Fiery Wave, Ebbing Flame

Taking a knee near a large tree and some bushes, as it would be a pain to stand there the entire time not to mention it would be a waste of energy and cause her to become stiff. Can’t have that before a potential battle. Love, from her crouched spot on the edge of Fire Country, couldn't see jack shit even with her byakugan. At least the reject alien dinosaur fish was gone, that was a good thing right? It would be extremely risky to try getting closer to find out the details of the situation with or without it there. Too bad she couldn't use the reverse summoning jutsu to teleport to the gates and then back to safety. From this distance, all she knew for sure was that the village was on fire. Shit! Love’s jaw and fist clenched in anger.

Her blood was boiling almost enough to make her jump right in the mix of things, but she knew that no good would come of that. In this moment she had two choices fight or run. Clearly, the latter wasn’t an option or she wouldn’t have left River Country. Yet the thought of being killed or just getting in the way crippled the girl. Sure she had recently gained a small power boost but she had no idea what she could accomplish with her new rank. Maybe it was better that she ran and got help but from where? Their only ally had been conquered. And as far as she knew there weren't any ninja in Haven country. "Dammit!" The girl punched the ground with frustration. Oddly the earth had cracked under her without having used much force and some dirt and small rocks began to cling to her, the girl didn’t pay it much attention thinking that it was due to whatever sweat must be on her skin and her overlooking a hole that was probably made prior to her arrival.

Or maybe that due to her emotional state she was leaking chakra and it somehow magnetized the rocks, not at all thinking that it had something to do with her chakra nature since she was a lightning user. Along with the fact that she knew her father didn't have the element; her mother, on the other hand, she had no clue about because she had never been curious about the woman before. Love closed her eyes fighting back the flames determined to get out also the thought of her parents and what they must be thinking since they hadn't seen her since before she went to Suna. While in the back of her mind thinking that using earth release to form stone gloves around her hands would be a good idea for a jutsu, as this helped to tame the flames. As she imagined what the jutsu would do as an aid to taijutsu she also tried to gain control and consciously draw the rocks towards her. I wonder if I would need ninjutsu to use something like that... These words passed through her mental lips as she thought of how she could manipulate the rocks to fire back at an opponent once gathered. Not that it made much of a difference, she planned to become a ninjutsu main long ago. Maybe if she could create a mud ball that would prove whether or not she really had earth nature, but then she would have to figure out how to transform the dusty dirt to a moist form since it was only raining in the village. Additionally now probably wasn't the best time to be training. 

What if I just crushed a rock and reconstructed it..? She asked herself, right now, now that she had regained control and suppressed her anger, all she wanted was confirmation to explain that weirdness from before. Reaching left she quickly found a stone, grasping it until it crumbled in her palm. Now... She thought covering the tiny pieces with her free hand and keeping them from falling as she tried to mend them. Then it happened! Due to her dojutsu’s ability Love could still see her surroundings with closed eyes. Love’s head quickly shot up, her eyes once again open. It was at this time that she noticed someone sneaking out of the village. If it was any of the Kiri ninja she’d be more than happy to take them out, that would be her part in this war. Whoever it was would be the first to see her in her new outfit. 

Said ensemble consisted of a black crew neck, half mesh, long sleeve bodysuit, the mesh stopping at the L4 vertebrae meaning her belly button is showing on the other side. A dark green sash wrapped around the waist covering her bottom with the metal plate from her forehead protector holding it together in the front and her Heaven's Sorrow ninjato tucked in the back above her big weapon pouch. Black thigh high socks, a weapon pouch on the left leg and her, currently, olive silencing boots that come up to the knee and look black unless in the right light. Covering her bosom is a light green Chinese style sleeveless collared vest with light yellow trim that parts in the middle cupping her breasts yet revealing slight underboob. Over the collar of the vest, yet under the collar of the flack jacket, is a black mask. Hidden underneath that she still wears her blue crystal necklace, she still has the helix piercing in her ear as well. Her hair also dons a new style, similar to the one Katara wore when pretending to be from the fire nation. With the addition of her once braided bangs now free and wavy framing the sides of her face. It was perfect, should she develop fire nature she wouldn't sweat. 

Should she develop water nature they clothes wouldn't sag and slow her down if wet. If she developed earth nature there wasn't much to clean off. However, the true beauty of this get-up was construed by the chunin flak jacket she wore atop of it. The finely dressed chunin waited on guard to see who was approaching if she were lucky it'd be an enemy she could release some steam on. Or at least someone who had witnessed some if not all of the action unfolding.

WC: 1,057
Claiming: Earth release, 5 stats

Some vile acid trip, this had to be; the centerpiece in the Hall of Instances of Chicken Joe. Who the hell goes to bed after a bit of Clone Technique training and wakes up finding half their fellow villagers missing and their village under full invasion? The rhythmic taps of sandals against cold hard stone echoed through the escape tunnels. Kaiyōno grunted, slowing his pace before coming to a complete stop. His body pulled itself to the wall, slumping down in fatigue - he had been consistently keeping sprinting pace for about an hour now. His hand reached for his water bottle, dousing his face before he chugged down gulps. Overtaking the fatigue, the fear came in - the fear of whether an enemy had detected him and was tracking him down at the very moment, the fear for the village and whether or not it was still standing, the fear for what would become of him once he finished running the length of the tunnel and exited it. The young boy heaved a sigh, lowering his head. This was a good time for a recap...


Kaiyōno's head jolted back, hitting the footboard of his bed. Too tired to swear, the young boy winced as he groggily lifted his head, peering at his clock. It read 11:15, on an average Saturday afternoon. Rain, huh? The boy turned to his window, doused and soaked in water as droplets of rain continued to tap against it. But, as Kaiyōno soon realized after squinting at the glass, rain wasn't the only thing tapping at it. "Mother's messenger bird?" He slid the glass open, undoing the string on the falcon's leg. Kaiyōno's eyes widened. "A full invasion of the Hidden Leaf?!" Much too appropriately, a distant rumble shook the ground as muffled screams emanated from the village outside. Many things about this were uncertain but one was very clear, as Kaiyōno turned back to the last line of the letter - "Leave the village ASAP."

He had his sandals on and a backpack slung over his shoulder within ten minutes. He clutched the door, but stopped, thinking over his plan first. Hidden designated points in the village all led down underground into the escape tunnels, which all led out of the village. The closest one to him, a drop point designated for the whole Hyūga Clan, was a westbound one which led nearly up to the borders, southwest of Tanzaku Town. Everything up until then was fine, but he had no game plan for anything past the moment he stepped out of the tunnel. A second rumble shook the ground and nearly threw Kaiyōno off his balance. Regaining his composure, he slid open the front door, taking in the distant blazes of smoke flowing into the sky from the village's surrounding woods. "I don't really have a choice, do I..."

Making double sure no enemy ninja were around to see him, Kaiyōno quickly crept to a well at the other end of the estate. It stood in the middle of a pond, connected to dry land through a natural stone bridge. Kaiyōno slowed his pace, crouching as he examined the bridge. Now, if memory, it was this one... The young boy clasped the stone, and with aid of a hidden lever, a piece of the stone, only large enough for two people to fit in at a time, popped up. Grinning in relief, Kaiyōno descended into the hole, making sure he had fully resealed the entrance before reaching the bottom of the ladder. He flicked a switch on the panel immediately in front of him, dimly illuminating the tunnel in faint, but nonetheless working lights overhead.

The tunnel was a one-track, straight line out of the village, which did make things easier by eliminating any sort of confusion one of the more elaborate, multi-corridor tunnels would have brought up, but the distant darkness was quite an ominous sight. But, once again, he had no choice. I'll have to run to get out as soon as possible... And with that, Kaiyōno took off, leaving more than just a few memories behind.


