desdamin

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Hotaru Hyuuga

"What is right and what is law are two sides of the same coin."

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"My name is Hyuuga Hotaru and I am going to be instructing you from now on. I have been watching your progress closely." He had moments ago given Suto-san a letter and sent her away and moments before that had somehow single-handedly ended the barrage of attacks from all directions. The Hyuuga stood impassively with his hands behind his back and looked at the children appraisingly, but not unkindly until his eyes fell on Kasei. "Hm... but you, Kasei Burai, you will not be joining us", he proclaimed and turned away, "Not unexpected for a Kasei to fail here, but I had hopes for you. No matter..." It was cold, but the young Kasei wasn't without hope. He may even be reassigned, though his own recommendation was remedial training or perhaps placement within his clan. But, it wasn't his decision to make, ultimately. He would give the bureaucrats his notes and they would go through the proper channels. Beyond this team's make up, he had no further investment and with that matter taken care of, he reached into his robe. He had there his notebook. Since his recommendations for Hyuuga Kenshiro and the Spiga were to continue on this team, there would be no need to hand them over later. He could, instead, do with them what he had intended all along. "I have listed here my own observations about you and your performance operating under Suto-sensei", he said pulling two pages neatly out of the notebook and handing them towards the two remaining students, "Please review them thoroughly and exchange notes... perhaps... fraternize and build rapport with one another. Tomorrow, there will be a replacement third and training will begin earnestly. Congratulations on being accepted to Team 1. This team is... special, though I cannot tell you why just yet. I would ask that you please accommodate my wishes and fulfill your team obligations and you will find it easy to get along with me." He bowed slightly and held it for a few seconds before returning to his upright position, "Dismissed."

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Nijira Inuzuka

"Don't you dare think that this is over! I won't just feed on the scraps of your glory! I'll beat you, and even then I'll keep pushing! I'll beat every single shinobi in the world! I won't stop until everyone acknowledges me!"

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"I said I'd kill all of you for interfering, and you go and shout out 'Dodge this'. You doomed them and yourself..." And in an instant, Takuma-sensei had descended upon Naruko before Komi even had a chance to react. In seconds Naruko lay a bloody mess and Komi could only watch... No! Wait! Komi could do more than watch! Komi could fight! In a puff of smoke, what was once a slightly chubby, maybe, but very strong and happy and loyal and and... and... strong puppy became a cool boy, with a really spiffy jacket and a neat hair style: He was a perfect clone of his now unconscious master, Jira-tan!!! "Rrrrawr! You won't get away with this", he cried and immediately launched into a furious spinning attack, drilling with great speed towards what he'd thought would be Jira-tan's treasured sensei! But he'd already hurt the others... Probably with his weapons. But you couldn't just throw a regular weapon at Komi while he was using his special Passing Fang technique! He and Jira had practiced! It'd bounce right off! And then he'd bite him in the neck... Oh wait! He was in human clone form! He would have to use something like Beast Tearing Palm! YEAH! Meanwhile, Jira's eyes began to open and... the first thing he saw was... himself... jumping and spinning at sensei. Was he... dreaming? Was he a ghost...? Ugh! He shook his head and pushed himself up. A ghost wouldn't smell so much... blood?!? He startled to his feet and saw the bodies of... his former teammates in front of him! W-what happened?!? How long had he been out?!? And Komi was... NO! Thinking as fast as he could, he fell into Four Legs and sprinted towards sensei, fully intending to use a body-replacement jutsu to... he wasn't quite sure... get behind him, crowd him, maybe launch into a feral barrage... and get Komi OUT OF THERE! Th-they weren't on sensei's level, not just the two of them. Damnit! If Toad-boy and Ramen-breath hadn't rushed ahead, maybe... But now they were... Urgh!!! He couldn't think about that right now. He couldn't let the same thing happen to Komi, even if it meant his own life! Closing in on sensei, Komi was determined to press him! He only knew one thing! He had to protect Jira-tan at all cost! Even if it meant his own life!

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Yue Nara

"Stop... being alive. It's embarrassing."

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Mizuraki's head fell from her shoulders and landed on the floor as wood. In an instant, Hideo had whipped his omi yari around his back and cleaved her head from her shoulders. Hideo was grinning ear to ear and his wide eyes seemed completely vacant to Yue. What... was that?!? Her eyes were transfixed by Mizuraki's fallen wooden head. They'd been fighting, sure, but he didn't think it would come to this! It was just a clone, not the real Mizuraki. She flashed back to the visions of their demise she'd had earlier and felt her stomach tighten, but not with fear, with rage. Her eyes, which had been wide a moment ago, focused on only one thing: Hideo. Before that wooden head stopped moving, she clasped her hands into the seal of the rat and her shadow chased after Hideo, who leaped back, laughed, and then sank into the ground. Yue's cheeks burned with humiliation. Sh-she missed everything. Something important. She... agh! He'd made a fool of her. She'd get to the bottom of his deception and when she did... She'd... do what? She frowned with her eyes and sank into her jacket. Nothing. That's what she'd do... Nothing. She'd probably die before she even got the chance, judging by the odds. Three chuunin against four fresh genin. It seemed insurmountable, didn't it? But... the woman with the sword... She had offered to let them walk away. It had been one thing to challenge them when they had two jounin leading, but between the four of them... how could they even put up a fight? 'By taking out the rock throwing one first. The Kumo girl would be best for that, probably. Lava against rock... advantage lava, right? We'd have to delay the sword girl. I can't see her escaping Natsuo's bugs... Then the longer the fight, the worse off she'd be. B-but Bakuto would have to keep her away from Natsuo... Maybe... That... leaves me and the other one', she thought involuntarily and berated herself for that kind of optimism. For one, she was basing all of this on the little she'd seen of their abilities and in real life, no one just had one skill. Second, the whole plan hinged on her not getting cut down right away. She would be against a chuunin and all alone, having to deal with perilous terrain and very low light. She couldn't reliably use her shadows in a place like this. Even when she'd pressed them against Hideo, they'd been sluggish in the low light. 'But, they can't rely on big attack either. We're underground. If anyone uses a big move, we're all buried under a thousand tons of rock and ocean', said that annoying voice in her head that she wished would just shut up... Like... it was right, but... Probably they already thought about that and these chuunin were picked because they didn't rely on big moves. 'So, they don't have any, then.' Why was she even thinking about this when they could just walk away? She couldn't actually be thinking of fighting them was she? It was absurd. The mission failed, that's all. She was just a failure, that's all. This was way too much to expect for a genin to be able to do. But... if she didn't... Could she even call herself a kunoichi? No... it would be humiliating to go back now. What would the report say? She wisely decided not to get her and the team killed on an impossible mission that even the jounin bailed on? 'But, my plan could work. Can you turn back if you haven't tried everything?' Shut up! ... Fine. "Uh-um...", but her mouth couldn't voice what she had in mind. Another thing that she should have accounted for, but didn't. How was she even going to get her plan going, if she couldn't even tell anyone what it was. But... she couldn't turn back. Stupidly, she stayed right where she was, her voice swallowed up, her mouth refusing to open again. So stupid.

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Team Botan Nakano

Kamui Kaiyou | Makaira Kumonga

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Everything happened quickly, from the falling rocks to the boy in the water to the Uchiha scaling the cliffs; it was chaos and it was only going to get worse. Botan's knuckles were white from clenching his fists and of course his brother was the first to act, demanding that he create the mist now! "Y-yes, of course Tenshi-san", he said, but the several dropping eggs broke his focus, at first, while he made the hand seals. His kids were already acting themselves, Maka using her webbing to keep her and Kamui tethered together, and Kamui sitting to meditate... which Botan knew was a sign that he was taking this very seriously to call out the demon, if he had to. Botan looked up and wondered at his own uselessness. Mizuraki, the beautiful Leaf-nin finally shook him from his thoughts. "O-of course. The mist... I will", and took a stronger stance, quickly and fluidly weaving the handseals and within moments, a thick impenetrable mist rose from the water. It was seawater and you could smell the salt in the air. It extended for quite a while, far enough to get lost in... which was the intention. They had to get away from there, didn't they? Surely more nin would show up soon and they'd have the high ground... Botan made a snake seal and sensed... no... they were amassing on the beach. They were waiting for them. Was the lookout really strong enough that he wouldn't need any back up against someone of Ichika's caliber? He had to doubt it. Even people in Kumo had heard of the woman in the red armor. No ordinary shinobi stood a chance. "Tenshi-san, Mizuraki-san we... are expected on the beach. Th-there is something I can do about that, if it isn't too little... But more importantly, th-the water is infested with sharks. I fear... We have lost the boy...", he couldn't meet their eyes, but his gaze was forced away from the sluggy ground upon which they were standing by an ear-piercing scream and a rumbling noise from the cliffside. Even the waves became violent. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. Whatever was happening now, they were not safe above, nor below. Meanwhile, Kamui had not stirred even once.

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Nijira Inuzuka

"Don't you dare think that this is over! I won't just feed on the scraps of your glory! I'll beat you, and even then I'll keep pushing! I'll beat every single shinobi in the world! I won't stop until everyone acknowledges me!"

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“W-We’ll talk about this later!” The words hit like a cannon. He blanched and crab-crawled a few feet away. Th... that BITCH! W-where did SHE get off saying something like that?!? He was trying to... to save her from her own reckless stupidity, n-not cop a... cop a... HE WASN'T FEELING HER UP! He wasn't some homewrecker! A-and besides, he sniffed twice, she stank so badly of insta-ramen, who would ever be attracted to her except a guy that smelled like a swamp's asshole?!? UGH! AND NOW HE WAS COVERED IN IT TOO! He got to his feet as his anger reached a boiling point and he ran after her. Meanwhile, Komi licked Gorudo's face when he thanked him and then wobbled after him, shaking his tail along the way. He knew Jira would be alright. He was easy to find now that that tasty instant soup lady had marked him with her scent, and he was sure to stay close by! He bounced happily along occasionally sniffing the air and pricking an ear up. The sounds of the forest had changed. The animals were moving away from this place and it was easy to understand why. With all the split trees and the whizzing kunai, anyone who wasn't as brave as he and Jira-tan would have run away! But not them! Gorudo made some hand seals and raised bunch of mist, which would make it hard for people to see... but not Komi! Komi had a sniffing nose and Gorudo had such a nice watery muddy scent, like he'd be fun to jump on (and he had been), that he could stay near even in the mist! Though... the mist had a really strong smell too... just like Gorudo smelled... And... Oh no! He lost him! He sniffed a few times to find Jira and soup lady, and Komi whimpered a bit. Jira-tan was really agitated, but Komi didn't know why... He didn't smell like he was in danger... more like something... else...? He ran to meet him only to find him collapsed on the ground! Oh no! He had been a bad dog! He should have stayed with Jira-tan! It took very little time for Jira to catch up with Naruko, but by the time he did, she was already at the clearing where he (and he supposed his teammates also) presumed the scroll to be. That idiot! She was right in the open, exposed and ready to get hit with a kunai! Was no one gonna try to plan?!? He reached out and grabbed her arm to try to pull her back behind a tree, though judging by what other thrown kunai had done, he couldn't imagine that it would be as much cover as one would normally think. His hand hit air, however, and in a puff of smoke, Naruko was... n... n... n... HER TITS WERE OUT! With her clothing off, the smell of insta-ramen wafted off of her like a wave and struck Jira's nose with the force of an invading army. He quickly passed out from blood loss, collapsing next to Naruko with an outstretched arm in a pool of his own blood, the smell of insta-ramen and the sight of Naruko's barely covered body the last thing engraved in his quickly fading mind.

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Mai Edano

"Death before dishonor."

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"Wait Roku-san, they have brought children", said Mai, unsheathing her twin katana and brandishing them at the intruders, "Turn back now or I shall be forced to kill you and will have sullied my blades with the blood of babes. I have pledged that you shall not cross this room alive." As if in response, one of the genin threw a kunai that landed limply at her feet. Mai was willing to look past that. She wouldn't punish a child for youthful indiscretion. She cut the kunai in half anyway and with a single swift cut. She knew all too well that the mistakes of a child could carry just as much weight as the learned decisions of a sage. She could only hope that her compatriots would allow cooler heads to prevail... Though she wasn't certain that would come to pass. She wasn't as naïve as that. Not anymore. She knew that this mission could involve killing and she'd pledged her name to it. That was enough, wasn't it? But the others, her fellows also employed on this mission weren't your usual sort either. Such a strange collection, she could not tell what the intention really was. And the way that that girl... The white snake... The way she looked at her... No. No. She was samurai, ronin perhaps, but samurai. And she would be samurai regardless of whether she found herself among ninjas, thieves, or other underhanded dishonorable people. And yet even as she held up her sword, she was uneasy. "Leave now. You will not get another chance."

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Hideo Sarutobi

"Compromise is a lie told to abdicate duty."

