A/N: First of all, I'd like to say thank you for the reviews on the story so far. It's good to know that there are people out there who are enjoying this! I'm sorry for the delay. A whole bunch of crap happened recently then I got sick, so my motivation just plummeted. But somehow I got through that and here it is! Or..well I'm still sick.

There isn't a lot of Iruka in this chapter. I wanted to be sure I highlighted the hunters in the game. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them. :)

Also, I didn't bother checking this chapter for any mistakes, so please forgive me for that. I'm really just too tired to do so, and I really just wanted to get this chapter out. Well I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin

The moment the ANBU had disappeared, the grand double doors groaned open, making the ground tremble beneath their feet. Even with the doors gaping wide, no amount of light shining through revealed what was through the doors. The shadows only seemed to eat away at the light further obscuring their true destination. One by one, the genin passed the threshold into the dusk of the dilapidated building. It only took a few seconds walking through the dark before another set of double doors opened up. There, they found themselves in what appeared to be an entirely different city.

The city lights illuminated the entire town, ready for the bustling of tourists that would never show. Despite the lights, much of the city was dusky and cold from the night. Every building looked just as forsaken and rundown as the one they had entered. Soiled papers, tattered scrolls, and discarded weapons of every kind were scattered along the ground, probably from previous games. There was no sound except for the dull hum of the lights and the tapping of their steps as they continued looking around in awe. Everything about this place felt so utterly foreign that if it were not for the Konohagakure symbol on every building, they would've thought they were in a completely different village.

Iruka watched the group retrieve their weapons as they began spreading out into the open area. They were standing in the middle of a three way intersection, glancing around with wide eyes. Iruka counted that there were twenty of them altogether. It was twenty genin against five elite shinobi. He grimaced. What were the chances of them lasting until dawn? They had to think fast since their ten minute head start was quickly diminishing the longer they stood in that place.

Our chances are probably better if we stay in a group.

He looked at the crowd and caught Hayate's eyes, who nodded at him as if agreeing with Iruka's unsaid plan. The two of them weren't exactly friends even if they did graduate the same time. Although they rarely disagreed with one another which, to Iruka, probably did make them friends in some sense. With Hayate with them, there was no doubt he'd be able to convince Yuugao to join as well. The two of them usually stuck together. When he glanced to his teammates beside him, they too nodded with Kotetsu adding two thumbs up. As soon as Iruka saw people breaking up into smaller groups, he spoke up:

"I think it would be better if we stick together as a group. Our chances would be better against the ANBU."

Most of them had seemed to agree with the idea at first. After all, there is always strength in numbers, as the saying goes. It made sense to stick together against five elite shinobis. The plan would appear to have been a unanimous agreement until Mizuki gave a tiny snarl at the idea.

The silver haired genin scoffed. "They would easily find us if we stayed in a group."

There was a cough from Hayate before he spoke. "Yeah, but in a larger group, we can better defend ourselves from capture before dawn. As Iruka said, the chances are better."

"I think I'd take my chances with my team alone than with the entire group. It would only slow us down." Mizuki began sprinting towards an empty street on the right. He called over his shoulder to the rest of his team, "Come on guys."

After Mizuki and his team disappeared down the street, a domino effect began as the group gradually separated and sprinted down completely different routes in this mysterious city. Iruka and Hayate sighed seeing no point arguing their line of reasoning any further. It would only waste more time.

"I guess it's just the five of us." Yuugao murmured, twirling a kunai by its ring on her finger.

"Well that's that. We better move, fast." Izumo looked around warily. "Time is almost up. They'll be looking for us soon."

"Yeah, let's go this way." Kotetsu took the street right down the center.

They followed Kotetsu's lead with no argument. Knowing that there wasn't much time left from their ten minute head start, they quickly sprinted down the street in front of them. Their first objective was to get as far away from the starting point as possible before the game would begin. When they finally decided to stop, the five of them took shelter by what they guessed was a school. Some of the windows were boarded up while others were left cracked and unprotected except by the wooden venetian blinds that were already beginning to decay. Inside, they found rooms filled with desks turned on its sides and papers strewn all over the tiled floor. It wasn't anything like the ninja academy, but they did find some useful weapons like wire strings and smoke bombs. For the meantime, they felt like they found the perfect place to hide and prepare for their hunters.

