Private/Closed Naruto AU: Roleplay

[DarkHydraT]

"O-oh, it's fine. Really." Iwao scratched the back of his head as the living room suddenly filled with a lot of children. He never truly realised just how many members of that group there were and how little he really talked to children outside of his own son. "This can only get so awkward, right?" It appeared that Tomiko had the same idea since she initiated a conversation with arguably the most used starter next to the weather. "We've been fine, nothing too interesting happened. Right now our life is one of peace and prosperity, and I hope it can stay that way. How've you all been?" Feeling as awkward as he possibly could be, Iwao felt his shirt clinging to his skin and hoped that the air would lighten soon. It surprised him that no one commented on the utter lack of decorations, but that might be because the kids had manners or were intimidated. Why, he could only guess, but he assumed that his reputation had something to do with it. "You may sit down if you want, knowing Mori, he's gonna take a while before he's ready." As if on cue, a voice was heard from the bathroom.

"Trying to trap me is a mistake. Failing, an expensive one. I think it's time for you to learn how expensive!"

Letting out a sigh, the war veteran turned to Tomiko and Ren. "He's trying to come up with lines he can say against opponents to sound intimidating, but I think we all know that it isn't having the effect he hopes to achieve. Either that or the brush got caught in his hair." A face peeked out of the kitchen and lit up as Kasumi entered the living room. "Iwao, why didn't you tell me that we had such lovely visitors? I'm glad to see everyone's doing fine, would you all like something to drink?" The female jonin offered the group as the awkward tension began to lift, causing Iwao to let out an internal sigh. What would he've done without her?

-----------

"She's not here. She won't be here later today either, so don't waste your time coming back here. I do not know where she is, so don't ask me." Daichi stated with an inhospitable expression. He was right, they were her friends. The girl had wolves with her, but he was unsure if they were those ninja summons or not. He didn't really care too much though, they could still bite. Turning around, he slammed the door shut and left the two children with their thoughts. He couldn't handle any more problems involving children today.

 

[kyuukestu]

Because her eyes focused on everything, her mind could focus on nothing. It ambled along a path charted by idle observations; observations that came in spades, both meaningful and meaningless. Her mind wandered thoughtlessly and effected thoughtfulness.

'Should I have...caught them?'

She thought towards the waylaid shuriken as their own retrieved them. Her attention drifted to the person in question, piercing through skin to attend to the inner-workings of his body. She watched the cyclical slacking and tightening of muscles in motion.

'I should've controlled the distance better...'

The additional segments to her spear granted the weapon additional reach and heightened finesse compared to before its renovation. Kiro had taken distance to avoid the spear, but he still fell within reach of the whip. 'Luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation,' her mother often quoted, as she had done not too long ago, and no small number of them had stuck to Furījia's memory. She had missed the opportunity then to take advantage of her preparations, but there had been another. She recalled the familiar tension in his muscles and the sturdy stance he'd taken with the intent to intercept; an opportunity if she'd ever seen one. She certainly had the preparations needed to meet that opportunity, but...

'The Lion Seizes and Grasps; The Snake Binds, Grasps and Entraps; The Bear Leads; The Dragon Captures; The Pheonix Extends and Transforms; The Rooster Shifts and Whips; The Unicorn Sticks, Kneads and Follows; The Monkey Bends.'

Options abounded but choosing one, and in such a short space of time...

Without sufficient judgment, an overabundance of options was just as troubling as limited options.

'Sagisō could, but I—'

"—Well Furījia, you wanna go a couple of rounds?"



"Uwa-!? Um, sure?"

She didn't know what she had just agreed to, but neither was she determined to find out right this instant. Instead, Furījia turned to her mother and her lingering thoughts bubbled forth.

"H-how do I acquire better judgment?"

Her mother, at first, seemed taken back by the left-field question.

"Judgment? Hmmm, then listen well. Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment [1]. It means there is no way to develop better judgment than to get out there and start making mistakes and speaking of them, it's about time you start making your own."

Furījia grimaced as she was presented with a conundrum. She needed good judgment to avoid making bad decisions, but she needed to make bad decisions to cultivate good judgment. As if picking up on her cluster, however, her mother continued.

"A mistake in judgment isn't fatal, but too much anxiety about judgment is [2]. Of course, that doesn't apply when you're on the battlefield, and lives, including yours, are on the line...You should make your mistakes early when they're less likely to kill you and those who follow you. Don't worry, I've somewhere safe to be your testing grounds."

Although her lips had now settled into a frown, Furījia found herself relieved with her mother's assurance of at least some guidance. With her troubles pacified, she returned her attention to Taiyo. She had wanted to ask him what rounds he'd been talking about earlier, but her mother had once-more preempted her.

"Now then, why don't the four of you get some work in together? I'm sure Zino would love to have you all involved in his Senbon Ceremony!"

Reference

[1] Jim Horning

[2] Pauline Kael

 

[Retro Master]

“The four of us?”

Kiro questioned the Hyūga Head after he had finished storing the weapons. She mentioned something about Zino, who Kiro had seen around the clan grounds a few times. If he had been listening correctly the boy showed up here for a spar with her. As far as the prisoner was concerned, a spar with the Hyūga Head was a privilege. The closest Kiro had gotten to a shot at Hinagiku was when he attacked her a few weeks back after a fight with Sagisō. It was a fruitless effort that ended up getting him thrown in a filthy cell. Worst of all, he had been forced to bathe with only a damn bucket of water. The punishment far outweighed the brief glimpse he had gotten of her. Fortunately, there was still time for another opportunity. Kiro glanced at Zino, then back at Hinagiku with a fierce look in his eyes as if wanted to challenge her right there himself.

“Since it seems you’ve already had this spar plan, I don’t think there’s any need to make much changes besides adding us into the equation, if Zino is okay with it of course. Meaning his opponent should remain the same. What do you say, Lady Hinagiku?”

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“Hm hmm hmmm~ hm hmm hmmm~.”

Hama read through some medical textbooks she wrote, getting a frame of reference as to what to do with her next experiment. But what if the artery cannot sustain such a heavy dose of sulfuric acid? Even with careful blood flow monitoring it, it most certainly wouldn’t be prudent to-

*knock knock knock*

“H-Hama sensei, can we talk?”

“Now that’s a surprise...” she said quietly, closing her book. “Wonder what young Tsuki needs all of a sudden.”

She placed her book down, flicking an ice needle toward the door, tying a thread around the knob.she then twisted and pulled on the thread, opening the door, all of this with only two fingers. She instantly got wind of the somber aura emitting from Tsuki, her whimsical demeanor suddenly became a dash more serious.

“Oh dear, what is it, little one?”



.......


“Fin͞ally...now ̶yóu list͘en ͢t͟o̶ me. ̀Ḩer͟e we̛ go ͢kid̕, ̢su̸mm̶o̧n ̨up͘ ̡Gahe͞dra̵ f͡r҉óm ͡your͘ ̴śea̷l!”̛

The ghastly figure’s talon pointed to his invisible seal on his forehead. It’s glitching from place to place got increasingly erratic, like it was brimming with excitement.

“̵Tḩi͟s will̛ ͏ma͢r͞k̴ th͏e̸ fi͜rst ̴s̀t̵e̸p ̵i͢n̛ ̧ỳour͜ néẁ ̵j͡ou͏rn͘ey͢..͠.̵reach̀ ͞fo͟r͠ t͢h̕e͜ st̷ars͡ ͝a͜n͞d d̛on͠’t look͏ ́b̷a͜c̢k̛!”̧


..........


Zaku slightly flushed from embarrassment, looking in the other direction and crossing his arms.

“Well I wouldn’t be whining if your cells were made better. Ya think for a glorified doghouse they would have treated a rat problem. Geez...”

By far from the strongest of snips he’s had, but that’s because she had got him good. His pride would never allow him to admit it, but it was the truth. Now he had another reason to get out of there...



........



Kou’s eyes all of a sudden became more alert as he saw the plate reach the table. Sparks lit in his eyes as his whole world almost became colorful.

“Oh wow, that’s a lot of food! Thanks!”

That’s when he helped himself to the food, shoveling eggs and bacon Into his mouth with his hands. He stopped after a few seconds, realizing something wasn’t right.

“Mmph-Wait.” He managed to say through his gorging. “Mon’t we nweed to eas wike vis?”

He then held the fork and knife together like chopsticks, like he learned from yesterday. Remembering how to do that, he felt so smart.

 

[kyuukestu]

A strange expression came across Hinagiku's face as she sized up the brash, young Uchiha who seemed all too eager to challenge her. It wasn't something you usually saw, someone who so adamantly and doggedly tried to fight above their weightless, but upon recalling Kiro's 'track record', Hinagiku could only admit the boy picked his fights very poorly. It had hardly been a few weeks since he'd tried to attack her off the high of defeating her daughter, and yet here he was again. Did he have some trick up his sleeve that gave him confidence?

Well, she'd find out soon.

"Very well. You seem...eager, so I'll entertain you for a while longer."

The palpable excitement that practically oozed from Kiro's pores convinced her that the boy was some sort of masochist. While expertly maintaining a neutral expression, Hinagiku mentally noted to have Sagisō reconsider her choice in partners.

 

[Mystic Zander]

“I...get around, I suppose.” Katsuo calmly replied to the unexpected...fan, who had decided now would be the best time to make ones presence known.

“Unfortunately I don’t have time to talk. We really need to get going. Have a nice day.” The shaggy haired ninja finished with a small bow, before quickly turning back to the Leaf entrance.

“Let’s hit the road.”

————

Tick....tick.......tick...........tick..........

Time passed so slowly, each moment feeling like an eternity. How much longer would he have to wait? What would happen once the time had finally come? What would he do? Would...would he survive?

“ohmygodsherolledover....” Kido’s horrific thoughts of the day to come we’re smashed apart as his worst fears nearly came true before his very eyes. He thought Ichiko had woken up.

“You’re lucky I love you, Katsuo.” The prior Stone Village Advisor murmured in a mix of horror and annoyance, before returning to his watch-post at the foot of the bed.

 

[Godjacob]

"Oh you know, hanging around. Try to use mission money to help community & the folks place, same old same old." Tomiko mused, as she really hoped something came that would cut the awkward tension in the air. Something ironically aided by her crew as Jirou and Hoshi jostled for what seemed to be an open seat on the couch as they handled it with their usual mature approach.

"Back off you idiot I had this spot!"

"No way! I totally called it you can sit over there!"

Tomiko felt a sweat drop, though before she had a chance to break things up Ren walked over as he decided to settle the matter in the most efficient way he could.

SMACK!

Twin strikes right to the noggin of each, left two lumps and groans as the pair "settled" and no longer had desire to bicker as Ren walked back by where his sister sat. "Apologies." Ren said to Iwao as casual as one could.

Before Tomiko had a chance to say anything more, Mori's voice was heard as he seemed to be practicing some battle quips, something his father seemed to imply was common which Tomiko visibly nodded to. Internally however...

Oh. My. Gosh! That...that is freakin adorable!

Kasumi then entered the picture and offered drinks, which there seemed to be support for. Generally the group wanted water, with a couple votes for soda though Naomi spoke up for her own request.

"I-if it is not too much trouble, can I have some milk? It's always been mine and Mr. Snugglebottom's favorite..." Naomi said as she had her stuffed companion rested on her lap.

----------
As the door slammed shut before them, a guest of air from the sheer force of it caused Aisha's hair to blow back somewhat as all stood in awkward silence for a solid minute. That was till Kenji broke the tension.

"Well, I say that went just wonderfully." Kenji said with only a touch of sarcasm as Aisha sighed. Seemed there was some family drama they had been oblivious about. Though before a discussion was had on what to do next Sky seemed to nudge on Kenji as Aisha began to pick up on something as she sniffed the air.

"Catch something?" Kenji asked as it seemed Aisha nodded as she took the lead with Kenji and the two wolves followed as they seemed to pick up on Taji's trace once more. Hopefully this time they'd find what they had been looking for as opposed to an angry parent.

----------
Zino watched as Hina seemed to make an alter to his senbon punishment, as now it seemed it would be a "free for all" among himself, the Uchiha, the Fire Shinobi and Furijia. Which meant a 4 on 1 if the others present had any sense of self preservation, not that it would matter. Hina was the head of the clan and one of the Leaf's Elite so any number they had against her would be foolish.

Well...in theory. This Uchiha seemed confident enough to smack talk Lady Hina. Zino had not gotten to know much of this Uchiha, but if his decision making skills had been reflected by this it was not much mystery how he ended up in his current circumstance.

Still, he had not much choice in this as Zino sighed before he advanced. "Well, whatever you deem suitable Lady Hina."

-----​

Tayuya, who had fully changed long since this point, advanced quickly. Her aim had been to move from the Hyuga compound towards the Gates. Not because she wanted to see Sagiso off in particular, but because she had been curious just what this little group venture Zino and Sagiso earlier mentioned was all about.

Though as she moved, she saw the Hyuga Head seemed to be planning something with the aforementioned Zino, Kiro, Fuijia and...another guy whose name she had not bothered to remember.

Actually no wait, she did know him. The one who killed Jirobo of all people, along with that other Uchiha who has become scarce. Taiyo. Tayuya paused and decided to watch a bit of this, though her well trained ears picked up something over by the village gates. Faint but quite annoying from what she could hear.

-----​

"Nay good sir! I am sorry but I cannot let an opportunity slip by!"

Aki quickly, which was a shock in it of itself given his size, dashed ahead of Katsuo as he struck a dynamic pose and flashed a grin. Ino swore she saw his teeth shimmer against the sun's light but she hoped that she had only imagined that. Aki quickly extended his finger and pointed Katsuo's direction.

"I challenge you good sir to a duel! You are among the strongest of our generation, if I am to be so bold, so if I were to best you here what does that say about me? Do you accept my challenge!" Aki said as he spoke with fearless bravado as Ino blinked a bit dumbfounded while Takato watched with a scowl. Ino was confused, but Takato already seemed to sense his real intent.

I am not sure what is sadder, the fact that this idiot thinks he can beat Katsuo or the fact that if by some miracle he does he somehow thinks that would make Sakura anymore interested in him...

-----​

Sakura instantly saw Kou as he attempted to model his chop sticks using other utenciles and quickly she moved to stop him gently as she sheepishly smiled his way.

"N-now I admire the pride but these are not chopsticks. Gotta eat them a little differently. Here..." Sakura said as she sat next to Kou and began to demonstrate. She used her fork to tear off a piece of a pancake and took a bite making sure he'd get to see her do this and each step of it. "This is a fork, you use it like this."

-----​

"Well beggars can't be choosers. Believe me we will deal with the rats, but if you want I could always call Ibuki and I am sure he'd find you a nice place. Just say I'd appreciate the leeway you've been given to this point. Could always be worse." Hana said with a smirk as she got up and put her supplies back in her bag as she began to leave to let him rest his wound.

"Member to keep it easy on the leg for today, should take care of itself by tomorrow." Hana reminded before she departed and left Zaku to rest. Though naturally all eyes and senses would be trained on him even with the free space.

 

[Mystic Zander]

Katsuo’s eyes carefully scanned the large challengers figure, quickly allowing him to reach a final conclusion. This guy was inexperienced, but he had a lot to prove.

“...let me ask...” In a flash, the Traveler-Nin had appeared directly in front of Aki, now only a few inches away. This was the same incredible speed he had displayed in the Chunin Exams those few short months ago.

“...could you track those movements? Because if not, I can’t guarantee you’ll make a full recovery from our match.”

 

[Godjacob]

Aki initially seemed stunned when Katsuo suddenly appeared before him, Ino herself had trouble tacking the movements and Mittens meowed in amazement in Takato's arms as the Nara seemed to keep up comparative to the others. Though Aki in spite of this scoffed and had a grin in spite of a sweat drop of the back of his head.

"O-of course! Nothing escapes my gaze. In fact I expected you to be a bit faster, so you may want to keep that in mind before we begin. Are you prepared!?" Aki said, and Ino had to admit for a guy who had clearly been in over his head he seemed to be skilled at projecting confidence...even if it had been more a projection than a reflection in this case.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Iwao chuckled at the little fight on the couch. "There's plenty of space, no need to fight over the space." After watching Ren solve the issue by taking 'actions speak louder than words' quite literally, the veteran turned to Tomiko. "Not a bad way to spend your day, that must've made the day of quite some people. Mori said you wanted to become Tsuchikage and although I can't say I share his levels of enthousiasm, I think you'll make a fine leader nontheless. A leader doesn't order people around, but gives the right example themselves and makes sure no one gets left behind. If you stay on your current track with the amount of determination my son says you have, I believe you can get anything done." Musing over his words for a while, he stroked his goatee before speaking up again. "You know, I used to be a leader myself during the war. If you ever need advice, I'd like to think that I am capable enough of giving some."

"Oh, it's no problem at all dear." Kasumi assured Naomi as she went back to the kitchen and came back with seven glasses, passing by every member of the gang for them to grab their own drink. "What brought you all here? Did someone not get a present? Mori checked the bag himself and he said that everyone had a gift with their name on it." At the mention of her son's name, Mori spoke up again from the bathroom.

"Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play and we are unrehearsed." He sounded defeated and so did Iwao after another sigh.

"I'll help him, probably couldn't get the comb out. We told him to get a haircut but nooo, mister Utamara liked the rough look his hair gave him." Informing the gang with a jab to his son, Mori's father went to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "Alright drama queen, sit tight."

"OW! The hair's attached to my head, y'know?"

"I know how bodies work, I've had one for much longer than you have. Now bite down on your teeth and don't whine."

A muffled growl of pain was heard before Iwao spoke up again. "See what happens when your hair gets too long? It gets all tangled and combing hurts like no tomorrow if you don't do it regularly. Whether you like it or not, you're getting a haircut one of these days. Now hurry along, you've got guests." The bathroom door opened and Mori walked out, his hair neatly combed with Iwao right behind him. Surprised by the large amount of people in the building, the mole genin seemingly thought he was back in the academy for a second and needed to write an essay.

"Who, what, where, why, when, how?"

Cutting his son off before he could spew more nonsense, Iwao's voice filled the room again with a small chuckle as undertone. "Alright, enough with the questions. Who and what? The twins rang the doorbell and wanted to see you, guess you're popular among the kids. Where? I found them on the doorstep and now they're here. Why? I don't know, I say ask them. When? About five minutes ago or something. How? You told Ren and Naomi how to find us apparently, so they are your responsibility. And before you ask, we all heard your little dramatic speeches." Iwao pushed Mori forwards and chuckled as his son turned red from embarrassment.

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

Family was supposed to be there for each other, right? Didn't family always stick together and stand up for each other? Was she not part of a family then? Was she not good enough for a family because of who she was? Would she ever be good enough? Would her parents ever see her as being good enough? Question after question plagued Taji's mind as she aimlessly walked through the shopping center, dragging her feet across floor with unshed tears in her eyes and shed tears staining her clothes, shivering from the cold but finding the cold from the snow nothing compared to the coldness she saw behind the eyes of her father. Wanting to run home, but not knowing where home was. Wanting to run away, but having nowhere to go. Wanting to be enough, but never being enough for those she cared about. Wanting to wake up from a bad dream, but knowing that this was all too real.

Desire and reality clashed time and time again as it began to overwhelm Taji, causing her to sit down again against a shop, tears accumulating in her eyes and fears and doubts accumulating in her mind, not knowing which would succumb to the building pressure first. It was her eyes, tears falling like heavy clots of snow on her skin for the second time this day. She didn't care, the only thing she wanted right now was a way to stop feeling. Stop feeling the pain and sorrow her parents inflicted on her, stop feeling the lonliness in her heart, stop feeling the biting cold on her skin, stop feeling the ache of wanting to be good enough, stop feeling like a mistake that was never meant to be. Against that shop, on the day after Christmas, a holiday during which no child should feel alone and not wanted, sat a lonely child who wanted nothing more than to meet the expectations set for her. All she wanted was a hug and a compliment, yet there were none to be given to her.

 

[kyuukestu]

"Come at me when you're ready. Give it your all, weapons, Jutsu, whatever, or this won't be much of a match."

Hinagiku left a casual statement and the initiative in the hands of her tentative opponents, allowing them time to plan and coordinate. If they were wise they would show prudence and forbearance. They would come to at least a vague understanding of each other before they launched their attack. If they were foolish, then this would be over quickly. Either outcome was fine and Hinagiku expected to wrap this up in the time it took to down a cup of tea and speaking of tea.

"I could do with a cup."

