[Hyūga Raika]

405 words Yamatsu C-rank Mission: 1/15 D-rank exp training: 1/8

Raika is quick to agree to nearly any mission, particularly one involving combat, but this one was a little bit outside of her norm. She was standing about with her squad of five young foot soldiers that would normally be part of the regular standing army of Hi no Kuni, preparing to have a friendly meeting with the squad of foot soldiers from Kami no Kuni, and while her squad was led by her as a low-ranking shinobi of Konohagakure, the Kami no Kuni squad would be led by a genin from Kumogakure. She'd received little information on who it was, but it was unlikely that anyone else from Kumogakure would be traveling through the countryside with five low-level combatants, so they shouldn't be hard to identify. As it is, the Hyuga was dressed fully in her coveralls, with the dark grey fabric covering almost the entirety of her body up to her neck and shoulders, while her black tank top would be underneath. Her feet are clad in combat boots, with her Konoha headband loosely tied around her neck. Her straight black hair was done up in a ponytail with one loose lock of hair hanging off the right side of her face, and her piercing purple eyes scan the horizon.

The genin was pacing at the moment, though there wasn't really anything to be worried about; she'd not met the other person yet anyhow, and there was currently no action to be excited about. Her five foot soldiers are currently standing at a position of rest, able to mill about and even talk (quietly) among themselves. Behind their team is a mock village, made with real building materials, but without any roofs so anyone could keep watch from above if necessary. The countryside nearby or the woodlands around them were also potential areas for a skirmish game, should they choose to do so, but Raika was rather interested in an urban setting like a village, for some reason. The close quarters were where she shined, after all, and she'd be somewhat acting as the squad leader, right in front of the action and involved in it as much as possible. The Hi no Kuni foot soldiers were rather crass, but Raika had seen and heard worse in Kawa. As it is, she blinked at the sunlight as the time broke noon, with the sun starting its extremely gradual shift back towards the horizon.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

Yamatsu looked around the countryside in complete confusion before returning his gaze to the map in his hands. He had never been to another country before and the land of fire seemed to be all trees and grass. They had passed what seemed like the same river three times already. He held up a fist in a silent signal to stop making his way to the captain of the small group of soldiers that accompanied him. "I am having a bit of trouble reading this can you help me?" He spoke low as to not let the others think him stupid. After a few moments of rest as the captain explained the missing details the group rose to their feet. He knew their mission was a small test of skill. This battle would not be to the death nor should it bring any bad blood between the village. The Raikage had explained this was normal to help strengthen the bonds between the villages. In his mind this group of men was his pack to lead in to battle. During their march here he had gone over tactics and code phrases he expected them to memorize. If they lost today it would not be for lack of teamwork. He was glad he did not wear his jacket today opting to leave it at home instead. It was warm here, he wondered if this was part of it being named the Land of Fire. He had changed his normal attire for the trip wearing a fishnet undershirt instead of his normal white tee. The dark brown shirt above it had its sleeves rolled up over his elbows. He made sure to adjust his headband tied around his left arm making it more noticable. He was a representative of the village and wanted to make a good impression. He reached down brushing the small leaves and twigs from his pants as they emerged from the trees. In the distance he could see what looked to be small buildings with no roofs. The areas surrounding it was pure open grassland bringing a smile to his face. He motioned for the small squad to move toward the village as he took point. He waved at a figure he could see that looked like a young woman. Even from this distance he could tell she was built different, more muscular than most. He picked up his pace wanting to meet the leader of the other squad as soon as possible. As he made his way to her before her he stopped and bowed. "Ikinokoru Yamatsu, pleased to make your acquaintance." As he lifted his head he locked eyes with hers, his golden orange gaze meeting her brilliant purple eyes.

Raika -- 451

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

448 words Yamatsu C-RANK MISSION: 3/15 D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 2/8

As soon as she sees the group coming towards her own, she turns back to the five men with her, with herself standing at the front and immediately ahead of the man in the center, standing with her entire body straight as a flag pole, and nearly as tall, while she addresses them.

