Friday, April 4, 2008

   The Moment You All Have Been Waiting For....The Rest of Chapter 2!!!!!!

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Introduction

Hello, I'm Dee, Pickle, Struddle whatever you feel like calling me. I like to draw,plot world domination, write, plot world domination, you know nothing unusual. Okay, so mabye I'm a freak, but I am NOT short understood? Good. I also like plotting world domanation, did I already mention that? No? Well I'll tell you again I WILL RULE THE WORLD!!!![insert evil laugh here]

~Update~

This was great.
�.
No, it was more than that. It was just fan-freakin-tastic. She could feel a migraine coming on as the thought ran through her mind again.
�You mean to tell me that you lost him?� she groaned, �How in the world did you manage to do that?� She thought it was impossible to lose such the arrogant team mate, without trying, none the less.
He simply nodded and looked back at his irritated female comrade with a shameful glance, �Yes. When I couldn�t hear his footsteps behind me I began to wonder, and when I turned to see where he was he was�gone.�
Figures�he had always been the type to vanish during a mission.
She mentally cursed her moronic team mate for disappearing in the middle of a B-Ranked mission. �Osamu-san, is there anyway you may be able to rewire the headset to where we could connect to another team?�
�Most likely, I would have to figure out how to adjust the channels, probably rearrange a few wires, and --�
�Alright, whatever, let�s find Katsuo, and get out of here� she tossed him the headset that she had and leaned up against the trunk of the tree. All she could do is hope that Katsuo had meet up with another team and decided to tag along. He might be a moron, but he wouldn�t allow himself to get lost or killed�she hoped. She assumed the other team had gotten their scrolls too and had all met up by now.
There was a silence between the two comrades as he disassembled the headset and thought of a plan of action.
�Daikirai, I didn�t want to say it earlier but�when Katsuo and I were walking I felt a strong amount of chakra present,� he went quiet for a second as if he was unsure of how to explain the rest, �I know it wasn�t Katsuo, it was much stronger than his.� Osamu let out sigh as his stubby fingers fiddled with the different colored plastic that covered the copper wires.
�Do you think it might have been another team?�
�No, it seemed to be just one person.�
�A sensei perhaps?� She threw out another possibility, suppressing the real thought from her mind.
�No, my kekkei genkai wouldn�t have reacted so strange if it was�. This wasn�t anyone I knew.�
She didn�t want to even think about the idea that had filled her head but she couldn�t hold it in. �Do you think he was killed?� Daikirai�s voice went low as she mumbled her question. Osamu quit tinkering with the headset for a second.
�I don�t think so. Whoever or whatever was following us vanished as soon as soon as he came. It�s highly unlikely that Katsuo was killed in that quickly.� He went silent again and removed another wire only to place it in a different spot. A spark flew up in the air when the copper wire found another electric current.
Daikirai gnawed over the idea of someone else being in such a creepy place. The Forest of Death did indeed hold true to the name. An uncountable amount of people died crossing through it, those who have lived came out insane or mute about their experience. It was a shortcut though, and somehow in her mind at the time, it had been a wise choice for a path to follow.
She began to question about the possibility that the other teams might be dead. How could she forgive herself then? Out of ten people who enter the Forest of Death seven don�t return. What was the possibility that out of the four teams who entered that all twelve people would come back safe and sound with that kind of survival ratio?
�Daikirai?� Osamu called her back to reality and handed her the headset, �All you have to do is move the volume knob and it�ll change the channels,� he stated using his index finger to push his circular glasses back up.
She placed it on her head and presses the headphone against her ear as she fumbled with the knob. With a slight twist she heard a faint voice; slowly she moved it in till it came loud and clear. It was none other than Hiroshi of Team 3.
�Team 3 can you read me?�
There was a pause before a fuzzy response finally came over, �Daikirai, is that you?�
�Yes, I need to talk to Kuroneko immediately,� she sighed. At least she reached someone.
�What? Am I not cool enough to talk to?� He asked in an all too serious tone.
�No, you�re not. Let me talk to Kuro,� Daikirai responded, equally serious. She listened to the sound of static before she heard a loud girlish screech and the sound of the headset hitting the ground with a crash.
�What was that for?!� Hiroshi�s voice seemed more distant now, and defiantly more panicked.
�That was for taking my pockey earlier!� It was Kuroneko, her voice also faint. �Who are you talking to anyway?� Her voice was now getting louder; she must be nearing their headset. Daikirai could hear someone moving the hands across the microphone.
�Ello?� Kuro�s voice now clear.
�What did you do to him?� Daikirai questioned her friend about the sudden scream, adding a slight chuckle.
�He took my pockey earlier. So I tackled him from behind.�
�He screams like a girl,� She smirked.
�I know!� Kuro laughed, �You should�ve seen his face! Let me tell you, that was a Kodak moment! So, what�s up?�
�Well, you know Katsuo, that baka, well�.he�s gone. And we don�t know where he is.�
�We haven�t seen him, though he might be with Team 2, which we think we�ve found. If we see him we�ll contact you.�
�Thanks. But one more thing,� Daikirai paused for a second, �Have you noticed anything strange?�
�Other than Hiroshi and Kenji?� Kuroneko chuckled, �No, I haven�t.�.Why?�
Osamu cringed and held his head in his hands, his body began shaking, this only meant one thing�his kekki genkai was sensing another presence. She gritted her teeth together. Not now!
�Dai?!� Kuro yelled alarmed at her friend�s abrupt silence.
�Keep alert. We�re not alone.� With that she clicked the headset off and kneeled down to her team mate.
�Is it the same one from before?� she asked. He merely nodded. Whoever�whatever it was had to be strong. Never had she seen Osamu�s kekki genkai react so violently. Daikirai placed a hand on his shoulder, �Are they close?�
�Yes. They must be only a few yards away now,� his voice shook as he sputtered out the words.
�Come on. We have to get out of the open.�
Osamu stood on his trembling legs. He couldn�t even control his kekkei genkai long enough to stop shaking. This was probably an S-Class criminal that they were dealing with. Someone way out of there league.
Running was there only choice now.
XlX