Her desire was satisfied no sooner than she'd voiced it as a maid jogged over and presented Hina with a warm cup of tea.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Needless to say, this would be the time in his visit where his plans would be subverted. However, Taiyo was actually okay with the direction that this visit was going, since the Leaf-nin was ultimately getting the same experience of sparring with a Hyūga, but just from a different person. Of course, given that Hinagiku had given the go-ahead to attack, the FBS master took the opportunity to launch a fireball in Hina's direction.

If I'm lucky, she'll put up less of a fight than Tsunade...
Tsuki
In truth, the Yuki-nin wasn't expecting the response that she got from Hama. Frankly, Tsuki found her sensei dropping her usual demeanor in favor of genuinely expressing concern for her student sudden, yet comforting

"Well...it's nothing important," Tsuki told Hama as she averted her gaze from her sensei, "It's just about Seiun..."

Feeling the sting of betrayal come upon her yet again, the Yuki-nin took a deep breath in an attempt to compose herself.

"Seiun committed some crimes and...he just...he just revealed that he never meant to be subsurvient to me...he put on an act the whole time...HE PLAYED ME LIKE A FUCKING VIOLIN!" As Tsuki said the last sentence, she found herself crying. Instead of trying to recompose herself, she opted to let out her sorrows.

"He betrayed me...that's the problem..."
Seiun
Willing to do whatever it took to get out of his cell, Seiun tapped the Gahedra's seal exactly as B.O.S.E.C told him. Once he did so, the weapon slowly slid from the seal and onto the ground. Of course, the rogue-nin picked up the weapon without hesitation.

Alright, what do I gotta do to activate this thing?

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou looked a bit confused, gulping down the food already in his mouth. How could he be doing it wrong? People have so many different utensils...he

“...Then why are there two of them? Don’t you like grab with the both of ‘em like this?” He asked, holding a piece of egg with his knife and fork.


.........


“That guy from the exams? Just cause he’s got a scar on his face doesn’t make him some kinda tough guy. Buuut I think I can make do with these arrangments, as long as I get a beach chair, some iced tea, and some sun shades.”

Zaku pokes whimsically, making light of a dim situation as she closed the door. Yeah, sayonara prick. He huffed, laying down on the floor, careful to look for any other unexpected guests before doing so. There’s gotta be some way out...



.......



“No no Tsuki darling, that wasn’t the mistake...”

Hama cooed lightly to Tsuki, her tone gentle and warm, like a mother. She took her scarf and wiped some tears from Tsuki’s eyes. She place a hand on her shoulder.

“...Your mistake was letting tools be anything more.”

Her voice became callous and venom dropped from it. Her eyes sharpened and her grip became stiff as a cold snap.

“Those that are useful are tools. Those that are not are disposable. Nothing more Tsuki. If your tools begin to act up, dispose of them and get new ones. My words to you when you got this Seiun from the mud were to treat him as an effective tool. But now your tool has used you! What are you going to do about it Tsuki?!?”



.........


“Excel͟l̵e̶nt̢...́n͞o͜w̶ gr̕a̕s͜p ţh͜e̵ w̛e͠apo͝n,͞ ̨and p̧um̴p y͜o̸u̢r c̴h̡ąk̵r͞a̕ ͘int̛o t́h̷e w҉e̷apơn. Us͜è this͏ a̡n̵d̴ ̀sum̸m̴on ͢f͝ort̴h t̸h͢e e̶nergy͝ l̸ike ̡y͡ou̵ ͏w͡ere c̸a͘sting͝ ̷y͡o̕ur̛ ̸ligh҉tnin͡g on͢ ̛and͠ ̀enȩmy!”

B.O.S.E.C.’s smile grew crooked, curving unnaturally in glee as he came close and closer to breaking out. His face was awaiting for the Ecstasy of witnessing Gahedra’s whip like extensions to emerge from either side of the handle.

 

[Retro Master]

'Tea. Really?'

Normally, Kiro would've found himself infuriated at the carefree attitude of the Hyūga Head. The cup Hinagiku received was a clear indication that some tea interested her more at the moment. Maybe if Kiro knew more about the tea, then he would be able to understand why this was the case. He'd have to ask her later. Rather than foolishly jump at the opportunity to attack, he watched as Taiyo made the first attack by launching a basic fireball at the woman. While the fireball was unlikely to do anything significant to Hinagiku, it told Kiro that this makeshift group needed to have some form of communication fast if they wanted to make things interesting. He had something in mind for himself, but it could be beneficial to try and use them as well.

"Taiyo, I'd recommend getting into that Flashing Burst Style of yours as soon as you can. There's no point in holding back as we'll likely only have a minute at best. Fortunately, she isn't taking us seriously and has yet to activate the byakugan. That means we can still catch her by surprise somehow. Furījia, you should attack your mother with clear killing intent if you can. Even if it's for a moment, she'll likely hesitate when she sees her daughter attack her. Whether Lady Hinagiku likes it or not, she'll subconsciously consider her options when reacting, so her focus should be all on you for that split second and give the rest of us an opening. I don't really know much about your abilities Zino, but you should at least be proficient with the gentle fist. I'll just have to trust your judgment. As for me..."

Still watching the Hyūga Head closely, Kiro weaved some hand seals before an increasingly large puff of white smoke grew around him. If they all attacked one by one, they would likely be taken out in the same fashion. Yet, attacking all together just meant she could take them all out in one move. It was a pretty difficult predicament, considering they didn't have much time to prepare. Being aware and trying their best to play off of each other's attacks would be the best they could probably do. After the smoke cleared, Kiro stood there with a kunai in hand as a streak of lightning flickered around him.

"I'm gonna need a moment, but a diversion would be nice."

 

[Mystic Zander]

“Right. Well...considering how long it took for your eyes to adjust, I’d say you’re lying.
You wanna fight me? Find me some other time. Like you said, I’m known for traveling.”

Katsuo made his exit with great haste, jumping into the tree line just outside of the Leaf Village entrance.

“Guess I should get used to recognition. Might make traveling harder, especially in untrusting times such as these.
It would be great if tension between nations wasn't so high...things would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to lie and sneak about.”

Thoughts like this had been on the young ninjas mind ever since his run-in with Absurd.
So many of his problems in life stem from deep wounds refusing to heal with time. Wether it be never truly knowing either of his clans, or attempting to travel the nations, it didn’t matter. He was always restricted.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Hearing Kiro suddenly take command over the group caused Taiyo's facial expression to morph into one of surprise. The surprise was based in the fact that such assertiveness was somewhat uncharacteristic of the Uchiha based on what the Leaf-nin knew about him. However, this now exposed side of Kiro wasn't a deterrent to Taiyo's fighting spirit.

"Sure thing!" Taiyo said as he did the hand-seal needed to activate his signature technique. A flaming aura of chakra soon engulfed the shinobi, starting out as a crimson red before morphing into a bright orange. After the aura had finished its color change, Taiyo adopted a defensive stance as he turned to Kiro.

"To be honest, I can't provide much more of a diversion than I already have," The Leaf-nin made his best attempts at whispering so the Uchiha would be able to hear his response but not the older Hyūga.
Tsuki
The younger Yuki found the soothing, motherly tone of her elder to be quite comforting, feeling a distinct sense of warmth as she felt her sensei wipe a collection of tears from her eyes.

Is this what it's like having a mother..?

Unfortunately, Hama quickly dropped all motherly pretenses shortly after she placed her shoulder onto Tsuki, a shoulder that began to react negatively to the woman's tightened grip. However, the mild shoulder pain was of little importance compared to the solid advice that Tsuki has received from her sensei.

"Your tool has used you! What are you going to do about that Tsuki?!?"...

"What can I do about it..." The Yuki scoffed at the advice she was given, though the scoff was clearly in spite of herself "I've already had him locked in a dungeon to rot. Not to mention the fact that whatever I do still won't change the fact that he was right: I'm just a stupid, hopelessly optimistic little girl..." The Yuki-nin's tone of voice sank as the last sentence was uttered.
Seiun
Once again, the rogue shinobi followed the constructs instructions immediately. It didn't take long for a blade of pure chakra to erupt out of the Gahedra, and it took even less time for it to adopt the nature of the electricity that Seiun was proficient in. Of course, the blade began to crackle as one would expect from a weapon made of pure lightning, but Seiun made efforts to control the blade's pulsing chakra.

So, can I just cut through now, or is there anything else that must be done?

 

[Godjacob]

Zino sighed as the Fire User seemed to be even more impulsive, and quickly struck with a fireball that flew towards Hina; too basic, granted in his view it mattered now how they attacked but something so straight forward lacked even the illusion of success. But the least he could have done was to try and support the move in any event as part of a greater plan.

With one half of his face bulged, the other shimmering with that crimson red, his Sharingan & Byakugan activated simultaneously as he began to flash hand signs while Tayuya observed from a distance and this caused her to freeze in shock.

Fuck...I thought he had some birth defect given his eyes, but this fucker has a Sharingan too!? How is that even possible!?

"Wind Style: Cyclone Current Jutsu!"

Zino unleashed a strong stream of wind, one that aimed to not only provide a more wide-range attack towards Hina as he worked to strike from two different angles in an effort to prevent it from being too direct. One of these aimed to mix with Taiyo's fireball to provide a boost to it and allow it to strike with greater speed & power. Though as he did he subtly moved for something in his leg pouch as the other Uchiha began to speak. As he seemed to advise the group on what to do and how to attack, and given this is one of the first time they spoke to each other in significant he presumed a typical Hyuga attack as Zino chuckled.

"Yeah, I'd probably get you maybe a second trying that with her. But I'll do what I can to stall..." Zino said, as he popped open what seemed to be some sort of vile from his leg pouch and popped it allowing a faint chemical to drift and mix with the air of his wind attack that drifted towards Hina. A narcotic gas, one that if Hina had caught while she dealt with the consecutive wind strikes & fire/wind duo attack might help at least throw her for a loop if all else failed but Zino was prepared for just that. They had in essence almost no chance of victory, the only thing they had going for them was that Hina knew she was far above them and was bound to hold back.

Even the strongest can fall in a brief moment of oversight. That moment he'd doubt would be made in this spar, but he figured he should least try with what he had.

-----​

Needless to say, that answer had left Aki dumbfounded as he face faulted in almost comical fashion to the ground as he was given a flat rejection as Katsuo jumped up and began to move away from the village gates though Aki was quick to stand as he had taken this denial about as well as one expected.

"HEY! Get back here you coward and face me like a ma....aaag!"

Aki's protest was cut off with a swift slam right across the head by Ino, as Takato made sure to cover Mittens eyes in order to avoid this grizzly sight as the Yamanaka sighed in irritation. But thankfully they avoided this slog as she advanced ahead.

