[closed] The Leaning Tower

[TyDie]

The two genin shinobi made their way through the desert sands the very next morning, realizing that travel into the desert at night was a fool's errand. So it was, with the rising sun, that Sakaki and Rika set out to the location of this recently discovered tower in the middle of the desert. Luckily, it wasn't any more than a few hours trip on camel, and given Sakaki's status as a jinch, the journey wasn't made alone. After all, Suna would never let the girl out of their sight, especially so recently after her sealing. They were given strict instructions to oversee the mission, and not intervene unless absolutely necessary. The young genin had to get their experience in somehow after all, and they would learn nothing if they weren't allowed to perform.

The tower stood high among the sands, a few crews still excavating the locale and moving wagons of sand to clear out the area. When Sakaki and Rika showed up, the leader of the excavation came to greet them. "Ah, the Scribes I take it? I heard you would be coming but... I thought they might send a senior to take care of this. You seem... young." The man was a civilian, about 35 or so, with dark tan skin and a great deal of muscle. His sandy blonde hair was kept nice and short, and his green eyes were piercing in the desert sun.

Sakaki didn't take well to being spoken down to, despite the fact that she was a very new shinobi, and the newest addition to the scribes of the sand. "I wouldn't underestimate us if I were you, sir. We may be young, but we're Scribes, and our leader saw fit to send up on this task." Determination burned in her eyes as she spoke, eager to fulfill her first mission. The older man eyed over Rika and Sakaki both, gave a small shrug, and turned his back to them before motioning for them to follow. "Eh, what business is it of mine who your leader decides to send? Long as she has faith in you, the rest isn't my problem. Follow me." The man would lead them towards the apparent 'door' of the tower.

"As you can tell, the tower itself seems to be leaning. The foundation isn't stable, we've already established that. The lean is only about 5 degrees to one side or so, but it's not a good sign. Too much ruckus inside there, and you can kiss this tower and everything in it goodbye. We haven't made it through the door yet, so get comfy..." The man went back to his work, leading his people to take care of the door safely, leaving Sakaki and Rika a moment to speak.

Sakaki would turn to Rika and give a small smile, scratching the back of her head with slight embarrassment. "Heh... Think I handled myself well? It's weird though, he's much older than me, but as shinobi we outrank him. So strange..." Get used to it child, one day the entire village may see you that way... If you live that long. Shihihihihi. That laugh, like a snake hissing, sent a shiver down her spine... She still wasn't used to the presence of the genma.

[Kabu]

Rika wasn't sure why but as she and Sakiko made their journey across the desert she had the strangest feeling that something or someone was keeping a close watch on the pair. It was quite creepy really but she ultimately elected to ignore it as it was only a feeling, and there was no way a thing like that could really happen... Right?

With the strange feeling still persisting, though really her glee at her more scholarly side being able to soon be put to work overriding it, they soon arrived at their destination, Rika taking the opportunity to step closer and study the outside of the tower while Sakaki dealt with the man that had greeted them on their arrival, primarily searching for anything odd or out of place. After all it was apparently a very old structure from a time long past, and so with that in mind she was extremely careful as she moved her hand over the wall, examining every inch, only pulling away and rejoining Sakaki only as it became apparent the conversation had come to a close.

"Yeah, you handled yourself well ." she responded to Sakaki, genuinely meaning what she said. While she had seemed to be engrossed in studying the building, she had also been paying full attention to the conversation between Sakaki and the older man, and the girl very much had proven capable in such a situation.

That aside, she couldn't help it as they got closer to the entrance and she began to giggle giddily, her eyes visibly lighting up. "I can't wait until we get inside and see what kind of discoveries we can make. Aside from my puppetry and my dearest held dreams, this is the sort of stuff I live for."

[TyDie]

Sakaki breathed a sigh of relief, her partner agreeing with her take on the situation and the way she conducted herself with the older man. She was so unsure of herself, but she was a full fledged shinobi; she had to start acting the part eventually. About time you started thinking that way...... was that a word of encouragement from Shishire? She wasn't sure whether she should be happy or concerned about that... As always, both child. A roll of her eyes was the only physical response she gave to the creature's words. She had more important things to worry about than Shishire right now, this mission had to get done. As if anything was more important than me... Don't make me laugh.

Moving on from the beast within her, Sakaki shared Rika's enthusiasm, but also expressed some concerns. "Believe me, I'm eager too Rika-chan. But I don't know... You heard him, the foundation of the tower isn't holding up. What if something happens when we go inside?" The fear was obviously present in Sakaki's eyes... there was so much that could go wrong here. They had no idea what was inside, and if a fight broke out or if they put too much weight on the wrong thing the whole place might collapse with them in it! To say that the girl was having second thoughts would be an accurate statement... Had she gone through all this training, become a shinobi, been sealed with the infamous genma, all to back out now?

[Kabu]

"Don't worry, this place shouldn't be collapsing anytime soon. If there was any real danger, a pair of Genin most definitely wouldn't have been sent out to investigate." Rika said to her companion, part of her understanding the girl's fears and another part simply being too excited about the possibilities to care about any amount of potential danger. There was no telling what they could find in such an old, decrepit building. The possibilities were endless and just that much was enough to greatly excite her.

