Senti Gen Saga (Naruto RPG)

[spiritchan]

((OOC: this goes right after Zukuto-kun’s last post))

Sachi poured herself some tea as she listened to Zukuto’s question. She took a sip, and answered.

“We’re here to notify the Hitokage about the chûnin exams that the Cloud Village is holding this fall.” she explained, taking another sip. Zukuto nodded in understanding.

“I see.” he said. “Does that mean you’re a chûnin as well?”

“No no no.” Sachi said quickly, shocked at his assumption. “I’m just fresh outta Ninja Academy!”

“So you’re just a genin…” he said, a little embarrassed. Sachi nodded. As everyone carried on with the conversation of chûnin ninja and genin ninja, Jiro looked over at Sutsu, who wasn’t saying a word.

“So…..what’s your story, Sutsu?” he asked. Sutsu looked up at him with an icy stare— one that sent chills down Jiro’s spine, and not in a good way. He gulped, already taking back that he had ever spoken to him.

“I’m tracking someone down.” he said in a tone just as icy as his stare. Jiro nodded, and decided not to carry on with the conversation.

A few moments later, the waiter came around and took everyone’s orders. Once that was over with, they resumed their conversation.

“So, Zukuto, you’re already a chûnin?” Toroku asked.

“Yes. I obtained the rank just recently, actually.” he informed him. Toroku nodded once. This boy must be a great person, being as strong as he is for his age, and he has such a kind heart. he thought.

“Oni-chan, why can’t you be more like Zukuto-kun here?” he asked in a joking manner. This question shocked Sachi, and she spilled the tea she had been pouring onto her hand.

“OOOOW!! DAMNIT, SENSEI!! What the HELL?!” she screamed, quickly wiping the tea from her burned hand with a napkin. Toroku looked sorry he had asked her such a question while she had been pouring hot tea, and went to help her.

“I’m sorry, Sachi. I shouldn’t have—“ he started to apologize before she cut him off.

“WHY WOULD YOU ASK SUCH AN IDIOTIC QUESTION WHILE I’M POURING TEA, YOU BASTARD?!?” she shouted. That had done it. The regret Toroku had been feeling for what he did suddenly changed to anger. Without a second thought, he stood up, roughly grabbed Sachi by the arm, and excused them for a moment from the rest of the group as he dragged her outside the restaurant. He led her off to a side where no one was, and yelled at her.

“I have had enough, Sachiko.” he said in a tone she had never heard before. It was mean, very mean, and very unlike his usual laid-back self. She was worried for a moment, then decided to play cool.

“Had enough of what?” she asked in a cocky voice. She watched her brother’s expression grow even angrier, and she shrank back a little.

“Enough of your god damn attitude towards everyone and everything! You always act like a little bitch to everyone you meet!” he yelled. This caused Sachi to shrink back even more. “All you only ever show me disrespect, and I am sick and tired of it! I’m your sensei, damnit!” Sachi’s brow furrowed at his last statement, and argued back.

“So what?! You’re my brother! Why should it matter so much?!” she yelled.

“No, Sachi, that’s what you don’t understand! I am your sensei FIRST, and your brother SECOND!!” Sachi snorted and rolled her eyes.

“That’s ridiculous, Toroku!! You were my older brother before you were ever my sensei!!”

“That doesn’t matter, Sachi! I’m you’re sensei now, and you will show me respect!”

“Why the hell SHOULD I?! You weren’t there for me when mom and dad died!” Toroku felt his heart stop at the fact that she would use that against him.

“That’s not my FAULT! I was sent on a mission that would have cost my life if I backed down!”

“BULLSHIT!!” Sachi yelled, running off. Toroku gritted his teeth

“And stop swearing! You’re too young and it’s not lady-like!!” he yelled after her.

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” he heard her yell from a distance.

Toroku sighed; he felt a heavy regret in his heart now, after she had cleverly used their parents’ death against him. He regretted not being able to be there for his sister at the time of their death. She had only been 8-years-old, and he was 17, and in the middle of his jônin exams. There wasn’t much he could have done, but he still felt he should have been there. Quickly shaking himself of those feelings, Toroku gathered his cool, and reentered the restaurant. Sachi would surely come back later; she didn’t know her way home.

As he entered, he noticed the food had already come, and everyone was already done eating. They looked concerned as he entered without Sachi. He took his seat, and started eating his rice ball.

“Where’s Sachi, Toroku-Sensei?” Jiro asked, noticing the unusual mix of emotions on his sensei’s face.

“She got pissed and ran off somewhere north.” he said with a full mouth. Jiro looked worried. He stood, grabbing the rice ball that would have been Sachi’s, wrapped it in a napkin, and headed for the door.

“I’m going to find her.” he explained, and left. After he disappeared from the door, Zukuto and Sutsu stood as well.

“We should be leaving as well.” Zukuto said. “We need to get going on our search.” Toroku nodded, and stood as well.

“Right. Thank you for showing us to this restaurant, and good luck on your search.” he said, and shook their hands.

