*Checks Name
Dam, sadly I am still not Masashi Kishimoto.
The forest of death is a thick forest with deadly animals, poisonous plants and ninja. These ninja will kill without a second thought. Any normal ninja would be sneaky around in such a place, hoping to catch another team unaware. The ninja would keep their scrolls hidden, not out in the open, attached to Shiro's side.
Kuro smiles at us, his tail twitching in anticipation of the fight to come. A team has been following us for a good chunk of time before we stopped in the clearing, leading them into a trap. Shiro leans against a tree and closes his eyes, feigning a rest break. Kuro doesn't even have the chance to drop his pack before a masculine voice speaks from behind me.
"Well look at what we stumbled across." A man chuckles from behind me. "Why it's just two little girls and a freak. Playing ninja are we?"
Shiro pretends the comment of him being a girl doesn't bother him, but I can see the irritation in his eyes. He smirks at the two shinobi who step out from the trees, the man remaining behind me.
"I'm a woman? My even then I'm still prettier than that woman you dare call a shinobi." He smiles at the female; the smug look on her face vanishes, replaced by one of pure malice.
"Why you little brat, how dare you!" She snarls before lunging at Shiro, only held back by her second teammate.
Shiro succeeded in pissing her off. Any moves or attacks she makes will be rash and thoughtless, giving Shiro an easier opponent to fight. Smart.
I start to snicker to myself. They are making one of the worst mistakes of their lives. Ninja should know to expect attacks from an unlikely source. These ninja are underestimating us and it might cost them their lives.
"What's so funny Red?" He steps in front of me. The man is muscular; no doubt he would be able to overpower me in a battle of strength. Maybe if I was to take him by surprise I could have a chance without needing to reveal my jutsu. I don't even twitch when he points a kunai at my throat. "Give us the scroll or we kill Red here."
Shiro pretends to consider his options before staring the man straight in the eyes. He shifts his attention to me and then Kuro, asking a silent question. Kuro and his partner's tails twitch in agitation at what Shiro is about to say.
"Kill her." Shiro answers, his voice cold before continuing. "She means nothing to us."
His answer takes my guard by surprise. This gives me the chance put some distance between us, my bladed fans drop out of my sleeves before I snap them open. My eyes dart to look at my teammates to see them already engaged in combat.
The grass ninja is upon me within seconds. I smile for his movements are bumbling as a result of his physique. I twirl around his left side, dragging a blade along his side, most catching on his shinobi chainmail. I complete the spin with a swift kick to his back before he could spin around.
His fist catches me in the stomach before I can make my retreat. I try to regain my breath and swipe across his face, not expecting the attack while I am winded.
He bellows in rage with blood running down his face. He wipes the blood from his eyes before he rips one of my fans from my grip, cutting his hand up in the process.
We glare at each other before he lunges, hands reaching toward my throat. I twist to the side, sending a punch into his side. He growls and tries to sweep my legs out from under me. I can only see hatred in his eyes. Hatred directed towards me.
"You're going to die Red!" He screams. I take that moment to snap my fan shut and smack him on the temple with the flat edge, causing the man to crumple.
I turn to see Kuro and Shiro tag team their duo, knocking them unconscious. Kuro gives me a large smile. His limping shows he received the only injury, a dislocated ankle.
"I landed on it wrong, nya." He explains as Shiro starts to heal the damage, not wanting our progress to the tower slowed.
"My guess is when you knocked the guy off his feet. He did jar your ankle." Shiro suggests, already in Medic mode.
I leave them to search for the Grass Ninja's scroll. I begin to look through my opponent's pouches but turn up nothing. I check the woman that Shiro fought, finding it tucked away in her kunai pouch.
"Is it a match?" Shiro asks without looking up from his friend's ankle.
"Yes, we just have to make it to the tower."
Shiro gets to his feet and pulls Kuro up. Aki twines herself around their legs. We set off, with Kuro telling me a complete recount of his fight, his voice full of excitement. I smile; glad the only injury was a dislocated ankle and not something worse.
strongemShiro's Point of View/em/strong
The woman stares me down, her eyes cold and filled with spite. She is aiming to unnerve me. I flash a smile at her, letting her know that whatever she may do she can't unnerve me. I've been teammates with Akuma and Kuro, both unnerving at times in their own rights. Nothing she might say or do could be any worse than the both of them.
To my left I hear Akuma start to snicker. She, no doubt, amused at how petty this woman is. I hear the man ask her what was so funny angrily. The man directs his attention to me and points his kunai at Akuma's neck.
"Give us the scroll or we kill red here."
I look at the man, pretending to contemplate my choices. Really there isn't one. I look at Kuro and then Akuma, asking them a silent question. I can tell what I am about to say really irritates Kuro by how much his tail is twitching.
"Kill her." I answer the man, my voice cold and filled with uncaring. "She means nothing to us."
I succeed in surprising the male, his kunai moving away from Akuma's throat. Leaf shinobi, to be soft, that they put their teammates above the mission. They thought since were are rookie genin we would be softer than the rest.
Akuma jumps backward before Kuro and I race toward our opponents. Out of the corner of my eye I see Kuro draw his katana, Aki racing at his heels. I dash around the woman's side, throwing a punch to the side of her head.
