-Rai-
=Forest=

Rai skillfully snatched the senbon out of the air without much of a problem. For a moment he couldn't help but recall how long it had been since he had last used them as weapons, he didn't even carry them around anymore for that matter. The young man took the needles and clasped them in between his hands, rolling them back and forth as he attached his own chakra to the weapons. He wasn't sure if his idea would work, but judging from what he'd seen so far it was safe to assume that at the very least these constructs had very unstable chakra within them.

"Here, don't miss with these." Rai looked back at Akemi, tossing most of the senbon back towards the woman as he said this. It was actually surprising that the woman trusted him so easily like that, especially after everything that had happened to their team. However it wasn't the time to be thinking too deeply into those matters, not in the middle of a battle like this.
"If I'm right, it should only take one of those per construct to kill the thing... keep your distance though, it looks like they have a tendency to go out in a big way." Rai said with confidence, sure of himself that his plan would work. Now all he needed to do was stay on guard and wait until those senbon were inside the constructs. It was then that Rai would release his chakra that was on the needles, exploding the constructs from the inside out.

_________________

Akemi Saotome: Forest

Akemi caught the senbon, and as soon as she caught them, she felt the added chakra and gave a dark chuckle, and thought, 'well done, well done.' She hadn't thought of adding their chakras together, but the idea was quite a good one. "I think you're forgetting who you're talking to." She said, not in a harsh way, but almost teasing. It was starting to feel like old times now. She felt an odd warm comfort that she was fighting alongside Rai again. There were so many things that she wanted to say, so many things that she wanted to take back, but at the same time, she wanted to make up for all of the things she had done wrong to her team. She could start by just being here for now. If they would let her into their lives, that is. For some it might be too late.

Her muscles were used to the constant fighting, and they weren't getting sore from all of this throwing and running, and she was prepared for something like this: she always was. The main thing that hadn't changed since she had been gone was her 'paranoia' of being attacked. The thing about it is that anyone who didn't have some sort of paranoia in the business of being a shinobi was lacking something instinctual and they wouldn't get very far.

Fighting always brought out the best in Akemi: her ghostly pale cheeks were tinged slightly with a pale pink, and her pale scars seemed to shine brightly as dewdrops of sweat formed: not the sweat of one who isn't used to working out, but the sweat that you see on athletes that are professionals at what they do. Her long brown hair was up in a ponytail and as she began to throw the senbon that Rai had thrown to her, it waved with the impact of her throws. She had thrown before Rai could explain that one should kill the creature, and by the time that what he had said sunk in, she had already thrown three into the one construct, and she quickly altered her aim on the fourth senbon to throw it into another construct. She still has more than enough senbon at that point, so it wasn't too bad, and she let loose, her killer instinct beginning to rise to the surface as the muscles in her face relaxed and her features began to take on a slightly more feral look to them.

_________________
Doctress Who-CURSE YOU AKAINE AND FENIX. *Shakes fist*
Musicmac-INNUENDO... STRIKE!
Innuendo Squad Leader
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*Forest*

Rikudou's guess was correct. The blade set off the mines, causing a chain reaction that covered the area in dust so laden with leftover chakra that the young man's bloodline was helpless to help. When it cleared, the creature was no where to be seen. A whine came from below and Rikudou's instincts told him to get out of the way moment before the creature broke through the ground. A glance told him that the creature had formed a similar hole a little ways over when the dust cloud had formed. The armor it was wearing glowed as a rune appeared in the center.


The foam cannon managed to knock all of the creatures out of the air. The metal hit the ground in a heap, only to reform and take to the air once more, targeting Yu. All of them glowed ominously and they held their hands up as one. Then all of their armor began to glow.


The construct began to dodge the senbon when a projectile struck it in the back of the head, knocking it off balance. The senbon struck home. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then the armor began bulging, as if some pressure was being put on it from the inside. The creature's form shimmered before exploding violently.


*Far away*

A man watched the battles commence through the eyes of his creations. When the last of the operatives were clear, he formed a series of hand signs. "Detonate."


