Crossroads [invite]

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

It was around midday now, he guessed. Exactly two days since his encounter with the Sumiyaka Princess. Or former Princess, he supposed would fit better. It was warm, though not unpleasantly so. In fact, in comparison to the chillier nights he had been forced to stay up through as of late thanks to his own dreams and general unrest, it was downright comfortable for him. The weather of the Leaf's territory had once again proven itself to pull through and be neutral and comfortably placid. A mood Tao couldn't even dream of the last few nights.
He lay on the warm grass behind his home, the taller blades brushing over his more casual clothing. Even his shoulder pads had been forsaken(out of his father's sight, of course) and lay next to him. All he had seen fit to adorn himself with this afternoon was a pale green T shirt and a pair of long khaki trousers. But even with his informal wear, he still looked to be a Shinobi. Just..one who had been taken out of commission for a bit while he rested. His arm, which Tres had been kind enough to remove the metal filing from just days before, so that he wouldn't have to show the wound to his father, was bound and set in a loose sort of cast made of off white bandages that ran from the palm of his hand and a few of his wrapped fingers, to mid way up his bicep. It had been put in a sling earlier, but even his younger cousin, who knew little about the ways of medical reasoning, had dubbed the thing to be useless and unnecessary. His face bore only a large, knarley scar from the Kunoichi's kunai and around his eye there was a thick square of gauze covered by medical tape that wrapped in a diagonal fashion around his head until the eye had scarred over and an eye patch could replace the red stained padding. The good news was that the scar would hear; the bad new was that she had blinded him. Bitch.. Even so, Tres had reassured him that the only thing he would have to adjust was his traveling. With his left eye out of commission, his depth perception would be damaged, if not elliminated. And to bound through the trees again would be done only after some practice. It irritated him, but little else. Perhaps he had had it coming. His father had called it a battle scar and told him to be proud of it. Tao snorted audibly; "Yeah, I'll do that." he spat venomously to the fluffy clouds he was staring at.
If not for the stead rise and fall of his chest, he could have been mistaken as dead with his lack of movement. Actually, he felt he were moving uite a bit, if not physically, then at least mentally. Because as his single visible eye shifted suddenly, he brought his wounded hand up, the other still laying limply in the grass. Between his fingers he held the small paper crane. The imperfect one lay at his side, beneath his uninjured fingers. He examined it for what had to be the hundredth time that day, holding it up against the clear blue sky and the white clouds so that it darkened a bit while it blocked the sun. His eye read over the handwriting again.

Go to the festival with me, my hime? Loving you always, Haru.

Ah, that must have been what she meant when he had called her Hime. Though he had meant it to be a sarcastic mock on her position, he realized it may have meant more to her than that. He sighed, feeling the breeze pull at the paper and ruffle his shirt until it had bunched up halfway up his belly, leaving some of the scarred skin exposed. The grass tickled against the sides of his fingers where they lay over the disfigured paper crane just a few inches from where his hip bone protruded slightly from his trousers. But still he watched the paper crane as it jerked and twitched in his grasp. He felt his chest swell uncomfortably, even if it was in only a metaphorical way. But Tao wasn't one for tears. Instead his breath hitched and the pain of regret overshadowed the lingering throbbing in his arm and the soft ache behind his dead eye.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He jerked up from his position on the ground, whipping around to catch, "Suki...". He could feel his own voice crack, even if it wasn't in an audible way the sudden pain in his chest and throat made him wince. The girl smiled over at him; The kind of smile that burned into him, and everyone else she met, with that 'you can't even try to stop me' feel to it. And he suddenly felt the pang of shame as he could only be reminded of the woman he'd just landed in jail. He shorter blond hair shifted against her face and almost, but not uite at her shoulders, and she stepped forward to approach him. Though he didn't take note of it, there was caution in her steps, afraid he would leap up and flee from her again. But he didn't. He only watched her, head moving as his good eye fixed itself on her as she moved to sit beside him. The both sighed lowly, almost inaudibly and Suki shifted to press herself against his shoulder. Tao exhaled, a dazed look coming over him as he relaxed into her a bit more than he realized. How he had missed the feel of her leaning on him, the glorious sensation of any sort of contact with her. It still amazed him that she would even look at him. But she was a strong willed woman, he knew.
"It's been a while since I've talked to you..., she muttered absently, lifting a hand to run her fingers through his curly hair. "What's on your mind?" Tao hesitated, watching her for a moment before returning his softer blue gaze to the paper crane in his hand. Suki looked up at him before following his gaze to watch him fiddle with the origami bird. "Did you make that?. Tao shook his head. "No...". Sensing his unease, Suki patted his leg reassuringly. "Suki...I..", he paused for a long while. "Do you think I've been doing the right thing?", Suki blinked, brow knitting in confusion. "Tao. I'm not the one who can tell you the answer to that. You have to decide for yourself. If you can't do that....", she trailed off, pressing a small hand to his chest and digging her face in between his head and neck, more for her own comfort actually, than his. How long had it been, after all, since they had gotten to hold each other like this? Tao only watched the crane in his hand. "Up until now...I had always thought that completing missions were my purpose. But that woman...that woman, I put her in jail, Suki! I did what I was supposed to, just like I always do, but I don't feel anything! I never do! It's just a load of bullshit and false praise!" his voice had raised itself and Suki balled her fist up in his shirt. He had to force himself to stop from crushing the crane in his hand. After only a moment, she spoke again. "Tao, you did what you had to for the good of Konoha. It's why we all fight." Tao ducked his head suddenly, jerking his hands up to mash his face into them, hurting his arm and his face in doing so. "Don't patronize me! I've never thought that! I've never fought with Konoha in mind, never! Not even once! I've always done it for him!", he screamed at her, though she recognized his frustration was not because of her and she wrapped her arms around his trembling torso, drawing him to herself and offering words of reassurance. Rubbing a hand over his back, she propped her chin onto his head as he seemed to fold over in retaliation to her words. Breathing, she wished suddenly that her love was not so sensitive. It would hurt him, she knew, but she spoke again regardless.

------------------------

"Tao... Whether you like it or not, your not a child anymore. We both know that. You have to make your own choices now and no one can be expected to make them for you. Your choosing to give your father control over your life and allowing him to do so as long as you continue to make that decision. Your father can only control you so long as you let him...."

He stood in his room now, hands running over the Ugashi Clan insignia on his shoulder pads. It had been almost three hours since his talk with Suki, two since his training session with Kaji. And the man had instructed him to be back in less than twenty minutes after the usual dinner they had had as a 'family', as his mother had always liked to say. He could only snort in indignation. They were no such family. They never had been, never would be. After tossing aside the shoulder pads he pulled at the brown short sleeved coat he had chosen, as opposed to his usual hooded jacket, that lay on his bed beside where he stood. Laying it on his desk he grabbed the leather strap that would bind the containers for his paper and pulled it over his bare flesh. Next came the ones for his upper and lower arms.

This is insanity

"Yeah..I guess it is."

You can't go back after tonight.

"I don't want to."

Where will you go, Ugashi?

He paused, refusing to answer the annoying voice in his head. He didn't need to be speaking with himself anyway. With his supply of paper restocked and his only needed weaponry adorned on his body, he snagged at the green T he had been wearing earlier and pulled it over his head and down his body, stretching his arms through the sleeves in a more dramatic manner than was actually needed. He breathed in slowly and held it for a moment. This was it. His single outburst of absolute rebellion and retaliation against his father. He would break free tonight. He exhaled in the same manner. And grabbing the jacket, he moved swiftly across his smaller room, slipping the attire on as he made his way out the door. He could feel both his father and the younger of his cousins staring at his back on his way out, vaguely hearing his cousins confused voice call his name. "Sorry Keisuke...", he muttered. "I won't be able to spar with you like I promised, I guess."

