Hunt now, Hound of War

#thread: the copy nin I don't like him. too keen #eohkatabasis2026 #Komorebi ;; era-npcs

A cursory glance is enough to ensure no one is around, enough to ensure the slip of the mask remains unseen as the foolhardiness slips away, fades in the dimming of the moonlight. ANBU is a mould that when formed is hard to break, merely covered by masks and layers even as the core remains untouched. He's heard the whispers around the barracks, that spreads among Konohagakure's shinobi, how they were wrong to allow a hound to wander off his leash...

... How right they were. "Rumour has it that you have more to worry about me, they say Konoha's most infamous crow has come to roost." It is, of course, a rather open secret, yet the age-old idiom of keeping your enemies closer rings true as they begin to circle each other. "An Inuzuka told me that once, before they added me to the Bingo Book of Kirigakure, it still sounds so amusing, especially coming from you."

The movement in the frostkissed grace leaves a noticeable pattern, and yet he isn't quite prepared to cease just yet, knowing far too well to let his guard down even now is to invite injury or worse from one that has the same experience he does. "I remember now, you're a sensor type aren't you, tell me Proctor-San, is my chakra still that tinted with that sunny orange, or has it all receded to murky purple again?"

The fangs of cornered hounds, a seriousness never seen.

tonight we steal... the moon!

#EOHKatabasis2026 - week 2 - Team One: Kakashi, Sai, Sakura

Sai doesn't know these classrooms. He doesn't recognize these halls nor does he know where each closed door leads. Perhaps he should have sent his rats ahead of him to scout the area in its entirety, but having just adjusted to lacking them, he doesn't think to do so.

There's a door- closed, unlike the others that lead to the halls and classrooms (easier to see someone coming, but harder to hide from, he notes- an advantage and disadvantage for both sides). Based on his position, he doubts it was the exit- it could hardly be that easy- but maybe it would have something useful inside.

It's opened unceremoniously. Mops and brooms and buckets, kept together in a precarious pile by some indifferent hand, fall apart upon losing their best support. Sai doesn't need to check if the proctor heard- she most certainly had.

So he does what is the most natural thing to do- he ducks into the closet, grabbing a few of the fallen mops with one hand and, with the other, shuts the door behind him.

(Oh, but while he's trapped here, Sai pulls out his scroll and awkwardly begins painting out the easiest shapes he can. One rat falls from its paper home and slips out of the door. Then another. Then another.)

fatalflowr

She's coming.

Sakura can hear the steps like the beat of a drum. The hallway is dangerous, she's beginning to realise. She dips into one of the classrooms, and she hates how familiar all of this feels. She remembers the days spent at the academy when she had been little, the days of her girlhood.

But then, she's still so young, isn't she? Why doesn't she feel her years at all?

She remembers the day she received her forehead protector so well, especially now. Will she ever leave the academy, or is she doomed to walk these hallways forever in some way, shape or form?

There are no whispers from the earpiece. The other two must be safe for now. She realises now why it feels so quiet to her, and her heart breaks all over again.

Still, she cannot falter.

#eohkatabasis2026 #thread: tonight we steal... the moon!#sai ;; inkstaind #sakura ;; fatalflowr

Perhaps its exhaustion taking his mind too long to catch up to why the Proctor is so familiar, or the three weeks on the border with Kiri and that nuisance of a Shinobi but still Kakashi stops in his turn, a sudden realisation of just why he'd recognised the rather familiar Shinobi as he steps on the edge of an abandoned chalk duster. Sure, it had been entirely out of his control that he'd taken a three-month-long mission from the Sandaime, but surely she didn't hold a grudge right, right?

Yet in his obliviousness he fails to spot the ANBU standard trap before it triggers, launching him backwards out the window at a velocity just short of terminal for a jounin of his physique. One thing one must understand about ANBU is that grudges tend to last a long time, and yet none of the pranks that result from it have grown to be anything more than harmless yet.

The way down might be longer than he'd expected. The ground looked closer from indoors, but now he realizes he is falling from the third floor. When Kakashi makes his landing, he's first greeted by the familiar sounds of the night: leaves rustling, creatures shuffling unseen, and the comforting presence of a village asleep all around him. Then, from a shadowed corner, he hears a rattling, rueful laugh. Komorebi steps out into the moonlight, not for a better look, but to show Kakashi she isn't smiling. Then again, that's nothing new around him. "This side of the building's got no cover," she says, hands behind her ramrod-straight back. "I expected one of the younger ones to go such a risky route. My humble little test too boring for you, Kakashi?"

"Maa~ Komorebi-san, surely there's no hard feelings between us right?." Please don't be mad, please don't be mad, quick Kakashi think! The last time he'd hung around ANBU despite the displeasure of Boar-san he'd heard some interesting rumours about her and the only one of them that was able to cook anything decent. "Ne, how has things been with ANBU who cook-- Higanbana!"

Please don't stab me.

-> Hatake Kakashi escaped via falling from the third floor

tonight we steal... the moon!

#EOHKatabasis2026 - week 2 - Team One: Kakashi, Sai, Sakura

Was this Genjutsu again? Sai wonders- if it were part of the exam to fall for the illusion, then he should not attempt to reverse it, but if it were meant to test their ability to recognize when their senses had been tampered with…

(Surely Kakashi would have noticed by now, either way. Though maybe he was in on it.)

Sai didn't need to pass the Chunin exam, though. Neither did Sakura. Nor Kakashi. Was there anyone who was still a Genin present, or were all of them going through the motions?

(Training was training.)

He accepts the concealment pouch silently, slipping his own scroll into it with practiced ease. Information retrieval was far more in his line of experience than whatever came prior, and so he doesn't see the need to stick around with the others for too long- as long as this was the primary mission, it be was more important to have at least one copy of the information escape- then to not be caught at all.

(Or 'escape', he supposes. It was an exam, not an actual mission.)

Either way- it's easier to go unnoticed when alone. Sai spends a moment listening for the proctor's movements before slipping away in the opposite direction.

(Surely they wouldn't follow him. It'll be too conspicuous.)

@fatalflowr

fatalflowr

Sakura takes the pouch without further question. She's come much further in these exams than in her previous two exams, yet she still feels as she did when she was thirteen. Kakashi is at her side, and when she looks at the retreating figure, she thinks he might be-

It's Sai. It's only Sai.

"I think we should split up. We can move quieter if we don't move together." A part of her worries that Sai will just rile her up again, and that will compromise the mission. No, this will be what has to work, and she'll place her faith in her teammates once again.

It's too quiet. Sakura's steps are light, but she can still hear the faint tip-tap of her own shoes. She needs to be quieter, somehow. Or, perhaps that is only the rhythm of her heart, clogging her hearing. She's in a hallway, and she can hear the proctor approach.

The way out of this is to dodge out of there in the last moments - Sakura is certain of this.

#eohkatabasis2026 #thread: tonight we steal... the moon!#sakura ;; fatalflowr #sai ;; inkstaind

CLOSING THE EYE IMPLANTED IS EASY, yet still he waits for the younger members of Team Seven to depart before he does, before the side effects of overusage become apparent on his features. Kakashi has known of course, known that the usage of the implanted Dojutsu in recent days would come back to bite him for it, and yet it had been all too necessary. In truth, he's merely thankful that the almost loud static that had once filled his vision is fleeting, replaced by the sea of familiar red.

Slowly, calmly his gaze turns towards the window, to the almost phantasmal trees that sway beyond it in the cool breeze of mid-spring's waning moon. A few uneasy steps is all it takes, one foot infront of the other as he moves towards the handle, paying little care to the all too familiar glint of razor-thin wire attached to it as the hand is twisted and pressed outwards, allowing moonlight and cool breeze to fall upon his features at cost to the sleeve that now lies torn and mangled.

The trap is familiar, an old favourite and yet all it makes him think of is years prior. He'd recognised the classroom of course, recognised the door lacking in duster, the lack of varied expressions and yet all it does is make him want to sigh. "Team Seven is cursed you know!" The boisterous laughter of a boy resounds in his ears, the memory of ease dropped conversations from the rooftops what feels like a lifetime ago.

"Based on my first impression, I’d have to say… I hate you!" Oh, how easily he'd lied that day, more amused by ingenuity and stunned by resemblance to know what to do with himself. He'd never been the emotional type, not openly, yet forcing himself to speak had been all too necessary, plans revised and discarded in hopes of guiding a legacy he'd been so unprepared to manage. Yet now, all he can do is shake his head and discard the sleeve as he turns towards the all too familiar door.

"Maa~ Can't get lost on the road of life just yet Kakashi."

tonight we steal... the moon!

#EOHKatabasis2026 - week 2 - Team One: Kakashi, Sai, Sakura

#sai ;; inkstaind #sakura ;; fatalflowr #thread: tonight we steal... the moon!#EOHKatabasis2026

HE RECOGNISES THE PROCTOR HE THINKS, stories mostly, perhaps they've passed each other in the hallway once or twice and yet the thought fades from his mind as he looks at the two adorable little minions, students beside him, Sai's training is well known to him, a byproduct of shared history, and despite the unfortunate events that followed his mentorship of Sakura, he knows that infiltration and exfiltration is a well honed skill.

In darkness, time distorts, the longer you spend submerged the longer a night can feel. That is, of course, why he himself preferred to work during the night, when the creeping shadows made you all the more likely to feel jumpy, to stay alert. And yet as he reads the message before him, he cannot help but subconsciously lift the protector above the scarred features, letting the room dye itself red before him.

It is in the dark that he feels most comfortable, able to use the implanted Kekkai Genkai without the constant nagging headache as he spins before settling on the podium. He remembers a mission once, a deaddrop in a school where the information was left in the most and least obvious space. With a cheery little hum he walks, a look of mirth as he reaches inside on instinct before pulling three of the more useful tools available.

"Maa~ Komorebi-san seems to be recreating one of the last war's more standard missions." There's a dangerous tilt to his voice, as if she's stumbling down memory lane just a little too much before he begins to move back towards the two members of Team Kakashi. "Concealment pouches, they won't hide the scrolls completely, but they're too useful to pass up." A nod, slipping his own inside the vest before holding them out towards the duo that await.

"Any suggestions?"

Escape Points: 2

-> @inkstaind // @fatalflowr

IT FUCKEN WIMDY!

KATABASIS WEEK 1: WEST GATES -- ASUMA, KAKASHI, & KURENAI

Kurenai winces as Asuma charges toward the tiger with fists drawn. It returns his attack in kind with vicious winds. The wind's lacerations dig deeper along her arms but her gritted teeth are the only sign she gives of her pain.

"Asuma!" She tries to run to his side but his pushed back by the winds. It takes all her strength to simply stay in place.

Suddenly, Kakashi is racing across the field and leaps toward the tiger to land upon its back. She watches in silent astonishment as the tiger bucks and swipes to no avail at the copy ninja before finally throwing him.

The tiger rolls around on the ground, belly up, and paws at the air before leaping back onto its feet. Its tail flicks playfully behind it.

Kakashi's voice cuts clear across the red field.

"Alright, let's play then." Kurenai lowers her stance, as if she too is a crouching tiger waiting to pounce. She leaps toward it only to be met with a surge of wind that sends her backwards. Dark hair a mess, she searches for the tiger, but it's now only wind.

The cyclone it creates surges around them. Its running, faster and faster, circling the plains in sheer excitement. ?

Kurenai stands and dusts at her legs. "At that speed, we won't be able to catch it. Maybe we can try getting its attention, calling it over or something. Give it a reason to come at us to play." She wishes she had her genjutsu.

She glances toward Asuma. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be okay!" It's a reply directed to both Suteki and Kurenai, and the small smile he gives her is meant to be reassuring, or at least, he hopes it might be. His grip on his weapons loosens as he stares between the tiger and his team. The tiger's body language seems similar to when he'd pulled out the wire. Thank the gods it doesn't pounce again but it still doesn't seem like it wanted to sit still.

Kakashi was right. Now it looked like it wanted to play again. From above Suteki tells them they're on the right track and, that they need to tire it out somehow. Who knows where his own spool of wire went... The tiger had seemed to like that but it pounced and threw him to the ground to get it.

Now that the winds have stopped for a moment, Asuma reaches out to brush a hand against Kurenai's back before stepping forward. His knuckledusters are put away, out of sight into the pouch at his hip again, and then he reaches a hand out towards the tiger. If he could get close enough to touch it, maybe he could try to restrain it, like Suteki said.

There's more bared teeth, and maybe Asuma should have stopped there but he does not. He jumps forward to make his grapple attempt regardless and the roar that the tiger lets out is different from the previous. It's ear piercing, loud, and the winds that surround him now are both chilling and scorching. He's knocked off his feet and his back hits the ground hard but the pain and increasing heaviness in his body doesn't stop him from trying to get back up.

"I'm leaving the rest to you two." That sounded like a good idea... His breathing was more ragged now, a bit deeper and more efforted. He needed to rest a moment.

#kurenai ;; petalillusions #thread: it fucken wimdy #eohkatabasis2026 #asuma ;; ashesburned

KAKASHI LOOKS AT SUTEKI, listens to the jab about his somewhat foolish ideas even as his hand raises to undo the zipper of his vest, tossing the article of clothing to the side as his gaze falls upon the white tiger, the gate. A stretch of his head both left and right even as the sole open eye is kept perfectly steady on the beast before him.

If he squints, he can swear its smirking at him, taunting him and so Kakashi responds in kind, the corner of his eyes upturning as arms are spread wide, making himself as wide as possible as he starts to run towards the cat. "You wanna dance kitty? Let's dance." There's an uncharacteristic drawl in his voice as he rushes forward, slipping under the winds that hum in amusement at the antics shared between him and the gate before him.

The laughter from him is authentic, full of joy as his arms close around the legs, pinning them to the Earth for but a moment before the tiger has him pulled to the ground. In a heartbeat the hold is broken, Kakashi rolling amongst the grass as he feels harmless claws dig deep into his back, the deep chuckles as he's used as a springboard for the tiger to launch itself high into the air before landing so gracefully upon the ground.

Yet Kakashi is not annoyed or even harmed by the actions, feeling the tail come to rub against his cheek, against the eyes squeezed almost painfully shut as it moves the protector back into place, allowing him to open the eye once again. "Smart Kitty..." A turn of his head towards the woman beside him, urging her into action with words and a haphazard smile.

"Likes you the most, maybe it'll let you pet it Kurenai."

IT FUCKEN WIMDY!

KATABASIS WEEK 1: WEST GATES -- ASUMA, KAKASHI, & KURENAI

A NOD, acknowledgement of the warning even as Kakashi walks forward, lost in recollection as his admittedly spotty knowledge of tigers is brought to the forefront of his mind. He remembers touches of their general temperament and eating habits, and yet it is only as he begins to walk past it that the striped tail whips wildly at him as if warning him not to trespass on the most vital point, territory.

For a moment he remembers reading about a distant ancestor who'd once married an Inuzuka, how it'd introduced a rather interesting quirk in that those of that particular family line were more likely to respond to territorial aggression with their own display, and yet he refuses to give into that annoying instinct any further than he already has. Instead, he waits, watching analyzing the situation as his gaze turns to the spool of wire that has already begun to unspool in the mouth of the overgrown cat.

"Grab thewire" Hurried words and yet as he stands close to the back, close enough to be somewhat of a distraction, there is no better option to be taken than to use himself as a distraction, and yet he can only hope his fellow jounin are willing to take the initiative before the cat decides to forgo cooperation to use Asuma as it's own personal chew toy.

"... Anyone got any fish?" There's a joke there and yet the message underlying is rather simple. Use me as bait.

They've discerned its true form now but that doesn't mean they can rest easy. It's proven itself dangerous more than once and when it growls at Kakashi she knows this is far from over. They need to get to the gate.

She glances up and through the lashing winds. Suteki is just visible but... she concentrates, brows narrowing atop red-ringed eyes. He's miming something, he wants them to... her brows lift in realization. Pull?

Kurenai glances towards the wire on the ground and then at Kakashi. He has the same idea.

"Asuma, stay focused." She makes a grab for the wire but the beast roars, lashing winds causing her to lift her arms as a shield as her dark hair whips around her. The cyclone has returned.

He calls to Suteki, as loudly as he can over the vortex, asking about the gate they were supposed to be headed to, and it takes a few repeats of his question before the kagebushin can hear him. How far away from the gate were they? And then man in the sky gestures to the whirling winds in front of them. As helpful as that piece of information was, Asuma doesn't know what to do with it yet.

Asuma sighs. And he wants a cigarette. It'd be a waste if it blew away just like the wire. "The tiger's the gate! I'm gonna get closer!"

What had he just said? We need to be careful? The few thoughts now crossing through his mind and the actions that follow suggest he's going to do anything but. He's not using his chakra very sparingly... Or the tiger has been taking more than what he's been using... Asuma doesn't know for sure.

One of his hands reaches back into the leather pouch at his hip, blindly searching for two things. The first is one of the small ration pills he'd packed before the exams started, and the second was a set of knuckledusters. He slots the small weapons between his fingers, clenching his fists around the grips to refamiliarize himself with them. Their weight was different than his chakra blades but he could adjust. Without a second thought, Asuma pops the ration pill into his mouth, chews and swallows.

It was a shame he only remembered how awful they tasted. Gross, medicinal. His chakra comes surging back almost instantly, it's channeled into his fist, and he runs forward towards the tiger. The punch that lands is solid, and he watches the tiger's expression contort into once that was more angry and furious than before. It's teeth are bared, the cyclones grow stronger again and the wind leaves more thin, painful slices on his skin.

#asuma ;; ashesburned #kurenai ;; petalillusions #thread: it fucken wimdy #eohkatabasis2026

GROWING UP, he remembers remarks from adults how he had just too much of his great grandmother in him. Just a little too much of a wolf in him and yet those remarks fuel an idea that is all together foolhardy as he looks at the tempestuous tiger staring directly at him. Like most, he remembers the stories about the almost legendary showdown at the Valley of the End, the darker stories of the Kyuubi's attack as an idea forms in his mind.

Dogs and cats are, of course, opposites in every way, yet for the man who had been Hound, the defensive growls from the overgrown kitty before him are all too familiar. Yet he does not move aggressively, instead, the eye that holds the implanted Sharingan is squeezed shut as his hand reaches upwards to move the protector, showing the long scar before moving to tug down the mask.

Perhaps later he should actually research of the Sharingan was likely to cause the foolhardy idea of leaping atop a force of nature, yet for now, all he can do is smile, a smile full of teeth, canines bared before the Jounin leaps in a display worthy of Guy himself, landing firmly atop the tiger for all of a moment. "Good kitty." Its smug almost, and yet the smile on uncovered features is showing just how much he's enjoying the harmless thrashing of the beast before he's thrown onto his back, looking up at calm, relaxed skies as clouds float lazily along.

Wait... Calm, an idea that springs to mind even as he shifts his gaze to the tiger lying beside him, almost purring at him in satisfaction.

"Kurenai! Play, it wants us to play with it!" He can only hope that the shout distracts them long enough for him to fix the mask back, he has to keep up appearances after all.

IT FUCKEN WIMDY!

KATABASIS WEEK 1: WEST GATES -- ASUMA, KAKASHI, & KURENAI

And there it goes, wire and kunais whipping upward and scattering across the filtered sky. She can only hope that it doesn't land on someone. Sending something so flimsy against a torrent of wind was bound to be difficult. And Kakashi...he takes it in stride, as usual.

Power lashes out from the vortex and Kurenai lifts her arm to protect herself. Blood red lashes appear on her skin but she pays them no mind.

Above them is Suteki, staying alongside them as best he can. A brief glance is all she needs to see his horrified expression.

"We don't know anything about it." How can they hope to distract it without more information?

There is something in there with great power. So...what is it doing here?

Kurenai reaches out with her arm in an attempt to part the wind or find her way, something. "What do you want!?" She calls her question into the wind but isn't sure that it's not just swept away.

The closer she treads, the stronger the nexus's pull becomes, until she's drawn forward and her hand meets the shape of something. Tremors travel up her arm and the shape solidifies into a four-legged beast with stripes. They both stare, her astonished at the discovery, and the tiger seemingly uncertain as to why she's reached out. It lifts a paw and mimics her actions, falling through her like a breeze.

The cyclone vanishes and appears behind them a moment later, this time behind them. Kurenai is left staring, frozen in motion where she had laid her hand upon the wind tiger. The absurdity of it makes her break and laugh.

"It's a tiger." She looks at the other two. "I think it wants to play. It didn't hurt me." Kurenai looks toward Kakashi and remarks in a completely flat tone, "Too bad we don't have another spool of wire."

"You've got to be kidding me. This better stay between us!" As serious as he was trying to be in the moment, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. It was important to remain calm. If they couldn't do that, they might not make it out of here. Kakashi's teasing was helping. The banter made this unknown situation feel more normal, even if it was only a little bit.

Whatever Kakashi chose to say about him couldn't be helped. As if he could control the whispers that spread through a covert black ops unit.

When Kurenai reaches out towards the vortex, his first instinct is to shoot an arm out in front of her and direct her behind him but he restrains himself. As not to startle whatever this creature or interrupt whatever it was that she was trying to attempt. Maybe it could help them find a way out. Were they the only ones for miles? The expanse is green and vast, and they could not walk forever.

Asuma makes his way to Kurenai, just to close a few feet of distance between the two of them. He walks slowly, as to avoid any movement that might be seen as sudden or threatening. The interaction the tiger has with his partner is brief before it appears behind them again, and sends a gust of wind at their backs.

"I have one." He knows Kurenai well enough to tell that she's joking but one of his hands reaches into the leather pouch at his hip to pull out the spool of wire anyways. Asuma hasn't decided how he felt about this the tiger yet. Perhaps trying to win it over would prove more beneficial than trying to continue fighting? It seemed too early to tell though. "C'mere, kitty. You want this?"

Part of the spool is unraveled, the loose end is dropped in the grass and just as he's going to make an attempt at a more friendly interaction, he barely registers that the tiger has lunged forward until he's fallen backwards. His back hits the ground hard, the breath is knocked from lungs, and it's claws along with sharp winds whirling around the tiger create more slices through his shirt and thin cuts in his skin underneath. "Ow! If you're gonna be that way, just take it!"

Acting on instinct, Asuma tosses the wire away from himself, and a sigh passes through his lips. He's not exhausted yet but it feels like he's getting there. Something was wrong. "We need to be careful. It might be messing with our chakra." He lays in the grass for a moment, and once he feels like he's summoned enough energy to continue, Asuma stands again.

#asuma ;; ashesburned #kurenai ;; petalillusions #thread: it fucken wimdy #eohkatabasis2026

"... Anyone got any fish?" There's a joke there and yet the message underlying is rather simple. Use me as bait.

IT FUCKEN WIMDY!

KATABASIS WEEK 1: WEST GATES -- ASUMA, KAKASHI, & KURENAI

The cacophony of wind rages around them. Is this part of the exam or something else? She could barely see where the students and the others disappeared to before following Asuma and Kakashi down the west path.

Something...inside? She stares into the gust of winds, one hand raised to shield her eyes, but whatever is there has cloaked itself too tightly in the elements.

Kakashi's idea feels sound, it is at least something to do to get a better idea of what they're dealing with. Kurenai takes the spool of wire and unsheathes a kunai. One is tied tightly to the end of the wire and then lodged into the ground with enough force to secure it. Deft hands unspool the wire and tie a second kunai to its other end.

"Asuma!" She hands him the kunai with the wire tied to it. "Anchor it with this and we'll pull it toward us!"

This plan is a start, at least. Probably better than anything he could come up with in the moment. Whether it worked or not... Well there was only one way to find out. Asuma's gaze darts between the windy figure and his friends, watching intently as Kurenai ties kunai to each end of the wire. For a moment, he thinks about his own equipment and he supposes trying to subdue whatever this thing is may require some trial and error.

When Kurenai is finished, she hands him their makeshift trap, and he prepares to throw it. "I got this!" His hand clenches the hilt of the kunai tightly, and while he's waiting, he channels some of his chakra into . The wind does not stop and he's confident in the opening he thinks he sees. As he throws it, his arm is met with some resistance from the gusts, and he has to fight to put any kind of force behind his throw. The kunai is effortlessly knocked off it's trajectory and as it flies away, it takes the rest of the spool of wire and second kunai with it.

"Dammit! My bad!" Had there not been a vortex whirling around them, it might have been an easy throw...

The figure materializes again, this time in front of them, and lets out another roar. Another forceful gust of wind follows and Asuma raises his arms in an attempt to block his head from the stinging pain. Small tears form on his sleeves, and he feels a heaviness in his body that wasn't there before. At the moment, the jounin isn't sure what to make of it. "Are we sure we wanna try that again? We'd risk using up more of our tools."

@adhnuall-fiach, we need a new plan!

#asuma ;; ashesburned #kurenai ;; petalillusions #thread: it fucken wimdy #eohkatabasis2026

Kakashi watches the Kunai and all 50 meters of wire fly high into the sky and lets out a longwinded sigh of amusement as his gaze turns towards the Jounin no sporting micro abrasions along his arms. Kakashi himself is not unaffected, the wire having cut into his exposed cheek, and yet he cannot find it in himself to be anything but amused as he speaks. "The first ANBU we find is spreading that to every Jounin in the village I hope you know that."

It's a simple statement of fact, and yet the curve of his eye says the statement is said in little more than jest as he contemplates the nature of the almost phantasmal figure that appears. Even amongst the more than a hundred Jutsu copied and many more studied, Kakashi feels as if the vortex before him is a complete unknown drawing him into a though spiral that has hands subconsciously reaching for the Shuriken in the pouches woven into his vest.

"Any ideas?" The question is spoken aloud, even as he continues to cycle through the information the briefest spike of wind had offered. "Perhaps it thinks of us as a threat? It would explain the passiveness until the Kunai was thrown..." What he lacks in intelligence compared to the Nara is made up in experience in the world. He's tracked missing nin before, even assassination targets and yet the vortex acts, aloof, aware of the actions they take.

"Something to keep it calm... Henge?" Yet without knowing if it had eyes, attempting to fool the visual senses may be little more than a losing endeavour. "One distracts while the others try to grab it maybe?"

IT FUCKEN WIMDY!

KATABASIS WEEK 1: WEST GATES -- ASUMA, KAKASHI, & KURENAI

When Asuma had said the exams were going to be hectic, he hadn't meant like this. He wanted it to be uneventful. Shinobi scatter towards the gates at Suteki's command, and notices notices that Shikamaru and Ino have gone off in different directions. He trusts them to take care of themselves and whoever else they were with, but Asuma will have to remember to check in on them again when this is over. Through the chaos, Asuma makes eye contact with Kakashi and Kurenai as one Suteki's clones runs past him. He points in it's direction and then begins following.

The roar of wind is what hits his senses first. His ears pound, it stings the exposed skin on his face and hands. There are no changes to the sky. It's still blue and clear, save for the white, fluffy clouds sitting on the horizon. From above, he can barely hear Suteki telling them to stay on guard. Asuma takes the next few seconds to stop and situate himself.

The heat of the sun hits his skin and Asuma hasn't decided how uncomfortable it will make him yet, but in the midst of the swirling winds, he sees something. Whatever (or whomever) it was, seemed to have command of the air currents. It's screech reverberates through the empty field and with it, the wind shifts forcefully again, this time blowing from in front of them. The jounin raises his hand to shield his eyes and whips his head around in an attempt to spot the figure again.

"There's something that's causing this! The wind is shifting with it when it moves." His voice is loud. He needs to be loud otherwise, he's not sure Kakashi and Kurenai would be able to hear. "Anyone have any ideas?"

@adhnuall-fiach & @petalillusions

#kurenai ;; petalillusions #asuma ;; ashesburned #thread: it fucken wimdy #eohkatabasis2026 #// behold his very thought out idea //

THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR LAID BACK PERSONA CURRENTLY, yet there remains a reluctance to lift the hiate from his gaze to dye the world red in hopes of ascertaining why exactly the wind lashes against his features like the barbs of thorned bushes. He watches in silence as the Jounin rarely seen without a cigarette sticks his hand into the wall of air in hopes of dispelling it, only to be met with an almost violent shift that seems unnatural in a way, like prey moving to defend itself from a predator.

Yet, that vibrant imagery is enough to inspire an idea, hand frantically searching for the spool of wire that by itself is little more than an inert conductor for a more elaborate trap. If the source is eager to avoid their grasp, it stands to reason that a more inanimate object would be capable of touching it. At last, satisfaction comes in the form of an unused full 50m spool of wire.

"Kurenai, Asuma!" Not an alarmed shout, just high enough to be heard over the swirling corridor of wind that continues to swell around them. "Which one of you has the steadiest hands?" It's a fairly simple question, and yet realising he hasn't spoken the idea aloud, the former ANBU raises his voice high enough to be heard clearly without the wind interfering. "The source doesn't want to come out of the wind, I say we pull it out of it." None of them have the same powess for physical activity of Gai, and yet between the three of them it should be more than enough to pull whatever it is out of the storm that continues to rage.

Only then does he remember the Kunai pouch that was left upon the counter of his apartment, sighing and for merely a moment wishing he hadn't been quite as eager to actually appear on time for once. "Maa~ Kurenai got any Kunai or Senbon to tie the wire to? Better to anchor it to the ground rather than any of us." The wire's sharpness is formidable even in calmer winds, yet with the raging storm to tie it to themselves is asking for trouble, and so, with hand outstretched he offers up the spool of wire to the Genjutsu Mistress to his right.

-> @petalillusions

preciouskazekage

assumption is more dangerous than reality || open starter

stamina +1

preciouskazekage

No party comes out of this unscathed. The nature of change, of growth does not come without discomfort and pain. The journey towards the village sets the tone better than any briefing can, yet the Kazekage still speaks - his tone intentionally softened.

Is it wrong of him to say what he's going to? If things go wrong can he shoulder all of the blame that comes with it? The sentiments he wants to hold true, the nindo he aspires to embody -

"Don't let the fear in all of this get to you. These villagers likely have no idea what it is that's happening to them." Not to them or around them. The distress they would be in even after, he has to make preparations as best he can. Traversing along the sand can only do so much to shake his nerves while a formidable foe seemingly waits in the village before them. "If we cannot find the sage, we need to consider other options to free them." The quicker, the better.

@adhnuall-fiach

#gaara ;; preciouskazekage #thread: assumption is more dangerous than reality

-> THE PASSAGE OF TIME REMAINS AN ALOOF CONCEPT, lone good eye looking upon the features of the civilians that move as if trapped in a daze. He remembers the lone experience he had with the Hiden of the Yamanaka, training to resist interrogation, the sensation of moving akin to a puppet whose strings are held by another is familiar, the subtle jitters, the subconscious mind fighting back against the will of another.

Perhaps those memories are why he feels the pity swell within his form, why the faux smile fails to reach his eyes as he contemplates the words of the young Kage beside him. "Prepare yourself." You may need to make hard choices in the coming day. It's a shame in a way, how the faux optimism is so easily replaced with the man it hides, the one prepared to follow through despite the cost.

"I suggest ensuring that none can leave first, a jutsu like this is better left where no one can find it." Hardened, a resolve that lingers unending as hand reaches into pouch to pull the Kunai free, letting it hang lazily in his grasp, always prepared, always on edge. "When you're ready." A simple acknowledgement, nervously adjusting the mask as he feels eyes fall upon them from a distance.

kalyptic

my claws are sharp as yours, my friend

kalyptic

D-rank Capture Mission, Target: Tora the Cat - The Daimyo's Wife's beloved pet cat has once more managed to find her way out of her embrace. As the brave (read: unfortunate) souls assigned to finding her, it is up to you to ensure she returns now to her owner's loving embrace. Your target's identifying markers are a series of asymmetrical markings on her forehead and a vibrant red ribbon on her right ear. [Speed +1] (starter for @adhnuall-fiach)

"Leave me alone."

If he didn't know better, he would have assumed that the beast was happy to oblige, stalking just outside of his periphery and only swerving perpendicular to his path in fits and spurts with a yowl and a hiss, as though it was he who was intruding.

Perhaps it was, the scorpion not a native creature to the dense woods surrounding the Village Hidden in Leaves, but by and large the manner of creature that Sasori had any interest in was distinctly less feline - or, at the very least, a distinctly larger, and much farther away feline - than the simple housecat, and he was, by all rights, minding his goddamn business.

Hiruko's arm batted to one side, its terrible mechanism shivering with the motion, and where the cat had been several feet away moments before, she had appeared from the brush to puff her coat up, flatten her ears to her skull, and give a decisive hiss.

Sasori adjusted his vocal chords deep in his throat and returned the favor, a deep a rattling sound that far from intimidating the creature, only seemed to irritate her more.

Which, in its own turn, irritated Sasori all the more.

Hiruko's arm swiped out again, but weighted down and clunky for a moment of ill-control, it swung wide of the cat, which had disappeared into the brush again.

A waste of his time. If it would not leave him be, and allow him be on his way -

He stiffened, listening to the sound of shifting birdsong in the woods, and the manner in which it started and stopped - some nin thought it was their opponent they need be mindful of, and some nin were stupid until death.

They were not the only things in these woods.

#Sasori ;; kalyptic #thread: my claws are as sharp as yours my friend #// TCHES MY DEAR FRIEND I'M SORRY THIS IS SO DELAYED #//

KAKASHI MOVES AMONGST THE TREES LIKE A SEASONED VETERAN, never allowing himself to stay in one place more than a few moments to the displeasure of the birds squawking at him angrily for disturbing the newly formed nests precariously in his path. Seeking out the cat is, in truth, merely a weak cover for his activity, restricted to the village in hopes of avoiding a repeat of the past, with the intent to avoid it. Akatsuki's movements have grown visible, alarming, and too many Jinchuriki in one place is only openly inviting conflict.

A breath, coming to kneel upon the branch as that familiar habit itches at the edge of his awareness, the book was merely another mask, and yet as a light push carries him forward, a piece of his mind continues to yearn for another, one to hide the features of the hunting hound. Perhaps it's the boon of more than a decade's training of his senses, yet the hiss that echoes through the emptiness has him adrift, alert, turning him to the left as the seasoned Jonin sets off once more into the dying light of day.

To some, Konoha's surroundings are a disadvantage to the village, filled with natural alarms that makes its defenders stand out so clearly from the rest and yet to those who grew up amidst the branches of the forests, amongst the howls and caws, there is no better advantage to be found. For Kakashi, the wildlife is akin to pack, guiding him to the vicinity of those that believe themselves concealed by the dense voliage.

A light thump, a small displacement of air as eyes fall upon the figure moving within the dense bush, watching the way the form moves so erratically slow with deep harboured suspicion. He does not need to make himself known, not yet, so with harboured breath the once ANBU presses himself against the tree, waiting.