*Forest*

All of the creatures detonated in an even more violent explosion, flying at high speeds at their targets before destroying themselves in a suicide bombing attempt.

_________________
Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

The helmeted ninja's attack struck the creature in the head, leaving little behind. The power of the blow whirled the monster around, and it skidded to a stop in the leaves, leaving gouges in the earth. An instant later, the thing glowed blue, whistling like a kettle and swelling with chakra before it erupted in a massive shockwave.

Rin had his guard up, but he had not expected it to explode. The blast flung him thirty feet backwards, somersaulting end over end into the bushes at the edge of the clearing. Rolling to a stop Rin quickly rose to a crouch, wheezing. He had barely risen to his feet before a second explosion rocked the clearing, then a third. The concussive force knocked the unsteady Rin off of his feet again, and he fell to a knee before regaining his breath.

The forest was quiet again before another construct burst deeper in the forest, shaking the trees around them. 'That must be the other Hyuuga's opponent' Thought Rin as he stepped out into his now ruined surroundings. Trees had been toppled, branches shattered by the force of the explosions. Pits were dug into the soft earth where the creatures had expired, and leaves were just ceasing to fall as the clearing went quiet. Rin scanned the area for any survivors, his eyes taking a dull blue glow, as he wiped a trickle of blood from a scrape just below his brow.

_________________
The truth is that the ancients never really leave. We've only just stepped out for a moment.

-/ Yu-Yu | Forest \-

As the metal creatures made their second attempt to reach him, Yu-Yu's clones lept into action to intercept them and take the brunt of their attack while hopefully leaving them coated in the acidic foam. Yukenra himself used the foam transition technique, leaving a lump of foam where he stood on the branch and re-emerging on the forest floor a couple yards back.

BOOM!!!

He wasn't expecting such a huge explosion of chakra, but seeing the tree had been evaporated along with his clones, he was happy to escape the core of blast zone. Unfortunately he was thrown back several feet into the base of a tree behind him by the resulting shock wave as he hadn't the time to ground himself . Aside from a few bruises and a splinter in his non-sword wielding arm, he was alright.

_________________
My Poetry and More!

-Rai-
=Forest=

After the dust and smoke had settled from the violent explosions caused by the constructs, a pile of tree branches and debris began to move slightly. Rai pulled himself up out of the pile, slowly making his way out of the mess that he found himself in. He wasn't expecting the constructs to start blowing up without warning like that, leading him to believe that it was some kind of triggered event.
"Such a dangerous jutsu..." he thought to himself as he brushed off some dust from his shoulders and spit onto the ground. For lack of a better word Rai looked like a complete mess at that moment, covered in bumps, scrapes, and all kinds of dirt. His byakugan was still active and he could tell that all of the constructs had been taken care of. Plenty of people had survived the sudden bombardment of explosions, which put Rai's mind slightly at ease for a brief moment.

However he quickly realized that there was another issue that needed to be dealt with now. His pale eyes drifted over towards his former teamate Rin, who was now standing amongst the carnage that had wrecked through the forest. Rai wasn't sure if he was really who he appeared to be and couldn't help but feel a bit wary about the whole situation. Why would he show up now of all times? There were plenty of questions that needed answered and to be honest Rai wouldn't have even known where to start. He stared over at the younger boy, his expression neutral and not showing the confused emotions he had while he was under the genjutsu earlier.
"Are you hurt?" was all that he said, his voice plain and flat.

_________________

-Forest-

Age scanned the carnage, an impressive swath of forest laying in ruins after the creatures had self-destructed. He hadn't been close enough to any of them to receive major damage but he had been carried several dozen meters from where he'd been originally. Judging from the wood splinters still sticking out of some his clothes things could have been a lot worse. With the dust beginning to settle he was finally able to see some human motion in the distance, that being Rai. "Oh well I'm sure he'll be able to find everyone. Best take my leave, no need to complicate matters." Age thought, leaving the battlefield in an instant.



He made his way back to the village quickly, stashing his battle garb as he went. He found himself back on the main drag soon enough, looking for a place to get some food for the evening. There was so much to choose from in these larger villages that he almost never left home without a restaurant review magazine, alas the washing machine ate his latest copy.