I feel it connect and the woman screams in rage. She spins around and jabs at me with her kunai viciously. I dodge backwards and take a quick glance at Kuro. He brings his leg under the man, causing him to fall on Kuro's foot. He rolls out of the way and get back to his feet before his adversary does.
The woman draws a jagged blade and charges at me. I catch a wink from Kuro and notice that Aki is about to trip the woman. She trips and stumbles, and I throw a kick into her stomach. Aki leaps, sinks her claws into her back and bites at her throat.
The female ninja shakes Aki off but not before she rips out a chunk of flesh from her neck. The kunoichi screams in fury and runs at me once again, blood pouring down her neck. She growls, draws her weapon and swipes at me in a heated frenzy with a jagged blade.
It is time to end this. Kuro's opponent is bloody from his sword. The woman I am facing should collapse before long from her bleeding neck. Kuro and I move until we are standing back to back, his sword sheathed.
The shinobi both charge at us, their own mistake. I grab the woman's arm, flip her over me . I let gravity bring her down hard onto her teammate who had just had just experienced the same treatment.
"Kuro, let me see your ankle." I demand once I see his limping. He just plops down on the ground with a sheepish smile.
We approach the tower with caution. Not knowing what nasty surprises the proctor, could have placed here. We notice seals on the doors to the tower, one having already broken.
Shiro and I look at Kuro, to see if he could tell us who was already here but he shrugs before speaking.
"I can't sense inside. The walls block out the signatures." He explains before pushing another door open, ripping the seal. I sigh, knowing someone was just notified of our presence here in the tower.
We see a quote, already familiar to us. Shiro opens the scrolls and places them on the ground, activating the summoning jutsu. With a puff of smoke, our sensei appears offering us a huge smile.
"I knew you guys could do it!" Moriko attacks each of us with a hug, suffocating and warm like a mother's. "I don't need to explain the heaven and earth thing. You guys already know it. Oh yea! The next exam begins in a few days. Please relax and enjoy the amenities the tower provides such as the hot spring."
"Yes Sensei." We chorus.
"Are any of you injured?" When we all show we're fine. Moriko continues with her tone happy. "You all make me proud to be your sensei and glad to have this opportunity."
"We won't let you down Moriko-sensei, nya!" Kuro almost yells. "Before we finish this we'll be chuunin!"
"I wish I had more time but I have to go. I'll see you guys soon." With that she gives us one last smile before vanishing again.
The three of us just look at each other before entering the tower. We find a room, plain with just three beds pushed together, and place all our things down.
Kuro yawns, likely time for his cat nap. He jumps into the middle bed with a sigh of contentment before starting to doze.
"You two should rest for a bit before we explore the tower." I suggest, to which Shiro nods, takes his vest off and climbs in another bed.
I walk to the small bathroom and turn on the shower. I hope to relax a bit before finding who we share this tower with for the next few days. I drop my scroll on the counter with a small sigh. I start removing my kimono before standing in the hot water. I enjoy the heat washing over my muscles, removing the tension.
When I finally step out, the water had long gone cold. I only pull on my scroll, shorts, boots and undershirt. I shake the water out of my hair but don't bother to put it back up. I reenter the room, greeted by a sight that I can't help but smile at. Kuro has scooted over until he had somehow weaseled under Shiro's arm to cuddle with him.
Shiro has no idea what is going on. I pull the blanket up around them, careful not to wake them before leaving the room. I come face to face with the red haired boy from the sand team a few feet from our door.
We stare at each other, no emotion flickers across our features. He turns and stalks away, not before a troubled look flashes through his eyes*.
I watch his retreating form before it gets swallowed up by the shadows. I spin on my heel, heading in the opposite direction before coming to a staircase. It spirals upwards until it reached the roof, a greenhouse filled with medicinal herbs.
I breathe in, enjoying the smell of earth and the foliage. I look around and find a small watering can, which I fill with water from a tap. A tiny, almost invisible smile spreads across my face. I'm glad to be doing something ordinary.
I sing a song almost inaudible. It is one of the few things I remember from my life before coming to Konoha. Watashi used to encourage me to sing, saying that music even in the worst of times could brighten a person up.
I missed the shadow that had slipped up the stairs after me. The person is watching me with his teal eyes from a dark corner.
We stare at each other, no emotion flickers across our features. He turns and stalks away, not before a troubled look flashes through his eyes*– A side effect of Kasumi's presence. Akuma gained the ability to identify a person's emotions through their eyes. Kuro jokes about her being able to see into someone's soul. If someone uses a jutsu to alter their eyes or only have one available, Akuma will not be able to read their emotions.
Hey how is everyone doing? *Crickets* Oh that's wonderful! I decided to make this chapter a tad bit longer as an apology for not updating. (I still don't have internet. Sad I know.) An average chapter is around 2,000 words and this one is words, not including header and footer. (I think the next chapter might be a little bit of filler since our team has a bit of time to kill. I might try to get Akuma to interact with the sand ninja. So I will try to develop the plot a little bit.) PLEASE GIVE ME FEED BACK!