Trouble on the Horizon (GttS Phase II Stage 2)

[Tensei Kaori]

"Aijou! Look out!" Sumi heard a girl's voice scream as she floated upwards. She gathered her chakra and channeled it through her fans, increasing the amount of surface she could use to move the air. This next technique was intended to be her finishing move so she could get through this annoying boy - most likely a chuunin, she thought - and take down that pesky barrier of his. She brought her fans together to form one large fan and summoned up all her strength. "Ninpou!" she shouted. "Retsuretsu Shippuu*!" she swung the huge fan with all her might, calling up such a wind that it sent her flying backwards and back up into the air. The remains of the shattered wagon flew madly around and she was vaguely aware of people being tossed about from the force of her jutsu. She turned a pirouette in midflight and dropped to the ground on her feet. "Heh." She smirked as she returned her fans to their normal attack position, waiting in case of the unlikely event that she would need to attack anymore. "Too easy," she purred."

* * * * *

Ryoichi cursed as Sumi's hurricane ripped through the caravan. "Probably fighting a bishounen," he muttered sarcastically, then did a double take. Masazaku! "Oi, psycho!" he called. "You all right?" Not that he really cared, of course, about his comrade's well-being - they'd all be safer without him around, anyways - but it was one way to get an answer. But no answer came. Instead all he heard was mad cackling borne to his ears by the swirling winds.

Oh, crap.

* * * * *

"Teeheheheheheeee!" Masazaku had used the chaos created by Sumi's mini-hurricane to escape from Ryoichi - the man never let him have any fun - and seek out his next opponents. He settled on a spot a few wagons away from the one Sumi had torn apart with her fans just as the perfect gust of wind soared his way. "Thank you, Sumi-chaaan! <3" he muttered with a grin before charging up his chakra. Just a few simple hand seals, and the right drafts, and....

An echoing BOOM[/i] ripped through the area as Masazaku's jutsu ignited the air in the area in a huge explosion. A couple of the wagons caught on fire, and so did the shrapnel from Sumi's wagon - which landed in the nearby brush, generating more fire and a terrible amount of smoke. Masazaku cackled with glee. "Burn, burn, burn!" he sang as he pranced around, forming more hand seals. "Moubaku no Jutsu!" he sang, sending small flaming projectiles flying in random directions, exploding upon contact - he didn't even care where they went, as long as they caused damage.

* * * * *

Ryoichi sighed. There was nothing he could do about Masazaku now except hope they didn't get killed. Maybe he would ask Yasashiku to extinguish the fires once they finished off the last of the caravan. Maybe. Unsheathing his sword, he made his way to the head wagon - where, if this was in fact the traveling party Raikage-sama had told him it may be - his target would be.

* * * * *

Akina ran through the wagon train, not stopping, not noticing, not even caring about anything that went on around her. Her eyes were emerald fire and she moved with a furious determination no one had seen in her, even in the final battle to reclaim the Leaf. Shigekazu, her teammate as a Genin, thought to be missing in action. Thought to still be a member of the Leaf family. But here he was, aiding their enemies? Akina would get the truth from him one way or another - even if it meant killing her former comrade.

* * * * *

Shigekazu lounged uncaringly in a tree, waiting for the battle to be over with already. He wasn't to take part in this attack; keeping up his cover as missing-in-action was important. He was glad Ryoichi had ordered it; choosing to stand aside of his own will would have resulted in suspicion that he still cared about the pathetic fools he once thought of as family. The thought of his former Sensei as the Hokage had nearly made him burst out laughing; what was that village coming to?

Yawning, he leaned back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes. How unusual, for him to think that much. He was almost asleep when a familiar voice interrupted his lazy relaxation.

"Shigekazu!"

