Chapter 8: Death Awaits...?-Part 1

When the gates opened, every team ran into the forest, heading in the direction of the tower. They were moving pretty fast, eager to get their hands on the scrolls that they needed and to kill anyone standing in their way. And Ray's team seemed to be the most eager out of all the teams (killing the other people there, anyway). Ray was in the lead, his teammates barely able to keep up with him. Takashi had seen this before from the black-haired male; this had happened quite a few times in the past, so it was really no surprise to him. Karin had seen it as well and just as many times as Takashi (even though she didn't like to admit it that much). The two of them kept their mouths shut and continued to follow their teammate deeper and deeper into this vast and deadly forest.

Then Ray did something neither Takashi or Karin expected; he stopped dead in his tracks. The two stopped right behind him and noticed that the male was scanning the area carefully, moving his head slowly and his eyes checking every nook and cranny they could so no detail would go unmemorized. Takashi and Karin silently watched him. The purple-haired male looked toward the blonde-haired female and wondered why she wasn't scolding him for suddenly just stopping and scanning the entire area that they were in. It can't be that...she actually understands what Ray is doing at the moment? There is just no way! He did not dare say any of this aloud. He didn't want to end up as one of the first people dead in this spooky forest. There was no way that was happening to him anytime soon!

A piercing scream split the silence of the forest, and the three ninja turned their heads in the direction of the noise. They listened for any other screams that might signal where someone was. However, after about a minute of silence, they turned toward each other and Ray was the first to speak,

"Well, someone just died."

"That's obvious, genius." Karin spat.

"Question is, what or who got to that person?" Takashi asked.

"Who knows? But if I had to guess, it was probably something, not someone, who killed that person." Ray's answer sent shivers up and down Takashi's spine. Note to self: Ray will be creepy, no matter where we are. He brushed the thought off and glanced at Ray.

"Should we move? We don't exactly want to be sitting ducks and wait for our deaths to come by."

"Yeah. That would be a good idea." Karin silently nodded her agreement and the three ninja began to run through the many branches of the trees, somehow avoiding vines and dangling branches that were in their way. Ray was in the lead once again, with Karin and Takashi on his tail. Takashi found it strange that Karin wasn't trying to be the leader of the group. He had thought that she would try to gain her revenge because of her loss at the race that they had not too long after they became teammates. He kept this inside his head and willingly followed his teammates.

The three ninja had not encountered anyone in a while, and this was starting to get on all their nerves. What the heck was going on? Why weren't they bumping into people? Why wasn't anyone trying to attack them and take their scroll? This baffled them and got onto their nerves. Ray's bloodlust was growing and it was getting harder and harder to contain it within himself. Karin wanted to punch someone horribly and send them straight into one of the trees. Takashi just wanted someone to appear so they would have someone to attack. He did not like the vibes he was receiving from his fellow ninja. It was beginning to scare him out of his mind.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his shoulders tight and fling him into one of the trees behind him, despite that he was running just a few moments ago at fast speeds. He felt his lungs give up whatever air that they had in them forcefully and fell onto a branch not even a foot below him. He tried to get up, but was knocked straight back down by a kick to the side of his head. He had to grab onto the branch just to keep himself from falling off and plummeting more than sixty feet to either severe pain or death. Luckily I can flip over and land on my feet. I'm a damn shinobi, after all. He then dared a look up at his assailant and frowned. Their face was covered by a black mask, and their clothing and hair just blended in with the mask. He cursed silently to himself and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The figure spoke in a female voice, hardened by annoyance,

"Alright, hand over your scroll or you die."

"And what makes you think that I have the scroll, you frickin' piece of crap? Seriously, everyone goes after me, and half the time I didn't do anything wrong. Why don't you kindly ask one of my teammates you apparently have forgotten about?" The female assailant's eye twitched in annoyance. She was just about to voice her reply to his question when an angry voice that Takashi recognized rang through their ears,

"Why don't pick on someone your own size, bitch?!" Ah, Karin, you never change. Takashi laughed in his head. The female assailant turned their head and their eyes widened when they saw Karin coming toward them with a fist ready to strike. They moved just in time not to get hit and Karin landed where they used to be.