�Man�.I have a bad feeling that Dai�s in trouble�� Kuroneko muttered as she placed their team�s scroll in her bag.
�This is coming from the damsel in distress herself?� Kenji curtly chuckled remembering the many times that Kuroneko had been kidnapped on pervious missions.
�Ooooh burn!� Hiroshi laughed and stuck his tongue out at Kuro, whom, in return pelted him with a nearby pebble. He rubbed his head, ruffling up his short brown hair again, �C�mon, you have to admit that you have a lack of gut feeling sometimes.�
�Yea, you can�t tell the difference between a �bad feeling� and a bad bowel of ramen,� her blond headed team mate stated, which made him receive a rather large pebble hitting him between the eyes.
�Alright, alright! Today isn�t Make-Fun-Of-Kuroneko Day��
�Yea, it�s tomorrow,� Hiroshi interrupted.
She glared at him and continued, �As I was saying, let�s drop the insults and meet up with Misora�s team. Perhaps Aki and her team have met up with them.�
Hiroshi and Kenji nodded obediently (for once) and began to hike through one of the few clear paths were previous ninjas have walked before. Hiroshi ran up to be beside of Kuroneko, and Kenji gradually found himself strolling behind them. Kenji was the first to notice how alert Kuroneko was. Sometimes she could be oblivious to slight signs, but now it was almost as if she was expecting something to happen. If either one of them stepped on a twig or the leaves rustled from a gust of wind, her right hand would twitch, preparing to pull out her kunai. There was something that was on her mind that was that was frying her very nerves. Kuroneko had always presented herself as a brave one, allowing no fear to ever conquer her courageous image, but Kenji knew that her valor had been beaten down by whatever it was the was haunting her thoughts. Hiroshi didn�t even seem to notice her strange behavior, but instead continued on his little stroll to what he acted like was the �beautiful countryside�.
The trees up ahead had began to close in on the path, like two walls coming together to create a dead end and a death trap for the prey of its unexpecting victims.
�So, what now? No, Team 1 or Team 2 to be seen,� Hiroshi sighed. All he wanted was to finish this mission and get home. He was tired of always worrying of whether if every breath Kuroneko took, would be her last. As much as he was afraid to confess it to her, he did have to admit that if it came to the choice of his life or hers, he would gladly give his up. As long as she was safe. That was his only concern.
He looked to Kuro, expecting an answer of some sort, but she stood frozen staring at one of the trees that branched out above her. Her blue eyes narrowed, glaring past her red tipped black bangs. Kuroneko had sighted her target and had locked in on it. Kenji noticed his comrade�s sudden stillness and slowly reached for his sharpen kunai knife preparing for an attack by an enemy ninja.
There was a deadly silence that filled the air. The tension before battle made it hard to move, let alone breath. The team just stiffly stood there, allowing there survival instinct to take over there senses. Adrenaline pumped through veins, like the very oxygen that filled there chest. None of them were moving yet there body was preparing to take off at a speed that could make the muscles tear and rip out of there skin.
Every single one of his there senses were pushed to there full extent to discover the enemy before it was to late. Only then could Hiroshi see a small twitch of movement in the leaves above Kuroneko; he too had a lock on her target, and saw what he had missed before. But of course as he stared at mark, he missed the real threat.
�
�HUMAN-SHIELD JUTSU!!!� Kuroneko, his so-called team mate and what he thought was a �friend�, grabbed his forearms and held him in front of her, clutching him tightly. He yelped at the sudden unexpected closeness of his crush, he could feel the blood rushing to his face, but the words she shouted ran through his mind only to come back and hit him with a slap of realization. Human-shield jutsu�the words slowly seeped in as he saw the blur, better know as Misora, mid-air in a tackle. There was no way to run, he had to take it. They tumbled to the ground, twigs and rock stabbing them.
Kenji stared at the mangled bodies and his pervert mind began coming up with thoughts before he could even really acknowledged what happened, �What? I wasn�t invited into the threesome?�
�
Okay, perhaps that should have remained a thought. Kenji winced, squeezing his eyes shut. He placed his hands together and began to pray.
�Please, save me from Misora�s and Kuro�s wrath! Please!!!!� Kenji braced himself for an attack, expecting and overwhelming amount of pain to be inflicted on his body, but yet, nothing happened. There was just�.silence.
Now that scared him.
Perhaps he died, he reasoned, and they just made it quick and painless. He paused; they were mad at him, now why would they take the fun out and just simply kill him? They were probably going to try to torture him with such an odd silence. He gulped, this was the moment of truth; was he dead or alive?
He slowed opened one eyelid, to see Misora looking at him with a glare that could melt steel. He opened the other, to see Kuroneko holding the same gaze.
�I�m in hell aren�t I?� he squeaked.
Misora cracked her knuckles, �Not quite. But soon, Kenji, you will be.�
He swallowed the yelp that wanted to escape and instead screamed, �But I�m too sexy to die!!�
Misora and Kuroneko didn�t laugh, nor did they hardly noticed his comment. They had apparently heard something else that was out of sync. The black haired girl tilted her head in concentration, listening for the sound again. Her red headed team mate, Ryuu, lifted his kunai and moved in front of her. Misora stared puzzled at his actions towards her.
�Keep quiet and stay behind me.� He whispered sternly to her. It was a rarity for him to care about anyone but himself and his survival.
Katsurou had the same confused stare that his female team mate had. �What happened to, every man for himself?� He thought to himself adding a chuckle mentally. An evil idea suddenly swept over him�..He got it now.
�False alarm I guess,� Kuro shrugged giving up on hearing the sound again. Ryuu lowered his kunai and placed it in his pouch and walked off, lowering his head. Katsurou smirked and followed after him.
�Soooo, what happened to the safe-yourself-and-care-about-the-others-later attitude?�
Ryuu didn�t answer, and just stared at the ground with great interest, �You like Misora don�t you?�
His head shot up, his face matched his hair color.
�I ssssoooo knew it!!!!!!� He did a small victory dance because he had pieced the puzzle together and got a great picture. Ryuu actually had feelings for someone! Now that was just too good to be true! �I should go spread the word! Ryuu has hormones!!!!�
Ryuu snatched his neck and dug his fingers into his team mate�s throat.
�Don�t.You.Dare.Say.A.Word.To.Misora,� he hissed. Katsurou shook his head and waved his hands in front of himself defensively. Ryuu released him.
Katsurou smiled and rubbed his throat, �I would never tell her�.I�ll tell Kuroneko to tell her for me!� And with that he took off running towards the blue eyed friend of Misora�s.
�Kuroneko!� he yelled to get her attention as he neared her. But he didn�t run fast enough. The white haired boy was soon tackled to the ground and skidding to a stop. Ryuu and Katsurou halted at Misora�s feet. Ryuu had put his hand over his teammate�s mouth and stared up at his crush. Katsurou mumbled something that was muffled by his team mate�s hand. Misora looked down at the two and raised a curious eyebrow,
�He�s just being a baka,� Ryuu growled and slapped him upside the head. Kuroneko looked to Misora, who stared back just as confused. �I swear that I will skin you alive if you mutter another word,� he murmured to Katsurou, �then I�ll hurt you.�
The white hair boy nodded quickly, wanting to be released from his grip.
�You all are such pathetic morons. I will be doing humanity a favor when I purge the world of such stupidity and kill you all.� A boy with red eyes glared down from his branch that he was standing on. Bloodlust radiated and swirled around in his eyes the storms of Jupiter. His teeth were filed to a sharp point and had a tint of red to them. Rumor has it that he sometimes will eat his victims�alive�.just to feel them squirm. But that was mere academy gossip, and the truth of that was probably the same as saying that the sky is a bright lime green and the clouds are a pink neon color.
Aki of the Sand stood in a limb above him with her arms crossed staring down at her friends and at her gruesome team mate.
�How come I always get the freaks?� She mumbled as she felt another weight on her branch. Takeshi was at least half way normal compared to her other team mate. True, he wanted to kill of all living beings on the Earth and become the single most ruler of it, but, what were his bad points?
�Aki-ccchhhhaaannn,� Kichirou whined, desiring her attention.
�Stab me please,� she murmured to herself. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, �What?!� She growled at him annoyed.
�Nothing. I just love the sound of your name, just like I love you, Aki-chan.�
Okay, the sappiness was suffocating her every will to live. If it weren�t for the rule stating that stripping the hide off your teammate and leaving the carcass for the animals to feed off of was wrong, she would have already done it. She peered through her bangs to quickly catch Kichirou leaning in for a kiss. Without even thinking she punched him in the jaw and down he fell.
Ow. He hit a limb, but his body continued spiraling downwards. Oh, he hit another! And another�. His body finally stopped as hit the hard ground with a load thud. Katsurou winced, that will feel so good when it stopped hurting.
�Love hurts,� the limp body on the ground groaned. Aki smirked. Well, at least he wouldn�t be declaring his love to her for a little while. She jumped down from her limb and landed on her love sick team mate, he grunted as the wind was knocked out of him once more. Aki didn�t even bother to glance back or even ask if he was okay, she just continued walking.
�What Aki? Do you not even care about your so called �friends� enough to even inform them about the group of sound ninjas heading this way? And I thought I was the heartless one,� Takeshi curtly snorted and crossed his arms.
�Go die, buta,� she growled.
�Sound ninja?� Kuroneko and Misora asked in unison, tilting their heads in the opposite direction of one another. Aki nodded sharply.
�I have a feeling that they�re already here though.�
XlX
He was still shaking.
She could hear his breathing become quicker as he tried to put more oxygen into his blood stream. His chakra was draining. She didn�t need his kekkei genkai to know that.
They had been hiding in a tree limb for at least an hour, she assumed. The overwhelming fear had died down. Adrenaline quit pumping and her eyes stopped darting around. It was the mere fact that Osamu continued to quake that kept her alert.
A limb snapped above her.
Daikirai ceased breathing. She didn�t want to look up. She didn�t want to see her enemy. She didn�t want to fight. All she wanted was to make it out alive now. Her black eyes slowly moved to the corner to look at Osamu.
He laid almost lifeless, his chest faintly moved up and down. His chakra must have bottomed out from using to much energy from his kekki genkai. Lovely, she thought, now my team mate is unconscious and my other one is probably dead somewhere. Her body refused to move, no matter how much she wanted to. She was frozen to her spot and standing in an uncomfortable silence with her enemy looming above her.
A shadow casted over the cloak of the night; the anticipation of the attack smothered her. Her choice was clear.
It was now or never.
XIX