There she was. The girl - woman, now - he had had a crush on when they were Academy Students, and even loved as a Genin. She had hardly grown since he knew her, and she still had that flaming red hair - and from the look in her eyes, the fiery temper that overcame her when she was angry. Shigekazu just smiled. "Mmm." He held up a hand to her in a lazy wave. Without even blinking, the deadly beauty darted towards him in a focused attack, a kunai - poisoned, most likely - in her hand. He barely moved, just caught the offending hand by the wrist and pulled it over his shoulder in a painfully tight grip and held the other hand - also by the wrist - straight downwards. He could see her eyes tighten ever so slightly, the sign that his grip was doing its job. "Come, now," he said - one of the rare times he ever spoke - "Why so feisty? Aren't you glad to see an old friend?"

* * * * *

Tadako crouched in the nearby shrubs towards the front of the caravan, observing the group closely while Sumi Ane-san** took care of the white-haired ninja. It was too bad Ane-san would have to kill such a good-looking guy. Suddenly the group in the wagon's shattered fragments caught her attention. One of the people - a civilian, or so he seemed - was talking about ---- her eyes widened. Chakra, shinobi..... These brats were Genin! Let the ANBU and Jounin do their jobs....? ANBU? Those are....

"Too easy," she heard Sumi Ane-san say in that beautiful voice of hers, and Tadako knew it was safe to reveal herself. She removed herself from the prickly brush and half-ran to where Ane-san stood. "Ane-san! Ane-san!" she said as she approached. The older woman turned to face her, looking expectant. "I just heard them!" Tadako pointed to the group of Genin in the wagon. "They're all Genin in disguise! The shinobi we're fighting are ANBU and Jounin! It's them, Ane-san!"

* * * * *

ANBU.....?

Sumi began to chuckle, massaging her temple with her long fingers. "So that's why you didn't die so easily," she said, still laughing slightly. "I was beginning to wonder. Now, Mr. Elite Ninja-san, why don't you show me what you can really do? Tadako!"

"Yes!"

"Go. I'll take care of the people here. It seems we have company," she said, indicating a couple shinobi not far from where the former wagon had been.

"Yes!" the girl replied loyally, and away she dashed.

"What a good girl," Sumi remarked. "So obedient. So loyal. Now...." she looked the white-haired man up and down. "Where were we?"

* * * * *

The attack was going as planned. Somewhat. Sumi was shredding everything in sight with her razor wind, Masazaku was blowing things up, Tadako was listening for any clues as to the identity of the caravanners, Yasashiku was flooding the entire second half of the caravan - those wagons wouldn't be going anywhere for some time - and Shigekazu was remaining safely hidden while Ryoichi went to find the leader of the group. Soon would be Haru's turn to join in the fray and finish the job. But unbeknownst to his so-called comrades, Kawagiri Haru would not be taking part in the attack. He had his own orders, and it was time to carry them out. He turned and sped away from the caravan, heading towards the desert in the Wind country - and Hidden Sand Village.


*Retsuretsu Shippuu - Violent Hurricane
**Ane-san - respectful term for an older girl. While Sumi may be a little old to be referred to in this way, that's what Tadako calls her.

[JyouNoHaku]

Kirei turned swiftly on her heel just in time to see a former ninja from Sand cast a jutsu, "Ninpou!" she shouted. "Retsuretsu Shippuu!".

Oh no! I know what that is!!

She ran and hid herself behind a piece of debris that flew off of the wagon from before, but that did her no good. Within seconds it was torn up by the wind and Kirei had no choice but to use her jutsu, otherwise she would've been torn to pieces.

She raised her arms up in the air and then wraped them around herself, "Kamisori Kaze no jutsu!*" A fierce gust of wind formed around her creating a shield to protect herself from the sharp pieces flying towards her, cutting them up into smaller, harmless ones.

"Hmmm...she's rather good."

"Heh, too easy," she purred.

Oh, it was...was it?

[Hatake Hiroshi]

Aijou was hit with such a great force of wind, he went flying back several feet, landing hard on his back, rolling a few times before finally coming to a stop face down in the dirt.

Kohana nearly popped a blood vessel screaming so loud. Dropping her lightning barrier, she began to scramble towards her brother, fighting to stay upright in the strong gusts of wind. But then she realized she should stay put and protect her fellow genin, but when she turned back around to put the sheild up again, the wind had scattered everyone too far to do so.

Obviously the secret was out now that the entire caravan were all shinobi in disguise, so Kohana found it best to help her big brother out. Reaching Aijou's still body, she fell to her knees beside him. He had hit his head on a large root protruding from the ground, resulting in a rather bloody gash across his forehead.

"...Aijou...?!" Kohana whimpered, placing a hand on his back and shaking him. "Wake up..."

Tears streamed down her face. Aijou wasn't moving. But then...to her surprise, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Shhh!" he said wheezingly before Kohana could let out a squeal of joy. "I'm ok...I just got the air knocked out of me. Give me a minute..."

Kohana nodded slightly and looked up to see the beautiful attacker eyeing her big brother. Getting to her feet, she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Her eyes begen to spark wildly and turn from purple to a brilliant white light, and soon, bright purple lighting began to eminate from her eyes down to her fingertips and to her feet.

"You...." she began. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!!!!"


~*~*~*~*~*~

Ryuji ran around the caravan, outing fires that had been started from the first explosion, and became rather annoyed when they continued to pop up randomly just as soon as he had put them out.

Hearing an odd evil cackle from several feet away, he spun around to see the culprit. A tall, dark haired man had been starting them all up again using special fire and explosive jutsu.

Soo...You're the little pyromaniac who keeps starting fires...We can't have that! he thought, huffing loudly, his nostrils flaring.

"HEY! HeyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyHEY! Hey you!" he called out, brandishing his finger at the fire starter. Once he had gotten the nin's attention he continued. "The only one allowed to set fire to things around here...IS ME!" He finished as he pointed back at himself.

He then held one arm straight out in front palm forward, and pulled one back behind his head. "KAKI HOIPPU NO JUTSU*!" he shouted, then made a loud whipping noise between his teeth, and flung his arm towards his enemy. A whip of fire flew from his hand, whirring and twisting through the air. It made contact with the target, and wrapped tightly around his ankles.

With a quick and powerful yank back, the maniac's feet flew out from under him.


~*~*~*~*~*~

Haruki made his way towards the front of the caravan... towards the Hokage's wagon. He had spotted one of the enemies making his way there as well, and thought it would be a good idea to head him off. As he neared, he said under his breath. "CHAKURA KAPPARAU NO JUTSU!"

Coming upon the attacker, he grappled him and brought a knees up hard into his stomach. On contact, miniscule amounts of chakra began to drain from the enemy's body and into Haruki. All of this extra chakra would come in handy later on...

Kaki Hoippu no Jutsu - Fire Whip
Chakura Kapparau no Jutsu - Chakra Swipe

[SeraphMazrakiel]

The wagon had been completely torn apart, and Maz had been knocked about by the wind. He cursed at himself, and looked around at the chaos around. Attackers closing in from all sides... explosions, and Jounin taking on the attackers... Kohana standing over the ANBU. She let out a cry, "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!!"

...so, they were related. That was it. All that time... they were brother and sister. From the moment he met Kohana, he had this slight feeling towards her. An inherent dislike, which he finally got over. He didn't know what it was until that moment.

However, he didn't have time to care about who Aijou was: he tried to protect his sister, and the other Genin, Maz included. He was a Konoha shinobi, and he helped out. Plus, he knew Kohana. He had to help out the Yanagawa, if for her sake.

"Dammit... I need a weapon." His eyes showed a slight fear; without a sword, he felt vulnerable, and naked.

[Tensei Kaori]

Ryoichi sensed his attacker's presence, but only after it was too late. D***it, this brat's good, he thought angrily as he was pinned to the ground. He tried to get the man off him but only succeeded in rolling the both of them onto their sides. "Strong, aren't you?" he growled, regaining his wind. Almost there.....

