Naru2.0

[chrisrawr]

The auxiliary entrance to Konoha is a large domed structure. Its smooth peak curved elegantly downward, fitting snugly on top of a large, cubic building, both a polished black marble struck through with spider-webs of gray and white. Fitted with many columns of great craftsmanship and artistry, the entrance to the structure yawned high above those who approached it from beyond Konoha's gates. Natives waiting inside knew already the effects Konoha's architecture could have on those from smaller Hidden Villages. They had lived their entire lives in awe of the great city's splendor, each new generation bringing architects seeking to outdo their predecessors.

The walls of Konoha itself stood towering behind the structure, dwarfing it, and serving as the rear wall as well. Though many great trees had risen over thousands of years, the polished wood of Konoha's walls rose twice again as high -- a living barrier against her enemies, a great mother to nurture her children. To those experienced ninja or craftsmen with more sensitive eyes or natures, faint shimmerings along its surface could be seen, will-o-the-wisp, a sure sign of powerful sealwork.

When the assembled group of parents and children grew to the expected size, two wizened old women stepped out of the wooden wall, the wood creaking as it closed behind them. Despite the difference in their height, they may have well been twins. They were both dressed in a form-fitting black ensemble. Centered as they were in the circle of dim light streaming in through the building's occulus, dull matte protective plates could be seen covering various places where the body's defenses were weak. Their hair, bound tightly behind their heads, was whitest gray, thin and whispy, but not a strand out of place. On their foreheads, another matte plate - carved within, a myriad of symbols, radiating outward from the leaf in the center. The Matriarchs each make a handseal you didn't manage to catch.

The building hardly shakes as it is enveloped by Konoha's walls, and pulled into darkness.

After a brief moment, the Matriarchs speak. "Greetings, and welcome to Konoha,"they say as one, as their keen eyes searched the room in the darkness, memories of their former students bringing slight grins or scowls to their wrinkled faces. Many of the adults in the room reply as one, startling some of those present. "The Will of Fire is always welcome in Konoha's Walls."

A rustle, a breeze, and, as the light of Konoha's interior begins to filter in through the roof, you find the room not as crowded as it once was. The Matriarchs are gone, as are, you suspect, a few others.

Some brief paperwork ensues, adults aiding those without parents. Your finger is pricked, and, after much assurance, sign a large scroll with a smear of blood. Your world rumbles once more, from the inside of your head this time, and a voice speaks -- you doubt you'll forget its words for the rest of your life. After a second, you realize it's repeating a contract to you. It prompts you to nod your consent at each term, or leave.


Contract Scroll
' "As an Academy Student in Konoha, you are entitled to E-rank privileges and security. You are entitled to the Citizen's Rights of Konoha, and all the protections and responsibilities they provide, excepting those detailed here. You will be provided shelter, food, and Ninja training until such time as you can provide them for yourself. Bi-weekly assessments of your living situation will determine your needs and responsibilities in this matter. Failure to comply, or willful deceit, will result in punitive measures up to and including execution.

As an Academy Student in Konoha, you are expected to uphold and defend the walls of Konoha with your life, including international and internal threats. For the duration of your tenure, you may leave Konoha except while accompanied by a willing Matriarch. You must not leave this Matriarch's presence, willfully or otherwise. Failure to comply, regardless of willfulness, will result in punitive measures up to and including execution.

As an Academy Student in Konoha, you may not interact with civilians in any manner of your own devising. You may not purchase, own, rent, or possess any property, items, liquids, foods, weapons, tools, contracts, favours, labour, etc., from civilian or ninja stores, shops, dealers, or other vendors, that the Academy or Council has not explicitly granted you permission to. Failure to comply willfully will result in punitive measures up to and including execution.

As an Academy Student in Konoha, you must abide by all directives assigned to you by Council Members, Academy Teachers, and those granted this power by either. Failure to comply willfully will result in punitive measures up to and including execution.

If you are under duress, or were under duress while agreeing to any of the above conditions, disagree now, and you will be detained safely while your duress is managed.

You must agree to these conditions to continue. Failure to do so will result in your immediate expulsion from Konoha, and your memories of this day will be forfeit.

...

Greetings, and welcome to Konoha. The Will of Fire is always welcome in Konoha's Walls.
" '


You blink and look around as your scroll disappears in a puff of Chakra smoke. Some children pass out, and are removed from Konoha by medical ninja. Some adults simply disappear, followed shortly by the children they'd brought in. Afterward, only a few dozen people remain in the buildings. The Matriarchs return - this time, they bring 10 much younger Ninja with them. You identify them as Chunin by their vests and forehead protectors.

[Jadev]

Naraki is in awe as he enters, both at the majesty but from a... feeling he gets from the walls, a thrumming of great power. It is the awe that compels him to keep quiet as until the beginning of the ceremony ,at which point he mutters a quiet "Wow....". When he recieves the contract, he only half-pays attention and nods quickly whenever prompted. When the Chuunin arrive, he stares at them with admiration in his eyes.

[Exthalion]

Adults, especially adults who have had children as most of the people in this room had, could see things kids thought they were hiding. Errai for example, was standing very still in the way that let everyone know he really wanted to fidget.

The room was not particular impressive to him, more precisely it was not the sort of impressive which impressed him. The other giant room he had been in had contained so massive a degree of functionality and practicality that this seemed empty, gaudy, and unnecessary all at the same time by comparison. More to the point, this process was taking, in his inexperienced opinion, far more time than it really needed to.

So he wanted to fidget. He was disciplined enough not to, but the absence of fidget was projecting itself far more powerfully to compensate.

[Razgriz]

Nao initially walks in taking a quick note of the number of people in the room and the distance to the table. Avoiding bumping into other people while she waits in line.

She nods as she listens to the contract and is momentarily surprised as other people pass out and are dragged away taking another note of who is left standing quietly.

[Elricaltovilla]

Nagato doesn't even flinch as his finger is pricked to sign the contract. He carries his own contract scroll on his back. The young Ozuru clan member looks around at the various other young ninja students.

"This is stupid." He says. His father reaches over and smacks him, none too gently, on the back of the head.

[Zerkai]

Among the children that were led there was a girl with a ghostly pallor and blue lips, and pale purple hair cut short. She wore a midriff-baring tanktop with one should strap, shorts, and sandals, all of which were white as the driven know. She had stared up at the large domed structure and the massive walls of Konohagakure. The pale girl stood by herself uncomfortably, not with the atmosphere or with the task ahead of her, but with how much warmer it was in the Land of Fire.

She watched as the Matriarchs appeared curiously, unable to tell what seal they made as the building they were in was enveloped and only turned her gaze from then when she heard the adults all speaking. she let out a sigh of relief at the breeze coming in through the room now.

Yukiko was quiet, only talking when she had to as an adult helped her with the paperwork and making little fuss when her finger was pricked. Yukiko looked a little worried as each rule ended with 'execution', but nodded nonetheless and accepted the terms of the contract.

She blinked and looked around, assuming the children that denied the terms were knocked out, getting a little worried when adults started disappearing. The pale girl turned her attention back to the Matriarchs and the ten Chunin, wondering what would be done now, some kind of test?