...Which then brings us back to the panting boy somewhere far along in the tunnel, flopped against the wall. Kaiyōno sighed, realizing he needed more than just a few minutes and some water to replenish his strength enough to continue running. By a very rough estimation, the end of the tunnel was very near, and exiting the safety of the tunnel's aloneness to a missing-nin party place on no energy wasn't that great of an idea in Kaiyōno's mind, at least. His mind drifted back to his adrenaline-pumper of a last 12 hours... which had left him no time to think of his parents. His parents! Kaiyōno lifted his head in shock, recalling his mother and father. Were they alright? ...Were they dead? The young boy clenched his fists. No, impossible - his father was a jōnin and his mother a tokubetsu jōnin, and in Kaiyōno's eyes at least, they were incredibly strong as well - they wouldn't be going down easily.

He needed something to clear his mind. The boy sighed. I suppose I can continue Clone Technique training... He determinately began fumbling his hands around in sequential formations while sitting against the wall. Ram, Snake, Tiger... Ram, Snake, Tiger... Ram, Snake, Tiger... apparition after apparition, each measly and pathetic in their own unique way, appeared and disappeared as his watch's arms continued rotating. Kaiyōno frowned, allowing his hands some remission as he reflected on the technique he was learning.

And this is supposed to be the most basic of techniques for a shinobi, huh... A sigh escaped the young boy's mouth. He needed to fully grasp the ideas that came with this. His father had offered his two cents on the technique before departing on his mission a couple of days prior: "...both power and control... the Clone Technique is one that applies two of the most basic and common notions in ninjutsu." Power and control... at the same time. This was trickier than Kaiyōno had expected, but it was certainly within his scope of learning. The tricky part of this was figuring out how to combine power and control and simultaneously utilize both at the same time - a notion which didn't sound very E-rank-like to Kaiyōno, at least.

Doing either alone wasn't a tremendous task for Kaiyōno - in fact, either focusing on building up his chakra or focusing on kneading and molding it alone, were the two sole causes of his failed, featureless clones. If he put his effort into molding chakra, he left himself no time for power and the clone came out with perfect details down to the fitting of his clothes, but the at size of a small dog. If he put his effort into power and building up chakra, he left himself with no time for molding, and the clone that appeared would be human-sized, but pale and with next-to-no distinctive facial features. The next thing to do was to meet halfway. If he could lower his power and control by half each, he might just be able to get somewhere. Ram, Snake, Tiger... another clone appeared - this time the size of a large dog and with no face but some intricate hem design on its shirt. Kaiyōno sighed, allowing his failed project to dissipate. He was stumped. By now, he probably would have mastered the technique if his father or mother were there to guide him and give him some tips... but there was a chance they were either dead or dying, so thinking about them and throwing off his focus was the last thing Kaiyōno needed. Right now, he need to focus purely on himself. He once again let his hands loose, delving into his mind to find a way to complete the technique.

Logic dictated that doubling both power and control would make it work... and in theory, Kaiyōno would be able to do that if he spent a minute gathering chakra and another minute molding it, but he doubted the genin exams proctors would be impressed. Working solely on either didn't work, and splitting focus on both didn't work either... bringing Kaiyōno back to the drawing boards. Perhaps a different approach was needed. Kaiyōno drummed his fingers against his bed's footboard, deep in thought... fingers... fingers! Kaiyōno jolted back to attention, gaping at his hands. No wonder nothing was working - he had forgotten about one of the most integral parts of the technique: the seals. They existed in twelve forms for a reason - each packed a different baggage when it came to chakra. The Ram, a ninjutsu staple, was a powerful seal which would be good for gathering chakra - it was used as such in many cases. Meanwhile, the Snake would be good for molding and shaping chakra, as it was commonly associated with Earth and Wood release techniques, which often require meticulous molding to form elaborate structures.

So, if he were to hold the Ram seal for about five seconds, mustering chakra, and then held the Snake seal, for another five while molding it... That's it! Renewed determination surged through the young boy as he clasped his hands together again, holding his Ram. "Not yet... not yet... there!" His hands shifted to a Snake, and the short, but meticulous process of molding the clone he needed began and ended. Then came the final seal, the Tiger, and a cry from Kaiyōno's mouth: "Clone Technique!" A grin slowly sprawled out across the Hyūga's mouth as the smoke dissipated. There stood, right in front of him, a perfect replication of himself: from the skin color, to the clothing, to the stature, and to the face. He couldn't help but let out a laugh as he allowed the clone to dissipate - he had perfected the Clone Technique, his first in what would hopefully be a long list of jutsus.

The young boy steadily stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder once more as he began slowly walking on through the tunnel, gradually picking up his pace. It took no more than five minutes for Kaiyōno to spot it: the final overhanging light in the tunnel. He slowed down, walking up to the smooth wall denoting a cul-de-sac in front of him. To the left, a ladder led upwards, he had reached the exit - relief streamed through Kaiyōno as he realized he had managed to evade the village's invaders, for now at least. Arriving at the top of the ladder, Kaiyōno gripped the handle of what seemed like a hatch, pulling it down and shoving the wooden lid open altogether. Momentarily blinded by the unfamiliar daylight, Kaiyōno jumped out and landed smoothly in the grass, shaded by a tree. Wait. Kaiyōno looked up - a set of blank, featureless eyes, very much like his own, leered back down at him.

[Claiming Clone Technique, Genjutsu Release, Transformation Technique, 9 stats]
[WC1825]

Azaire had spent a good amount of time in the tunnel he felt like he would remember that journey no matter how old he grew. Honestly he had known from the beginning that it was not going to be easy but it took A LOT out of him. Perhaps he wouldn't have been so tired if he hadn't spent half the trip screaming like a maniac although at the time it had seemed like a good idea. To get him pumped for the training to come. However what he had not thought about was the actual length of the journey or just how much energy it would take to. He intended to train on his own in the forest but honestly he would have preferred to have someone else to train with. Well at the very least he would get a chance to work out some frustration. The thought of this amused him.

However he started to get bored in the tunnel and began singing one of the songs his mother taught him. He was often told he had a voice that would make Angels cry and although he was short as a mouse his voice was rich and deep. Some called it disproportionate to him. Azaire ignored those people. Azaire could often times get caught up in his own head and as he waled through the dark tunnel singing silently to himself it was easy to do just that again. He skipped a bit as he stopped singing and rubbed his throat still a little raw from his yelling earlier."Let's see. Transformation first, then clone, then... well I don't know I'm sure I'll think of what else to train. I should definitely refresh myself with  moms medical techniques. Oh and chakra control so I can tree climb and surface walk." Azaire so caught up in his musing started to reach the end of the tunnel but he was blind to the other two currently at the entrance and before long he was slumping down and muttering and slipping into the shadows unconsciously so when he finally made it to the entrance he had slipped through one shadow in particular, and veered sharply in the opposite direction of the other two as he traveled to the forest to train. A few hours later after getting tired and frustrated at his solo training Azaire put on his clothes he'd set aside when he had decided to go skinny dipping earlier. After drying himself and getting dressed Azaire made his way back to toward the tunnel along with a little bunny friend he'd picked up on the way.