"SQUAD. ATTEN-TION!"

Her voice rings out with an authority that Raika normally wouldn't have, but as the team leader on this mission, she would at least have command of the squad for the time being. At her initial word calling them to her, all of the foot soldiers had moved into a standing position, and on the last syllable, had changed to match her own stance, each with their locations and positions uniform. With a quick but practiced twirl, she turns back around to face the approaching group, and despite her fairly militaristic actions so far, she can't help but to break out into a smile when the Kumogakure squad approaches. Their own leader was short compared to her, but then again, nearly everyone was, but she could at least tell he was a little bit younger than her as well. She's a bit surprised when, upon reaching her, he gives her a bow, and her own amaranthine eyes meet with his copper-hued ones. It was a rather striking sight, but Raika isn't too surprised by the eye color, despite the majority of Konoha ninja having black or brown eye colors. In any case, her response is very friendly, and despite her earlier soldierly demeanor to the foot soldiers, quite informal as well.

"Hey dude, howzit goin'? Raika Hyuuga, but you can call me Raika, alright? These your guys? Lucky, we only get two pikemen, and the rest of mine are swordsmen. Damn, that's gonna be rough."

She drops her stance of attention almost right away, finding it a bit too stuffy and formal for a mission, and although she would almost never return a bow from most of the people in the Hyuuga clan, she gives this Kumogakure ninja a quick, short bow of her own before returning to a more informal speaking tone.

"So, I figure our armies are probably most likely to experience combat in an urban style environment, ninja villages 'n all. I figure we could either do a back 'n forth where one round your guys are holed up somewhere, and my dudes have to come in and clear it out. Then we do one where my guys are the ones holed up somewhere, and yours have to clear it out. Whaddaya think?"

She was certainly very outgoing and informal, and not something anyone would have expected from a Hyuuga.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

Her reply startled him a bit as he did not expect her to be so forward and outgoing. He turned back taking in the soldiers moving in to formation behind him. He had not noticed that his unit as well consisted of two spear-men and three swordsman. The make up of the squad would help determine tactics and movement in the battlefield. He went to speak but was cut off as she continued with her energetic speaking. As she spoke he listened but looked over the "town" getting a quick survey of the land. Her idea of two sessions so each squad could get a round of offense and defense was ideal for sure. He nodded turning back to her taking her in from a closer distance this time. She was very attractive, he felt his face start to turn red, he had never been physically attracted to anyone. He turned back around looking over the fields around the town. "I think that is a good idea.. Umm what should be our rules of engagement?" He turned back making sure to not look her in the eyes, his slouch a little lower. "I thought of course if someone gives up they are 'dead', maybe knocked prone by a weapon attack?" He had noticed the soldiers weapons were blunted perfect for practice to not injure another. Maybe they could use paint of something of the like, apply it to the weapons so when a blow was struck they could see where it landed. He went to voice his opinion but stopped wondering if he was being foolish. "I have always been told that those of... Uh great beauty also have... What was it... Great intellect, what do you think we should do?" He cursed himself internally feeling like a young idiot.

Raika -- 300

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

433 words Yamatsu C-RANK MISSION: 5/15 D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 3/8

Raika can see his cheeks turning red, and she wonders if perhaps the short young man was getting a fever, getting a bit worried that he may have caught something, or worse, might be experiencing some heat exhaustion. It was a fairly warm day for what would normally be approaching fall, but she was also used to the heat of Hi No Kuni, and in fact was better suited for it, after having spent several years in the more humid swampland of Kawa. But when Yamatsu didn't seem to be exhibiting any lightheadedness or dizziness, she dismissed her own concerns. He was medically fine. So what was with the reddened cheeks?

