Silence. Why is there no noise? I should be able to hear something. Am I dead, stuck in the vacuum of space? No, that's stupid. Just need to open my eyes, is all
OK, that didn't work. Everything is black, what the hell is happening! Was I drugged?
Hmm…
How long have I been knocked out for now? Feels like years, but that's stupid, I'm just bored. What happened to me? The memory gets harder and harder to remember. I was fighting another ninja. I was winning.
A nin could just barely be seen running along the forest floor. Signs of a recent rain were evident. Mud and leaf debris were caked on the shoes and pants of the nin. Feminine physique, below average height. Long oil spill colored hair, which looked black under the moonlight, was tussled around as she ran. Her long bangs stuck to the sides of her face and forehead. Muffled but heavy breathing under the mask she adorned was the only sound she made.
' shit shit shit shit' she thought to herself. Spotting a low hanging branch, the nin reached into a pocket with each hand, grabbing metal ninja wire. The branch was now quickly approaching the woman so she infused her chakra into the wire, giving them a new life. Pushing chakra into her own feet, she launched herself upwards, landing on her hands, the wire snaked around the tree and took grip.
She front flipped onto a higher branch and started backtracking from the direction she had been running from, a whirring noise following her.
" Where the hell did she go?" A large burly man said. He had pale skin, tinted red from his pursuit.
" My rock clones have eyes on her, Aku Sensei. We searched the two bodies from their original ambush. She managed to grab the secret scrolls before they got covered." The second person said, his voice was timid when compared to Aku Sensei.
" how long until we reach her then, eh? If you can't move any faster than that, Riku, we are screwed. How the hell did she survive that blast anyway? The others she came with got torn apart by the landslide." Aku barked. He did not know how to be quiet.
Aku's statement had Riku to picking up his pace, running through the forest, causing him to become short of breath when he next spoke.
" I can't be certain, but her attire may indicate she is from Konoha. It's also possible she is a member of their ANBU from the mask she and the others she was with wore. She has no memorable features, and we haven't been in direct contact. So we have no idea how she battles."
" Thanks, Captain obvious. But, that's not what-"
Aku stopped mid sentence when he made eye contact with the nin the two males were talking about. She had seemingly appeared out of thin air, only a few leaves falling indicated her movement.
She took this opportunity and headbutted the loud nin. The seemingly light tap sent Aku flying backwards into the nearest tree.
" i'm so glad you guys were able to keep track of me. I would've been devastated if we had gotten separated." She said slyly
"Oh?" Seeming to just noticed Aku semi lodged in a tree, she placed the palm of her hand and touched the mask covering her features. It cracked at the lightest touch of her fingertips.
'Ah crap.' She thought. Though the crude yet simple tactic wasn't her worst idea, the whole point of being in the ANBU was to be anonymous.
Rather than waste her energy trying to salvage it, she unclipped the mask from the band it was attached to and smashed it under her foot. Better that than to risk having a broken piece fall into her eye.
Meanwhile, Riku, who up to this point was still trying to catch his breath, spoke.
" If you do not return what has been stolen, you will face the same fate as your comrades! State your name and your mission and we may consider making your death a painless one!"
The now maskless nin looked up from her muddy feet, and locked eyes with Riku. Aku, at this point, was still dazed from the incident that broke the favorite part of her uniform.
"Who I am doesn't matter. Because you have seen my true face, you cannot be allowed to survive with that information."
Riku had brandished a long sword from his back and begin to charge at his enemy. Making signs with one hand, he called out, "Earth Style: Metamorphic rock!"
A Riku clone emerged from the brush, poofing into a pillow of smoke and dust. Riku ran into the release and when he reappeared a large mass of rock was now attached to the length of the sword he had just drawn.
Aku rose from the divet he had created and also charged at the maskless nin. He pulled out four kunai , two in each hand. Falling into line behind Riku, he pushed off the large branch they were all on. Intending to attack her from two points, this is a formation these two had commonly practiced back in their home village.
The branches in the surrounding area seem to engulf this area with a suffocating amount of leaves about to turn color with the season.
"My name is Redi, and you will treat me as such!"
She reached into her pockets with both hands at the same time and pressed a button in the center of two spools inside the slightly oversized pouches on both sides of her hips. As quick as she push the buttons, Redi released them.
The action put her out of the bull's-eye of the attackers. The previously placed wire on the branch acted as an anchor, ensuring Redi could get away without needed to use much effort. This method with something she often used when she was outnumbered.
Aku had not yet realized that his target had moved, and he slammed his hands and arms fist first into the tree branch where she was standing a mere second ago.
Riku had still not caught on, as some of the dust from his previous clone got into his eyes. Filled with tears, redo could not tell his sensei a part from his enemy.
"GIVE US BACK THE SCROLLS!" Riku screamed, slamming his blade down where he thought Redi was.