As they waited, Iruka took a chance to glimpse at the weapons his group had upon them. Hayate had his customary katana strapped securely to his back. Since graduation, he was never seen without it. Yuugao, on the other hand, had knives she kept hidden under her sleeves, as she usually did, and a dagger sheathed on her side. Kotetsu had his twin kunai blades strapped like an 'X' on his back. The last of them, Izumo, only had a single kunai blade. And those were only the perceptible ones! There was no doubt in Iruka's mind that they had other tools hidden in their pouches and pockets. Unlike the rest of them, Iruka was very ill-prepared. So far all he had was a kunai in its holster and a pouch hanging around his hip that held a few shuriken and a couple of blank tags.

"I didn't even bring anything useful. I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place." Iruka grumbled. "Stupid mutt. It's his entire fault."

"A mutt?" Hayate asked. He did not even spare a look at Iruka as he vigilantly peeked through the wooden venetian blinds.

"Yeah. Led me here by mistake." The frustration only seemed to double inside of him, remembering how the mutt had led him here. How could he find the dog tags if he was stuck here playing this stupid game? Then, an idea came to him. "When one of the ANBU comes our way, I'll play decoy. I'm good with traps, so I could—"

"Do that as a last resort, Iruka," Yuugao said sternly. "As you said before, our chances are better if we help each other out."

"Yeah, don't just give yourself up now!" Kotetsu grumbled. "You're already here, and it'll be a waste if you don't at least try! Besides, we might actually win this thing! With your luck that is. And we'll help you with the dog later. Promise."

"My luck?" Iruka narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Your luck!" Kotetsu looked at him as if he was the crazy one. "No matter what kind of trouble you get into, you somehow find a way out of it with a few injuries—"

"Or no injuries at all!" Izumo finished, grinning at Iruka.

Yuugao furrowed her brows and hummed in contemplation. "Now that you mention it. Iruka, you don't get injured very often do you?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I have this amazing luck on my end." Iruka frowned, fixing a stare at Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Well you may never know, Iruka." Hayate coughed, but still somehow managed a teasing grin. "I mean it is a miracle with all that's happened, you barely come out with anything more than a papercut. I have to agree with Izumo and Kotetsu."

Iruka groaned. "Fine, everyone goes against me. For someone with so much luck, I end up with barely any useful weapons on my side when I accidentally stumbled into this place!"

There was a nudge on his side. When he turned his head, Izumo grinned at him. "Don't worry about weapons. There are some useful ones around here. And I always bring extra with me. So just tell me what you need. See. Your luck is working for you already." Izumo looked over to Hayate and Yuugao. "So what now?"

Hayate coughed before he answered, "I think we should stay here and prepare ourselves for now. If we need to, we'll move. It'll be better to conserve our energy, so let's choose our battles wisely."

Everyone silently nodded at the plan and began to prepare their supplies. Iruka gathered the wire strings and smoke bombs they found earlier before asking for other tools from Izumo. Kotetsu and Hayate mutely checked around the rooms, once in a while glancing through the cracks of the windows of any movement. Yuugao sat back, gripping the dagger in one hand. No doubt that she was trying to strategize the best way to win the game. Now, all that was left to do was to wait.

Soon, there was that howl again sending goosebumps across their skins. It was a signal by their hunters.

The game of Otokoyo had officially begun.

Ready or not...Here we come

The first hour since the game began was eerily quiet. Every team had gone their own ways with their own plans on how to survive the next five hours. Many of them did their best to stay hidden and wait for any sign of an approaching ANBU. When a tiny evening gale rushed passed, their veins tingled with the thrill and anticipation of encountering their would-be hunter. Yet, it never turned out as anything more than a simple gust of wind. The exhilaration and tension only seemed to build up as time passed.

For Isshou Rika, the wait only seemed to build up her paranoia. Paranoia wasn't exactly an ideal friend to have alongside for shinobi. It could turn the simplest of doubts into a deadly weapon if left uncontrolled. She hated that somewhere in this strange forsaken town, under the deception of hush and calm, their would-be hunter was lurking. And currently, she and her team were out in the open. After the first hour had passed, her team left their place of shelter in search for a new one. Rika's stern, short red-headed teammate, Maya, believed it was best to change their location to avoid capture. The further they traveled through the village, the more they realized that this town was much like a labyrinth with its intricate paths and false exits. That fact placed them already at a disadvantage seeing that they were not familiar with this place unlike their hunters. It would only be a matter of time before they would meet with one of them.