“Perhaps I’ll see you at the chûnin exams this fall.” Sutsu said as they started to leave. “Good-bye for now.”

~~~

It was a while before Jiro finally found Sachi sitting on a cliff near a small waterfall, her face buried in her knees. She looked up at him as he approached, snorted, and looked back over the Waterfall Village. He couldn’t tell from the orange glow of the setting sun against her face, but it looked like she had been crying. Something he never imagined her capable of. Despite her unwelcoming aura, Jiro sat next to her, make sure to keep a safe distance.

“Um….what’s up?” he asked uneasily. She snorted again. Jiro scratched the back of his head, uncertain of how to cheer her p without being killed.

“I uh…brought this for you. Thought you might still be hungry…” he said, holding out the rice ball wrapped in the napkin. She looked at it, and snatched it from him, muttering a ‘thanks’. Sachi unwrapped the rice ball, and began munching on it. Meanwhile, Jiro sat there, feeling the awkward silence between them.

“So….what happened between you and Toroku-Sensei?” he asked after a while.

“Nothing.” she spat after swallowing her food.

“Oh…” Jiro said meekly. “A-Are you sure you don’t wanna talk about it?” He immediately regretted asking that, for she shot an evil glare at him.

“He’s a selfish bastard. That’s all there is to talk about.” she said sternly, taking another bite of her rice ball. Sachi stopped chewing for a moment, and looked at her food as she thought about what Toroku had said. Jiro was trying to be nice, and she was acting just as her brother told her she did.

“Jiro…Do I act like a bitch all the time?” she asked unexpectedly.

“Well, to be honest? …..yeah. You do.” he told her. She sighed.

“I’m sorry…” she apologized. “Um…thanks for the food…..and for coming to comfort me…” she said quietly. Jiro smiled at her change in attitude, and hid a blush.

“You’re welcome.”

They suddenly heard the fall of footsteps behind them, and turned to see the silhouettes of Toroku and Zinan, their backpacks on and ready to head to the next village. The two young genin stood, and grabbed their backpacks. Without a word, Toroku started walking down the path, his squad just behind him.

[Wrath]

(( Meanwhile.... with the long- lost (hopefully not forgotten) team of Jin and Tamasine...))

Jin struggled to keep up with her swift sensei as he bounded through tree branches, heading towards Waterfall village. Suddenly he braked, forcing her to dodge him, and Jin went flying past him into a tree.

Muttering to herself, she crawled back towards him. He was standing on a limb, hastily scrawling out his perfect handwriting onto a scroll.

"Wha--aa...t? What you- are doing?!" she stammered, recovering from the impact. Tamasine had done some sneaking around inside the main buildings in Sand village, leaving Jin as a lookout. Soon afterwards he had fled the building with all haste, not giving her any explanation of what he had discovered or where he was going.

If she didn't love her sensei so much, she would have been very angry with him.

"Jin, the information we were seeking was found. I cannot tell you the nature of this intelligence, but- " he finished writing, and put a seal on the scroll. "- in case anything happens to me..." he said in a perfectly calm voice, "- I trust you to return this scroll to the Hokage. It's a difficult seal to break, so you aren't in any danger of knowing what it contains...."

"HEY! I'm not that weak you know!!! Give me a little credit, sensei. Besides, why can't I know? I traveled all that way for nothing?"

"Of course not. You give me the comfort of knowing that someone is watching my back." her Sensei said, a little emotion daring to creep into his steely voice.

Jin flashbacked to Tamasine lecturing her as a young child. As a team member, you have to be able to trust your comerades. But never fully expose yourself either. You can never fully trust anyone. Always remember that.

A young Jin had stared back up at him sadly. Not even you Sine- sensei?
Her sensei's eyes had grown dark and sad, and he did not answer her question.

Pulling herself to the present, Jin took the scroll from him and stuffed it in her shirtpocket. So many questions she had no answers to, but she could never ask. She gave her sensei a sad smile, then decided she was not acting herself.

"So, where we headed?"

"Waterfall village."

"WAIT! What about that kid we found back in Hidden Sand village?? He's one of us! We can't just leave him there!"

"Unfortunately, it's not an option. One runaway Genin... he is of no importance to us until this mission is complete. This is more important than you know, Jin. Dangerous."

"Everything we do is dangerous!" she said with attitude.

"To ourselves. But this... this is dangerous to many more people. Innocent people." He said. They started bounding through the branches at a more leisurely pace.

"Why are we going to the hidden Waterfa--" then she whispered, " OOh! There's three ninjas down there!"

She slowed, and had to hurry to catch up with Tamasine when he did not stop. "Jin, I regret to inform you that I do not care. The mission assigned us has just been bumped up to top priority, Rank A."

Jin grumbled angrily, bored with reconnissance work and itching for some action.

----- many hours later----

It was evening, but not yet night, when a panting Jin and a barely-breathing-hard Tamasine arrived in Waterfall Village. They had made extraordinary time, and Jin tried to keep herself composed as she struggled for breath. They did not bother to remove their headbands as they strolled in. Tamasine walked briskly towards a round building in front of a beautiful waterfall. But Jin did not see the breathtaking scenery on account of

"FISH!!!" she yelped, drooling at the sight of a vendor with rows and rows of beautiful fish. "Puh- lease Sine- sensei!!!" Jin's eyes were glazed over as she stared at her strange food of obsession.

Tamasine hesitated for a moment, then said. "Go ahead and have something to eat. I'll be speaking with the Hitokage in that round building. If anything unexpected happens, you know The Signal." Jin was sobered by the reference to The Signal. She shivered a bit. "In that case, I want you to run for your life to the Hokage and don't stop for anything."

As Jin skipped off toward the fish vendor, her mood quickly lightening, Tamasine warned her not to eat too much. Then he walked on towards the Hitokage's residence.

As Jin devoured her beloved fish, a pair of young boys caught her eye. One was a good- looking (Jin thought) boy with blue eyes and brown hair. The other, however, was the boy she thought she had left behind in the Hidden Sand Village.

"Just in time to interrupt my fish." Jin said to herself.

(( sorry its so long i had a lot to catch up on))

[Zukuto-kun]

Zukuto and Sutsu walked down the busy street. Zukuto put his arms behind his head and exhaled deeply.

"So, what did you think of them?" he asked Sutsu. Sutsu didn't answer right away. He just shook his head.

"Eh, I guess they were okay, but that Sachi girl is quite moody." Zukuto laughed in agreement. "Maybe, but a good ally to have nontheless."

They walked until they came to a fish vendor. Zukuto treated Sutsu to a little "after dinner" fish. They walked away enjoying their treat. As they walked, Zukuto noticed a rather attractive looking girl staring at them as they passed by. He disregarded it and continued eating. They approached the gates of the village. Zukuto threw his stick into the air. Sutsu slid the rest of the fish into his mouth and threw the stick expertly at Zukuto's which made it shoot straight threw the air and into a tree cathcing a leaf just before it hit the ground. Zukuto turned to Sutsu with his eyebrow raised. Sutsu grinned as he finished swallowing his fish. Zukuto shook his head and they both took off into the forest.

"So Sutsu, what do you know about this Merodi character," Zukto asked. "Have you ever met her?" Sutsu kept quiet. He kept his head in a different direction as they moved between the trees. "You could say that," he said darkly.

Zukuto wore a worried expression on his face. I hope it's nothing that'll efect the mission, he thought. Zukuto shot his head up and darted to the right pinning Sutsu to the tree to the left with a kunai.

"What the-," Sutsu exclaimed.

Before he could finish his statement the trunk that they would have stood on a moment before errupted in a ball of fire. Sutsu sheilded his eyes from the blaze. When it subsided Zukuto landed next to Sutsu and pulled the kunai from his shirt. Sutsu landed and wiped his sleeves off from the wood peices.

"Obviously she doesn't want to be followed," he said as he surveyed the area. "This exploding tag was placed pretty well but she was rushed; that means we're close. Come on, we don't want to lose her."

Zukuto and Sutsu resumed their tre through the forest, unaware of the two eyes staring at them through the bushes behind them. The eyes vanished in a flash of flames and all was still once more.

[Stu]

"let's make haste..." Sutsu said rather quietly.

"I'm guessing you know where she is?" Zukuto asked.

"Yes, i do have a very good idea, but we need to speed ahead."

As they jumped form tree to tree, merodi stopped and turned around. As much as she wanted to just talk to Sutsu, she knew he was after her to kill her. "Why did things have to end up this way..." she thought to herself.

"There she is!" Sutsu shouted. "Merodi, I promise i wont hurt you, so please just come talk to me." He said kindly.

Merodi started to have tears swell up in her eyes. She was so relieved that Sutsu was actually going to talk to her instead of trying to kill her.

"Sutsu... I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean for what happened to happen... it was all a misunderstanding..." merodi said as she cried.

"What exactly DID happen then... why did your family totally kill my whole family... they had no reason to so that." Sutsu said as his head hung down.

"Wh-what?!" Zukuto asked in shock.

"Yeah but... you totally killed my family afterwards..." Merodi said as she cried.

"I-I was blinded by rage... i was so sad that your family had killed mine, that i.. needed revenge..." Sutsu said.

"Sutsu... I.. I want everything to e back to normal... I-I love you... i always have and always will..." Merodi said as she lunged herself into Sutsu's arms.

"Merodi... Nothing will ever go back to normal.. our families are dead... no matter how you look at it... but i... i do forgive you... and i love you too... and when we come of age, we will both do the right of acception... i promise..." Sutsu said as he hugged Merodi back.

"Did Sutsu... really take out your whole family...?" Zukuto asked in amazement and shock.

"Yeah... i was the only survivor..." Merodi said.

"Well, let's go to a near by town, which I'm guessing is the Grass village, and talk about the new plan, now that w found Merodi, what do we do with her Zukuto?" Sutsu asked.

[Zukuto-kun]

"Well, first things first," Zukuto said professionaly. "Merodi, I have been asigned by the Hitokage of the Waterfall Village to invite you into our elite squad of ninja. You obviously have some skill that could benifit us and I'd like to formaly invite you to join."

Merodi pulled away from Sutsu and looked at Zukuto with his arm outstretched and a wide grin on his face. What's going on? she asked herself. One Minute I'm being chased by these two and the next I'm being invited to join them! Things are going to fast! Merodi shook her head and looked to Sutsu. He nodded in encouragement.

"Don't worry Merodi," he said. "Zukuto can be trusted, I mean hey, I'm still with him aren't I?"

Merodi looked at Zukuto who still had his arm outstretched his face now slowly going for a smile to a look of annoyance. Come on my arm is killing me, he said to himself. Merodi wiped her eyes on her sleeve and smiled at Zukuto. She grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Very well," Zukuto said. "Welcome into our squad. Now before we go there is something I must give the both of you."

Zukuto reached into his bag and reveiled two headbands. Upon closer examination they turned out to be Waterfall Village headbands. Merodi looked confused at the headband. Sutsu looked up at Zukuto.

"Why must we have these?" he asked.

"Well, in your case, you no longer have a Village of origin and i think it would be proper for you to where the headband of your new village."

Sutsu thought for a moment and took the waterfall headband. He took off his leaf headband and looked at the both of them.

