Tethered Connections

[zory_alechiv]

More and more he had been referring to himself as Jashin over Eiko. Now that his secret was out, his mentality had changed though his outward appearance really hadn't. He still wore the same gear, wore his hair the same way, and even wore the dark eyeliner. In fact, other than name, he hadn't changed much at all and one thing remained true: Jashin was not a fan of having to lean on his cousin and their youngest teammate for support, especially in a country other than Konoha, but Kumo was safe. He trusted Kumo enough that he knew they could have protection if they needed it.

He, Kaito and his cousin had seamlessly completed their mission with what they believed complete success. At least until pursuers managed to outnumber them and flank them. He'd had a brief moment of panic as the rain poured down, the scene all too remnant of how he'd lost his twin. It had been a hang up and he'd jumped in front of Akemi without second thought, despite her being more than capable and having it under control. In fact, him leaping in there had made matters worse as he had been injured and not only had they had to tie a wrap around his leg to keep him from bleeding out, but his chakra had taken a hit in his effort to maintain their quick speed.

Off their scheduled path, and being forced to evade their numbers, the trio had been forced into Lightning's northern border. As night began to creep on them and Jashin's strength waning, they'd have to stop. The trio, once they'd made it to the sea had stowed their ANBU gear and boarded a merchant vessel bound for Lightning. Lose their pursuers, resting and then continuing on was their best option and the trip in the ship was the opportunity for them to rebandage his leg and tend to needs.

"Sorry, Imouto-chan, Kaito, don't mean to be so trouble," they murmured as they stumbled down the ramp of the ship as it landed in the very late evening. His arm was thrown over his cousin's shoulder as she took most of his weight. "Just need a few hours before I'm good to go again."

"On that leg? You're lucky your little sister is so strong, ya?" A voice cut through behind them. The woman had purple hair that reached her waist that perfectly matched the purple flowers on her short-sleeved haori. She could have easily passed as a normal doctor if not for the Kumo headband that kept her hair out of her eyes. Her hands were on her hips as she assessed them with a pleasant smile before closing the distance and grabbing Jashin's other arm and looping it around her shoulders. She was taller than them both and the movement tugged him from his little cousin to lean on the Kumo shinobi just a bit more.

"C'mon, there's a temple's just over here, ya?" She doesn't wait for Akemi to follow, merely dragging her cousin towards a small building that could easily been mistaken as a house if not for the gold plated deity that was enshrined there. It wasn't her shrine, but she had stopped for a few days to pay reverence and just happened to be on the engawa when she saw the trio stumble along. "My name's Hikari. You're lucky I was here, ya? Your blood levels too low for you to be travelling. Roads are dangerous places now. You should be more careful, ya?" She continued on until they were inside the building and Jashin was sitting on one of the beds. As they parted, a small thread of pink chakra twisted out from his body to connect to the purple-haired kunoichi and seemed to follow her whereever she went, tying them together.

"Have a seat, have a seat, I'll have your sister fixed up in no time, ya?" She flapped her hand absentmindedly towards Akemi and Kaito, not noticing the alarmed look Eiko sent the other two but she turned around anyway and narrowed her gaze. "Now, don't be like that. Doctors aren't bad people you know? I'm here to help. So you just calm yourself down, ya?"

Jutsu Used by HikariShow

~Tenketsu Tethering: Link Up I
D-Rank Ninpou
After a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan clan member will make physical contact with their target by touching them. When they lift their hand a pink whisp of chakra will be extend out from the target to themselves. This tether can stretch up to [Control] x 2 meters and lasts for [Control]/5 posts. When stretched further than this range, the tether remains but will be unusable as a medium for tether techniques.

~Tenketsu Tethering: Status Check
D-Rank Ninpou
Requires: [Iijutsu]
After a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan family member will check the vitals of all those they are connected to at that precise moment. While not exactly precise, this will give them a relative feel on a 5 point scale of the core vitals (temperature, oxygen rate, blood amount, and heart rate) of their connected targets.

~Tenketsu Tethering: State of Mind
D-Rank Ninpou
Requires: [Iijutsu]
After a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan family member will check the mental state of all those they are connected to at that precise moment. This will give them information on if the connected target is currently undergoing any form of mental trauma (for example: high levels of fear/anxiety, or extreme stress) and how relatively strong that mental trauma is. This does not include if the target is being influenced by genjutsu.

[Kaida]

It all happened so quickly, everything was going fine, the mission had seemed successful...until it didn’t. And then more enemies appeared, and all hell broke loose. The rain pouring down on them during the combat made things tricky, and Jashin was behaving strangely, eyes darting about like a man haunted. It was the only excuse Akemi could find for why he jumped in front of her like a human shield, getting himself maimed in the process.

Akemi managed to catch him as he stumbled, his leg bleeding out from the sword that slashed through his flesh. Taking on most of his weight, she quickly looked behind her to Kaito and nodded her head in a direction to the coast. They needed to leave, now. She secured her arm around Jashin, and hooked his arm across her neck, bracing his body against her hip as she held him tightly.

They made a run for it, mud splashing around them as their hurried steps hit the ground. It took some time, their pursuers not relenting, but eventually they made it to the port. Stashing their gear, they boarded a small merchant vessel. She laid Jashin down, making sure to support his frame and got some fabric to bundle up under his leg; tearing a strip off to rebandage it and slow the bleeding. Though she was annoyed with him, she was careful around his wound. Her fingers nimbly and gently rewrapping the gash that continued to pour blood. She was no medic, but she knew this wasn’t good.

They crossed into Lightning country and made it to the port with no trouble. Leaving the ship, Akemi nodded at Kaito to grab their stowed gear as she lifted Jashin to a standing position and once again held him firmly to her. She shot him a firm and unhappy side eye as he downplayed his injury. “Few hours my ass, you baka. What were you thinking?” It was then she heard a chipper voice from behind them, a strange accent and lilt to it that had Akemi on guard. She turned slightly to get a better look at the newcomer, her eyes narrowing slightly as she assessed their stature. She seemed harmless enough but the caution in Akemi’s eyes was obvious.