[Kumori]

Though she had been here before, Kyra was overwhelmed by the shear size of the wall. Her gaze held against the wall as she thought of that day three years ago. She came here with her mother to see Mitaki, her brother off when he was first gaining admission to the academy. A flood of emotion caught her off-guard as memories flashed in her mind.
She forced her mind back to the present, cutting off the distraction. She realized how close she had come to losing herself to the emotions, taking small pride in having avoided what could easily have set her back a year or two. A single tear had escaped her left eye. Rather than wiping it away with her hand, Kyra flicked her hair as if getting it out of her eyes. Really she was using her hair to wick the tear away unnoticed.
She looked around at the others, trying to glean what information she could from them. These would be her peers for the coming years. She would learn as much or more from them and their mistakes as she would from her instructors.

When the time comes for the scroll, Kyra pays it little attention. She would go forth no matter what, knowing that she would give her all to overcome any obstacle in her way. She wouldn't falter. Not now, not ever.

[DiscipleofBob]

Among the hopefuls is one prospective student without any parents or adults to guide or sponsor him. He makes do just fine, politely answering questions with single, one-word answers, asking questions when necessary to fill out the paperwork. He probably isn't the only applicant without parents to sponsor him, but he's the only one who shows neither bravado nor any sign of fear, just a meek politeness. He nods ahead with each portion of the contract.

Kyou does make a note that he will have to obtain permission to acquire the means to continue his craft. He can acquire the basic supplies needed to repair his puppets without violating any of the rules, he thinks, but it would be simpler if he can simply have the supplies necessary for his craft approved. Perhaps there would be a workshop space he could use.

Kyou definitely missed home and all of his inanimate puppet friends he had to leave behind. Except for Gennou. No way he could ever leave behind Gennou. The puppet currently resided in a small bag, as bringing out the puppet now might be considered inappropriate.

A lot of observers peg Kyou as one of the weak ones who'll turn tail and flee at the contract, but Kyou just calmly agrees to all the stipulations, waiting for the next step.

[Jaelesh]

Henko listens to the elders speak, not paying much attention in general, and looks around idly while trying to make a mental catalogue of various genetic traits he can see as well as memorizing faces...

You never know when it might be useful... he thinks to himself before snapping to attention when the strange voice starts listing the rules of being a novice.

He thinks for a few minutes, pricks a finger, and signs the contract muttering the whole time, "Draconian laws..." being repeated the most. He then stands around till the elders return with the 10 younger ninjas, waiting to see what will happen next.

[Elricaltovilla]

Every question that the Matriarchs ask Nagato is met with a grumble and a clipped, one word answer.

"Yeah... No... No... Yeah... Whatever." He practically spits the last word, and his father shoots Nagato a disapproving glare. Nagato returns it with equal force, the eight year old son of one of the most powerful clans in the world doesn't back down easily.

[Regalus]

Akio was a buzz from start to finish, pestering his older brother constantly upon passing Konoha's gates; the older Chunin and his mother managing to convince him to settle down in team for the greeting. Even after being chastised the young boy's heart was a flutter for the magnitude of the event was not lost on him; this was the day in wish he began the most important journey of his life, the result of which will not only determine his course in life...but also if he'd live long enough to go to his theoretical daughters wedding.

Rather than dwell on this fact, young Akio allowed himself to be distracted by the voice in his head; mentally disappointed upon realizing it was a recorded message after failed attempts at communication with the disembodied voice. The sound of individuals hitting the floor and/or disappearing was noticed immediately, though his brother told him not to worry too much about them. By the time the matriarchs had arrived they had his full undivided attention; if only because his older brother refused to elaborate any further on the proceeding, much to Akio's chagrin.

[chrisrawr]

At a signal from the Matriarchs, a rugged man in the middle of the assembled Chunin stepped forth. From your positions in the now open-ended auxiliary entrance, you see down into Konoha, a sample of her shops and bustling streets splayed before you, placed regularly along, and perpendicular to, a wide and open road. The road stretches straight and true for many kilometers, and at its apex, in the center of Konoha, a great tree rises.

The landscape dips gently from the walls where you stand, a valley tended by a network of aqueducts and other communications tubes, many-tiered with grass and moss-softened plateaus. Small farms and orchards are visible, tiny people tending their fields giving the scene an almost surreal quality.

A dias rising from the ground in from of the Chunin chosen to speak interrupts your wait, and, clearing his throat, the man begins to speak. His voice is surprisingly nasal and pitched for a man of his build, and you quickly note many details about him.


NPC: Talbar Ren

Ninja, Chunin

Tags on his Chunin vest indicate he's an Academy Teacher, and that he specializes in teaching advanced Shurikenjutsu and Senbonjutsu. Service tags unrelated to the Academy are also present, but unimportant.

Many signs indicate battlefield experience, for those who are able to recognize such a thing. For those who aren't, he seems alert, and you feel his eyes on you even when they aren't.

Velvety black hair, brown eyes, clear complexion but many scars. Tall, broad, powerful build. Small hands, short fingers, small feet.

Marriage band around finger, Middle finger missing on left hand.

Shaved. Clean. Crisp lines to clothing and hair, but Chunin vest and boots very worn and stained.

Characters now appear in google docs! (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R0_eg6X1H3tmMFkrX2Oza-337yDZ7HyZSyzCLlkYjFI/edit)


The Chunin taps a microphone at the dias, and proceeds to address the gathered children.

"My name is Talbar Ren. As this year's Proctor for the Academy Entrance Exams, it is my duty to inform you of your coming trials, known as the Entrance Exams, and the years ahead of them should you succeed in passing." You are unable to tell if the sneer you hear in his voice is a product of his many-times broken nose, or part of a psychological attack on your self. He continues, and the distinction is clarified.

"To the point, starting now, you belong to us," he gestures widely behind him to his peers, "And frankly -- we don't want you. You're disorderly, undisciplined, and weaker than kittens," something tells you the consequences for disagreeing would not be enjoyable, "So in order to survive the next four years, you will do your best, and I mean your damned best to make sure that our opinion of you and your classmates changes, and soon, because otherwise it is our job - and I do mean that in the 'we get paid to do this' sense - to ensure your stay at the Academy is insufferable."

Some of the students were now looking at their parents, who had retreated to the far end of the building, for support - many "crack!"s were heard, as senbon vibrated where they had struck into the ground in front of- "You cowards, don't dare take your eyes off me. Your first lesson, unfortunately, is that I am your enemy. Until you earn this headband," he pointed to directly to the leaf inscribed in his forehead protector, and then to his teacher's badge, "anyone with one of these is your god. Another salvo of senbon, and a couple of students began to cry. "Your parents aren't here to save you, kids, they're here to make sure you don't try running away. After a calming breath, and with the full attention of his students, Talbar thought, 'only a couple criers this time, better than last year. A few seem like they might even make it all the way to the academy...'

"Now that I have your attention, your first chance to prove to us that you aren't a bunch of worms is simply getting to the academy. You have 3 hours to reach it. GO!" And without any further information, an evil smirk, and a puff of chakra smoke, all of the adults in the area disappeared. The building recedes into Konoha's walls, leaving many of you stumped.

(OOC note)

Check the OOC thread before replying :)

[Exthalion]

The Errai cleared his throat. There was little time and every second of it that went by was a second that was not going to come back. He hoped the hopefuls had enough of their faculties together to follow his reasoning.