Oh well, she'd ask him about it some other time. For now, she focused more on listening to his ideas about how they should conduct the mission. He did seem to like her proposals so far, and even had one of his own, that their soldiers should be "dead" when they get knocked prone, and she nods sagaciously.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. As for what we should be doing; well, we Konohans like to lead from the front, or at least involve ourselves in the fighting. Not sure how they do it in Kumogakure, but that's just our style."

She sniffs once, then turns her head a bit to look over her shoulder at her warriors, who were still standing ramrod straight and prepared. She excuses herself from their conversation to turn back to her soldiers and put them all at ease, letting them stand with their legs more apart to a little less than shoulder-width, and although their facial expressions didn't really change much, they certainly looked a bit grateful for the change. Raika then turns back to Yamatsu, pulling a single Ryo coin from one of the pockets of her coveralls pants.

"Wanna call it in the air? If you win the flip, you get to decide if you want offense or defense first, if I win, we get to decide."

Without really waiting for a response, Raika goes ahead and flips the coin, then activates her own Byakugan. If Yamatsu wasn't distracted by the coin tumbling in the air, he'd manage to catch sight of her eyes changing from their deep violet to a more soft lavender color as the whiteness of the activated Byakugan takes over, and the veins at her temples stand out heavily. With the eyes activated, she's able to watch the coin and track it's trajectory, holding out a hand to catch where it would be while she deactivated her clan's doujutsu.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

He nodded figuring he was meant to lead this squad from the front lines as well. He observed the soldiers behind her, listening to every order without question. He wondered if his men would do the same. On their march here they followed his orders but battle was a different animal entirely. Raika pulled what looked to be a singular ryo out asking him to call heads or tails. Before he could answer the coin was flipping end over end. "Heads." Yamatsu said quickly before it could land. Her hand snapped out catching the coin flipping it over to the back of her hand revealing the head side. He had a choice to make, he was not very good at defense especially in small areas. The offensive part would be more to his liking being able to lead the soldiers like a pack of wolves. "We will take the defensive position first." His voice gave away the slight sense of nervousness he felt. As worried for this part of the exercise he was more optimistic about the attacking portion. He had a few ideas and tricks for that lesson and did not want to give them away to soon. He motioned for his men to make their way in to the town and pick a building to hole up in. He stayed behind his gaze returning to the goddess of a woman before him looking up at her. Her size was imposing and her speed with her build could only mean one thing. She was a Taijutsu specialist, he would need to keep his distance if he wanted to stand a chance. "Good luck, pride to both Konoha and Kumo." He turned jogging off in to the town stopping to listen for the sounds of his squad. He found them huddled together in a small one room building. It looked more like a storage shed than anything leaving just enough room for the men to move around comfortably. As he entered closing the door behind him he gave quick orders. Each spear was to guard a door with a swordsman as back up. The captain stood in the middle with Yamatsu facing one exit as he faced the other. Now they just needed to wait, would she come bursting in or would they try some other form of approach?

Raika -- 389

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

362 words Yamatsu C-RANK MISSION: 7/15 D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 4/8

Raika can't help but to smile when the younger man wins the coin toss and then picks to be on the defense first, and she let's him go out and pick out a building, realizing that they hadn't actually set up any kind of system for letting the other team know when they had successfully set up their portion of the defense. Then the genin decides that it doesn't really matter too much, and that they'll be ready likely by the time they are found. As it is, she activates her Byakugan after about thirty minutes of letting them go through the small village. The genin herself doesn't really let her team explore, and she instead uses the ability of the Byakugan to see through physical objects and specifically search out chakra guide them, to a certain extent. While she can't track which buildings they went through to find their base, she can actually see their chakra in the one building they've actually holed themselves up in, while she actively walks past their building, and stops about two buildings away from the actual target with her team, to discuss a plan.

"All right, if everyone knows their job, we'll get to it!"