* * * * *

Sumi turned to face the young girl, who was summoning up quite a large amount of chakra. Her eyes began glowing white and lightning crackled all around her.
"You...." she said threateningly. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!!!!" Chakra surged from the girl, and Sumi's eyes widened in surprised. A Genin? What kind of a Genin has that much chakra?

Sumi smirked, holding her fans out in front of her. "You're good for a Genin, little girl," she said in her sultry voice, "I'll acknowledge that much. But you're in over your head. Even if you succeed in pulling off that scary-looking jutsu of yours, that's it for you." She chuckled. "And it looks like your big Brother is finished too. How long can you last, hm?" She began charging her fans with chakra. "Shall we find out?"

* * * * *

Masazaku was having more fun than he could handle, lighting fires, lighting fires, setting off explosions - but why did they keep going out? Some party pooper keeps putting them out, I bet, he thought sourly. Suddenly he heard a voice that sounded like it was directed at him. "HEY! HeyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyheyHEY! Hey you!" Masazaku turned, irritated that he had to stop his fun to listen to this firey-haired spoilsport. "The only one allowed to set fire to things around here...IS ME!" the ninja told him, pointing to himself, and before Masazaku could do anything to shut the kid up, he found himself ripped into the air by a burning whip of fire.

Masazaku shrieked, partially from being pulled into the air, but mostly from the pain of the fire curled tightly around his ankles. Swallowing his pain, he pumped chakra into the flames, feeding their rage and directing them back towards his attacker. He used the opportunity to escape and land crouched on the ground. His ankles and clothes were both burned pretty badly - feeding the flames had only worsened his wounds - but he forced himself to stand. He had been burned before. He would deal with it the same way he had done so before.

"Pretty, pretty," he cackled. "Such a pretty jutsu. The fire whips, it curls, it flies!" he laughed madly before continuing. "Yes, it will be very fun fighting you, I think!" he giggled, and picked up a stone roughly the size of a grapefruit from the ground. He pumped chakra into it and sent it rolling towards his attacker. It came to a rest a couple feet away from the perplexed-looking ninja. "Boorubakudan*," he said with a childish expression of glee on his face, as the rock began to flash an angry bright red color, growing in intensity and frequency as it neared detonation.

* * * * *

Akina struggled against Shigekazu's iron grip. He had always been strong, but she had changed since they parted ways.

He was strong, but she was stronger.

Balling her right hand into a fist, she let the kunai in her left drop and used her foot to push against Shigekazu's stomach, forcing him back and ripping her hands out of his grip. His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't have time to react. She had always been faster.

Bringing her foot back down and swinging it up again, Akina delivered a swift upward kick to his chest and kept going until her leg was completely vertical and there was a rather nasty footprint on her former teammate's face. Then without stopping, she spun her leg back down and punched him hard in the gut with her right hand, sending him through the tree he had been leaning against and out on the other side amidst a shower of splinters. The tree cracked and groaned as its upper half began its fall to earth. Akina snatched the still airborne kunai with her left and sent it flying directly at his heart......then cursed.

At the last minute Shigekazu had grabbed a piece of wood and thrown it at the kunai, successfully blocking her attack. But that wasn't the only trick she had up her sleeve. "Ninpou!" She shouted. "Wan-Souzandu Niiduru!**" she made continuous throwing motions, sending Senbon needles - one thousand of them, exactly - flying at all angles towards Shigekazu. Some she used to deflect others, so they would come at him from all sides.

You won't escape me.

* * * * *

Kaori, in her Henge form, stepped out of the wagon to find an ANBU - Shingi Haruki, she remembered - grappling with the S-ranked former Grass shinobi on the ground. "Haruki!" she said calmly to him, seemingly ignoring the criminal. "I will handle this one. You're needed in the rear of the caravan; we seem to have a little flooding problem." Her voice was almost conversational; it conveyed none of the anxiety or tension she felt right now. She would remain in control, at least on the outside, for the sake of her people. "Go."