"The teachers outnumber us, are better than us, and are paid to make our lives unpleasant. They are almost certain to interfere in the test. There is no plan we can concoct they have not already encountered or which is not hopelessly transparent to them. None of us have any tricks good enough to surprise them and even if we did the surprise would not last very long. Quite possibly they are watching us now.

Therefore, our best hope it to attempt to work together to cover up our individual failings. My suggestion is that we travel as a loose group, those skilled in taijutsu on the periphery with sensor types closer to the center. Anyone who sees anything suspicious should call out the direction, it may be nothing but we need to be ready.

If we stay on the road they will have the advantage of height and can come at us from either side. If we travel along the rooftops, they will be able to attack us from below which... few here appear practiced with. Also, we should try to intermingle with crowds where possible. They are holding back so as not to kill us, but seriously harming civilians is almost certainly something they are going to avoid. Be aware they they could be mingled in crowds as well.

If we are intercepted, we should scatter and reform further in the direction we were traveling. Those in the immediate vicinity will make a single response to attempt to free those who have been entangled, anything more gives the teachers more easy prey. When you spot another AH after scattering, the challenge is... 'I'm a potato' and the response is 'land on one foot'.

Or does anyone else have a better idea?"

[DiscipleofBob]

"it's not a bad plan. except for the part where you loudly announced the challenge and response for all to hear. that part doesn't work so well when you realize we're already deep into opposition territory," Kyou doesn't break stride in setting up his puppet or summoning jutsu, but he's still up for teaming up with the main group. "but your speech was very eloquent otherwise," he says with a light smile, fully intending for that to be a compliment.

[Jadev]

Naraki heads over to the kids waving him over, hearing the Errai's proclamation and the strange boy's response, and decides to head over to him instead, figuring that a smaller group may be more able to function. ((Unless Hoshi is with them, at which point he just heads over to the group))

"Sounds like you've got a plan, at least. Better than what I have. I'm Naraki. Pleased to meet you!"

He sticks out his hand for a handshake.

[Exthalion]

Errai rolled his eyes. "If we both make it in, I will explain it to you. Please do us all the favor of not thinking about it to hard along the way, it would be a distraction none of us can afford."

He turned to Naraki, "Hoshi Errai, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Even as he spoke he could feel the seconds counting down.

[Elricaltovilla]

Nagato watched as everyone started forming up into large clumps of untrained idiots. Big groups were fine for protection if you weren't outnumbered, outclassed, and had some idea of the territory, otherwise you were just making yourself a bigger target. Better to go it alone, somewhere tough to follow. After all, it was really just a case of simple deduction, the academy would be the place where most ninja were gathered, so it would be where the strongest chakra source would be.

"Earth Release: Summoning Technique: Mole!" A cut on Nagato's palm as he slammed it into the ground, and out popped a small furry mole with a ninja headband and sunglasses.

"Owa! Who the bleep called me! I was inna nap!" The mole cried out loudly.

"I really don't have time for that Mogunin. Get your ass in gear, I need your chakra sensing abilities."

"I know we've been friends since your mom stopped wrapping cloth around your butt, but would it kill you to say please? Jerk. Alright, let's get this over with."

"Let's go Summoned Fusion Technique!" they said at the same time. A puff of smoke and all that was left was a small hole in the ground.

MoguNagato raced through the dirt beneath Konoha, weaving tunnels around the roots of the great trees and looking for the largest source of chakra Mogunin's abilities could find. But there were problems, huge chakra sources were everywhere in this city. MoguNagato popped up in a couple different locations, first in a bakery, where he almost got stepped on. Then inside a weapons shop where he had to dodge the owner's ire. Finally he popped up in the middle of a misty, steam filled area.

"Where the hell am I? Dammit!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Then he heard the screams. Female screams.
"Screw this noise!" he spit as the girls started running out of the bath house. He dove back down into the hole, there was a flash of light and a swarm of insects took off out of the hole, soaring high above Konoha village.

"Let'zzzz zzeeee what we can find without zzzztupid genjutzzuzzzz in the way." the swarm buzzed.

[DiscipleofBob]

Kyou nods at "greetings, i am kyou. i would return your generous greeting but i am afraid with present circumstances my hands are busy.

we have three hours to complete the task. it would be wise to take a few minutes to prepare a strategy rather than lose even more time by potentially rushing into unforeseen danger. i suggest we pair up, with perhaps one group of three if we have an odd number, and then split off. if there are obstacles laid out for us, they might be meant to be difficult or perhaps even impossible to overcome for a lone academy candidate. i will get a bird's eye view of the city and plan a few routes with divergent paths off accordingly, for those who wish to wait. if i can't find the academy, if they've hidden its location for the purposes of this test for example, i should at least be able to discern its likely location from the layout of the city.

"or you could rush into the city by yourself and hope for the best. it's up to you." Kyou smiles as his hands continue working to complete the jutsu.

((He'll probably have completed his summoning jutsu by now but I just want to verify things in the OOC thread before I continue))

[Fearan]

Among the kids that gathered at the auxilary entrance of Konoha, there was a lonely looking boy with a gloomy expression on his face. He came alone, and stood a bit apart from the rest of the bunch. Perhaps, the most eye-catching thing about him was his flashy wid-sleeved Colourful overcoat, weared on top of pretty standart young shinobi uniform. When the conract appeared, he looked through it without showing any interest, just silently nodding to each pat of Matriarch's words - only very watchful observer could tell, that he was studying the Matriarch's themselves ((please tell, what could Shiro find out of their body language)). When the proctor appeared, the situation had repeated itself - the boy seemed pretty much not interested in chuunin's yaki-filled words, instead observing his body language. After the summoner-guy rushed in using some kind of fusion technique, the gloomy-faced boy approached the group, while keeping his hands in the sleeves of the overcoat.
- Hi. The name's Shiro. I'm not going to end up like the mole-guy, so I'd rather stay with the group, if you're ok with that

[Zerkai]

Yukiko paid attention to the scarred Chunin, only averting her eyes at the sound of senbon hitting the floor. She made a mental note of the crybabies as they were given their first task. She noticed the others forming plans, and others running off. She approached the largest group.

"Strength in numbers."

The pale girl with the blue lips only said those three words as she approached the big group of students, she looked uncomfortable but unafraid, keeping out of arms reach of any students. She seemed rather shy, but the charsmatic Tenchi made the girl smile a bit before looking away.

[chrisrawr]

Nagato
======

Many firecrackers detonate near and within you, each doing a little damage and creating flashes, smoke, and noise. You glimpse a few small forms through the smoke, children about your age, dashing into a building. When they exit, they've more firecrackers with which to toss your way, you glimpse one looking at a paper in his hand and directing an unknown number of comrades to another building, where they resupply once more. You can feel an obvious drain on your stamina, health, and patience.
(OOC: Ignore large group, they are outside of your sphere of awareness atm)


Kyou
====

As you begin seeing through your puppet, the rest of the group finishes up their talk, and you hear a shout: "There's more over here! Watch out for the aerial!" (OOC: Both this section and the Large Group section apply to you). A shuriken flies toward it narrowly missing. A rain of other projectiles, ranging from senbon to firecrackers to rocks make their way toward your puppet and the group in general, and you glimpse a map being held by one of those assaulting it before Hachidori is struck from the sky by the surprise attack.