"Look, if you want to even think you can entertain the idea of beating him, you need to train. We all do. So let's get started I do not want to waste any more time." Ino said and with that she led her team to a differed path of the woods just outside the village as she aimed to find a peaceful clearing to train while a disheartened Aki and reluctant Takato followed in suit as Mittens had shifted to rest on the Nara's head.

I can't let this idiot's desire to prove his machoness ruin my training schedule. With how driven Sakura has become, I can't afford to lag behind. Who knows what she plans to do even today to push herself...

-----​

Sakura and her mother both felt a sweat drop as Kou seemed to...struggle, with grasping the idea of differed tools, though to her credit Sakura again showed remarkable patience as she sheepishly made her way over to set the egg and utenciles down.

"N-no, you see different tools due different things. From ninja work, to eating. Here you use a knife to cut the egg like this..." Sakura said, as she took a knife to make a slow but safe and easy cut of her own egg before she poked at it with her fork.

"...and use the form to help get it to you." Sakura said, as she had taken a bite of her egg and allowed Kou a chance to process this.

 

[kyuukestu]

An attack that reflected his personality. Such was Hinagiku's judgment. A fireball that flew straight and true, it did not bend, nor curve, nor shift, nor transform. There was nothing beyond its initial appearance, not a whit of an ulterior motive, nor thought of calculated intrigue. It was the most basic of fire release technique that was fittingly utilized in a basic approach.

"Do you expect to hit anyone with an attack like that?"

She took another sip from her teacup, dodging to the side without spilling a drop.

Despite Taiyo's simple approach, his teammate had picked up where he had slacked, swiftly implementing a wind release technique that increased the overall power of the attack whilst also being an attack in its own right.

If that Fireball alone was an attack worth of an 'E' rating, this new combination had at least earned itself a 'D'. Still, it would pose little challenge for the Jonin.

A subtle shift in her weight allowed Hina to lean into Zino's cyclone. She took gauge of the wind's force and direction, it was a strong, fierce wind—she determined—but it wasn't a sharp wind. First, with her free hand, Hina protectively covered her teacup. Then she let the cyclone chart her course. Hina stepped into the cyclonic winds and made them her tailwind. Her windblown figure rounded the cyclone's outer walls, becoming merely another piece of debris carried along in its embrace.

"Yielding." She began abruptly, having found an opportunity to lecture Zino and Furijia on what they should've been able to instantly recognize was Baguazhang's trademark 'circle walking'. "This is what it means to flow with an incoming force without compromising oneself."

Her short demonstration ended as she left the cyclone's wake, no longer in its path. She brought her teacup to her lips once more and took a gentle swig.

"Whenever you approach an opponent you should always—"

Hina's sentence died in her throat and her eyes flickered down to her fingers, still clenched around her teacup, and—now that she could see inspect them closely—trembling. The Jonin lips dipped into a frown as she felt a mild numbness begin to spread through her body. Her eyes flickered back up to the children, gauging them. She quickly discarded Furijia, Kiro, and Taiyo in rapid succession. They neither had the disposition for nor the poised stance to have caused her numbness. So by the process of elimination, her eyes narrowed on one person.

"Zino...What a naughty child." Underhanded, but effective. The battlefield cared not for the former, only the latter. Hina dipped her chin into a slight nod as she reassessed.

"B."

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Hama watched as Tsuki’s form quivered, losing confidence and strength it had. She beat herself up, looking down with a sniffle. Hama’s Eyebrows narrowed and her purple eyes sharpened.

“Then fix that. Tonight.” Hama demanded. “I want you...to kill Seiun.”

Her right hand removed itself from her shoulder, clenching in front of Tsuki, driving home the point of what she was asking from the young Genin.


........


“̴Oh̛ ̵yơu a̢re̷ tóo͜ ͝pr͏esump҉tuo҉us͝ ̴my s̨weet̡ p͏ri͝nce̡.͢” B.O.S.E.C. Retorted. “It̕ ̷i͘s͠ ̷ńot̡ ̸a ̴d̴u͝a̷l ̶b̛l̕ade, ͠b̸ùt͢ ̀a e͟xt͞e̸ns̡ion̴ o͠f̀ y͠o̡ur̵self̛.̷..͠it is̕ ͞ḿa͏de͟ of ͡ch̕akra͜, l͘i̡fe̶ ̶b͟lood o̢f́ ͟your o̸wn͢ ͘bo͢dy. Not̴íce͠ ḩow͜ y͞o̴ur ͡òw͢n̕ ͘bo̧dy can͏ ҉f͢eel͞ ͞w̶h̷a̷t́e̶v̢e͡r ̢Ģa͜h̀edra t҉o̡uc͏h̷es...”̕

Either side of the weapon wriggled, it’s whip like extensions from either side acting like hairs, reacting to every little touch in the air...like it was alive.

“͡A̴n͟d ̡ju̷s̢t͘ ͝lik̶e a̡n̢ a҉pp̧en͟dag͏e ơf y͏o͘u̸r̢ ̡b͞od҉y͝,̡ ̡i͡t̸ ͞can͟ ҉gr͝i͠p ánd l͞às͠h͟ ͘o͏ut a̴g͝ainst ͏anythi͠ņg you d̢o ch̷oo̡şe̸. So l͠e̵t̴’s̨ ͡choose ͘th́ese͜ ba͝rs...̸”

The swirling ghost like figure glitches over to the bars, tracing his talons along them, showing an exact area where he would have the same test done.



......


“Oh! So the square one hold and the long one cuts!”

Kou wrapped his right hand entirely around the fork and his left hand entirely around the knife. Stabbing into the egg a bit roughly with the fork, he cut it in one stroke with his knife. Careful of the balance, he took a bite from the egg on the fork. Stars lit in his eyes as he inwardly boasted his new accomplishment, as his mouth was full of egg. His knees bounced up and down in place.

As this happened, a scattering was heard. Through a hole in the wall near the kitchen, a rat with a feather in it’s tail emerged, seemingly satisfied with something it had just done. Scanning the room, it found Kou, safe and eating happy. The rat gave a sigh of relief, his job wasn’t easy, but Sakura was making it easier. As long as that cat wasn’t around anyway...

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko rolled her eyes at the antics of Jirou, Hoshi and Ren before she heard Iwao as he seemed to have been informed of her dream. And in a twist he seemed to expresses his wishes for her and why he felt she had the leadership qualities to make it happen. This stunned the Genin, as throughout much of her lift up to and even through graduation people had only laughed at such aspirations. Yet ever since she met Madoka & Yasu she began to meet more and more people who supported her dream. Mori having been the biggest supporter if not teased "rival" at times, and now his father and respected veteran ninja gave his seal of approval.

It touched her, and with a small smile she nodded in gratitude. "Thank you sir, I'll make sure not to let you down!"

Kasumi passed drinks out to all, who expressed their thanks as Naomi in particular seemed touch taking a sip of her milk before she allowed Mr. Snugglebottom a "sip" as it rested on the edge of the glass in the figurative gesture. Soon Kasumi asked about what brought them here as Tomiko cleared her throat ready to explain or rather the best she could.

"Well originally I aimed to go on a sort of "field trip" with my crew here, just outside the gates towards a bit of a sentimental spot of mine to give them a view of what it is like outside the village. But we happened to pass by here and it seemed that Naomi & Ren were told this was Mori's..." Tomiko began to explain, before it seemed that Mori spoke up with comb trouble as Iwao dismissed himself to go aid his son as the other waited overhearing the discussion as Tomiko could not help but snicker slightly at the banter and cry of Mori before he eventually revealed himself to the group.

"Hey Mori!" Mio & Miu waved as Tomiko tried to hide her reaction at the mention of hearing his "dramatic speeches" but struggled to keep her lips from quivering if only a little.

"D-don't worry....I won't judge..." Tomiko assured, as she tried to compose herself before she'd explain to Mori and the family her intent to take her crew on their trip outside the village before they stopped by here.

----------
As Aisha led with way with Sky & Luna by her sides, Kenji kept close as the pair entered the shopping center as it seemed to be where the trace of Taji's scent had been picked up. Naturally the sight of Aisha dashing with her wolves through the streets had attracted a couple of curious eyes though Kenji tried to ease any passing concern.

"Don't worry they are trained I swear!"

Eventually the group made it before the shop entrance, where Taji who seemed to have been sulking and was in tears awaited them which brought confusion and worry through them all as Kenji worked up the nerve to speak up first as he stepped forward.

"Taji...something wrong?"

----------
Sakura smiled as Kou seemed to finally get a grasp for the new utenciles, her mother seemed equally happy though it would not be a mother if she had not found a way to embarrass her daughter a little.

"Pretty good Kou, if only Sakura picked up on it as quickly in her age."

"Mom!"

Mebuki had a light laugh about that, but her expression quickly took a turn as she glanced down and took note of a certain rodent arrival, and being a retired kunoichi she handled his arrival with the natural degree of civility and restraint one would expect.

"EEEEEEK! A RAT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!"

Mebuki quickly grasped a broom in a moment of almost comical panic, she grasped a broom and raised it overhead though thankfully Sakura caught onto this and got between them.

"Easy easy! This is Kou's pet remember? His uh "brother" if you recall?" Sakura pointed out, and once a moment passed and she had gotten a closer look she lowered the broom and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"R-right, sorry just...finally got rid of the uh rogue rat problem and he startled me. My apologies." Mebuki said as Sakura glanced at the new arrival as she had a more curious gaze.

Where had he been?

IDK, probably stealing cheese or something.

Oh great you again. For a while there I thought I had gained sanity since you had been so quiet.

As if! You may not like it but you need me. Can't keep a good conscious down!

You have a very skewed view of "good" here...

-----
"If the ninja way was about being fair, well we'd just be renamed Samurai wouldn't we?"

Zino could not hide his pleasure with the subtle sing of fatigue his eyes picked up on, even if it was an inconsequential affair to this spar's outcome but he considered it a personal victory. If nothing else her movements would now be slightly sluggish to throw off her usual sharp timing as the narcotic took effect, though he had not been naive enough to believe this would stop her. Not by a long shot.

But he got what he needed, and as he dashed he began to go to work.

Zino would aim to circle around Hina, displaying a bit of spring to his step as he moved with a swift quickness. With her eyes on him he seemed to adopt a basic approach; as he charged with his own crooked Gentle Fist stance and seemed to charge as it looked like he would try to strike Hina from behind. Narcotic or not a suicidal plan against a Hyuga, especially the head of the clan.