"I'll wear both," he said with a smile. "One, to always let me remember where I've come from and the second, to always let me remeber the village that took me in."

Sutsu tied his leaf headband to his left arm. He then tied the waterfall headband to his right arm. He finished and stood a little straighter. Zukto then offered the remaining headband to Merodi.

"In your case, the Hitokage would like for you to also show your pride in being a Leaf Villager and a Waterfall Villager," he said.

Merodi gleefuly took it and tied it to her right arm, as Sutsu did before her. She, too, stood a little straighter. Zukuto smiled.

"Well then, welcome also to the Waterfall Village," he said. "I think we should be off. Our next destination is the grass village and we're quite a ways away."

Sutsu and Merodi nodded. "Yes, you're right we should go. Are you ready Merodi?" Sutsu asked.

Merodi nodded to them both. "Thank you, both of you," she said. "I will gladly accompany you."

Zukuto smiled again as did Sutsu. "Well then squad, let's get moving!"

And with that they took off into the forest. Next stop, The Grass Village.

[Michi]

After resupplying at the Waterfall Village, Kaori considered what her plan of action should be. The obvious place to go would be back to the Moon Village, but Kaori simply couldn't bring herself to return without her brother. There was, after all, a chance that he might still be alive. She was mulling over this prospect when she entered a weapons shop.

She was browsing the differant types of shuriken, when a group of people huddled in a far corner of the shop caught her eye. They were clothed mostly in vague, hooded garments, so she couldn't see their faces. Extremely suspicious behavior for customers in a weapons shop. She drifted a little closer, pretending to be deeply engrossed by the weapons she was examining.

"....the Grass Village...."

".....unsuspecting of our plans...."

"....perfect for a raid....."

"....turning village against village was a brilliant idea..."

".....overwhelmed...."

Kaori nearly dropped the shuriken she was holding. A raid on the Grass Village? And by another village? They obviously didn't know, and would suffer tremendous losses.

But she was from the Moon Village. And that was where she was going. She shouldn't be concerned with Grass Village matters. She put the shuriken back and walked out of the shop, heading back to the inn where she was staying. After all, the Grass Village ought to have some competant ninjas. They would be able to handle anything. Right?

Not if they're taken by surprise...

She pushed the thought away as she pulled the key to her room out of her pocket and stuck it in the door. They would be fine. It was none of her buisness. She closed the door and flopped down on her bed, inhaling the musty scent of the clean, but well-worn comforter. She let her mind wander.

It was only then that she remembered Hachiro.

Mazuni Hachiro had been part of her Genin squad for the two years before they had taken their Chunin Exams. He had, in those two years, become one of her best friends. It was almost heartbreaking when their squad split up. Hachiro had, unlike many other ninjas, declined to serve the Moon Village, and had instead opted to more the the Grass Village, who had been desperately low on ninjas at the time. Time had passed and students had graduated, but Hachiro had ramained in the Grass Village. Kaori sat bolt upright.

That decided it. She was going to the Grass Village. She rolled off her bed, and began to pack.

~

It had taken only a day to reach the Grass Village, but Kaori hadn't stopped to sleep, and had only stopped twice to eat when she began to feel weak. In favor of a quick journey, she had regrettably left most of her supplies behind, meaning that she was now out of food and very nearly out of water.

She stumbled into the Grass Village a few hours before sunset. She imagined that she must be quite a spectacle; a teenage girl, covered in dirt and leaves and all manner of plant life, stumbling out of the bushes looking as though she had crawled all the way there.

It was, perhaps, even more unfortunate that the first person to spot her was Hachiro. Looking immaculate, as always.

"Kaori?" He asked, peering at her. "Is that you under all that dirt?"

"Very funny." She said, shoving her travelling pack and (unused) bedroll at him. "Now take me somewhere where I can wash off."

The 'somewhere' ended up being Hachiro's house. Small , but tidy. Cleaner than anyplace Kaori had stayed recently, that was for sure. One reason Hachiro wasn't a terribly active ninja was that, despite being very good at what he did, he hated getting dirty. Kaori recalled all the times he had whined to their sensei about having to sleep on the 'filty ground', and smiled.

He showed her to the bathroom, and then took a seat outside the door while she soaked away the various aches and pains that had accumulated while travelling at breakneck speed through harsh terrain. Meanwhile, she told him of the plot she had overheard.

"That's strange..." Hachiro mused. "We haven't heard anything from the other villages recently." Kaori shrugged, then realized he couldn't see the gesture.

"I dunno." She replied, "That's just what I heard. The village looks fine to me." She chuckled, "Looks like I killed myself getting here over nothing."

"Well, you warned me." He said, "So now you can go back to the Moon Village. I'm sure they're missing you by now." He thought a moment, "What exactly were you doing in the Waterfall village?" Kaori sighed, and pulled the plug at the bottom of the tub, and sat there as the watter drained out.

"It was an accident, really..." She confessed. She stood up, and began drying off with the towel he had given her. She she dried, she told him what had happened with her brother. She tugged on clean clothes, and finished her story just as she was stepping out of the bathroom. To her surprise, he envaloped her in a warm hug. She hesitated, then hugged him back.

"I'm sorry." He said. "After I've figured out what's going on with this supposed raid, I'll help you find your brother, all right?" He pulled away, and she smiled, trying to ignore the part of that sentance that both of them had mentally tacked on.

...or his killer...

"Do you know any good hotels?" She asked him, gathering up her belongings.

"You can stay here with me." He offered. Kaori shook her head. The house was very clean, but small. Only the one bedroom, and not even a couch. And she knew that Hachiro would insist on giving her the bed and sleeping on the floor himself. And she couldn't let him do that.

"No, really, I don't want to put you out. Just point me in the way of a decent inn and I'll be fine." Hachiro looked unconvinced but had had enough experience with Keori's stubborn streak that he simply nodded and proceeded to give her exact directions to the best inn in town, and told her to give the innkeeper his name, for a discount.

"And be careful." He said, "If there is going to be a raid, you know, lock your door and all that-" Kaori grinned and pincked his cheek, effectively shutting him up.

"We had the same sensei, remember? He taught us both well." She released his face and grabbed her pack. "See you around."

"See you."

~

Kaori sighed and put the book she had been reading down at the sound of her stomach informing her loudly that it required food. She marked her pace and considered her options. She could eat at the inn again, but when Hachiro had said this was the best inn in town, he meant it; all the patrons were wealthy merchents, who had no interest in talking with a ninja, particularly one who was a young girl. It made for some very uncomfortable conversations with the innkeepers son, who had the unfortunate habit of sticking to Kaori like a burr whenever she entered the inn common room. Keeping this in mind, she decided to see if she could find someplace to eat in the town.

She got up and walked downstairs, shrugging off all of Yasuo's attempts at a conversation, or offers to escort her somewhere. He obviously didn't understand that she was perfectly capable of walking around by herself. She had waved her headband in his face a few times, only to be met with a cheeky grin and a 'well that's nice'. The boy didn't seem to understand that if he didn't leave her alone, she could do some serious damage to parts of his body he would sorely miss.

She walked out into the street and looked around.

Now if I were a decent restaurant... she mused, ...where would I be hiding?

~
OOC: Kaori arrives a day before Stu, Zukuto, and Merodi.

[Stu]

Sutsu looked ahead at the trees, they were starting to fade. Things started turning into grass spots, then into big grassy openings, and finally, they reached Kusagakure.

"Ok, i think this is it..." Zukuto said.

"Hmmm... kind of plain but-" Sutsu said.

"Look at all of the pretty flowers! This place has so many flowers!" Merodi interrupted.

"Yes you're right Merodi... but we have to stay on guard, apparently, we must help defend Kusagakure from an invasion." Zukuto said, but with no use. Sutsu and Merodi were already running around, looking at the town and it's shops. "Oh great, now i gotta go catch them... nah, I'm going to go find us an inn, then ill go catch them later."

While Zukuto walked off, Sutsu and Merodi ran around, in search of a nice place to eat.

"Come on Sutsu, we must find a place to eat, I'm STARVING!" Merodi complained as they ran around the town like little children.

"I am too, but i have no idea about where we can find some food. Hey excuse me miss, do you know where we can find a nice restaurant?" he asked a random girl walking by, with white blonde hair, at medium length. She was about the same age as Merodi, maybe younger.

"I am headed to one right now... would you like to join me?" she asked.

"Oh yay! We would be more than happy too!" Merodi exclaimed.

"Great..." Sutsu grumbled to himself.

"My name is Kawashima Kaori, what are your guys's names?" Kaori asked.

"Faari Sutsu, of the leaf village." Sutsu said. " Pleased to meet you.

"And I'm Seruffu Merodi! Awesome meeting you Kaori! Now, let's eat!" she shouted as they came up to the only restaurant in town.

They sat down to eat, in a booth, and all had raman.

"So, Kaori, what is a Moon Villager doing here in the grass village?" Sutsu asked curiously.

"Well, I came to see a friend." Kaori said, "What ar two leaf villagers doing here?" she asked in return.

"We're on a mission." Sutsu said back, "And we AREN'T leaf villagers, we are waterfall villagers."

"What? How? You have both..." Kaori said in amazement.

"Well, we were Leaf Villagers, but we left and then we got taken in by the Waterfall village, but we still wear our Leaf Village headbands." Merodi explained.

"I see. So Sutsu, what is that weird seal on your arm?" Kaori asked.

"Oh, this isnt a seal, its my whip... I tie it around me arm to carry it and when i need to use it-" he said and then got up, snappign his arm foward, releasing the whip in to his hand, "I can use it instantly."

Sutsu sat back down and they continued to eat when they saw Zukuto walk up to the table.

"Hey Sutsu, Merodi, I got us a room at the inn. Why hello there miss. Who are you?" Zukuto asked in amazement while wondering what a moon vilager was doing in the grass village.

"My name is Kawashima Kaori, and I showed your accomplices here how to get to this rstaurant, and we decided to eat together." Kaori replied.

"Ah yes, well may i join you too?" Zukuto asked while holding his stomach for being hungry.

"I guess..." Kaori said.

Zukuto sat down and threw a bowl of ramen into his face. He ate and ate, slurping it everywhere, and then asked for more.

"So anyways," Sutsu said in amazement while trying to cover up Zukuto eating sloppily, "How long will you be in town for Kaori?"

"Well i was planning on leaving after this." Kaori said a little repelled by Zukuto eating terribly.

"Excuse our friend, he loves to eat..." Merodi explained.

"I can see that." Kaori said expressionless.

"Well anyways... yeah so where will you be going after this?" Sutsu asked.

"Um, I don't know. Maybe to go look for my brother, or return back to soem guys i met earlier before i came here. There names were Tashi and Nakatsu, btu i left them to coem here."

"Ah yes. After we finish our mission here, we will be heading back to the waterfall village." Merodi said.

Zukuto had finally finished his fifth bowl of ramen, and was fianlyl ready to start talking. But everyone had gone back to eating, leaving him to eat more ramen.