Aki�s words were nearly caught off by a loud ear drum piercing shrill. The teams covered the ears and winced. But there hands didn�t even seem to muffle sharp note, just the sound of each others voices. They stared at one another baffled, unsure of there next move. If they removed there hands the sound would probably rupture there ear drums, so they couldn�t reach for a weapon or do any hand signs. Communication was knocked off by the loud trill that consumed any other noise. There was no way out of this one.
Kuroneko�s vision was going blurry as the sound began to take affect on the mind, Misora�s body wavered and she stumbled a bit, and Ryuu�s knees hit the ground. His head felt like a drill was going into his skull. He couldn�t think up a plan in such conditions. The ways out only had larger consequences to follow. Akired eyes scanned the forest for the source of the noise to eliminate. The culprit was spotted among the trees as the man stepped forward. A piccolo was being played at a C# and destroying there sense of perception. She lowered her hand and grabbed a kunai quickly and threw it at the sound nin playing it.
Perhaps this wasn�t the wisest decision. The kunai did indeed splinter the woodwind, but she could feel a sharp execrating pain from where she removed her hand. She ran her hand up to her ear and felt a warm liquid trickling down her cheek.
It was blood. Aki shuddered a bit. This would dilute her senses and probably warp her mind, she realized after her rash choice.
�Aki-chan?� Kichirou whimpered. She slumped down and covered her ear. It hurt more than anything she had ever felt. Blood began to leak from her cupped hand and ooze down her arm.
�Is that all you all got?� the piccolo player scoffed. �You all are a waste of my time. I�ll just kill you all, right here, right now!�
Misora and Kuroneko scowled, �Kunai storm attack!� They each threw a single kunai at the man.
He merely laughed and raised his own kunai to block theirs. �Just two?� he mocked as they closed distance on him. The knives seemed to have multiplied in midair as ten separated from what he thought was just one. It was a clever mini-genjustsu that the duo had thought up one bored day at the academy. But of course, when Aki joined the group, there became a second part.
The man glanced down from his death as he felt something lightly grazing his body and going up around his waist. It was sand that was creeping over him and constricting his legs. He looked at the purple haired girl that he had injured earlier. Her hand was sprawled out in front of her as she controlled the granules of weathered rock. Blood dripped off her fingertips and down the side of her face. The sound ninja then turned his head to look back at the two black haired girls whom seemed to be halfway smirking.
�This battle,� one began to say as she ran a finger up the blade of her sword.
�Will be your last,� the blue eyed girl finished.
He saw the kunai nearly touching his face and the sand was wrapping tighter around him. He closed his eyes tight. And for that last second, he wondered how Oorochimaru would feel when he found out that he was killed by one of the chunin he was suppose to capture.
Oh, well, at least he wasn�t the only one sent.
His cringe began to smooth out into a lopsided sneer as he remembered another detail of the plan. He let out a chuckle before a kunai hit his throat.
�
They might have won the battle, but the real war had yet to begun.
XlX

She screamed at the top of her lungs again. �Which one of you idiots are going to help me?!?!� She yelled at them as she touched her ear again. Kuroneko began to sit down to heal her friend, only to be tackled by the injured sand ninja�s fan boy.
�Nooooo,� he protested, �Let me safe her, and then it will be like the fairytales,� Kichirou sighed and nuzzled his intertwined hands that his cheek rested on. �Then she will fall madly in love with me, we�ll get married, and live happily ever after.� He paused soaking in the new fantasy.
Aki twitched, �Never mind. Let me go deaf, let me die, just don�t let him touch me!� She scurried away from her love struck team mate. Kichirou glomped her,
�No, let me heal you, my love!�
�No! I�ll die first!�
�No, I don�t want my fianc� to die!�
�What?! What did you just say?!�
�Let him heal you, Aki. Or I�ll finish you off in the most painful way that I can think of,� Takeshi growled, tired of the squabble.
Aki grumbled something about a fate worse than death as Kichirou inspected her ear.
�This might sting a little, honey,� he whispered as his hands lit up. A bluish aura surrounded them. Aki remained quiet as he placed them over her ears.
She cringed. He didn�t lie when he said it would sting, at least. In fact that was a vague statement compared to what she felt. Aki could feel the pain of a thousand needles piercing her skin all over her body.
The pain stopped and she saw Kichirou staring back at her, �So do you feel lightheaded? Are there any butterflies in your stomach? Do you feel any desire to kiss me?�
She glared at her savior, �No, but I feel like killing you. Does that count?�
His lower lip curled and his shoulders sunk. There went plan number 678,756 and it failed�just like all the others. She still didn�t love him. �I�m going to go sulk,� he huffed and walked to a near by tree to cry.
�Hey, Aki, didn�t you say that you saw a group of sound ninjas?� Katsurou asked ignoring the emotional team mate that passed him, �Wouldn�t that mean that there should have been more than one attacking?�
�Perhaps they are going to try to wear us out by fighting them one by one,� Ryuu suggested.
Hiroshi nodded in agreement. �We really need to get out of here. We�re just setting ourselves up for a death trap.�
�But shouldn�t we try to find Team 4?� Misora inquired, remembering that she hadn�t seen Daikirai�s team since the beginning of the mission.
�They�ll be fine on there own,� Ryuu grunted, reverting back to his normal personality.
�What do you think Kuroneko?� Misora looked to her friend for a decision.
�I�m not sure�.Dai would want us to go on, but�.� She trailed off recalling the last conversation she had with her, �Perhaps we should try to find her.�
Ryuu crossed his arms and frowned, �And put three other teams in danger?�
Kuro bit her lip, �I guess your right. We�ll get out of here and if we find them, good, if not, then hopefully they will catch up,� she muttered hesitantly.
The others nodded in agreement and gathered up their stuff.
�Look at them,� a voice high up in the trees above them mumbled, �So unaware, so na�ve, wouldn�t you agree?� The man�s voice was smooth as he spoke to his partner.
�Yea,yea,� he panted, �I bet they are tasty too!� He replied with a small manic laugh.
�Now, now, you know what Lord Oorochimaru said��
�Yea, yea, don�t kill the girl! Don�t kill the girl! But what about the others?!?!� the blood thirsty colleague hopped up and down on the branch impatiently.
�The others,� a smile spread across his face, bearing his gums and yellow teeth, �are free game.�
XIX

