Kumo Hyuga bounded through the forest, jumping from branch to branch frantically all while trying to sense any possible pursuers, leave as little tracks as possible, and shove the knowledge of what she had just done as far as she could out of her mind.
She was a little stressed.
Kumo took some joy from her good fortune: it was a new moon and her trail would be hard to follow. The cloudy sky blocked almost all starlight, further impeding any tracking efforts.
But who needs tracking, she thought, when you have the Byakugan? My best hope is to get out of their range, and my father's Byakugan range is nearly 900 meters.
She shuddered at the thought of running to escape her father, but regained composure and forced more chakra into her feet, boosting off a branch.
If I learned one thing from ANBU, it's how to move fast.
She glanced over her shoulder to check for any approaching ninja, and automatically reached into her pack for an explosive tag before realizing what she was doing and shuddering again at the thought of leaving traps for her friends and family. She decided to keep running until morning, when she would disguise herself and try to rest for a while.
Pushing past the exhaustion, she swallowed a soldier pill and continued onward, not allowing herself to slow at all.
Five hours later, the sun had come up, the forest had waned away, and Kumo came upon the first clearing of any substantial size that she had encountered since leaving Konoha. Now that her adrenaline had died down, she became aware of the aftereffects of her previous battle. Outwardly, she showed no injuries besides the normal scrapes one receives from dashing through a forest for nine hours, but inside she felt a great roiling nausea and her eyes felt so swollen that she did not have to look at her reflection to know they were bright red from broken capillaries. She could still taste blood in her mouth.
And he did all of that with one hit. I don't think he was even trying to kill me.
The clearing was brightly lit and vegetation-less. A bit too brightly lit, so she made her way into the shadows on the edge and leaned against collapsed against a tree, covering herself with a camouflage cloak from her pack.
Kumo fell into a deep, dreamless sleep almost instantly.
As any good ninja would, she awoke as soon as she sensed a disturbance, but when she opened her eyes, there was no disturbance to be seen, just the peaceful clearing with damselflies flitting around and the tall grass blowing serenely in the wind.
Oh, she thought, Grass. There wasn't any before.
Her still sleepy mind scrolled through any number of reasons for the setting change, including the possibility that she had been moved and the possibility of genjutsu. After trying to dispel the theoretical genjutsu several times, she concluded that the grass was real, and that it had grown there while she was sleeping.
The grass itself was vibrant green, practically glowing, as if it had an internal light source as well as the powerful rays of the sun to light it.
She blinked once.
Then there was a man there who wasn't before. He wore a conical woven hat made of dried grass, and light green robes exactly the same color as the grass he was standing in. A katana was sheathed on a sash tied around his waist. A forehead protector above shining yellow eyes informed Kumo that the mysterious ninja hailed from the village hidden in the grass.
"Good afternoon!" he called cheerily, "I am sorry that my grass woke you up. I tried to grow it as slowly as I could, so I wouldn't disturb you."
He smiled pleasantly.
"I understand that you ar being followed as I too have been following you since you left Konoha, however I led your pursuers off course with a clone. I don't imagine they will notice for at least another hour."
"They have the byakugan," Kumo replied instantly, wondering why a total stranger from a rival ninja village would do such a thing, "they'll be able to see through the clone."
"I know," he replied calmly, "But it should lead them off course for an hour at least."
"Well... thank you," Kumo said hesitantly, standing up and readying herself for any kind of attack.
I know this type, she thought.
"No problem! I just wanted you to be rested up..."
Here it comes...
"...for when we fight."
"Thank you!" she said more assuredly, adopting the mocking tone that she used to sound confident even when she was exhausted, nauseas, and low on chakra, "And what may I call you, good sir?"
"I am Kusamaru from the grass village, and my mission is to assassinate you, the Black Widow of Konoha."
"Of course it is!" Kumo replied sardonically, subconsciously drawing upon her chakra, "And you may call me Kumo."
The grass nin seemed somewhat put off.
"Are you by any chance used to your opponents helping you before they attack?"
"Not really, you just remind me of my sensei."
He does seem like Lee-san.
"Oh," Kusamaru said, recovering, "Shall we begin?"
And without waiting for a response, he drew his sword and dashed forward.