Survivors began to stir in the bushes and under piles of dirt and wood that had been scattered by the explosions. Rin froze as Rai emerged from the foliage, battered and scraped, but otherwise unharmed. The hyuuga stared through him, his Byakugan lining his face in a fearsome web of veins. Rin returned the gaze with mirrorlike caution. His luminescent eyes searching Rai just as Rai's searched him.

It had been a long time since Rin had seen the Hyuuga, but it was definately him. He still wore bandages across his chest and arm, no doubt necessary due to his active training regime and the chakra conductive glove on his right arm was familiar to Rin. Rai's hands were not clenched, but far from relaxed, wary of his former teammate. He still wore his headband around his neck, and the long pale scar on his forehead was still proudly in view on his strong face, not hidden by his spiky hair. It was Rai alright. It was a freakish coincidence that it would be he and Akemi themselves to greet Rin.

Rai would see that it was indeed the same Rin. Thin, tall, his limbs ropey with muscle. The same tight black cloth on Rai's arm covered Rin from collerbones to toes, only his shoulders and first two fingers and thumbs of his hands uncovered. The thick knotted pink and white old wound on his neck stood out from the collar of the black stabproof vest he wore, and the same thin shiny mark that Rai himself had given him bisected Rin's right eyebrow and hairline. Beyond his outward appearance Rai could not mistake the Mokoto bloodline. Rin's chakra circulatory system was mutated, allowing those of his line to perform spectacular feats. Even his chakra signiture was the same ghostly metallic silver Rai had come to know. It was Rin, no question.

"Are you hurt?", Rai asked plainly. Still appraising Rin.

Rin shook his head, not taking his eyes off the Hyuuga till this moment of tension passed. When Rin was in the village, he and Rai had been two of the most proficient taijutsu specialists, consistently defeating ninja many years their elder. It had been some time since them, but Rin had a feeling that even injured, it would be a toss up between the two of them if they came to blows, and even then, the winner would not escape unscathed.

"Is Akemi-san alright?" Rin asked quietly in a voice like sandpaper. Rai seemed unscathed, but their former Sensei and the others had not emerged from the debris. Other than the rustle of leaves that disappeared in the direction of the villiage, the forest was quiet, the wildlife yet to return to the area where the carnage occurred.

_________________
The truth is that the ancients never really leave. We've only just stepped out for a moment.

Akemi Saotome: Forest

Akemi almost fell out of the tree that she was in, and had smaller debris all over herself. Brushing the bits of whatever that thing was and dirt, she hopped down and gave Rai a once-over, and then followed Rai over to where 'Rin' was. Some say that 'seeing is believing', but Akemi never listened to that drivel, it almost always wasn't true. Needless to say, she didn't think that Rin was who he seemed to be. She brushed some stray hair out of her face and pulled it behind her ear while eyeing up Rin. She wasn't hostile, but she wasn't giving the guy a welcome home hug either. The main question that would rise to the foremost part of her mind if he really was Rin, was...where the hell had he been?

She looked over what they assumed to be their old teammate and looked at all of the scars and injuries that she hadn't been there to protect him from, and sighed softly. "Ah. I'm fine, we need to make sure everyone else is okay and get you back to the Hokage." She said her thoughts out loud and looked at Rai for a moment, almost as if asking him if the chakra signature was the same...but then again, even chakra signals and systems could be faked with the advances in chakra manipulation, surgery and whatnot. She looked slightly antsy, as if the dirt had gotten under her skin and she was fighting not to scratch it. She just wanted to know if this man before them was the real Rin so she could at least try to make up for lost time with her boys. She shook her head to herself, smiling. 'They aren't boys anymore. They were barely boys when I first got them.', she thought.

_________________
Doctress Who-CURSE YOU AKAINE AND FENIX. *Shakes fist*
Musicmac-INNUENDO... STRIKE!
Innuendo Squad Leader
Dare to join?