She didn�t want to do this�.But was there really a choice?
Her hands rose and her fingers moved to begin the series of hand signs of a justsu she remembered from long ago.
But she was too slow. The shadow that had loomed over her vanished in an instant. Now her target had another advantage over her�she didn�t know where they were, but they knew perfectly were she was.
Daikirai�s nightmare was only slowly raveling from the crevasse of her mind and spilling into reality. She could hear voices in the distance now. The voices were of her friends carelessly walking and laughing.
She cursed underneath her breath. This was the last thing she wanted, for her friends to be involved in this battle with whoever this was.
�Get down!!� she yelled to them, leaped down from a branch and onto the ground below.
Misora smiled, �Daikirai! You didn�t get eaten!�
�Get down!� she barked again and pulled Misora down as a kunai flew past and hit the tree behind her.
They looked back up to see man with short silver hair sigh, �Just get out of the way so I can kidnap the girl and go on with my life.� He twirled another kunai around his finger and watched it lazily as it made its rounds.
�Who is it that you want?� Hiroshi asked, fearing for Kuroneko�s life, but ready to defend it.
The silver headed man smirked, �Now why would I tell you that? The hunt is much more interesting if the prey doesn�t know it�s going to be attacked.�
�Well c�mon! Bring it!� Aki challenged him.
He began to laugh, mocking them, �Now why would I fight you weaklings? You all aren�t worth soiling my hands,� he snickered again, �Instead I�ll have my comrade hunt you like the pathetic animals you are.�
Kenji growled, this was an unwelcome twist of plans. Now he would have to rethink a strategy. He froze in mid-thought as he heard a panting behind him.
Crap�
�Kentanka�kill them,� the man snapped his fingers and in a spilt second Kenji could feel claws digging into his neck and tackling him. Blood soaked the ground. His vision was blurring and blood was gushing from his wound. He stared up at some sound ninja�or was it a beast? Blood, his blood, was dripping from its fangs. It sneered down at Kenji before running off to get the others.
He could scream for the others to run, he thought, as he slipped in and out of consciousness. But what was the point?
�Kenji!� he faintly heard someone exclaim. He opened his mouth to speak but the words were lodged in his throat. His eyes grew heavy and he struggled to keep them open; couldn�t fight them open for long before they closed and he slipped out of reality.
�Kenji?!� Kuro yelled once more at her fallen team mate. Hiroshi looked as well, at the worst time too, as he turned Kentanka leaped up in the air for the second attack. He moved quickly and only got scratched by one of the claws of the man/beast. Hiroshi threw a kunai at it, but the knife that stabbed into Kentanka�s back didn�t even phase it. He cursed and dug into his pouch for another one.
Ryuu scanned the area for the silvered haired man. He apparently had control over this thing; perhaps under torture the man could stop �Kentanka� from killing anyone. He placed his back to Misora�s to defend her from anything from behind.
Misora closed her eyes to concentrate on her surroundings. There was the sound of Kantanka�s hands and feet trampling on the ground. It screeched as kunai soared through the air and hit a critical area. Aki most likely did that. She had great aim with those knifes. It didn�t stop the �thing� from running though, since it continued in Misora�s and Ryuu�s direction.
She reopened her eyes. Misora looked at Aki who was searching for another kunai or anything sharp and Ryuu was trying to devise a plan�but this thing was too unpredictable to guess its next move. It changed its path again and charged towards Daikirai. She mumbled under her breath about being too old for this, as she reached for a weapon�which wasn�t there.
Her pupils shrank.
Not good�.not good at all.
It jumped and soared through the air. A thousand thoughts went through her mind, but not one of them was to move. There was a glint of light that flashed past her and Kentanka dropped to the ground lifeless. Kentanka�s yellow eyes rolled in the back of its head, and the green grass turned a crimson red.
�The only one that gets to kill her is me.�
XIX
He glanced around at the trees around him. He could�ve sworn he had just passed this place for the fourteenth time. Pausing he scratched his head,
�Dang, Daikirai�s gonna kill me for sure,� Katsuo groaned. �And dieing is just too much work right now.� He plopped down and sat against the trunk of a tree and stared up. Katsuo hated this place. You could never see the sky because the canopy was so thick, this also made it to where it was always dark�Katsuo did not like the dark. He shrugged off his fears though and pulled out a small red box. Tapping on it twice a stick of tobacco came out. He shouldn�t smoke, he knew that, but being a ninja was too stressful�.
Well that�s the excuse he gave Daikirai when she chided him about the habit. The blond haired boy stuck a spare match against his shoe to light the stick of tobacco that dangled from his lips. He slightly chucked, Daikirai always nagged him though. Perhaps that�s why he smoked so much, but he better not tell her that.
Katsuo blew a puff of smoke out. He should probably get back to walking, while he can at least, because he knew that as soon as his female comrade got a hold of him that it would be the last time he could walk.
Maybe he should try to find one of the other teams first, maybe he can come up with a story of how he disappeared in the mean time, and they could back him up. He stood up, only to pause once again.
How did he get there anyway?
The last thing Katsuo could recall was following Osamu when he heard a rustle in the trees. He wanted to see who, or what it was, but decided against it. Instead he resorted to his love, a pack of cigarettes. Katsuo struck a match against the bottom of his shoe and put the flame against the white paper. He inhaled and blew a puff of smoke out.
�You shouldn�t smoke��Osamu began while pushing up his glasses with his free hand.
�Yea, yea, whatever,� Katsuo rolled his eyes, �Leave the nagging to Daikirai will ya.�
�She�s only watching out for your well being. You should be thankful for that.�
He snorted, �You believe that? She�s only in it for herself.� The blond haired boy blew smoke into his comrade�s face. Osamu was unphased by such a normal reaction from Katsuo. He wiped his glasses off with his sleeve. Osamu went back to walking along the trail without making a comeback. Katsuo smirked at his �victory� over the super genius, which was a rare moment for him. So he stood there and took another puff. The smoke wisped upwards and then vanished, blending with the air.
Then the world went black.
He awoke with a sharp pain in his neck. Katsuo assumed he had been knocked out when he had his back turned.
But by who?
He shrugged. That was then this is now. And his current concern was to get the heck out of this place, and hopefully in one piece.
�Back to the road again,� he sighed and dug his hands in his pockets.