Shiro
====

The Matriarchs practically radiate professional perfectionism. A relaxed, hard-won elderly confidence leaves you wondering if they'd rather take a belt to you, or bake you cookies. The short time they're visible, and their professional demeanor, leaves little to study. A small braid, barely visible behind the shorter Matriarch's headband, catches your eye before the adults disappear. (OOC: Large Group applies to you as well as this.)



Large Group
=========
Tenshi quickly tries to settle between the plans, obviously wanting to just run down to the big tree and start from there, but seeing both plans with merit beyond any he could come up with. "We need to stick together if the choons try anything," he says, agreeing with Errai, "but it might not be a bad idea to have some scouts!" Truthfully, most of the hopefuls were relieved that someone else had come up with a plan for them, and were willing to do their part as Errai explained what would be needed in better detail.

After secreting the actual challenge and response with a hastily drawn and destroyed dirt-message, a few hopefuls quickly melted into the shadows and surroundings nearby. Coinciding with this, a small wooden dragonfly takes to the air, scouting the area.

Tenshi's just as eager to get moving as Errai, though for less practical reasons. "Right right right, let's kick some ass!", he bites off the cussword, shocking some of those gathered. Getting into the spirit of things, or dragged there by Tenshi and Errai's nervous energy, the hopefuls quickly hash out where their strengths lie and bunch into a tighter, more organized clump. A girl who claimed she could put a Genjutsu on the group to look like a horse and carriage if they kept tight enough together began concentrating, only to be caught off guard and rudely startled by a blunted training Kunai winding her. She sighed tiredly, even the attempt had worn her out.

There's little chance for much else, before one of the scouts that went out just moments before is seen drop-kicking another kid about your age from the roof of a building, pummeling him into the ground. The kid on the receiving end of his boots had been about to throw another kunai, and your scout quickly flashes the response sign before yelling, "Oh crap! Oh CRAP! Get ready everyone there's another group of kids armed to the brim coming rig-" he's cut off, as you hear a piercing voice shout, "There's more over here! Watch out for the aerial!" You know it's not long until various projectiles - from training kunai, to senbon, to rocks and twigs - begin raining down on your formation.





At this point, more scouts return having been not far off and hearing the noise, or having spotted the group and taken a round-about ways back. Some flashed the response, some just shrugged with the intent to dive into the fight, looking to throw back whatever they can catch, or collect off the ground. In general, however, most of the focus is on Tenshi's cries of "PREPARE TO DIE COWARDS!" and other less repeatable insults overpower most of the erupting noise.

Reactively, some of the hopefuls in your group begin to scatter. Others start flinging half-learned jutsu or pocketed ninja supplies around as the second group of hopefuls breaks into vision slightly downhill from you.

[Fearan]

- Get out from the openings. Take cover - Shiro almost screamed as he heard of approaching armed group. He, himself rushed to the power-drained girl to help her to get to the relative safety of any piece of cover he could notice.
We are at disadvantage here. - he tried to explain on the run to anybody, who would listen - we have to disengage and take them on our terms

[Kumori]

So groups are a bad idea, Kyra thinks to herself calmly, deciding then that she's better off on her own. She quickly heads towards a nearby building then runs up it's side at an angle, so as to be on the far side of the building before reaching it's roof.

She takes a moment to think once she's safely out of sight. Settling on an idea, she brings a thumb to her mouth, hesitating a moment before biting it. I hate this part. She smears the blood on the roof, forms the hand signs that she knows so well, and whispers sternly "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

...

Her head falls with a sigh. Not today then. If that won't work maybe I'll try the group again. She turns around and stealthily makes her way back to the group, moving along the sides of the buildings as she goes.

[Jadev]

The attack starts just as Naraki returns from his failed info-gathering mission. He immediately jumps for cover and yells out to Tenshi and a few of the others.

"Yo! I can cause some chaos up there if a few other close-range specialists can move with me! Otherwise, I can provide a distraction so you all can get out of here!"

[DiscipleofBob]

((Rewinding a bit for narrative's sake...))

"kuchiyose no jutsu: hachidori." Finishing the seal, a large puff of smoke reveals a large, six-legged, six-winged figure of clay and mechanical joints with a long, narrow beak. It vaguely resembles the nightmarish offspring of a hummingbird and a dragonfly. Unfolding one set of wings, Hachidori takes to the skies, connected to Kyou by a set of near invisible strings. It's big enough to theoretically ride on, though its flying stability might be questioned in such a situation.

"i only need a few seconds..." Closing one eye and synchronizing his vision with Hachidori, Kyou takes in the layout of the city, the various buildings, and especially the large tree in the distance. "got it." At that moment, Kyou notices the movement below, quickly considering his options but realizing they're already too close.

His smile suddenly fades into a stone face. "enemies approaching. evasive action. i have the city layout memorized. analyzing further information." Hachidori gets damaged by a surprise attack... but that's why it has backup wings. It immediately unfolds its second pair of wings and both Kyou and Hachidori commence evasive manuevers to dodge the barrage of attacks. Kyou's main weapon right now is Hachidori. He's prepared to dismiss Hachidori and his puppet substitution jutsu is still prepped to bring out Gennou, but a few senbon and firecrackers aren't worth that kind of effort.

"one of the attackers has a map. it may be vital to our success." Kyou has Hachidori defend them by launching a small arsenal of bombs and scattershot ball bearings on the artillery, hoping to break their formation. At the same time, Kyou focuses the accurate, scoped, longbarrel rifle on the student with the map hoping to at least wound him.

The Chuunin never said that lethal force wasn't allowed.

[Razgriz]

Earlier
Nao looks around watching everything disappearing knowing the goal is to find the academy. Deciding the best option is to gain high ground in an unknown location she begins to quickly traverse up to the nearest highest spot she can find trying to perceive anything out of the ordinary or even -too- ordinary. While keeping a mild eye on the people just standing around, she holds her hand out and tries to feel abnormal variances in the wind wondering it the Academy is something -normal- people can't just see.
((ooc posted hear because i think it got skipped over in the ooc to find out i may have noticed.))

She shouts and signs "Kaihoudan!", as a blast of water appears and shoots at one of the agressive roof ninja attempting to knock them down and make the roof slippery for the rest of them. Hopefully leaving enough time to escape to safety.

[Zerkai]

Yukiko had stayed in the middle of the group as they walked, not talking to any of the other students and trying to not draw attention to herself, then she'd be one of the first targets. Thgis gave her one of the things she wanted, an early warning.

"Seperate. Capture. Interrogate. Break." She stated simply as she scattered as well to avoid the projectiles, hoping to put a building between her and the enemy students, and maybe get close enough to grab one or make one pursue her.

[chrisrawr]

Shiro
====

The girl quickly regains her composure and you manage to escape the worst of the fray, gaining a great lead thanks to a plethora of distractions as the battle starts. A couple people follow you as you move towards the relative safety of the buildings, and you quickly find out that they are not friendlies. You would have moved to engage them, but suddenly you find yourself doused by a deluge of water from the roof above you, and your attackers are tangled up with a pair of bodies that had accompanied it.