"Maa~ Shinobi-san, just where are you going today?" Low, hushed, and yet his hand cannot leave the shuriken just yet, preparing for the worst despite the pervading sense of weakness that lingers still.

y o u

URGENT: An uptick in attacks on merchant civilians by bandits and low-rank Nukenin have made it necessary to employ teams that plan to attend the exams, and those that do not. As there has been no solid intelligence passed through by ANBU, pay for this task will be scaled befitting the danger that befalls you once you arrive at your destination. [Any Skill +1] starter for @adhnuall-fiach

That the two of them were paired was not entirely a coincidence. With the increase in attacks, the traditional four man cell provided too much firepower for such petty crimes that could easily be dealt with one or two shinobi. Then, with a little proper timing and a few strings pulled, Sai is paired with Kakashi of the Sharigan.

(Former ROOT agent, but still loyal to Konoha. As long as he doesn't change that second descriptor, Sai's job is only to watch, and not to act. Which is preferable- he doesn't think he'd win.)

Though for today, the only thing he truly needs to return with is a written report about the former ANBU. Therefore, for the purposes of their public mission, Sai lets the senior shinobi take the lead.

… Which mostly manifested itself in staying silent and smiling until spoken to- and, if the Sharigan was pointed the other way, watching the older man.

#thread: y o u #inkstaind ;; Sai #// KANOESA MY APOLOGIES FOR TAKING SO LONG #PLS LEMME KNOW IF YOU NEED CHANGES //

THERE ARE CERTAIN TIMES IN WHICH DEMEANOUR REVEALS MORE OF A PERSON THAN ANYTHING, ANBU walks a certain way, Shinobi another, and for those who have submerged themselves in the ROOTS of the village, their demeanour is ironforged, revealing nothing of themselves. It's little coincidence that they're paired together, the agent and the traitor that stole away the Mokuton in the only way he knew how, befriending the wielder.

Yet that had only become a skill of his after they all passed, when the ghosts were far too terrible to bear. ROOT is a path he dare not thread, wished not to regress and yet as his gaze falls upon the young man beside him, rigid, wielding himself like a weapon. Danzo has gotten blatant of late, moving more openly, and yet the time for alarms to sound has not yet come, instead the scarecrow relegates himself to watching with trained alertness.

The mission is simple, unworthy of more than a single Jounin which is far too telling of the machinations which have begun beyond the gaze of others. Even now the faux smile fails to reach the eyes, fails to disprove the same methodical nature that Kakashi had once found in himself is present inside the highly skilled agent.

A thump, loud and coursing pulls him from his thoughts, a torrent of water cresting the hill before them as the path is washed away into sweet nothingness. Laughter resounds, and yet even as he rushes himself through a flurry of handsigns, the summoning seal fails to take form, meaningless against the haze that has befallen him.

"Genjutsu!" A singular shout, hand coming to wrap around the familiar sharpened kunai even as he watches a civilian begin to disappear in the impromptu mudslide. "Protect the merchants!" Orders snapped in a bark, feeling the nature of ANBU'S Hound befall him after so long spent trying to leave that life behind.

We didn't start the fire... this time?

#ERAConvocation - Kurenai - Escort [Any+1]

#Kurenai ;; petalillusions #thread: we didn't start the fire... this time?#// I HOPE THIS WORKS FOR YOUUUU #the brainfog took a minute to clear //

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, Kakashi is truly aghast at the mere implication that his luck is so utterly lacking that the simplest of escort missions would go astray merely because he himself was involved. Yet as his gaze turns towards the bandits that are entirely too over competent in their ability to sneak around. 'Dropouts' his mind supplies, listening to the dangling chains and the all too self-assured chatter that lends to his utterly bored lack of concern. A twitch of his eyebrow, tucking away the book as he spots the look promising danger from the corner of his eye.

An unconcerned sigh, reaching to his breast to pull the kunai free as his gaze turns to the glistening, gleaming wire stretching from tree to tree without a hint of subtlety. Perhaps he is the last to have to right to complain about subtlety, having allowed and indirectly encouraged Naruto to go around in an unmistakeable orange, yet even that preciously unpredictable ninja knew better than to so blatantly leave the wire uncovered to catch the sun.

"Maa~ It rained recently?" An innocent question... or it would be were he anyone else, yet from him all those words sing is caution, steel rimming that lonely eye as he moves towards the front of the caravan with a series of calm leaps, beckoning the owner to bring the steeds to a rest for a moment before disappearing upwards into the trees. There's a hum of denial, Pakkun, who has taken to accompanying him of late, before the ninken is leaping down into the bush, scouting, tracking the bandits that have decided today is as good a day as any to try highjack a caravan.

A heartbeat is all it takes before the gruff voice comes from his left, pulling him from empty thoughts, "Two un the ground, three hanging in the back." A nod, calm, collected before he lets himself fall from the tree, landing beside the waiting colleague, friend that little annoying voice reminds him. "Two holes ahead, three more hidden in a dip in the road." Kakashi has never truly had time for the Nara cyphers, too exposed, yet in the middle of nowhere the old ways often work best, atleast they did in the humble opinion of a man that refused to believe any escort mission in which he participated was doomed to be A rank pay for the rest of his life.

"Aaa~ Best we fill 'em in, I have a few Doton suitable for it, Jounin-san." Teasing words, and yet he knows far too well that he owes more than he's ever prepared to admit to her, Asuma and Gai for insisting he leave the life of the faceless hound behind.

-> @petalillusions

Snakes in the Grass

ERAConvocation - Spy Hunting w/ Asuma