XIX
�It couldn�t possibly be,� she shook her head as the thought ran through her mind. �No, he�s dead. He�s been dead for years. No, it�s not him,� she yelled to herself mentally.
Kuroneko stared at her friend, �Daikirai�do you know this person?�
She didn�t answer. She was afraid too.
�Of course she does. Don�t you remember me, Naibun?�
�Naibun?� Misora stared confused, �But that�s Daikirai.�
Daikirai froze�.so it was him. She could feel something constrict around her neck. Her pupils shrank.
�What�s going on?� She whispered to herself. She put a hand around her neck and felt nothing there but the cloth that covered her neck and part of her face.
�What? You didn�t tell them where you really came from? You did tell them what you did to your village?� Daikirai could feel something crushing her throat as he spoke.
�Shut�up!� she yelled in a raspy voice. He smirked. This was working just as he planned. So even after all these years she never figured it out.
�
She was as good as dead now.
�I�ll tell you what I�ll do Naibun�I�ll kill your pathetic little friends first. I�ll make you watch them die� Then I�ll kill you.� He drew his sword. Only to have a kunai hit his hand and stab him. He released his sword.
�Don�t you think it�s a tad rude to interrupt a kidnapping?� The silver head man growled, drawing another kunai. �You�re not killing anyone in till I get the one I want.�
�And if I do?� He gave another lop sided grin.
�Then I�ll kill you.�
He held his bleeding hand and smiled, �Isn�t that going to be a harder without your little monster, Kentanka?�
The silver haired man smiled back, �I don�t come unprepared.� He raised his hand and red eyes peered from the shadows waiting for their master�s next command. �I never liked Kentanka anyway; he didn�t have enough blood lust.� He snapped and creatures from myths and nightmares came out of hiding and began to kill whatever was in sight. Hiroshi and Ryuu threw there kunais in unison at one of the creatures. It howled and reared its ugly head back. Blood trickled down its back and it dug its claws into the dirt. It wailed again before taking off once more.
�They�re unstoppable aren�t they,� Ryuu asked himself more than Hirsohi.
�I fear that they might be,� Hirsohi responded anyway out of sheer disbelief.
Misora began doing hand signs, muttering the sequence to herself as she did.
�Tornado of Darkness!� She roared above the wind she had generated. The shadows around them had twisted into a funnel. Distance was created between the animals and the teams, just enough to make a difference. Misora was an elemental, one that could control darkness like Aki could the sand. Her power was very useful when she could manage to control it long enough to make an attack with it.
The creatures shrieked calls to one another before staring in a run again.
�Blades of Sand,� Aki held her hand out and sand flew at monsters, injuring the front line of the attack.
�We are outnumbered!� Kichirou yelled. As if the others didn�t realize this. They were quite aware, but the cold hard truth just hadn�t really sunk in yet.
A small oval container landed in front of Hiroshi, who just stared at it while trying to determine what it is.
Daikirai paused�those markings�, �Get away from it!� She yelled and grabbed it up and threw it at her former opponent. His eyes grew wide. �Close your eyes! Now!�
Aki, Misora, and Kuroneko shook there heads, �Bossy, bossy, bossy,� they chuckled and placed there hands over there eyes. They heard a loud explosion, then another one, shortly following that. The light from it shone through there hands, causing their hands to light up in a red glow. A wave of heat passed through and hit there bodies.
�Light grenade?� Katsurou asked.
Daikirai nodded, �A horribly made one, yes. It had a little too much magnesium.�
�Ah, that would explain the loud explosion.�
Aki, Misora, and Kuroneko stared confused. How did a battle scene become chemistry class?
�What�s wrong with those creatures?� Ryuu started to move forward to the animals that gazed at him, standing perfectly still. He took haphazard steps towards them, and they still made no attempt to attack.
�I say since the pupils are directly connected to the brain that the light grenade must have fried there senses. They are probably unsure of what to do now.�
�This is not anatomy class and it�s not chemistry either!� Kuroneko yelled at Daikirai for bring up science again in a tense moment.
�Hey! This is one of the few moments that I can say something smart before Osamu says it first�� Daikirai paused recalling something that she had long forgotten, �Osamu! He must still be up in that tree!�
�Nice one Dai. Forget all about your team mate,� Misora clapped, �Bravo�bravo.�
XIX
He watched as the girl with the masked jumped up into a tree with a panicked look on her face. One of her friends pointed to a boy that had been injured by one of his monsters. Another girl ran to his side and began the process of healing him. Another boy, perhaps the girl�s boyfriend, watched in envy as she paid attention to the injured boy, above him.
Souzousha frowned.
How could he have been so stupid? To hunt prey you must understand the tactics of a true hunter from the animal kingdom. If the prey has a strong pack, then there is only one solution to get that prey. He slinked away, through the woods, with a new plan and a new creature developing in his mind. He knew what he had to do.
�
To single out the prey from the pack.
XIX

She waved a hand in front of his face.
�Hey, Osamu, are you alright?�
He grunted, rising from the branch and onto his feet. �How long have I been out?�
Dakirai shrugged. He looked down at the ground below him. �Which was several feet down. His stomach churned. He didn�t like heights�not at all. He looked past the distance though and noticed a figure waving at them from below. Daikirai growled.
�Well look who decided to drag his lazy, good-for-nothing-butt back!�
�Nice to see you to, Dai!� He grinned and flicked his cigarette free of ashes.
�I hope you choke on that thing!�
�Good health to you too!�
�You wait in till I get down there! I�ll break both of your legs and shove them up you�re a��
�You just want a reason to touch my butt!� Katsuo must have had a comeback for every insult she could spit out. Or perhaps he had already planned how this encounter would go. He waited for her at the base of the tree as she jumped down and Osamu slowly leaped to limb to limb and refrained from looking below.
Misora stood there waiting to see what kind of illegal torture that Daikirai would inflict on her moronic team mate. But before she could witness the fight she was grabbed from behind and jerked around.
�Are you alright? You didn�t get hurt did you?� Ryuu inspected her, up and down, looking for any noticeable wounds. Misora could feel her heart slow down after seeing it was just Ryuu. Then she began recovering from the heart attack she almost got, thanks to the sudden surprise.
She shook her head, �No, I�m good.� Ryuu glanced at her again, as if she had lied him.
�Hey,� Misora tilted her head and squinted her eyes, �Why are your cheeks pink?�
His eyes widened and he quickly let go of her, �No reason. None at all!� He began to walk off when he heard Misora call to him again, he turned around,
�Do you have a fever or something?� She held her hand up to his head. He could feel his cheeks getting even warmer.
�I gotta go!� Ryuu span around and took off power-walking.
Katsurou smiled, �Can you feel the love tonight? That is where we are,� he belted out the lyrics as Ryuu past him. His song was cut short by a kunai narrowly missing his throat. �I�m just trying to get you all in the mood.�
Ryuu glared, �Go crawl in a hole and die.�
�Fine, I�ve that song doesn�t meet your standers then how about this? Do a little dance, make a little love��
Another kunai hit him and Ryuu glared, daring him to even hum.
Katsurou went silent for a second as he watched Ryuu walk away. He could feel another song coming on.
�Ryuu�s got a kunai, na, na, na, na.�
XIX


�What do you mean the mission was unsuccessful!?!� A man yelled at his personal, �You couldn�t even kidnap one girl?!� He glared. A spark had seemed to ignite behind his golden eyes, giving a new fierceness to them.
�You have to understand, Lord. I didn�t realize that she would have her little �friends� with her.� He responded in a monotone voice, carefully trying not to anger his Lord anymore than he already was.
�You should have taken that into account when Lord Oorochimaru sent you on that mission,� A silvered haired man, Kabuto, said smugly as he cleaned his glasses with his purple shirt.
Souzousha let out a slight growl. Apparently the world was out to prove him wrong. He paused, and relized something.
�I failed you Lord, I do understand this,� he tilted his head down, mocking shame, �But I do have a fool proof plan��
�Really? You said that the first time,� Kabuto said sharply. He was not to found in the idea that someone else may be able to please his master.
�I was blind in realizing who I was dealing with. But now, everything is perfectly clear.�
Oorochimaru settled back down in his seat as he smiled. �Very well then. Remember, you can�t hurt that other girl either. I would hate to let down my end of the deal.�
Kabuto stared confused. What agreement? With who? Souzousha nodded with full understanding.
�Of course my Lord. A deal is a deal.�
XIX








Oujou XlX Chapter 2 XlX Matsuri



She could feel her eyebrow twitch with annoyance. For the love of all her sanity! She glared at him as he smiled up at her and handed her another empty bowl.
�Another round of ramen, Dai-chan!�
She took the bowl away from him. Her eye twitched as she turned to the stack of bowls he had managed to accumulate over his lunch break. There had to be thirty-five dishes piled up- - at least.
�Naruto,� she sighed, �is ramen the only thing you eat?�
He paused. Like he really had to think this one through.
�Yep, pretty much,� he grinned, �You�re so lucky. You get to work with ramen.�
She grabbed another clean bowl and began to dish out the knuckle-headed ninja�s favorite food of all time as she shook her head, �The job isn�t as dreamy as it sounds.�
The bell jingled signaling another customer. Dakirai raced to the front, �Welcome to�oh, it�s just you Katsuo.� She growled and went back to filling Naruto�s order.
�Nice to see you too, Dai,� he took another puff from his lit cigarette and glanced around the shop.
�What brings you here anyway?� She hollered at him from behind the counter.
�Oh, just to bask in your lovely company,� his words dripping in sarcasm. �Why do you think I�m here?�
She turned and handed the bowl to Naruto, �Surprise me.�
Katsuo took a deep puff in and held it in. It must be something bad, Daikirai concluded, he took that puff like it was his last.
�Well�we got another mission,� he trailed off.
�Well, that�s not too bad. What are we doing this time?�
He hesitated, �I would prefer for the senseis� to tell you.�
She raised her eyebrows, �What are we doing?� she asked adding force to each of her words.
Katsuo shook his head, �Not saying. We gotta go to the whole mission briefing thing in an hour.�
Oh goody, now she got to debate about what mission they could possibly have. As long as the mission wasn�t something so meaningless like babysitting or cleaning the river; anything but that.