Naraki
=====

Two siblings, from the looks of it, immediately nod to each other at your words, and form a triangle behind you as you move out. One immediately begins launching large dollops of water at the heads of the oncoming hopefuls, where they linger. After a few solid hits, though, she's unable to hold more than two or three at bay before at a time, drowning them until they drop and then focusing on a new target. The other splits into multiple clones, and then backs off, disappearing. Eventually, more join you, including Errai with his sword.



Kyou
====

*BANG*

Your attack would have rent a hole in the chest of your target, a certain killshot, had he not tripped over his own clumsy feet at the last second. You don't have time to mull it over, as a single hopeful breaks off and begins to run toward you from the frenzy. His arms flap behind him like streamers of cloth, and his face grows a beak as he rushes headlong towards you at impressive speeds, intending to impale you from the looks of it. He makes a pass that you narrowly avoid, curving in a large circle to retain momentum, and heads your way once more.



Nao
===

From the water already present, as well as the substantial water pulled to the area by other hopefuls' jutsus, you manage to flood the roof. Between knocking an attacker off his feet, and a hail of ball-bearings scattering against its slanted surface, two hopefuls go crashing onto a small group fighting below them.



Yikiko
====

Just as you'd thought, one of the defending hopefuls notices your break for it -- with a snarl, she comes after you, ferocious and tenacious - doggedly on your heels. As you intend to lure her into a trap, the sting of a senbon in your shoulder - a lucky hit that has damaged and restricted its full range of movement for the time being - comes as no worry to you.



Large Melee
=========

After a brief moment of relative order, things quickly devolve into frenzied chaos. The other hopefuls charge into the road, which quickly turns to roiling mud as various ninjutsu spew water, create puffs of fire and air, or cause mounds of the soft soil to rise, in attempts to attack or dissuade the opposing side. Then, smoke fills the air, and the sides clash. It seems, however, that the 'enemy' has no more organization than your own hasty plans. Having rushed in to attack and gotten mixed in with your own group, the newcomers were now taking friendly fire, quickly cut off as any of your opponents who had held back to throw more wounding support find their footing compromised. Others still are running off, trying to attack those of you who had scattered. No real cohesion is visible, and for a while, you're not even sure who's friend and who's foe.

Soon enough, however, Narakai has a small group who remembered their handsignals forming around him, and though all he's doing appears to be brawling, simple teamwork combined with a couple nameless hopefuls' weak gen and ninjutsu - and Errai's ability to knock away projectiles - allows his group to open a gap in the melee. Tenshi's group is faring less well - about a dozen metres away, you can see him and two others being beaten down by a larger group of 5 older-looking children. One of them, however, has taken a senbon to the foot and slipped in the mud, arm held up to save a paper which you recognize as a map. A loud crack echoes through the air, and a miniature geyser of mud flies into the air. Tenshi wastes no time capitalizing on it, and, covered in rusty-red mud the same colour as his hair, begins a taijutsu style that uses it as both weapon and armour against his attackers.

Off to the sides of the road, near the now-closed shop entrances, similar battles are waged in groups of three or four. One such group falls to the ground as a mass of hopeful and water washes down from a rooftop above them. A few break off and join congregations that are reforming around the groups already too large to assault directly - once more you find yourself both the origin and target of a mass of insults, rocks, and busted nin training weapons.

An anonymous cry of "You ain't goin' nowheres, 'n'vaders!" is heard, and backed by chants of "Konoha gonna own ya, Konoha gonna own ya!"

[Kumori]

As she returns to the group, all Kyra can see is chaos. Jumping in would be pointless, and she'd lose her advantage of being unnoticed. She decides to wait for an opportunity to do something effective.

She catches a brief glance of a paper, sure to be something valuable like a map, but it would be out of sight again before she could get close enough to get a hold of it. Not much later, one of the enemies strays to the outside of the skirmish, trying to catch his breath. Kyra quickly and quietly stalks up behind him.

Once he's within an arms reach, Kyra wraps her arm around his neck and gives a hard pull. She puts chakra to her feet and pushes, getting a powerful burst to allow her to pull them both away from the others. A moment later and the two are out of earshot of the group battle. Kyra finds herself in full control, and begins to try to glean what information she can from her prey.

[Elricaltovilla]

The million compound eyes of ZzzpZzzp focused on the boy with the paper in his hand. An ominous buzzing filled the air as Nagato's chakra fused itself with the hum of the swarm.

Genjutsu might be likened to fishing with your chakra trying to hook a specific part of the target's senses, but sound based genjutsu was a little more like fishing with a net. It was impossible to hide from sound, and even covering one's ears would only diminish the effect, not block it entirely. So the chakra filled noise worked its effect on the crowd of annoying, fire cracker throwing kids, and especially on the one with that very interesting piece of paper.

ZzzpZzzp's swarm flew down and surrounded the stunned and confused child and plucked the paper from his hand before flying swiftly upwards and closer to the center of the town.

[Jadev]

Naraki glances at his newfound allies. Most weren't anything to speak of, but the first two, the siblings-- the cloning one made an excellent distraction, and the water-shooter was taking down plenty of opponents. He was more useful, but more vulnerable in the end. Though Naraki wasn't quite sure about this ninjutsu specialization, but in the end this was no time to talk about it. Errai was incredibly helpful-- skilled with the sword and that weird redirection trick both. Naraki stopped this train of thought, however, as an attacker came at him with a jab, and his instincts took over. He dropped, snapping up a hand to block, then bringing it back down for a handseal followed by a hardened-- and heavier-- uppercut to the stomach. The hopeful dropped and Naraki moved back and made handsignals to move towards Tenshi and his group-- more safety in numbers. He moved that way, leading with a stone-hard body and an arsenal of counters and strikes.

[Razgriz]

Noa ventures over on the rooftops getting closer to Naraki's position avoiding the wet rooftops. She again attempts to sense chakra, but this time looking for the direction where these hinderances or 'hopefuls' came from. While searching she does her best still to keep a lookout at the edge of the roof so Naraki still has her position.

[Zerkai]

Yukiko gasped at the stinging pain in her shoulder as she ran from her pursuer, reaching with her good arm to grasp the source, yanking it out of her shoulder. She stared down at the senbon as she ran, watching it drip with blood, her blood, and watching it drip like crimson rubies awoke something in the young girl. She dropped the senbon, making hand-seals before it even reached the ground. Rounding a corner with the enemy student at her heels, she finished her Jutsu.

"Suiton: Suizou no Jutsu!" She shouted as water poured forth from her mouth, soaking the path she ran with water and reaching several yards ahead as well. This was a followed by a only a few more as Yukiko finally stopped, slapping her hands on the ground as the enemy student neared.

"Hyouton: Toudo no Jutsu!" The water trail she had been making had quickly froze over and she jumped up as she knew what would be coming as the ground beneath her enemy turned to ice in their made dash for her.

Once her trick had earned her a moments reprise and broke the enemy's momentum, she lowered her hands, ice on the ground and moisture in the air slowly forming around her hands, encasing them from the forearm below in ice, ending in claws of her own, although these were a foot and a half long.

As she watched her opponent, her thoughts flew back to her blood as she licked her lips. She needed to return the favor, to taste of her opponent's chakra and blood, as she grew accustomed to in her training back home. Strong waves of Killing Intent rippled from Yukiko, a Sakki no child her age should have, one not even an academy student yet, but it was obvious from the look in her eyes that she's killed, and longed to do it to her next victim.