As Hikari introduces herself and loops Jashins other arm around her neck, a growl erupted from Akemi’s throat. The speed at which the odd woman walked was sure to hurt Jashin more than help, and she wasn’t a fan of some weirdo manhandling her cousin in such a vulnerable state. “Easy lady.” Though her tone was firm, it wasn’t confrontational. Akemi matched her pace so as not to cause her cousin any more discomfort, trusting that Kaito would follow closely behind and keep an eye on their surroundings.

Reaching the temple they were led to a table where Akemi helped Jashin hop up so that Hikari could look at him. She kept a hand on her cousin as she tracked the movements of the pink haired woman. “I’ll stay here with my brother. I think you’ll understand the caution given the current state of the world.” Akemi left no room for argument as she stayed by his side.

[Throniv]

---

Kaito stood motionless in the doorway, his ANBU mask tucked under one arm as rainwater dripped from his hair onto the wooden floorboards. His golden eyes--still faintly luminous from residual Senpu chakra--tracked the pink thread of Hikari’s medical ninjutsu as it coiled around Jashin’s leg. It was some kind of medical ninjutsu, he assumed, based on what he could sense, and he dismissed it as non-threatening as he maintained a perfectly neutral expression.

Unnecessary risk.

The thought coiled in his chest like a splinter. They had been seconds from a clean extraction before Kirin had thrown himself in front of Shishi in a maneuver that could only be described as idiotic, and Kaito had been forced to expend a good deal of chakra to lay traps in their path that slowed down their enemies. The dash back to lightning country had been done at full tilt, and even still he felt that they had only barely escaped unscathed.

This was the first mission as the new fukutaicho of Katana, and at first everything had gone surprisingly well. Clean infil, package secured and extracted, and a clean getaway until a patrol decided to randomly change their route after it remaining constant for the three weeks they'd been observing the target location. Unforeseeable, but not unsalvageable--until they just happened to intersect with a chunin team that had been out and about that evening, and everything had gone to hell.

Tora exhaled through his nose, closing his eyes for just a moment as he collected himself, before he opened them and looked at the older woman that was currently treating his teammate.

"Thank you, Obaa-sama," Kaito said with a bow before glancing up at Shishi, silently approving of her choice to insist on remaining by Kirin's side. If for no other reason, than he wasn't entirely certain they hadn't been followed.

"How long until he's able to walk?" the young boy asked, attempting to infuse his normally-neutral tone with the fear of a child--a trick that usually got adults to answer his questions and underestimate him at the same time.

[zory_alechiv]

"I wasn't thinking," Jashin tells Akemi as the cheery voice cuts in. Truthfully, he'd gotten lost and his slip up made him want to slam his head against the wall behind him. He couldn't see the disappointment in either of their gazes but he didn't have to. He was angry enough with himself that their disappointment wouldn't matter. He should have been over this. Who knew a little bit of rain and and a Kiri nin flashing a kusarigama would have sent him into melee range. A place he never should have been in the first place. He'd managed to keep the chain from going around Akemi, or himself, but the sickle had dug into his leg. Just like that night years ago when instead, the chain had wrapped around him and bound him before he was forced to watch them carve up Eiko and their teammate before turning to carve up him. The elder was furious with himself and knew Kaito couldn't like him too much in that moment either, neither would Akemi. The mission had been going so smoothly and he had just...fucked it up.

Outwardly, Jashin's face remained as neutral as it could, only creasing in pain if he moved or twitched. Watching the pink chakra come from his body and attach himself to her was unnerving. Not because it felt weird, but because he felt nothing. If he wasn't seeing it with his own eyes, he wouldn't even know she was doing it, yet when she spoke up it was clear she was assessing his body.

"Easier said that done," he tries to joke. "Allies or not," he continues, jerking his chin towards her headband, "It's weird to have unknown ninja get close, especially one who grabs and then asks."

Hikari watches the three of them through slightly narrowed eyes as she chews on the inside of her cheek. After Jashin speaks, she clicks her tongue before moving back beside the injured Nara and adjusts her headband on her head that hold her bangs back. "Makes sense. I'm Kyoukin Hikari, a medical jounin from Kumogakure. That's what this is, ya?" She nods, waving towards the thread of pink chakra that's visible to the group. "My kekkai Genkai. Let's me monitor your vitals while I work. Now, I see the leaf headbands, but that doesn't give me names and we are still strangers if I don't know your name, ya?"

Her hands only hesitate for a second as Akemi calls her patient her older brother. She could have sworn it was a woman and her eyes slowly narrow in on the face that is half-covered by a cloth mask. "Oh, OH! Big brother! I thought you were just a woman, ya?" She huffs before shaking her head. She's all smiles until the kid calls her Obaa-chan. Her eye twitches and she turns to face him, even as she hears the man before her choke on his tongue either hiding his laugh or appalment. She hoped it was the latter. If he laughed, well he was stupid because she still had to fix his leg.

"Obaa-...Obaa-SAMA?!" She shrieks a little before inhaling through her noise. Finally, she turns a sickly sweet smile on him. "It's going to take a few hours at least, bocchan. I'm a doctor, but I'm no miracle worker, you know?" She turns back to the leg before pulling on some latex gloves. She doesn't answer the kid's question right away, instead, she pulls back the opening in her patient's pants to get a good look at the wound. Gloved fingers tug at the makeshift cloth. "You guys should learn some techniques at some point. This," she says almost absentmindedly, waving the bloody cloth, "Is not sanitary. You do what you must, but keep in mind it can be more hindering later on." She continues to probe, merely raising an eyebrow when her patient hisses only once. After a moment, she pulls away to open a bandage pack and place it in the metal pan before soaking it in alcohol.

"It's a nasty storm out there tonight. You're welcome to sleep here and rest, but I think he Should be good to go in the morning as long as you take it easy, ya?"