Though there was one potentially worrisome thing that did occur to her however. "We do have to be very careful while moving through here though. According to my books, these ancient ruins are filled with traps made specifically to keep secret stealers out." she said, looking carefully at Sakaki's face, noting that in accordance to the girl's words she truly did seem to be afraid. In a way it made her feel bad for being so unapologetically excited for this whole ordeal.

"Well, you have no need to worry. If it does look like we're in any sort of real danger, all we need to do is flee. I'm sure that the folks in charge would understand if we had to back out. For now, let's just keep our heads up and take charge eh? There's no telling what will happen and it's really no use worrying too much about it right now." she said with a smile, resting one hand on Sakaki's shoulder.

"Besides, I have the feeling that something amazing is waiting up ahead for us and I really really want to find out what it could possibly be."

[TyDie]

Sakaki listened to her partner's words, and all she could do was hope that she was right about the tower's structural integrity. Although, the mention of traps turned her blood cold again. I don't know... Maybe I should've looked for something simpler... You must be joking. Or are you seriously suggesting that one such as I will be unable to handle such a trivial matter? Sakaki's eyebrow raised in curiosity, though it was not in reference to anything stated by Rika. Your concerns for your well being are... somewhat warranted. After all, you are a feeble human child. But I am far greater than that. Put your faith in me child, and I will guide you and yours through this...

No! But... It's not that I don't want your help. I just... I need to do this without it Shishire. I need to prove to myself that I can be a shinobi. Shihihihihihi... Do as you will, child. I will be watching, and I will be judging every single decision you make. Remember that. Sakaki shuddered as the Genma laughed it's snake-like laugh, but let her shoulders relax a bit as she felt Shishire's presence fade to the background of her mind once more. No, as conflicted and scared as she was, she had to do this with as little help from the Genma as possible. It would be her and Rika, together, against all the challenges ahead of them.

"Alright Rika, You're right. There's no sense being scared when nothing has even happened yet! I let my anxieties take control for a moment, it won't happen again. Come on, let's go to the door and see if they've made headway!" Sakaki would smile broadly at her comrade before leading the way down a small hill of sand towards the excavation team ahead. A few of the larger, burlier men thought to stop them, but quickly halted as they saw Sakaki's headband prominently displayed along the forehead and Rika's displayed on her arm. As the two closed in on the door, they would see some sort of text lining the archway of the stone doors.

"Y'all should get comfortable, it's gonna be a while yet before we open this door!" Sakaki studied the door closely, realizing of course that brute force would not give way through it, and would likely risk the building. But on both sides of the door sat what appeared to be small basins, set in jet black stone. Each one was in front of one side of the small carved archway, as if they were connected somehow... Turning to Rika, Sakaki pointed out the hunch that she had brewing. "I think these guys are going about this all wrong Rika, whoever made this place made it with the intent of it being opened. There wouldn't even be a door otherwise, and those basins have something to do with it. The text, can you read it? It's old and worn, but i can make out some of it."

Sakaki walked up really close to the words, took a moment to wave her hand over the eroded stone, and piece together what she thought it was saying. "The healthier... it is... the smaller... it will be. I think that's what it says but... what does that mean?" Sakaki put a finger to her chin for a moment, closing her eyes in thought as the riddle raced through her mind. Perhaps Rika had an idea?

[Kabu]

Rika smiled and nodded in accordance with her partner's newfound courage. "Absolutely. There's no harm in being careful but worrying too much about what could be will just cause unnecessary stress and make things a lot harder than they would be otherwise." she said, following along behind Sakaki, some part of her feeling incredibly giddy at the fact that any man who thought to stop them was unable to do so due to their status as shinobi, even if they were low ranking.

As the door and its decorations came into sight, Rika's eyes sparkled, the girl suddenly speeding up to move ahead of her partner and marveling at the structure before them, both the door and the basins to the sides being an absolute spectacle to her. "Oh wow! It's so simple and yet so classy! If this is the entryway then we need to get inside right now." she was practically overflowing with excitement at this point as she said this, only to be brought back down to earth as Sakaki spoke to her, her head tilting at the girl's words. "My books do mention that ancient civilizations would often have some means of testing those who want to get inside." she muttered to herself, staring at the text above the door, Sakaki seeming to have noticed as well as she read it out loud.

A riddle huh? And it likely has something to do with how the basins connect to the door." she pulled down her goggles and crossed her arms, tapping a foot against the ground as she went into serious thought, her face going pale as the answer came to her. "M... m.. maybe we should come back another day. Or maybe brute force really is the way after all." she stammered while turning towards Sakaki, very clearly trying to get out of something, though who knew if Sakaki would understand it herself.

Blood. Why did blood have to be involved? Couldn't the ancients have asked for something else instead?