---

Dusk had fallen now, the sky's natural purple and reds and yellows and blues painting the sky and throwing all of Konoha into a bottle blue hue of colour. He moved swiftly, though hardly with as much confidence as he would have liked. But it didn't matter, he couldn't do anything about his decision now but go through with it. Suki's words rattled in his head like a mantra as his foot sank into the pliable dirt. He had tossed it aside now, banked everything he knew on this one chance for rebellion. For freedom. His legs stretched out easily and his blue footwear tapped softly against the walkway that stretched up into prison's entrance way. He stopped, his stride coming to an abrupt halt as he pondered for a moment. "Tsk, can't be subtle, I guess. Dad needs to know about this one.", the words were laced in sarcasm and the whole 'dad' word felt awkward on his tounge, especially in reference to Kaji. Regardless, he stepped forward until he was in plain view of the two men standing there to, he supposed, guard the entrance. "How useless. As if anyone would escape that way.", his statement must have hit something, because both men shot his confounded looks. Without his forehead protector or Ugashi clan shoulder pads, Tao wondered if he didn't look like an outsider himself to these two unfamiliar men. But his guess was incorrect. "Ah, hey! Yer ol' man Kaji's son ain'cha!?", one of them called to him. Tao's face contorted suddenly into an angry scowl. Lifting his injured hand up to snag a slip of paper from under his wristband, he pulled it out and summoned his chakra forth. The energy drummed through his veins and a completely new feeling overwhelmed him. "Kyuchiyose: kami yubinigyo - Ketsueki!" Tossing the paper to the side, a cloud of smoke enshrouded the tiny bit of paper. It dissipated uitly enough as the white best shot forward, newly repaired since his battle with Leiko, no doubt. In a matter of only a few seconds it had taken the men out with a brutal slash to either mans ribcages and had snaked back around to curl about Tao and hover dangerously be him, snarling hollowly as Tao eyed the entrance for a moment. And a minute later both puppet and puppeteer took off. Shiroi slithered about gracefully as Tao followed beside her at a full blow run. "Not anymore.", he called out, jumping over the guard that had pointed him out before.
They had breached the first level of the building in only a minute and already guards were laying in their wake where his dragon had made uick work of them. But Tao wasn't worried about the common ones. He was worried about- ah, speak of the devil. A stockier man burst through a doorway suddenly and Tao skidded to a halt while Shiroi moved ahead in a blur of gray motion. But the man proved more than ready for the attack as he sealed a jutsu. Tao couldn't hear him call the name out, but the rocks suddenly hurling themselves at his puppet kept him from worrying to much about that. Without loosing any speed at all, Shiroi twisted and jerked around the stones and curled into a brief stop as on brushed the tip of her nose(which Tao uickly hardened with chakra to save on paper repairs later) before hissing noisily as she bolted toward the stocky man. Tao could hear him scream as her claws tore apart his armor and dug into his belly but could pay it no heed as another guard leaped at him from behind. He jerked his head to the side to narrowly avoid being kicked and dropped to the side to roll purposely across the stone flooring and leap back onto his feet before jerking his bandaged arm up to send a barrage of chakra hardened paper needles at the man. Behind him, Shiroi moved to attack another three guards, Tao having to command her while keeping himself defended. And finally, pulling paper forth to create another mask similar to the one had had made in his former battle, he drew on another burst of strength. Shiroi cocked her head and neck back into a tight arch before jerking it forward again to let loose another round of purple smog. Almost right after it had been released, the guards began dropping to their knees while Tao and his dragon moved on.
Up the stairs and past three more guards that were duffed by the white dragons paper teeth and claws, they moved on. Tao watched eagerly for his target, going on information his cousin had given him about what little he had seen. Almost there, cell one...cell two...Shiroi jumped forward again to take down another man, folding herself around the water jutsu while Tao simply leaped over it. Her teeth snapped the mans arm while her claws nearly tore his throat out. Cell four...cell five... The dragon swept across the floor to his left until he finally stopped, she did as well. He was panting a bit, both with very mild fatigue and with sheer excitement. The guard at the end of the hallway moved toward him, a lance cocked back and ready to slice Tao's head from his shoulders. But the Ugashi was ready, not even bothering with calling his puppet forward. A short blast of water and a noisy clang of human skull against the wall and the way was cleared. He shivered slightly in anticipation and took of again, having to skid to a halt as he caught that familiar face from between the bars of her cell. He had to back peddle slightly, his puppet curling defensively around him as though she were actually alive and meant to take a kunai to the head for him. Her head whipped back and forth, Tao's own paranoia transferring into her movements. He stepped forward, standing at the cell door as though he held every once of her fate in his hands - which in a way he did. He breathed softly, eying the Sumiyaka with a determined look in his single visible eye. "Sumiyaka...", he hesitated. How could she believe he was here to help her after what he had done to her before. If not for that thought, he might have been fine, really. But instead, his shier side chained him from making the blunt 'I'm here to free you' point like he had wanted. He scratched absently at the binding that held the gauze to his head before looking away from her. "Uhm... I..I know I kinda...I might have hurt you...before...hurt you a lot, I mean... But I was just..", he groaned inwardly, hating himself for his lack of social skills. Trying again, he looked back at her through the bars of her cell again. "Look, I realize that we may not be on...well, the best of terms. But..but I want you to tell me about the clan heirs. Oh, and I want to get you out of here. Uhm..so yeah.", he stepped forward to direct his puppets head forward and she crushed the lock easily with a bit of pressure on her jaw. Opening the door he stepped in, reaching into his pocket to draw forth the two paper cranes he had taken so much care to preserve out and holding them between two of his fingers. Outstretching the bandaged hand to her, he offered them back to her. "I brought these...you dropped them when...you know..", he could feel himself sweating in the nervousness of the bad conversation. But soon enough, the noise from the floor below them brought his attention back to his actual intentions. He reached out to grab her arm, wanting to hurry her along in the obvious urgency of the situation. "C'mon! There are more of them coming!"

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ The first time Leiko had woken up she'd been in the hospital: Confused and disoriented she'd momentarily thought she was back in Suna, before everything that had happened to her caught up. At first when she'd realized she hadn't died in that battle she'd been oddly disappointed, but at the same time she was grateful: She had things left to do before she died, after all. However, the immense pain through out her entire body had been nearly blinding, and she'd passed out again within moments. The second time she'd woken up she didn't hurt nearly at all. Apparently she had nearly died, nearly drowned in her own blood, but the Konoha medics had healed her; after all it was their duty to return her (alive) to Suna, even if they didn't have to like it. She had, after all, killed some of their comrades and caused a lot of pain in the village; Shinobi, however, were dutiful (Usually). When she'd come to that second time she'd been lead off to the her cell in the prison. It was boring: Bars, and walls, and a cot, and toilet, and small sink. She hated it, felt hemmed in and trapped. She'd paced, and checked her confinement cell over until she knew every inch of it like she knew her own hand, and then she'd done it again. After that she'd sat down, and taken stock of what she had left: Very little she realized; they'd found most of the weaponry concealed in her clothing, and even her kosode was in absentia. She was dressed simply in her shorts and bandaging. It was probably a good thing she wasn't shy... However, they'd made the mistake of leaving her hair ornaments in, and she could have smirked at that. Oh well, blessed be the idiots of the world! By the time she'd been in there for around an entire day she'd given up on looking: She'd simply sat down and tried to think. The Sumiyaka had still been mulling over her options when she'd heard an odd noise floating up to her ears: It was muffled, but... Tilting her head Leiko listened carefully: Was that shouting? It certainly sounded like shouting, or screaming. Leiko frowned slightly, wondering what was going on. She didn't think anyone would be coming for her, perhaps someone was out to turn loose one of the other prisoners? Unless someone had gotten word to her people in the desert no one knew where she was. (Except the phantom/hallucination of Haru, but she didn't think he counted). To say she was surprised to see a blast of water take down the guard, and then a familiar figure skid into her line of sight was a complete understatement. Though the only way her surprise translated onto her face was with the bemused raising of one brow; Well, she certainly wouldn't have bet on this. She was almost amused watching him, as he looked so determined standing there, and then seemed to falter when finally facing her. She listened silently as he stuttered and stumbled his way through some sort of explanation for his actions. Then, of course, he'd finally gotten over his stuttering and said his piece then offered her the paper cranes that Haru and Seiichi had made respectively. The Sumiyaka took them from him, almost reverently; looking at them with a tiny soft smile on her face. When she looked up at him in was with genuine gratefulness in her shadowed eyes, and she murmured a soft 'thank you' before tucking them safely into the maroon bandaging she wore. Then, of course, he was dragging her out of her cell; Leiko didn't resist, why should she? Instead she just shrugged his hand off her, and tilted her head to the side, giving him a fathomless look for several seconds. Then, "Right." She said, slipping smoothly in the cool monotone she'd adapted as of late. "For the record, I don't blame you: You did your duty... And you're here now, hmm?" Smirking very slightly Leiko reached up and tugged the two chopsticks from her hair, letting the brown shoulder blade length strands fall around her face and shoulders. One chopstick was tucked into the maroon bandages around her torso, the other she held in her hand, and with the fingers of the opposite hand she jerked tugged lightly on the wooden implement dislodging the casing to revel several inches of needle thin knife. The casing was tucked away as well to free up her left hand, while the right wielded the small blade. The look she gave him was a dangerous one, her lips curled in with wicked intent and the thrill of battle in her brown eyes, "Let's go then." She said, deadly calm, her head tilting in a mockery of a curious bird. ------ The Rogue Princess

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

For the record, I don't blame you: You did your duty... And you're here now, hmm?

