

“There aren’t any rules saying I can’t.” Akemi popped the last piece of mochi into her mouth, “Besides, the finals are the only part of the exam that’s basically the same year after year.”

“Oh… well thank you for the info.” Okimi made sure to give the stranger proper thanks. However, she had one more question to ask. “What flavor mochi did you get?”

She smiled, “All of them!”

 

[Ace Cream]

Aya

"I prepared things, yes." Aya's eyes gleamed when Sachiko mentioned about the upcoming battle, though she didn't elaborate further. She was really a bit too enthusiasthic about this whole exam, thinking it as some sort of grandiose game with ranking up as the prize. Even during the first phase she was too focused on collecting the scrolls as an achievement tokens.

They all entered the ramen stall and sat down, despite Sakurako's bag hitting several other customers along the way. Both Aya and Sakurako ordered the most expensive menu on the list. A ramen with almost all kind of ingredients mixed in, placed neatly inside a large bowl with steaming red broth. Aya used the biggest spoon she could find, quickly and precisely arranging a small portion of each ingedients into the spoon, nothing spills out of the bowl.

Sakurako chuckled when she saw how focused was her sister with the food so she shifted her attention towarsds Sachiko and started telling her some stories. Like an incident in the past where Aya woke up with a rat biting her ear, or when they stalk a mascot character around a carnaval for an entire day.

"Talking about these kind of things make me nostalgic. Maybe I should come home more often. Ahaha." Sakurako gulped down the last bit of ramen from her third bowl, she eats fast, meanwhile Aya was still halfway through her food.

"Anyway. I think I should get going now. I have some business to attend but I will still be in this village to watch the exam. You two, make me proud. Allright??" The older girl gave her juniors each a hug. When she hugged Sachiko, Sakurako also handed her a sack with a rather dubious-looking rocks inside it. It's the same type of rock that formed the pillar from their previous test, but these ones were intentionally cut into small size and polished into a sleek round shape.

"Chakra-repelling rocks. Handle with caution. A small gift from your fellow worst ninja." She whispered to Sachiko and winked before heaving up her oversized bag and exited the stall.

"Cya!"

Ganryu

 

[IG42]

Shibata Yamamoto
Hearing a slightly distorted ding sound Shibata looked around and saw the weight of the strength test descending towards a very smug looking Wakanaka trying to hold onto a larger prize. "Evidently in your case more effort was put into gathering oversized prizes than creating an adequate test of skill." He said smoothly in response to the taunting. "Perhaps we could better gauge our respective skills if we participated in a more competitive experience rather than comparing the blessings bestowed by a disgruntled vendor?" To assert dominance he finished the rest of his shaved ice in one gulp and powered through the brainfreeze. "Let's go."

Walking off and silently daring the other boy to follow Shibata led the way in search for an appropriate battleground.

Orikanyo