Hikari turns to the man on the bed and inclines her head thoughtfully. "Now, we can do this the quick and easy way, or you guys can let me do this the old fashion way, but I still have to clean the wound first and it's gonna hurt like Susanoo himself burned your ass. Are you guys gonna let me use my chakra to heal or am I just wrapping it? You're gonna move faster if I can actually mend it instead of stitch it, ya?"

[Kaida]

She watched as Hikari treated Jashin, placing a hand on his shoulder as he quietly winced through the pain. Her thoughts swirled with what he might be feeling right now, cutting through her own frustration at the situation. She had been worried the whole time about him on this mission. Praying that the weather held, the guards maintained their strict route and that they would be able to skirt in and out with no trouble. But as soon as the rain began to fall, she knew it was going to fall apart as they got closer and closer to Kiri.

Akemi knew what he had been thinking, all those years ago with Eiko had left many scars. And with the cousins reconnecting she should have assumed it would have brought those scars to the forefront on missions. She should have acted faster in order to assure him and keep him safe, but she needed the other nin to get closer, needed them to feel like they had the upper hand so as to put him down so they could retreat safely. She gazed at him softly, her hand squeezing his shoulder of its own accord, “I’m not her Ani-san. And you’re not the same person you were then either.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, words only meant for him. An understanding as much as a reassurance.

Her gaze shifted to the enigmatic woman, continuing to watch her every move as she treated Jashin. It was supposed to be a simple retrieval, no need for Nakano in case of injury. “I’m Akemi, and yes we are Konoha shinobi. It was a freak accident that changed out plans. I am grateful you ran into us though.” Her tone was still wary and hard, but the gratitude flowed freely from her eyes. She knew the tourniquet she had applied wasn’t the best, but it was all they had to stop him from bleeding out and losing him wasn’t an option.

She turned her head to Kaito then, assessing his posture and trying to read his intent on their situation. They needed a safe place to stay until Jashin could walk, and a temple with a doctor would at least provide some form of sanctuary; especially if there were any complications that followed. “What do you think?” She wasn’t just asking about the treatment for her cousin, she was asking about their next steps as a whole. The chances of them being followed, the likelihood of this being their best option and if waiting until morning was considered safe. Akemi knew what she felt would be best, but Kaito was their captain in Takeshi’s absence, the decision needed to come from him.

[Throniv]

---

When Akemi turned to him, her question hanging in the air, he exhaled through his nose. This was less than ideal, but... Kumo was a steadfast ally of Konoha, and Hikari had been nothing but helpful so far. He was usually pretty good at spotting a threat, and this didn't seem like one. He was grateful for that, at least--one thing that hadn't gone wrong since the initial fuckup that landed them in this position.

"Help him as fast as you can, please. If you have a way to do it quickly, please do so," he said finally, looking up at Hikari before his eyes cut back over to Akemi, conveying a silent message. The quicker Jashin healed, the quicker they could put distance between themselves and the remnants of their nearly-failed extraction. Kaito turned and posted himself outside the door, quietly closing his eyes to listen for any disturbance in the rain that fell from the sky, trying to hear through its droning roar for any approaching footsteps.

Internally, he cursed his under-preparedness.

He hadn't bothered to learn about his teammates triggers--after all, Kirin had been in the ANBU for longer than he had, he thought that any such psychological issues would have been dealt with during the conditioning. That was a tactical blunder of epic proportions--one that he would need to rectify asap. He needed higher-level access to psych profiles before going on missions where he was the lead. This was a mistake that he would not allow to happen again.

His teammate had gotten hurt, and ultimately the buck stopped with him.

[zory_alechiv]

Jashin's gaze flicked to Akemi before dropping to his injured leg. He didn't know what happened. One minute everything was fine and the next, he snapped. He was supposed to have a handle on his shit and it was apparent that he didn't. Kami, he was so screwed. He wouldn't blame Kaito or Takeshi for wanting him removed from the team. He'd promised the Hyuuga he wouldn't be a liability and he nearly cost them the entire mission because of his slip.

He'd like to say he wasn't concerned with what other people thought of him, but he'd come to truly care for this team and he felt like he had let them down with this stunt. With Kaito's back to him and telling Hikari to hurry made him cold all over. He might have been older, he might have been stronger, but he could feel the disappointment weigh deeply on him by someone's opinion he actually cared about.

"Yea, do what you can. We should get back," he grunts s he shifts, moving to get slightly more comfortable.

"Don't do that," Hikari cuts in, even as she nods to the trio. "Try not to move till I finish or you could make it worst, you know?" The pink thread of chakra pulses between her and her patient and she can feel the disappointment in his mind. She chews on her cheek thoughtfully. It wasn't her place to pry and they were allies with Konoha. Her violet eyes shifted back towards the 'kid' at the door. So they're all shinobi, then? And that one is the leader? It wasn't difficult to suss out their dynamic, and she'd seen wounds like the one at her fingertips before.

"I can do it quickly, but I need to know if there was a chance you could be followed, ya? I don't expect you to tell me everything, it's not my business but if I need to be on guard, then you should tell me. And if you're lying about who you are, know your sibling won't make it out alive at this point. We're connected and I promise to help them, but tell me what you can, ya?"

Hikari is patient for their words as she works, fingers pressing the alcohol soaked bandage to the open wound. She hears the man hiss and tense up so she clicks her tongue in an attempt to ease the discomfort. "Almost there, sweetie. Once I get it cleaned I can heal you. I promise this is the worst part, yea?" She smiles before looking back to focus on her work. She continues to press clean, alcohol soaked bandages against the wound until the blood is a brighter red and runs clean.

Standing up, she takes the pan of used bandages and dumps them in the small fire she has going in the fireplace. The fire flares up by the alcohol on the bandages but she's already turning to the trash bin to get rid of her gloves. The tether of pink chakra twists gently between her and the older Nara as she moves, thinning out as she moves further away, but getting thicker when she moves back within a meter of him.