"Age-taichou! Over here!" A young nin was waving to him from a stand off to one side, a Hagane headband just visible on his arm under the edge of the cloak he was wearing. "Ah!" He suddenly turned back as the stall's owner handed him a bowl over the counter, it's contents steaming as he lowered it to the counter. He looked back to make sure the older Steel Nin had noticed him and quickly went to his meal with gusto.

_________________
Syaoran and Sakura "Meant to be"

-Main Drag-

Age had just about narrowed down the places that seemed they had potential when heard his name being called. Of course on a street this busy he could just be hearing things but it never hurt to look around anyways. This time he wasn't hearing things as he caught sight of a familiar face waving at him, he raised a hand to his eye level show he'd seen the younger ninja as he made his way across the busy street. "I'll have what he's having." He said as he sat down next to subordinate as he pocketed a small menu pamphlet for later reading over. Turning his attention then to the man next to him he didn't waste much time getting down to business. "I take it your trip was uneventful?"

"A few pursuers..." Tsuin said between mouthfuls, "...Nothing I couldn't handle on my own. Left the Mizu Hunter-Nin a few presents near the border." He paused on the next bite to rummage under his cloak for a moment, as though reaching for an itch, and passed a scroll surreptitiously to Age, his voice dropping to a conspiritorial tone, "Our Mizu-ally sends her regards."

_________________
Syaoran and Sakura "Meant to be"

-/ Yu-Yu | Forest \-

As the dust began to settle and the breadth of the devastation became apparent, It was clear that they had stumbled upon something that could have been astoundingly tragic. As a major player in the ninja world, the village hidden in the leaves had many enemies. One could only guess the rhyme or reason behind the assault, but it was good to know that all the extra precautions weren't pointless. Something big was coming, and this first salvo was surely just the tip of the iceberg.

In time Yukenra began to stir after being knocked unconscious from tree he was blasted into. He gave himself a once over, made sure nothing was broken or dislocated and removed any organic shrapnel embedded in him. He had no idea what to make of the situation at hand, but wrote a note in his daily log anyway. When he finished, he figured whomever sent off that signal would know more about what happened, so he went further into the forest in the direction he was heading before the chakra mask creatures appeared. It didn't take long for him to reach his destination and the Konoha nin he saw in the distance before the fighting were still around so he approached them. "Hey, everyone alright?!" he yelled as he got closer.

_________________
My Poetry and More!

-Food Stand-

Age took the scroll without saying anything, it disappeared with some slight of hand just before the food vendor handed him a bowl. "Well that was more certainly eventful than my trip. I'll have to take a more scenic route next time." He said as he started to eat, though a few bites later he started talking again. "I've secured us a room for the night but if you've already made other arrangements don't be troubled about it."

{Forest}

Rikudou's hand lifted up amidst the smoke and dust, rising from the ground and slapping down onto the dirt. He lifted his other hand up, pulling himself out of the earth as he carefully scanned his immediate vicinity. The creature's attack had been rather abrupt, especially so soon after attempting to attack him from below. But luckily, that same hole it had used was what kept him safe from the lethality of the explosion. Though his ears were still ringing.

I think my head's going to be throbbing the rest of the day... The young Hyuuga thought to himself whilst standing up and turning to head back toward the others.

Rikudou arrived shortly, some minute or so after the explosions as the dust was finally settled. He took off his glass and stopped when within range of Rai, Rin, and Akemi. He was unsure if anyone else was around at the moment as he began cleaning the dirt from his lenses. "I am well on my end. Got my bell rung -- still ringing -- but I came out alive." He stated, quickly answering any possible questions of his health before anyone could yet think to ask. "I have to say, Rai-sama, this has certainly been a rather interesting scouting mission."

_________________

<--Ramen Stand-->

"Ah..." Tsuin groaned as he stretched his back from being bent over the counter of the stall, a few loud pops as he stretched his arms above his head and his vertebrae straightened themselves. "I've got to check in with the diplomatic unit here, make 'em aware of my presence, you know the deal. then I've got to do a little restocking, shouldn't take too long. See you in the morning? Usual signals?" He asked as his cloak fell to obscure him fully again, and he prepared to leave.