It had grown dusk, and after talking for much hours, they had grown weary, and were ready to leave. Sutsu had actually warmed up to Kaori, and had considered her to be one of his friends. He hoped that their paths would cross again someday, as she left to go look for her brother, and look for Nakatsu and Tashi.

"Let's go back to the inn now Zukuto." Merodi said.

[Zukuto-kun]

Zukuto lead Merodi and Sutsu to the inn. When they arrived they walked through the door and to the bar. When the bartender wasn't looking Sutsu snagged a pint of sake from the counter. Zukuto looked down at Sutsu and shook his head.

"Hello, may we have some water," Zukuto asked the bartender. The bartender turned and finished cleaning his cup. "Now what are three young kids doing in here, huh?" he asked poking Zukuto in the chest. Zukuto closed his eyes and spoke slower this time.

"May we have some water, we are thirsty," he said slower but with more intensity. He balled his right fist, obviously annoyed by being underestimated. THe bartender laughed and grabbed Zukuto by the shirt.

"Hey! I make the rules around here and I say no snot nosed brats get there water," He shouted in Zukuto's face. "Only us high class people will be servered around here. You ninja go back to wherever it is you're from."

Zukuto glared at the man intensly. "Sir, I insist that you let me go now." The bartender laughed again. He gripped tighter on Zukuto's shirt. "Yeah? Or what," he tested.

Sutsu took a step back and grabbed Merodi's shoulder to do the same. Zukuto grabbed the bartender's arm and began to squeeze. The bartender laughed yet again. "Oh well will you look at this, he wants to hold my hand! Well I'll be-Ah-OW!!!!!! Get OFF!!!"

The man had released Zukuto's shirt and was now held in place by Zukuto. Zukuto still applied the pressure to the man's arm and he yelped with pain. With one quick motion Zukuto gripped hard and a loud crack echoed through the tavern. The man screamed and Zukuto through him back against the wall in the bar. The man cradled his arm and looked p at Zukuto with wide eyes. Zukuto reached over the bar and grabbed three mugs of water, still looking intently at the man. "Thanks," was all he said before walking away. Sutsu and Merodi followed close behind as Zukuto walked through the sea of stares and whispering to the inn keeper. The inn keeper smiled at the three.

"Hello there!" the inn keeper exclaimed happily. "And may I thank you for shutting that man up, I've been wanting to fire him for quite some time. He likes to drink on the job. So, would you like that three person room you came in here earlier to get?"

"Yes," Zukuto replied, "that would be fine."

The inn keeper rummaged through a large ring of keys and then pulled one off with an, "Ah-Hah!" He handed Zukuto the large brass key. "There you go sir, have a nice stay!"

Zukuto led them up the creeking stairs and down the hallway. They reached the room marked "06" and Zukuto inserted the key into the keyhole. He turned the knob and entered the room. It was a pretty well kept together room with three medium sized beds and two windows, one on the wall and one on the roof where the moon showed brightly through. They dropped their things next to the beds and sat down on them. Sutsu smiled and chugged viciously on his pint of sake. Zukuto shook his head and handed Merodi a water. She nodded in thanks and sat on the bed. Zukuto returned to his bed and sipped his water.

"So Sutsu," Zukuto began, "aren't you a little young to be drinking alcohol?"

Sutsu drank deeply and finished off his pint. He exhaled loudly and looked back up at Zukuto, his cheeks now red.

"Hey, I like sake! There's no problem with that!" he exclaimed.

"Well, I just don't want it to affect your abilities as a ninja," Zukuto said.

"Ok then," Sutsu replied. "When you start to eat less I'll quit drinking permenantly."

Zukuto perked up. "Eating is not the samne as drinking!"

"Well you are still affected on missions because your stuffed!"

They both stared each other down

((OOC: Lightning eyes moment, lol))

and then turned away from each other with there arms folded in front of them. Merodi chuckled and set her drink down.

"Well, I don't know about you two but I'm beat..." she said with a yawn.

"I agree, let's get some rest. You too...Sutsu?"

Merodi and Zukuto looked over to see Sutsu asleep in his bed snoring loudly.

((OOC: Anime snot bubble time, lol))

Zukuto and Merodi shook there heads and grinned. "Night," Zukuto said as he rolled over onto his bed. Merodi returned the gesture and rolled over as well.

******************

At midnight the inn is loud with various snores. The main room has men sleeping in their chairs with a beer slowly dripping down their front and the bartender lying down in the back room on a small bed, now with a cast over his broken wrist. A creek comes from the stairs and Zukuto emerges from the stairs. He walks down past the snoring men and out the door. He stands there for a minute letting the cool air run over him and he begins to walk down the street. As he rounds the corner he walks over to a bench and sits down. He relaxes a bit, and then leans back with his eyes closed.

"You can come out now, Kaori," Zukuto said.

Behind him the shadows shifted and formed the silhouette of a person. Then they faded away and Kaori was standing there next to the bench where Zukuto was sitting. "How'd you know?" she asked.

"When I walked outside I took a minute to feel the night air and I felt something move past me," he replied.

He's good, Kaori thought. "Well what are you doing out so late?"

Zukuto opened his eyes a little. "Couldn't sleep," he said. "And you?" Kaori shrugged. "Eh, I don't sleep much." Zukuto stood. "Well, what shall we do at this hour? Nothing's open and people will get suspicious about two ninja roming about after hours," Zukuto asked.

"That's if they see us," Kaori said with a grin. Just then she faded into the shadows and was gone. Zukuto smiled and followed after her. She led him to a deserted area witha fountain. The both sat there and talk with each other for a while. Zukuto shared his past with her and how he had become a chunin. In return she shared with him her past, about her brother and the guy, Hachiro, she had stayed wit the day before. After about a half hour af talking they decided to call it a night and go back to the inn. They both walked down the path back to the inn silently. As they walked Kaori grabbed Zukuto and pulled him into the shadows with her. "Wha-," was all Zukuto could say before she put her hand over his mouth. She pointed upward at the rooftops and standing there were twelve people in hooded cloaks. "I've seen them before," Kaori said quietly. "They're here to attack the Grass Village."

Zukuto looked up at the men and saw that they all held either a kunai or a katana in each hand. "We've got to get back to the inn and get Sutsu and Merodi, Zukuto said pulling away from Kaori. "I believe this is where we start our mission. I guess it won't be such a quiet night after all."

[Stu]

Sutsu awoke being shaken by Merodi.

"Ah! What do you want?!" Sutsu asked. He saw two ninja in the door way of their room. They were unfamiliar, and Sutsu jumped to the balcony of the room. There, he threw his arm in front of him, releasing his whip to his hand. He could feel his chakra being absorbed by the stone at the bottom of his whip's handle, but he now could double the strength of his chakra by releasing it through his whip.

Meanwhile, Merodi jumped to the other side of the room, and pulled out a kunai. She threw it into one of the ninja's arms, and then exploded it, blowing up his arm and half of his body. The ninja next to him, wielding two katanas, ran at her at full speed, but she flipped over her and ran to the door.

"Come on Sutsu, we need to get out of here!" she screamed.

Sutsu didn't pay attention to her. He had his full attention on the dual sword wielding ninja. As the ninja ran at Sutsu, she had her blades ready to strike. Sutsu thrashed his whip, wrapping it around both blades, and spun around her. He then concentrated his chakra into making strings from his left hand, and wrapped them around the ninja's hands. As he pulled the strings, she dropped the blades, and started to moan in pain. She then kicked one of her fallen blades behind her, landing right into Sutsu's leg.

"AH!" he yelled.

"Sutsu!" Merodi screamed. She then tossed a shuriken at the ninja swordsman, but she used her leg to flip her other blade around and deflected it.

Sutsu, in extreme pain, didn't want to waste anymore time with this ninja swordsman. She was way to strong for him. Sh could masterfully wield her swords even when they weren't in her hands. Sutsu released his chakra, and dashed to the door, but she threw her sword in front of his face, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"There's no escape little boy," the ninja girl said, "I'm gonna have fun torturing you."

Sutsu saw what his next plan was. The swordsman had no weapons, and was defenseless, wearing just a robe.

"Why would she be only wearing a robe?" Sutsu asked himself, "Merodi, go find Zukuto and stay with him, I'll catch up." He said to Merodi.

Merodi ran off without a word. She was worried but she knew she'd need to find help. That ninja girl was too powerful for Sutsu.

Meanwhile, Sutsu sat frozen in fear as the ninja girl walked closer to him.

"So little boy, i bet your very afraid... aren't you? Tell me your name," she demanded.

"...I-I Sutsu..." He said frozen. He then saw the sword sitting in front of him return to her hand, as if magic, and lost all track of any plans he had thought of to defeat her. But, after examining very closely, he saw there were little fine wires tied to the sword. "So that's how she uses them so masterfully..." he thought to himself.

"Mine is Rashi. Pleased to meet you." Rashi said.

Sutsu then spun around, now knowing a way to defeat her. He woudl use the strings she had against her.

First, he jumped over her. She countered by throwing her sword into the ceiling, and Sutsu barely had escaped it, just like he had planned. She then retracted her other sword from his leg, and threw it at him, getting it stuck into the wall. Sutsu then made chakra kunai, and threw them into the blades, shattering them. Rashi could now only use the hilts of the the swords as weapons.

"How did you... what the hell did you do?!" Rashi asked din amazement.

"This!" Sutsu said as he made another chakra kunai. He then threw it into her head, killing her.

As Merodi ran back with Zukuto and Kaori, they all saw Sutsu make the chakra kunai and finish her off. Rashi's blood splattered all over them.

"EW!" Merodi shrieked.

"What was that?!" said a random voice.

"I don't know," said another voice, "Let's go check it out."

Many enemy ninja then came to where Merodi shrieked. Sutsu, Zukuto, Merodi, and Kaori were surrounded.

"What do we do now, there are too many and they are all too powerful... are they Jounin?!" Sutsu asked.

Kaori then faded into the shadows.

"Where is she going?!" Merodi asked in fear.

"I don't know..." Zukuto said, just as shocked that she would ditch them.

[Wrath]

Jin watched carefully as the two boys left the village. She was just on her way to inform her sensei when he met her on the way.

"Sensei! The boy! From Hidden Leaf Village! Right there, come on, hurry! We can still catch him, bring back a missing- nin while we're out and about-"

"It's alright. He no longer concerns us. His name is Sutsu Faari, and he's already met with the Hitokage. Our countries are allied nations, and apparently Faari is his grandson."

"So we're just gonna let him go?"

"From the information I gathered, he will be needed where he is going more than anywhere else. I'll explain more later, but we need to get back to Hidden Leaf Village quickly. You're ready to go, right?"

*sweatdrop moment for Jin*

"Are you kidding? We just got here! All the way from Sand country!"

"Well..." Tamasine said, hesitating.

"AH!" Jin suddenly yelled, her eyes panicky. "I left my wallet at the fish vendor!!!" And for being so tired, Jin started to run back the way she came very fast.

She was nearly there when she ran headlong into a tall shinobi. It knocked her to the ground, but only made him stumble backwards a few steps. She looked up, and realized he was wearing a strange headband. There was also someone behind him, walking with a limp and heavily bandaged.

Jin sprang to her feet and glared at them both, bristling.

((ooc: cue to matt))

[Naucoaran]

