"We've been discovered! Mei, run!"
"But, Ao-"
"I'll act as a distraction!"
"I can't leave you!"
"Just go! You know how the Mizukage reacts to disobedience! We've come too far the fail now!"
"Ao-"
"Mei… You are our only hope… Please, end this..."
"I won't forget you! I promise, I will get you back!"
Bloody Mist: Encounter
Without much of a plan, he just keeps jumping from branch to branch a linear path. Though it is a bit careless to travel in such an aimless manner, no one should question him while wearing the guise of one of their ANBU. Though he is curious about who captured him and why, his want to escape and recuperate is greater. Leaving the Land of Water will mean being far away from his unknown jailer. He keeps up in his path to find a way out of the country.
He isn't sure how, but he senses a presence ahead. He ignores the possible danger of an encounter, however, confident that the person ahead would ignore an ANBU passing by. He nears the person. A woman, about 30 years of age wearing a gray flak jacket on top of her standard shinobi garb. Her hair is auburn, reaching to her ankles. She lifts her head and her green eyes meets his masked face. Her face fills with recognition then shifts to anger as she reacts to his appearance.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
He stops in his tracks and quickly jumps to the side to dodge the mist she blows from her mouth. It is fortunate that he did, for everything the mist makes contact with seems to be disintegrating. It would have ended him then and there.
'Not good… Did she see through my disguise?' As he thinks back, however, this can't be the case.
'Maybe… she's the one the ANBU was after?' She prepares for another attack.
'I can't fight with that mist of hers…' He knows that he needs to stop her from using the mist again. While he can't incapacitate her with an attack, there is one thing he can try. 'Well, let's see how well I can bluff…'
"Nice moves… Though it leaves too much trail, doesn't it?"
His opponent's eyes widens at his statement. It appears that she doesn't want to leave a trail and attacked from panic. Her brows tighten. She forms hand seals as she dismisses the acid mist. The moment the mist vanished, she finishes her seals in time to strike.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
With current lack of energy to fight, a strike from this will mean defeat for him. Fortunately, he feels her molding chakra before she finishes executing her attack, giving him time to dodge the it. He uses that advantage to hide from his opponent.
'If I read her right, she at least won't be using that boil release of hers… Better take advantage of my small favors…'
He creates a single shadow clone, and then hands it the stolen tools. As it leaves, he draws out the ko-wakizashi.
'Let's dance!'
He jumps the trees to look for his opponent. He finds her hiding out in some trees looking in all directions, a kunai in hand. He makes his way to the branch above her, then he kicks at the branch to vault himself at her, his blade going a downward arc towards her. She hears the kick, though, giving her time to react. She blocks the oncoming blade with her kunai. With his currently weak state, she easily throws him off. Fortunately, his agility saves him from falling on his back on the landing.
Now, face to face, they rush at each other, blade to blade, then retaliating with kicks and punches. This leaves his opponent no time to form the seals for any of her technique. They are at a stand still. Eventually, however, he tires out. The moment he falters, she kicks him hard enough to make him stumble.
"Water clone technique!"
A single clone emerges and starts to attack him. As he fights her water clone, she starts forming a series of hand signs. Though it stands no chance against him, it serves its purpose well. Her clone meet its end and she smirks.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"Shit!" he exclaims as the water dragon rushes him. It impacts him with enough force to almost make him unconscious. He's quickly approaching a tree, but before he impacts it, he uses what little chakra he left and expels it all around his body. His move destroys the tree and dispels the water dragon, but leaves him with very little chakra.
He senses his opponent rushing at him, and braces himself. He is already tired, so he barely holds his opponent's attack. Just when he is losing hope, his clone dissipates from a distance, relaying to him all of the information he needs. When she strikes him again, he counters by using her momentum against her, pulling her to the direction of her strike to make her stumble. He heads off to the location his clone vanished from and she follows.
He arrives near his destination, his opponent not too far behind. She was already using her momentum to prepare a strike. He smirks. 'Just according to plan.'
Before her strike could make contact, he grabs her attacking arm, grabbing her kunai and redirecting her to where the trap is set. As she falls to the ground, he threw the kunai he took towards a barely visible wire and it triggers the trap. A storm of weapons approaches her quickly on all sides. Her eyes widens.
"Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!"
A water dome forms, stopping the hailstorm of weapons and saving her from certain death. There is still something he can do, however. With what little chakra he has, he injects it into her defensive dome, disrupting it. He charges at her, blade ready to strike her head off. However, she too has an ace.
"Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique!"
She focuses her attack on her opponent's attacking arm. With the surrounding water, the quicklime reacts, hardening around the arm to restrict movement. She takes advantage of his current path and punches him in the face with enough force to break off the mask, throwing him a few feet from her.
"It's over…"
He gets back up, panting hard. When he lifts his face, her eyes widen.
"W-what..?"
A single Byakugan eye glares at her, his right eye shut from a scar running vertically over it. His forehead has a green seal over it. Although stealing the eyes from a clan wielding a dojutsu isn't unheard of, only Ao has ever managed to steal a Byakugan that didn't destroy itself. There is no way this man is a Hunter nin from Kirigakure. The man's eye closes and he collapses. She moves closer to inspect him.
'No Barrier Talisman… He is definitely not a Hunter-nin... So, what are you doing here, Hyuuga..?'
She thinks of her next action. With determination, she lifts him up, and carries him to a safe house.
'You seem to have a good head with you… Perhaps you can be of use to me…'
A/N: NO idea what I am doing... Writing someone getting their ass beat even after having an awesome plan is pretty fun, though...