"Okay, going to use my jutsu now so don't freak out and try to kill me, ya?" She chuckles before pressing her hands together. They flash through a series of seals, slower than any of them at 10 speed. As she concentrates, her small tongue peaks out between her lips as she concentrates. After a moment, the thread of pink chakra pulses brightly between them, chakra pouring into the Nara. To those watching, they would see the blood slowly start to clot and scab over before beginning to get smaller and heal. (He will not be healed by the end of this post.)

As she works, three shadows seem to merge from the storm outside, closing in on the temple.

Jashin frowns as he watches the wound begin to heal. "Feels weird," he mutters, mostly to himself. He can feel her chakra pouring into him and he feels better already, yet the tugging of the wound makes him wrinkle his nose slightly.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Medicinal Style • Wound Cleanse]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user knows how to use sterile water or alcohol to clean out a wound, destroying any bacteria in the wound to prevent infection.

~Tenketsu Tethering: Greater Heal
B-Rank Ninpou
Requires: [Iijutsu]
After a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan family member will channel a generous amount of chakra into a specific tether delivering a pulse of healing chakra. This chakra is capable of healing small wounds or less instantly. Larger wounds like open gashes will gain a faster regenerative property allowing them clot and prevent further damage instantly and to heal completely within 2 posts

[Kaida]

Akemi nodded her head in agreement with Kaito, silently standing by Jashin as Hikari worked. She ignored the rest of the chatter that came from the strange woman who had kidnapped them to help them. Her mind racing recalling every detail about their escape and if it was likely that they could be followed. The answer was obvious, they had left too many alive. It was only a matter of time. And unfortunately, their pink haired acquaintance drew a lot of attention. It was feasible that if their pursuers did indeed persist, it would be easy enough to ask about an injured shinobi looking for a medic. Usually that would be vague in and of itself, but knowing the injury, and the scene they had likely caused getting off the boat...it was only a matter of time.

She looks over her shoulder towards the door, where Kaito went to go keep watch wondering if they were to be attacked, would it be head on or would it be more subtle? She chuckled to herself under her breath, ignoring the looks from Jashin and Hikari as she thought. Who was she kidding? Kiri nin weren’t subtle. They were out for blood, that was their way. She rolled her shoulders and squeezed Jashin’s arm. “It’ll take some getting used to. Go easy on it, or I’ll make you regret it.” Her warning was clear enough, if he fucked around on it, she would kick his ass for it later. She could only carry him so far under threat of attack, which ultimately left Kaito alone. Turning to Hikari, her gaze narrowed, eyes calculating as she watched her chakra pour into her cousin. “I’ll be just outside. Don’t make me regret trusting you with him.”

She exited the building and went to stand beside her acting captain. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, watching the released air from her lungs for a cloud in front of her as the rain pierced it. She bumped Kaito’s shoulder with her own, a form of comfort and reassurance. “It wasn’t your fault. It was a good plan, and we had no reason to suspect they would change things so suddenly. Or that Jash would act so brazenly out of character. You acted quickly, and you made the right call every step of the way. I’m sorry I didn’t act quicker in dispatching more of them.”

Her own guilt had weighed on her heavily, if she had just been a little faster, a little stronger, none of this would have happened. Instead she chose to bait the man in front of her, to lure him in so as to control his weapon and put him down. And in doing so, she had created an open opportunity of panic to grip at her brother. Costing them time and maiming him in the process. She had been working hard in ANBU to be more strategic, to charge in less and think before she acted. It was times like this that made her realize why she did it in the first place, because she could take a hit and walk away mostly fine. That was her job. And she didn’t know how to balance what she needed to do in order to be more efficient with it.

[Throniv]

---

As Akemi stood watch over Jashin, Kaito concentrated and caused a light green glow to surround his body as he channeled his chakra into one of his most effective jutsu--Senpu Mokuton • Bodhisattva’s Wisdom. Black markings appeared on his face, accentuating his cheekbones and surrounding his dark brown eyes in a way that made them appear to be pools of near infinite darkness--a purely aesthetic representation of his channeling of Nature energy. Small roots grew out of his calves and feet and burrowed into the ground, allowing him to easily balance and mix the volatile energy into his chakra, which was a process that had always calmed him down and allowed him to center himself.

His eyes, beneath his eyelids, began to glow a warm golden color as the nature chakra infused his system, and he very gradually gained a total awareness of a 60 meter radius around him--more than enough to encompass the building and part of the road outside--which was why he didn't react in surprise when Shishi approached him and spoke up quietly. The young teen let out a sigh through his nose and bowed his head further under the weight of her words.

"I was mission lead. The responsibility is mine, whatever the circumstances," Kaito said quietly as he opened his eyes and stared out at the rain that pelted the earth. He glanced over at the Nara who had just gone out of her way to comfort him--she was a good friend to him. Better than he was to her, at any rate. He wasn't good at people, they tended to confuse and irritate him unless he was studying their behavior for a mission profile, but Akemi tried to include him like he was a real part of the team. She consoled him when he was downcast, somehow seeming to know even when most would take his lack of expression as a lack of care.

"Thank you, though," he said quietly as he swayed in place, bumping her shoulder with his own. "Your performance was--"

He cut off suddenly, his expression hardening even further as something triggered at the edge of his awareness. Kaito straightened up and glanced in the direction of the approaching signature, reaching down into his pouch and gripping a smoke bomb as he tried to understand what he was sensing.

"Shishi, we have company," Kaito said warningly as he withdrew his hand, palming the smoke pellet and narrowing his eyes.

OOCShow

Senpu Mokuton • Bodhisattva’s Wisdom
B-Rank Senjutsu
[Requires Affinity: Sensory]
[Requires Jutsu: Bodhisattva’s Palm]
After making the proper hand seals, the user gathers Nature chakra, balances it with their own, and enters a partial Sage mode. In order to do this, the user grows roots out of the bottom of their feet that will lock them in place for at least 1/2 of a post. While in this partial Sage Mode, the user has perfect 360 degree awareness of their surroundings for 60 meters in every direction, including every chakra signature, and can tell what chakra element they are channeling in the moment.