[Exthalion]

Errai sheathed his sword though kept his left hand on it. It would surprise people what you could do with draw techniques. He whispered to some of the others who looked moderately more competent. "This is getting us nowhere. If they prove recalcitrant I suggest that we charge and I sever the leg or tendon of one of them whom we proceed to capture. If that is not sufficient motivation, I have other tools at my disposal. While brutal, it is also simple and thus not subject to the interruptions caused by minor alterations from perceived initial conditions. Thoughts?"

Holding up his other hand to show there wasn't anything in it he walked ahead of his group a little way and shouted at the "natives."

"Listen, we are all civilized people here and not Uchiha. I think we can get away with a little talking before the fighting. Our instructions do not mention you and it is possible that a way exists for both of us to achieve what we need to do together or at least without conflict. So tell us, what exactly are you trying to do?"

[DiscipleofBob]

The hummingbird/dragonfly puppet disappears in a puff of smoke as Kyou dismisses the summoned puppet. In a melee it just wasn't as useful and now he was being engaged. The Konoha nin moved fast, barely any time to form a plan.

His current opponent used some kind of transformation along with an up-front taijutsu style. His attention focused on the target in front of him, time almost seemed to slow as he anaylzed every limb, every angle, every detail of the attack. (open charging attack. possible additional layers to attack, but unlikely judging on result of first pass. taking up defensive measures. step one: basic armament...) Kyou pulled out the base weapon for all ninja, a simple kunai knife. (step two: contingent backup weapon.) His other hand secretly readied to unleash a small net of his razor wire. (step three: prepared defensive jutsu for possible connected hit. done. ideally save for worst case scenario.) In the time Kyou went over his defensive strategy in his head, his opponent had taken exactly one step. (now for offensive countermeasures. if contingency plans are not required, parry initial strike with kunai. duck under opponent's blind spot under left arm. left leg should be in midair at this time. release wire to entangle one or possibly both legs based on success rate. razor wire should wound target enough to severely hamper opponent's mobility. disengage from melee. rendevouz with group of potential ally academy hopefuls nearest last sighting of suspicious paper.)

((If I'm jumping ahead too far or doing something considered godmodding, let me know. It's hard to determine what is valid for me to post without gmodding with this RP structure))

Kyou waits until the last possible fraction of a second, when his opponent is certain that this time his attack will hit. His kunai blocks against the side of his opponent's beak, pushing it just enough to the side that Kyou can duck under his target's arm. His other hand, supposably free from the looks of it, lets loose a small entanglement of razor wire like a bola around his target's legs. It was entirely possible that the legs could be completely severed, but based on his calculations, Kyou doubted the wire would do anything more severe than severing a tendon or two. More importantly, it would trip his attacker and allow Kyou to make a quick getaway.

((If successful, Kyou will ninja-dash to the main group and immediately ask who, if anyone, secured the piece of paper. Since there are multiple pieces, and at this point Kyou only has knowledge of one, he probably doesn't know about the piece the swarm picked up.))

[Fearan]

After the group, that chased himwas staggered by the cold shower and some bodies, Shiro rushed forward mostly ignoring the mess, while shhuting to the girl following him - Don't stop, we gotta keep moving - he didn't want to be isolated from the group, believing that if such happens he'll be quickly dealt with because of unfamiliar turf. he moved from cover to cover, trying to stay as low-priority target, as possible and approaching the main group. Once he saw Tenchi's group struggling, he made some seals, hidden in wide sleeves of his overcoat and created a clone. The clone moved towards Tenchi's and attempted a bull-rush followed by grapple into one of the attackers (preferably into one, holding the map, but Shiro doubted, he could make a precise commmand in the middle of a battle)
It is a bubblegum clone, so even if in gets puffed, the guy he grappled would be out as well

[Jadev]

Naraki listens to Errai, though he has no idea what recalcitrant means. He stands by to back him up as, much to his shock, Errai tries to talk to the opposing force.Somehow I don't think that's going to work. He thinks, looking at the on-and-off clashes about him, and still feeling various projectiles bouncing off his stone-hard skin. He readies to pull Errai back in case something goes wrong.

[chrisrawr]

Kyra
====

"Aaagh!" the cry quickly stifled as you force his face into the mud, "I give! I give! Just let up will ya? Choons said we were 'sposed to cah-pitch-you-late ifn got ourselves caught. As if you emphasize his point, a kunai buries itself near you, a note attached with a simple "Yes" scrawled on it. Still, you make your point with a final tug on his arms, eliciting a howl of pain, before letting him go -- you remain on top of him, however.

Shaking himself out as much as he can from his face-down position, he rolls his shoulders, wincing. "M'names Goba, 'n' I'm s'posed to give'r this ifn I get capped. Damned ifn that take-down weren't toppin m'brother's, by the way!" His speech whistled through the split in his lip where a rock had caught his face earlier, blood and mud making his grin a morbid sight. "Sowhat'er yer want? I can't tell y'where to find the cadamy 'cuz it changes places, but Ic'n tell you hower t'fine it, ifn y'catch me?" his green eyes twinkled, and his youth showed through in his eagerness to help now that he was a captive.

"What'll y'need's..."


Nagato
======

A perverted giggling and the curses of the trailing children soon far behind you, you set-in on making heads or tails of the map.

(OOC: I am working on a map to show you. Many attempts in MS paint have failed, as I am very bad at manipulating the necessary tools being both left-handed and having very few fine motor skills as the result of a childhood injury, as well as being poor artistically in general :P I'm working on getting a hold of a scanner so at least I will have my dominant hand to use!]

He sees a triangular sliver, rounded on the right and tapering to a point on the left. The conic shape is oriented roughly North-East, with a compass rose in the top-left corner of the paper. Nagato quickly realizes that it is, in fact, a portion of a much larger map.

He spots dotted lines winding through the streets, leading past the baths, around various shops and paths, and exiting the sliver on either side. As you stare at the map, you are surprised to see many of the smaller shapes on it moving -- in fact, if you look closely, you can see that they're people, moving around! With your eyes, you follow an automobile on the map and on the ground to confirm.

Well then.

[Apologies again. This post was supposed to have been up on tuesday. I have no excuses worth your time, and can only state that I feel pretty crummy about it.]


Noa
===

Noa once again encounters an odd fuzziness to her chakra sense, as if the world was much, much farther away than it should be. She notices Tenshi noticing her, and he waves for her to rejoin the group after she responds with the proper acknowledgement.


Yukiko
=====

The hopeful, once a fierce snarl on her face, now cowers, whimpering. As you move forward into the kill, the whimper turns to a smirk, and once more she lunches at you. After quickly learning to respect the razor edge of your claws, she backs off, having done little in the ways of getting through your defenses, though her nails prove to be the more durable set.

"Good intent, but my mom's is worse, and don't even get me [I]started on how it feels to have old Kuro chase you aro-" she cuts off with a snarl as you give her no time to blather on.




Errai
====

A cuss-laced response from almost every single Konoha native in the area, including a few Tenshi had managed to subdue, greets you in reply - for every non-native that finds the Academy, a Konoha hopeful loses their spot. After a bit of interrogation of those captured, it turns out that the native hopefuls had already gone through an exhaustive series of cutbacks in order to match immigrants on a 1-to-1 scale. When you live in the biggest ninja city in the known world, what kid [I]isn't going to aspire towards such a glorified dream?