XIX

Okay�.perhaps she overlooked this kind of mission.
�C-could you repeat that? I have to wear what?!� Kuro yelled placing a hand behind her ear. Misora and Aki were doubled over in laughter as they looked at their two friends and imagined them wearing a dress, a short dress for that matter.
Minoru, Team Three�s sensei, smiled brightly as she held out four bright pink yukatas, �You get to wear theses!� She held one up against herself. �They are a tad short but, hey, you got to keep the customers interest, if you know what I mean.� The blond haired jounin winked and tossed them there new attire. Daikira jumped back, away from the uniform as it nearly hit her. Misora�s landed on her head,
�Who turned off the lights?!� she screamed tumbling backwards.
Aki held the cloth in her hands and stared at Kuroneko�s sensei, �What exactly are we doing? Just being waitresses at the Tanabata Festival?�
Her sensei, Takumi, spoke up, �That�s the role you will play. But really you are acting as spies.�
�You mean to tell me we are ninja�s, masters of stealth and deceit, and yet we still have to wear skimpy clothes to get any information?� Kuro raised an eyebrow and held the dress by her pinky, away from her body.
Minoru gave her an evil smile, �Why of course. The best female spies were sluts.�
�That�s not true!!!! Tell her Dai!�
Daikirai held her head in her hands. �Actually, she�s� right�,� she shook her head, �I wish she wasn�t, but she is.�
Minoru gave an in-your-face smirk before clapping her hands to gather there attention again, �Enough with the chit chat! Go try your yukatas on!� The blond head jounin held back a squeal and ushered them into another room.
Masuyo, sat down on one of the empty chairs and glanced at the rest of the teams. He seemed to be mentally counting how many there were.
�Eight�,� he mumbled as he exhaled some smoke. He flicked some of the ashes from his cigarette and looked to, Isamu, Misora�s sensei. �Should we half-and-half it?�
Isamu nodded, �It would be less suspicious.�
Ryuu looked to his sensei with a raised eyebrow, �What would be less suspicious?�
�You boys will be working as well. Half of you will be waiters, and the other half will pretend to be your common festival goers, and ease drop on peoples conversations,� he took a sip of coffee and looked at each of them, contemplating on who should be what.
Masuyo glanced at the sand nin in the corner of the room, �I fear that Takeshi isn�t exactly the festival type,� he piped up in his hushed voice momentarily looking at his bloodthirsty student.
Takeshi smirked at the smoker with the same old sadistic look in his cloudy red eyes.
�Don�t look at me like you mama don�t love you, son,� Masuyo brought his cigarette up to his lips again.
There was a moment of silence before Isamu finally spoke with his decision, �Okay; Kichirou, Ryuu, Hiroshi, and Osamu you all will be our waiters. Katsurou you will be socializing� and�as much as I know this will turn out to be a bad decision,� he sighed, �Kenji and Katsuo will be as well.�
Kenji and Katsuo smirked at one another.
�That means we get to flirt with the babes!� They gave each other a high five. Isamu sighed and rubbed his temples, �Please, at least try, to behave yourselves and keep your pants on.�
�Hey,hey,hey we only lost are pants once!� Kenji began to defend himself.
Katsuo nodded, �And that was because we were drunk out of our minds.�
�What minds?� Osamu rolled his eyes at the local perverts. Kenji and Katsuo didn�t catch his remark; they were distracted by the door opening. They started to wolf whistle and cat call as the girls stepped out. Osamu refused to look in the direction and yelled at the two perverts, telling them to behave like civilized human beings instead of hormonal animals. Ryuu tried not to take a peek at Misora, but failed, and ended up turning a beet red when his teammate, Katsurou caught him and nudged him in the rib cage. Hiroshi was controlling his sudden desire of reaching over and strangling the two perverts, one of them being his teammate. And of course Kichirou gave a dreamy sigh and mumbled something along the lines of; dreams do come true, before promptly fainting.
�All men are dogs. Leg humping, tail chasing dogs, �Daikirai growled.
Minoru baby clapped and bounced up and down, quite pleased with what she transformed the girls into, �You all look so cut�� Her spurt of happiness ended when she saw her student walking out still wearing her pants underneath the dress. She glared,
�So you think you found a loop hole in the system, don�t you? Well you�re wrong!� She inspected the rest of Kuro, top to bottom, �We are going to have to go something with these tips. It is distinguishable as your clan colors. And it clashes with pink. The chocker will have to go to�as well as the pants.� Minoru did a right face and stepped to her next victim.
�The mask has to go Daikirai.� Dai shook her head and covered it with her hands.
�I can�t take it off.�
�Why?�
Daikirai paused, �Because I have a really bad looking scar under it.�
�Let me se��
�NO! It�s hideous.�
Minoru sighed, �You can�t wear that mask and be at the festival. It�ll be too suspicious.�
�Well, why doesn�t she just go as a commoner and use a fan to cover her mask up?� Osamu suggested. Daikirai glared at him when the blond headed women had her back turned.
�That�s a great idea!� She turned to Daikirai with a smile like the fox that just got the key to the chicken coop, �And I can go with you to get a great yukata!�
�How nice,� Daikirai faked a chipper tone.
The jounin then looked at the two other girls and beamed, �You all look so beautiful! You�ll be great waitresses!�
�Are you sure you want me to carry plates of food to people?� Misora looked at her like she was crazy.
�Yea, she can�t even walk two feet without tripping, stumbling, or running into something,� Aki explained.
The sensei paused and stared at the black hair girl quizzically.
�HA! Do you have an idea for this one Osamu!?� Daikirai snarled at her silver headed team mate.
He smirked, �Actually yes, Misora could simply take orders instead of carry food. There would be less mess that way,� he concluded with his signature move of pushing up his glasses.
�Why.Can�t.I.Ever.Win?!?!!� Daikirai fumed and hit her head against the wall.
�Because the universe and all of its inhabitants hate you, Daikirai. Even Katsuo could have told you that,� he rolled his eyes at his female teammate.
Katsuo growled at the insult, �That�s not very wise to say to your neighbor, moron. I know where you live.�
Osamu winced, he had forgotten that little fact.
�Alright, alright, that�s enough. Listen up!� Minoru clapped her hands sharply to gather the attention back to her, �Now, we will meet up here at sunrise and make some changes so you don�t seem so�noticeable.�
�Oh, oh, oh!� Kenji bounced up and down in his seat, �Do we get code names?!�
Minoru nodded hesitantly, unsure of why Kenji was so excited.
He smiled a mischievous smile, �Can I be, Stud Muffin?�
�Oh! I wanna be, The Sexy Beast!� Katsuo sprung up from his seat.
The girls smacked there forehead and muttered. Minoru glared at them as Masuyo nearly choked on his cigarette as he laughed.
�No!� Minoru growled sharply and smacked them across there face. �We will meet at sunrise and get ready; I will give you your code names then. You all are dismissed.� She waved them off with the flick of her hand and the teams filed out discussing the events that would take place.
Takumi quietly began placing the chairs in their proper order as sensei�s chatted among themselves.
�Don�t the boys need uniforms too?� Isamu raised a curious eyebrow and took a sip of coffee.
At the sudden mention of clothes Minoru lit up, �That�s right!� she did a small 360 degree spin on her tip toes. �That just reminds me of this cute little outfit that I�m just certain Ryuu would adore!�
�We want the boys to look civilized, not like pansies,� Masuyo raised a hand to stop the chipper blonde from having a small seizure from going into hyper-drive. The fire was quickly put out in Minoru�s eyes and her lower lip curled,
�B-but all the cute little outfits��
�Allow me to explain something, Minoru, when a guy wears pink�willingly�it screams to all the other guys in a fifty mile radius �Hey, you big hunk of man beef lets go prancing in a field full of daises��.
Isamu watched as his friend gave the female co-worker a demonstration of what he meant, which included the high-pitched voice and a small segment of prancing.
There was a moment of silence between the senseis.
�I-I�m going to go shopping now...� Minoru said with a slight studder.
Isamu stared at the floor, where there were shards of porcelain, from when he dropped his coffee mug during Masuyo�s performance, �I�m going to go with her. And you better not check out my butt as we leave!�
The two sensei�s left before Masuyo even had a chance to think of a comeback. He put out his cigarette with a shrug, hey; at least he didn�t have to go shopping now.
XIX