_________________
Syaoran and Sakura "Meant to be"

-Forest-
He let out a sigh as he continued to walk down the road, hands in his pockets as he came closer to his village. The sounds of fighting had come to him as he headed home but assumed that it was merely sparring. Takumi's shoulder length hair fell in front of his face as he continued down the path, "I really need a haircut," he said quietly as he continued down the path. As he came closer to the village he stopped and saw the other shinobi there he walked forward faster. He noticed a few faces in the crowd, admitedly it had been awhile since he has seen a couple of them, or maybe all of them, actually he couldn't genuinely remember the last time he actually saw one of them.

"Looks like I missed all the fun," he said keeping his hands in his pockets looking around at the scene. Everyone looked fine, no major injuries that he could see. His first mission back from his little 'vacation' was accomplished without a hitch and now to come home to this. He looked where the last attacker had been before it exploded and then to Rai, "You can make things explode by punching them now? Interesting," Takumi walked forward looking at each of the ninja for a moment, his voice had a slight hint of bitterness to it as he spoke glancing around at the genin, chuunin, and other jounin there.

"Always a pleasure, Akemi," he said glancing at her for a moment. He hadn't heard anyone sound off that they were alright, but with a chunnin and a jounin here it was probably already covered. "If everyone is alright is there anyone who actually needs any help what so ever?" In honesty he wanted to report back to the Hokage, get paid, go home and wait for another mission, but it has never been his way to turn down a potential request for help.

_________________

-Ramen Stand-

"Sure thing, see ya in the morning." Age said as he finished off the last of his meal, normally he wouldn't eat so fast but he was just that hungry with all that had been going on. "I'll be staying at a place called the Falling Leaf if you need me for anything." He added, after he'd gotten up from his seat, leaving money on the counter. Exiting on to the street once more Age proceeded to make his way back to his inn, though first he was drawn to a candy stand where he acquired an assortment of chocolates. "Even a grown man can't help himself sometimes." He said to himself in a muffled voice, a delicious ball of milk chocolate playing havoc with his speech, as he again started back to the inn.

-Rai-
=Forest=

Rai stayed silent for a few moments, still not quite sure what to make of the situation that they now found themselves in. He glanced over towards Akemi, keeping Rin still well within his frame of focus as the woman answered Rin's question. Most of the people in the area were relatively un harmed and were now starting to gather within the clearing. If anything this meant that if the Rin that was standing before them was an imposter somehow, he was now vastly outnumbered. However as far as Rai could tell, from the way that Rin was acting and from his chakra, it looked like the real thing. Rai could only nod slightly towards Akemi, acknowledging the look that she gave him in regards to the authenticity of their former teammate.

"We're fine... mostly..." Rai said towards Yukenra, his focus still remaining mainly on Rin and Akemi for the moment. However his focus was broken momentarily when Rikudou emerged, addressing Rai and their mission directly. For a moment Rai had almost forgotten about the mission, it was clear that Rin's arrival was enough to stir up a frenzy of confused emotions.
"Yes... however it's not quite over yet, I think someone should report to the Hokage about what has happened... also I'd feel more comfortable if a few people stayed back and waited for reinforcements just in-case whoever's out there decides to come back." Rai glanced back towards Akemi, his look towards her clearly asking for her opinion on their next course of action.

_________________

-Forest-

Takumi looked at the group in the forest and shrugged, "I'll take that as a no then," he said rubbing the back of his neck and looking towards the village. "I've gotta go see the kage anyway," he said turning on his heel and walking back towards the village slowly. There was no more immediate danger and he was not in the mood to deal with another attack. Sure the mission he completed went well but on the other hand he did have to take down a group of would be bandits who were far beneath his skill level. After their leader ended up with a fractured spine in the first few seconds of their disorganized attack the rest of them ran. "See you guys around," he said waving to those behind him as he walked on down the path. The jounin muttered quietly to himself as he continued to walk and let out a quiet sigh as he entered the village again. He was out and about, and in the open, for the first time in nearly five months and wondered if anyone would come to even give a simple hello before he went on another mission.