He drew his hand back as she resisted his attempt to drag her to her feet. He didn't blame her, really. He lowered his head a bit and his hair fell into his face. "Yeah... I don't think I'll have to worry about duty after all of this..", he said. His voice held an unreadable tone now that bordered between simple distaste and frustration. He shook his head, clearing his mind and forcing his focus back on the task at hand. His resolve was steadied in that motion, even if when he met her gaze, he swallowed nervously. He wanted to tell her suddenly, how much he was risking on her. To let her know that, should they be caught, it was his head, not just hers, that would be brought home that day. But he didn't, instead, he only nodded to her in understanding and agreement before muttering lowly to her, "You'd better not fall behind." He eyed her injuries to show what he was implying. "I want to know what you meant with the Clan Heirs, remember. " At the sounds of the guards bursting through the door that separated the first and second layer of the prison, he wasted little time turning on his heels to take off at a jog towards the open entrance of the cell, knowing she was following. Shiroi's snout bumped against his shoulder and then moved upward as though gazing at the guards. Tao paused before allowing his dragon to surge forward toward the mass of armed people cramped into the narrower hallway. He tilted his head, his face still pulled into a nervous sort of stoic look and he added to her, "You own me after all, for my eye.", he reminded her, his voice holding a much more serious tone. The dragon had eliminated a good chunk of the force and Tao pushed himself into a run, calling out to her as he went onward into battle. But he didn't make it all the way to the main line before another man stopped him and forced Tao back as the puppeteer had to lean backward to avoid the slash of a wind forged sword. Time seemed to slow for him, just for a moment as the near invisible blade managed only to cut at the bridge of his nose and Tao went cross-eyed as he watched it blow by him. A small trail of blood from the shallower cut that ran over his nose hit the wall they were next to just before Tao ducked down to evade another attempt at his face. Refusing to lose his grip and control on his puppet - who was arched against the ceiling and resembling a falcon in the way she reached down to tear at guard's faces and snap at their shoulders and anyone trying to get at her with raised arms and weapons - Tao pulled another jutsu from his mind and moved his fingers and hands accordingly. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" The burst of water that emanated from his mouth suddenly sent the man flying backward into on of his fellows. Following up expertly, Tao inhaled through his nose again to send another blast at the group, making careful note not to hit his new found ally(he didn't think friend became her, or himself, well enough to use the term). Shiroi moved fluidly around the ground, her claws clipping the head of one more man before she dipped into the crowd itself. Too large to slid underneath their feet, she uprooted a good many of them from their standing positions and as she snaked back around, many of the men were flat on their backs. Tao moved forward slowly, defending himself easily enough but uickly reconsidering his first choice in exit route. He paused, glancing upward and back around down the hallway. No windows, as far as he could see. "Dammit..", jerking his head back around he eyed her to be sure she was fairing well enough before reaching back into his store of paper to retrieve six explosive tags. Molding his chakra along the edges of the paper and tossing them in front of himself to let them flutter momentarily before suddenly folding and morphing into small mice, he sent them forth to squeeze in between the flooring and making their way into the walls and toward the end of the hallway, leaving their enemies to his dragon and the Sumiyaka woman for now. The mice scittered along silently until they made their mark. Setting them for just a minute later, he leaped backward until he almost slammed into another person. Whipping around to catch the fist that had been aimed at his gut, he winced, his bandaged arm having to hold the larger man by the shoulder to keep him from plowing Tao over completely. Of course, it didn't stop him entirely. Tao grunted, cursing his smaller frame and his bloodline for forcing it on him at the moment as his feet slid backward and ground against the floor beneath him. Shiroi was summoned forth again, moving about the men with amazing agility toward her master. But she stalled unnaturally in her stride as Tao lost his balance, slipping backward and nearly falling flat on his belly before the man, taking the advantage, brought his knee up to collide with the underside of Tao's jaw. It hurt his still healing eye more than his jaw though, even as he had bitten at the inside of his cheek and brought a thin line of blood across his tounge. But the dragon was not far this time, closing her jaws around the mans middle and tearing into it. Lifting her head and neck up and around the screaming man was tossed back into the advancing group. Tao shook his head, taken off guard as the explosion within the wall behind him rocked his chest and teeth. "Shi-", he jerked his head back around to Leiko sure that she had noticed the new opening presented to him. Don't fall behind.. he reminded her mentally, though he knew uite well that she couldn't hear him.

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ Leiko wasn't a very physical person, in fact she was a rather stand offish person at the best of times, and she didn't know what compelled her to reach out and touch the fingers of her right hand lightly against the Konoha shinobi's shoulder as he spoke in that derisive way about duty, but she did it anyway. Life, she decided, was changing her: Inexorably. She knew now that holding back to much could ruin everything and bring regrets. The words spilled from her mouth before she even knew she was speaking them, "Regrets are like sand, they may change shape but they are forever.... Duty, right, wrong... Life is only what we make of it. It is your story, write it how you want. We are only enemies if our minds, our opinions, say we are." For a moment after she'd spoken, she felt suddenly old and tired. Hooding her eyes she dropped her hand back to her side nodding absently when he spoke to her about the heir's and keeping up. She simply followed after him at an easy jog, idly flexing her left arm: The muscles hurt like a bitch; they'd apparently only healed her life threatening wounds; that is, her lungs. Once she was out of her, she was going to find somewhere and lay low for awhile. Maybe sleep for a week... That sounded rather nice. Shaking out the tenseness in her arm she smirked faintly as he told her she owed him for ruining his eye, and she privately thought she only owed him for one thing; and it wasn't the eye. Instead she just jumped forward, putting on a burst of her specialized speed watching the would disappeared and reappeared in that familiar way as battle burn sung in her blood. She reappeared standing behind one of the foremost attacks and brought the small thin knife she wielded up to sink it viper fast into the side of his neck, rupturing the jugular. Whipping it back out with a spurt of blood that sent hot sticky droplets over her shoulders. Turning on her heel she brought her left hand up, palm open to slam into the nose of an attacker coming up behind her, sending the splintering bones into his brain. Pausing for a second a she was caught off guard by a shuriken flung at her from somewhere in the mass of attackers, and hissed as the star shaped weapon sliced a livid gash along the curve of her shoulder. Another followed up, but the Sumiyaka was prepared this time and jerked to the side and pushed off the floor lunging forward and flickering out of sight. She reappeared crouched before her opponent breathing quickly through her nose as she whipped upward, slamming her left fist into the underside of the man's chin and sending him toppling; out cold before he hit the ground. Hissing in pain as her abused left arm gave a throbbing ache from shoulder to finger tips she stepped back slightly, shaking her hand to ward off the feeling. Her eyes critically glancing over the darkening bruise forming on her knuckles. When she looked back up she noticed peripherally that the puppet master was up to something; and years of having the working in a team with distance based fighters set in without a second thought. She immediately darted across the distance between the two of them and did what she could to keep the opponents back; but of course, she could only do so much. Hearing screaming she glanced back to see the dragon puppet pulling a man off her ally, and was caught with a fist to her stomach. Doubling over she stumbled back, features tightening slightly as she gasped, feeling breathless: Momentarily her mind clouded with panicked remembrance, but she pushed passed it and lashed out; slicing the needle then tip of the chopstick knife in quick succession over the man's face, before curling around and drawing her leg up: She delivered a quick blow to his chest, sending the man stumbling back wards into the crowd behind him. As the roar of explosion echoed down the hall she stumbled, the ground beneath her rolling uncomfortably, she slid her feet out; widening her stance to keep from pitching on her face. Glancing up at the whistle of air in the previously closed off hallway, she had the completely inane thought: So that's what he was up to? Ducking down she dodged around a man coming at her with a kunai and darted over to the puppet masters side, maneuvering toward the hole in the wall. Glancing back she looked down the space between the floor they were on, and the ground; glancing around for any smaller drop possibilities: There didn't seem to be any. They weren't that stupid, she supposed. Leiko didn't even hesitate beyond that cursory glance, and she was sure this was another one of those moves that would give her comrades a heart attack and earn her a lecture; unfortunately they weren't around to worry anymore. Because she was always too late. Ignoring the not-quite-physical pain in her chest the Sumiyaka propelled herself out in empty air, letting herself drop. The swirl of chakra being pulled to the fore as she tensed her legs... She hit the ground, with bone jarring force: her teeth grinding together at the feeling. She went with the momentum however, immediately curling forward into motion; thanking the fact that she'd cushioned the drop with her chakra: She didn't need broken legs right now! Stumbling back up right as she carried the motion through she immediately brought her arms up; glancing around for any attacks as she waited to see which way her 'rescuer' would go. Shit she wished she had her gauntlet. She could only wonder where they'd taken her equipment... ------ The Rogue Princess