They found themselves walking through a rundown market district of the village. There were countless items all over the street: weapons, wooden crates, torn fabric, and more. Some of the store signs squeaked along its hinges as they loosely hung above the doors. A couple of them were threatening to fall by the next gust of wind. Many of the store windows were shattered; the pieces of glass speckled inside the store. It was practically a battlefield.

"We should hurry." Satoshi, the impulsive, dark-haired genin of the team, muttered before they quickly sprinted down the street.

At the end of the district was a bridge connecting the market district with another. The bridge was a simple structure. It was a stone arch bridge that had no signs of destruction or ruin like the marketplace behind them. The deck was no longer than six meters with stone arches on both sides, rising up over the deck to the other end. A shallow, clear and calm stream ran underneath the bridge as it reflected the image of the night sky above them. The sound of the rushing stream was calming to Rika's nerves.

Too soon, that calm left as quickly as it came. She felt her chest tighten in panic as the sensation of a strong chakra signature overwhelmed her. Her teammates felt it too as their shoulders tensed and they paused in their steps, hysterically looking around for danger. Perched upon the building rooftop across the bridge, danger came in the form of one figure: Falcon.

"I wonder which one of you I will take out first." The man lifted a finger and tapped the chin of his mask. "Decisions, decisions."

Even with the mask, it was clear in Falcon's voice that a haughty smirk had adorned his features. Languidly, he stood up on the edge of the rooftop, his painted mask regarding them in silence. The man was a tall and lean figure with brown spiky hair. He wasn't overly muscular, but there was no doubt in the man's strength. Once more, the hunter's aura pulsed over their skins, triggering their defensive stances. Rika and Maya stood on either side of Satoshi, weapons in hand.

"I hope you'll at least make this game worthwhile," Falcon said.

With uncanny speed appropriate to his name, Falcon leaped from his perch and closed the distance between him and the genin team. He was inches in front of Satoshi before the boy could even react. The boy barely had any time to shred the piece of parchment Falcon tried to foist on his chest thus saving himself from a swift elimination. Quickly, Satoshi threw a barrage of shuriken at the approaching ANBU. The shurikens never had a chance to hit its target. Without seeing so much as a pivot, Falcon's body flickered from in front of Satoshi to darting towards Rika.

He's fast! Rika's eyes widened, bounding backwards to create distance.

Her hands hastily sped through the seals for a fire jutsu. From behind Falcon, she saw Maya making the seals for her wind jutsu. Realization dawned on her, and Rika could only hope that Falcon didn't see it on her face. The two girls completed the seals and released their attacks with Falcon between them. Rika took a deep breath and exhaled a fireball as Maya clapped her hands together releasing a burst of wind. The attacks collided with the wind feeding the flames, generating an inferno. By the time the inferno died out, there were no signs of a scorched body at the center. They hadn't seen him jump out of the fire, unless he had gone up.

"Dammit, he's too fast!" Maya found him quickly, perched again on the rooftop of the building beside them this time.

Indeed, the ANBU was way too fast for them. What made it worse was that despite the powerful combined efforts of Maya and Rika, there was no sign of charred skin on him.

Somehow, Rika mused while scrutinizing the surroundings, we have to play it clever.

Falcon moved on them once more, and immediately the three of them diverged. Rika, being the furthest from the others, was the first to be targeted. She concentrated chakra to her feet and quickly evaded the man. As she ran towards the bridge, she threw a smoke bomb behind her and managed to create a couple clones to divert his attention in battle. The clones delivered a few punches and kicks, but Falcon was unfazed. He ran passed the clones with wisps of smoke left behind as the clones disappeared. Falcon followed her to the bridge and threw more of the elimination tags in her direction. Her hands flashed through the signs again for another fireball, turning the tags to ashes. Rika flung her kunais at Falcon, each of them missing its target and landing somewhere along the stream. More tags were flung to her, but a strong and sharp gust of wind cut through many of them with the last tag blocked by a wall of earth, raised between her and Falcon. Rika sighed in relief as the efforts of Satoshi and Maya saved her, and quickly stood by her team. Thus far, Rika and her teammates had defended themselves quite well, but the longer the battle went on, the more chakra they would use up.