And with that, the Hyuuga executes by having her spearmen attack one of the entrances, and only one, to overwhelm the men, only for the swordsmen to strike at the other entrance one minute later and sow discord. Raika, on the other hand, moves to the building nearby, and after a bit of sweaty work, actually manages to climb up onto the wall so she can leap straight down into the middle of the building. Upon landing, she right away gets down into the Eight Trigrams form, and erupts tenketsu from every point in her body, aiming to stun both the other genin with the sudden eruption of chakra, as well as the captain acting as his second. Raika doesn't even try to follow up with either of those two, should her surprise attack succeed. She's more interested in seeing how their own teams perform in their work of attacking and defending. It was, honestly, quite a lot of fun.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hakkeshō Ranbu [Eight Trigrams Palm Storm Dance]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
REQUIREMENT: Hyuuga Clan, Byakugan and Chakra Control SA
DESCRIPTION:

Using the area of the Eight Trigrams, the user expands the chakra from their tenketsus to stun the opponents for a brief moment, enough for the Hyuuga to deliver several palm strikes aiming at their vulnerable organs. It can be used against multiple opponents, as long as they are within the area of the Trigrams. If hit by this technique the targets are stunned for 1 rotation.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

The time went by slowly it seemed as the men and Yamatsu waited in the room. He could see the men starting to get uneasy wondering what he could say or do to help. The captain raised and lowered his hand as if to push down the tension they felt. It looked to work as their shoulders lowered in a more relaxed stance. After some time he heard some movement outside listening as the opposing squad moved past the shack they were in. Did they not know where they were or was it a ruse? He heard them move back toward the building knowing they had been found. He looked around the room giving a quick nod, a silent signal to be ready for anything. The movement outside has split, an unknown number of enemies were at one door and another at the opposite end. They were surrounded but he knew with this defensive position that it was not other possibility. He figured it was split three on one door and three on the other. In a moment the first door slammed in followed quickly by two spears. The door behind followed suite as the three swordsmen rushed in. His men stayed true to their training each side with their spear-man positions behind a fellow swordsman. If he had more spears he would have set them up in a row behind like a porcupines quills. The captain moved quickly to the side with three enemies to even the odds. There was something wrong however, Raika was not there, he doubted he would have missed the giant woman. Behind him he heard subtle thuds on wood, he looked around and up realizing his mistake. Was she climbing the wall outside? No the noise was a little further away. A shadow appeared as her form launched itself from the nearby adjacent wall. She had climbed up the neighbouring building and leapt across to surprise them. He did not think he had the time to weave to many seals before she landed. His hands rose forming one seal seeming to disappear only to reappear on the other side of the room. Yamatsu inhaled before spitting up a small stream of flame toward Raika. SPOILER: Click to show NAME: Shunshin no Jutsu [Body Flicker Technique] RANK: D CHAKRA USAGE: Low CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General] ELEMENT: None HANDSEALS: 1 DESCRIPTION: By invigorating one's entire body with chakra, a shinobi can seemingly disappear and reappear in another location faster than most people can see. Often times one's movements are disguised with the use of an extra element, be it a smoke bomb, leaves, water, sand, etc. in order to hide the user's trajectory from those with skilled eyes. Though it mimics teleportation, it is important to remember this jutsu merely boosts the agility of its user. As useful as this technique is, it can only be used 4 times in a battle thread, compounding in exertion and difficulty each time. with any more usages beyond that result in muscle tears in the legs from overexertion. The hand seal for this technique must be held until the shinobi reaches their destination, making it impossible to utilize other techniques regardless of any preparation. NAME: Katon: Kaen Dangan [Fire Release: Flame Shot] RANK: D CHAKRA USAGE: Low CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu ELEMENT: Katon DESCRIPTION: The user will first mold superheated chakra at the base of the stomach, after which, forcefully exert that fire through use of the lungs and fires it from the mouth in a reaction as if one were to spit. The fire comes out at similar to a speeding spit would towards the target with a flame trail. The fire stream is 3 feet long and 8 inches wide at the top of the fire, and slowly decreases to the base. The fire itself is incredibly hot, and can induce 1st to 2nd degree burns if touched upon directly, and even catch clothes on fire in the process.