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Hideo crossed his arms and indicated towards the genin, "If none of you have Earth release, I can attempt a controlled-" "I'll do it", Ari interrupted, tapping her bicep with her other hand, "A few rocks aren't anything for an Ayaname." Hideo smirked vacantly and indicated the cave-in with his head. Ari rubbed her hands together, made a short series of hand seals, and placed them on the rock wall. Very quickly, they started to become deep glowing red and began to melt. Hideo took a breath and nearly choked. By that point, the team was far underground, but the air was so dank and moist that you could taste the sulfur, the soil, the sea... If there was sulfur, then there was natural gas or volcanic fumes. Dangerous. Not that he was going to stop the girl from melting those rocks. In truth, Hideo could have dealt with the rocks with ease, but he'd assessed that it was more important that his skills remain hidden than for any of them to remain alive, himself included, and that was that. "That was a nice little speech you gave to the children. Have you thought about retiring and having children of your own", Hideo mused off-handedly, "You only have one life to do what you were actually meant for...", he trailed off at the end and his face fell a little, as if he was a wind up toy that had run out of steam, "I'll bet your children would be...", and then fell asleep completely, leaning against part of the cave wall, arms still crossed. "We're through", chimed Ari excitedly, "Piece of cake!" Hideo emerged from sleep as if he hadn't been asleep in the first place with a wide grin on his face, "Great! Let's goooo....!" He stopped in his tracks. In front of him was a trio of shinobi who, by Hideo's estimation, should have been easy to kill, but would still be far stronger than any of the genin. For one, none of them were twelve. They were all solidly teenagers. That Botan had mentioned that most of the hired help was of C rank. These seemed to fit that perception. He fell back and whispered to Mizuraki, "Hypothetically, how long would it take you to defeat these three on your own? I can take the children past them, if you distract them... Teamwork."

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Shiori Spiga

"Once you’re devoured, it doesn’t matter who you were before."

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Shiori suppressed a snarl as Burai blatantly insulted her intelligence, severing her webbing and talking to her as if she was an errant child. She wasn’t the only recipient of his sudden outburst, as his tirade continued to peck at Kenshiro, and then to their teacher’s intelligence, and then to all of them, and then… “We're a team, no matter how much some of us may dislike it.” Burai continued, oblivious to the Hyuuga’s attempts to interrupt. “Moreover, I am proud to consider you both my friends, I do not wish to see something so trivial pull us apart so soon; Regardless, it should be obvious to individuals so canny as yourselves that this is a test." And then it smiled, like it hadn’t just said the stupidest thing Shiori had ever heard in her whole life. And it thought *she* was the stupid one? She could scarcely believe it. Her face was a mask of calm, but her eyes blazed with killing intent. Burai, meanwhile, seemed to be working himself up the longer he talked, rather than winding down. “I believe I will take you up on this challenge!” He crowed to their sensei. “An opportunity to test my growth is... most desirable. Of course, I'd be honored if my teammates would help me, as a Jounin is a formidable foe to say the least.” Shiori pursed her lips, mortified. Burai had gone from the quiet classmate to a loud buffoon, making statements that sounded more appropriate to a little children’s sentai show than a ninja-in-training. She supposed it was better to find out how immature it really was on the first day of training than months down the line, when she may have needed to rely on it for something serious. She looked away, half in secondhand embarrassment and half in disgust. She’d already decided to walk away the moment Burai pulled his little web-snapping stunt, and if the Hyuuga wouldn’t join her, she was perfectly happy leaving alone. She wasn’t about to sit around and let herself be embarrassed in public for the hundredth time today She didn’t have to. Kenshiro took the lead, much to her relief. The Hyuuga compared Burai to that idiot crab Jin Kani, noted the idiocy of their jounin, and declared it's departure, all things Shiori approved of immensely. She didn’t even look at Burai as she turned to follow Kenshiro. Being ignored may not sting as much when one hasn’t the eyes to see it, thought Shiori, but she didn’t know the extent of it’s sensory abilities. It occurred to her that perhaps, even within it’s own mysteriously blind clan, Burai was exceptionally oblivious or defected in some way. But as she began following after Kenshiro, she felt a presence behind her. Not Burai. Something else. “SutooOOOOO!!” That idiot teacher! Was she trying to kill them? Shiori leapt out of the way and tumbled near Kenshiro as a wave of red energy came crashing towards them, obliterating a path through the trees. Shiori gritted her teeth. Now that she’d been attacked, she couldn’t leave. Her mother wouldn’t allow her to return home in disgrace. She’d have to either kill Kuree or her teammates. She supposed killing her teammates was more possible than taking out their teacher, but that left Shiori to be Kuree’s sole student, which she had no desire to be. They’d have to kill Kuree. Or at least, make sure Shiori died last. She got her footing and looked back over her teammates, seeing that none had been caught in the blast. But Kuree could have killed them if she’d wanted to - as much of an idiot as their jounin was, she was powerful enough not to miss. The laser was a warning shot. For the first time today, Shiori felt afraid. The woman was powerful, and likely crazy. Their best chance at subduing her would be her spiders, unless the boys had something better than paralytic poison to rely on (she doubted it.) She looked at the two and surmised which would make a better distraction for her while she deployed her spiders. Even accounting for the possibility that Kuree was some kind of freak mountain woman and resisted her spider’s paralytic poison, the swarm would still slow her down. Even crazy humans didn’t like to be covered in biting spiders. “I need a distraction.” She announced firmly, her mind made up. With a serious expression she looked to Kenshiro and and then Burai. Of the two, she expected the Kasei to do something first. He seemed foolhardy and unpredictable, and she would use that to their advantage. As dumb as it was, it could help them survive.