*Boorubakudan - Ball Bomb. Using a round object as a bomb, the user charges it with chakra, sends it to its target, and then detonates it. It can also be set to a chakra timer and left alone, though it's easier to disarm in this state.
**Wan-Sousandu-Niiduru - One thousand needles

[UchihaJyounochi]

While all the chaos was happening around them, Iro and the rest of the genin were stuck in what was left of their wagon, doing nothing. He listened as many of the genin in the wagon started making plans on what to do, all trying to take charge, or just do something in this mess. There was too much going on for Iro to truely understand... his senses were being bombarded. It feels like my head is going to explode! I wish all this noise would go away! Suddenly, before Iro had a chance to react, his entire world was spun out of control.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Iro's head stopped spinning, and he was finally able to regain his bearings, he found himself lying on the ground, separated from the rest of the genin. As he struggled to his feet, he tried to discern where exactly he was. After a few moments, he realized he was next to the cart where he had packed away all of his things, including his gear. He quickly scrambled to get all of his gear on. When he was done, he began to head off, to try and re-gather the group.

As he tried to sneak along, he could make out some of the destruction, fire everywhere, fueled by the intense amount of wind being produced. Soon, he saw Nadameru-sensei off in the distance. Great! he thought to himself, she should be able to help me fin the o...

As Iro continued to move closer to Nadameru, he noticed some, on the other side trying to do the same thing. It appeared to be a woman, and while he could not make out any details, he could tell by her posture, that she was getting ready to attack. Before he even knew what he was doing, Iro began to charge the woman getting ready to attack Nada-sensei.

Maybe now I'll finally be able to prove that the Kokoro clan isn't worthless. Maybe now I can prove that I'm not worthless!!

[Sorien]

Maz replied to Soriens ask. "Darn" He thought. He had little time to figure this one out, as an ear piercing trill met the already disturbed air: "Aijou! Look out!". He turned to finally see the lady. Too late. "Oh...this is gonna hurt." He expected the gust of wind to hit hard, it did so, sending him flying through the air. He kept his bearings as he cascaded in the air. "Not good." He thought; a nice chunk of sharp metal headed this way. He surged chakra throughout his body, and expelled it simulaneously. His body flooded with heat, the metal made contact: as liquid.

Not getting overconfident, he made sure he landed on his feet. He landed, narrowly missing a tree, and his feet slid as he dug the ball of his foot into the ground. Quickly catching his breath, and regaining control of the chakra in his body, having been summoned so quickly for use, he placed one arm on a tree for support. "So much for THAT plan" he thought, almost giggling at the predicament that faced them. "I always enjoyed a challenge" he continued on. "Now where are my comrades" he begun, scanning the surroundings. "Hmm...fire" he thought, casting an eye of the burning wagon. "Whoever did this clearly has no respect for his power..." He thought...cursing the perpetrator who made this mess.

[sufuma]

Yukio had no idea what was going on around him. One minute he had been asleep in the wagon, the next thing he knows it's being blown apart. and just as soon after he's being thrown through the air by a huge blast of wind.

It took Yukio a minute to regain himself once he landed. His body ached but he pushed those thoughts to the side "good thing i always carry a bag" he thought as he raised his arm holding a bag. It contained his four band along with his basic blacksmith tools. He attached his four band to their respective limbs, as they contained his four blades. Yukio knew he shouldn't use them, but he didn't want to be without them, just in case. Once they were attached he began to look for his teammates.

[Sergeant Tenny]

Something inside Masato suddenly snapped as he saw the wind using missing-nin's intention to attack Kohana. "Everyone, listen, we need to do something! I know we're only Genin, but we still have the power of our numbers, and our individual talents. Adarakis-san, I don't know if this sword is up to your standards or not, but take it, at least it's a weapon," he said, handing his katana to Maz and strapping his pair of ninja-to to his back. "So... I don't know all of your abilities, but Me-san, you're obviously a fuuton user. Would it be possible for you to lay down a distraction with the debris of the wagon? I can't close the distance myself without getting hit. Anyone else, other than Sorien, a ranged attacker?"

[SeraphMazrakiel]

A sword!