Raika -- 370

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

401 words @theybaybay C-RANK MISSION: 9/15 D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 5/8

Raika seems somewhat surprised when her opponent seems to suddenly move to the opposite side of the room. While the Byakugan isn't really able to track his exact movements, she can at least immediately tell where he stops. Then she gets an absolutely horribly good idea when she can see his chakra welling in preparation for the use of a ninjutsu technique. Although she can't really tell what element it is, she can at least tell from his body position that the attack is going to be aimed at her, and so instead of attacking him directly, she moves herself directly into the fray of their combined forces, and changes from her clan's typical fighting style stance to one that more closely relates to a far more physically damaging one. Instead of such a focus on internal damage and attacking the tenketsu points of the captain and his team, she uses a technique best suited to close distance rapidly or in a surprise attack as she sends Raiton chakra through her leg while she leaps into the fray, both to overwhelm the Kumogakure forces and to avoid the shot of flame that escapes Yamatsu's mouth.

"Wait... Fire!"

The genin suddenly seems acutely aware that the fire is heading towards the wooden structure of the wall, and so she instead shocks the captain with her kick before twisting her body, using the strength of her limbs to forcibly shove the shorter, but still stocky man backwards and directly into the path of the flame, catching it on his armor, which is thankfully made of metal. While the man is clearly in pain and rapidly pulling his armor off to escape the heat, the dirt floor isn't going to be able to catch flame the same way the bare walls of the false building.

"Cease combat!"

Raika sighs with relief when her own combative unit stops fighting right away and back away from the Kaminari no Kuni soldiers, and she helps the captain to pull his armor off. Luckily, while the armor isn't particularly expensive, it's at least capable of withstanding a weak flame jutsu such as that, although the armor is still hot to the touch. With the situation safely defused, the genin wipes sweat from her forehead, then pops her neck with a quick tilt of her head as she stands fully upright, calming herself from the heat of the fight.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hibana Entori [Sparking Entry]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: Raiton
HANDSEALS: 0

DESCRIPTION:

A familiar technique that copies the Dynamic Entry in every shape and form. The user will distract their opponent in whatever way possible to get them to look the other way before striking them with a vicious kick. The difference is that they will coat lightning-based chakra around their leg to give their kick a more powerful boon in the form of a shock to the enemies bodies that'll send shivers around them.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

As the line of fire shot from his mouth towards Raika he smiled assuming victory. What happened instead brought shock to the face of the young shinobi. Raika almost seemed to cover her legs in lightning as soon as the flames left his lips. How had she known where he would be? One look at her eyes answered that fleeting question. She had the Byakugan, he remembered her saying her last name was Hyuuga. He had never met one nor seen the fabled eyes in action before but knew the tales. This would prove to be a huge problem for him and his troops. The flames were halfway there as she moved with inhuman speed towards the captain. He had already fired his jutsu and had no way to change its path watching it soar in the direction of the wooden walls. His eagerness to strike the first blow could very well prove to be the downfall of both training teams. Raika seemed to notice striking the captain of his squad with a swift kick. The power behind the blow sent him flying in to the path of the stream of fire. Her quick thinking probably saved them all from a situation he would not have been able to handle. Her voice boomed a cease fire, her troops stopping their actions stepping back. His followed suit understanding the round was over. No winner or loser this round just an almost costly mistake. Yamatsu hurried over to her side as she quickly moved to take off the captains chest plate. "I am so sorry captain are you alright?" He asked with a genuenly worried tone. "I did not think before I acted of course fire was a bad idea in such a small space with flammable things everywhere." He hung his head low in shame questioning himself if he should be the one here learning to lead.