[TyDie]

Sakaki took a minute to search her thoughts for the answer to the riddle herself, not even noticing Rika had already gone pale as the answer came to her. Blah, I was never good with riddles... The Healthier it is, the smaller it will be? What the hell does that even mean? ... Don't look to me for help, child. You said you wanted to do this without me, so go ahead. Sakaki's shoulders dropped in disappointment, but the genma was right; she wanted to do this without Shishire. "Hmm... The Healthier it is..." It was only now that she finally realized Rika had figured out the answer, based on her having gone pale and suggesting that they leave.

"Wait, you want to leave? What happened to be so gung ho about seeing all the secrets inside? If you know the answer Rika, tell..." like a sack of bricks dropped from a roof, the realization suddenly smacked her in the head and she held a finger to the sky in triumph. "A WOUND! The answer is a Wound! We need to drip blood into the basins!" She laughed aloud and placed her hands on her hips, the feeling of victory washing over her... Until she suddenly realized why Rika wanted to leave. She recognized that look in her eye now, it was the same feeling Sakaki got when she thought of her falling prey to Shishire's influence... Fear.

"Oh, Rika... Are you... Afraid of blood?" The girl didn't need to answer, the answer was plastered all over her face. Sakaki let out a small, soft smile, gave a light chuckle, and withdrew a Kunai from her ninja pouch. "I've got this. Stand back." Without waiting for an answer, Sakaki proceeded to perform a series of hand seals, channeling healing chakra through her wrists to sanitize them for what she was about to do. Once they were nice and clean, she wouldn't hesitate to make two small incisions on her wrists, wincing in pain as the blade passed through her flesh. She'd then hold her wrists over the basins, allowing her blood to flow into both basins.

It took a few moments for the blood to flow down the small hole in the center of the basins towards whatever mechanism lay within, but once it had, the stone door began to rumble slightly as it slowly opened, letting loose a plume of dust and ancient air as it did so. "We Did it! Now... Give me just a moment." Sakaki was not one to leave an open wound, especially when the sands of their homeland were known to cause infection. Once more she performed a short series of hand seals before holding both of her wrists, funneling chakra into her blood that would eventually cause the wounds she had given herself to clot. "There, all better. A little medical know how goes a long way. Now... Are you ready Rika?" She looked expectantly to the other young genin, hoping that Sakaki's handling of the blood test would show Rika that she was there for her... and that they could overcome this together.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Iijutsu • Sterilization Technique]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
As sanitation cannot always be guaranteed in field operations, this technique provides a quick substitute to traditional sterilization methods. After focusing chakra into his/her hands, the user will channel the chakra throughout his/her upper body (torso, arms, hands, face). This chakra will chew away at harmful bacteria and other foreign bodies on the skin, cleansing it until it is thoroughly sterile, and can be spread to objects, most commonly surgical tools. Of course, this takes both concentration and time, and in order to sterilize the entire upper body, it will take a duration of one (1) post. Users of this technique can also choose to sterilize certain parts of their upper body or the wounds of another person instead for a lesser concentration period. Once they are sanitized, they remain this way until coming in contact with more bacteria.

*[Iijutsu • Blood Clot Technique]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
This highly useful field technique is applied to bleeding wounds to help encourage the coagulation of the blood. After focusing chakra into his/her hands, the user will hover them over the bleeding wound and begin to channel chakra through it. The chakra will began to thicken the blood, causing it to clot. Wounds must be dealt with one at a time, and the number of wounds that can be tended to within the three (3) posts that this technique lasts depends on their size. Small wounds take very little time to clot, while moderate wounds take one (1) post of concentration to clot, and large wounds take two (2) posts to clot. Although this technique stops the bleeding, the wound remains vulnerable and will require further care after this has been performed.

[Kabu]

Rika couldn't even bring herself to watch as Sakaki set about solving the puzzle ahead of them, even the mere thought of having to offer any amount of blood being enough to make her a bit queasy. She did want to see inside and discover its secrets, she really did, but what if the rest of the tests were equally as bad or worse? This most definitely wasn't going to be their only trial, the ancients didn't roll that way.

Soon enough she heard the rumble of a passage opening and turned around, blushing as Sakaki came up to her and worked to encourage her. "I'm sorry. Blood just makes me queasy and honestly terrifies me a little." she said with a small smile. "I think I'm okay now. Also, you know medical techniques? That's pretty impressive. I've been thinking about if I should learn it myself but you know... my fear. I would make a horrible doctor like that." she chuckled, the color at this point having begun to return to her face and her tone being much calmer.

"Alrighty, I feel better already and the door is open so let's push on! We're most definitely going to have to work together if this first room was any indication. I'm looking forward to it... so long as the ancients don't want anymore blood."

[TyDie]

Sakaki gave Rika a nod of affirmation as the young genin puppeteer agreed to keep working with her on this mission. She didn't have the courage to do it alone, but with a friend like Rika at her side she felt a lot more confident in herself. "Haha, it's okay Rika. Fear is just another obstacle to be overcome, and i'm sure one day you'll get over it. In the meantime, i'm happy to cut myself so you don't have to!" She let out a few silly giggles, looking at the men around them now who had noticed the door being opened. "Holy hell they did it! Maybe they're scribes after all... They were more clever than us at least!" One of the men spoke up and cheered them on, letting out a guffaw as they proved their brains were better than the crew's brawn.