Maz placed his hand on the hilt of the blade. All of a sudden, he felt his shoulders lighten up; a great fear lifted off of him. His breathing slowed down as he felt strength pour from the handle of the sword. Smiling, he fervently swung the blade from its sheath -- the blade hummed proudly. Mazrakiel cast his eyes over the sharpness of the blade; it was well-crafted. He didn't feel so vulnerable anymore, he felt strong.

He stood up, grinning -- his eyes reflecting the vigor running through his body. Masato had given Mazrakiel a strength, a will to fight; "Yes... this feels much better... thanks," he said, almost with a demonic fervour. Sword in hand, he calmly walked over to Masato, and stood next to him, ready for battle.

[Sorien]

Peering through the flames Sorien finally located some of his allies, Masato and Mazrakiel. He wasted no time darting over to their sides. Masato handed Maz an extra sword he had. Great, Maz is armed, thats one thing out of the way. "So... I don't know all of your abilities, but Me-san, you're obviously a fuuton user. Would it be possible for you to lay down a distraction with the debris of the wagon? I can't close the distance myself without getting hit. Anyone else, other than Sorien, a ranged attacker?". "Ok...planning again...this helps, but with what happened last time" Soriens thoughts begun again. "Ok Masato, make it quick...we don't want to be caught off guard again. Can you point everyone out who is lost? Where's Iro? Byakugan if you would." Sorien tried his best to keep the speed of his voice slower than the speed of the thoughts going through his head.

[JyouNoHaku]

"So... I don't know all of your abilities, but Me-san, you're obviously a fuuton user. Would it be possible for you to lay down a distraction with the debris of the wagon?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem. Just let me know when you want the distraction."

Kirei was a little bit scared that she would mess up but this person seemed to have faith in her.

"I'll do anything I can to protect our village!"

[Hatake Hiroshi]

Haruki wrestled with his opponent, continuing to suck small amounts of chakra from him.

Strong, aren't you? the enemy growled at him.

The fight would have continued on until all of the foe's chakra was gone, but Hokage-sama stopped it. Stepping from her wagon in her Henge form, she called out to them calmly.

Haruki! she said. I will handle this one. You're needed in the rear of the caravan; we seem to have a little flooding problem....Go!

Haruki flipped his silvery hair from his eyes then smirked deviously at his former opponent before sprinting off to the back of the caravan. One of the attackers was flooding the rear wagons, rendering them all immobile.

After stopping for a quick moment to think about how to stop the water nin, Haruki gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and charged, aiming his first kick at the enemy's back.


~*~*~*~*~*~


You're good for a Genin, little girl... the lavish enemy said snobbishly in a lurid voice. I'll acknowledge that much. But you're in over your head. Even if you succeed in pulling off that scary-looking jutsu of yours, that's it for you.

Chuckling, she continued. And it looks like your big Brother is finished too. How long can you last, hm? Shall we find out? She began charging her fans with chakra.

Kohana had had enough. She slowly began bringing her hands up high above her head, charging up with almost all she had.

Aijou lifted his head slightly to see what was going on. Seeing his younger sister glowing, his eyes widened. It...It couldn't be...No! It's impossible! The only one that knows that jutsu...is...her...

"RAKURAI TOORIAME!!*" Kohana shouted, her voice echoing. And with a snap of her fingers, hundreds of bright white bolts of lightning showered down from the sky, destroying nearly anything in their path.

~*~*~*~*~*~


Ryuji watched as his opponent fell flat on his butt and couldn't help but laugh. "That's what you get for ruining all the wagons!" he said under his breath to himself.

Pretty, pretty... Ryuji's batty adversary cackled. Such a pretty jutsu. The fire whips, it curls, it flies! Yes, it will be very fun fighting you, I think! he said as he picked up a rather large rock.

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head to one side in sheer confusion as to what this pyromaniac was doing with that rock. He watched as the adversary rolled the rock towards him, and snapping out of his daze, noticed it glowing bright red, flashing, faster and faster as it sat there in front of him.