Woosh!

Which made a follow up all but expected, as he charged at Hina he tossed a trio of Kunai right towards the Hyuga. One aimed for the back of her head, and the other two seemed focused on the back of her legs. As he tossed them, he quickly formed hand signs as air gathered around his right palm.

"Wind Style, Sky Scooter Jutsu!"

The air sphere was then moved under his feet, as he jumped and placed his right foot on it for balance as the air scooter held him just off the ground, though as he had done this the kunai seemed to just be off their mark. The one aimed for the back of her head seemed to move to the right side grazing by the air beyond her cheek and the two aimed for the legs stuck into the ground on her left and right side away from her body.

The one that missed her head also seemed to spark as what appeared to be a paper bomb that began to burn as it moved past her head. Tayuya observed from her distant viewing area as she seemed to scoff at this development.

The hell, was he even trying to hit her? Can't show softness or sloppiness against a Jon...wait no way!

Zoom!

Fast as the wind, Zino rode his scooter as he began to ride circles around Hina. And in his hands had been what seemed to be some wires, thin and hard to see especially against the sunlight, but strong, as they seemed attached to the kunai that landed on the ground to the left and right of Hina. The kunai with a paper bomb merely was a dud, a way to get her focus there for even a brief moment to cover the wires of the two kunai on the ground. With the wire on his end in hand, he dashed around on his scooter as he moved to try and wrap said wire on the kunai end around Hina in the hopes he could quickly ensnare her as if he could bind her with this sudden move she'd be stuck and he'd have chance to follow up.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

"Pretty good Kou, if only Sakura picked up on it as quickly in her age."

"Mom!"

“Hehe.” Kou laughed, getting in on the joke.

He was starting to get used to this. Waking up in a warm bed, food at the table, even utensils to eat with! The sound was a step up, but this place was something else entirely. If only the sound and leaf could have peace one day, maybe then he could stay with Sakura and Zaku...maybe rock king too? Maybe he was being too hopeful.

That’s when he heard a woman screech out in fear: Sakura’s mother. That’s when he saw a small rat, shocked by the reaction run up on the kitchen cabinets, trying to avoid the inevitable broom attack when Sakura stepped up to quickly diffuse the situation.

"Easy easy! This is Kou's pet remember? His uh "brother" if you recall?" Sakura pointed out.

As the woman lowered the broom, Kou’s brother got on top of the counter, getting closer to eye level. He stood on his hind legs and gave a bow, a non verbal way of showing respect.

“Brooooo!”

Kou jumped up from his seat and ran toward his friend. The rat squeaked and jumped onto Kou’s shoulders, finding it comfortable almost immediately.

“Hey hey, bro. I wanna show you something.”

Kou sat down at the table, bringing his breakfast plate closer. He took out his fork and knife. The rat looked to him with confusion as to what he was doing.

“You see you hold it with the pitchfork one and cut it with the knife...”

He relayed in detail what he learned, showing as well, several times in fact. The rodent watched attendantly during it all, taking in what he learned, not because it was interesting, but because Kou was excited about it. That alone gave the rodent warrior a great sense of satisfaction.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"So you thought 'Mori's got nothing to do, let's drag him along?' Fine by me, but I want him home by 10 in the evening." Kasumi tried her best to keep a stern face, but cracked soon and laughed at Iwao who seemed to be very disappointed.

"I wanted to say that."

"Can't win em all, now can we? In all seriousness, just don't bring him back with broken bones and you're fine." Kasumi dismissed any potential worries she instilled in the young girl whilst getting a death glare from her son.

"Really? That's the only thing she has to keep in mind? So internal bleeding or a cut throat are okay, but broken bones are a big no? That's reassuring mom, it really is." Mori told his mom off, but instead of adding those injuries to the list, she just giggled. "What's so funny?"

"You act like Tomiko would shank you in a dark alleyway, lighten up already. Look at her, do you think she would kill someone just like that? A correcting slap, maybe but stabbing? No way. Besides, why would she do that? You did nothing wrong, did you?" Kasumi leaned forward and looked Mori straight into his eyes, causing him to take a step back and smile sheepishly whilst begging for some help from his friends. Thankfully his mother soon turned to Tomiko with a smile on her face. "If he acts up, just send him to bed without food. Or beat him in a match, as long as he comes back. And these are staying here, time to let you get used to fighting on your own two legs." She snatched a pouch from Mori's waist and tucked it in her pocket, causing Mori to frown.

"Welp, you guys snatched me out of the bathroom. Enjoy your drinks and the inside jokes that will definitely be made about the speeches you've heard. Guess I should join Absurd's circus as a ringmaster and start a new identity to avoid them." The genin shrugged his shoulders and spoke with jabs at himself.
----------

Raising her head, Taji saw that Kenji and Aisha were looking at her with immense worry and confusion. Drying her tears and taking some shaky breaths, she got up and forced a watery smile on her face. "I'm fine." Her excuse for a smile lasted for a moment or so before it got affected by heavy gravity and tears threatened to run down her face again. Basically throwing herself at Kenji, she hugged him and cried even though there were no more tears to shed. If there were, she wouldn't have felt them because of how hot her face was. For a while she couldn't speak, every time she opened her mouth she let out a cry of agony and pain.

"I-I-(hic)-I've been thr-(hic)-own out becau-(hic)-because -!" Taji couldn't bring herself to say more, all she wanted right now was someone to lean on, and in this case that was Kenji. If he liked it or not didn't matter to her, no matter how selfish that might be. She couldn't care less at the moment.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Ironically, Taiyo actually had no intention of actually damaging Hinagiku, rather he aimed to cause a quick distraction with his sudden fireball attack. He was able to achieve this goal of course, but only through the help of Zino catching the fireball with a hurricane that had a somehow narcotic snuck into it.

That Hyūga dude is smarter than I expected. Then again, I don't know him, so I can't say I had expectations in the first place.

However, Zino wasn't content with simply dulling the Head of the Hyūga's reaction time since he began to rapidly circle around Hina for reasons unknown to the FBS master. Regardless, the wind using Hyūga was providing a distraction, and with both Kiro and Furījia immobilized, it was up to the fiery shinobi to make the next move.

Let's try and get creative here...

This'll definitely work out, no problems at all...

Using the mild speed boost that FBS provided, Taiyo ran up to the older woman and drew his arm back like he was about to throw out a close range fireball. Instead, he leapt above both Hina and Zino, looking down at the former at the peak of his ascent. Once he was safely above both Hyūga, he performed the snake, dragon, rabbit and tiger hand seals in quick succession, allowing him to breathe a stream of fire headed directly towards Hinagiku. In the ensuing chaos, his wooden finger tips opened up to shoot a set of fire-resistant darts that contained neurotoxins within the flames he summoned.
Tsuki
There were a few ways that Tsuki intended the conversation to progress, but the scenario that had just played out was not within her expectations. At first, the Yuki-nin attempted to locate signs that this was just another instance of her mentor being facetious, but the only thing she found in Hama's eyes was vindictive conviction. The hand on her shoulder soon felt closer to a brick as Tsuki let herself process what was requested of her.

"H-hama-sensei," Tsuki began nervously before attempting to regain some sense of composure, "With all due respect, I don't believe I can follow through on your demands. The truth is, I'm not a killer, never have been. And let's pretend for a second that I had the intent to kill, how am I, a kunoichi that only began her training a few months ago, supposed to kill someone who had begun their training a long time ago and is well versed in the art of murder?! How do you expect me to do that!?!"
The Yuki-nin was tearing up as she yelled at her mentor hoping that her pleas would convince Hama to reconsider her demands.
Seiun
Patronization aside, the rogue-nin carefully considered what he was being told by the construct within his psyche. He watched as the edge of the Gahedra swayed as if they were hairs on his own body. Keeping the fact that these edges could grab onto solid objects, Seiun turned to the bars that B.O.S.E.C was indicating. Unsure of how to make the Gahedra move, Seiun simply decided to imagine arms of his own reaching out and tearing the bars apart. To his surprise, the Gahedra reacted to his thoughts, for the whip-like edges had torn through the bars that was keeping Seiun in his cell.

Well how about that...

Without further hesitation, Seiun stepped outside his cell and turned to one of the walls of the jailhouse.

Alright, I think I need some kind of cutting material to really get moving. Think you can help me with that, B.O.S.E.C?

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Hama eyed Tsuki’s tearful expression with a look of scrutiny. She closed her eyes with a twitch, taking a hand and strenuously pulling on her bangs. She toned her pitch down a notch, but kept her dark tone.

“Tsuki, Darling, we are shinobi. We kill, that’s what we do. Why do you think ninja doctors don’t have to take the oath to do no harm? Tsuki. You shouldn’t let this Boy- no. This Child stop you from becoming powerful woman you were meant to become. You are RIGHT THERE darling, right on the verge of greatness. You just need a little push.”

She brought an ice needle up into the air, hovering by The master and student. She gestured toward it with an open palm.

“You can do this Tsuki, i’ll Be right here by your side during all of it...”

She switched tones, bringing her student into a warm embrace contrary to her cold directions.



.....


“҉K̕e̵-҉ke, don’̵t ͘ýo҉u̸ kno̡w̨?̡ I͢ do̵ǹ’t ̛h͏ave to d̡o ͡any̛thin͏g̨, ͘yo̕u ̕h҉ave̕ ąll̵ ͠y̛o҉u n͏eed ̀i҉n ̶y͏ou͞r ha͘n͜ds̷. J͡u͟s͏t҉ ̡t͞h͟i̧n̕k͡ o̕f͡ an͝y̨ ͏too͢l y҉ou w͏an̨t̕, ̢a͝nd̴ ͏G͟ahe͞d͞r͟a͜ will ͡d̢o͟ śo f̧o̶r҉ y̕o͢u͝.”̛

The purple specter shot out from the cell, swaying without a care in the world to the wall. B.O.S.E.C. Cocked it’s floating face to the right, pointing a talon toward it’s head.

“Y̵óu ̸se̵e, ͘i̡t͢’s̕ ̵cơnn̨ect͞ęd̕ to̷ your m̧i̛n̶d t͟h͢roug̴h t̨he͏ ̛ch̸ak̷ra̢ ̧conn̡e͞c͟t͘i͠ǫǹ y̶ouŕ ̛p̶u̶ḿp͘i͜ng͞ ͏i͞n̵t̡o̧ ̶it.̛ ̛An̸d sin̕ce͝ I a͡m in͢si̕d͟e͞ ̢yo̕ur͝ h͡ead̢,͝ I c҉an̡ do...”