Tashi stumbled back a few paced when a smaller girl had crashed into him. "wh-" he started as he looked down at the girl. "Are you okay?" he said in a disarming voice as she glared at him. "You really should be more careful where you are going." After smoothing his garments he scanned her over. "I am Tashi, and this wounded fellow is Nakatsu. "This is yours, yes?" he said as he fished a familiar wallet out of his shirt pocket. "I was behind you at the cart and you left without it. Everything is in there, if you want to check I won’t mind."

She had taken the wallet as he spoke and as he finished she opened up the wallet and suspiciously scanned through it. After being satisfied that nothing had been taken, the woman replaced the wallet on her person. "Can I trouble you with your name, ninja?" He said with a hint of uncertainty. She was dressed as one skilled in the arts would be and she seemed like she was at least in-training to become a ninja.

It was at this moment that someone who must have been her sensei came walking over to see why it was taking so long for the girl to get her missing belongings. "What's taking you so long Jin?" the older man had said as he walked up. Before Jin could answer Tashi spoke. "It was somewhat my fault, we ran into each other and although I was looking for her to return something to her I got carried away in trying to talk to her."

He turned to better address the sensei "If I may be so bold to say, I wish to extend my services to you for a time, I see by the way you stand and by the intensity of your eyes that you are on edge and having someone of my caliber on your side can always ease your nerves. I ask nothing of you but to accompany you, but if you decline then so be it." he said I might follow you anyways in that case. he added in his mind as an afterthought.

[Michi]

Kaori stepped into the shadows and wove her way quickly through the crowd of attackers. They were distracted enough that they didn't even notice if she happened to brush against them. When she was out of the circle, she slipped her hand into her belt, and drew out several long, deadly-looking needles. Each needle was filled with a deadly combination of drugs that would kill a man in minutes. she took one in each hand, and, with a flick of her wrists, fired them into the necks of the two ninjas closest to her.

She quickly morphed into the shadows and retreated to the cover of an alley. There was a ladder leading up to the roof, so she climbed it and crawled to the edge of the roof, pulling out several more needles and lining them up in front of her. She could see the other three fighting the group of ninjas and being overwhelmed by them. She aimed carefully and fired a needle, which sank into the neck of one Merodi was fighting. The ninja collapsed. Merodi looked around, confused, before being drawn into a fight with yet another ninja.

She was very nearly out of needles when she saw one ninja break away from the fight, out of the corner of her eye, and head for the roof. Kaori snatched up the needles that were still lying on the roof, and shoved them into the pouch with the few others she had left.

He didn't bother trying to be silent as he jumped onto the
roof; she could see him, though he couldn't see her. Kaori tried her best not to breathe. If she didn't move, if he didn't hear her, he wouldn't know where she was.

That may have been true, but it wasn't going to stop him from guessing. She didn't even see his hand move, but a kunai thudded into the roof a few feet where she was lying. Another landed closer. Another landed next to it, only inches away. Now she had no choice; move or die. She drew her short knife as she leaped to her feet, all in the same motion. The ninja heard her, and a moment later a sword was in his hands.

She had the advantage, however; he was having to fight somewhat clumsily, slashing at the air almost wildly, if incredibly fast. the only trouble was that they were on a roof, and Kaori was the one constantly having to back up. Eventually, he backed her into a corner. She tried to duck under his blade, but it caught her shoulder. She gasped slightly in pain and felt blood trickle down her arm, even if she couldn't see it. She hit the ground and rolled, as the ninja turned, slashing his sword in her general direction. Kaori fumbled for a needle, and the sword hit her in the side. She ignored the searing pain and lunged forward, burying the needle in his leg.

Holding her side, she stepped out of the shadows and clumsily climbed down the ladder. Her shoulder and side needed to be bound, but she didn't have the time or materials just now. she tore a strip of cloth off her tunic and tied it tightly around her middle to try and stop the bleeding.

The other three had finished off the few remaining ninjas at that point. Or they had escaped - Kaori didn't know which. She walked over to them.

They looked to be in pretty good shape, all things considered. Sutsu and Merodi sported minor cuts ad scrapes, but nothing too serious. Zukotu, oddly enough, appeared to be entirely unmarked.

"Where did you go?" Sutsu asked her as she approached.

"I morphed into the shadows - it's a special ability that I have." She explained. "I slipped out of the circle and up to the roof, and picked them off from there." She didn't elaborate exactly how, and began walking towards Hachiro's house. Assuming he was there instead of out somewhere looking for her.

"Where are you going?" Merodi asked, as the other three walked along next to her.

"I have a friend who lives here." She explained, "I want to go talk to him about this." As she said it, she broke into a run and, surprisingly, the other three exchanged glances, and followed. Kaori didn't ask questions - let them follow her if they wanted.

Hachiro's house was dark. Kaori's first thought was that he must be out somewhere, but then she noticed that the side door to his house was open, and swinging slightly in the wind. This was very odd. She increased her speed and ran into his house.

"Hachiro? Hachiro are you -" She stopped short when she saw the carnage in the front room. The others, who had run after her, nearly ran into her.

"What-" the word ended in a gasp, as Merodi saw what had obviously happened. Kaori, for her part, was having trouble breathing. The room was spinning and she felt dizzy. Perhaps that was just the blood loss? Her knees gave out and she let them, sliding to the floor.

It was clear what had happened. He must have been caught unaware. Maybe even sleeping. half his torso and his right leg were blown completely off his body. His eyes were open and lifeless, staring up at the ceiling. Someone tugged at her arm and, when that failed to cause a response in the stricken girl, gently pulled her to her feet.

For some reason she wasn't crying. She supposed the tears would come later, when the shock wore off, and by then she could be far away. She allowed whoever had hold of her arm to lead her out the door and away from the house.

[Wrath]

Jin stood akimbo looking at Tashi with a raised eyebrow. What was wrong with this guy? He didn't take her wallet? He must be a wierd guy! She didn't like the looks of this stranger, and was just as cruel to him as she was to anybody she met for the first time.

"What gives?! You show up here and start hitting on my sensei [mimicks: 'you have beautiful eyes! '] and want to follow us?! How creepy is tha--"

She would have continued her assault, but her sensei's finger was stopping the artery behind her neck. She felt very faint, and slumped as her vision slightly dimed.

Now that his noisy student was subdued, Tamasine smiled nervously under his mask that covered his face save for his eyes.

"I apologize for that. My genin is often troublesome and loud, please take no offence. And I thank you for the return of her purse." he said to the man. Tamasine tried to be friendly, but he was also extremely suspicious. Jin had brought up a good point. Ninjas from different villages weren't always jumping at the chance to make friends of foreigners.

"I am honored by your request to come with us, however, there is a matter we must attend to which must be accomplished at a great pace. We are leaving immediately, actually. May I ask your name, anyways? Mine is Aikimoto Tamasine."

Tamasine decided that if he acted naive and friendly enough, then maybe he could catch this stranger in the act, that is, if the stranger was trying to sabatoge them.

[Zukuto-kun]

Zukuto lead the group through an alleyway to throw any would-be attackers off their trail. Merodi and Sutsu braced Kaori and pulled her along. Zukuto continually scaned around the alleys for danger while Sutsu and Merodi did the same with the rooftops. Kaori had passed out a while back at the house after witnessing the death of her close friend.

"Stay close," Zukuto said softly. "I wont let any harm come to you three so long as we stick together. Make sure that Kaori makes it too."

"Don't worry about us so much Zukuto," Sutsu said. "We can handle her." Sutsu looked over to Merodi. She nodded in agreement and shifted Kaori's arm a little higher on her shoulder. Zukuto nodded and returned to scanning the darkness. They rounded a corner came face-to-face with the gate. Zukuto motioned for them to follow and they continued to the gates. A soft metalic slice sounded behind them and Zukuto spun around. On the rooftop stood a cut up man in a blood-stained black robe and the hood down reveiling a headband and a mask with white pupil-less eyes. He had a katana in his left hand and raised it slightly. He then swung his hand down and the sword flew through the air at Kaori, Merodi and Sutsu. Zukuto jumped over the three and braced them with his body. A loud "CLANK" echoed through the night accompanied by a shatter. Sutsu opened his eyes and turned around to see Zukuto still holding on to them tightly. Where'd the katana go? he thought. I thought we'd be scewered. What happened? Zukuto released the three and moved them back a little.

"Run to the gate, I'll come in a bit," he said glaring at the man.

"No way Zukuto," Sutsu protested, "we're a team!"

Zukuto put his hands together to form a seal. "Very well then, stand back."

Zukuto moved his fingers into a variety of signs and then held his hands out in front of him. "Mizu Sa-Ji no Jutsu." A large ball of swirling water appeared in his hands and then shot toward the man on the rooftop at unimaginable speed. The man is engulfed in the water and thrown back into the village. Zukuto lowers his hands and lowers his head taking a breath of relief. Sutsu looked up at where tha man had been. All that remained of him was the water now trickling onto the ground below it and a soggy black cloak sitting on the roof. Sutsu then looked down at Zukuto. He noticed a large peircingin his clothes on his back. At his feet were shattered peices of metal and a hilt. Sutsu looked back at Zukuto questioningly. Zukuto turned around and walked to the group.

"We need to go," he said. "Hurry we need to help Kaori out."

Zukuto took off running to the gate. Sutsu and Merodi looked at each other astounded and also run after him to the gates of the Grass Village.

((OOC: ok, its FINALLY HERE, continue plz...))

[Stu]

Sutsu and Merodi struggled, carrying Kaori, but they knew they'd need to take her back to the waterfall village.

"Excuse me sirs and madams, why are you people trying to leave our village?" a guard asked as they passed the gate.

"We need to go back to the waterfall village fast, she is injured." Sutsu said angrily.

"I'm sorry, but until we find all of the attackers on tonight's raid, we cannot allow anyone to leave." the guard replied.

"OK, we must find a way to get her help." Zukuto said.

"No. That isn't gonna happen. You sir, are going to let us out of this town, now." Sutsu said, getting a very dark look in his eyes.

"Are you arguing with me? I can attack you for arguing back you know." the guard said, pulling out a kunai from his pocket.

"Yes i am, what of it?" Sutsu said as he stepped back, pulling a kunai out also.

"Sutsu, stop, we don't want any trouble." Zukuto said.

"No. I'm gonna get him. If he won't let us out, then we gotta fight our way out." Sutsu said determined to get out.

"Me too, if Sutsu wants to, I want to also!" Merodi said pulling out four shuriken in her hands.

"Stop this nonsense, do you think we are gonna lose to some punks!?" one of the guards said.

"Ok Sutsu, you win. Let's go!" Zukuto said as he put his fists up in a fighting position.

The guards then ran at them. The three guards then split apart and threw kunai at the Sutsu, Merodi, and Zukuto. They had laid Kaori on the ground far away from them, and started getting ready to fight.

((OOC: all of these fights take place at the same time))