"HOLY CRAP! BOMB!" Ryuji shrieked, frantically dancing around the glowing stone. Quickly, he cupped his hands over the rock bomb and began concentrating chakra into his hands. "ShoukakiShoukakiShoukakiShoukai*!!" he chanted, in hopes that his fire extinguishing jutsu would outen the fire just as the explosion occurs. Soon enough, the rock exploded, but luckily, Ryuji got it...Instead, it erupted into a giant puff of black smoke and a couple of flames.

Coughing hard, Ryuji popped up, leapt forward, and threw his arms up in the air. "BOO-YAH!" he hollered. "Take that you loony missing ninny-poo! WAAHAHAHAHAA!!" He then commenced doing a small victory dance. He had quelled the explosion, and succeeded in probably making his psychotic new friend rather angry.


OoC:
Rakurai Tooriame - Shower of Lightning Bolts
Shoukaki - Fire Extinguisher

[chuwawa]

"Try to find some cover," she'd said. Kiyo's mind whirled. "She sure has changed," he thought to himself, before finally getting up. Looking around, he saw that amazing warriors fought all around him.

At one end, a man was flung through the air by a raging whip of fire, only to turn a rock into an actual bomb! And then there was some strange girl he'd never seen before in his life causing lightning to rain down on the earth! "What the Heck have I gotten myself into?!" he wondered, hiding by a tree. "I'll be safe here," he thought, but this was of course folly, as a bolt of lightning came his way, ripping the tree to shreds. Kiyo freaked, doing several backflips to get out of the way. Thoughts like, "I"M GONNA DIE!" raged through his mind.

After recomposing himself in safety, he saw that the strange woman with the fan had her back to him, preparing for yet another attack. "Hmm...I know she's causing all of this damage, but...she's a woman! I don't want to hurt a woman!" Instantly a memory of Grams flashed through his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was 11, then. "So, Kiyo, why won't you fight me?" she'd asked, her voice cracking with every other syllable. "Well, Grams...you're...you're...you're a girl! I can't hit a girl!" WHAM. He was on the floor, his nose busted. Gram sighed, swinging her heavy boots back from his face, "That's too bad. It's nice to be polite, but some girls ain't so nice, Kiyo. You've got to get rough with some of em."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiyo shook his head. Sometimes Grams was too crazy, even for him. "I...," he shook his head, finally coming to his senses, "Alright Grams! But don't strike me down if I do it!" Taking out his staff, he readied himself for attack again, "RISUNINGU NO JUTSU!" In a flash the world's colors became inverted, and all of the sounds in the surrounding area came alive again. In the distance he heard what sounded like a woman throwing thousands of needles at someone. And then-

BOOM!

The wagons erupted in flames all around him. The explosion was almost deafening, made worse so by his risuningu. "Alright. I can't let this go any longer!" he shouted, "STOP!" Running towards her, he felt the winds rip past him. Upon reaching the strange woman with the fan, Kiyo raised his staff, sending it crashing down towards the back of her skull.

"Forgive me Grams."

[Kiri]

Relieved to see the Aijou back on his feet, Nada watched the battle ensue. Sensing familiar chakra amid the chaos, she turned to see Iro barreling straight in her direction. No--not in her direction. His aim was something else. Confused, she opened her mouth to shout to him, when she heard a voice yell, "STOP!"

That voice. That was the boy from before. Turning quickly, she saw him heading straight for the female ninja with the fan. A cold sensation flooded over her, but she came to her senses quickly. She had to stop him, or else Sumi would kill him for certain.

Forgetting all else, Nada burst into a sprint and headed straight for Kiyoshi. Avoiding Aijou and Sumi, she reached Kiyo just in time to catch the staff he had sent hurtling downwards not a moment ago. Locking an arm around him, she made a swift retreat into the nearby foliage. Hopefully, the fuiton user was too preoccupied with Aijou to be bothered by them.

Releasing Kiyoshi a little roughly, she scowled. "What do you think you're doing!?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice quiet.