Maya's face scrunched up, obviously frustrated. "We have to trap him somehow."

Rika nodded. "We need to lead him to the stream, then—"

"I got an idea. Just be sure you two assist me." Satoshi ran to Falcon, head-on.

"Satoshi, wait!"

"Don't just run in, you idiot!" Maya growled.

Satoshi grinned as his chest radiated a bright blue light of his chakra. He pulled out a lengthy iron chain that had been ingeniously wrapped around his torso, working as body armor underneath his shirt. He swung one end of the chain and hurled it at Falcon. Falcon raised his arm guards to block, but he had not expected the impact would throw him off his feet. He flew back from the power, and dodged another attack from Satoshi. Rika and Maya followed suit and began assisting with attacks of their own. Soon, they were forcing the hunter to move back towards the water, nearly cornering him. Finally, Satoshi's chain spun around Falcon's lithe body until his arms were bound to his sides.

Satoshi gripped the chains tightly. "Maya, quick!"

Maya ran forward, her hands flashing through the seals for a chakra absorbing jutsu she perfected months earlier. A hand glowed bright blue with a perfect aim towards the confined man. Before she could ever lay a hand on him, one of Falcon's hands slipped out from the binds, tightly gripping the other end of the chain. Falcon swung the chain around Satoshi's arm that held fast to its other end, and pulled tight. The tight grip of the chains bit into Satoshi's arm as he was forcefully pulled in Maya's direction. Maya's eyes widened, and instinctually she raised her hands up to block the human body projectile. The two genins crashed into one another and hit the waters with a loud splash. Satoshi grimaced as he felt the rest of his chakra seep out of his body from Maya's jutsu.

"Shit," She dispelled the jutsu. "I'm sorry, Satoshi—"

"Well that was fun while it lasted." Satoshi and Maya looked up to see Falcon peering down at them. He had shrugged off the chains earlier, and had sped pass Rika to the fallen two. Neither of the two felt the tags on the shoulders until they dispersed in smoke, "And then, there was one."

She couldn't see his face, but she was sure that he was leering at her by the tone of his voice. He chuckled at her poor defensive stance as he approached.

"I'll have to give you some credit, genin," Falcon said. "I pegged you to be the type to just run and hide, but you're definitely more of a fighter than I thought. Still, your aim could use some work."

"Yeah, I'll work on it, thanks," she answered tartly. Her eyes narrowed warily at her hunter. It felt as if they were frozen in time, staring at one another. She could only hear the sound of the shifting stream below their feet even though she could feel the rapid beating of her heart against her chest. The moment she flickered her gaze away from him things change.

Swiftly, Falcon removed a handful of those mysterious tags from his pouch and launched them at Rika. With the kunai in hand, she slashed at the tags to avoid the same mysterious fate as her team. When she looked back at Falcon, she was far too late to realize that he had moved behind her with another tag in his hand.

"Game over," Falcon said gleefully before he slapped the tag onto her back.

As she fell forward from the motion, her body disappeared in a puff of smoke before the effects of the tag could activate.

A clone! Falcon bristled at the fact that he had been tricked by a young girl! Probably from the moment she summoned her clones, all he had been chasing was a double. He frantically looked at his surroundings for any sign of the genin. Every kunai Rika had thrown earlier were never aimed at Falcon. It had been a ruse. Each one had been thrown with force and precision towards the water so that the tips of the blade had lodged itself firmly into the stream floor. The rings of each kunai barely stayed above the water. Falcon caught a slight glimmer around the rings, detecting thin wire strings all leading to, no doubt, Rika's true location. His eyes widened the moment he pieced together the young genin's plan.

"You sneaky little—"

Before Falcon could ever locate Rika, perched on the building ledge across the stream, her hands rapidly formed the proper hand seals for a lightning release jutsu. Jolts of electricity left her hands and followed down the path of the wire strings. With the power of her jutsu intensified by the stream, Falcon convulsed madly as the electricity surged through his body. Sparks flickered across the water and enveloped the hunter in pain. The crackling of the electric current grew louder than Falcon's cry. Then at long last, there was nothing but the sound of the gentle, calm flow of the stream. Rika watched as her hunter collapsed into the water, unmoving. She was sure that the man was still alive, but no doubt greatly paralyzed. With a heavy sigh of relief, Rika could only hope that her hunter would stay paralyzed until the game was over.