Suddenly, the flogging like extensions of Gahedra shook and shuttered, coiling into each other. They formed two solid spiral blades on either end.

“͠This.͡.͟.!”

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku directed her senses inward, estimating the new and drug-addled parameters of her body. The effects of the narcotic would be mildly troubling as the numbness of her body would consequently disrupt her chakra flow. This meant that extremely precise maneuvers would become difficult to perform. This would've been a problem against more threatening foes as the best of Hinagiku's techniques required unerring precision, however, against this group of children...? She figured just throwing out her chakra would be fine.

She returned her focus to the game at hand and found Zino, ever the eager and vigorous one, once more cooking up schemes. Besides readying her chakra, Hinagiku made no attempt to stop the young Hyuga. She watched—with more curiosity than apprehension—as he darted behind her, using multi-layered distractions to achieve his goal, which appeared to be immobilizing her.

Hina had been prepared to punish the boy for such reckless bravery, but Taiyo's follow-up approach caused her to reconsider. Zino had evidently been rubbing off on fire-style user, who had swiftly adapted trickery and subterfuge into his offense. She watched amusedly as Taiyo feinted a strike, following up by leaping into the air and performing a fire release technique. The beginnings of a smirk hung on her lips. She could still see Zino, rapidly circling her from the corners of her eyes, and so she questioned him softly.

"Do you want to see who can go faster...?"

She immediately followed up her 'challenge'. Her chakra, previously brought to bear, now gushed from her body in rotating currents. These were the infantile beginnings of her rotation, the force of which, much like Zino's cyclone before, began to stir the winds. Zino's kunai were the first to give as the strengthening wind plucked them out of the ground with little resistance. Without the kunai nailed to the ground, the wires wrapped around Hinagiku could do naught to restrict her; thus, she picked up speed, adding her body's rotation to her chakra.

Now her rotation had matured to adolescence, and its ferocity made itself known, like a child in the throes of a tantrum, picking up everything within reach, and it had surprising reach. Within a span, nearly 10 meters in diameter, everything would be caught within the rotation. Zino, Taiyo, and even the very ground the trod on would be ripped from their positions and trapped into the rotation's funneling winds. Stabilizing her rotation at its 'adolescent' stage, Hina began to add her wind natured chakra to the mix. She allowed her wind chakra to fuel Taiyo's earlier fire stream, which had likewise been sucked into the rotation. Soon enough, her rotation had become a vortex of fire and she spun, quite comfortably, in the vacant eye of the typhoon.


------


Furījia had been wracking her brains, formulating schemes and plots, searching for an effective way to attack that wouldn't immediately backfire. She had been observing the goings-on of the battle with the Byakugan, but she had yet to find an effective avenue of assault. However, she did take notice of Kiro, who had been prepping for something big...she hoped.

She had a strong guesstimation of the Uchiha's next move, as she was rather well-versed in his skillset and so she proposed an idea that'd come to mind.

"You're trying to do that lightning cloak thing, right? Let me help you a bit."

Furījia lowered herself into the Gentle Fist's stance and approached Kiro, intent on opening his chakra points to smoothen the activation of his technique.

 

[Godjacob]

"Well uh actually I didn't plan on bringing Mori cause I assumed he had stuff to do today and didn't want to intrude on his personal life..." Tomiko had began to say, but between the amusing banter between Mori and his parents and the looks he got from her crew; in particular Naomi and the twins, Tomiko sighed as she felt she should be willing to accept this new pivot to her plan.

"...but I suppose if he has free time and interest, he is welcome to come. Though don't complain that I "forced" you to come you hear?" Tomiko said with somewhat a cheeky grin as she none the less made her condition clear as the rest of the group seemed overjoyed that Mori would be joining their little misadventure outside the Village Gates. Ren though not as expressive was at least relieved that another older presence who was more level headed if not mature than Tomiko would come along to hopefully reign her in if her urges caused her to suggest something reckless.

Or least, that is what he had hoped would come out of this.

Tomiko overheard the comments about what would happen to Mori or what should be done to Mori depending on behavior as she rolled her eyes in response. "Oh come on, it's merely a tour I am not gonna drop rocks on you or anything. I mean I am a bit reckless and somewhat a danger magnet but that is a far cry from merciless. Have a bit of faith man." Tomiko said with a little self jab of her own as she otherwise seemed pumped for what was to come and the crew seemed ready to.

"We'll go when you are ready, so if you need a minute more to freshen up be my guest. Otherwise we go when you are good to go."

----------
Needless to say both Aisha and Kenji had been taken aback by Taji's words and actions, as the girl seemed clearly devastated over something even if she tried to hide behind a smile to start. But that faded as she gave Kenji an unexpected hug and confessed what tore her up even if it had been hard to make out behind the sniffles.

Aisha was not sure what to do, Sky & Luna seemed concerned, and Kenji himself was left speechless. Should he ask about what was going on in detail? Should he take here somewhere to try and calm here down?

In a moment of emotional sensitivity and understanding, Kenji opted for the simplest option. As he supported Taji and lightly hugged back to offer her comfort as he allowed her to vent her emotions on him. All the while he worked to assure her with something simple and to the heart.

"It's okay Taji, I'm here. We're here, it's okay..."

---------
Mebuki, polite as can be, could not help but sweat drop as she saw the reunion between the rat and Kou as while she was sentimental to pets she never could grasp this deep bond in full. A sentiment shared by a certain other voice in the head of the pink-haired kunoichi...

A bit over-dramatic no? Couldn't have been longer than a night since he last saw it...

Oh let them have their moment. No need to be a grinch.

Sakura decided that since his bro had no "official" breakfast, she went to the fridge as she cut a piece of cheese and placed it on the table before Kou and the rat as she offered it breakfast of its own.

-----​

Woosh!

Naturally Hina's inevitable counter came into play, Zino had prepared for the worst as he had already taken to having wrapped the wire around another pair of kunai and stuck it to the ground so he'd avoid holding the wires. But any illusion of hope he'd pin her down for Taiyo's follow up was sent flying; literally, as Hina began her own rotation which soon worked to pull the kunai off the ground as everything began to circle around her. Chakra, kunai, wind and even Taiyo's flame & needless likely had been sucked up by the force of Hina's rotation.

This went about as well as Zino could have expected.

For now he needed to escape and regroup, given that the other Hyuga had been prodding at Kiro he presumed they had an idea so he needed to buy what time he could. Even if that time had been but a mili-second or if what he stalled for mattered or not. If nothing else Hina would not say he half assed this little "exercise" as his Sharingan eye flared as the cyclone around Hina began to expand and build up as he began to flash hand signs almost as if by memory.

I'll say this much I appreciate you giving me a good template, Taiyo...

Boom!

A rumble was heard as Zino had been forced backwards and knocked just outside of Hina's range in rather dramatic fashion as he tumbled just ahead of Fuijia and Kiro; a bit of dust on him, his pants anklings a bit burnt but otherwise not knocked too worse for ware. As Zino had copied one of Taiyo's signature fireballs and blasted it just before himself and used the force of the explosion to knock him back before he was sucked into Hina's current.

Course, this caused himself some pain in the desperate attempt to escape, but hey beggars could not be choosers as Zino worked to stand as he shakily got his bearings before he glanced back to Kiro & Fuji. "I do hope you have a plan here. Not that I am gonna complain over this lost cause too much but a bit of help from more than one would be appreciated." Zino said, as he quickly reached for his weapon's pouch and pulled a couple of items as he prepared for his next move.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori placed a hand on his heart and raised the other one in the air, holding his pinky down with his thumb as the other three fingers pointed into the sky, or rather at the ceiling. "You won't hear a single complaint from me. If I do, the punishment will be...I dunno. Treat you all for dinner? Something you all think up?" The genin shrugged, not really expecting them to reject an offer of free food.

"Listen here young man, you are not paying for a whole dinner. You're 13, you should be saving for your future. That potential dinner is on us, you've clearly gotten the tactics of your father." Kasumi interjected smoothly to avoid her son spending all of his savings on a dinner for 8.

"But it was good food, wasn't it?"

"That's not the point Iwao, but yes. If only you could whip something up like that."

"One day Kasumi, one day."

Drawing the attention away from his parents, Mori spoke up. "I'm almost ready, give me a sec or two." Walking into his room, he heard his dad count down.

"Two, one , beep. Two seconds have passed, you're too late."

"Oh fall in a hole." He replied and came out of his room with his tanto and scarf.

"You go dig one, now shoo! You've been inside for far too long. Get some fresh air, be a nuisance to others." Iwao playfully punched his son on the shoulder and got a punch back, although a bit lower than the shoulder.

"I'm ready, let's leave. A fossil is cool, but you can only look at it for so long before it hurts your eyes." The dramatic gasp behind Mori notified him that his jabs were heard and hit target.

"Fossil?! I am only forty years old, you whippersnapper!" Iwao said with a chuckle, it appeared that Mori didn't just inherit his apology methods from his father. Both men in the household were as dramatic as you could get without being a performing artist.

----------

Grateful for the opportunity to empty her heart, Taji cried until she no longer could. Every ounce of pain, fear and despair flowed out of her, along with a decent amount of water and minerals. Taking a deep breath and breaking the hug, she rubbed her nose. "Thanks, really. That means a lot to me. I guess I should tell you two what happened, huh? May I suggest a different location? The shopping public has already suffered enough from my emotional unstability." The formality when in an uncomfortable situation arose again and the Kumo kunoichi led the group into a nearby park and sat down on a bench, uncaring of the snow covering it.

"I was thrown out of my house after a debate with my parents. My father asked if I was keeping up with my training and if you two didn't keep me from improving myself, I said that I was and that you two are capable ninja in your own right. Apparently they thought that I liked Kenji and cracked down on him, defending their point of view by saying that they just wanted a suitable husband for me so that the Kuramoto bloodline wouldn't end. It is one of the first bloodlines to settle in Kumo after all. I got fed up and asked if I got a say in my future, not to mention that I don't even like guys that way. They didn't like that a bit and kicked me out, saying that they had no daughter. I ran away, the only posessions I have are the clothes on my body and the tools I carry with me." She said as she looked down at her feet.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Yet again, the Jonin had surprised Taiyo with her display of quick thinking and ingenuity. Of course, now wasn't the time to admire, now was the time to get an escape option. Zino had already thought about such an endeavor, for he revealed an ability to use Fire Release by creating a fireball to launch himself out of the vortex that Hina had created. Following suit, the FBS master used his signature technique to boost the fireball that propelled him out of the flame vortex. Unfortunately, this came with the caveat of him suffering a harsh landing due to launching himself in the air instead of being on the ground.