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

He watched her for only a moment before turning back around as she moved forward toward the newly formed hole and he pushed his muscles into a run; Clumsy at first, but he gained footing in only three steps. Overhead, he could feel the shift in the air as Shiroi sung past him, sucking in air to allow her to hover over the ground and preventing her from getting in the way of their escape. Leiko reached the opening before him and he followed her in a bounding leap to the dark outside. It was higher than he had expected as he hung in midair for only a few seconds before gravity pulled at his form again and sunk him. His mind reacted uickly enough, channeling his chakra to his legs and the bottom of his shoes to prevent any real damage. Stretching his arms out, he called on the paper in his stores to crawl out from beneath his clothing and cover his arm for only a moment before spreading out and linking together to act as wing shaped parachutes and slow his decent uite suddenly. So much so that his body jerked backward and he could feel himself hitched before the paper broke away a little at a time. By the time he had reached the ground he had to stumble forward to regain his momentum again to be able to keep up with her. His puppet zipped by him again, moving in a wave-like motion as she closed the distance between herself and Leiko and then moved to pass her and keep ahead, the motions justified by Tao's own knowledge of the Leaf's layout. With guard towers in front of them, they wouldn't be able to move in the straight line they were in for long. He had to made a few longer jumps to catch up to her again before glancing at her from the corner of his eye as he slowed to a gradual stop. And for the first time, he took real notice of her condition. Namely the fact that she lacked any of the attire he had first seen her with. "Damn...", he cursed his own misjudgment. Why hadn't he gone for her things first and then broken her out!? He jerked his head upward, sure that they had at least a few moments for him to regroup and rethink his actions. Honestly he hadn't thought much on what she would have on her when he had formulated the plan in his room at home. Originally, he had wanted to be in and out as uickly as possible, which he had, and he had drawn meticulous plans that could lead them around every obstacle in Konoha and out the west side of the village, where he noted the defenses were just a little weaker, and the guards worked in shorter shifts(which meant more rotation time and more opportunities for them to get out unseen) But he wondered for a moment.... He directed his attention behind them, where the prison keepers were already moving about and calling for more ninja for aid in locating them. "Dammit all!", he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of something, anything to help them. "Your things are still in the prison...", he said absently, already aware that she knew that(it wasn't like it wasn't obvious.) But his train of thought was cut short, his eyes opening again at a more familiar voice calling to him. "Shit, shit, shit!", he resolve was breaking again, faltering under this new kind of pressure. If he hadn't been stuck in the Leaf, hadn't been doing this to his own home, it might have been different.
"Dammit Tao, what the hell do you think your...", the older man stumbled forward in the brush, the darkness covering his obstacles in shadow. Tao dug his fingers into his hair, hunching over; Partially out of instinctive fear, partially out of frustration at his lack of any proper plan. Calm down, calm down, calm down!, he could hear his mind screaming in dual directions. And finally he moved, ignoring the look of disbelief on his fathers face as the man that bore a frightening resemblance to himself stepped into a bit of light cast down from the partial moonlight. Tao jerked forward suddenly, his hands untangling themselves from his curly hair as he stumbled for a moment. He couldn't even bring himself to face the man he had been so determined to break away from as Kaji stood behind him. He nearly tripped on his fourth step forward before he funneled a burst of energy to his feet and made his ascend upward. He could feel his father's glaring confusion on his form but swallowed down his own fear. But still, he could feel his hands shaking, the muscles along his spine and shoulders twitching with a bitter anticipation of a blow that his brain had long been programmed to expect for such things. Defiant! Disobedient!
He ignored them as he led the way to the west wall, not forgetting her supplies as he struggled to keep his resolve and forge together any semblance of a plan. Bounding in an upward motion, using the tops of buildings and the nights shadow to hide his own form, his movement became uicker, his breath catching in his own sudden reluctance until his lips had parted and his mouth hung open so he could hear himself panting unnecessarily.
Incompetent! Useless! Terrible!
His frantic movements were even making himself nervous as he continued forward. He could only assume that his new ally was following. But he couldn't be bothered to look back to make sure. He would have to hold onto the frail bit of trust and confidence he had in her. And for a moment, he could imagine the look she had given him in the forest. That bold, unafraid look of a leader. And in his moment of fear, he dared to look back behind himself, his eye searching for some reassurance he doubted she could give him. He must have looked unreliable anyway. But perhaps it was better he did look back. Because in the glint of a lantern below them, he could see the flash of some weaponry as a Shinobi(or Kunoichi, he couldn't tell in the dark) leaped up onto the roof top to trail them. Two more followed in suite and he growled lowly, hating the feeling of being treated like a vagabond animal. But perhaps it fit better now that he actually was one. Turning back around again, he called his dragon forth to take them down again. A good hundred yard away from them where she was perched up on a high watch tower(he lack of real weight had left the men inside clueless to her presence) she jerked her head to the side to 'look' at them before throwing herself forward into the air and rocketing downward before her claws dug into the tiled roof before her to stop her decent as she seemed to slither back to her master to defend him again. By then, Tao could see her make the drop to the roof from her previous position, his eye happening to catch a few dropping tile as she worked to get a grip, hearing them hit the concrete blocked behind him, an alleyway, no doubt. And it hit him then. His resourceful mind spitting out a haphazard sort of plan. Turning back to the Sumiyaka, he checked his bearings before whipping back around and digging his heels into the tiled roof beneath him, stopping far to suddenly and betraying his own panic and discontent. Lead them north. It's too obvious., he seemed to regain a least a bit of his confidence as he jerked forward again to bound forward; Keeping low to the ground but still jumping forward to scale the distance uicker. He could only hope she would follow him with the knowledge of urgency the situation at hand and the one he had created in his mind demanded.
Leaping over the endge and landing clumsily --he rocked dangerously as he crouched down to lessen the noise and pressure to his joint and fell against the wall before he regained his balance -- he shook his head to clear the unpleasant memories that were distracting him and making him frantic from his brain. With just a few thoughts, he demanded Shiroi move forward, back down the roof, the pained cries of men ringing in his ears as she tore into them before moving on as he commanded. He could head the scrape of her claws and belly against the tile as she moved ahead just overhead of their hiding spot in the alley. Tao didn't waste time making eye contact with Leiko as he went to work, bring most of his paper supply from where it was hidden in his clothing into visible line until the millions of slips began to link together to form a double layered figure that looked suspiciously like a foot. But even without looking as her as he focused on his work, he relayed his plan. "We can lead them to the North Wall, where the main gates are. If we make the motions obvious, we can lead them to focus their defense there." He spoke uickly, but he didn't stutter as he had before when he had attempted to speak informally. This was the kind of thing he was used to when it came to verbal communication. Battle plans were things he knew about, not small talk. In almost as much time as it took him to explain his plan of action, the puppet was complete. It was very basic in the general anatomy, but it resembled a human being regardless. "This, he looked her in the eye now, a strange look on his face: Determination and panic and simple, blind almost animalistic fear covering both of the former. Still, he was able to hold firm as he continued speaking, his voice wavering and showcasing that fear only once. "This will be you. Assume I'm covered as a shinobi looking for you. Your double will lead them to the Northern Gates while you and I back track while their defenses are near nonexistent back in the prison and we will retrieve your supplies and...ehm.....attire.", he coughed, feeling his ears go red before he shook his head and continued. "A-anyway, by then, we have to assume the double will have been discovered and destroyed. I won't make it very thick simply to save on supplies. But with it having pulled most of the walls guards to the North, the West Wall - it's the easiest and most direct route from the prison - will be easy to scale and we can retreat into the forest with little problems. By the time they realize you've left the Village, you will be to far gone for them to catch up to." He paused, his blue gaze leaving her brown one as he rethought and double, triple checked his plan in his head. It makes sense..everything will work out if we do it correctly. He could hear more feet along the noisy tile above them and he shivered visibly at the sound of his father's voice again, ducking down and having to stop his hands from covering his head as he choked down a small whine that had tried to crawl from his throat.
He'll find you! He knows! Vile, disobedient, traitorous dog!
"Dammit!" The men passed uickly and Tao looked up again, but there was no relaxation. Making some sound that probably conveyed his emotions to her inadvertently, he pushed his palm against the paper clone. With a simple, one handed seal, he forced his chakra along the paper, setting the thing into motion. "It's dark enough now that appearances won't matter as long as it can keep moving. It's weight will make it lighter, faster. Heh...I'm sorry. I won't be able to mimic your movements completely but...", he seemed to be babbling now without realizing in. But sure enough the puppet stepped away from them and jumped up onto the roof with grace that he had modeled after Leiko's own - and it was strangely accurate, despite him only watched her in battle. He pushed forward, setting himself into a desperate run even before he was completely on his feet. Keeping behind the housing would be best now. If they were discovered to uickly, they would have to waste energy trying to force their way out. And Tao doubted the woman was in any condition to do such a thing. Sure enough, within twenty yards, he could already hear ninja rushing around in the opposite direction as them. He heard something about them having located her and Tao allowed himself a bit of breathing space.

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ Leiko followed behind him wordlessly: Her mind wasn't really on what was going on, that part of her acted in rote; automatic. Her mind itself was a million miles away as she contemplated what she was doing. If she were perfectly honest with herself she could have left the puppet master to his fate as soon as she hit the ground outside of the prisoner, if not sooner. Though she'd spent a minimal amount of time in Konoha she probably could have gotten out of there on her own, thanks to her Sumiyaka speed; there was the added factor that they would be distracted by their own little problem: Namely the one defecting to help her. He could have been the perfect distraction, and yet... Leiko jumped to the side reaching out and grabbing a kunai out of the air as it streaked toward the back of the puppet master before her, using the needle thin blade of her chopstick knife to deflect a shuriken aimed for her head. Letting the momentum of her movements carrying her she swung around and hurled the kunai back at its owner. She could have left him to his fate, but instead the Sumiyaka ranged behind him and a bit to the sides protecting him. He was a distance fighter, she was a close ranged combat fighter: In this open air atmosphere as they skipped over the roof tops she was fairly in her element: Slithering through the shadows, returning attacks, and using her maneuverability and speed to the maximum extent. Though there was a vague tightness in her chest that warned she needed to relax a bit she'd noticed that because of her mistake she now knew the current range of her own speed a little better: She could push farther than she had been. It was always nice to know her limits. Before she knew it she was resting back in reality cloaked in shadow as she crouched beside him in the alleyway listening to him as he outlined his plan and made an amazing little clone from his paper. Her lips twitched slightly at that, and she thought that he had Haru ought to... Her features snapped blank so fast it almost seemed like someone had taken an eraser to it and whipped her completely clean. Something in her chest twanged, and it wasn't a physical pain either. She rather wished right in that moment that she could take her knife and shave off the little bits of her heart that hurt, place them in a nice little box and bury it. Her breathing picked up for a few seconds almost as though she was about to have a panic attack; and then abruptly evened, and seem to slow as though she'd just calmed to a near laconic state. When she looked up to watch the clone take off her eyes had dulled from a normal brown to a flat tone of color that seemed almost dead. She carefully closed off the parts of her humanity, locking them behind the steal bars of a self made cage and felt the cool void of emotional numbness rush in to fill her. Calmly, almost distractedly she extracted the second of her two chopstick knives from her bandaging and took it in her left hand, "Fine." was all she said. Following him back toward the prison she kept to the shadows, her pace unhurried and ridiculously calm for the situation: She appeared to be completely unmoved, and if asked she'd probably admit she wasn't. She hadn't been particularly harried beforehand, but now she simply didn't care. Ahead of them she could see a group of shinobi at the intersection of their route and the next, and she didn't even bother to think about it she simply channeled chakra into her legs, pushing forward and passing the puppet master; a few feet from them she flickered into the high speed spectrum, and appeared standing in the middle of the small circle. Someone gasped, another swore; but was cut off as the needle thin knives she bore turned his throat to ribbons. Sliding downward she brought her fist up into the chin of one of the others, her body uncoiling as she pushed off the ground lashing out with a powerful roundhouse kick to that sent a third into the side of the building: Honestly, having a best friend that fought with a kick-boxing style was helpful. Whipping around she vanished only to reappeared behind the another, stuck to the nearby wall with chakra: she snapped out viper quick and slipped the thin knife blade through the skin at his temple; making use of the delicate area there to cause as much damage as possible. Pushing off the wall she twisted mid air and kicked the same man into the ground, and landed near his head. Straightening she flicked her knives free of gore, glancing back over the curve of her shoulder; eyes seeking the puppet master. ------ The Rogue Princess

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

Her sudden change in attitude toward it all troubled him. But he had little time to think on it at the noticeably smaller group of Shinobi rushed toward them in an attempt to block them. He flinched violently without much warning or reason. But he could feel it in his bones even before the echo of some distant explosion rocked the ground beneath his feet ever so subtly. His dragon had been destroyed now, torn apart from the inside out with some sort of jutsu he couldn't name. But he could feel her crash headlong into the earth below her and he immediately triggered his own self imposed destruction of her as a second, much smaller explosion sounded off. They wouldn't take her, he decided. Not with her form burning and shriving up into a smoldering pile of ash. And her makeup would be lost, as would the ability to use her or the jutsu against them later. A safety precaution he had built in years before, during the making of his puppets. She was useless, he knew. But it was better her, right now, than Leiko's paper duplicate. Tao could feel her passing him but could do little about it other than continue on after her. Even in his fitful panic, he did not allow himself to fall far behind and drew his arms from behind himself to pull his hands forward, a few of the remaining paper slips reforming by his shoulders, just beneath the short sleeves of his jacket, and wrapping themselves into tight, needle-like weaponry. Running forward to face the man who was taking off to meet him in(what the man assumed to be) a close combat flush, Tao tensed his legs, stopping abruptly only a foot and a half away from his opponent before propelling himself upward above him and flinging his arms outward to send forth his miniature barrage of chakra hardened paper needles. Taken off guard, the paper dug into the man's face and throat, blinding him and bringing about an eventual death. Using the forward motion to his advantage, he let himself fall forward, bring more paper to his hands as he did so. A few of the shinobi looked upward to follow him with their eyes as he stretched his left leg outward, foot flat, to bring his heel crashing into shoulder below him. He could feel the pop of joints and muscles, indicating he had dislocated it and he followed though easily enough, bounding upward above them to resume his place as a long range fighter. It was unfortunate though, that Tao wasn't accustomed to close combat range. In fact, he had mistakingly allowed more time than he actually had for escape, and he realized uickly enough that it was about to cost him. He hadn't even managed to get a few feet above the group before something wrapped around his ankle and snapped him backward. He could feel the air forced from his lungs as he slammed down on his belly and face into the ground. The whole half a minute he was there after he had rolled over onto his back seemed to slow down drastically as he blinked, the impact having dazed him for a moment before his battle ready instinct kicked back in and his good eye refocused itself. He tilted his head downward to catch just a glimpse of something hurling toward him. His healing arm twisted itself around as he moved, pushing himself out of the way in time to avoid being crushed beneath the weight of the rounded weapon. A hammer, he realized half way through trying to regain his footing. I was nearly killed by a damn hammer! The thought was stupid, really, but fleeting enough not to distract him as he moved around another blow and he thanked the man for having such a slow weapon against one small framed, fairly flexible Ugashi, and a lightning fast Sumiyaka. But his arrogance was cut short as he stumbled in his attempt to get airborne and away from his weaker point in hand to hand(so to speak) fighting. He cried out sharply as the hammer smashed against his side. The only thing that had saved him from puncturing a lung or some other vital organ was his predicting the move, his peripheral vision having caught it in time to let the paper and his own chakra surge to his flank and protect him against the full force of the attack. But that didn't stop him from feeling a slight pull at his side followed shortly by a sick snapping sound and the pain that had drawn the cry from him in the first place. He was knocked off of his feet, not surprisingly, and self reeling to the side with his paper dispersing around him as tiny slipped of gray in the dark. His shoulder took the brunt of his landing and he slid away from the group of ninja - and his ally - leaving clouds of dust and dirt in his wake. He fell limp in the dirt for only a moment before groaning and forcing his arms to lift his upper body off of the ground. The man approached him slowly, his damn hammer dragging in the dirt as he seemed to strain to lift it. Tao shoved himself backward, pulling to his feet to avoid it as it came down on where he had fallen. He moved backward, doing his best to avoid the hammer, ignore the new pain in his right side, and get away from the attacker. But like his body, his mind was just not made to do that. He was a strategic thinker, a planner, not a uick impulse, physically destructive person. Pausing only for a second to glance to the side, catching Leiko's searching eyes, Tao had to jump to the side, his smaller build allowing him to twist himself just above the ground so that he landed in a crouch. His paper reserves came to life again beneath his shirt and sleeves and, pushing backward on the ground, he thrust them forward again. And as he had done with Leiko's clone, he linked them together until just a few seconds later, another beast reared up to come to his defense. It's massive paws braced against the blunt side of the hammer before it could even begin to swing down toward the ground. Now, before Tao, stood a giant, plaster coloured bear. It was at least a foot and a half larger than the actual animal it took the form of and it's shoulders hunched forward so that the beast's head could draw closer to his opponents. It snarled and with one simple command from Tao, embedded it's claws into the wooden weapon and stepped to the left, pulling the man and his hammer with him and hurling both of them a good twenty feet away. Still, Tao continued to build on it, adding several more layers before the bear fell back onto all four and took a heavy smack at a man Tao sensed coming behind him. Tao rose to his feet now, head craning upward to take in the prison for a moment before calling over to the Sumiyaka, "Come on!" and taking off in spite of the strain he felt at his side. It hurt to breath now and his lips and teeth had parted so he could suck in air though his mouth instead of his nose. But his own pain wasn't important to him now and he swallowed it down. His bear lumbered on with surprising speed just a few feet ahead of him to his right, hardened claws clanking noisily against the metal flooring as they entered into the prisons doors. Tao skidded to a halt, his head whipping around to search for any attackers only to find none. At least they had a few moments to think. Where would they be... What room! Which way! He thought back to his family's conversation of the building at dinner just hours before, focusing on bringing Keisuke's dialog into focus. The boy may have mentioned something about it when telling of his filing misadventures. A minute passed before Tao clicked his tounge to his teeth, feeling blood from whatever had happened to his side(a broken rib, he would soon realize) push up into his mouth and run past his lips and down his chin. "It's this way.." I hope, he added to himself in private. But even in his doubt, he charged forward, trying to bite back the pain and his panic and fear. But once again his movements became frantic, driven by his own mad thoughts of Kaji and his own demise. He watched Leiko through the corner of his good eye, making note to try and keep up with her even as he grit his teeth together. But Tao was lucky, even in his sudden act of recklessness. Only a few hundred yards into the narrow hallway, a brighter room stopped him and a more familiar cloth he could see from the open door drew him toward it, muttering his discovery to her as he moved forward. A lone guard thrust his katana toward them but the bear crushed him in a single swipe of his thick paw and Tao stepped forward and to the side to let her in to retreive her belongings.
"You have your things now..", his head cocked back on his shoulders slightly as his blue gaze wavered and flickered to the side, catching another shinobi moving down the hall toward them. He stepped away from the door, bracing himself and moving the bear to stand beside himself. "Hurry up! We don't have time for you to cha-!", his sentence faded into a gradual whisper before he cut himself off entirely, his face contorting in recognition and nervous anxiety.
To think my own son would be a traitor!
The younger Ugashi faltered only for a moment before he made his mind up. Get the hell out of here! Swallowing despite his dry throat, he reached back into the room, making a uick grab at the woman's shoulder, whether he needed to or not, before turning on his heels to make a run for it. "Dammit!", he forced the bear forward, driving it to move uicker as he rounded a corner, slipping only for a moment in his fear. As soon as he was sure his comrade had made it around the bend as well, he focused on the paper slips, more so than he had before, and the great bear came to a sudden halt at the corner, letting it's master and the woman go on without it. In only a matter of time, the form of the bear had broken away, becoming instead a wall to close his father off from them. He could hear the collision as Kaji slammed his fists against the paper wall rattle down the four surrounding walls and Tao flinched, looking back only for a moment before glancing at his ally, and then to the wall they were drawing nearer to. Reaching into his holster, he fished for another explosive tag before jerking his bandaged arm out into front of him. Sure enough the tiny paper bit folded itself neatly enough into a small bird, but it only took Tao a moment to recognize a rather important detail. He pulled himself to a stop uite abruptly, staring with an almost baffled expression on his flexible face. The bird fluttered about before, hanging in midair as he seemed to shrink down embarrassingly. "I don't have any more bombs...", he said uietly. He called the bird back, looking at her expectantly for a moment before sending a nervous glance over his shoulder and then back to her.