Raika -- 316

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

407 words Yamatsu C-RANK MISSION: 11/15 D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 6/8

Raika didn't seem to mind the Kumo ninja's hot-headedness, especially as she knows she gets hotheaded on a regular basis as well. If she could blow fireballs the way this younger man could, she probably would have done it herself, and while admitting to such a thing might have made this Yamatsu guy feel better, it would reflect poorly on Konoha, the village she was representing to everyone involved. So, knowing that she wouldn't want to admit faults of her own, nor make the genin look bad in front of his men, she settles on the most political approach she can think of.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about it too much. Not much harm was done, and your fire spit was only bad enough to heat up the armor, so I think the captain is fine, too..."

The genin deftly pulls the foot soldier's top open at the shoulders, easing it down over his back so that it was exposed for Yamatsu as openly as it was for her Byakugan so that he could see that there was no damage done to the man himself.

"See? No burns. The heat just hurt him a bit, but even the armor isn't too badly damaged. You're fine."

With that, Raika deftly picks up the armor, letting some of the heat dissipate in the open air as she hangs it by one of the ropes normally meant to secure it to the soldier's upper body to make sure it wouldn't slip around. The Hyuuga rubs at the back of her head a little as she watches it cool, then turns to her own troops with a big smile.

"But! Now's a good time to pull out your ready-made meals. We'll do the second half of the training exercise after you've all had plenty to eat. No stomachs grumbling, yeah?"

After this, she deactivates her Byakugan, then turns to look at Yamatsu, somewhat curiously. She had no idea how he'd been able to tell which direction she had been coming from; if he hadn't reacted so quickly, she should have been able to stun him with the expulsion of chakra from her tenketsu points, but instead, he'd been able to avoid the blast and moved to the other side of the room. This might be some interesting jutsu or ability at play, and now she was interested, because she was sure that Kumogakure didn't have anything like the Byakugan.

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

Yamatsu sighed seeing the captain in good health. He had been to hasty with his attack underestimating Raika's abilities. He knew one thing for sure is that she would one day become a great kunoichi no a great shinobi. He helped the captain to his feet as she hung up his armor letting it cool off. When she suggested a meal break he nodded in agreement letting his men relax taking the needed break. He had no idea how long that had waited for their small squad but knew that the march had taken longer than he had thought it would. "Do you mind if i sit by you?" He asked politely. He sat across from her pulling the most basic of meals from his small pack. A few strips of dried meat and bread, a satchel of water and a small pouch which he set next to him. He looked around watching the two groups comingling in conversations filled with laughter and cheer. Just a few moments ago they had been enemies even if the situation was a falsehood. It brought a smile to his face seeing the good will between Konoha and Kumo. "Raika, you have the Byakugan don't you? I've never seen it before in person, it was amazing." His last words muffled by the sound of him taking a bite of bread. He finished his meal quickly, not from hunger but from habit. He used to need to protect the food he had with the wolves. There had been many times he had lost a meal to a hungry "sibling". He stood looking around catching the captains eye before motioning to stay put. He needed a moment alone away from the cheer and merriment of the soldiers. "Forgive me but I need to take a walk. I appreciate you letting me join you for the break." He stood straight giving his men a knowing nod. "When you are done come find me where we first met the Konoha team." His men nodded in aknowledgement as he gathered the small pouch. Yamtasu left the small shack heading back to the front of the make shift town finding a small boulder to sit upon. Opening the sack in his hand he pulled out a small piece of paper setting it on his lap. Next he pulled out a few pinches of tobacco setting it on to the paper rolling it up tight. He needed to calm his nerves and had found rolling tobacco a costly but somewhat helpful means. His father had smoked and always made him promise to never pick up the habit. Since his return to Kumo he had found the stress to much. After the accident with the captain he needed this time alone.

Raika -- 459

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

516 words Yamatsu C-RANK MISSION: 13/15 D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 7/8

Raika of course lets the other genin take his lunch break with her. She herself is eating a more simple "meal" of dried and salted beef with crackers, just something quick and simple that she was able to scrounge together before she left for this mission in a hurry, as she often does when she wants to get to something right away.

"Yeah sure, have a seat."