~~~~~~

Sutsu took the one to the right. He first, whipped out his wrist, releasing his whip, and started cracking the whip in th spots that the guard was jumping at, but the guard would jump over them and land in a new spot. Sutsu then thought of an idea. He made a chakra kunai, and cracked his whip. He estimated the length of where the guard was going to land, and threw his chakra kunai at that spot, landing right through her breast, through her heart. She died instantly.

~~~~~~

Merodi took her four shuriken, and instantly took the one in the middle. As he ran toward her, he pulled out three kunai, and threw them at her. She threw all four kunai, and three of them hit the shuriken. The guard wondered where the last one had gone until he realised a sharp pain in his stomach. He realized that he had been hit. He continued to fight anyhow. He pulled out a shuriken, and threw it at her, but she used her doajutsu to dodge it, and appear right behind him. She had snuck another kunai out, and had his neck threatened. he then substitution-ed, and appear right behind her, slitting her throat, but it turned out to be a substitution as well. She then appeared in a tree, and threw a kunai at him, striking him in the stomach again. He laid on the ground in pain, moaning.

~~~~~~

Zukuto had pulled up his fists, and started punching at the guard to the left. The guard had decided to fight Zukuto with a kunai like a knife. The guard swiped at Zukuto, but Zukuto used his steel skin, to deflect it, and socked him in the face. The guard flew back, unconscious.

~~~~~~

They had all finished fighting, and picked up Kaori to leave. They dashed off into the forest, without a trace.

As they came near the Waterfall village, They noticed weird bushes shaking. but they made little of it, and continued on.

They now had come to the front of the town. Zukuto went to the Hitokage's hall, as Sutsu and Merodi took Kaori to the hospital, where the doctor watched her heart rate.

"She will be ok... she just had mortal shock, and it knocked her senseless." the doctor replied.

"Thank you." Sutsu said as he and Merodi left the building.

They then walked out into the village, and walked toward the Hitokage's place, where Zukuto had been, informing the hitokage about what had happened in the grass village. Zukuto then came running out of the building, spotted Sutsu and Merodi, and ran toward them.

"Sutsu, you must go see the Hitokage right now..." Zukuto said.

"what is so urgent?" Sutsu asked.

"Just go talk to the Hitokage." Zukuto said as he started walking back to the Hitokage's place.

Sutsu and Merodi followed, and opened the door to his place. Upon entering, the Hitokage rose, and bowed.

"Ah, my dear grandson... won't you come in?" Hitokage asked.

"G-Grandson? who?" Sutsu asked in shock.

"Why you of course. You are my grandson." Kitokage replied, "Well anyways, I need to test your strength... for the Chunin exams... would you mind coming with me to the arena? Zukuto and Merodi can watch from the watching box." Hitokage said.

"O-OK..." Sutsu said as he followed the Hitokage through a big door way.

Upon entering, the Hitokage instantly held his hands in front of him.

"Attack me." he said boldly.

Upon hearing that, Sutsu instantly pulled out hi whip, and ran at the Hitokage.

"A whip ain't gonna do you much good there, Sutsu..." Hitokage said as he flipped backward.

"This whip is special though." Sutsu said smiling. He then made three hand symbols, and cracked his whip, allowing his dragon flame jutsu to travel through it, and make a huge cloud of fire spark out from the top.

"What the hell?!! That's no normal Dragon Flame Jutsu! Where exactly did you GET that whip?!!" the Hitokage screamed in excitement.

"I stole it... from the Hokage. It was apparently a very rare whip, and it's apparently forbidden to use." Sutsu explained, "It's called the Ferisame."

"T-The Ferisame?!! Hmm... i see... the legendary whip... no wonder your dragon flame jutsu was so powerful..." the Hitokage said.

"Let's continue the fight." Sutsu said.

Sutsu then grabbed his kunai, and threw it at the Hitokage. The Hitokage, grabbed the kunai, in mid air, but Sutsu had followed it with a chakra kunai. The Hitopkage used his chakra strings, and grabbed it in the air.

"H-How did you... make a kunai out of chakra..." the Hitokage asked, surprised.

"I... I was given a shot, and it boosted my powers... the shot was from a Ms. Ridai... from the sand village..." Sutsu explained.

"hmmm... very interesting... let's continue. the Hitokage exclaimed.

Sutsu then spun around, and tried to hit the Hitokage, but the Hitokage blocked his punch and flipped him over, on to his head.

"I see... your a terrible Taijutsu fighter... everything else is fine but... your Taijutsu is..." Hitokage said.

"I know i know... it's bad." Sutsu said.

"Hitokage sir, may i train him in Taijutsu?" Zukuto asked.

"No no... your's will never do... he is gonna need some SERIOUS Taijutsu... I think i have an idea..." The Hitokage thought out loud.

"What is it, sir?" Zukuto asked.

"Well, he could train in the way of the Hyuga clan... they have gentle fighting yet real deadly..." the Hitokage said.

"H-Hyuga clan? You mean THE Hyuga clan?" Sutsu asked surprised.

"Yes, I will have them teach you. But before you leave tomorrow, I'd like to teach you a special jutsu..." the Hitokage said.

"Yes, grandfather..." Sutsu said.

The Hitokage then did multiple hand signs in a row, and summoned a gigantic water ball, and shot it into the air. It then exploded, and shot down a stream of water that made a giant hole int he ground.

"It's a special Jutsu, used only by Hitokages, or future Hitokages..." the Hitokage said.

"I-I'm gonna be the Hitokage?" Sutsu asked in surprise.

"Someone is going to have to take over..." the Hitokage said.

"I see... well... till tomorrow..." Sutsu said. He then made the hand signs that the Hitokage had shown him, and summoned the giant water ball, releasing it and making a giant waterfall.

"Very good Sutsu... till tomorrow... Merodi, Zukuto, i need you to take care of some business with that Kaori girl... I'd like her to join you as a replacement for Sutsu. Please head to the Sand village, and inform me of how the sand village is holding up." the Hitokage said.

"Y-Yes sir!" Zukuto said.

"I will... but can i at least say good bye to Sutsu for a while?" Merodi asked.

~~~~~~ (the next day)

"Merodi..." Sutsu said. They then embraced and started kissing.

"Sutsu, come back safe... OK?" Merodi asked.

"I will..." Sutsu said.

"Play it safe Sutsu." Zukuto said.

"Of course." Sutsu said with a smile.

"How long will you be gone?" Kaori asked, she had recovered and was all better.

"I... I think 3 months... which means that i will be back in time for the Chunin exams..." Sutsu said. HE then turned around and left, into the forest, and sped off toward the leaf village.

He had not been there in ages, and wasn't looking forward to going back.

[Zukuto-kun]

Zukuto, Merodi (now teary eyed) and Kaori waved at Sutsu as he left. Zukuto smiled. He's a good kid that Sutsu, Zukuto thought, he'll make a great Hitokage one day. Zukuto then tightened his headband and looked back at Merodi and Kaori. Merodi was smiling brightly and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Kaori smiled too and looked at her left arm which now had the Waterfall Village headband tied to it. Zukuto walked up in between the two and patted them both on the back.

"So, shall we get going as well?" he asked.

Merodi nodded as well as Kaori. "Yeah, I think we should. Don't want to keep Sutsu waiting!" Merodi said happily. Zukuto laughed. "Come on you two, lets go."

The three ninja took off out of the gates toward the Sand Village for another mission. As they moved Merodi noticed Zukuto reaching into his pouch. He retrieved antother headband. He slipped the one on his head off and then put it into the pouch. He then tied the new one, the Sand Village headband, to his forehead. Merodi then thought back to the day when she first saw Zukuto fight the three ninja in the desert in the Sand Village. She thought he'd changed a bit since she first met him. He seems a lot nicer in person than when he's really fighting, she said to herself. She smiled and then thought of Sutsu once more. I can't wait to see Sutsu after his training! They continued on until Zukuto stopped on a tree branch ahead. Merodi and Kaori stopped next to him.

"It's gettng dark," Zukuto said. "I'm suprised time has gone by so fast. We'll set up camp here tonight." Zukuto jumped down followed by Merodi and Kaori. Zukuto walked over to a tree and tested its strength by tapping it. He smiled and then punched his fist through it. He then walked around the the other side of the tree to find a good sized pile of wood and liftd it up. He eturned to the girls, who had already set up their sleeping bags and dropped the logs in the middle.

"Would you do the honors Merodi?" Zukuto asked wipping his hands.