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ Time flowed together as it was wont to do in any drawn out battle situation, and as she ran down the hall in the prison a few paces behind the puppet master and his paper bear, Leiko entertained the inane thought that being barefoot had a few good points because she was able to run on the slick floor without slipping as much. She didn't bother responding to the puppet master's assurances: She didn't care either way. She wanted her stuff back, true, but she'd fight her way through the entirety of the shinobi here to get out if she had to. They'd have to kill her: Keeping her around wouldn't work in the end, they'd learn that. She idly sheathed her chopstick knives as they ran, deciding it'd be best; she could just use her fists anyway. Then, of course, they were there and Leiko moved forward grabbing her items with the quick efficiency of a trained ninja whose used to doing things on the run. Most of it was tucked into a single satchel anyway: Her gauntlet rested beside it alongside her other array of weaponry. She reached into the satchel and grabbed one of the kosode out as soon as she reached her items and flung it around her shoulders, shoving her arms through the over sized sleeves; though it hung open around her making her look more delicate than she really was. She'd just gathered everything into her hands when she felt the tug at her shoulder. She didn't bother commenting or arguing, it was foolhardy at best; and a waste of time in the least. She simply followed. She did, however, give pause to stare at the man who she vaguely recalled running into earlier for several seconds during which she refused to break eye contact; then she turned and hurried after her apparently flustered comrade. Glancing back once she noticed that he'd blocked the hall with more of his paper, but then her attention was called forward again as he seemed to shift around, looking back and forth in a sort of twitchy way that denoted an amount of panic. The Sumiyaka offered him a cool stare for a second, "Nn." She offered the non-comment dropping the objects in her arms to the floor at her feet she reached down and pulled a sash from within her satchel. She was aware that each second was probably making him more twitchy, but really... He'd apparently neglected all his lessons about patience and clear-minded thinking. So, she spoke in that cool unaffected monotone of her; voice tinged with a small amount of dry mocking, "Calm down, Puppet-Master. You are a fully trained shinobi, no? Be proud of your skills, and your path." Tying the sash around herself in quick precise movements she grabbed the thin weapons holsters and spirited them away into various places in the folds of her over sized top: this one pure black. She was all black and maroon now: colors that were often used to represent her clan. She pulled out the chopsticks she'd previously been using as weapons and used them to put her hair back up in a loose bun; then reached down and grabbed her gauntlet pulling that on under the loose sleeve over her left arm; she cinched the straps in quick motions. The satchel was tossed around to dangle from right shoulder to left hip as well, and almost as an after thought she slung her kodachi into place across her lower back. While it was a lot, Leiko accomplished it all surprisingly quickly. Geared up to her normal level made her feel infinitely better, even with the cool numbness that had settled over her shoulders like frost. She hadn't the helpless feeling that accompanied a lack of adequate preparation. "I don't have anymore bombs..." The Sumiyaka glanced over toward him as the words floated to her, and all at once a feral look came over her face: It was perhaps startling the translation between blank and emotionless to this... She could care less. Her right hand dipped into the folds of the black kosode and returned holding what looked like a single flimsy slip of paper, written over in blood red kanji: then she shifted her thumb forcing the tags to fan out into six separate objects. "I have plenty." She drawled. She had enough on her to probably level the building or a block, she wasn't sure: She never bothered keeping track, so long as she had a lot of them. She supposed thats what happened when one of your teammates was a natural born pyro who decided everyone needed to understand the joy of 'Blowing Shit Up' Blinking once Leiko moved forward and smacked all six across the blank middle of the wall in a surprisingly straight line, then, turning she ran back toward the barrier he'd put up pausing halfway she whipped out two more explosive tags setting them to either side of the hallway. Backing up slowly, a slightly crazy smirk on her face she lifted her hands into position; getting ready to set them off, "I do hope you're as good as you seem to be." She murmured, then sealed the activation. The conflagration roared. ------ The Rogue Princess

