Anger and Agony

[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ The God's had painted the sky a glorious tapestry this night: It screamed of culmination. It spoke of the haunted. The sky was devastatingly beautiful in her colors of blood red, burnt amber, and ever encroaching violets. Sweet evening birds warbled contentedly as the massive glowing orb of the sun settled unstopably lower toward the finale. The hulking statues were washed in the disturbingly rosy color, almost looking like they bled shadows and red light. The hiss of wind rustling through the massive trees of Fire Countries boundless greenery soothed most souls. The presence of animal life attesting to the good will of the world. It was a lie. A figure could be scene near to the actual cutting torrents of the valley, she was sitting on a cliff that over looked the scarred swatch of ground, the statues details impossible to see from this distance. Her legs dangled over the edge, the tree tops below easily over a hundred feet departed. Behind her the empty expanse of barren land, decorated with tough grass before sweeping back into the thick lush forests. She was entirely alone, and the silence suited her. Her reserves were starting to wear, now. After having left Konoha behind in swift pursuit of a dream she'd spent the rest of the night, and the entire day scouring the forests surrounding the hidden village. She hadn't found a damned thing. Her blank features ticked slightly as they fought to twist into a look of anger, and deep within the numb cold she'd bathed her heart in she could feel the angry convulsion of her emotions. She hated how fruitless her efforts had been, was devastated at her own weakness. She felt so worthless... She felt stupid as well, something she hated even more. So stupid for falling for whatever sickening game, had been thrust upon her while in the village. "He is dead." The Sumiyaka declared to the silence, in a flat voice. It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself, and not succeeding. The rustle of the brush behind her had her twisting sharply, her spine straining in protest of the sharp movement as her hand coming up as though to defend or attack. Brown eyes narrowed watching a bird startle from the motion, and take off in a twittering cacophony to the skies. Slowly turning back around, she dug her fingers into the dirt digging tracks into the semi loose soil. Leiko narrowed her gaze fractionally. The sky overhead explode in a rush of fire and the sharp ozone sting of chakra expelling. There was a distinct smell of burnt feathers as the smoke from the explosion fell like a rain of mist. The metal of the gauntlet she'd dawned after leaving the confines of the ninja village creaked as she tightened her hand into a fist. "Fool." She bit out hatefully. Though it may not have been apparent, she was speaking to/of herself. The breeze whispered quietly, invisible fingers plucking at the lost princess' brown hair, and the last dying red rays of the sun colored the world in crimson bloodshed. ------ The Rogue Princess

[º•.Ki-Chan.•º]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=face70] Let it BURN

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A lazy sweep of an arm scattered a flock of tiny finches into a flying frenzy. Bored, and utterly disappointed eyes watched as they all flew after each other, each following the other. Not even the first to air of made a move without some reassurance from the ones that followed. He had remembered when he was like that himself. A part of something bigger then just himself. It made slight pains travel from his chest to all surrounding areas. Everything had a pain of its own and together it just felt like too much. He growled inwardly as a foot kicked at the hard ground. It was hard for him to toy with her like this. The look on her face; it was something he'd never thought he'd see. It was desperation; hope. Something he was sure she had expressed that day. The day when everything fell apart.

"Damn me, damn him, and to HELL with everyone else too!"

His fingers slid into his shirtsleeve and pulled out a blue sheet of paper. On one side it was just brown, the other it had tiny flowers printed upon a softer, lighter brown. As he walked, his fingers worked; eyes never once looking away from the path ahead of him. His job wasn't over, and he knew it would only get harder if he let himself wait to pick up.

"My Hime, it will be over soon."

With a tiny crinkles sound he lifted the paper crane up to his eyes. It was sad how he had once held the small paper birds as his only love. Now, they seemed like nothing more then what they were; paper folded into silly little things.

BANG!

Haru's whole being jumped as he looked up at the sky. A small puff of smoke could be seen in the distance up ahead. He couldn’t' tell who, or what, it was...but he was pretty sure he knew. How, he couldn't tell. But something inside him jumped with glee as he watched the smoke disappear into the folds of the darkening sky.

"Here I come, Leiko-chan."

His voice was low, but at the same time had a pleased, excited tone. His sandaled feet picked up their speed as he leapt into the trees and silently made his way closer. If she was out here, he would find her.