A blush crossed Sakaki's face as she turned back to Rika. "Well then... Shall we?" She gestured to the door, and proceeded to head in first through the stone halls of the tower. As they walked through the structure, the first hallway quickly turned into a spiral staircase that lead up into the tower's depths. It wouldn't be long before they were robbed of their vision due to lack of light however. "Uh oh, it's dark... Hold on, I have an idea." With a deep breath, Sakaki performed a series of hand seals and held out a kunai in front of her. Once done, she'd breath out a small flame that stuck to the tip of her kunai, creating a makeshift torch that would illuminate their path.

"Iijutsu and Katon. I'm just full of surprises huh?" She gave a small wink and a cocky grin as she displayed some more of her prowess... Which was rather odd for anyone who knew Sakaki before the sealing. She was always so humble, and happy to help, but she had to admit ever since her sealing she'd grown a touch more conceited. But how could one not be conceited with the power she now contained? Holding the kunai out in front of her, she'd reveal their next trial; a long hallway that seemed innocuous, but the look of it sent a shiver down Sakaki's spine. "Hey, Rika... What was that you said about traps earlier?"

It was pretty clear that this hallway wasn't as safe as it seemed. Various grooves and small opening throughout the stonework, revealed by the light of the torch, made it clear that stepping on the wrong spot could prove disastrous. "Well... hmm... We don't want to set this hallway off, but we don't know where we're not supposed to step. Any ideas?"

jutsuShow

*Katon • Torch
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will exhale a small ball of flame directly in front of them. The ball lights up the surrounding area in a 5 meter radius and requires 5 or more Strength to destroy. Unless destroyed, it will stay locked in it's location for 5 posts before fading.

[Kabu]

Rika simply smiled as she followed behind Sakaki, the pair proceeding further into the ruins, their path getting gradually darker they further they went until they were surrounded by complete darkness, Rika herself simply sighing at the inconvenience. "Well, it's a good thing neither of us are afraid of the dark. Though remind me when we get home, I need to install some kind of light source into my next puppet." she said, turning towards her partner's last known location only to see that the girl had came prepared. So she knew katon as well it seemed. "Great work. Now I hope I get a chance to show off what I've got soon." she said, her tone joking but the feeling itself entirely genuine. Between her fear of blood and now this she was beginning to feel as if she was going to be deadweight.

It seemed that her chance to shine would come sooner than she thought however as the pair next came across a long hallway, obviously trapped. Careless steps would surely leave them as nothing more than pin cushions. "Except, we don't need to step anywhere. Here, can you carry him on your back for a bit?" she said, taking her puppet off of her back and handing it over to Sakaki, at which point she would form a set of hand seals, fuuton chakra gathering underneath her feet and lifting her several inches off the ground. "Now get on. I'll piggyback us to victory." she said, motioning for Sakaki to climb onto her back. I may not be able to keep it up for terribly long but it should be enough to at least get us to the other side."

JutsuShow

*Fuuton • Wind Skating
D-Ranked Fuuton Jutsu
After performing the needed hand seals, the user is able to glide on air as if they were skating on ice. This allows them to move faster (+3 speed) but lowers their accuracy and agility (-3 Taijutsu). This doesn't allow them to fly, but rather to travel over things like land, water, and ice with greater ease. The user is only held several inches off of the ground. This Jutsu does not expire until the user’s chakra supply runs out or the user shuts it off. The fuuton passive is not applied in this technique.

[TyDie]

Sakaki raised an eyebrow as her partner asked her to hold her puppet for a moment, but she agreed and slung the wooden creation along her back as she watched Rika form a series of hand seals. Once those seals were complete, Sakaki was struck with awe as her ally was now essentially floating ever so slightly off of the ground. "Oh cool, fuuton! With that, you won't have to touch the ground at all! But... what about me?" That answer came just as quickly, as Rika offered to piggy back Sakaki across. Almost immediately the genma within her lashed out.

Does she truly expect us to simply hop on her back and be carried along? The humiliation is too much to bear! You aren't seriously considering allowing such an embarrassment, are you? Sakaki was taken off guard by Shishire's outburst, giving her a moment of pause as she responded to it. There's nothing embarrassing about accepting help from a friend, Shishire. And if it helps, i'm conserving chakra by letting her help me. Think of it like that. The genma scoffed under it's breath and mumbled about how 'demeaning' it was, but otherwise went silent once more. Sakaki then realized she had been standing there, quiet, for multiple seconds. A momentary blush crossed her face before she responded.

"Eh...hehehe... sorry about that. Long story, but sure let's do it!" Sakaki proceeded to carefully hop on Rika's back, and Rika would note that Sakaki was pretty light, even considering her age. The two would then slide along the stone hallway, not touching a single stone and therefore not triggering any of the traps as they made their way to the other side. Once there, Sakaki's torch would reveal another staircase going up once more, and so Sakaki would let herself down from Rika's back and hand her back her puppet. "Here ya go, now let's keep on going! Who knows what we're gonna find next!" She could hardly contain her excitement as she went up the steps in bounds, leading the duo towards their next trial.