"Clever and resourceful one, aren't you?" A deep voice spoke from behind her.

Rika's eyes widened. Hastily, she jumped off from the ledge and twisted around to see the hand of Tortoise narrowly grasping at her leg. Without another thought, Rika threw a kunai with an attached exploding tag towards the offending hand. She couldn't see if the kunai had struck its target once the exploding tag was released. The force of the blast had sent her flying backwards until she landed on her feet and skidded across the arches of the stone bridge. She jumped down to the deck and warily watched for her hunter. Tortoise jumped out from the smoke and landed before her. Her eyes widened as he straightened himself up. The man was huge. It was as if he was already towering over her despite the distance between them. She could see his large broad shoulders and hard muscles tightly fitted under the ANBU armor. The man was practically a tank with legs. It was no wonder why he looked unscathed from the blast, much to Rika's chagrin.

"You seem disappointed." There was a tone of amusement in his voice.

She gave him an honest response. "I was hoping that I would have singed your hand."

Unexpectedly, Tortoise gave a hearty laugh at her response. The ANBU's reaction startled her that she wasn't even sure what to make of it. He lifted his right hand up, showing her his palm. It was burning red from the heat of the blast, and somehow the kunai she'd thrown managed to graze him. "Does this please you?"

It did. Rika took pride in the smallest victory she could afford against ANBU. But now the problem at hand was that she had used much of her chakra avoiding Falcon earlier. The only logical plan now was for her to make a hasty retreat.

Tortoise began walking towards her with an unhurried pace opposite of what was expected of ANBU. The startling change in behavior made her frantic and continued to distance herself from the man. With every step he took, Rika took three backwards while throwing what weapons she had. The barrage of weapons unfazed him as he deflected the weapons with his metal arm guards. The clanging of the weapons against his body armor became frightening close despite the distance she kept. Rika had to make her escape now. In the spaces between her fingers in one hand, she held kunais with an exploding tag attached to each. Her other hand held a handful of smoke bombs. She threw the kunais first to force Tortoise to withdraw from the explosion, even if only slightly. Next, the smoke bombs were thrown to cloak her movements. At the sound of the explosions, she leaped back, ready to make her retreat within the confusion, only to bump into a solid chest. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she let out a tiny gasp. A massive strong arm draped across her collarbone and held her still.

His rough, low tone rumbled through his mask. "You've done well. I'll be expecting to see more from you in the future."

She smiled at the praise, feeling elated for receiving one by someone of Tortoise's caliber. Gently, he placed one of the tags on her forehead and released a surge of chakra. The tag glowed bright, and within the cloud of smoke, she was gone.

"Tortoise," Falcon coughed and groaned from the stream.

Immediately, Tortoise was beside him, quickly examining for injuries. Other than a couple nicks and scrapes, the only major injury his comrade had sustained was the paralysis. "You underestimated her, Falcon. I told you she had a fighter in her."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Falcon snipped. "Just shut up and help me up. I can't move and I'm getting water lodged in my ear."

Tortoise carefully hooked one arm under Falcon's knees and tugged the man's hand over his shoulder with his free hand. He lifted his paralyzed comrade into his arms and slowly walked out of the stream and towards the bridge.

"So," Tortoise began. "About that bet we made—"

"Uggghh," Falcon interjected, making Tortoise chortle. "Isn't it punishment enough that I have you carrying me like a damsel? Now you remind me that I still have to pay you too?"

"I suppose you're right." Once he had set Falcon down to lean against one of the arches of the bridge, he patted the man's shoulder. "You can pay me later. For now, I must continue the game."

Falcon snorted at the comment before Tortoise turned away and began walking to find his next hunt.

Ready or not...Here we come

They weren't sure how much time had passed, but now Iruka and the others could hear the echoes of screams that filled the city. There were muffled explosions and faint flashes of light in the distance. For a moment, they had forgotten that this was supposed to be a game of hide and seek. Then again, Otokoyo was an extraordinary game of hide and seek with ANBU. This was going to be as dangerous as anyone could possibly imagine.