It didn't take long. She wasn't exactly hidden in the spot she had chosen to perch herself. The trees had stopped to be and a sheer drop was all that stood in front of her. "I must be careful not to startle her too much. I couldn't bare it if she fell over." As he thought this inwardly he had to hold himself back from hooting out loud in laughter. Like Leiko would ever be so silly to do such a thing. Still, he saw her as a delicate flower too long out of the water; even if she were one of the most unladylike women he'd ever met. Hi sandals made a slight scraping sound as he slowly snuck closer to her. A small tap on the shoulder and a crane dropped into the lap was all he accomplished before jumping backwards out of arms length. He knew she would be an angry beast right now, she he had to play it safe. At the same time, he had to push her. It was a risky, and hard business.

"Leikoooooo-channnn! You have to be on your guard! I could have been ANYone you know!"

He stood there, hands on his hips with a giant smug smile on his face. Yes, she would see him now. See him and know he lived, or would she? He could disappear at a moments notice if he had to, but stretching this out gave him more time with her too. He knew she wouldn't risk hurting him right away; at least he hoped not. He just found it so hard to leave her behind. So hard to see her face disappear from his view one time after the other.
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[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ There was a world in her eyes: A sepia painted world that scrolled like a degraded film real. It spoke of a defiled bitterness, and a stern apathy. She wasn't fooled to think she was the only person in this world who experienced such a thing. That would have been brash stupidity on her part, and Leiko prided herself in being one of those not stupid' kinds of people. That, however, didn't lessen the truth of it. It was there, and it was real. The only thing that separated her from the rest of the useless drudgery was her choice to react to that knowledge, or not, as the case may be. She stagnated. She could feel her choice to remain embittered clawing at the tense muscles, and tender flesh of her throat like a monster from some unmentionable lagoon. She didn't care. Caring would have been pointless. The regrets of her life were the one thing that kept her company, and she embraced them in her arms like a mother loving her children. Her regrets were her children. She liked the sound of that. It sounded dismal, shameful, and degrading; all the things she found herself feeling she deserved. Where was her arrogance now? Where was her bright and shining self-entitlement? Buried here, in the sepia tint of her broken world. The surreality of reality was replaced, and overlaid. Nothing had depth, and everything was depthless. She almost fathomed the world moved around her, aging and growing and changing. She stagnated, motionless and uncaring. A statue in the river. Life passed her by in her grief, and she let it. Would they hate her now, if they realized the truth? Would they realize that her actions were, in themselves a state of inaction? That she refused to allow herself to move on, and her quest to appease the spirits of those she lost, as in fact the selfish desire to hold on to them? After all, she well knew that even if she killed the ones responsible it would not be enough to sate her. She would continue her quest until it ended her. This was her one way trip to hell... ... and she'd stopped caring so long ago. Some worlds fell apart in a day, disintegrating under the might of mother nature, falling away to a force greater than they. She'd sat, and watched her's crumble slowly like the turning of centuries. She wondered when she'd allowed herself to be so naive. The cool chill of evening laid across her the bared expanse of her left shoulder, soothing away the aching heat of her skin brought on from time in the sun. The numb within her rose to meet it, and she could almost fathom frost forming on her fingertips. A tattered feather drifted by in front of her face, and her gaze traced its course. Soot drifted haphazardly on the breeze. How fitting... Something fell into her lap, and she wondered at the fact that the touch to her chill shoulder hadn't managed to fracture her. She felt so brittle, and unreal just now. Lost in the chaotic soulless wanderings of her own dim mind. Her eyes tracked slowly downward to take in the fragile item gracing her barely clad thighs. Her slim tapering fingers reached out to run over the delicate edge of a wing, the paper biting sharping into the soft pad of her finger. Her mother'd always said she had artist's hands. An artist of death, she now knew. She tried for a long time to avoid killing. She'd been so damn naive. No longer, though. She realized it now. Her tongue flickered out absently as lifted her hand, sucking daintily on her finger. She mulled the flavor over on her palette, hating it. Her name floated through to her, registering like a fine mist in her mind and she pulled her finger away to issue forth a soft sigh: Barely more than a breathe of air. "Go away." she drawled, mulling things over in her head. It felt like broken glass, and she wondered absently if it would cut her there as well. "Spirit, hallucination, or fool... I care not. I'll still cut your worthless existence away." She braced her palms against the ground then, to either side of her hips while she gathered the muscles of her legs; drawing them upward. There was a sharp clack as the wood of her geta contacted with the ground again. A paper creation took flight, floating down toward the distant ground in a pitiful attempt to fly. Her gaze was pinned on it, fascinated in morbid thought as she watched it. It whirled, and drifted: A pitiful attempt at flight. ------ Delicate, dexterous, strong fingers creased the folded paper expertly, flipping it nimbly as a happy voice droned on. She was to busy watching him create: It was a fascinating endeavor though she'd never admit it. ------ "SIS! LOOK WHAT HARU-KUN HELPED ME MAKE!" the squeal broke the calm of her study. A wonky crane was dropped across her book. "Hm. Like I care about some silly paper bird." A laugh. "You keep it. It's for you, from me." Footsteps ran way again, happy laughter drifted back. Slowly, a hand reached out to grasp the badly made crane, drawing it close. A treasure. ------ "Here you go Leiko-chan. Happy birthday!" A box, unadorned. Plain... but cherished. Inside a glass sculpture of cranes leaping into flight. So symbolic. Cranes... ------ "Hey, sis?" "Hmm?" "Mama told me a story today." "Really? What about?" "She said that if you make so many paper cranes, you'll be granted a wish by the gods." "Thats what they say, yes." "Is that why Haru-kun gives you so many cranes?" ------ "You've made thousands of cranes, Haru, have you ever wished for something?" "Nah." "But, why not?" "I'm saving up my wish... Maybe I'll get something extra nice." "... You're an idiot..." ------ She swayed upward to a standing position, "This is your only chance." She intoned coldly. The metal of her dark gauntlet creaked as she tightened her hand back into a fist. It seemed to suck the light from the burgeoning stars. Moonlight washed the life from the world, and it seemed more real again: More like her sepia painted reality, only with more gray. ------ OoC: Sorry if my post didn't make much sense, I typed it up at like.. 4am XD ------ The Rogue Princess

[º•.Ki-Chan.•º]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=face70] Let it BURN

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Haru's brow lifted as he stood to his tallest height; which he had to admit was not all that frightening. He had expected her to attack, retaliate, SOMETHING. No.She just stood up, as if she had become zombified by something. She was a numb existence of what she used to be.

Haru hated himself for it. It was his fault. His entire fault.


Still, he had to protect her, and if this is what had to happen, then it was what must happen. Feeling his heart skip a beat as the last glow of the night sky surrounded her, making her glow a faint purple. It was now or never. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

"Leiko-chan! That is not a very nice way to talk to me! Can I just say that your outfit seriously tops the one you wore that night? Though I have to admit, some bits need to be a little more covered up. It makes one's mind wonder."

He tucked his hand into his sleeve and pulled out another piece of paper. The soft sounds of the paper being twisted and folded could be heard for a while, before silence once again became clear. Then...soft footsteps.

"My Hime...for you I can be what you desire. You are the match that lights my flame."

A hand brushed her cheek then, as soon as it was there, it was gone. Replaced by soft lips that lingered only a fraction of a moment to long. She smelled like Leiko always had and it was hard to tear himself away. Hard to say what he wanted to. To tell her everything. But not now. Now she had to be the mouse that the snake toyed with.

And Haru....Haru was her poison.

He knew he wouldn't be gone before she turned around. He also knew that there was a strong possibility that she would attack anyways. He was ready. Maybe.