She continues to eat her meal while Yamatsu is praising her clan's Byakugan, and she realizes, probably for the first time, that maybe other villages haven't heard of all the things the Byakugan can do, or that most of the Hyuuga clan members have one. Perhaps she should be more careful about how she uses the Byakugan in the future, but there's not much she can do about it now that the Genin is aware of some of the things her eyes, at least, are capable of. She actually finishes her meal pretty quickly, although she seems to like tearing the meat apart with her teeth rather than actually eating the meal.

"Mmmf. Moving out of the way of my attack was pretty surprising, too. I didn't think you'd have considered that I was going to come at you from above like that..."

The fact that he had still made the Hyuuga a little suspicious about what he was actually capable of, but that was fine, there were some things she was planning on doing during her turn, and she was seriously devious with it. She continues watching the two groups chowing down with one another and even sharing some of their ready meals between each other and telling jokes between themselves. It was somewhat heart-warming to watch for her as well. But when it seems that there's more laughing and joking than eating, Raika stands up and calls her own men over, with the trash burning itself away in a smokeless flame that glows with a very low orange light before leaving behind nothing but ash. It was a small pair of seal tags that did it when the trash is shoved back into the bag, so that when the two tags make contact a second time, they destroy themselves in order to carefully hide the movements of the Hi no Kuni army.

After making sure her own squad has had their meal, she travels back up to where the two squads had met, and she sees him smoking, which was also a fairly common vice in Konoha. It seems that at least their two cultures have some similarities. Raika had never partaken of it herself, and she knew that in Kawa, they laced cigarettes with some harsher herbs as well, once that would eventually cause the smoker to die, and so the Hyuuga had learned behavior for never really trusting any cigarettes. She waves to him as his cigarette reaches the end, signifying that maybe he was done with his rest.

"All right. I'll set up my own location and you and your squad get to try and take us down, yeah? I'm lookin' forward to it..."

”

by Pinn @ THQ

[Yamatsu]

The Young Pup

As Yamatsu finished his cigarette Raika walked up behind him. He waved to her putting the last of it out on the boulder. He was still amazed by her size, she reminded him of a sturdy tree. "Yeah that sounds good, about thirty minutes before we move in?" With her approval he began to plan in his mind what he could do to get the upper hand. He wished her luck and waited for her to be out of sight. The rest of his squad had shown up as she departed in to the village. As they gathered around he drew up his attack plan in the dirt beneath them. He counted the last round as a loss, at best a tie, he wanted to win this one. He looked up to his men all of whom looked eager to prove themselves worthy to Kumogakure. Again it was the waiting that made him squirm the most. His patience was never his strong suite which had made him start to wonder why he was picked as a sage apprentice. As the time began to draw near to when they needed to move out Yamatsu crouched down biting both thumbs before pressing his palms down to the earth. "Sage Summoning Wolf Twins." He spoke clear and with authority. Twin explosions of smoke burst forth before him before the silence was cut by low growls. Before him to his left stood Ino the female twin of the Hunter Pack. Her fur was mostly white with the exception of the random grey, brown and black patterns along her face and back. Her eyes were golden staring intently at Yamatsu. Beside her stood her brother Oki, the older twin and slightly larger of the two. His fur almost identical, if not for their slight size difference and the grey pattern on his chest it could be hard to tell who was who. Oki stepped forward his large paws knocking up dust his golden eyes looking around taking in the area around them. "Brother, sister, it is so glad to see you both." He stood opening his arms. The two wolves rushed forward knocking him over licking his face before stepping back. "Why have you summoned us brother?" Ino asked, it had always looked weird when a summon spoke to him. "I smell something from over there." Oki's head snapped his body turning to face the village. "Yes we are here doing a practice battle. I was hoping you two would want to have some fun on a little hunt." As the last word left his lips the twins ears perked up. He went over his plan again with his men watching from a few feet further than they had been before. They split into two groups moving in to the village. Ino and the Captain led the way with a spear-men with them while Oki and the last spear-men and two swords men followed behind in a nearby alley way. Yamatsu followed down another alley leaving enough space between them for their acute senses. Ino stopped first sniffing the air as her ears twitched. Oki crouched looking to his right taking note of something in that direction. Ino too turned to her right confirming Yamatsu's hunch. Yamatsu moved as quietly as he could getting closer to the building the two wolves were now circling. He could hear faint movement, the soldiers were doing a great job at keeping still. However it was impossible to not move at all when weighed down with weapons and armor. He moved back signaling the rest of the group with silent hand motions. The next step he could thank Raika for, finding the closest building Yamatsu made his way inside before climbing the wall. It was time for his plan to be put in to action. As the two groups of wolves and soldiers took up their places Yamatsu wove three quick hand seals before leaping in to the air. "Phoenix Sage Fire!" He yelled the words before shooting a quick volley of flames. He did not have to worry about his fire causing damage if it was not aimed at anyone specific but at the ground itself. His plan was to aim at the areas in between the soldiers away from the wooden walls to cause confusion. His yell was the signal accented by the flaming shots. Oki and Ino charged in to the wooden door before them. The force of the twin wolves breaking the door, ripping it from its hinges as the wood shattered. The small squad behind them rushed in to the sounds of chaos.