In any case, captured hopefuls are under orders to capitulate and cooperate, telling you what they know and surrendering any relevant supplies. This is done so grudgingly, and Tenshi lets out a low whistle when you find yourselves in possession of no less than 3 pieces of cloth, each bearing a cone-shaped map. The pieces are North-West, North, and South, according to each's compass rose, and from their size and the way the North and North-West fit together, you can conclude that there's about 8 of them. In fact, as you hold the North and North-West pieces together, the cloths fuse and become a quarter map.

[OOC: I am working on a map to show you. Many attempts in MS paint have failed, as I am very bad at manipulating the necessary tools being both left-handed and having very few fine motor skills as the result of a childhood injury, as well as being poor artistically in general :P I'm working on getting a hold of a scanner so at least I will have my dominant hand to use!]

You have a captive explain how the map works...



Kyou
====

A screech and a shower of sparks is heard as your kunai deflects the ninja's beak, the partially transformed nin's eyes widening. He manages to narrowly avoid being slashed across the face, and the dirt he kicks up at you from even this small redirection hits you like shrapnel -- before your wire trips him up, and he begins a tumble, stabilized by his beak as he plows a deep furrow into the ground.

[As a note, maybe a little bit slower in the future -- even if many parts of your brain are working in parallel, we've still got to obey the fact that neurons are relatively slow and brains are weak tools for shinobi combat. This kid is fast. Kunai fast. I probably didn't emphasize his speed enough, so it's not your fault. Your plan, while feasible, couldn't have been done in a single of his steps. Easier to say "you formulated it as he passed you, or as he was beginning his arc once again towards you" -- otherwise it was acceptable in terms of actions.]

You return to the group in time to see two pieces of paper fusing together, revealing a map identical to the north-western quarter of Konoha you had memorized.

[OOC: I am working on a map to show you. Many attempts in MS paint have failed, as I am very bad at manipulating the necessary tools being both left-handed and having very few fine motor skills as the result of a childhood injury, as well as being poor artistically in general :P I'm working on getting a hold of a scanner so at least I will have my dominant hand to use!]



Shiro
====

Exceeding his expectations because of the slippery battlefiled, the clone tackles one of Tenshi's attackers, plowing him into the ground and popping in a glob of entangling goop. By this time, only a few native hopefuls were remaining in the area, the rest having regrouped. With your help, Tenshi and his comrades - as well as other arriving reinforcements - manage to subdue and incapacitate the remaining opponents.

[OOC: I am working on a map to show you. Many attempts in MS paint have failed, as I am very bad at manipulating the necessary tools being both left-handed and having very few fine motor skills as the result of a childhood injury, as well as being poor artistically in general :P I'm working on getting a hold of a scanner so at least I will have my dominant hand to use!]


Naraki
=====

Things go about as you expect them to -- curses and various thrown objects missing Errai as you pull him back into the fold. Working furiously with the maps, Tenshi, Errai, and a few others you didn't really manage to catch the names of quickly interrogate the few captives that had been gathered.

[OOC: I am working on a map to show you. Many attempts in MS paint have failed, as I am very bad at manipulating the necessary tools being both left-handed and having very few fine motor skills as the result of a childhood injury, as well as being poor artistically in general :P I'm working on getting a hold of a scanner so at least I will have my dominant hand to use!]


Large Group
=========

A groan is heard from his comrades, as one of the captives finally spills. "Well, essentially, we were given this map and split into groups, each group was told to follow the dotted line they got and swap maps with whichever other groups they met. When Semo- er, when a teammate sniffed out a large group, we knew we couldn't handle you alone, so we waited for a bunch of other groups and figured we'd break you on the charge. It was a good plan, too, until some of us got sidetracked by a swarm of bugs and a few teams split off to chase down what they figured would be easier targets. Now we're just gonna stall you for time," he finishes dejectedly.

You look at the map pieces, each having a dotted line that starts and ends off the sides of the map. After the pieces for North and North-West had fused, the dotted lines on each had shifted and changed, curving to run along one of the main roads running parallel to the village's walls. Small arrows on the dots indicated they would need to plow directly through the opposing natives in order to reach whatever destination was implied. Two pieces of map were visibly labled in the possession of the small milling dots which represented the various people the map showed.

The captive continues "The map shows pretty much everything that happens below the Air Blockade. People, animals, visible chakra, heck, I bet if you had a magnifying glass you'd see pebbles and leaves." a pause while he collects his thoughts allows you to get a better idea of how important the map would be to your mission. With less than 2 hours to go, hopefully they'd be able to capitalize on the tactical advantages the map offered. "Most importantly, it shows where the other maps are. On the corners of each section should be little golden arrows -- or golden circles on the map itself if they're nearby. I don't know where your path leads -- none of us know where the Academy is right now, either, because it changes location a bunch. Our paths just led us in regular patrols."

At this point, Tenshi speaks up. "I vote we charge in and break em, steal the rest of the maps, then scatter and meet up at the big tree. It ain't much. Maybe we can trade prisoners before we charge? I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be known for leaving friends behind!"

[Kumori]

Kyra ponders for a moment, still keeping her captive in check. "Alright, Goba, here's what we're gonna do. First, you're going to explain how to find the Academy." She looks over at the nearby kunai. "Stay down." She releases the pressure then grabs the knife.

With Goba lying on the ground, Kyra cuts a section of her pant leg and fastens in intricate knot with the kunai attached, then fastens it around Goba's upper body. She has him get up when she finishes. "Second, you're gonna lead the way to the academy. No funny business. One hard yank on this bit of cloth and that kunai goes in deep." She pauses a moment for emphasis. She meant it as a bluff, but if it comes down to it.... "Remember that well. Now it's your turn to talk again: How do we find the Academy?"

Once Goba explains how to find it, the pair set out on their way.

[Jadev]

Naraki nods at Tenshi's instruction.

"Alright. I can spearhead the charge. I'll need some guys who can keep up and who won't fall apart when we're inside the enemy lines."

He thinks for a second.

"Then again, I'm not sure if I'll be able to pinpoint whoever has the map pieces or take them. Anyone think they can pull that off?"

[chrisrawr]

All but Nagato, Yukiko, and Kyra
===========

Naraki leads a charge into the fray, thoroughly trouncing those that would come against him. There were just too many openings to take -- half-formed taijutsu stances, hesitant punches, chakra infused in the wrong places... It was tiring work, but along with Errai's swordwork and the occasional barrage of water from the rooftops above, he manages to down almost a dozen hopefuls in this final frenzied foray. A streamer of fire rushes towards him, and a lash of water from the same source cracks repeatedly into his allies before - almost lazily - an orb of water forms around the face of the lashes' origin, taking him out of the fight.

Behind, in the main lines of fighting, the half-dozen remaining hopefuls put up a much better resistance than those who'd fallen during the charge. Surrounded on all sides by those your group and Tenshi had convinced to team up, they provide a gapless, overlapping defense - Four members seem to be bloodline users of some skill, their tenketsu expelling razor spikes, scalding steam, explosive flame, or simply firm, shielding scales of chakra wherever they receive a blow. Within the defense they form, twins lash out with steel braids forming from their wrists. Ending in an array of slashing, bludgeoning, and stabbing implements, they manage to maim several hopefuls, including Tenshi, Errai, and Naraki -- despite the physical prowess and skill they'd displayed so far.