Merodi nodded and through a shuriken into the pile. She focused on it and it erupted into a ball of flame igniting the logs and making a nice warm fire. Zukuto smiled and reached back to his pack. He too retreived his sleeping bag and set it up on the other side of the fire from the girls. Kaori took off her long black cloak and laid back on her bed (she's wearing clothes still guys, get ur mind out of the gutter). She crossed her arms behind her and sighed with relief.

"Ah, it feels good to be out in the wilderness again," she said with a grin.

"Yes I like coming out here too," Zukuto added. "For me it's a time to get away from it all, relax and just get in touch with the things around you."

Kaori nodded and looked up at the stars. To the left she saw the crescent moon. "I miss my village," she said. "I do wish we could go back sometime."

Zukuto laid back on his bed too. "Sure, we'll stop by there sometime. I've never been there and would like to see it for myslef as well."

Merodi agreed and looked into the fire. "I'm a little parched," she said licking her lips. Zukuto sat up and grabbed three mugs from his pack. He set them in front of him and put his hands together to form a seal. "Mizu Sa-Ji no Jutsu," he said a ball of water forming in his hands. Instead of splashing away and obliterating the camp, the water poured into the three mugs and filled them to the top. He thenmoved his right hand down and two streams of water traveled beneath the cups. The streams lifted them up and over the fire to Merodi and Kaori. They both accepted their cups happily and began to drink. Zukuto grabbed his as well and partook of the drink.

"So Merodi, Kaori, what are your guys' stories?" Zukuto asked as he finished off his drink.

((OOC: Ok, im done for now, Sutsu can post on his character and junk or do Merodi's little back story explanation, doesnt really matter, just michi remember u need to type up ur back story here too. Ill do the same))

[Stu]

Merodi glanced at the ground.

"Merodi, you go first... I'd like to hear your story... along with Sutsu's..." Kaori said happily.

"Well... ok..." Merodi began, "When we were little, Sutsu and I... we were best friends... we always cared about each other, and we loved to be around each other. When we got older though, we began to become "closer" if you will. Eventually... we began talking about us doing the Right of Acception... which is a special way to get married. It's a magical, once in a life time moment, where two people can finally be joined otgether..."

"How does the Right of Acceptiopn go?" Zukuto asked, "I once over heard a girl talking about it a long time ago.

"Well, two people join together, under a soft waterfall, and hold hands, while some one in a higher rank, reads a book of matrimony. When they get ready, the two people must close their eyes, and concentrate on each other. Then, their chakra will combine together, and make a magical color, and the waterfall will turn that color. They then stop the chakra flows, and kiss." Merodi explained.

"OK, thank you... now please continue." Zukuto said.

"Well anyways... so we grew up, kissing and being "close". But then one day, we had a fight... and i got mad... and told my parents... Well, our parents really disliked eachother... and had always been fighting. So when they heard how i was upset, they decided that was their time to attack them. They killed everyone of his family members, except they couldn't kill him. So many days later, Sutsu attacked in the middle of the night, and killed my entire family, only me escaping..." Merodi said with a sad expression.

"How terrible..." Kaori said, "It's no wonder you weren't scared when we saw my friend slain, you've seen much worse..."

"I see why Sutsu had trouble... talking with you when we first met... but please continue." Zukuto said.

"So, i ran away... in fear, and Sutsu chased after me... He couldn't catch me... but he would get pretty close..." Merodi explained.

"I see... so you and Sutsu have a long past together..." Kaori said.

"Yeah... well, I'd like to hear Kaori's story, but I'm tired, and need to go to bed..." Zukuto explained.

"Yeah... so good night..." Kaori said.

"Goodnight... Zukuto... Kaori... Sutsu..." Merodi said as she fell asleep.

[spiritchan]

((OOC: heh....bout time i post in this again...took me a while to fi'gure out what i should do....^^)

Awkward tension grew among the Kumogakure ninja as they continued their journey to the Moon Village. Toroku had suggested they cut through the Wind Country to save time, even though this was the season there were the most sand storms. And, even now, as clouds of sand blew past them, stinging their eyes, he heard not a word of complaint from Sachi, who was trailing behind them. The other two, however…

“Senseeeeeei!” Jiro whined. “Why would you make us cut through this god-forsaken country unprepared?!” He looked up at Toroku, who was staring straight ahead, marching through the sand as if it weren’t there.

“Because, the Waterfall Village doesn’t carry supplies for trudging through the desert, and the Sand Village is no friend of ours.” he said sternly. Zinan, who was wearing his goggles for eye protection, grew curious at this last statement.

“No friend of ours? What do you mean by that, Toroku-Sensei?” he asked curiously. Toroku sighed, then proceeded to answer his student’s question.

“Some years ago, before I was even a genin, the Cloud Village attempted an attack on the Leaf Village. And when I say ‘attempt’, I mean just that.”

“What happened, Sensei?” Zinan asked. Toroku continued.

“Well, to put it bluntly, we got our asses handed to us.” he said with a slight chuckle, the most emotion he’d shown in a few days. “Kumogakure had no idea how powerful the Konohagakure ninja were, and we were defeated swiftly and painfully, with heavy casualties. It was almost as if they were waiting for us, that they knew the attack would happen. Of course, I have no idea why we attempted to attack them, I was too young to really care.” Jiro and Zinan mulled this information over in their minds a moment.

“But Toroku-Sensei, what does an attack on Konohagakure have to do with the Sand Village?” Jiro asked after a minute. Toroku looked down at him.

“Because the Sand Village is one of the Leaf Village’s main allies, and both are still sore about the attempt, even though we were the ones who lost badly.” The boys nodded in understanding. Behind them, Sachi brought her attention to the story her brother just told.

“That must be why that Leaf Village ninja from the Waterfall Village was so distant towards us…” she muttered from under her hood.

The three boys stopped to turn and look at her. It was the first thing she had said in over three days. Having all their eyes on her made her uncomfortable, so she looked away.

“It was just a guess…It could have been something else…” she mumbled. Toroku smiled warmly at her, and turned his back to her.

“It’s good to have you back, Oni-Chan.” he said as he started walking again. Sachi tensed at the sound of him calling her ‘Oni-chan’, but she didn’t say anything, only continued to walk.

Hopefully, over the course of the next few days, she’ll return to her old self entirely… Toroku thought happily.

*A few days later…*

“Holy SHIT!! How long does this damn desert go on for?!” Sachi complained, hastily brushing sand off of her coat. More sand continued to fall as she continued to brush it off, making her very frustrated.

She had indeed returned to her old self after a few days.

Her teammates plopped down onto the sand, resting their tired bodies from their, what seemed to be, never-ending journey through the Wind Country. Sachi gave up trying to rid herself of the sand that seemed to be magnetic to her coat, and crossed her arms with an irritated huff.

“Have a seat, Sachi. Your body needs the rest.” Toroku said, patting a spot on the sand next to him. “And that sand will only continue to settle on you. It’s like dust.” Sachi snorted.

“No way, Sensei. If I sit, I’ll get sand up my ass.” she explained nonchalantly. “And no one wants that.” Toroku chuckled.

“Fine. Suit yourself. But don’t come complaining to me when your legs get tired.” he said, standing up. “Ok squad, time to get a move on.” Zinan and Jiro grumbled as they stood, and they headed out.

After a while of walking, as well as complaining from Sachi, the squad noticed what looked like a small camp, and smoke coming from a fire. Curious, Toroku lead his team towards the camp.

“Sensei, what are you doing?! They could be dangerous!” Zinan protested as he followed his sensei loyally.

“I’m just checking, Zinan. They might be hurt or lost or something like that.” he explained. As they grew closer to the camp, Sachi thought one of them looked familiar, and ran ahead of her team to find out. To her surprise, it was Zukuto. He was asleep in his sleeping bag, along with two girls she had never seen before. Sachi grinned mischievously, grabbed a nearby stick, and began poking Zukuto in the face.

“Sachi, that’s rude! Cut it out!” Jiro told her in a scolding whisper, but she didn’t listen. Finally, Zukuto began to stir, and eventually opened his eyes. He glanced around at his surroundings, and then up at Sachi. His mind must have not registered the fact that it was her for a moment or two, because he stared at her, dumbstruck, for a few seconds before leaping to his feet.

“AAH! Sachi! What are you doing here?!” he asked. Sachi grinned.

“Hiya, Zukuto-kun!” she greeted. “I think the question is: what are you doing here, and with two girls, eh?”

((OOC: sorry I just kinda barged in ben and stu…I needed to end my post somehow ^^)

[Stu]

Sutsu walked into Konoha, and was shocked at how little Konoha had changed. He started to walk to his house, when he noticed people glaring ta him, frightened and angered. "Do people really recognize me?" he thought to himself as he continued on.

Sutsu then heard a familiar call. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't recognize exactly what it was. He turned around and saw his only other friend and rival, Te Kurisuchi.

"Do I know you? I feel like i recognize you from somewhere. My name is Kurisuchi Te, pleased to meet you." Te said.

"Te, you don't remember me?" Sutsu said with a grin.

"Y-You seem familiar, but i can't put my finger on it..." Te said with a ridiculous smile.

"My name is Faari Sutsu, pleased to meet you." Sutsu said holding back laughing.

"Sutsu!! I hjaven't seen you in forever!" Te said, as he opened his mouth in shock and danced around.

"Yes yes, it has been a long time. How about a spar, since we haven't trained together or done any competing since i left." Sutsu asked.

"OK! After ythat, we will catch up on eahcother," Te said.

Sutsu looked down at his pocket, and saw that Te was still only carrying one kunai with him. "Figures, Te is so good, he doesn't need any more than one Kunai." Sutsu htought to himself.