At the top of the steps, Sakaki and Rika would find a large rooom with another door like the one outside. They came out in the center of the room, and the door was to the north, while to the south was a statue, at least 12 feet tall of some humanoid creature. This creature had a human body, but it's head was that of an eagle, and in it's hand was an orb of stone. "Wow... Take a look at that, Rika. What do you suppose it is? Some kind of spirit maybe?" Sakaki could practically feel shishire's eyeroll in her head, an obvious feeling of how wrong she was washing over her. Turning her attention from the statue back to the door, she noticed yet another riddle, although the wording was much more preserved since it wasn't exposed to the outside elements.

"Oh boy, another riddle! This one says 'With food I live, with drink I die." Hmm... What do you suppose that could be?" Sakaki began stroking her chin in thought, trying to come up with the answer to this puzzle they found themselves faced with.

[Kabu]

Rika smiled and shrugged at Sakaki's apology for her momentary pause, the girl herself having figured that her offer had simply been too embarrassing and that some degree of thought had been needed to be put towards it. She was glad that the girl accepted however, relieved that she had finally been able to put forth a contribution of her own towards their exploration.

Soon enough they were on the other side and still in one piece, Rika letting out a sigh as she released the jutsu and felt her feet once again touch solid ground, feeling a sense of comfort as her puppet was returned to her and they resumed on their path. She was a little concerned at how very light her partner had felt while she had been carrying her but she kept silent on the matter, feeling it would be rude and inappropriate to bring it up.

Upon entering the next room, Rika's eyes lit up, the girl taking a quick look around for potential traps before running up to the enormous statue, gently rubbing her hand over its surface, smilling all the while. "It's beautiful! I dunno what it's supposed to represent but it reminds me a lot of my puppet. I mean, the actual appearance is different but they have similarities in being animal-human hybrids." She said, her tone and the shine in her eyes showed her excitement having come back in full force after that incident from the first trial.

In her fervor over studying the statue she almost missed Sakaki reading out another riddle, though she did catch enough to get the gist of it. "Lives with food, dies with drink..." she repeated to herself, head tilting as she found herself unable to come up with a clear cut answer, though she did have a few guesses. "Perhaps it's something to do with flames or heat? They can be fed to increase their intensity but any form of drink would cause them to go out." she suggested with her head tilted to the side and her arms crossed, a puzzled frown on her face.

[TyDie]

Sakaki listened to what Rika had to say on the subject of the statue, but it clearly wasn't anything to do with them advancing and so her mind was more focused on solving this riddle they found themselves facing. Yet still she drew a blank, it sounded so simple but it could also mean so many different things... But then Rika spoke up again with her idea. Sakaki threw the idea around in her head a little bit, humming to herself as she considered the possibility Rika posed before snapping her fingers. "Aha, I think you're on to something Rika!"

Without hesitation, she rushed across the room back towards the statue and proceeded to climb up the statue's leg using the act of tree walking. Sure enough, once she got close to the orb in the creature's hand, she saw it; petrified bramble and wood. The making of a fire sat in it's hands. "Right on the money, Rika! Fire it is..." Taking the makeshift torch in hand, Sakaki held it up against the bramble contained within the orb, and in an instant it caught fire. It wasn't long before the fire grew, and eventually the entire orb was engulfed in flame. The smoke emanating from the flames must have flowed up and into a hole within the orb, because eventually the statue's eyes and nose began to smoke and a loud 'CLICK' could be heard throughout the room as the door began to grind open.

"And there we have it! Great job partner, let's move on." Sakaki proceeded through the door and up the next staircase that lead further into the tower, with Rika close behind her. "Well so far, this place seems like a walk in the park. I admit I was afraid at first, but I had hoped for at least some kind of challenge here. This is starting to bo-"

The young Jinchuuriki spoke too soon it seemed, as her foot suddenly depressed slightly into the stonework. She looked down, then to Rika, her eyes filled with shock as they would both feel intense rumbling from behind them. "RUN!" Sakaki shouted out to Rika and took off down the long hallway ahead of them, as behind them a large boulder began to tumble down the hallway after them. With no holes in the hallway to hide in, their only hope would be to make it to the other end... which was equally horrifying, as it seemed that the door ahead was beginning to close. If they didn't hurry, they'd be locked in the hallway with nothing to stop that boulder from squishing them.

[Kabu]

Feeling pleased with herself for having gotten the right answer, even if she hadn't had the means to actually solve it herself, Rika followed behind Sakaki even farther into the ruins. "So far we've been able to get through here with teamwork and ingenuity but don't get cocky just yet, we still have to be very careful..." she trailed off, having just witnessed Sakaki possibly setting off a trap, those suspicions soon being confirmed by a heavy rumbling, the girl herself grabbing her partner's hand and taking off at a dash even before the boulder had come down. "How do we escape this? If we don't do something we're going to get crushed and I refuse to be taken out by a dumb rock."