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[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ Blank brown eyes narrowed fractionally in her emotionless features, her fingers twitching as she itched to attack. She held herself in repose, her breath leaving her in a soft heave, her tense muscles relaxed. Slowly tilting her head to the right, a few strands of brown swayed from the messy bun it was gathered to, the chopsticks that secured it shifted ever so slightly. She listened as the speaker approached her, felt the chilly burn of fingers, then the fire of lips against her cheek. Her breath hitched painfully in her lungs, but she didn't show anything. She was loosing her mind. She had to be, because he couldn't be there. He was dead, dead, dead.... It spilled past her lips, the monotone taking on a hard edge; the slightest thrill of anger caused the void in her chest to sear, "You. Are. Dead" Something snapped, and she could almost fathom she could hear the sound. She didn't give this figment of her decaying mental processes the leisure of getting to far back from her. The metal of her kodachi sang as it was ripped from it's sheath, her body whirling, flicking with her intense speed. The air hissed a startled cry as it was cleaved by her blade, swiping out it an attempt to wound, to cut, to harm whatever as toying with her. Her vision blurred, and twisted, going dark for a millisecond before flashing back in as she slowed back to a more manageable level, her momentum had brought her around to face her assailant. She didn't want to see though, her face remand impassive. Denial sang in her veins. He was dead. He was not standing there. She embraced the feeling of her own cracking mind. Somehow, she felt relief in her impending insanity... He was there with her after all. ------ OoC: Ew, short crappy post. Sorry D: ------ The Rogue Princess

[º•.Ki-Chan.•º]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=face70] Let it BURN

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Okay--this is a crap post. Haru left me a sticky tab in my head that said ---BBL; Cover my ass. So I did. Poorly. But the bastard better appreciate it!

onto the post!

Haru was glad he hadn't been standing close when she whirled around like she had. A raised eyebrow was all that answered her at first. His face wasn't the normal smi9ling one, no it seemed rather hurt, maybe a little bit confused.

"Dead? Leiko-hime! How could you say such things? Am I not here now? Am I not wounded by your words!"

He crossed his arms over his chest and let his weight fall heavily onto his left leg as he crossed the right one behind him. His smile was returning, the frown somehow fading from sight. Despite the fact that she was armed and ready to kill him he was acting quite casual.

"Let me just ask you one thing, okay? I want to know why, exactly, if you think I am dead, you're standing there talking to me. Has your heart made a faded image into hope? Be honest! My hime wouldn't do such things. She's far too rational for that."

He nodded with that and slipped out of his stance to raise his arms over his head and stretched. a giant groan erupted from his mouth as it opened in a bored yawn.

"But if you would prefer me gone, that can be arranged. Until we meet again, My hime. My love"

He turned his back to her and with a tiny burst of chakra disappeared back into the trees. He didn't want to leave, but he knew he needed to hid NOW if he was ever going to get away without her finding out. He'd of told her he was alive then. Told her everything...if it wasn't for that damned brat. Where was she anyways? Knowing that creepy little doll girl she could be anywhere.

He couldn't chance Leiko's life.

He wouldn't.

He began to curse himself. He was breaking her. Breaking her bad. He wasn't sure she would ever be fixed again. His eyes scanned the area around him. So many places he could hide, but without a distraction she'd catch him. Feeling his heart drop he pulled out a piece of paper and folded it into a swan. Focusing his chakra into it he performed the magnificent flying crane jutsu and once it was big enough hopped onto its back. The thick trees that began to grow smaller below him would cover him well enough. From down there he'd just be a giant shadow, and even then in this darkened time, that would be nearly unnoticeable.

He felt the ache now more then ever. His deception would kill her in the end if Orochimaru didn't.

"I'm sorry...my hime..."