"Is everyone set?" asked Hayate.

"We should go." Izumo murmured from his post by the window. Next to him was Kotetsu, peeking out from the tattered venetian blinds. It had been long enough with no hunter in sight, probably out there trying to capture the others.

"Wait, wait." Yuugao hissed. "Listen."

They stood still by their posts, listening as Yuugao had commanded. Down the district, they heard faint humming ricochet off the building walls. They stayed silent, watching the streets from the cracks in the blinds. As the sound came closer, the harder it became for any of them to steady their breathing. Iruka forced himself to take a deep breath to calm his erratic heart. From their hiding place, they caught sight of Fox walking through their district. Her long Prussian blue hair shone under the moonlight, swaying slightly in its low ponytail with every step. She slowed her pace and began singing lyrics to her slow nameless tune. The choice of music and its words were maliciously sinister, chilling their spines in fear.

Ding dong

Hurry up, I'm waiting

Far too late to run away

To see if I can catch you

Ding Dong

Hurry up, I'm starving

Waiting for you here

I know that you are near, so come out

Kotetsu leaned too much of his weight onto the window, exuding a squeak. Everyone's eyes widen in shock. They could feel their hearts beating loudly and their shoulders stiffening. Fox had stopped singing her song and paused in her steps. Ever so slowly, she turned her head to the window where Izumo and Kotetsu stood. The two of them instantly hid from view, trembling in fear.

Her sultry duplicitous voice echoed, "Ah so there you are."

Iruka cringed, holding his kunai tightly in front of him. I guess this is where we fight our—

A voice yelled, "Mizuki, run!"

The group immediately looked at the street and found the silver-haired genin standing before Fox. He carried around his giant shuriken upon his back, smirking proudly at the woman. His team stood far behind him with their weapons shaking in their hands. Despite how much they wanted Mizuki to run, the stubborn genin didn't pay them any attention. He only continued to stare Fox down.

"You should listen to your team. I do love a good chase." She chuckled while adjusting her arm guards.

"I like facing my battles head-on, Fox." Mizuki said slyly. Without another word, he created clones of himself and started running towards the ANBU.

The woman was still at Mizuki's brash move. Three Mizukis ran towards her, ready to attack. As soon as he was within her grasp, he threw down a smoke bomb to obscure his position. Fox didn't twitch or put up a fighting stance. The real Mizuki darted from her right, jumping up to swing his leg at her face. She was unfazed by the surprise attack, and only blocked the kick with a forearm.

"You shouldn't be so hasty with your moves. It could cost you." She said, sweeping Mizuki's feet under him, "Like so."

He fell onto his back, allowing Fox to pin him down with her foot. Mizuki growled at her, his body tense with frustration. Fox chuckled at his behavior and was about to say something when her senses caught something beyond the thick smoke. It hadn't concern her at first when Mizuki threw down the smoke bomb, but now she realized that the smoke had lingered longer than it should have. Sensing her minute distraction, Mizuki pushed Fox off and quickly summoned up his chakra to use a paralyzing jutsu on her legs, temporarily bounding her where she stood.

"Now!" Mizuki yelled.

A loud rumbling was heard. The ground began trembling, even more so for Iruka and the others on the second floor of the building. Unlike Mizuki and Fox, they were able to see well above and beyond the smoke. In the distance were Mizuki's teammates, both of whom were using a combined earth jutsu. Their combined efforts created a large wave of earth originating from the bottom of their feet towards Fox. The more land it plowed through, the greater the waver became. Mizuki immediately jumped out of the way, maniacally grinning at the awaited defeat of the ANBU. The wave sped towards her.

Fox crouched down and carefully examined the approaching wave. At ten feet away, she finally stood up and slashed down the middle using the chakra-enhanced claws on her gloves. The wave broke away causing shards of rocks to fly all around, breaking other windows and leaving depressions on the sides of the buildings. Everyone stood aghast at the sheer power Fox held. No one had realized that the paralysis jutsu had worn off until she darted to Mizuki's teammates. They only saw a blur of blue and a porcelain mask shining against the moonlight before a tag took them out of the game.

She turned to Mizuki, who hid behind the crates in the alleyway, and shook her head. "What have I told you about being hasty?"