[zory_alechiv]

Jash rolled his eyes at his adopted sibling, the mask of self deprecation faltering for a moment at her teasing.

"Oh Imouto-san, I couldn't hurt your brother if I wanted to. Aside from causing an international incident, it would be suicide to go against the three of you, you know?" Hikari chuckled before focusing back on her patient. She didn't mention her friend upstairs but as she saw the glowing of the kid's eyes, she wondered if he could sense him sleeping. At least, he was probably sleeping. She'd been late getting back tonight from the village a few miles away but she had been expecting Rai. Considering he hadn't come down yet, she'd assume he was asleep. Man slept through storms that would wake the dead. Unless she needed him.

Attached to Jashin through her tether, she could feel the moment tension rippled through his body and it pulled her briefly from her healing to pay attention.

"Shishi, we have company."

Her violet orbs flicked towards the kid even as Jashin's wound was nearly sealed back up. Sweat beaded on her temple as she worked though it didn't bother her too much to expend the chakra for this. Yet, if they had company, she knew she would still be mostly useless. Her first instinct was to tell the kid to get further inside but she knew a partial sage mode when she saw it and realized that these three people were far out of her league. Had they wanted to hurt her, they could have.

"Oi, Rai!" She yelled suddenly, turning to face a door towards the back. "Get your butt out here. I need help getting this patient to a bed, ya!"

"Kyoukan-San, I think a bed is the last thing I need at the moment," he argued, moving to shift his legs to the side of the pallet he was already on. He tested it and yes, the muscles were still tight but there was no way that what was out there was a coincidence. They had been followed and their host had been kind enough to help him that they didn't deserve this.

"We're not, but I'd rather have someone I know who has my back if you don't mind, you know? I know you guys are on my side, but I'd feel better if my friend was here too, okay?"

And though Jash didn't like another person there he didn't know, he couldn't really argue with that. "Kaito, what are we looking at?" he murmured, limping towards his teammates.

Out in the woods, the shadows crept closer. As Kaito continued to watch them, one would come closer, weaving several hand signs. She landed just on the edge of the clearing, her sights set on the Monkuton user from before. Her blue hair was plastered against her shoulders as the rain continued to come down. She makes eye contact with him, attempting to force him into falling into her illusion. Though she couldn't see, walls would begin to close in on the kid, claustrophobia being her goal. As soon as she finished, she flickered back to the woods as a cloud of steam closed the remaining distance between the edge of the trees and the temple (40 Control). They would feel the heat before it reached them.

ooc: Enemy JutsuShow

Enemy 1:
*[Genjutsu • Visions of Fear]
A-Ranked Warp Genjutsu
After the right hand seals and eye contact have been made, the target will begin to see things. This allows the user to tap into the target’s consciousness and find their fears and make them look real. They may begin to see animals, people, or things that they’re terribly afraid of. This genjutsu will last for 4 posts.

Enemy 2:

~Yugeton • Steam Cloud
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After the correct hand seals, the user puffs their chest before releasing a 40 meter diameter cloud of steam at a speed of [Control] directly in front of them. This cloud of steam is super-heated, lasts for 4 posts and will cause second degree burns on contact with skin. (40 Control)

Enemy 3 and 4 Hold back due to the steam.

[Kaida]

As soon as Kaito had mentioned company, Akemi was making hand seals for her Armored Fire with 35 speed and strength, and released the adrenaline in her body as Unrelenting Fury flooded through her system. As fire whipped around and coated her frame, she could feel her muscles contracting with every flex and her strength increased. Her primary goal was to keep him and Jashin safe. “You lead Tora, I’ve got you.” This time, there would be no mistakes. She channeled chakra in the shadows flickering because of her armor 15 meters in front of the temple. Chargine them with her Shadow Explosion Trap with 35 speed and 35 strength.

She heard Jashin from inside asking questions, and reluctantly fought her base nature in making him stay out of it. Instead she made some room, not only for him but also for Hikari and a new man that had not been in the house previously. “Do you just keep people in a closet or something?” Though it was neither the time nor the place, Akemi was genuinely curious and concerned about where Hikari had kept this marbled specimen.

Rai awoke suddenly at hearing Hikari’s high-pitched voice call out from downstairs. Groaning he stuffed a pillow over his face. Staying here was supposed to be fun with the odd call for help from bandits, because apparently this woman was more wanted than a missing nin. It was not supposed to include helping patients get into bed. “Fuck sakes woman, I was sleeping!” He rolled off the bed with a cat’s grace, feet barely making a sound as they hit the floor. Looking over to his boots, shirt and scarf, he decided it was pointless as he’d be going back to sleep soon anyway and headed down the stairs in his golden yellow pants with his platinum blonde bed head.

As he reached the landing, he paused looking from Hikari to what looked like an injured Nara on the table. The man had dark brooding brown eyes, a lithe and lean frame with pale skin and very soft looking hair. Rai’s eyes widened slightly as they made eye contact, all formative thought leaving his mind. “Although I could be persuaded to stay awake.” Mentally, he hit himself for that one. The man was clearly injured, and now that Rai’s brain was active, he could sense a power source from outside. He looked from Hikari back to her patient and nodded to the woman. He grabbed his black and gold tsurugi’s from beside the door and cracked his neck.

“I’m gonna have to start charging you for how many times I’ve had to do this for you.” He threw a wink and a smirk over his shoulder as he exited the temple. Coming face to face with two other shinobi, one a young man that had sage eyes and the other a young girl similar to the man inside but wreathed in fire. Confusion flooded his face for a moment as he tried to put the pieces together, it would seem Hikari got herself involved in something that was once again none of her business. His confusion was broken by the young girl asking if he had been in a cloaey of all places. He chuckled at her and shook his head. “I came out of the closet years ago, I'm not going back in now.”

As steam rolled out from the tree line, Rai charged his blades with Coated Cutlass, the ranton running down the length of each weapon prepared to carve through defenses and splash out to multiple enemies. Why did staying with Hikari always end in some sort of fight?