�So, which one is her?� A tall middle-aged man questioned the younger man that was peering down at four girls who were walking on the sidewalk below.
The young man shrugged as he scratched his head, �I�m not sure. I need a closer look.�
�Perhaps I could go down interrogate them,� the older man interjected.
The teenager looked at him and held his laughter, �Yea, Ryo, great idea. Then they would think you are some kind of pedophile!�
Ryo frowned, �And to do think you are any better! Look at yourself! You look like a clown compared to these people!�
The boy looked insulted as he glanced at his outfit. His pants were made of the finest silk and were dyed a deep blue, his jacket was stitched with gold threading, his shoes were pointed and curled upward, �Are you trying to insinuate that I�m out of style?!�
�For this set of people, yes, you would be drastically out of style, Saburou.�
Saburou huffed and crossed his arms, �Well then, what are we suppose to do!?!�
Ryo chewed on his toothpick thoughtfully, �We�ll have to wait in till it gets dark. No one will be able to see us then.�
Saburou sighed and plopped down on top of the roof, �What time is it now?�
�About five o�clock.�
�And what happens if I die of boredom before nightfall?�
�Then this mission is aborted and I get to go home early,� Ryo replied with a chipper tone to his voice, �Why do you plan to die of boredom, sir?�
Saburou groaned and laid on his back looking at the sky, �Not now. I would hate to see you go home early.�
XIX

There was always something about mornings that made the four teams want to kill each other, well, uncaffeinated morning at least.
The four girls stumbled into the large office that their sensei�s shared when they were off duty or filling out paper work.
Osamu glared at them from one of the tables, �You all are exactly one minute and forty-three seconds late.�
Kuro lazily turned her head in his direction, �You know what, bite me.�
�I wouldn�t want to; you haven�t had your shots yet.�
�If you two don�t shut your traps now I will seer your mouth�s closed,� Masuyo snarled as he fumbled with his lighter and unlit cigarette.
There was silence again and everyone had nearly fallen back into there comatose state before Misora sprung up,
�Coffee! I smell coffee!!!�
The double doors busted open only seconds later with Minoru beaming with her morning person attitude and several cups of coffee on a large tray.
�How are my favorite people on this beautiful morning?!� She smiled and gave a small skip to each table, handing the students and sensei�s their daily dose of energy. Minoru laid a mug down on the table for Daikirai as well, without even realizing it.
Aki, Misora, and Kuro looked at Dai from the corner of their eyes, with the temptation of coffee, perhaps Daikirai would take off her mask. Dai stared down at the mug, sneering, as if it was taunting her.
�I�ll pass,� she grumbled and pushed the steaming mug away and glared at Minoru, �Since you have so much vigor, why don�t you give us a full briefing. Yesterday�s conference lacked a little detail, don�t you think?�
The blond sensei winced, was it her fault that she enjoyed mornings? She cleared her throat and pulled out her clipboard, �Fine,� she gave a slight groan, �Your codename and mission goes as followed; Kuroneko you are Kiyoko you are a waitress.�
�Whatever,� Kuro gave a groggy response.
�Hiroshi your codename is Hiroto, you are a waiter. You must stick around Kuroneko; for communication purposes.�
�And me? Am I Stud Miffin?!� Kenji sprung up.
His sensei sighed, �No, your name is Kenshin.�
�Oh, do I get to stalk around the festival?� He interrupted and walked over to Katsuo. �Pssh, this is the Studly Kenshin, over.�
Katsuo followed his friends antics, pretending he had a walky talky as well, �Pssh, this is Sexy Beast. I can read you, over.�
Daikirai and Kuroneko punched their team mates in the jaw. Kenji�s and Katsuo�s heads made a thunk in the collision.
Minoru groaned, �Perhaps it would be easier if you all took the guys and give them their briefing.�
The three male sensei�s nodded in agreement.
�We�ll meet you there,� Isamu assured her.
Masuyo snatched Kenji and Katsuo by the back of their shirts with his free hand, �You two are coming with me.�
Katsuo looked up at him, �Where are we going?�
His sensei took a puff from his cigarette, �To a dark alley where no one can hear you scream when I murder you.�
�You would never hurt us�would you?� Kenji gave him a pleading look.
�Ever heard of Team 13?�
�Yea, that was the team that disappeared and only their sensei made it back.�
�Do you know who their sensei was?�
The two boys gulped, ��You�?�
�Good guess.� He grunted and pushed them ahead. The double doors closed on the boys and Minoru gave a sadistic smile as she rummaged through her bag of torture devices, or as some females might call it, make-up.
Daikirai and Kuroneko gave each other a weary look. Aki and Misora seemed so much more calm about the whole transformation process than the other two girls. They were even participating in looking at the treacherous stuff with the intention of wearing it!
�Now�let�s see,� Minoru mumbled to herself, putting a manicured finger to her well glossed lip, �First thing that needs to be taken care of�the hair.� The blond sensei glanced at the four to see who her first victim would be and without the slightest hesitation, grabbed Kuro by the base of her ponytail and simultaneously taking a chair from underneath one of the tables and forcing her to sit down. �Aki, do you care to get me the rope from my bag?�
�Rope?!� Kuro yelped as the girl the she thought was her friend brought the restrainments. Misora took the liberty to secure her friend to the chair with the large rope as the sensei was mixing the hair coloring together. Kuroneko squirmed as her sensei neared with the goop. Minoru began to brush it onto the red tips that distinguished Kuroneko from the other clans, then, satisfied with her work she set a timer on to signal when she could wash it out.
She then moved to her next prey, she pointed to Misora then to a chair, as she dug into her bag. Misora followed orders and sat patiently as the blond sensei ran a brush through her bangs and placed them out of her face, only allowing a couple of locks to escape capture from the bobby pins.
�Wow,� Misora gasped, �I�ve never seen out of my right eye before.� She continued looking around as Minoru looked at Aki with a confused look.
�I really don�t have anything to change about your hair but�your eyes��
�What about them?� The violet haired girl asked blinking a few times.
�Your red eyes might freak out the customers,� She said quiet bluntly, �Hold still and close your eyes.�
Minoru was skilled in the art of medicine and she knew nearly every secret of the body. Changing the eye color of a person would be easy. All she had to do was alter the amount of melanin or in Aki�s case, where she had no melanin, add some. Minoru quickly placed her manicured hand over Aki�s eyes and in a spilt second removed it to reveal Aki�s now green irises.
�What about my eyes?� Misora pulled down her lower eyelid to show the female jounin. Minoru nodded understandingly repeated the process with Misora, only this time adding a little less melanin than Aki to give her deep blue eyes instead of forest green ones that Aki had. Her head snapped to the side as she looked at Kuro who was trying to scoot towards the door and at Daikirai who was attempting to escape through the window.
Minoru sighed. This would be a long day.
XxX

