Okay, so I'm not going to be totally cut off. Good ^^. Lets me post these. Just prior to the teams entering the Forest, and just after.
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***
"You'll soon find out why it's called the Forest of Death," Mitarashi Anko said, grinning. The Special Jounin's eyes wandered over the gathered genin, noting which were slowly getting increasingly nervous and ...
"Because it's supposed to be intimidating." she heard an unexpected reply. "Predators. Parasites. Poison. A number of people who've left their scruples behind. That's only marginal peril. If the name were actually justified, then there'd be far less jounin and chunin around, ne?"
Whose ... oh, Kakashi's. Supposedly, even for all the aggrevation they gave the masked jounin, his Team was supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. Anko's grin widened, and her eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, you're spirited."
Her hand came up, the kunai leaving it even as she blurred across the relatively small distance to end up behind the Leaf genin. The thrown weapon had, by then sliced through the air, the skin of the kid's cheek, and struck the ground behind him.
"Kids like you are quickly killed ..." she began, leaning in close. She was more than aware that the sort of ... fondness ... she had for blood wasn't exactly natural or healthy, mentally or otherwise, but it was as deeply rooted a part of her that she might as well try and stop breathing as get rid of it.
"Spraying that red blood I love ..."
Motion in the corner of her eye drew a reaction that was nearly all autonomous muscle memory, another kunai flashing into her hand as she brought it up to block ... a tongue.
Specifically, a freakishly long one that belonged to one of the straw-hat wearing Grass nin, and was wrapped around the kunai she'd thrown to freak the Kirigishi kid out a bit.
"Here's your kunai," the Grass nin said, remarkably clearly for someone who had his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Why thank you," Anko replied, eyes crinkling into a smile that fooled absolutely nobody.
It was only later that she remembered Kirigishi hadn't as much as flinched throught the whole thing.
***
The gate was closed and locked behind them, and Team Seven took to the trees almost immediately, halting after fifteen minutes worth of hopping from one to another, gaining altitude and getting away from the entry point.
"I thought we were going to be low key," Shikanenai commented as they found a spot with relatively good cover. "How is drawing so much attention, and _that_ kind of attention, supposed to be low key?"
"It isn't," Katsu replied.
"Then I'm failing to see the logic here."
"Which gate did the Grass come in through?"
"Fifteen," Neshan replied. "I stuck the tags at the entry points last night."
"That only gives us a rough direction to head in, though," the ex-Mist nin said. "They're likely already moving away and towards ... well, whatever your Sannin is after. A search pattern is likely going to be too slow. Going by scent would be faster, but only just."
Katsu reached up to his cheek, peeling off the band-aid he'd stuck onto the slice Anko's kunai had made. A slice that, by all right, should have been healed already, give both his knowledge of some basic medical ninjutsu he'd picked up from his, err, eh, Kirigishi Yuki, and his own normally boosted healing. Meaning he'd been purposefully keeping it open.
Neshan blinked, and grinned, then pulled out some of his 'art supplies'.
'Nenai chuckled in realization. "Since he picked that kunai up with his tongue, there's now a body in the forest other than Katsu's which has some of his blood on it ... or running through it, if we're fortunate. Sort of like the time Neshan tracked the cat demon."
A few minutes later they were moving again, the Seal Neshan had scribbled onto Katsu's cheek giving him a very much more definite idea as to where the 'Grass nin' were.
***
---
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm
---
***
"You'll soon find out why it's called the Forest of Death," Mitarashi Anko said, grinning. The Special Jounin's eyes wandered over the gathered genin, noting which were slowly getting increasingly nervous and ...
"Because it's supposed to be intimidating." she heard an unexpected reply. "Predators. Parasites. Poison. A number of people who've left their scruples behind. That's only marginal peril. If the name were actually justified, then there'd be far less jounin and chunin around, ne?"
Whose ... oh, Kakashi's. Supposedly, even for all the aggrevation they gave the masked jounin, his Team was supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. Anko's grin widened, and her eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, you're spirited."
Her hand came up, the kunai leaving it even as she blurred across the relatively small distance to end up behind the Leaf genin. The thrown weapon had, by then sliced through the air, the skin of the kid's cheek, and struck the ground behind him.
"Kids like you are quickly killed ..." she began, leaning in close. She was more than aware that the sort of ... fondness ... she had for blood wasn't exactly natural or healthy, mentally or otherwise, but it was as deeply rooted a part of her that she might as well try and stop breathing as get rid of it.
"Spraying that red blood I love ..."
Motion in the corner of her eye drew a reaction that was nearly all autonomous muscle memory, another kunai flashing into her hand as she brought it up to block ... a tongue.
Specifically, a freakishly long one that belonged to one of the straw-hat wearing Grass nin, and was wrapped around the kunai she'd thrown to freak the Kirigishi kid out a bit.
"Here's your kunai," the Grass nin said, remarkably clearly for someone who had his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Why thank you," Anko replied, eyes crinkling into a smile that fooled absolutely nobody.
It was only later that she remembered Kirigishi hadn't as much as flinched throught the whole thing.
***
The gate was closed and locked behind them, and Team Seven took to the trees almost immediately, halting after fifteen minutes worth of hopping from one to another, gaining altitude and getting away from the entry point.
"I thought we were going to be low key," Shikanenai commented as they found a spot with relatively good cover. "How is drawing so much attention, and _that_ kind of attention, supposed to be low key?"
"It isn't," Katsu replied.
"Then I'm failing to see the logic here."
"Which gate did the Grass come in through?"
"Fifteen," Neshan replied. "I stuck the tags at the entry points last night."
"That only gives us a rough direction to head in, though," the ex-Mist nin said. "They're likely already moving away and towards ... well, whatever your Sannin is after. A search pattern is likely going to be too slow. Going by scent would be faster, but only just."
Katsu reached up to his cheek, peeling off the band-aid he'd stuck onto the slice Anko's kunai had made. A slice that, by all right, should have been healed already, give both his knowledge of some basic medical ninjutsu he'd picked up from his, err, eh, Kirigishi Yuki, and his own normally boosted healing. Meaning he'd been purposefully keeping it open.
Neshan blinked, and grinned, then pulled out some of his 'art supplies'.
'Nenai chuckled in realization. "Since he picked that kunai up with his tongue, there's now a body in the forest other than Katsu's which has some of his blood on it ... or running through it, if we're fortunate. Sort of like the time Neshan tracked the cat demon."
A few minutes later they were moving again, the Seal Neshan had scribbled onto Katsu's cheek giving him a very much more definite idea as to where the 'Grass nin' were.
***
---
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm