[attr="class","addybody"]Thankfully, her efforts to quickly flee from the center of chaos proved fruitful. There was so much going on in the distance that it was difficult to pinpoint any one person, much less find her comrades. That is, until blue eyes spotted a familiar genin racing in her general direction.
Ultimately, her sword techniques would have no useful application against a rhino. Her chakra had been largely expended by the continual shunshin, so even careful use of raiton was out of the question. Like she told her platoon, continuing in battle when you are at a significant disadvantage only puts more burden on your teammates. The Chuunin waited for Itaru to get closer and then she jumped down from her perch, landing beside him with a curt nod.
"Let's go," she agreed, and turned to run at his pace alongside him. They could report this situation to the Kage and others at the village, and she could at least protect him on the trek home. Shoichi would probably see the intelligence in this decision too.
tl;dr: jumped next to Itaru Tokoro. attempting to leave the battlefield with him, to iwagakure.
[attr="class","addybody"] Sawako had been watching the rhino in the pit far below, so she had a clear vantage to see what it was doing before even Itaru shouted his warning. She did not hesitate, because she could not. She started to run in the opposite direction, knowing her team would be able to handle themselves. A single handseal - Tiger - and her body seemed to fade out of existence only to reappear further away. The Chuunin repeated this several times while sprinting with the full agility her training afforded her, passing large outcroppings and other landmarks.
Blue eyes flicked up to particularly high ground, a sort of cliff that hung overhead with a sparse tree atop it. She leapt up, performing a final handseal as her body used the momentum to fully reach the top, fingers grasping the edge. With a gasp she pulled herself up over it and immediately scrambled on her hands and knees to peer over the edge, watching the chaos from an impressive distance and height. Free hand moved to grasp the hilt of her katana, preparing in case rhino or shinobi should follow her and desire a fight.
From here at least, she could not pinpoint her teammates, not even the bright purple of Higa's hair. It was worrisome, but ultimately what Souichi had ordered; she heard that much in the moments before her escape. Surely he was well situated to take on the rhino, but it was Itaru that most worried her. Had he made it out okay? His body had vanished before she'd even turned around, otherwise she would have grabbed him in her flight even if it meant having to go a shorter distance.
"Ah.. Useless for now," she whispered, admonishing herself. Then again, she'd always known when embarking on this mission that she stood no chance against a rhino; her prowess was best used against the common shinobi.
tl;dr: several shunshin + running to put distance, she had a head start bc of watching rhino-sensei. climbed on top of a cliff for height.
[attr="class","addybody"] Sawako sat perched near the edge of the quarry, just a few feet to the left of Higa Toshio and his puppet. Blue eyes scanned the surroundings, noting the faces and relative positions of those who had also gathered, before locking on the rhino below. Unfortunately, the animal gave no hint toward its intentions or emotions - at least none that she could parse, being a human. Her main concern was that rumors included a whole stampede of the creatures, whereas now a single one remained. The others had either moved on or disappeared, meaning this rhino was either too weak to keep up or strong enough to be unconcerned with its location. In this case, it seemed prudent to assume the worst case scenario: they were dealing with something outside the norm.
It was exactly like Shoichi to start an argument with his flashy antics, so she tuned out the bulk of the conversation. None of the shinobi gathered here appeared hostile, even those from Amegakure, though she was wary of them. While keeping her senses open to their movements, she stood up and turned to glance at the familiar voice that had spoken up. Sound Chuunin, Uchiha. While she would not call him a friend or ally, Sawako considered that he might be a valuable asset in navigating this tense situation alive. She inclined her head toward Uchiha YÅĢsuke, but did not interrupt their conversation.
Instead, she turned toward the quarry again, watching the action unfold below. "Careful, Toshio. I suspect the animal is not just an animal. We need to be on our guard here, not rushing in like.." she flicked her wrist toward the bear and rider that charged headlong toward the rhino. Slowly, the pink-haired Chuunin drew her katana, holding it ready at her side.
tl;dr: standing near higa, sword drawn. keeping an eye on the shinobi and rhino. not makin' moves yet.
[attr="class","addybody"]The perceptive may have noticed the way her muscles tensed and flexed, but the Chuunin's expression remained placid, almost lifeless. Blue eyes peeled off of Shoichi and locked with Itaru's, watching as he stuttered and sweat and fretted. While it was good that he felt some loyalty toward her - or was it fear? - Sawako worried about his indecisiveness. She was aware of his background and his late start, and at this rate he would never catch up with his peers the way he wished to.
"Tokoro!" she snapped. "You heard your sensei's orders. If you have recovered enough energy, proceed."
Higa contributed nothing but scorn to the conversation, so she did not even glance in his direction. In fact, both the other Chuunin and Jounin no longer interested her. Shoichi was a strong but eccentric man, they would never get along as friends but she understood his methods. It was not untrue that practicing genjutsu on a living, thinking target would progress him leagues faster than whatever solo venture he'd been on before.
She flashed him a brief but gentle smile, encouraging.
[attr="class","addybody"] Mouth fell open. For a moment he had the right idea about guarding himself with his arms, her first instinct was to hit him, but then a lightbulb went on. A memory whispered in her ear, a flash to the family photo hanging up in her living room. A laugh busted from her lungs, surprising even herself.
"Fei? You know my cousin?" The appended 'boss' did not go without note, but it mattered little in this context. It was hard to picture the cowering boy as anyone's boss.. but then, life did not always follow the expected path. Her body language changed drastically, relaxing, shoulders slumping slightly. "That asshole. Where the hell has he been for YEARS?"
Off guard now, truly. She couldn't even be mad at what normally would have been an insult, because suddenly the man's arms were thrown around her. Pale face flushed red in embarrassment, eyes wide and casting about left and right in a panic. Of course she didn't hug him back - her arms didn't even know what to do with themselves - lifted up like she might, then hung limply. No one had hugged her since childhood, and this cackling stranger did like it was no issue at all.
"U-um, do.. I.. know you?" She managed to choke out. He was totally unfamiliar. "I think you must be confusing me with someone else.." Not that she'd argue over the big nose thing, but was it?? New insecurity unlocked, she wanted to reach up and touch it or find a mirror or something, but.. no. This strange interaction seemed more important for now.
[attr="class","addybody"] Not that it was any of her business, but the quiet scuffle happening down a dark alley was too interesting to ignore. It had made her pause on her stroll down the street, watching with raised eyebrows as a Genin burst from the entrance and ran off, sweaty and disoriented but relatively unharmed. Notedly, it was not one of her Genin, and therefore was not worth the effort to intervene. Part of their acceptance in to Otogakure at this time included a blanket neutrality pact with everyone but the invading empire.. who would break it?
Quietly she steps closer to the alley, only for senses to pick up at the last moment a new obstacle. The Chuunin backsteps on her heel, narrowly avoiding collision with the man who stepped forth, fingers wrapping around the hilt of her katana instinctively. Forcably, she relaxes her posture and stares at him, taking in what little details the dusk offered as meanwhile some new argument breaks out behind her. Unimportant. What was important was the lack of visible affiliation, unlike the stone emblem attached to her shoulder like armor.
"'Scuse me," she clipped, tone cool and unapologetic despite the intent of the words. A mask obscured his visage, but not his eyes, and now blue ones sought gold. "Don't know if you're from here, but.. I don't believe the kage would approve of fighting among us right now." It's a bit ironic, considering the drunken brawl between two random men that served to draw curious eyes away from their interaction. Crayon-pink hair was brushed out of her face, fidgeting and attempting to appear less on guard than her words.
[attr="class","cbody2"]"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet," consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna. Varius duis at consectetur lorem donec massa sapien faucibus. Ut aliquam purus sit amet luctus venenatis.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
[attr="class","addybody"] Lips parted to respond with some drabble about how training should be treated like real combat, but they were mercifully interrupted by the waiter who had taken her own order not long ago. Sawako watched them closely, plucking another candied violet from its pouch and popping it in her mouth; they practically melted on the tongue, mostly sugar at this point. This gave Itaru more than enough time to form his apology, which visibly seemed to relax the pink-haired Chuunin, her muscles uncoiling. The pouch was set down on the table.
"Good, keep that in mind. An emergency can come any time, and in this state, you would be useless to the village and us," she drawled, but quickly changed the topic. "What were you training? I would be happy to assist you, if it's something within my power - or even if you would just like a set of eyes." If that was supposed to be a joke, it didn't show on her face ---
Clatter. Noise. Distraction.
Her head whipped to the side, gaze finding the source with precision befitting a trained observer. The hand had imperceptibly tightened on katana, but relaxed when she saw it wasn't a threat. Poor kid, scalded by some mystery liquid.. oh, and poor us. Poor us, because one of the other figures in the throng was one she hated to recognize, small nose wrinkling slightly. It made sense that he would be roaming around the village too, but it was such a chore to interact with him. Goodbye, peace and quiet.
"Pull yourself together now, Tokoro," she whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth. Then, louder, "Hey, Shoichi! Not planning to say hello to your own platoon, hm? We're practically all here if you count Toshio's dolly." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the window, a perfect frame for the fucking weird puppet that was trying to spy on them.