At that moment she had an idea, letting go out of Sakaki's hand just long enough to perform another set of hand seals before grabbing the girl's hand once more, the pair finding themselves lifting off the ground just as earlier. She had never been the fastest of runners but... "Not only does this technique allow for hovering, it also allows for faster movement. Now hold on tight, this might be getting a bit bumpy." she said, pushing herself to run as fast as she possibly could, the boost from her technique hopefully being enough to get the pair through the door in time.

This was a life or death matter and hopefully they would make it through this...

JutsuShow

*Fuuton • Wind Skating
D-Ranked Fuuton Jutsu
After performing the needed hand seals, the user is able to glide on air as if they were skating on ice. This allows them to move faster (+3 speed) but lowers their accuracy and agility (-3 Taijutsu). This doesn't allow them to fly, but rather to travel over things like land, water, and ice with greater ease. The user is only held several inches off of the ground. This Jutsu does not expire until the user’s chakra supply runs out or the user shuts it off. The fuuton passive is not applied in this technique.

[TyDie]

Fear had Sakaki's heart in it's vice like grip, and at this point there was only one thought in her head; survival. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, but she was never the fastest when it came to physical speed. The boulder began to close in, and before long she'd find herself crushed... but then came Rika, skating along on the winds once again, grabbing her by the hand and pretty much dragging her forward. It was all she could do to keep standing, but at least the increased speed of her partner was enough to get them ahead of the boulder.

But they were faced with another problem it seemed; as they got closer to the end of the hall, they'd find a massive chasm blocking their way between them and the door. What was worse, the walls were actually spiked; so they had accounted for the fact that shinobi could walk along walls, which means this building was erected during the era of shinobi at least. There was no time for that though, they had few precious seconds to come up with a solution before that boulder ended them both. "Quick, Jump!" Sakaki was flying through a series of seals as she told her partner to jump, and when they both leapt into the chasm, they'd find their falls broken by the sudden appearance of a thin screen of black chakra; a barrier, altered for the purpose of using as a jumping platform.

A moment later, two more would form in front of them, leading up from the chasm's depths to the still shutting door. "Quick!" Sakaki would lead up the two other platforms to the other end of the chasm, and shortly after they escaped the jaws of the abyss the boulder would fall into the chasm behind them, shattering the platforms under it's weight. With a quick slide underneath the large stone door, the two genin would finally be safe from the boulder trap. Through heaving, deep, fearful breaths, Sakaki tried her best to compose herself... that was the closest she had been to death ever.

Shihihihihi... No it wasn't.

...Shishire's voice was the last thing she wanted to hear in that moment, on the verge of tears... But at the same time, somehow, that comment was sort of comforting. She had overcome the sealing, and she had overcome this trap. And she would overcome the next trial too."Heh... Heheh... I guess... I spoke too soon, huh?" She finally was able to find some humor in their situation. After all, being as close to death as she had been so many times lately, this was beginning to be more of a nuisance then anything else. "Ha... Haa... Let's... take 5..."

JutsuShow

[Ninjutsu • Stand]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing a series of hand seals, Sakaki creates a small barrier, no larger than a meter in diameter. This barrier doesn't do anything by itself, but can be changed by other jutsu. The barrier is solid and allows the user to stand on it for up to 3 posts before it gives in. This jutsu allows for the user to create up to 3 barriers with this jutsu but only up to 10 meters away from him.

[Kabu]

The last thing Rika had been expecting was for a giant chasm to appear in the hallway, though in hindsight with what else they had encountered so far, she should have expected such a thing to appear at some point.. and what was worse was that the appearance of the chasm had driven her to prematurely end her technique, the pair once again back on solid ground and moving at normal speed. Frankly she had no idea of how they were to cross such a gap and was busy pondering the matter when Sakaki told her to jump, the young puppeteer simply giving her a look before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. It was crazy but she had seen the girl forming seals so maybe she did have an actual plan.

And so she jumped, finding her fall broken by a screen of... black chakra? What on earth? She had to figure it had been formed by Sakaki but why black? Surely there was something that she wasn't being told but nonetheless there was no real time to be worrying about that.

With a sigh she ran, leaping from platform to platform, panting heavily as she landed on the other side of the chasm. "This is exhausting. I was expecting traps but this has been something else. Hopefully we're almost at the top so we can finally find the secrets this place is holding." she said, taking a seat against a nearby wall. "As much as I want to hurry and get this over with, I'm good to take a break. I'm still excited and looking forward to finding this place's secrets but I had no idea just how exhausting this would be."

[TyDie]

Sakaki leaned against the other side of the wall, her breath labored and intense as her adrenaline calmed from her near death experience. "So... What you're saying is... This sort of thing isn't normal." No, of course it wasn't normal, why would anything surrounding Sakaki's life as a shinobi be normal? She knew her friend noticed the black chakra her barriers were made of, and she would have to be blind not to notice Sakaki's eyes or the black bands around her wrists. It was a wonder Rika hadn't asked her about it already. No matter, even though she was told to keep it secret for now, she was sure Rika would figure it out or ask about it eventually. She was too curious and smart not to.