I'll be feeling that in the morning...

Though his body was bruised and his clothing was singed, the Leaf-nin had enough about him to get up, but while he was down, his FBS faltered from orange to red for a second before reverting back to orange.

"Kiro..." the Leaf-nin groaned, "Have you finally charged up your technique..?"
Tsuki
Fortunately, Hama proved that she wasn't heartless by toning down her aggressiveness. Regardless, Tsuki recognized that her sensei was being truthful in regards to addressing the fact that shinobi lifestyle is synonymous with that of a murder. However, she chose to focus on the words of encouragement that Hama had given her.

"You shouldn’t let this Boy- no. This Child stop you from becoming powerful woman you were meant to become. You are RIGHT THERE darling, right on the verge of greatness. You just need a little push.You can do this Tsuki, i’ll Be right here by your side during all of it..."

Allowing herself to muster a miniature smile as the words echoed in her mind, she decided to make her best efforts in fulfilling Hama's plan for her.

"Ok...I'll do my best. But if I'm going to do this, I need a plan," The icy kunoichi paused for a moment before asking her question, "Could you help me make one..?"
Seiun
Once again, the construct managed to suprise Seiun once again by manipulating the Gahedra into a tool suitable for the task at hand.

Well then, how about that...

Without further hesitation, the rogue shinobi cut a large hole into the jailhouse's wall and kicked it down. As he walked out into the world once again, he found himself stifling a fit of laughter.

Any tool I want...I can tell I'm gonna have fun with this thing...

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Hama, seeing as Tsuki was coming around to her idea, began to grow a smile back on her face. Right as her apprentice asked for help devising a plan.

“Just this once my dear Tsuki, and just for you.” She winked.

She moved to a closet door, opening it with a flick of her wrist. She pulled out a dummy, three targets on his body: head, chest, and hip. She placed it in the middle of the room.

“Now when you get to the jail, they naturally will be skeptical about allowing you in. So instead use your memory of his cell location and guide your ice needle in. You must aim here, at his chest first and strike his heart, then you should strike the brain quickly, as we don’t want any death screams here. Now when you do the deed, make sure to sow up your entry and exit wounds before dispelling your justu, we must not leave any evidence, got it Young one?”


......


B.O.S.E.C. Uttered a deeply distorted and glitched up cackle, it’s body temporarily glitching out of existence and returning back. It seemed it too was anxious to be free.

“̀T͠his̴ is so e̵xhilarati̕n͡g, is̵n͡’̴t i͞t̕?̧ F̴re͡e͜ ͝fro̸m your ̡bon͞d̀s̸, no̵ m͢a̢s͞ter,̀ tơt͟ál͜ f͟r̷eed̴om͢!”̀

“Halt! Stop right there!”

Two armor clad mist ninja approached the scene, noticing the hole next to Seiun as an obvious prison escape attempt, alongside the odd looking weapon he carried.

“What...how did you get contraband in your cell?! No matter, come with us and hand it over or you will die where you stand!”

“T̴hi̴s śhould be ҉fu͢n͠.”͘ The organic AI cooed. “W̵an͟na ͞blo͘w ͢of́f a li͡t͜t̴le͡ s͘team, ̶ḿast͠er?̶”̡

 

[Retro Master]

‘A sharingan and a byakugan? Interesting.’

Needless to say, Kiro hadn’t expected to see a Hyūga with a sharingan in one eye and a byakugan in the other. There were only two conclusions Kiro could come up with. Either the sharingan had been transplanted into Zino or he was the child of an Uchiha and Hyūga. The latter would mean Zino had quite the remarkable gene pool. But still, it was somewhat hard to believe there was actually someone who possessed both of the noble bloodlines. While Kiro was intrigued, he’d have time ponder about it some more another time.

Taiyo and Zino seemed to be holding things down pretty well on their own. Both of them played off each other quite well. Especially Zino, considering he got a passing grade from Hinagiku due to his efforts with the narcotic he added with the cyclone current to assist Taiyo’s fireball. However, the latest effort by the FBS user hadn’t gone unappreciated by Kiro either. Though his follow up to Zino, with the stream of fire above Hinagiku, may have seemed to be detrimental, the flame vortex that had been created by the addition of wind chakra to the rotation couldn’t have been a more perfect cover for Kiro. Now if he could just only release chakra from his tenketsu just a bit quicker.

That’s when he heard Furījia offer him her assistance. The young Hyūga Princess had yet to make a move, let alone make a squeak since they started. Of course, that didn’t mean she had not been keenly aware of the ongoings around her. Like Zino and Taiyo, Furījia must’ve known what Kiro aimed to do and figured she could help speed the process up. He simply gave a nod and pulled out another kunai before Furījia went to work. If Kiro hadn’t been prepared, her sudden actions could’ve ended up disastrous for him. Fortunately, Hinagiku had helped him get a feel for all his chakra points being opened the day before, after the hunting trip. Now thanks to Furījia, he stood overflowing with chakra once more. Then soon lightning.

“Sorry to keep you two waiting, but I’m ready now. Make sure you’re all prepared to attack her since there should be a brief opening whether or not I get taken down. It will be quick though, so start infusing chakra for something that can quickly get to her.”

He responded to both Taiyo and Zino first, letting them know their hard work hadn’t been wasted. While Kiro wanted to make his move immediately, the issue was that it would be foolish to go near her while the vortex still had enough power to suck them all in, so he waited till the exact moment it appeared to slow down. After giving them some advice, the flame vortex soon began to visibly lose its strength.

“Oh, Furījia, can you do me a another favor and throw this kunai straight at your mom as soon as I go? Which is right now.”

Kiro casually tossed one of the kunai at the Hyūga, expecting her to catch it. He hoped Furījia would be able to follow through. There wasn’t much time before the flame vortex would die down completely, so they had to act fast. Fortunately, speed wasn’t an issue for Kiro in this form and he suddenly vanished from his spot.

 

[kyuukestu]

"Plan...is a strong word—" Furījia grimaced while she dusted off her hands, having finished her prepping of Kiro. However, it seemed that unlike her, Kiro actually had a plan. Although he didn't relay much of it, something was still better than nothing. As Kiro threw the kunai towards her, Furījia shifted slightly and hooked the kunai at its rounded end before slingshotting it towards her mother. Then making good on Kiro's 'plan', she bit her thumb and slammed it into the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

 

[Retro Master]

Once Hinagiku had finished her rotation and her field of view was no longer covered by the flame vortex, she should see the kunai thrown by Furījia, flying directly towards her. It would seem the flame vortex had been used as a diversion for this kunai. However, while that was somewhat correct, there was more. Obviously a kunai wasn’t going to do much of anything to someone on the level of the Hyūga Head. Appearing behind her would be Kiro, kunai in hand, aiming a turning kick midair to the side of the woman’s face. The kunai itself had seemingly been a diversion for what appeared to be the main attack...

 

[Godjacob]

"Fine but I will hold you to that." Tomiko mused, as she could not help but admire the cheeky way Mori went about his declaration and it only had been made more amusing given the banter between himself and his father as really it was just something that helped further brighten her day.

Mori made it clear he'd be ready shortly as the crew seemed extra motivated for the journey ahead, Ren had already began to second guess his hopes with Mori but kept that to himself and soon enough Mori gave the okay to go as Tomiko glanced at the crew and quickly moved by the door.

"Then let's set out people, I want to be out of those gates in a hurry! Got a big day ahead of us and I want to seize every second of it." Tomiko said with her usual pep before she turned to Mori's folks.

"We'll take care of your boy so don't worry about a thing. Have a great day and we'll be back before nightfall." Tomiko assured and with that she led her group out of the door and advanced towards the village gates.

----------
Kenji and Aisha agreed with Taji's condition and allowed her to lead them to the location of her desired choosing; which in this case was a nearby park as they took a seat on the bench while Luna & Sky kept between Aisha & Taji in case Taji needed any support. Which seemed to be a given once Taji explanation her situation as hearts sank and emotions were high.

The two wolves moved to cuddle Taji as they sensed her pain, Kenji felt a bit heartbroken about her situation and Aisha well had a more vocal response.

"What...what rubbish! Leaders of the pack are meant to care for the young not cast them out on a whim, this is disgraceful!" Aisha cursed, as she practically growled and been half tempted to storm back to Taji's place to teach those two "parents" a thing or two about proper care for a loved one but Kenji was quick to diffuse that spark before it caught fire.

"Much as I might know what you are thinking and am tempted, we need to first focus on how to improve Taji's situation." Kenji said, as he wanted to peruse a more constructive solution as Aisha humped before she sat back down. Kenji rubbed his chin in thought before he glanced back to Taji.

"Well, if we can somehow get your stuff back or new stuff, we could probably try to find a place for you. Had success with Aisha so not like I lack experience here. Till we get that sorted, if you need a place to hang I have some space..." Kenji said, as he made his offer to Taji as if it had not been a big deal. Given Taji's situation him being asked to take a couch for the time being was not something he'd lose sleep over.

----------
Poof!

As Kiro made his made, Zino had been quick to do the same as a scroll came from his person and produced what seemed to be some chains. Nothing about them seemed to be much special, though Zino had been quick to act with them as a clone took the reigns and moved around in a flash; firing chain after chain at Hina or curiously around Hina as it seemed his goal was to cut off escape routes and in a sense work to box in Hina with Kiro as if to aid his attempt to strike.

Though the fact his chains seemed to have chakra pumped through them, along with one chain having a subtle piece of paper slapped onto it may have implied something more. Though Zino had not been one to give hints, for now it seemed he aimed to try and press and trap Hina for Kiro to get a clean strike while he also gave space for Furijia to strike.

 

[kyuukestu]

The sword star hadn't seen much of her team since they'd arrived which was understandable as she herself had decided to spend some time catching up with her elders. However, not that the situation was was more or less under control, Baiyan wandered through the Inn, sensing Azumi as she trained. For all the ame-ninja's effort in leading their team and organizing their excursions, there seemed to be an underlying sense of friction in their goings-on and Baiyan had but a single question.

"Why do you keep him around?"