He pointed a shaky finger at her, reproachfully. "Y-You said you wouldn't use any weapons or jutsus!"

"I didn't." Fox tsked again. "Don't you know about chakra precision and enhancement by now, genin?"

Mizuki glared at the huntress, replying with flinging his giant shuriken and running towards her with a kunai blade. The woman only chuckled at Mizuki's brazen behavior, easily dodging his every swing. His rage grew, knowing full well that the woman was mocking him.

"Let's go while Mizuki has Fox busy. If we don't move now, she'll be after us soon enough." Kotetsu reasoned with the group.

Before any of them could start moving out, Iruka began grabbing at his weapons and blocked the others from the door. They were confused at his behavior.

"He stands a better chance with us helping him!" Iruka argued.

"Mizuki doesn't want our help, Iruka." Izumo pointed out.

"Well, we should try to help him whether he likes it or not." Iruka ran out the door, armed and ready to fight alongside Mizuki.

"And there he goes," Kotetsu exasperated.

"It probably wouldn't be Iruka if he didn't go." Hayate smiled and shook his head, already running after their valiant comrade.

Mizuki barely dodged Fox's leg sweep when the woman made a grab for shirt collar. He yelled at her, pulling back to no avail. She yanked him up by his collar and pulled out a tag with her free hand. Before she had a chance to place it on the boy, she had tossed Mizuki aside to jump back from the oncoming barrage of shuriken.

"Oh? You and your group are finally out of hiding." Fox tilted her head, regarding Iruka's presence. "This should be interesting."

"Iruka! What are you doing?" Mizuki hissed the moment Iruka stood by him with his kunai up in a protective manner.

Iruka hissed back, not at all appreciating Mizuki's tone. "I'm helping you, what else!"

"I didn't need your help, Iruka! I was doing just fine!" Mizuki got up and pushed him out of the way and once again dashed towards Fox.

Straight away, Mizuki slashed again at Fox while the ANBU gracefully evaded every swing. Iruka gave out a frustrated growl before joining in to help Mizuki. The rest of the group followed suit, fighting left and right of Fox. Most of them used their weapons and swung towards Fox while the rest used their jutsus. It was getting difficult for Fox to manage against six genin without the use of weapons or jutsus. She had to manage her chakra use carefully. When a couple of fire jutsus by Mizuki and Yuugao nearly burnt Fox's gloves off her hands, the group began to realize that the fight in her was slowly diminishing. The group doubled their efforts. With Fox preoccupied with evading attacks from the others, Hayate's plan went unnoticed. Izumo had rendered her immobile with his starch syrup type jutsu. Hayate ran behind her, swinging the blunt end of his katana towards the back of her neck. He just had to strike her hard enough to knock her out, and then they would quickly rush out of this place and hide again.

Just one hit, Hayate thought.

Suddenly, there was a sharp jab to his side and he found himself thrown across the street. Another hunter had come into the battle. The ANBU quickly grabbed the trapped Fox and pulled her to safety, ten feet away from the rest of the genin. The painted mask revealed the hunter to be Tiger. He was a robust figure of medium height, muscles slightly bulging at the biceps. They could feel the man's power emanating from him.

"Tiger," Fox said a little winded. She still continued talking to him in that usual witty, mischievous manner of hers. "What a surprise. I didn't sense you nearby. I've been busy with the children here."

His low and rough voice grumbled, "Children can be quite a handful at times. I've just dealt with quite a handful back in the east quadrant. Would you like me to lend a hand?"

Fox hummed appreciatively, "Of course."

Tiger looked among them, his chakra pulsing wildly for combat. They already had trouble dealing with one hunter, now there were two. Iruka wasn't sure if his luck was going to get them out of this situation unscathed.

Ready or not...Here we come

A/N: That's it for now! Hound will come up soon enough, so just give it some time. :) I hope you guys enjoy the read. Please review and let me know what you guys think! I'd really like the feedback.

Also, the song that Fox sings is from a vocaloid song called "Hide and Seek" (how fitting, right?) by SeeU, or I think its vocaloid. Although I took the English lyrics from a cover done by Avanna. You can go look for it on youtube. The song goes at a much faster pace than how I imagine Fox singing the tune, so just keep that in mind for those who decide to look it up.