Jutsu UsedShow

Akemi:

~Eiketsu • Shadow Explosive Trap
C-rank Ninjutsu
After completing a string of hand seals the user will infuse a shadow within their Control range with explosive chakra. If an opponent makes physical contact with this shadow it will rapidly compress at the point of contact at a Speed and Strength up to the user's Control. This rapid compression will result in a large explosion with a Strength up to the user's Control stat. The Shadow Explosive Trap will remain apparent for up to 6 posts before additional chakra is required.

Katon • Armored Fire
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals or channeling chakra, a full set of armor made of katon will appear at control speed and strength, and provides a 3 inch layer that protects against taijutsu. If anyone comes into contact with the armor they will receive control strength burns and incoming attacks will be deflected at control strength. This technique can last up to 5 posts or until destroyed.

Unrelenting Fury
S-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The user draws on their inner rage and tenses their whole body as the flood of emotions flows through them. Entering into a frenzy they experience a boost in power +10 to strength and +5 to speed. This comes at the cost of their mental stability as a whole -10 to willpower and -5 to control. This effect can last for up to 8 posts.

Rai:

~Coated Cutlass
D-Rank Ninjutsu
By channelling chakra into a weapon or bade, covering it in ranton chakra. The imbued weapon will be able to carve through defenses of [Control] or less strength with ease, anything that makes contact with the weapon 3 ribbons will shout out of the weapon towards an opponent at a speed & strength equal to the users [control] up to 10 metres away. This lasts for 2 posts.

[Throniv]

---

The kumo-nin coming down from the room on the second floor of the temple was well within the 120-meter range of the young man's sensory abilities, but Kaito didn't bother to spare what was supposedly an ally more than a passing acknowledgement as the air around him began to glow a dark green. The enemies were approaching fast--but he was faster at casting than they were at running by a near-unsurpassable amount. The young boy who'd earned the moniker Senju Prodigy furrowed his brow as he devoted all his concentration to timing his next move, molding and shaping his chakra into just the right configuration without ever weaving a sign. It was a skill he'd always had, ever since a child--he'd never understood why others couldn't feel their chakra the way he could, couldn't understand, intuitively, the way moving it through your coils effected the end result

A skill he was glad, now, that more people didn't have.

"Shishi, break left, and Rai," he commented lowly as the enemies began their final approach, turning to glance at the kumo-nin who'd come to stand beside them in their hour of need, "break right. This is about to get ugly."

The moment the Kiri nin's foot touched the ground, the young boy cast his opening jutsu: [Mokuton • Four Pillar Prison]. Four pillars of lacquered wood erupted from the ground before quickly forming a 6x6x6 cage at 50 [Speed] and [Strength] around the Kirigakure shinobi even as he released the plume of steam intended for Kaito's group. The cage only had two-inch gaps in the bars, meaning that barring the ability to completely dislocate their joints there shouldn't be a way for the shinobi in question to escape the holding cell--which would have trapped at least some of the steam release inside, as the steam contacted a physical barrier and pooled around it. With any luck, the Kiri nin would get cooked by their own jutsu.

Kaito leapt up at 40 [Speed] to land on the side of the building, giving him a birds-eye view of the battlefield and allowing him to keep visual track of his teammates--and his enemies.

Kaito's body flared green once more as he forced a small [Mokuton • Bakuhatsu Nut] to form in his right hand, pairing it with the smoke bomb. In the event he needed to make a quick getaway, the combination of the two would be more than enough

OOCShow

*Mokuton • Bakuhatsu Nut
D-Rank Ninjutsu
By closing their palm and performing the correct hand seals with the other, the user can create 1 seed closely resembling a walnut with a 2-inch diameter. This seed is filled with chakra and has enough energy to detonate with a force of [Control] strength. The user can detonate seed via kai, but if not detonated within 3 posts, it loses its potency.

*Mokuton • Four Pillar Prison
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing a series of hand seals, the user focuses on a target or group of targets within 25 meters and causes wooden beams to emerge from the ground around them at a speed of [Control]. These beams connect overhead and underground, forming a roof and bars with about two inches of space between them. It has a durability of [Control] and can be as large as 6x6x6 meters.

[zory_alechiv]

Hikari's laughter at Akemi and then Rai would echo through the small shrine. "I promise he's the only one, but had I known he was going to flirt this badly in front of everyone, I might have humored him into letting him sleep," she teased and glanced at Jash. Instead of the blush she expected, the Nara just seemed adorably confused as he looked from Rai to Hikari and back again. "It's okay sugar, you'll figure it out," she pats the Nara's arm before standing. Jash stood with her and together the two had hobbled over towards the doorway and Kaito.

It shouldn't have annoyed him so much that he was being ignored. He'd fucked up and now they had lost faith in him. He remained silent, even as Hikari stood by his side and peered out.


As Kaito trapped the Jouchaku, another Kiri Shinobi would enter the battle field, her eyes on the group. Inhaling deepling, she would begin channeling her hyouton chakra into her body and exhaling slowly. The area in front of her in a 30 meter radius would begin to drop rapidly in temperature, freezing any water in the air at 25 control. Rain drops turned to hail, the wet earth freezing into a sheet of ice as cold, biting wind overtook the battlefield. (~Blizzard)

~The steam would begin to form, but Kaito was faster and soon enough, branches began to form a pillar around the Jouchaku to create a prison. The Jouchaku was not nearly as fast as Kaito however he would quickly change tactics as the steam dispersed around him. His fingers would press against the bars of the cage, testing them. Accepting that his body was trapped, the man pressed his fingers between the bars with a bloodthirsty grin. "Tick tock, tick tock," he says, his voice carrying over the rain as he forms several hand seals before pointing at the doorway. A cloud of steam charges towards the door at 25 speed, intent on burning those who remain grouped up. (~Yugeton • Obliterate)