"Dammit..." She cursed under her breath. Takashi managed to pull himself up and stood beside his teammate.

"Any ideas on how we're going to get this ninja?"

"We'll have to find her first. Once we do, we attack her, you using water style and me using earth style." Karin answered with a serious tone. Takashi found himself smiling, despite who he was next to. Seriously, man. That's the only thing about you that doesn't get on my nerves. The two jumped from the branch and landed with hardly a sound on the ground. Surprisingly, they found Ray fighting the mysterious attacker. He was throwing knives at her, but she was somehow always able to dodge them. Takashi took out a kunai and threw it as hard as he could at the female ninja. She dodged it by moving to the right, but didn't see the paper bomb attached to it until they looked over and noticed it. They jumped up just in time for the paper bomb to explode, sending fire and smoke some distance. They landed softly on the ground, just in time to have a ball of fire coming toward them, courtesy of Karin. They dodged it, but some of the fire caught their inner shin on their right leg. They felt the sting and burn of the wound and grimaced in pain. They're good, I'll admit that. But they're not good enough. She weaved some hand signs and spoke just above a whisper,

"Water Style: Water Missile Jutsu!" Just then, five bodies of water that were shaped like missiles headed toward the young ninja at incredible speeds.

"Takashi, do something, you dumbass!" Karin screamed. Oh, shut up. I know! Takashi hollered in his head. He weaved some signs and looked at the missiles directly with a defiant look in his eye.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" A large amount of water was suddenly acting as a wall from the missiles, protecting him and his teammates at the same time. Several moments later, the water fell down, creating large puddles on the forest floor. Takashi found himself panting a little. Then again, I haven't used this jutsu for a while. He didn't go on one knee and allow himself to recover further. Instead, he signaled to Ray to go ahead and get the assailant. Ray nodded and disappeared quickly, reappearing behind the female ninja. He put a knife to their throat and leaned in close. He whispered in their ear with a voice that spilled venom,

"Listen up. It's one thing to attack one of my teammates and beat the utter living crap out of them. It's another to attack both of them at the same time. I do not forgive my enemies easily. So, I'll give you a couple options. One; you hand over your scroll and walk away from this without another injury. Two; you resist and I kill you, and then I take your scroll. What's it going to be?"

"Go pick on someone your own skill level, you stinkin' kid."

"Alright. You've left me with no choice." A wicked smile danced its way onto his lips. The woman turned her head slightly and noticed it. A scared expression came onto her face and she began to struggle with all her might. Takashi came over and restrained her legs by wrapping his body around them, but not without getting kicked a few times in the gut and chest. He withheld a groan of pain and wrapped himself tighter around her legs to eliminate any chances of her running away and getting help. Ray took the knife away from her throat and stuck it straight in her back, right in the middle of it. The woman spasmed a bit before going limp. Takashi let go of her legs and rolled backwards a couple times just in time for the woman's corpse to fall forward with a thud. Ray looked at the corpse with no interest whatsoever. Takashi whistled for a few seconds before stopping and Karin showed up in less than fifteen seconds. The three ninja looked at the body carefully, as if examining an important document. Ray then knelt down and rummaged through the woman's pouch. He found what he was looking for not too long after and pulled it out. When he pulled it out, a curse was on his tongue and had to bite his lower lip just to keep it from escaping him.

"What?" Karin asked with a hint of concern and urgency.

"It's a damn Heaven scroll. We need an Earth scroll before we can get access to the tower." Ray replied angrily. Takashi took the scroll from him and realized what Ray had said. He threw it back to him and Ray caught it just before it hit him in the face. He then stood up and looked over at his teammates.

"Let's go."

"Right!" Then the three ninja dashed off, leaving the scene behind, searching for a ninja that hopefully had the Earth scroll that they were looking for.

Ray's team just survived an attack from a mysterious ninja. How are the other teams doing? Find out in the next chapter!