Sutsu and Te then went to the open field they used to go to when they were yougner, to spar and compete. It haddened changed one bit, since Sutsu had seen it last.

"I'm ready when you are." Te said, pulling out his one kunai.

"Then let's go." Sutsu said, pulling out a kunai from his pocket.

"OK, so we will do Ninjutsu, then Taijutsu right?" Te asked.

"W-What? I thought we woudl just spar... but ok... fine... let's go." Sutsu said.

"Te and Sutsu then ran at eahcother, Sutsu flipping over Te, and landing right behind him.

Te then turned aorund and tried to do a fireball jutsu, but he messed up the hand signs, and just gave up.

"Still not good at Ninjutsu yet... huh." Sutsu said.

"Of course not, now show me what you can do." Te said.

"OK." Sutsu said. He then made hand signs, and summoned Urutori Take no Jutsu (Ultimate Waterfall Technique) and flooded the whole field.

"H-Holy shit! What WAS that!" Te said, shocked.

"We have a lot of catching up to do. It's a good thing i got here opne day earlier than i was supposed to..." Sutsu said.

"Y-Yeah we do... well anyways, let's move on to Taijutsu now... like we always did. You were always better at Ninjutsu, and I was always good at Taijutsu." te said.

They then ran at each other, andstarted throwing punches at eahcother. Te hit Sutsu in the face once, and he was down.

"You win." Sutsu said.

"That's always how it has been, remember?" Te said, laughing.

They then walked to go to Te's house, so thy coudl talk thjere.

Sutsu then told his story to Te abotu how he had run away, and chased Merodi, until he met Zukuto, and was taken to the Waterfall village. He then went on to explain how he was the grandson of the Hitokage, and would take over as the Hitokage, when he was old enough. HE talked abotu how he and Merodi had become friends again, and how he had met many other people, including Kaori, who was also going to join hs squad.

"It sounds like a lot has happened to you lately. Nothing special has happened to me, except i became a chûnin." Te said.

"Well that's special... I still am a Genin, but I'm goign to be training here, so i can do the chûnin exams in the cloud village." Sutsu said as he looke away.

"well, it's late... and you need to sleep for whatever training you have tomorrow, so I'll see you later." Te said as Sutsu stood up

"I shall see you later, Te." Sutsu said.

He then walked to where his old house was, and decided to just stay at the inn. He had bad memories, when he wal;ked near his hosue, so he knew he coudln't stay there.

Sutsu looked up at the wall. He was uncomfortable staying here, but he knew that he woudl be here fro three months... and then go straight to the chûnin. Sutsu then fell asleep.

He woke up tot he sunlight getting into his face, and lept up. He knew he had to go to the Hyuga clans area, and meet hsi new sensei.

As Sutsu walked over to the Hyuga clan's hosue, he grew depressed. He didn't want to do this, he just wanted to be with Merodi, Kaori and Zukuto. But apparently he needed to learn this for the chûnin exams.

As he drew near the house, he saw a girl run out of the house to greet him.

"Hello, my name is Hyuga Ashori, and i will be your new partner. She was a short girl with pupil-less white eyes.

"Hello Ashori, my name is Faari Sut-" Sutsu saud.

"I know already, I've heard all abotu you." Ashori said.

"I see. Well, pleased to meet you Ashori."

Sutsu and Ashori then walked in to the building. Sutsu looked and saw a tall man with long brown hair, and white pupil-less eyes also. He was obviously the guy that was going to teach him how to fight.

"Hello Sutsu, we have long awaited you." the man said, " I am Hyuga Etsuootto, and i will be your new instructor."

"Hello there, Etsuootto. I have one qustion to ask though. How may i fight the Hyuga style, if i do not have the Byakugan?" Sutsu asked curiously.

"Well, there is a special way. And although it is very hard to do, you have so much chakra flowing through you, you can do it. Because of your bloodline, you have too much chakra in you, so you can release it through your left hand. This will merely transfer your chakra to your eyes, and although you won't be able to see ALL of the chakra points, you will be abel to see the major ones. Those major chakra points, are where your attacks will strike." Etsuootto explained.

"I see. So it will be a shortned version of the Hyuga fighting style, only able to stike MAIN chakra points?" Sutsu asked.

"Yes, that is correct. It will help you, but you wouldn't be nearly as good as a Hyuga, no offense." Ashori said, interrupting.

"None taken, I know i am not a Hyuga, and it is a privilage to be learning, even if veyr little, of the Hyuga fighting style." Sutsu said as he bowed.

"Quite indeed. You will only be learning moves that attack the main chakra areas. For when you concentrate your chakra to your eyes, you will only be able to see the main points. Not all of them. Very few of them actually show up in sight actually." Etsuootto explained again.

"So, let my training begin!" Sutsu exclaimed as he lined up with Ashori, facing Etsuootto.

((OOC: Sutsu will only be learning a very small amount of the Hyuga fighting style, and the onyl reason he can is because of his bloodline, having him have excess chakra that he can spare to his eyes. Plus, he can only see main chakra points, unliek the hyuga who can see all of them. So don't think he will be a l33t Hax0r, because compared to any Hyuga, he woudl lose instantly. He will be here for three months, so he wont be in the story until the chûnin exams start. I just wantd to clarify that stuff so you guys didn't think he was a mary sue. he is learning the Hyuga style, because he is too weak to fight with Taijutsu.))

[Zukuto-kun]

Zukuto grabbed the back of his head

((OOC: Anime sweatdrop))

"H-Hey," he stuttered, "It's not what it looks like, I just-" Zukuto's voice trailed off as Sachi pushed past him with the stick held firmly in her hand. Zinan and Jiro approached Zukuto with mischevious grins. "Hey, Zukuto, not bad," Jiro said nudging him in the side. Zukuto turned and glared at Jiro.

"It's NOT what it looks like!!" he exclaimed.

Sachi approached Merodi's sleeping body. She grinned maliciouly and prodded her with the stick. Once the stick made contact with her she burst into flames and vanished. She stumbled back and looked over at Kaori. Her body slowly melted away into the shadows and off into the blackness of the woods. Sachi dropped the stick and jumped back from that spot.

"What the HELL?!" she shouted suprised.

Zukuto put his head into his hand and sighed. Out of the woods, Kaori and Merodi both jumped forth throwing shuriken and darts through the air. Sachi then reached into her own pack, along with Zinan and Jiro, and through kunai and shuriken as well towards them. Zukuto raised his head and ran to the middle where the weapons would cross paths. He made a hand sign and jumped up into the air. "Sumiyaka za Taki no Jutsu!" In midair Zukuto stopped right in the path of the weapons.

"Oh SHIT!!" Sachi exclaimed grabbing her hair.

"Zukuto!" Merodi cried.

In an instant the weapons would strike him. Zukuto raised his hands to his sides. Once the weapons reached his hands they flashed and caught one. His hands were a blur as he quickly caught all of the weapons. One he missed and it sliced right through his shirt and back towards Sachi. She dove out of the way and it embedded itslef in the tree behind her. Zukuto landed on the ground and dropped the weapons on the ground to his side. Sachi rose and looked back at the tree. The kunai had emmbeded itself quite deeply into the tree. She then jumped up and ran to the middle to attack the two girls who through the missles at her. Merodi and Kaori did the same. As they reached Zukuto he grabbed each of their shirts and held them in place.

"Please, no more fighting," he said calmly.

"What the hell was that for! You almost stabbed me!" Sachi yelled angrily. Toroku walked up behind her and smacked her head. "Please Sachi, don't be rude."

Sachi exploded. "WHAT!? DON'T BE RUDE!? THEY ATTACKED ME!!!"

Toroku shook his head and raised his hand. "I'm sorry for you two, Sachi has a habit of using foul language. Isn't that right Oni-chan," Toroku said as he patted her head. Sachi grumbled.

Zukuto let go of Kaori and Merodi. "I'm sorry, i can explain all of this. Please come with me."

Zukuto took them over to the fire. He broke down a few logs for the four new members and they all sat down. He explained what had happened after seeing them in the Waterfall Village. He explained how they met Merodi and about her power of teleportation. He then explained how they met Kaori and the battle in the Grass Village. He told them of how Kaori lost someone very close to her so she is really on edge right now. Sachi and her squad listened intently. Sachi felt sorry for Kaori's loss although she just met her. He then explained what Sutsu was doing in the Leaf Village and that he'd be away for some time. He told them of the elite squad that he founded and how he, Sutsu, Merodi and Kaori are all a part of it. At this they all flashed their waterfall haeadbands. Sachi smiled Cool! she thought. I wanna do somethin like that too! I just gotta get rid of Nii-chan though...

Zukuto stood and stretched his back after a long explanation. "Well, we should be off anyway. We're headed to the Sand Village now and we don't want to be late."

Sachi perked up at the sound of that. "Hey! We're headed to the Grass Village((right?))!! Maybe we can go with you, the more the merrier!"

Zukuto smiled and observed the now large group. Merodi smiled and nodded as did Kaori. Sachi leaned in intently waiting for an answer.

((OOC: Chibi face lol, with the puppie dog eyes))

"Sure!" Zukuto said. "Well we should be off, I think I've had enough suprises for one day." Zukuto patted Sachi on the back and took off into the trees followed by Merodi and Kaori. Sachi smiled and looked back at her squad. Zinan and Jiro gave her the thumbs up and Toroku just shrugged. She nodded and turned back to the trees. She and her squad followed after Zukuto, dissapearing into the forest.

((OOC: Okay, next post is up for grabs. Stu, Michi, and Ashley, u guys can post whenever ud like))