After a few moments of walking Takumi made his way up to the Kage quickly, entering without regard to what might be going on as he did in the past. He had a report to make and no one was going to stop him from bursting in and making that report, but he would wait quietly for whatever business was finished before he said anything. " 'Ey, Kage," he said slipping into the room looking around hoping not to get a metaphorical slap in the face.

_________________

The Hokage didn't even look up. "Oh, yeah, come in... It's not like I'm busy of anything." He sighed and finally faced Takumi "Alright then, what, are you... bored?" He looked out into the hallway "Is anyone out there? Open door policy people, come on in!" He turned back to Takumi "If you have so much free time, gather your team and handle this." He picked up a piece of paper and threw it like a throwing disc at the ninja. When Takumi caught it, it seemed like a perfectly normal piece of paper. "Apparently, something is destroying any man-made structure near a lake. We've been hired. Go take a look and handle the situation."

_________________
Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

Akito caught the Hokage's eye, He had been sat next to the door waiting patiently for a gap in his busy schedule. "Thank you Hokage" He said getting up and following him into the room. The well build Genin followed his master into the room, making sure not to clip the door frame with the two swords on his back. He quietly took a position next to Takumi, nodding his head in respect to his fellow nin. "Something? Hokage. Is that to imply we haven't been provided with the details of the attacker or that we simply don't know who or what it is?"

--Tsuin, Market Districts--

"So where is this weapon shop..." He groused to himself as he walked, his cloak quietly sweeping his steps behind him. Something clacked under his cloak, and he pulled free a small cylinder which he examined closely, before replacing it with a similar noise. "My luck, they won't even know half the things I'll ask them about. Tche."

He had just left the diplomatic corps offices a while before, and despite directions, was quickly finding himself lost. "...and left at the...wait..." His eyebrows knit as he stops to think about it for a moment, "Was it the ramen stand I turn left at or the grocery..."

_________________
Syaoran and Sakura "Meant to be"

-/ Yu-Yu | Forest \-

Yukenra hopped down from the trees and walked up to the group raising his hand in greeting. He'd over heard most of what Rai and Rikudou had said which helped him fill in a few blanks. "Good to hear everyone's decent, better than dead I suppose." he said in response to the general consensus of everyone's well being. From reading the situation up close it was clear there was more here than he was up to speed on though. He didn't feel the need to pry into internal affairs however, so he simply said his piece. "I can stick around... got nothing better to do really, being on leave and all. Can't report what I don't know either."

With that out of the way, Yukenra made his way to a nearby tree and sat down. He then whipped out his log scroll and scribble a few more notes before putting it away. As he sat there he thought about the chakra mask creatures and reflected over the fight. He was sure they'd see more of them in the future, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by the growl of his stomach. He was in the mood for barbecue, instead a piece of hickory smoked beef jerky would have to suffice.

_________________
My Poetry and More!

Akemi Saotome:In the forest

Akemi looked back at Rai, slightly touched that he still looked to her for guidance, and then she remembered that Rai was still a Chuunin. He didn't have to be, he could test up if he wanted to, she'd vouch for him at any rate.Turning her eyes to Rin, she spoke. "We need to get a messenger to the Hokage, and we might as well bring Rin with us. He'll need to check in." She didn't say anything else about Rin. Being the suspicious type, she wouldn't be sure that Rin was Rin until he bled. For now, though, she'd act as though this was Rin, and follow the normal procedures. Maybe she was being a little paranoid, but she had seen more than enough in her lifetime to warrant that kind of behavior. She looked back at Rai now, seeing what he thought of her decision. "We should bring everyone back to the village and warn the guards." She didn't want to leave a patrol outside the village walls only to have them killed and leave the gate guards ignorant of this attack. As important as getting the message to the Hokage was, saving lives was also important. This was a lesson that she had learned the hard way, and it took more than one time for her to truly appreciate this lesson

_________________
Doctress Who-CURSE YOU AKAINE AND FENIX. *Shakes fist*
Musicmac-INNUENDO... STRIKE!
Innuendo Squad Leader
Dare to join?