by CHAPTERS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Okay I lied xD I'm a fast updater. I didn't used to be D:
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The forest wasn’t a friendly time to be in, not even in normal Storm Village weather. If a lightning bolt struck a tree, it would fall and that wouldn’t be a good thing. Pein knew this. She also knew that bandits hid out in these forests -- this one and the one closer to the mountains. Meeting a band of them wasn’t exactly what she considered ‘fun.’ If the lightning wasn’t starting fires left and right, and if being the tallest thing in the plains wouldn’t have made the team instant lightning rods, she would have insisted on taking the long route. Every twig that snapped made her adrenaline pump and her heart beat faster. Even the first time Harlequin came jumping out from the bushes made Pein jump a foot.
“Is it too late to go the plains route?” she asked in a state of near-hysteria.
“A bit,” Aki said. “Plus, I’m not going to be the tallest thing around in the plains around here.”
“Well Gramps would be tallest right?”
“Gee thanks.” Darnas said in annoyance.
“We’re NOT going by the plains route.” Aki assured him. “Pein’s just being paranoid.”
“There’s nothing funny about bandits!”
“And what are they going to take? Our clothes?” Pein was silent after this. Aki had a point. The plains were almost more dangerous than the forest, especially in light of the fires. Plus, all three of them were strong, and their strengths together were nothing to sneeze at. Pein supposed she was being paranoid, but as soon as she reasoned that she was, the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. Someone was watching them. She could feel it. Keeping her head forward and using her peripheral vision to scope her surroundings, she could sense it even more as they traveled on in silence.
“You’re awfully quiet, Granz.” Darnas said suddenly after a while. “Everything okay?” Pein motioned a “Be quiet” motion with her eyes, but it wasn’t transferring well.
“Got something in your eye?” Pein shook her head slightly, eyes widening. A twig popped behind them, and this time it wasn’t Harlequin.
“Gonna throw up?” Pein shook her head again. She made a ‘shh’ing motion with her hands.
“OH! You want me to be quiet!” Darnas exclaimed. Aki turned around and looked at the two of them.
“What’s going o--!” A kunai whizzed by her face and hit the tree she was standing in front of. It made metallic vibration sounds before Pein yelled “GET DOWN!!” The team dove for the forest floor as a flurry of shuriken, senbon, kunai, and other nameless throwing weapons zinged above their heads. Darnas threw a kunai back in the general direction he’d seen something thrown. Someone grunted and fell from the tree with a “THUD!”.
“OW MY HAND!” they cried.
“…You hit him in the HAND?!” Pein cried.
“Well I couldn’t SEE him! Could YOU?!” Darnas snapped back. Aki rolled her eyes before throwing a fistful of shuriken in different directions.
“Lightning Style: Lightning Filigree Jutsu!” Pein’s signature jutsu crashed down around them before the apparent leader fell out of a tree directly behind them.
“Oww… that felt weird…” he moaned. “Ahh… I hit my head…” Other various “Ouchs” and “That felt weirds” sounded around them. The three got up shakily. Aki picked Harlequin up and handed her to Pein.
“You probably should have kept her with Ketsu,” she said before walking over to the bandit leader. The leader squinted up at her against the glare of the sun.
“Don’t hurt me…” he said feebly. Darnas raised his eyebrows. Pein stifled a laugh.
Aki did laugh at him before asking “What kind of bandit are you?”
“Bandit?” he asked. “We ain’t no bandits.” He looked around; Pein followed his eyes and finally saw about ten or so more of the “bandit’s” group. “We’re a gang!”
“…A gang.” Aki said. It wasn’t much of question.
“Yeah! I’m Little Shiro, and this is my gang!” A closer look proved that the ‘gang’ was indeed full of younger kids.
“Well. That explains it.” Darnas said, walking over to heal the one who got cut with a kunai, along with the other few who got hit by Aki’s shuriken.
“Yeah, a gang. What does it look like we are?” Shiro asked, watching Darnas heal his friends.
“I dunno,” Pein said. “Depends on how you look at it. You may know that you’re a… ‘gang’… but the people you’re ambushing don’t. You could get hurt, and be glad I didn’t put a lot of chakra into my jutsu and really knock you guys out. I just gave you a little shock.” Shiro looked at Pein’s headband tied around her arm, and then at Aki’s around her forehead. He pondered them before speaking again.
“You guys’re Storm ninja aren’t you?” he said.
“Certifiably.” Darnas replied while healing another kid rubbing his fingers from the zap.
“I guess I coulda guessed anyway.” Shiro shrugged. “The only ninja capable of controlling how much chakra they put into lightning jutsu. Other ninja who try lightning style can master it, but they have to practice it a lot to master it like Storm ninja do. And like I mean they have to practice for years. But even then they can’t rival that of a true Storm ninja.” All was silent in the forest except for the birds starting to chirp again and the wind whistling through the trees.
“And… how would you know all this?” Aki asked suspiciously.
“Hm? Doesn’t everyone know? Storm ninja are the only ones who can do that.” Shiro looked from Pein’s stupefied face to Aki’s confused one.
“Uh. Well they’re not supposed to…” Darnas said, looking at him funny.
“Really? Cause…” Shiro shut his mouth and looked around to his group of friends who were standing up and looking better than before. “Cause we gotta go. Laters Stormies.” The gang took off, and were gone in an instant.
“How the heck did he know that?” Aki asked to no one but herself.
“I dunno. Was he ever in storm?” Pein suggested.
“That was rhetorical but maybe… do you remember him?”
“No. Do you, Gramps?”
Darnas thought for a moment. “Not that I can remember but… Maybe Ketsu remembers?”
“Maybe.” Aki said. “But we can’t ask her now can we? Let’s keep going to the Mist Village. Maybe we’ll get some answers when we get back.”
The other three nodded. Pein put Harlequin down, and they began trekking through the forest once again.
Last edited by PeinQAkatsuki on Sat Aug 07 2010, 04:45; edited 7 times in total
WHOO!!! that was awesome!! and im first like i said :D cant wait fer the 4th!!
Toshiro~ ^_^ x3