[attr="class","addybody"]A mission was a mission, but this one was unorthodox indeed. To be sent to defend another village - another country - but expected not to see enemies at every new face, with retaliation as the incentive. Having grown up in Tsuchi no Kuni, which was relatively protected from the empire because of geography and political power, Sawako could not see the purpose of this fruitless savior complex.
Blue eyes peered out across the cluster of rice paddy fields down below, the hill on which she rested giving a vantage point of most of the area. The farmer's home was likely tucked down there too but she intended to stay well away from the natives of this country, just to prevent any chance of failure. A thick tree grew here, towering above; it was a perfect place to rest her back. The sun was sinking toward the horizon but it was not quite sunset yet, the sky painted a palette that matched the Chuunin herself.
Warm, sweet-smelling air. A long journey. Her hand slowly moved off the hilt of her katana and rested in her lap, lashes fluttering as eyes fell closed. One deep exhale and she fell asleep, content.
[attr="class","addybody"]Lips quirked into a smirk, cat-like, because she could not and would not deny the truth of that statement. By the time they were staring at each other, he would at least have the pleasure of watching the smirk transition to mild horror when she heard the snap.
Pink head whipped in the direction of the noise, her entire body tense like a coiled spring, analyzing the treeline. As suspected, they were not far enough away to ensure some hapless Genin did not stumble upon their meeting place. Unfortunately for Kizua, her loyalty was solidly placed in the hands of those that could ensure her future; for now that was Iwagakure, not a broken nukenin.
"You need to leave now, Kizua," she whispered, voice audible only to the man positioned near her. "I can't - and won't - protect you, but I will stall for you. Go now."
With one last glance at him, pale face almost.. regretful.. Sawako set off toward the noise, the grip on her katana's hilt casual but poised.
[attr="class","addybody"]It was a truly beautiful day to relax and just do nothing, which was why the pink-haired Chuunin found herself lounging on a cushion at one of the many tea shops. The servers were good here about taking her order and then leaving her alone, which allowed for a mix of quiet contemplation and people-watching that was more enjoyable than a teenager asking if she needed a refill every five god forsaken seconds.
Caffeine and snacks - the backbone of Sawako's practiced zen. She carefully lifted a sugar-coated flower between two fingertips, trying to keep it intact on the path to her mouth, where it was popped unceremoniously. The violets had a delicate but sweet flavor profile that matched well with the green tea, which at this point had been long drained and cup removed from her person. It was nearing time to leave and she would have if blue eyes had not landed on a familiar face.
Sweaty. Pale. Distressed.
A quiet hum escaped her lips and she stood, bringing the pouch of candied violets with her, of course. The dark-haired youth was presently alone, so she slid into a cushion next to him, right arm tucked in to tap fingers against the hilt of her katana. Not a threat, merely a habit. Despite being both quiet and fast in her movements, Sawako held no illusions about sneaking up on this particular Genin.
"You know, Tokoro," she started, her tone cool and perhaps overly formal with the use of his surname. "If you were in this state out on the field you would have been killed. Or worse, one of your teammates would have been tasked with protecting you and then they would have also died."
[attr="class","addybody"] Her fingers curled mid-touch and then retracted, as if in belated response to a burn. Blue eyes narrowed and the Chuunin inhaled, the exhale slower, annoyance melting from her body in a practiced flow. Normally.. slighting her concern would have caused either an explosion of anger or perhaps quiet disdain, but Kizua was special. Yes, special - she envyed him.
"I was asking about your mental health, idiot," she sighed, creating a single step back of distance between them.
Reluctantly, Sawako peeled her gaze from him and instead set about studying their surroundings. There did not seem to be anyone here but him and herself, although she did not consider anywhere in the country safe for a nukenin. Nearly anyone could have stumbled upon him here, and it was lucky it happened to be her. She hummed quietly to herself.
"If you're fine, then it won't hurt you to finish explaining yourself. Why are you here? What is your intent?" There was the edge of a silent threat here, a whisper saying that if he truly planned to hurt someone she might have to step in. However, she was choosing not to jump to conclusions. About that. She didn't really believe that he was alright, though.
[attr="class","arubody"]"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet," consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna. Varius duis at consectetur lorem donec massa sapien faucibus. Ut aliquam purus sit amet luctus venenatis.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
[attr="class","comabody"]"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet," consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna. Varius duis at consectetur lorem donec massa sapien faucibus. Ut aliquam purus sit amet luctus venenatis.
Amet cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim. Adipiscing commodo elit at imperdiet dui accumsan sit amet. Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem fringilla ut. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Quam adipiscing vitae proin sagittis nisl rhoncus. Cursus eget nunc scelerisque viverra mauris. In massa tempor nec feugiat.