Indeed, Minoru had been ever so right. It was nearly six o� clock and the excitement from the festival had worn off for the teams. Nothing had really happen. There were no intruders, no attempted murders (although there were a few drunken fist fights), it was just eerily peaceful�.er�almost.
�On second thought, perhaps I�ll have some sushi�no�ramen. Did ya get that Hiroto?� Kenji, or Kenshin as he was being referred to as at the festival smirked as he stirred his watery drink, �Oh, can you get me some boiling water with ice in it? And make sure the ice doesn�t get all tiny and melted. I hate that!�
Hiroshi sighed as he wrote down the orders from his team mate that was currently taking advantage of the situation. �Anything else?� He growled in annoyance.
Katsuo, or Kazuo, looked wide eyes in shock, �Do I sense hostility towards the customer?!�
�I believe so!� Kenji played along in the game of Harass-the-Hiroshi-while-he-can�t-kill-us.
Hiroshi glared daggers at them, �Perhaps I can interest you all in a nice, tall, glass of poison!� With a quick on he�s heels, he turned, and stormed off, throwing the pad of paper where he had written their orders in the garbage on his way to the kitchen.
Kenji laughed as he took a sweeping glance of the area for any attractive females. He leered when he found his target and made his way over towards two waitresses, whom appeared to be on break. With a charming smile he wrapped his arms around their waist pulling them closer,
�Hey�� He tried to speak in his smoothest voice, �How about we ditch this and go to my place for a real �festival�?� Kenji winked and prepared himself to hear a few giggles. But�they began laughing hysterically, bewildering him in the processes. �W-what�s so funny?� The blond haired boy questioned them stuttering but a slap of realization hit him square across the face. �Misora?! Kuro?!� He seemed shocked. �When did you all get sexy?� He managed to recover as he purred on his latter statement. This of course, just made the girls roll their eyes and walk off, resuming their duties. Neither one of the ninja�s noticed the two figures looming on the roof above them causally conversing about their mission.
XxX

�So, which one is the girl?� A familiar Leaf ninja asked his partner, his glasses catching setting suns rays illuminating them in an orange glow.
Souzousha looked up from his crouching position and pointed at the one on the left.
The other silver haired nin smirked, �This should be fairly easy then.�
�Why do you insist on doing this during the festival?�
�There�s more people. When we set off the bombs it�ll cause a panic and no one will notice if we take her during the frenzy.�
Souzousha simply nodded, dropping the conversation, as he surveyed below him at the hustle and bustle from the people. He could feel someone�s gaze and he shifted uncomfortably. It was a rather simple plan, though dangerous if they got caught. The punishment in the Leaf Village was rather cruel to intruders, so they had heard, although no one has come back to reassure them of this.
He caught the glance of a girl who had been staring and she began talking to another female when she broke her gaze. The silver haired ninja watched as they seemed to be having a light-hearted conversation. They looked to be smiling, laughing, and what not. �The girls would have been a little worried if they thought they had seen an intruder, right?� He mentally questioned. Perhaps he was worrying over nothing.
XxX

Down below the rooftops on the other side of the festival, Daikirai stood to the side, adjusting her concealed ear piece. She had just heard that Takumi, Team One�s sensei, and Takeshi had been found dead along with the rest of the ninja�s that had been placed in the southern part of the festival for security. Isamu had assumed that they had been dead for about an hour or so when he found them. Daikirai fanned herself and glanced over at Aki, whom for a second, seemed to have a moment of grief as she walked towards the table.
�I�m assuming you heard?�
The violet haired girl nodded.
�You do know what this means right?�
�Yes, anyone could have intruded an hour ago. If they did, they could have already made there way up to the northern part, where Kuro and Misora are. We should warn them.�
�And if the murderers are still down here?�
Aki�s eyebrows furrowed, �Then two of us will need to stay here.�
The black haired girl paused in a moment of thinking, �Kichirou and I will stay here; you can take Osamu and notify Kuro and Misora.�
The sand ninja went off to find Osamu, leaving Daikirai with Kichirou to guard the southern sector. She felt uneasy as she watched her friend leave with her team mate; it was so cacophonously calm for murders to be running around. Her eyes flickered from one person to the next, but instead of seeing the suspicious people, she saw happy festival goers. She sunk deeper into her chair gazed up at clouds that threatened to rain with a sigh.
XxX

�Have you ever considered the idea that maybe she�s not a festival person?� Ryo looked over at Saburou would was peering down below.
The young boy gave the man a sharp disapproving glance, �I know she�ll be here.�
He cocked his eyebrow, �And tell me, oh-wise-one, how do you know this?�
�I just do.�
�Then why haven�t we seen her yet?� Ryo questioned sardonically.
Saburou didn�t reply, his body was tense, and his jade eyes appeared to be fixed on something. Ryo glanced over at the next building over, noticing the shadows of two figures on the rooftop.
�Now, Saburou, I know what you�re thinking but don�t do anything��
Too late, the teenager had already pulled out a small round object and threw it over. It hit the building, upon impact it exploded causing a large burst of light. The villagers quickly turned to see what the sound was. A few had begun screaming about a bomb. Ryuu looked at Osamu who had just informed him of the recent events, �Well, at least it didn�t take long to find them.�
Ryo smacked the boy on the back of the head angrily, �You just alerted the whole freaking village where we are you moron!�
A figure stepped out of the smoke, unfazed, �You�ll regret that.�
Saburou�s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he knew there had been another person with him earlier.
The man dropped a large glass bottle and a strange clear fog began to spread into the air. Ryo clamped a hand over the boy�s nose and mouth, �Don�t breathe it in. That stuff will paralyze you.� He spoke in a muffled voice.
The silver haired ninja appeared to be smirking underneath the mask he had pulled up around his face, �I must be going now. I would hate to be caught you know.� He did a few hand signs and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Ryo looked down at the festival goers, or what was left of them that hadn�t left in a hurry when one explosive went off, �We have to get out of here without being seen.�
Saburou nodded and pulled his shirt over his face. He glanced over at Ryo and jumped of the building and into a tree below. Ryo followed after him just as Katsurou and Ryuu had made there way to the roof. The fog of the paralyzing gas made there eyes burn terribly and there was no sign of the intruders anymore, so they jumped back down to the festival.
�They�re gone now,� Ryuu reported, rubbing his eyes.
Misora whimpered, �And I was all ready to hurt someone.� Aki and Kuroneko looked hurt as well.
Katsurou shook his head chuckling, �They�ve probably made there way to the southern part of the festival now.�
�I doubt it,� Osamu argued, �They probably ran off with the fear of being caught.�
The teams gave an uncertain shrug and took a glance at the ruins of the northern part of the festival. And to their surprise saw, Masuyo, looking rather uneasy, �Where�s Kichirou and Daikirai?�
�They stayed behind at their post,� Aki informed.
He inhaled deeply nearly swallowing the cigarette he held, �Go get them.�
Kenji looked confused, �Don�t we need to get back to- -�
�No,� he said harshly, �I�m afraid this is the last of your missions.�
XxX

(Okay, yea, not my best work I know. I just really want to get to the next chapter were things actually get exciting. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors.)

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