Water tries to form once again around the faces of those defending the owners of the braids, but is dispelled by puffs of chakra pushing it away. Luckily, bubblegum soon entangles the braid-weapons, forcing their use to a halt, and giving Errai and Naraki the opening they need to remove the attacker's meatshields -- attacking simultaneously, the defensive style simply isn't adaptable or powerful enough yet to deal with your blows, and after dealing with two, the remaining two flee - leaving only the braid-weapon users.

During this time, the hummingdragon from before is darting through the fray, grabbing map pieces from those fallen or too occupied to stop it. Its forays finally end when the final two map pieces are spotted, under the ownership of the twins you now face. Having freed themselves from their sticky situation as you fought off their defenders, they jump back, using their offensive implants to keep you momentarily at bay as they maintain distance. They take stock of the battlefield, counting casualties, and then feint an attack with their braid-weapons -- only to begin running away!


Kyra
====

"GULP!" Goba certainly didn't expect he'd be in a life-or-death situation this early in his Shinobi career - and at the special exam, no less! This was supposed to happen to the earlier hopefuls... His resolve was shaken, and he began stuttering an explanation as best he could. "W-well y'seer m-err.... wh-what's your n-n-n-name? Y'seer K-k-kyra, w-we's t-told," he gulped, gaining hold of himself a bit better now that he had memory to latch onto, "We's told that... t-that y'er s'posed'ter c-connect th'map p-pieces 'nthen they'll l-lead'er to th'cademy." He began walking, "B-but m-mine just showed me th'patrol r-route." he stares at the map again as you present it to him, "M-maybe we should f-find another map p-piece? T-there's one this way," he points North with his chin.


Nagato
======

As you observe the map, looking for a lead to begin your search, a map piece moves onto your map's border, heading towards you.

[Kumori]

"You can calm down a little, Goba. I'm not gonna kill you unless you good and well deserve it, which is unlikely. Be honest with me and you'll be fine." She's a little taken aback by how easily Goba lost his resolve. He may have other talents she doesn't yet know about, but he's definitely lacking in Shinobi resolve. "Lead the way," she says, giving him a little nudge after allowing him a moment to collect himself.

[Exthalion]

"Well now, I am afraid I shall have to actually try."

He took his sword, which up to this point had been sheathed, and made an odd handsign while holding it.

"Kenbu no Jutsu!"

As he drew his blade, two nearly six feet long sheets of thin, flaming purple chakra emerged from his forearms. The blade was nearly all black with whirls of bright, bluish metal; like a negative image of Damascus steel. It was wreathed in the same off colored chakra. Even the sheath had an edging of it.

"If you have mercy, pity them. I shall not."

The long sheets flexed then snapped straight. He flew like an arrow from a bow after the fleeing twins.

[Zerkai]

Yukiko steadily approached the girl as she kept her claws close to herelf to make it difficult to determine her reach until she needed to strike. The pale girl still exuded killing intent as she stuck out at her in a sudden frenzy, trying to slash and or grab any part of her in her icy claws.

(The blood is just a bonus, chakra is drained by the act of biting through her fangs. One she's worn the girl down or wounded her she'll drop her ice claw Jutsu and go for a graplling move to pin her long enough to bite anywhere.)

[Fearan]

Shiro followed Errai with a long evaluating glance. The jutsu he used really looked like overkill. He wondered, if the hopeful was in control - the feeling from the chakra basically screamed "demons". The boy almost stopped paying attention to the exam - heis eyes followed only the purple-coloured entity
- What's that..? - he whispered, not adressing anyoune in particular - And how will we stop it?

[DiscipleofBob]

After the main cluster of AH's regrouped, Kyou got a good look at the map, comparing it to the mental one in his head. He would do the same for any future map pieces he came across. Now that he was no longer in melee, he could resummon Hachidori who still had two good pairs of wings left.

Sticking on the ground close to whoever was taking charge, Kyou relayed the aerial information to his teammates to better coordinate strikes. When the twins split up and bolted, Kyou did his best to relay their positions to his teammates as well as using the armaments of Hachidori to try and herd the two twins into disadvantageous positions. Hopefully he could slow them down long enough for his teammates to catch them.

[chrisrawr]

{Reserved for tomorrow - I'm gonna push-on-through the actions of those who haven't posted by then. I'd do it tonight but I'm studying for a 3 midterm week}

[chrisrawr]

Kyra
=========

You follow the arrow on your map piece to the edge of the map, and look around, near and far for it. Unable to spot it from here, you trudge in the direction your map points, hoping it will continue to update properly now that you've left its area.

Sure enough, after a bit of doubling back, you find a spot that seems to say, "you are right on top of the other map." Confused, Goba lifts his chin to ponder the dilemma, and spots a hazy silhouette against the sunlight. He calls out, "Oi, wots 'at?"


Nagato
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The map piece moves closer and closer, passes under you, and then swivels back around. Looking down, you see a girl you recognize from your group in the Auxiliary entrance, and someone you don't recall. He appears to be tied up, with a kunai balanced precariously against his torso by some wrappings. The two look up.


Yukiko
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You wince as her claws dig into the ice around your hands, and draw blood from your fingers. 'There!' A perfect opening after each wild, cleaving strike for you to debilitate her. You're sure you could wait her out, wear her down with little scratches while you expended only chakra to recoup the losses your claws were sustaining, but all it would take would be the tiniest feint... and maybe a bit of risk.


Large Group
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Dodging and wincing from the stinging hail of pellets being launched from the tiny construct, the twins continue to retreat. Errai quickly advances on them, dodging through the living mesh of wire weaponry attempting to block his path. Naraki quickly follows, and Tenshi behind him, taking advantage of the twins' inability to focus on all of them on the retreat.

Finally, one falters, and the other stops to help. Errai catches them, and in a rush of purple momentum, bowls them over.

Errai, using his sword and feathers to quickly pivot back into the fray, joins his two allies in subduing the twins, spitting glares your way. The three of you drag them back toward the main group, where a frightened Shiro awaits. You have all but 3 of the map pieces.

[Jadev]

Naraki almost takes off after the group but holds back as he notices Errai dashing past followed by others. He makes to follow for a second, but his wounds hamper him too much for him to hope to catch up. Instead, he drops his stoneskin jutsu and makes another handsign.
"Iron Mind Jutsu!"
His eyes dull to a steelish-gray and his pain fades a lot-- though there's still a dull ache-- and he waits for the others.

[Zerkai]

Yukiko winced again as she glanced at her wounds, licking her lips a little at the sight of the blood befor her focus was back on her opponent. As she carefully moved closer while keeping her snake stance up, she made to look like she was going to strike out with her claws in a wide swipe.

The pale girl did not however, swipe wide, her claws seemed to break apart into nothing as she suddenly dashed forward. "Igeki!" She shouted as she gave a powerful strike to the other girl's chest. It was the first part of a technique she had been practicing, a stunning move that would give her the time.

In the moment after her blow connected, she's grabbed the girl's wrist and moved behind her, pulling her arm behind her back and grabbing her other arm as she opened her mouth. She bared her fangs as she attempted to sink her teeth into the girl's neck.