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

He had ignored her mocking tone before, taking in stride and swallowing it down easily enough. But he did shoot her a rather defensive sidelong glance as she muttered in apparent doubt at his skill, lip curling slightly as he bit back a few vulgar thoughts. She was still a woman, regardless of her condition or skills as a Kunoichi. So instead, he followed her with his good eye as she darted back and forth with the recognizable tags he had used to often himself. He regretted now not packing more. But he had little time to beat himself over as she plastered them down the lower parts of the hallway and he turned to move forward again, taking a few running steps forward toward the opening, fully intending to hull ass out of there with her before the explosion caught them while they were still close enough to be harmed by it. But one more glance over his shoulder to see if the wall had held his father back told him uickly enough that something was wrong; She wasn't following him. He slid to a clumsy halt, already twisting himself against his momentum to turn around, still far to fearful of Kaji to move in a more graceful manner. He took a few steps before stopping to stand trembling slightly(the adrenaline finally catching him it seemed) only a few feet from her. "What are you-!?", he dropped the question as the need for it vanished completely. She...she isn't! She wouldn't!, but her hands formed the seals before his mind could even put it together that she was in fact activating the paper tags around them, let alone think to stop her. Instead, his visible eye only widened, a new sort of panic washing over him and he could only stand their like an idiot for a secound before he was spurred into motion again by the first thundering sounds of the result of her actions. Had he not had an equally impulsive, irrational, and downright(in his opinion) stupid teammate working alongside him in his youth, he might have allowed the instinctive flight instinct to pull him backward toward the opening, saving himself and letting her demolish both the hall and herself. But his mind worked it out before he had even thought to uestion the moves his body was making. Thrusting himself forward in an ungraceful manner to land beside her, his feet slipping from beneath him a bit so that he ended in a sloppy formed crouch beside her he drew more paper up from his stores and in only a second, he had stretched his arms out and the slips exploded outward. They laced together around them forming a small domed shield around them only just in time. Still, Tao could feel the burning at his arms and his flanks and he was sure that she would feel a bit of the resulting flames as well. Still, he had formed one fleeting notion. Not that it was better than being blown up, or that it was lucky he had gotten there in time to save them both, or even that maybe his father would be hurt in it all. But rather, as he reached down to grab at his side, blood running over his teeth and down the side of his chin from somewhere inside of him, his mind could only pull together one thought;

This is the first time I've ever wanted to hit a girl!

Tao winced at the heat of the flames and the rattling sensation in his already injured chest and he tilted his head to glare at her, as though attempting to convey that very notion. He could feel the ending result of it all outside of the paper dome and the floor beneath them shook and rumbled even louder than the explosion that had left a ringing in Tao's ears. Even when the main explosion had subsided, he noted that the entire structure seemed to keep thundering around them. Slowly, cautiously, and not sparing her any sort of resentful scowls in the process, he let the salvageable paper(and there wasn't much) slip back into his holsters. Tilting his head upward as he rose to stand up straight his eye darted over the ceiling before shifting back down the wall to eye a large square beam that had been blown apart in the explosion. At this he growled, his fear nearly forgotten completely as he whipped back around on his heels to face her, his expressive face disfigured suddenly by an angry glare. "What. Were. You. Thinking?", his words were so clipped and separated that they had become separate sentences entirely. "You could have killed us! What kind of irrational..reckless..absolutely-! Y-you even do that again, and I'll throw you back in here myself! Were you even-?" Whatever he had been planning to ask her was cut short as the roof just behind him caved in, broken down by the weight of something else that had crashed down onto the area. Tao jumped away from in in start, unable to stop himself from the embarrassing yelp that he was sure she could here. His teeth clacked together angrily and he leaped forward to move over it, assuming she would follow in tow. And even as he had to gulp down another swallow of fear as he heard his father groan from somewhere in the demolished building, he could be heard grumbling under his breath at her "capricious personality".

------------

Their trek across the side of the prison, which, as Tao had expected, was covered mostly by either large trees or thick blackened shadows that the prison itself produced in the half-moonlight. They had scaled it in less than five minutes easily, even with Tao feeling himself lagging thanks to his rib. Climbing it proved no difficult task either and in only another minute, they had reached the top. And again, as Tao had prophesied to her during his relaying to her of his plan, there were only a few guards that hardly noticed their presence as they moved across it and down the other side, cloaked now by the Leaf's trademark forest. And Tao thought for a moment, while dropping down into the canopy of the forest, that it was uite ironic that the very leaves that were protecting Konoha, would be the same ones that would set free to fugitives.
He dropped down onto a lower branch, steadying himself with his uninjured arm bracing his body weight against the base of the tree branch before he straightened, turning to face her before giving a gruff sigh. Somewhere in the back of his head he could feel her duplicate finally fall apart but he worked no harder to keep it together, only glad his plan had worked well enough to make it out with her alive. He let his gaze drop down for a moment in an unreadable expression before he lifted his head again to look her in the eyes. "You shouldn't have any trouble now. They will send scouts only after they are sure you've left the Village. By then you should have gotten out of the way. If not...I won't be able to do anything about it again.", his voice was almost remorseful, his mind churning his own demise up in his head. After this, he had decided... Well, he didn't want to think about it. Instead he allowed himself the solace of knowing that at least it would have been done for the sake of...he didn't even know what the hell he was doing it for. He blinked at the sting of Suki's words in his head and swallowed dryly. "I doubt it'll be an issue though. Anyway...I...suppose you can..you know, go now..", again his informal conversation skills, or lack there of, prevented him from being able to say a simple 'bye', but he supposed it would suffice.

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ She blinked at him as he glared at her, stared blandly as he began to snarl at her about how she could have killed them. All she offered in return was a slightly shrug: After all she hadn't, in fact, killed them so his point was moot as far as she was concerned. As for the rest... Well, she'd bet on him pulling up a shield around them when the insane idea had first entered her head; he'd reacted as she expected and... Well, Leiko couldn't keep the smug little smirk off her face as he ranted at her, her arms lifting to cross over her chest as her hip twitched outward slightly: Honestly, he ought to just get over it. Leiko had been named well, really. Then of course he was jumping and yelping like a fidgeting sparrow as bits of debris fell inward, and off he went. Rolling her eyes Leiko followed after him. Honestly, this was the most she'd actually 'felt' beyond the base feelings of emptiness, grief, and loathing in months. This puppet-master, was oddly amusing. ------ As the cool darkness of the forest once more closed around her she found herself relaxing some of the tenseness in her body minutely, though she remained a lot more tense than the puppet-master seemed to be. She stood there, her back toward him as he spoke; head tilted back so she could stare at the ceaselessly shifting canopy above. She barely suppressed a shudder at the rustling sound that the leaves in the trees made. To her it was such an unnatural sound; she preferred the sound of wind over sand. Suddenly, what he was saying caught her attention and Leiko turned around, leaning back against the thick bole of a tree to regard him levelly. The words fell from her mouth quick, and easy and for once in the last several months she felt refreshingly like herself. "You're forgetting something, fool." Leiko drawled, her head tilting a bit to the side. "Wasn't there some questions you had for me? About the heirs?" Sheesh, and he told her not to forget? Then, though it had occurred to her earlier when he come and gotten her from her cell; she knew the gravity of what he'd done and she couldn't quite help. Leaning forward slightly she braced her palms against the bark behind her, "Besides, where will you go? You're a traitor to you're Hokage now, puppet-master." Her lips twisted into a smile full of self-hate and self-mockery. "I know what that means, you know. It means you aren't welcome there, not anymore. Not unless you want to face Judge and Jury and all kinds of legal tape... And that man, the one who so obviously unhinges you" It may have been cruel to remind him of this, but... She was speaking logically as much as he may not like it: Leiko told the truth, even when it hurt. The thought drifted in, and though it had teased the edges of her consciousness before she gripped it now, and almost hesitantly she offered, "I can get you asylum if you require it..." Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He'd helped her, and done quite a bit beyond that for her not that she would ever admit any of it, really... ------ The Rogue Princess

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

Tao was suddenly glad for the darkness that shielded much of the usual colours from view because he could feel his face redden and his ears go pink at her reminder at what he had tried to take care to remember. How could he have forgotten. But perhaps, once he had gotten through it all, the importance of the uestions had been lost, even if he knew they could have been vital to know about later on down the road. But even with his own self justification, that did not soften the humiliation he felt at her tone. Turning his head to the side, he clicked his tounge against the back of his two front teeth absently, as though he were ignoring her completely. "I had no use for the answers after some time." It was partially true. And he cut the act uickly, the implications and consequences of his actions beginning to settle in his mind now. Now that he wasn't dashing about in the madness of escape, the realization was setting in. And suddenly, he felt nauseous. His plan to let her escape in retaliation...his newly decided goal to murder his father...what would it mean now? His head drooped on his shoulders, arms falling so that his hands hung limply at his sides and fact shifting into a placid look of shame. "They wouldn't help me now." She continued on without him realizing it at first. But he was torn from his own self pity long enough to look up and listen. And her words hit him even harder than the hammer had when it had snapped his rib; like a blow from a kunai, sharp, staccato and hitting something in him that made him double over as though in pain. And it certainly wasn't from his rib. But he shuddered as it sunk in completely before he forced himself upward, only to find himself unable to face her. She paused for a moment and he thought for a moment she would leave him to his unrest. But she kept at it, prodding his open wound with a sharp stick when she spoke of his father. His gaze flashed dangerously, flickering to her own brown gaze to scowl even as he knew in the back of his mind that he wouldn't ever be able to affect her as he wanted. But he stood like that for only a lengthy moment before he softened entirely, suddenly more tired than he had been even after moving about so much with her escape. She was right. He opened his mouth to object, to try and conjure up something to say that would make her words less wounding, maybe make them false. But it all led back to his inevitable fate. And his objections wouldn't have her any less right or him any less aware of it either, and he knew it.
Taking a step away from her, he contemplated running from her right then. But then her question repeated itself in his brain. Where will you go? He hesitated before she spoke up again. He almost missed her words, so tangled up in his own troubles was his mind that his ears just barely heard her whispering.