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[Leiko-hime]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=000000] Sumiyaka, Leiko ------ The words seemed to seep into her mind, and fall right back out again while met by a barrier of denial. She would not believe he was there, it was not real: Could not be. No. No. No. No! Her mind scurried in warped little circles, and she grit her teeth wishing for the blindness of her movements as she stared at him, took in a form so familiar to her, yet so surreal. Why? she wanted to ask, Why do you haunt me so? that’s what it obviously was, a ghost there to haunt her and compound her already massive guilt. His next words curled around her heart like the creeping of a dark vine; squeezing and suffocating. My hime. Her lips parted, and strange bitter sound spilled from her lips, it sounded like laughter: dark and hollow, "You're hime," she said, her monotone words somehow more vicious than a thousand kunai. She felt as though she watched this all detachedly, as though the real her stood in her mind to tire to continue the battle: She was on auto-pilot, the dark something that had overwhelmed her in her grief in the driver’s seat. "Your hime died with you." She said flatly, coldly, without a hint of remorse. She'd been irrevocably changed as soon as that medic had told her he was gone. She'd thought she could survive Seiichi's passing so long as he was there... and he wasn't. Then he was turning away, his back toward her as he spoke his parting shots, and he was leaving again. In her mind the closed off terrified, sad girl she had once been screamed in denial. No, don't leave me! Her eyes, dulled to a muddy brown without their usual fire flickered and burned again as the coldness around her chest erupted into a painful fire. He was already out of her sight, but without a thought she gave chase her eyes frantically scanning the brush around her, "Haru!?" She yelled, her voice laden with despair, hope, confusion. Even if he was a ghost it was better to be haunted, than nothing at all. The crippling mental imagery of his grave washed over her, and she stopped moving. She didn't deserve the company of his spirit, and yet... It was her fault. She had to... she had... A rustle in the brush ahead of her had her jerking her head up, brown locks swaying while her grip on the hilt of her kodachi tightened. A man wearing an Anbu mask dropped from the trees to land crouched before her. Her eyes stared past him, and she could feel the sting of tears at the corners: She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't allow herself the luxury. Her lips moved slowly, sighing out the name in a desolate whisper once more, "Haru..." "Sumiyaka Leiko, we're here for your head." The voice broke through the dark landscape she'd surrounded herself in, her eyes blinking in a slow laconic manner. Before her stood the Anbu backed by two Jounin. She wouldn't doubt there was more around her as well. It was the best way to deal with something much faster than you after all: Trapping it. Usually, anyway. The emotional part of her retreated; not wanting to deal. The cold flowed into the void it left, filling her with its chill. Her head tipped forward, chin near rest on her chest. The breeze whispered. Looking back up to the Anbu who had spoken she stared at him with blank, muddy brown eyes, "You're welcome to try, fools." The Anbu's head tilted, and she was oddly reminded of a skeleton marionette, her lips curled in a harsh slash. She did enjoy dancing with the dead, it seemed. "Go!" the Anbu barked, and immediately she could hear the sound of movement to her left, right, and behind her. In front of her the two jounin flanking the Anbu leapt into forward motion, though they didn't seem to be coming at her... Her eyes flickered to either side taking in the fast approach of the two other jounin to either side of her in fleeting glances. Their route would cause them to pass her by, so what were they...? The one behind her! She began to turn to face the attack from behind, but as she did her eyes noticed the barest flicker of light along the filament length of something; like spider web. They were trying to catch her in a web of ninja wire, tie her down like some wild animal. It took her just the firing of a few synapses to process it all, for this to all happen, and as the jounin went to pass her, to tie her up in their biting web she shifted. Crouching slightly she pushed off the ground putting the most force into her right foot. The world blurred, and went dark as her enhanced speed tore through her system. Twisting in the air she moved into something of a back flip. Her momentum carried her over the advancing Anbu. As gravity gripped her again she finished the back flip, landing slightly crouched so as not to loose her balance. Her sight returned to show her the image of the second Anbu caught in the trap of his own comrades, the wires immediately tightening before the Jounin could stop their advance. Unfortunately for the Anbu he'd been in a position that some of the metallic wire went around his throat, and as they tightened... Blood spurted, and the grating of metal contacting bone sounded as the slick, sharp wire cut through the delicate flesh of the anbu's neck, nearly several his head but for the thicker muscles and his spinal column. His body was littered with a series of other deep cuts as he fell with a shocked gurgle, his comrades releasing the wires in their shocked horror. The kunai that had been meant for her fell from the Anbu's convulsing hand to stick upright in the soil. The former wielder landed next to his weapon with a thick thud his mask coming slightly askew from the impact. She could feel the blood from her previous wound beginning a slick trail down her back, all the activity having reopened it. As though remembering it all just now she tilted her head, staring at the first Anbu over his deceased comrade, "While your need to avenge you're comrades is inspiring, you seem to be having trouble actually fulfilling the act." "Avenging our..." The anbu spoke, then trailed off and realization dawned. "You bitch!" He hissed, so this is the one who'd surprised and killed the team of Anbu in Konoha. Leiko's expression shifted minutely, the only outward