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Yue Nara

"Stop... being alive. It's embarrassing."

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Yue's cheeks burned. It sounded like the whole mission was going sideways. Hideo even said that the odds of "the genin's survival is lower" as a "net positive". So she was right the first time, they were Team Trash. They were the ones that it was okay if they died. That's probably why they were only led by Hideo, a man that nobody trusted, and a clone of Mizuraki-sensei. The others were already fighting over leadership, but what did it matter who led them into death? Yue imagined the six of them going into the caves and running into... probably a whole shinobi team. They were detected, right? That meant that they'd reinforce the tunnels and they'd have to fight their way through... But they weren't a fighting force. In her mind, she could see that Kumo girl getting a katana through her chest from the darkness. She wouldn't know right away, she may not even know that she'd died. She could see Bakuto fighting, catching a kunai in his arm, one of the sinister enemies blowing fire at him at close range, could imagine him burning and melting into ash. Would she tell Natsuo to run? Would he listen? Of course he wouldn't... He'd... let his bugs attack and in such a confined space, even Yue could imagine them doing some real damage... But there was no way that it'd last. If even one knew Earth Release, they'd bury him in rock and slate, maybe they'd make a stalactite fall through his head. She could practically see his blood stained eyes staring at nothing anymore and never again... And what about Mizuraki and Hideo? The mission comes first, right? With all the strongest in the cave, she imagined he'd just cave in the tunnels and she and him would be crushed to death together under ten thousand tons of rock and water. Something about this struck her as concordant, in a sense, and her mind extrapolated that for some, maybe death was welcome. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. Her hands clenched in her pocket. There was nothing she could do about it now. "We can't beat fully trained shinobi", she murmured, "We have to think of something else."

Naruto: Fire From Ember (open/accepting)

Team Botan Nakano

Kamui Kaiyou | Makaira Kumonga

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They were close enough to the cliffs now and Botan had only just gotten used to standing on what felt like a giant slimy marshmallow. It was nothing against the slug itself, for Katsuyu-sama had been an exceedingly gracious host, but it was difficult to be completely at ease if one wished to avoid getting mucus on their clothing. Kamui and Maka had adapted just fine, though Maka seemed to have made a game out of kind of surfing on the creature's back, which Botan wasn't completely sure was polite. He sighed and looked up. The sheer rock face gave him an ominous feeling and he could feel a stirring like a premonition... or maybe just an upset stomach. He hadn't noticed he'd been so tense. He looked back to Maka as she slid seriously over the creature's back and turned his thoughts to Arisu... He could only hope she was alright. She was reckless, but... The Leaf wouldn't risk an incident. Not now. No... She was safe... right? He sighed again, this time a bit deeper, and hung his head. He wanted to trust the Leaf nin. They seemed... Mostly nice i-if somewhat strange. But then, perhaps he must have seemed very strange to them too. He certainly seemed strange to himself. It was another reason he admired his brother so much. He couldn't imagine that he was ever so uncertain. He didn't hesitate. He was very brave. Once he made a decision, there was no stopping him. Botan knew he could never be like that, but he could... at least try his best to not look away. "We are getting closer. I can create cover, a mist, if you like... Though it may give away our inten-" At that moment, a gigantic round and oblong boulder fell from the top of the cliffs barely missing the great slug and crashing into the sea! They were under attack already! Of course they would have a look out on the cliffs and what better a scout from there than Ondori. The echoes of a great crowing echoed from the man throwing down the... stone eggs. And a full dozen gargantuan stone eggs barreled towards the shinobi. Botan braced for impact... But the impact never came. Tomoyuki, that sand-nin that had traveled with the Leaf summoned a ceiling of sand to take the impact, but the effort and impact knocked him off the slug and into the water and there was surely more to come...