Jash watched as the steam raced towards them. It wouldn't be beyond the Kiri nin to toy with them first, but he didn't want to linger where the steam touched. Grabbing Hikari, the two dove out of the way to the left of the incoming steam. With his wounded leg, he didn't land right, and caused them both to roll. "Hey! Stay off that leg, ya know?" She challenged, even as her hands flitted through several handseals. A pulse of pink chakra emanated outwards from her in a 35 meter radius, connecting them all through her link with ~Tenketsu Tethering: Link Up III

As the battle waged on, the one who attempted to cast the genjutsu had now turned her sights on Raiko. Shifting forward, but staying out of the way of the steam arrow, she landed in front of the blond and swung her kunai at him at 20 speed, aiming for his ribs. (*Ochiba • Spare Ribs)

Utilizing the distraction he hoped the others afforded him, the final Kiri nin ran from the trees before leaping up towards Kaito, his large naginata swinging downwards at his head. Upon the first impact, whether he missed or hit, he would be launched back into the air, only to come down to strike two more times at 45 strength. (* Kushou・The Swallow Rides the Wind)

Jutsu usedShow

JouchakuShow

~Yugeton • Obliterate
S-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: 40 Control
After performing the correct hand seals, the user points their finger at a target, then pretends to shoot, firing off a basketball sized ball of steam, however the ball is so densely packed it looks like a rock or solid object. Moving at a speed of [Control] up to 80 meters away, on impact, the sphere explodes with [Control] Strength over 32mx32mx32m, sending hot steam all over and creating a lingering 9 meter radius cloud of steam around the point of impact that lasts for up to six posts. Any steam that comes in contact with flesh will cause fourth degree burns.

Taijutsu ExpertShow

* Kushou・The Swallow Rides the Wind
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: * Kushou・The Swallow Takes Flight
The user of this technique must first launch themselves high into the air as if with The Swallow Takes Flight. They will then begin to spin and unleash a flurry of blows from above. The user is capable of performing up to three strikes in the air, each of them prolonging the user’s airtime. The Swallow Rides the Wind is useful as it maintains the advantageous high ground and all of the forward momentum toward the opponent throughout all of its blows, giving the user an effective +6 Strength and -6 Control for the three blows.

AisuShow

~Blizzard
B-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will channel hyouton chakra while inhaling, and then slowly exhale. Over the course of the next post, the temperature in a 60 meter radius of the user will rapidly drop to an extreme, biting cold, able to freeze bodies of water at [Control] speed. Any beings within the area of the technique will suffer from extreme exposure, with their bodies cramping, slowing, and shivering uncontrollably. Remaining exposed in this area for consecutive posts can result in a loss of coordination and a confused state of temporary amnesia as the cold begins to suffuse the brain. Additionally, katon techniques used in this area will cost 2x as much chakra to prepare.

Genjutsu UserShow

*Ochiba • Spare Ribs
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
A simple, yet effective strike. Often used in correlation with Ochiba • Oaken Defense, however not required. The user simply needs to be up close, they will swing their kunai in a horizontal motion towards their opponent's rib cage, aiming for the intercostal space between the ribs and damaging any organ behind it. The user will then turn the kunai, breaking their opponents ribs.[s/poiler]

HikariShow

~Tenketsu Tethering: Link Up III
B-Rank Ninpou
Sacrificing maximum range and duration for the ability to quickly connect too many targets quickly, after a set of hand seals, the Kyoukan family member will release a pulse of pink chakra in a 35 meter radius around them. Any living thing the chakra touches will have a tether formed between itself and the Kyoukan member. The formed tether can stretch up to [Control] meters and lasts for [Control]/10 posts. When stretched further than this range, the tether remains but will be unusable as a medium for tether techniques.

[Kaida]

The squawk that left Rai's mouth would have been comical, had it not been for the impending battle upon the house. "Careful Ari, I know where you sleep." The threat more than likely falling on deaf ears as he made his way right, following the instructions of the young man apparently taking point. He wasn't one to judge, but the boy seemed just that. A boy, however, war had changed everyone and there was no telling what this apparent child had lived through in order to be given such deference from his older companions.

With his tsurugis still covered in ranton chakra, Rai then channeled chakra around himself, covering his body in a swirling electrical mass of moving armor at 34 strength and 34 speed. As someone landed in front of him, preparing to strike, Rai would bring up the tsurugi in his left hand to block and parry. Allowing 3 ribbons of ranton to shoot out at 34 speed and 34 strength toward the assailant, both cutting and electrocuting on impact. Following up on his own defense, he would then spartan kick out with 30 strength at 30 speed, to kick the opponent square in the chest and knock them backwards. Additionaly ribbons from his body would shoot at 34 strength and 34 speed, further incapacitating the target. "Tsk, didn't your mother teach you to introduce yourself before you get that close to someone? You could atleast say hello first."

Breaking left as Kaito instructed, Akemi felt the air around them shift. A drastic change in temperature rising as the rain turned to hail and the ground became slick with ice. Shaking her head with a chuckle, she took off at 40 speed, lacing her fingers into quick hand seals with as an aura of fire began to radiate from her person towards the hyouton user. Her eyes lighting up like burning charcoal and her chakra paths glowing like molten lava, a clash of elements happening in the air as her aura burned anything and anyone within a 10 meter radius of herself at 40 strength. "If you wanted to play that badly, all you had to do was ask. Let's see what's stronger, your ice or my fire bitch." As Akemi approached, she would aim to hit the hyouton user in the face with a right hook at 40 strength, the fire aura around her body adding an extra oomph to her punch.

She negated her shadow explosion jutsu, not wanting her allies to be caught in that mess and focused her attention solely on the combatant in front of her. The Kiri shinobi got the drop on them last time, now they would see how well and truly fucked they were when the Konoha nin were prepared and undistracted.

Jutsu usedShow

Raiko

~Coiling Cover
D-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will perform a sequence of hand seals, spirals of Ranton chakra will wrap around the user covering their entire body. Anyone who makes contact with this will have ribbons burst from the user and chase them down up to 10 metres, with a speed and strength equal to [Control]. This will last 2 posts.