"I can get you asylum if you require it..."

Tao could only stand and stare for a full minute, letting her words still and then churn in his mind as he contemplated for a moment. There was doubt, he decided, that she was lying. Why would she? Even his suspicious nature wasn't that cautious to suspect her of sudden treason of that nature. But... Suki.. To where would he go for this shelter the Sumiyaka offered and how long would he take this leave before he decided to return? What if he couldn't return at all? He'd never see her again. He winced again, repeating that phrase in his mind as a sort of a unfamiliar mantra. But what if he went back now. What would she be put through if Kaji took hold of her, probably blaming her for his son's betrayal? And from that though, others were uprooted for him to look over in just an instant, even if it felt like more time to him. And it was only at the growing sounds of searching men that Tao shook his head and passed her a grieving look(though he did not realize that was the case) and spoke up finally.

"I..." there was a long pause before, "Where?"

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ Leiko found herself suddenly in something of a quandary; it wasn't something she was particularly used to, really. She normally just did things her way, or the high way. She rarely bothered to stop and think about what other people wanted to do; oh sure, she took into account how it would effect them, calculating the reactions of them, but she usually just did as she thought was best. Usually she was right; sometimes she was wrong (Though she'd often deny she'd ever been wrong, but that was personal pride, really). Leiko was a smart person, she liked to think, and wasn't very often led by anything than cool logical thought (Barring when her temper got the better of her). So the fact that she was experiencing indecision here and now left her feeling a bit annoyed. Why? Why was she suddenly feeling this way, and how dare this random guy (Who's name she didn't even know) inspire such a feeling in her? Scowling thunderously she huffed, arms crossing over her chest as she turned away; staring blankly off into the surrounding shadows of the forest. Her foot tapped a quick beat against the cool soil of the forest floor, and for a moment her indecision was glaringly obvious. After several seconds of hmming and hawing in her mind Leiko came to a decision and slid down the tree, her kosode scraping over the bark. Tugging off her satchel she began to dig through it rather industriously as she searched for something: Out came a wad of papers which she riffled through, pausing at times to skim the contents until, before making a negative sound and continuing her search. Finally she appeared to find what she wanted and whipped a rather authentic piece of documentation from the bunch. The others went back into her satchel, and she double checked the paper. As she began to dig through her things again she spoke almost absently, "We'll be going to Wind Country." Giving a triumphant little sound she pulled out a pen, and scribbled on the paper a bit (She wrote with her left hand, being ambidextrous was damned useful, and the fact that she was wearing her gauntlet made the resemblance to her left and right handed writing even less than she was going for; it was awkward to write with your arm encased in metal, flexible or not.) "Look, I'm going to go about a half mile down the main road, and I'll wait for you. If you're not there by dawn I'll take that to mean you're not coming and I'm leaving you're ass here. If you suddenly decide to take me up on my offer anyway go to Sunagakure and find a shinobi named Shuji, tell him that Mother Desert's first daughter looks on you favorably, and he'll help you out." As she spoke she finished writing. Checking the document once more (it was a letter of introduction for an antique's dealer wanting to trade with some merchant in Konoha and such, vague enough to work; but detailed enough to seem authentic; it even had proper seals and everything.) Folding it neatly she tugged out a sticker like object with the same seal on it and smacked it on the seam to keep the letter closed. Reaching once more into her bag she dug around and produced a traveling cape of sorts in dusky brown which she tossed at him, more digging produced a sort of head wrap or burnoose that was often worn by desert travelers: She threw that at him as well. "Just don't let them get a good look at your face." Standing back up she held out the letter for him, and the second he took it she turned and began to stalk off into the forest, hitching her satchel back onto her shoulder. Curling her shoulders forward the Sumiyaka seemed almost to be trying to hide from the 'nice' thing she'd just done, and pausing for a moment she stared flatly at the surroundings. She knew why she had, now, perhaps she'd known from the moment he'd entered her little camp so many days ago in the forest. He reminded her of herself; Perhaps he was more open emotionally (she'd never been an emotional person, not really) but somehow he still did... Here he was walking such a similar path to her.. She, quite frankly, didn't want him to end up like her. It hurt being her. Swallowing with a bit of difficulty she said in a flat, tone that sounded disturbingly lost and dead, "Half a mile. Dawn." Then, she pushed off the ground and jumped neatly into the branches, taking off at a quick clip. ------ The Rogue Princess

[Souku|Raidon|Tao]

Tao felt a rather predominant weight in his chest at the thought of having to journey to the Wind Country's deserts. He supposed he should have expected it, given that it was her home. But it didn't make him any less comfortable with having to go there. Above him, the sounds of a few men scattering about in search for them(apparently either of them had been seen in a number of various places, but no one had yet pinned them down) made him rethink his hesitation. What choice did he have anyway? Mentally, he groaned still. It wasn't as though he hadn't been to the desert several times during his time as a shinobi; it was just that he - or any other Ugashi Ninja for that matter - wasn't assigned missions there often. Why would they be when most of them relied on water as a base for weaponry? But all the same, he kept his unwillingness under wire and kept a stern face, the only sign of his emotion flashing in his eye for a moment before his blue gaze followed her hand as it dug at her sash in search of something he couldn't be sure of. A bit of parchment was extracted and she began writing something. Squinting in the darkness, his head tilted to the side as he attempted for a moment to see what she was scribbling down only to have to draw back for fear of being reprimanded as she continued speaking to him. He blinked at her words. She was letting him go back? His brow knit together slightly and he let his gaze rest on her face; as though he expected to be able to read her expression with her looking away from him. He frowned, looking away in confounded curiosity. "Why ar-?"
He didn't get any time to finish his questions before she had thrown some rougher material at him. He flinched for a moment, hands jerking up to pull it from off of his head to glare at her before looking down at it. Moving his left hand to let the cloth fall limply and stretching it out so he could take a more accurate look at it he recognized it as a sort of cloak and he understood the reasoning behind it well enough. However the second thing she tossed at him(it also smacked him in the face) he could only make a guess of it being a scarf. Why would I need that? his lips narrowed into a confused frown. Tao was still rather unfamiliar with the attire, you see. He usually only wore his own clothing and was rarely in Suna long enough to remember what exactly they wore. Still, he took it without complaint and folded it almost obsessively neat in his arms before tucking them away under his left arm, nodding curtly at her command.
Her hand stretched toward him, the letter held out to him now and he blinked at it. Glancing up to her hesitantly, he reached forward and took it from her, almost gingerly at that. And he held it there in his hand without folding it or trying to ruin in otherwise; acting with it almost as delicately as he had with her cranes under the assumption that what she had given him was important. But she said nothing on it, leaving him wondering about it until his attention was drawn away from it as she turned to leave. Muttering a polite 'thanks', his face softened into a more appreciative look. It wasn't beyond him that she could have simply tugged him along without giving him his time to return and prepare. And while it struck him as odd(he found her odd anyway, so such a thing was hardly noticed), it also struck at something in him. Though he was unable to place it now, he was conscious of it none the less.
She took off and he watched her for a moment before her form was hidden by the darkness at which he looked down at the letter. And again his confusion was uprooted and he suddenly wanted to call out to her and question her on the matter of it's contents. Turning it over with his index finger and thumb, he frowned at it, now more irritated with her that thankful.
What the hell am I supposed to do with this?
He shook his head, carefully tucking it away in the inner pockets of his jacket. Drawing the cape around himself and pulling at his jacket to raise the uplifted collar around his face(leaving the other bit of cloth at his side, still unsure how to put it on properly and opting to try at it later when time was not so precious, not even realizing it's usefulness) he took off along the bottom of the Leaf's walls, recalling a hidden break in it he and Souku had discovered in their youth in his mind.