"Alright. I think I'm good. Come on, the sooner we get to the top, the sooner we can call this done." Sakaki stood up, taking a few more deep breaths to right herself before moving on up the next spiral staircase ahead of them, assuming Rika would follow along. Once they reached the top of that staircase, they'd find what was presumably their goal; the top floor. Ahead of them was another door, much larger than the others, and with no riddle this time from what they could see. There was another large statue this time, this time a human statue with the head of a bull, wielding what appeared to be a gargantuan stone axe.

"Huh... no open sesame trick for this one it seems. No riddle, no test that i can tell. The only feature in the room is this big statue." With nothing else to look at, Sakaki's attention was drawn to the giant bullman statue, her hand resting on it's foot for a moment as she looked up to it in thought. She then turned her back to it, facing Rika once more. "... You don't seriously think we've reached a dead end, do you?"

... The sudden movement of the giant statue behind her, unseen by her but noticeable to Rika, would be a clear indicator that this was not a dead end.

[Kabu]

Rika was glad for the short break, her adrenaline levels having gone down and her stamina having recovered to an acceptable level as they resumed moving onward, the next staircase taking them to what she could only assume was the top floor given that they could now clearly see the ceiling. More importantly however, at least to her was the statue present in the room, the girl squealing in delight at the sight. "Oh gawd, it's like my puppet except much bigger. The axe is a really nice touch, one that I gotta keep in mind."

She was too busy geeking out over the statue to pay attention to Sakaki or whatever the girl was saying, though thanks to her focus on the statue she did notice that it seemed to be moving. Wait... the statue moving? That realization was enough to bring her back to earth, the girl's face going pale as she realized just why the previous room had been without a riddle or trap and why their journey up the stairs had been so simple. This was the top floor, it should have been more heavily guarded.. which it was, by a stone guardian. She had heard about things like this but had never thought in her wildest dreams that she would lay witness to one.

"Sakaki, get out of the way! The statue IS the test." she called out, dashing towards her friend in an attempt to grab her or at least push her out of the way, in this moment not caring a great deal about her own safety as with any luck she would be able to jump out of the way herself. She was more worried about whether or not Sakaki would be able to react in time if the giant were to launch an attack.

[TyDie]

Sakaki tilted her head in confusion as Rika's fear crossed her face, but her words registered almost immediately in her mind and she turned to see the statue of the minotaur raising up it's axe, preparing to bring it down in a cleaving strike that would've easily ended Sakaki's life right then and there. She tried to avoid it herself, but while her mind was fast, her body was not, and so she was prepared for this to be the end. She closed her eyes, wincing in preparation, only for Rika to shove her out of the way just in the nick of time. Rika herself narrowly avoided the axe, just barely avoiding losing her leg as she saved Sakaki's life.

The minotaur tilted it's head for a moment before raising it's axe again, stepping off of it's pedestal as dust and debris shook off of it's ancient body. Sakaki scrambled to her feet, staring in awe at the guardian before them "Rika, are you okay!? We gotta beat this thing down!" Making sure her partner was okay first, she would fly into a set of seals herself before jumping back a few meters towards the door. The entire room was about 30 by 20 meters, a square shaped room with a 20 meter high ceiling. By putting herself next to the door, there would be about 15 meters between her and the minotaur now, with Rika moving wherever she deemed fit.

Once Sakaki's seals were done, she would retrieve a Kunai from her pouch and funnel chakra through it, turning it bright orange with fire chakra. "Rika, can you keep it's attention and stay away from it!? I think I can make this quick!" She'd hold the projectile for now, and see if her partner could do as she asked... It was a long shot, but if she could just take out the legs...

jutsuShow

*Katon • Bomb Creation
C-Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling katon chakra into any item, the user will turn it into a ticking time bomb. Either when 3 posts are up or when activated through the use of Chakra Kai, the object will explode, releasing all the katon chakra in it in a C-Rank explosion and scattering flames in the immediate area.

[Kabu]

Rika herself was honestly surprised that she had not only saved Sakaki but had oh so narrowly avoided taking a hit. "Yeah, I'm fine." she responded, channeling chakra through her fingers, threads of chakra emerging from her fingertips and attaching to her puppet. This was her first real battle and frankly, she was terrified at the prospect. Regardless she knew that she couldn't let herself be distracted by idle thoughts and so she took a deep breath, attempting to clear out any unrelated thoughts, her attention soon being grabbed by her partner, to whom she nodded. "Distractions? As a puppeteer that's my specialty." she responded with a nod.

At that point, having an idea she would position herself against a nearby wall, raising up her puppet and tugging on one of her strings, the puppet's mouth opening and releasing a cloud of smoke up towards the ceiling, aiming to block the pair of them from the minotaur's sight. Once that was done, she tugged on another string, a kunai launcher emerging from her puppet's chest, a barrage of kunai blasting the beast in its chest. She had a feeling that simply shooting it wouldn't do a great deal of damage but it should serve to at least serve as a distraction if not at least momentarily stun it.

Hopefully that would be good enough for whatever Sakaki had planned at least, though she had a strong feeling that even if their respective plans did work they would be in for a fight.