sign of her surprise. She'd apparently made a minor miscalculation. Oh well, it wasn't as if it mattered in the end. She had to wonder, though, why they were after her if it wasn’t for revenge. She didn’t have the liberty of thinking on the subject for long, though. From her right one of the jounin lunged for her swiping out with a kunai for the side of her head. She careened to the side away from the blow just in time, though she could feel the ripping sting of a gash forming across her temple. To slow! Whether that was meant for herself or the opponent she didn’t know. Digging the toe of her geta into the loamy soil she arrested her momentum bringing herself around to face her current attacker. Digging her toes into the soft earth for purchase she faced her opponent, and prepared to leap for the attack. A disturbance in the air to her side, however, stopped her; glancing to the left she sucked in a breath. Tensing the muscles in her legs she pushed off the ground throwing her self backwards as a rain of senbon cascaded over the area she’d just been crouching in. She barely had a moment to inhale when she touched down again: The earth groaned beneath her feet and with a resounding crack a stalagmite of rock thrust into the air. If it wasn’t for her Sumiyaka speed she’d likely have been impaled. Instead she dove to the side, the world blurring into a mass of unintelligible colors as she hit the ground, rolling and contorting her body: She ended up kneeling, one foot on the ground while she balanced her weight on the knee of the other. She could see Jounin number three crouched down, his palm flat to the ground. Leiko dove forward into another roll as the first Jounin came at her again, lashing out toward the back of her neck with his kunai, her only warning being the hiss of the weapon through the air; in her wake a few wispy strands of brown hair drifted to the ground. Her palms impacted the ground, and through the light weight material of her gauntlet’s ‘glove’ she could feel the vibrations in the earth. Drawing her feet under her quickly she shoved off the ground with all four’s narrowly avoiding another stalagmite of earth in the stomach. The world blurred, turning into a mass of greens and browns: she was not using her full speed as of yet, so that she remained with some sort of visual. She’d been unable to get a good hold on the position of her opponents yet, and didn’t want to be handicapped any more than she already as by the weight of numbers. As her upward momentum slowed she looked down, taking in the positions of the three Jounin below her: Where was the fourth, and the anbu? A sound drew her attention to the canopy above her, and letting her instincts guide her Leiko contorted her body around in time to catch sight of the bone white of an Anbu mask. Her breath hitched in her chest at the tearing pain of thin metal needles ripping through her clothing, and skin: small lines of blood seemed to coalesce across her flesh, while the sharp impacts in other places let her know some had stuck. The sound of senbon plinking against the metal of her gauntlet echoed in her ears. She ground her teeth together, hand tightening convulsively on the hilt of her kodachi. She was lucky, the mid-air turn had allowed her gauntlet to protect a good amount of vital areas; still, it hurt like a bitch! Continuing the movement of her body she twisted around completely, and threw out her left arm to grab hold of a branch, swinging herself up onto the limb she had to immediately push off it in a clatter of wood on wood as the fourth Jounin made his presence known, as he fell from above, kunai in hand. The kunai ended imbedded in the limb of the tree and Leiko’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of an explosive tag trailing from the ring on the handle. The Jounin leapt away, propelling himself with chakra boosted steps, and tree branches: Leiko was caught out in the air. The explosion ripped through the air. She might not have been close enough to be caught in the conflagration, but the force of it still sent her back. Her back slammed into the thick trunk of a tree, her breath leaving her lungs in a single rush. Her head whipped forward then back, the muscles and tendons straining; she could feel several of the senbon imbedding them selves deeper into her flesh. Pain splintered along her spine as the wound in her back seemed to scream in tortured agony, and she might have screamed herself had she the breath to do so. Instead her lips just parted silently, her eyes widening, and her head smacking against the bark. She felt her stomach lurch as gravity found her, and she began to drop. It was sheer training that allowed her to move through the pain lancing along her nerves, her body twisting around as her right arm lanced out to jam the short blade of her kodachi into the wood. It slid in deeper as she continued to fall until it finally caught: She’d never been so glad for the high quality of her weapons before. Her arm jerked roughly, the shoulder nearly being yanked from the socket. She panted, breath heaving in her lungs. It was a good thing her arms were so damned strong. Curling her legs up her geta clacked as she jammed them against the trunk, forcing her body to contort into a position to give her self enough leverage to push off. The sound of Senbon tearing through the leaves got her attention, and immediately she looked upward to see the bright metal coming toward her like a swarm of deadly dragonflies. Her chakra burned to life, and in a second she jerked her kodachi free, and pushed off the tree leaping straight toward the rain of needles. The world blurred, and went black her physical form flickering from view as her speed burst forth. She brought her left form forward using the metal of her gauntlet to guard her chest, and face as best she could. Her right arm arc’d forward, slashing her kodachi through the air to send some of the senbon ricocheting into empty space; they fell toward the earth: deadly shrapnel like rain. The world came into focus again, and she shifted her legs forward to land on a branch, before propelling herself higher again, heading for the last point the Anbu had been: She was getting tired of running, it was time to attack. ------ The Rogue Princess