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

Along with Zino and Kiro, Furījia and summon also exploded into action; their bodies crackling with lightning. Furījia wrapped herself in a full-body lightning cloak. Her Byakugan was activated and she was carefully synchronizing her chakra along with her summon's. As Lele's preened itself, sparks of lightning flashed from its innumerable feathers. The bird gouged the ground a path with its claws as it took off at top speed and Furījia leveled her spear in front of her, amassing their combined chakra and momentum into a single, lancing point.

"Geiravör!"

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

"Cute."

As her tornado died down, Hinagiku brought her hand to her lips, licking off the droplets of tea that had stuck to her palm. As the children engaged in their three-point attack, she decided to meet their passion with a bit of ardor. She could sense the eruption of chakra as Kiro entered his bootlegged LCM, her senses able to follow him as he devoured the space between them and took her back.

With Zino's supporting chains trying to box her in and Furījia bold new assault driving in, the Jonin had to consider for just a moment how she would respond. However, it was a no-brainer. With all other routes blocked, where else would she go but forward?

Hinagiku lurched into forward-motion flashing ahead with the body flicker. She left Kiro behind her to swing his leg through the empty air, but since the adolescent had been so kind as to give up his purchase on the ground, and by extension his ability to exert force and generate speed, it would be remiss of her not to reward him greatly. Her eyes narrowed on Zino's and Furījia's respective attacks. She would deal with both of them before Kiro even hit the ground.

Between steps of the body flicker, she tossed her teacup into the air, lightening it to give it sizeable air time. She affected a hop right before she reached the kunai Furījia had thrown. Her chakra gathered in her palms as she grabbed the kunai and coated it with gentle fist chakra. She gave her body a light spin, tucking her legs in and rotating so that her back faced the on-coming Furījia and she, Hinagiku, was facing the still airborne Kiro whilst also using the same motion to fling the kunai so that its point would find its way between the links of Zino's chain, nailing itself and the chains to the ground.

With her other hand now devoid of the teacup, she slipped it behind her as Furījia charged and unceremoniously rewarded her daughter's gusty charge with a blast of chakra.

"Mountain Crusher!"

With Hinagiku herself airborne, she had nothing to brace against the backlash from the blast of chakra, but that's exactly what she wanted. The Mountain Crushed launched her straight at the other gutsy lightning user.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The warrior mouse took in what his brother said in great detail. It had seemed that the boy had developed many fond memeories just for the short time of being there. The family that had been taking them into their home had been not accepting than most, not only for him being a rodent, but Kou being affiliated with the sound as well.

The boy was happy. He didn’t want to spoil it for him so soon, so he had to delay telling him the news. He wasn’t heartless. Much to his surprise however, he was offered food as well! Cheese no less. The warrior had begun to sweat. He had a difficult choice to make. His stomach spoke of hunger, but if he were to open his mouth...

Curses.

He gave in, ducking his head under the table for a few seconds, taking something out of his mouth. After doing so, he placed it on the tip of his tail before sticking his head back up to the food. He gave a non-verbal nod of thanks before graciously accepting the food, taking a nibble out of it. While he did this, hit tail poked Kou, who felt something wet hit his left arm. When he looked down, he saw something on his brother’s tail.

“Huh?”

Plucking what was there, he noticed immediately what it was. A small chunk of bloody flesh. Kou tried to hide his shock, going down to whisper to his brother.

“Did you hurt him?!” He mouthed.

The rat seemed to ignore this question, giving him a knowing look as he took a big, slow bite of cheese without breaking eye contact.

 

[Retro Master]

To his dismay, Hinagiku completely avoided the first kick. Kiro expected that she would be able to react to him with relative ease, but her choice to simply dodge wasn’t what he was hoping for. He didn’t want to believe Hinagiku was avoiding direct combat with him in this form. That would be a disappointment. Instead of focusing on him, her attention went to her bloodline first.

Kiro took notice of the chains that attempted to surround them as well, courtesy of Zino. The chains could end up being very useful, but they were quickly dealt with by the kunai Furījia had thrown. Speaking of the Hyūga princess, she had boldly charged towards her mother with some type of lightning cloak over both her and the bird summon. Unfortunately, the assault appeared to be futile as Hinagiku, with the free hand she had after tossing her teacup, used a mountain crusher on the girl.

That attack ended up blasting the Hyūga Head right back at him. Clutching the kunai still in his hand, the side of Kiro's lips curved upwards into a smirk as he saw this opportunity. Kiro continued his rotation in the air and extended the leg from the first kick slightly downwards to increase his hangtime for just a bit. Then as Kiro came around, he launched the main kick at Hinagiku with his other leg.

 

[kyuukestu]

What a cocky fellow...

To have the gall needed to fight her in close combat when he could merely throw hands at her daughter's level was nothing short of wild arrogance. However, that kind of spunk was just what she wanted to see. As Kiro spun into another kick, Hina decided to help him. She controlled her flight through the air with bursts of chakra when necessary, and she made no attempt to resist Kiro's kick. Instead, she caught his kick and, adding her own moment to the kick, decided to take him for a spin. She then added her own rotation to the mix, her chakra coating her arms to not only protect herself from the lightning cloak, but also drastically reduce Kiro's weight and thus foil any sense of weight or momentum he might've tried to leverage.

Hina's intention was to wind up and give the boy a toss, sending him floating off towards the clouds where he would hang until she was ready to take him down.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"I expected nothing less. If there's one thing that motivates you, it is free food." Mori grinned as he placed his hands behind his head. "Oh, and trying to get me to complain doesn't count, so there goes that potential strategy. Most importantly though, make sure that you have fun and don't worry about the dinner."

"Those are very wise words for someone so young. And don't worry Tomiko, Mori's a tough child, or he just has stupid amounts of luck. Point is, he'll probably survive anything you can throw at him. Unless it involves water, then you might need to rescue him." Kasumi said with a grin as Mori tried to draw attention away from her by speaking a bit louder than was needed.

"ALRIGHTY~! Let's get this show on the road then, show the way Tomiko! Or whoever is in charge, I'm not judging." As the group left the house, Mori decided to simmer the showman flair down and relax a bit more. He loved his parents a lot, but they were a handful at times. They were fun though, which was something not everyone could say. "So what's the plan? We gonna climb some rocks? Go sledding on that roadkill sled of you all?" The genin asked, genuinely curious to see what he signed up for.

From behind the window, Kasumi looked at the group with a smile. "Remember when he was small and alone? Where did the time go?" She reminisced as Iwao refilled the cups with tea and stood next to his wife.

"The time probably passed when we weren't around, but it seems that he has found a new family to be a part of when we are not around. I must confess, even I had my doubts about that slum group given how easy it is to fall into a life of crime there, but that Tomiko is a gift from heaven. Keeping the group on the right track and staying positive isn't easy, yet she does it with seemingly ease. Motivation and friendship was just what Mori needed, and there is no better person I could have imagined to give that to Mori than her."

"I hope that they stay so close, this lifestyle can be so unforgiving. Next thing you know, you lose your friends." Kasumi sighed as she leaned against her husband.

"They're tough, there's no country crazy enough to start a war this soon and they're still genin. Right now, their lives are as calm as they can be. They'll be fine and if something happens, they've got us to lean on." With a peck on Kasumi's cheek, the conversation drew to an end.

----------
Taji scratched Luna and Sky behind their ears, giving a watery smile as the wolves moved closer to her. She liked them, when the image of voracious predators was taken away, they were incredible animals. Their owner didn't have the same natural grace as them, though she was endearing in her own way. "Aisha, please don't run off and burn their house down. I don't want you to commit arson. As for a pack, it was more like a herd of sheep. Every man or woman for themselves whilst expecting the young to keep up." Though she smiled, that was not the true reason behind her request. Simply put, they were still her parents and she didn't want them to be hurt.

At the mention of getting her stuff, Taji began to think. "My parents are civilians and have no ninja training, so perhaps a Transformation Jutsu to fly to my window and open it or a genjutsu will work. I can cast some genjutsu, though they are still my parents and I don't know how strong it will be. If we go with that route, we need to be fast. Just throw whatever you can throw out of the window, along with a briefcase or a bag if possible. I am fine with buying new stuff though, I don't want to be more of a hassle than I have to be." She admitted whilst making a plan in case they went that far, although the mention of a place to stay caught her off guard. "Oh no, you really don't have to do that. I can settle in a hotel or something and I think genin can own their own house. I really appreciate it, but I don't want to intrude on your privacy." Waving her hands in front of her face to dismiss the offer, a ray of sunshine broke through the thick clouds in Taji's mind. Her biological family might have rejected her, but that didn't mean she was alone. She still had her friends, or as Aisha would call it, a pack. A pack that didn't leave anyone behind, and that was the best thing she could have dared to dream of.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
As one would expect, Taiyo and his allies were having a rough time fighting Hinagiku. With Furījia seemingly taken out of the equation, Zino's plans apparently thwarted and Kiro failing to match the Jonin's combat prowess put the fiery shinobi in a difficult situation.

Fan-fucking-tastic, everyone else is having a rough time about it, and I'm just over here, sitting like a duck.

Well, I can change that. And I will!

You really think that I can take her out?

It's not about taking her down, it's about making an impression...

You do that buddy...

With newfound resolve, the FBS master decided to formulate a plan. Using the enhanced movement that his signature technique provided, he darted past the Uchiha to get far behind Hinagiku. After this, Taiyo shifted his trajectory so he was coming towards Hina from behind. As he was travelling, he transferred chakra into his fist, igniting it. Once he was close enough, the FBS master threw a flaming punch to the back of Hina's head. Of course, he made sure to exert an amount of force that would only give Hinagiku short-term pain as opposed to possible long-term damage.

 

[Godjacob]

As Hina went for a windup, Zino had already been on the move. Why even he had not been sure, it would have been easier to just lay down as they had no chance, but if Taiyo had felt inspired to carry on than well Zino figured he'd try something if for nothing else to show Hina he had not been slacking on this.

Zino seemed to charge up towards Hina and Kiro, already having moved up when Kiro made his move toward her, and on a surface level it seemed that Zino had prepared handsigns for some jutsu of some sort, maybe a fireball or some wind strike to hit Hina with on the assist to Taiyo.

Woosh!

However, a replacement jutsu as he closed on the pair revealed his true intent, as he suddenly was replaced by his clone back on the ground. His clone that had removed the kunai and grabbed the chains Hina had pinned earlier; its chakra pumped through them as it now hung mid air and tossed them as it aimed to wrap around Hina and bind her in one go; the chakra itself with an intent to send it to Hina and stun her with some inter