Jutsu and StuffShow

kunai launcher: x10 kunai
Smoke launcher

*[Puppetry Style • Initiate Puppetry Technique]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The Puppetry Technique is a Ninjutsu technique used by puppeteers. By releasing chakra from their tenketsu, the puppeteer is able to release chakra strings from their finger. These strings are able to move a max of X times 2 meters away, where X is equal to the puppeteer’s control stat. This jutsu allows the puppeteer to attach their chakra strings to inanimate, chakra-less objects at a speed of 10. While an inanimate object is being controlled, it’s treated as if it has a speed equal to the average of the puppeteer’s taijutsu and control.

[TyDie]

The great minotaur statue began to close in on the duo, twisting it's axe in it's hands as it prepared to swing horizontally at both of them. However it paused for a brief moment as the puppet released it's billow of smoke into the air, inhibiting it's vision. Sakaki looked to Rika and gave a nod before taking off to the left, while the Rika's puppet proceeded to let loose a barrage of kunai. They did little damage, chipping off a few hunks of stone from it's torso but giving it little pause. However, it did get the statue's attention. It turned in the direction of the barrage and let loose a wicked horizontal axe slice, not being able to see where it was swinging but knowing the general direction of the kunai barrage and thus swinging wide to hopefully hit something.

Sakaki on the other hand had managed to slip past it's gaze and get behind it. She took the kunai in her hand and held her breath, knowing just how weak she really was. It took all she had to lob the kunai at the beast's hip, missing entirely of course but still managing to hit it's left ankle, embedding the kunai just enough that it would stay stuck for a few moments as the beast anchored down for it's swing. What followed next was a series of hand seals as she prepared to combo these explosions together... "Rika, Brace yourself!" Was all she shouted as she finished her seals and took in a great, deep breath. As she let out this breath, a massive fireball was expelled from her lungs with incredible speed.

This fireball would impact the creature's other leg, and at the same time she'd make a single seal to activate the Kunai in it's left ankle. All at once the creature's legs were blown to pieces in a series of flames and concussive force, it's axe falling from it's hands and cracking the floor underneath it. As it crumbled, a plume of dust mixed with the smoke cloud, obscuring vision even more than before. Sakaki coughed a few times and wobbled slightly, having used a lot of chakra to bring down the beast. "Rika! Are you alright!?"

JutsuShow

*Katon • Great Fireball
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals, the user draws in a deep breath before exhaling a thin stream of flames up to 15 meters away at a speed of 10. Either at 15 meters, or if the stream makes impact with anything, the stream will erupt into a spherical C-Rank explosion, scattering flames over everything within a 5 meter radius from the point of impact.

*Katon • Bomb Creation
C-Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling katon chakra into any item, the user will turn it into a ticking time bomb. Either when 3 posts are up or when activated through the use of Chakra Kai, the object will explode, releasing all the katon chakra in it in a C-Rank explosion and scattering flames in the immediate area.

[Kabu]

"Yeah, I'm fine! You okay? That was a pretty nasty explosion!" Rika shouted back, deactivating her chakra strings and hugging her puppet close to her chest as she let out a sigh. "That was definitely unexpected. Could have brought the entire room down around us if something had gone wrong. she muttered to herself, not having expected Sakaki's plan to bring down the beast to consist of a series of explosions, though it did make sense given that the creature had been made of stone and all. And it wasn't like there was much of anything else that the pair of them could really have done to damage the beast, much less take it down.

"But was that enough to open the door? The guardian didn't leave anything behind it seems so I would certainly hope so as this room is fairly empty otherwise." she stated with her head tilted to the side, looking over towards where the door would be able to seen if it hadn't been obscured by dust and smoke.

Were they really free to move on or was there anything else they had to do? At this point... there was really no telling.

[TyDie]

Rika was indeed correct about the door opening; in fact, as it opened, the sudden draft of wind would blow away a large portion of the air particulates, revealing the opened door. Sakaki would rejoin her comrade, her breath labored and her eyes slightly fluttery. It was clear she was spent after that fight, her chakra reserves incredibly low. "Haa... Yeah... I was worried about that too. But Y'know, had to think fast. Giant statue and all. I was worried about the immediate danger first." She'd walk closer to her ally, placing a hand on her shoulder and putting a little more weight on her than she meant to; a clear sign of her exhaustion setting in. "I'm glad you're alright... I would've felt terrible if anything happened to you."

Finally her attention turned to the open door, and a smile crossed her face, even as sweat dripped down into her eyes, stinging them slightly. "We did it! Let's go Rika, we're almost out of here." Sakaki couldn't help but struggle with her movements now, slowly making her way to the door. Once the two walked into the final room, they'd see a staircase that lead up to a small altar. As they walked up to the altar, Rika would probably be the first to get up there and see a large scroll, with golden container, various slabs of stone with historic old writings on it, and a staff of some sort. The staff was at least 6 feet tall, and at it's tip was a sort of crescent shaped blade, much like a crescent moon.

"Wow... It's magnificent. We did it Rika!" It was true, they'd emerged victorious... But now they had to escape with their bounty.