Raika -- 769

LAIKA OF THQ

[Hyūga Raika]

543 words Yamatsu C-RANK MISSION: 15/15 complete D-RANK EXP TRAINING: 8/8 complete

Raika had been expecting something from the Kumo ninja, but summoning was a new thing she'd never actually seen before. It was certainly very interesting to witness, and she wondered if that was how he'd been able to prepare for her approach from a completely different location, one that she'd assumed would be a bit too odd for him to expect. She'd decided on taking as much precaution as she could in order to avoid being tracked, so as soon as she and her soldiers had reached the building they'd chosen as their designated defense location, she had removed her coveralls, which had caused a lot of confused stares from the soldiers. Underneath, she was wearing a simple tank top on top, with nearly skin-tight stretchy shorts over her hips and down to her thighs. She removed her combat boots, too, so now she was left with nothing that should rustle with noise. The genin also didn't want to leave behind a physical trail on the ground, so she leapt up on top of the wall, jumping from her own wall to the next building over, then across before she activates her Byakugan and slips down from the wall and into the upper floor of the false house.

With no scent trail along the ground, it was unlikely that Ino and Oki could have scented her escape from her team's building, but she watched closely as the other genin prepared his own assault, and then seems to take a page from her book by moving himself to the other building, one that she'd leaped from to reach her own hiding place. Now she leaps back up on top of the wall nearest her target, and as he himself jumps from the building, Raika herself attacks from her position, thrusting a kick directly at her airborne target while he's performing handseals for his Katon ninjutsu.

"Hibana Entori!"

Raika charges her own legs with Raiton chakra as she aims to intercept her target in midair before he can get off his own jutsu. Should she connect, her attack would likely interrupt him from trying to get out his own ninjutsu. Of course, a near miss would have been met with her arms instead, so perhaps taking the one kick would be a bit less harmful than a follow-up from the Hyuuga. With the surprise attack of his own likely being interrupted or thwarted by Raika's own counter-attack, the wolf summons leaping into the door to crash through is likely still surprising, but a more focused group of infantrymen, with the spearmen using their spear hafts to wrestle the wolves down, but the infantry are at least even, with the small entryway providing more assistance for her own men to counter the greater numbers of Yamatsu's troops.

At the very least, Raika tries to keep Yamatsu from hitting his head on the drop from about a dozen feet, by trying to catch him in her arms. Whether her attack had been a direct hit, it was extremely unlikely that the ninja would have been able to completely dodge the black-haired and half-naked woman's attack, or at the least would have had his concentration broken by her appearance.

"Well, I think it's time to call it, dog-boy!"

”

by Pinn @ THQ