~Coated Cutlass
D-Rank Ninjutsu
By channelling chakra into a weapon or bade, covering it in ranton chakra. The imbued weapon will be able to carve through defenses of [Control] or less strength with ease, anything that makes contact with the weapon 3 ribbons will shout out of the weapon towards an opponent at a speed & strength equal to the users [control] up to 10 metres away. This lasts for 2 posts.

Akemi

Katon • Armored Fire
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals or channeling chakra, a full set of armor made of katon will appear at control speed and strength, and provides a 3 inch layer that protects against taijutsu. If anyone comes into contact with the armor they will receive control strength burns and incoming attacks will be deflected at control strength. This technique can last up to 5 posts or until destroyed.

Katon • Touched by Fire
A-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals or channeling chakra the user's eyes will take on the color of burning charcoal, their chakra paths will light up like molten lava, and a fire aura that burns anyone that comes within a five-meter radius that can be expanded up to 25 meters at control strength other than the user. This aura appears at control speed. This technique can last for up to 6 posts.

[Throniv]

---

Tora brought his mask up to cover his features, hiding the face of the boy they had come to kill behind the indomitable visage of the Tiger--a psychological barrier that, while childish, still made him feel better in the moment--before he formed a Serpent seal with his hands the second the Kiri nin's hand came up to touch the bars of the cage he now found himself in. As soon as he did so, the cage simply exploded into thousands, tens of thousands of pieces of shrapnel at 40 [Strength] and [Speed], hopefully rendering the steam user contained within so much ground meat.

For a moment he was back in the heat of the invasion, a Kirigakure chunnin speared through with a single root as he shielded a group of academy students from the man with his too-small body, before he snapped back to reality and focused on the other three signatures he could sense with perfect clarity. Shishi was engaging the Hyouton user--good match up, his instinct had been correct there--while the unknown asset the woman had named Rai was engaging with the more physical of the two who'd attempted to catch their group in a pincer maneuver. That left the final one, who was careening through the air with a massive naginata prepared as fast as he could possibly go.

Kaito threw the Bakahatsu nut into the air ahead of him, between himself and the kirigakure ninja that was currently aiming to cut him in half with his blade, and smirked behind his mask as he held out one arm and unleashed a massive palm made of laquered wood from his outstretched arm at 50 [Strength] and [Speed]. As it traveled between them, the Bakahatsu nut would be caught between the construct and his target's body, such that as the palm would ultimately bury itself into the dirt it would be with the small explosive device trapped between his target's body and its solid wooden surface.

OOCShow

Mokuton • Splinter
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will focus on a source of wood up to 30 meters away, causing it to explode with [Control] strength into thousands of tiny splinters that penetrate flesh and enter the bloodstream. The splinters will continue to grow for up to 6 posts while within effected targets bodies, causing severe internal organ damage to the pulmonary system. If not dealt with in 7 posts, the effected target will suffer pulmonary organ failure.

Senpou Mokuton * Bodhisattva’s Palm
C-Rank Senjutsu
By drawing in sage chakra and using it to help shape his own, the user can form an aspect of the hundred-handed Bodhisattva’s body that erupts from the user's hand. An outstretched palm made of wood that is 6 meters tall, 3.5 meters wide, and supported by an arm that is 4.5 meters thick in diameter launches from the user in a direction of the caster’s choosing at [Control] speed and strength. This arm shoots out for 30 meters, aiming to intercept and push away anything caught in its path, or break through any barrier it comes into contact with.

[zory_alechiv]

As Jash watched, it quickly became apparent that these Kiri nin had only gotten the drop on them because of a fluke. Because of you, his brain supplied unhelpfully. He shoved it back, instead focusing on the fight at hand. He wasn't even sure the Jouchaku had time to scream as the cage that held him prisoner exploded and sliced his body to ribbons. The steam arrow that had been heading towards them quickly evaporated, allowing Tora to focus on the glaive wielding maniac. He knew the man was too slow for their teammate and quickly turned to Akemi.

This time, he wasn't concerned for her. The Ice User never stood a chance as the Nara's fist connected with her face and send her head over feet across the muddy battlefield. The woman was burning, the stench of frying air permeating the ice and rain. Three down, that left the one. As his eyes drifted towards Rai, they were quick to realize that the man too had his own enemy easily dealt with.

Everything turned bitter in Jash's stomach, another feeling he shoved away. No point in wallowing in his uselessness here. It could wait until he was alone. Just as the ice melted away and the groans from the Kiri nin were silenced, he could feel Hikari relax beside him.

"Woah, you guys had problems with them before?"

Jash would have commented, not wanting to tell her the truth that they had gotten the drop on him, but he would have had the sudden displacement of air beside them sent warning bells in his body. He tensed even as Hikari was kicked away from him by a man taller than them both. At 25 speed, he easily outmatched the fullbodied Kumo and sent her stumbling towards Rai. The hand reached for the scroll in Jash's pack, no doubt to take it back to his village, and a fist aimed towards Jash's chest, but the Nara was that much faster.

Ducking under the fist, the chirping of A Thousand Birds filled the battlefield as Jash concentrated raiton chakra into his fist and thrusted his own attack into the man's chest at 35 speed. As soon as his fist connected with the enemy's chest, the lightning jumped to his body, ravaging his insides at 35 control before the man collapsed and the lightning dispersed. Still useless, but not defenseless so it was marginally better than before, but not by much.

"We should get back to Konoha before they send more. The next ones might not be so easy," Jash suggested.

Jutsu UsedShow

*Raiton • Thousand Birds
B-Ranked Ninjutsu
The user of this technique will gather a concentrated amount of Raiton in their hand after they perform the hand seals for this technique. The lightning causes a sound similar to thousands of birds chirping over the top of each other while it is in existence. The user will then dash at full speed toward a target and attempt to thrust their hand into their target's body using their strength and momentum. The lightning then jumps from the user's arm into the opponent's body where it ravages the insides with a [Control] Strength surge of Raiton chakra.