A New Direction - Further Testing


Loki, Kiyoshi, Yuriko

Date: November 8, 2013


A second attack against Kiri Genin…

"A New Direction - Further Testing"

Tropical Hidden Oasis

The sound is as inescapable as it is chaotic, and yet methodic. He wasn't look for an escape from it though. The young Moto only wanted to hurt the being responsible for meandering through the source of it. "Meruin," He says bitterly underbreath just before a particularly heavy deluge of water fell upon his head, soaking him even more to the bone. A glance up reveals a hole in the cavernous cieling directly above him, dark and still dripping with water. After a moment or two of tryinig to puzzle out how so much water just happened to come out of the hole right when he was under it, the boy just shakes his head and moves on; hoping to put the event of his mind. The spring green curls that refused to clung to his forehead refused to let that be the case.

"Meruin-sensei!" He calls out. The chances were slim that this unscheduled visit to their usual training grounds would yield the desired results. Even so, Kiyoshi had to try or else it would mean a long, boring trek back, followed by braving the Okumo clan's main habitat. A shuddered passed through him that had nothing to do with the cold. "… *sighs*… Maybe you should just head back Yuriko-chan." He says, glancing over to the Kaguya that followed along with him. The plan (after an embarrasing interlude back at a hidden hot springs) was to ask Meruin directly if the Okumo had anything to do with what happened to Yuriko and Hissori. Yuriko probably disagreed with that being the case, but it wouldn't stop the boy from heading to the ruins. The sudden downpower did give him pause… along with making him wondered how it rained inside a place that seemed so closed off from the outside world.

Confronting Meruin on the matter was stupid because she knew that he wouldn't have done anything to risk either her or Hissori's life, though she couldn't go into details why. It was probably that that made Kiyoshi suspicious. And the fact that it was spiders the size of large dogs that had attacked them hadn't really helped. The number of shinobi that have the use of spiders is rather limited to just the Okumo within the Land of Water.

"You know… if I really did see someone… wouldn't they want you to think its the Okumo? Divert attention or something?" she suggests, turning to glance at the boy beside her. Just as it begins to rain. Which elicits a flat look as the young girl is promptly drenched, appearing like a wet cat. And here Yuriko is without a parasol. "If you're going to accuse Meruin-niisan of something it's probably best I'd be there." she mumbles.

How was it raining inside a cavern like this? Well, that is one mystery in itself. Another mystery is that there wasn't any signs of spiders where Yuriko and Hissori were attacked. In fact, there wasn't even any evidence of a battle there at all. And the rain washed away any trace of blood or other tracking signals present, but not even a footprint was left. Still, it /is/ raining inside this cavern, and the normal animals are silent, and have sought shelter from the rain. The ruins themselves have an ominous feel to them though. Nothing that is really identifiable, but it is quiet… No sign of Meruin can be found, but the weight of the years can easily be felt here.

As soon as the first question is delivered Kiyoshi just rolls his eyes and returns them to the forefront. Among a few other things he had considered the possibility of a diversion. However, the fact still remained that he needed to confront an Okumo about how someone could pull it off. It would have been another thing if there was something more off about the spiders other than how they attacked and their size. Like say, a wierd noise they kept making or how they moved seeming stiff or whatever. He could've asked Yuriko these things and probably saved both of them a whole lot more time.

A glance over to Yuriko again, and then promply looked away to hide the smile that bloomed as a result of taking note of her stylish wet cat look. While he could've drilled her more on the subject of the attack, the youth felt troubled by the idea of laying so much more pressure on her than what the adults have probably already done. That same guilt is what kept him from being more vehement about her going home.

"I wasn't planning on accusing Meruin-sensei of anything… I just, wanted his take on it. Knowing him though, he'll just say something really complicated that sums up to 'just drop it'." He states grumpily. No sign of Meruin is not a good sign at all. The silence to, leaves him worried. The rain helped ease the tension that it provoked in his heart, but only just.

What is this omnious feeling creeping up his spine?

Yuriko scoffs as both of her hands reaches up to brush back her hair, slicking it back and sticking in place soaking wet. Annoying. She sighs to herself as they continue walking through the outpour of water. "Should we wait out the rain under some trees? We might catch a cold like this… And if we can't find any Okumo, then there won't be any point to catching a cold." she mumbles. Any excuse to get out of the rain.

The quiet of their surroundings, it made her uneasy, though the young Kaguya tried not to look like it. Trying not to give away that she's sparing small glances around them, at the forest, what ruins that there may be. It was quiet like this before the earth began to shake. Yuriko exhales a small breath. "Lets hurry."

The rain keeps coming down as the trees start to thin out into ancient remnants of buildings. If anything, the ominous feeling grows, as the area becomes quiet outside the sound of rain. No other sound can be heard beyond those that Yuriko and Kiyoshi make themselves as they move on, but that should be of little surprise. Still, there's not another living thing in sight. Meruin still cannot be found here.

Kiyoshi is slow to respond. The persitant omnious feeling kept gnawing on his nerves, turning him paranoid as the seconds ticked pass. "Yeah… Let's hurry." He says off-handily, obviously distracted by the undertone and the way he kept looking about more sharply at their surroundings. Nothing. Everything is as he remembered. The hole in the side of the building Meruin tossed him through, the cracked stonework intermixed with greenery from the wild taking back its territory, that bush over. Everything is as he remembered.

So why can he not shake the feeling. He cracks. And turns to ask Yuriko a question, only to catch himself and stop moving on all together. The mind had finally caught up to what she had asked of him. Ashamed, Kiyoshi quickly shook off his overcoat and would try to place it onto her despite any protest. There's hood thankfully on it too. Something he belatedly realizes after pulling up ontop her head.

Now how the heck did he forget that? "C'mon," He offers a hand, and should it be accepted the boy would guide her into one of the less wrecked buildings nearby. The entrances is unfortunately blocked by a column, which meant that they would have to do a bit of shimming to get through.

Kiyoshi abruptly stops, pulling Yuriko's attention to him as her bright blue green eyes glance back at him in question. They both felt unease, but did he see something she hadn't? It makes her worry just a little bit more. He catches her by surprise again when he pulls off his coat and places it over her, pulling the hood over her snowy head. The overcoat practically engulfs the small girl, her bright eyes blinking up at him curiously. When he extends his hand, Yuriko frowns quietly but doesn't hesitate to reach out to grasp the hand.

Unbeknownst to the two genin, they are being watched. A unseen figure watches from behind an area-affect genjutsu, and when he sees who is there a small, menacing smile flits across his masked lips. The unknown and unseen person never would have guessed his first experiment would come back. Still, the seals around the area show that the experiment is succussful, at least in part. Ah well, it is a work in progress, and now perhaps it is time to see if the minor variation would work, as she brought him fresh prey. He silently lays a hand on a stone beside him, activating a seal array that remotely activates another, which in turn activates yet another. Soon his pet will have a new meal…

The unseen spider moves parallel but above the two genin, awaiting his master's command. It moves silently, staying off the ground that could turn treacherous at any time. It bides its time, waiting for the precise moment to strike….

As the duo approach their destination the column loses its battle with time and starts to collapse into the entrance for the building, blocking it utterly. The fall of the heavy column causes the building to shudder, and its impact with the earth can be felt through the ground….

A ghost of a smile is what meant to leave imprinted in Yuriko's mind before proceeding under the column first. Instead he turns just in time to see it begin to crumble and fall right in front of them. Crippled by suprise, Kiyoshi does not think to race to the column and try desperately to hold it up until it is far too late. The most he manages is to shield her body at the last second from sharpnel.

Once satisfied that there would be no more sharpnel or other columns potentially falling on Yuriko — er, them! Kiyoshi cracks open his eyes and starts to ask if she is alright. Then he realizes how close they got to each other. Just as quickly as he had been to protect her the boy turns about and tries to focus his attention elsewhere. Much elsewhere from the heat to bloomed in his cheeks. For an instance his agitation causes a brief spike in chakra to course through him. Some of which was not even his own. "… Great, just great." He mumbles as he pulled back his gas mask to shield his head from the rain. Another oversight of the boy that might've resulted in less tangled locks to deal with. "Guess this mean will be pressing on, huh, Yuriko-chan?"

Yuriko instantly tenses as she sees the column crumbling, falling hard towards them. And Kiyoshi instinctively pulls her out of the path, using his body to shield her from the inevitable impact. It takes several moments before it finally settles, and she opens one eye tentatively, glancing around. "Well that was weird…" she murmurs. And now they can't even get into the ruined building. Even so close to Kiyo, she turns to glance past him. Yuriko pauses for a longer moment, even as he asks if they should continue on. Her small hand squeezes his, "Something was there…" she says quietly, soft and under her breath. "I saw a flash, at the base of the column. I think it made it fall."

The unseen figure frowns as it listens in to what is going on. The target is properly distracted, but the first experiment obviously knows something is up. The person holds back a sigh as it shakes its head. Time to conduct another experiment before opportunity fades away… He then taps another seal nearby before signalling its pet.

The big spider gets the message almost instantly and drops down onto the fallen column. It then spits out a stream of webbing in an arc, hoping to catch both the prey and the other. Time to eat…

Kiyoshi tenses up the instant she speaks of seeing something; a flash that he had miss. While his mind raced through the possiblities and eyes search futily for any signs of an impending attack — for what else could the flash mean if not that — the one or thing responsible makes their move.

A dark shape in his peripherial instantly grabs the boy's attention. As it prepared to spit out its web, time seems to slow down for Kiyoshi. 'Protect' He acts without thought, hoping to take the brunt of the assault by running into the thick of it. The earth however seemingly betrays him and ultimately forces him to shuffle those last few inches before the spider's webbing cocoons.

He growls, he struggles, but the web has no give! "Run, Yuriko!" It's probably too late by the time those words leave his mouth. Worst yet, he cannot even move enough to see if she is alright.

Everything happens in an instant.

Yuriko may have seen the flash, but its Kiyoshi that saw the figure in the trees this time and only when she realizes its a giant spider does her eyes widen. Just like the boy, she tries to run instinctively, sensing the danger here. Knowing that the spiders caught her last time and they would do so again. And who knows what they would do to her the second time around.

Her legs are caught, web silk tightening around her small limbs and sticking her to the ground like cement. Yuriko she struggles against it, making sounds, but when she realizes something else is when she feels her stomach drop. "Kiyoshi… Kiyoshi! You need to run!" If it was the same sort of spider, they might try to seal Kiyoshi too.

Prey captured, the spider lept for Kiyoshi, aiming to land on him and bite down on his neck. Yuriko is ignored, and should the bite be successful, a bright flash of light would occur, sealing the boys fate. Once done, the spider leaps again, threading a silken chute and floating away. The unknown figure falls back into the shadows and disappears, only leaving a glimpse of large, purple eyes. The ground becomes brittle and crumbles away, as does the webbing, allowing freedom of movement for Yuriko, and if the bite was successful, the unconscious body fo Kiyoshi to hit the ground.

So this wasn't just some stupid test set up by Meruin?

That thought really spurred Kiyoshi onwards in his struggle to free himself. Admist grunting and groaning from his efforts he yells out something along the lines of "Can't" and "Stuck". That is when the spider makes it final move. It leaps…

He is going to die.

He is going to die..

He is going to die…

Yuriko is still in danger and he cannot do anything except… "No." Mud-brown eyes become tained by something brighter, muscles expands, hair stands up, heart races into overdrive, he growls, and then the cocoon is shattered as the rush of power reaches its zenith. Partially. But being freed even that much is enough for the boy. If nothing else he'd spite the spider in the end by making it eat a knuckle sandwhich. All of that rage however ultimately amounts to nothing except perhaps a moment of freedom and appearing awesome — furious and feral — but awesome nonetheless before his fist glances off the chitin along the arachnids underbelly. He grits his teeth, trying and failing in the end to keep from crying out as the creature made its mark as well as its master.

During those last few moments before darkness settle in and the last of Kiyoshi's strength has been expended trying to keep assaulting the creature he catches a glimpse in the corner of his eyes. Large, purple eyes. Eyes he tried to leer at one last time. Then… nothing.

Captured and held in place by the webbing, Yuriko can only watch with eyes large with horror as she sees the giant spider leap straight at Kiyoshi. The boy shreds through the webbing, but its too late. The creature bares its fangs as it bites into him, sealing another prey before it jump up with a leap and floats away on a silken chute.

Those large purple eyes seemed to bore into her sole if but for an instant, disappearing an instant after, the webbing around her torso crumbling away moments after Kiyoshi collapses on the ground, rain pouring over him. What tears there are being shed is hidden by the rain as she dashes for him, skidding to his side. No blood, no wounds with the exception of the bite mark. "Kiyoshi…" Yuriko already knew that the seal couldn't be removed, so would it be useless to rush him to a mednin? Probably. Her arms clutch him for several moments longer before decided it would be best to pull him out of the rain, lifting his body to carry him to the closest tree and lay him against the trunk of the tree. And whatever futile gesture it might be to protect him, the little girl shrugs off the overcoat that he had put on her, putting it over him this time.

Maybe he'll wake up soon. Maybe. But in the meantime, she'll have to keep alert for those purple eyes.
A short while later the rain slackens, then comes to a stop. The area round them fades, briefly showing something that fades off before anyone could have a chance to identify what it was. No trace of spider, man, or anything other than the two genin remain, aside from the poison running through Kiyoshi's body. Even that is fading fast, as its work is done.

There is no moaning, no sounds of any nature to alert Yuriko if Kiyoshi remained on the verge of consciousness or maybe waking up faster. Internally, he burned. Fire fighting fire. The beast within tried its best to burn away both before either could gain a real foothold. Unfortunately, the seal limited what influence it had. The most it manages to do is wash away poison coursing through the boy and seal up the entry wound. Even with that done he still does not recover for some time. Some type of fever, a result of the seal or his body and the beast fighting back perhaps, had set in.

It won't be for at least a hour, maybe a few more before Kiyoshi finally regains consciousness. "Yuriko.." The first word to leave his mouth while he struggled just to open his eyes. Success in that small feat proves not enough for the young Moto. With or without aid, he tries to rise, stumbling or falling outright if without aid, but doggedly he'd keep trying until he's back on shaky legs and ready for action. "Yur…" He murmurs groggily, unaware of the fact that the skin along his face was starting to peel. The only thing he was aware of was that he couldn't see, couldn't focus beyond the fire rising from the pit of his stomach.

He had to find Yuriko. Save her. Unless given a firm reason to think otherwise, the boy stumbles his way towards the gneral direction that would take him back to Kirigakure. Heedless of anything except the fire. That oh so invigorating fire.

The rain stops, thankfully, but Kiyoshi breaks out with a fever. Just like she had days before. And afraid to move him immediately, she uses her sleeve to best wipe off the sweat from his brow as she could. Eventually, she leans against the trunk of the tree as well, resting there while every once in a while looking back at him to monitor his progress. He heals quickly, just like her, right? He should get over this fine. At least she hopes.

It was a long hour to wait. And Yuriko almost misses it completely when he mumbles her name. His eyes snap open and he rises to his feet, coat falling off of him. The young girl stumbles briefly but she reaches out to catch his arm, clasping onto it before he has a chance to get too far. "I'm here! I'm here Kiyoshi. It's okay…" she murmurs. "I think the poison is out of your system now…"

Guilt washes through her and Yuriko glances at the ground. This all happened because of her. The ninja attacked him because she was with Kiyoshi, and now he has the seal too. "Let me carry you to the village. You can't be well yet…" Pushing herself to her feet, she takes his arm and pulls it across her small shoulders, carrying part of his weight for him.