[º•.Ki-Chan.•º]

[atrb=border,0,true][cs=7][bg=face70] Let it BURN

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Sorry for this, seems I've been out of Haru mode too long. Hopefully he'll come get this BRB sign outta my head soon!

His fingers curled into his palms as he willed the crane to go forward. He couldn't go back. He had to stay away. He could feel his heart beating up inside his chest as he fought back the desire to scream.

He should be dead.

He had known in the instant that he felt the last impact he was dead. He had known it. Still, somehow he was alive. He felt Leiko. He could hear her, barely a whisper, as she called for help. He wanted to speak. "Don't cry, be strong, your brother needs you now." He couldn't. He couldn't muster up the strength to breathe let alone do anything else. He was begging, screaming for forgiveness. He had failed her. Failed her and never actually told her just how much he...

A crackle in the air.

He felt it more then heard it. An explosion had gone off. The smell of burning something hit him. It was the distinct scent of an explosion tag. Someone was fighting; he could only guess whom. Loosing all reason he tugged at the crane's paper body and in a swift whirl was heading back towards the tiny whisper of billowing smoke.

No one was going to mess with his Hime.

No one.[/b]

He didn't really understand why he was heading back. Leiko could take care of herself. She'd always been more self-sufficient then anyone else. Still, he wouldn't just leave her. He couldn't. It was against everything that was him. His heart would never forgive him if he didn't go back.

The crane slowed and descended into the trees. It began to shrink, slowly as the widened branch of a tree got closer. Jumping off it's back his feet were swift to take off into a race. He had to see the battle from down here first. The now tiny crane swayed in the currents made by his speed, but seemed to float along following him like a dog on a leash. He would need it soon; so he held onto it with a tiny amount of chakra. Would save him the time of making another one; not that it took long anyways.

His fingers curled into the bark of the tree as he watched. The ANBU had flung an arsenal of senbon at Leiko. Despite her best, some of the stinging needles still pierced her. He felt his own body pain with hers. This was unacceptable. Quickly doing a few hand signals the crane grew again, and up to the back he went. He may not be able to take care of the ANBU, but he would most certainly give Leiko the chance. From up high he could spot and subdue the ANBU.

And he knew just what, or rather who, to use.

It didn't take long for him to catch sight of the bastard. He wasn't exactly hiding. Leiko made no point in being subtle about her advances towards him. He was waiting for her. He thought he was in control.

Yeah, right.

Haru felt a wicked grin twist upon his lips as his fingers slowly formed the summoning jutsu. He didn't focus a lot of power into it. Just enough for..

shhhhhhhhhhhhhh----PLOP!

The ANBU began to squirm and curse. A cute pink, fluffy sheep with a pacifier stuck in its mouth [which it was sucking on noisily] was sitting atop of him. Sure it was small, pink, and had an overly happy look on its face, but its strength was something to be reckoned with, and that ANBU was going nowhere until the tiny ball of pink fluff decided he could.

Haru felt his ego stroked just slightly as the ANBU loudly proclaimed that whomever called the sheep was an accomplice, and that they too would be punished. He was already dead; so why did it matter? Unless he'd been seen. Nah, that didn't happen.

AS Leiko came bustling through the branches, the pink sheep looked up at her, its little eyes blinking slowly. It bounced on the ANBU softly, but it was enough to prevent him from getting up for a little bit as it trod over to Leiko, sat down, looked up at her and let out a soft bellow of happy calls.

"Baa...ba...beeeeeee!![/b]

With that and a puff of smoke the sheep was gone, replaced by a tiny fluttering paper crane. Haru smiled softly and nudged the crane back in the direction he'd been going. Leiko could finish this battle.

"Give him what he deserves, My Hime."


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