Azaire was getting frustrated that he had not yet found his way.So in an effort to relieve some of his stress he decided to do some training. He focused and gathered chakra around his feet. Going to another nearby lake he took a deep breath and began walking across. He mage it halfway across the lake before he felt his chakra control began to wane. Satisfied he turned back to the shore and made his way quickly but carefully back to the shore. He made it back all the way just barely managing not to fall in towards the end before he got to solid ground. As taxing as that was he could only imagine how hard it moving water would have been. He kept going reassuring himself from time to time that he would eventually remember where he was and how to get back. He swore the impetuous little bunny gave him a nice going Einstein look a few different times."Hey no one said you had to follow me fluff bottom so none of your sass!" He was almost sure that the bunny rolled it's eyes at him that time! Darn bunny he'd show him! Azaire focused his chakra at the bottom of his feet once again before racing up a nearby tree. Once again he had no real trouble with his chakra control after all the medical ninjutsu his mom taught him took a lot of chakra control, so even rusty he was pretty natural at the technique. So it was no big surprise when he had even less problem walking up the tree then he did with the lake. Especially since a tree was more solid. Azaire smirked down at the impudent bunny who seemed to be giving him a "Congratulations,Want a Cookie," type of sarcastic stare. Darn bunny he just doesn- Just as he was about mentally to tell the bunny off he noticed their surroundings had gotten thinner and thinner and much more familiar. In the distance he watched as the border of his village popped up.Exited  that not only had he quickly got the hang of another technique nut also managed to find his way out of the forest, and no he was not acknowledging the fact he got lost in it in the first place, he decided to celebrate and show off to his flippant bunny friend. Going back to his mother's medical training he thought of all the chakra veins that ran through his feet, ankles and legs. Then he thought carefully about how the chakra flowed naturally and how he would want it to flow and how to achieve that simultaneous and controlled flow rapidly at whim. Keeping a perfect picture in his mind he tensed up his legs slightly before jumping to the next tree branch and using his chakra controlled feet latched onto it and was rewarded with a smooth and easy landing. Merrily like a kid who just discovered candy land he easily and smoothly sailed though the last of the trees where the bunny was waiting for him with an expression that resembled, "Have fun huh? Did you get it all out? Well good I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so much you overgrown child." Azaire blinked. "I am a child you jerk! Well kind of..." The bunny looked up at him another sarcastic expression, "Now you're talking to bunnies as if they were talking back....good going kid." And Azaire couldn't say anything because the stupid bunny was right! Maybe the stress was starting to get to him a bit? Anyway Azaire turned his attention to the border again with the bunny following him the whole way. Hurrying forward he noticed two characters standing there within his eye-shot. They both had startlingly grey eyes that were the trademark of the Hyuuga Clan. One had stark jet black hair to match his eyes that reminded Aaire of his own hair's opposite. And the other long pinkish red hair that although being the wrong color reminded him of his mother. It didn't take long for Azaire to confirm that they were Leaf ninja's and excitedly hoping to find his training partners after all. "Hey would either of you be interested in giving this clumsy student a hand with his training. It helps me to deal with what's going on in the village." He smiled warmly and gave off the impression of being open. All the angst and negativity from earlier seemed to disappear from his person as if it's never been, now that he had other people in his presence.

{Claiming Tree Climbing/ Surface walking Technique and stats +5  WC: 1,180 Words.}

After a while of running Atarashī looked behind himself to see if he was being followed. When he was sure that he wasn't being followed Atarashī rests on a branch and starts crying and shaking. He didn't understand why this had to happen. He wanted to help his father but he knew that he wasn't stronger enough to help. All of those people were experienced ninja and he was just a genin. Atarashī kept crying for a while before he couldn't cry any more and he had to stop. Even then he still mourned his loss. After a little bit he stops and pulls out a kunai from his pouch. He carves an arrow heading in a direction perpendicular to the direction he actually plans on going. He than start to cut his hand up just a bit. Enough to make it painful but not enough to make his hand bleed and make a trail that anyone could follow. When he was finished with both tasks he put the kunai back in its pouch and starts running again. As he's running through the trees he sees the strange tree again. He stopped running in the direction he was running and went over to the tree. It was the same as all of the other times. The same texture. The same leaves. It was the tree. The problem became that the entire area was torn to shreds. The pink leaves of the tree were everywhere, imbedded into the ground, into rocks, and even into other surrounding trees. Some trees had even been obliterated by the leaves of this tree. Atarashī decides to remember where this tree is so that he can come back to it later and try to learn more about it. He starts running in his intended direction again. Eventually he sees that it's starting to become night time and he decides that he need to rest his body and set up a small camp so he wont get too cold. He lands on the ground and starts looking for anything that he can use to create a small campfire. He makes a circle of rocks for his fire pit to keep the fire from getting out of control. He then finds a few branches from normal trees and sets them in the middle of the fire pit. Atarashī starts regretting not being born with fire style release as he goes out to search for something that can help him start a fire. He eventually finds a piece of flint and heads back to his small camp. When he gets there he sees a deer. In an attempt to get food, Atarashī leaps for the deer, but the deer runs away. Atarashī lands on the ground with a thud. After he picks himself up he moves over to his fire pit and hits the flint he found against one of his kunai to try to start a fire. When he can't do it Atarashī stops and makes another wound in his hand. He eventually starts running again. After another while he sees a couple people up ahead. He stops running and tries to observe them from a distance. At least one or two of them look like Hyuuga clan members. Atarashī decides to take a chance and walks over to them. "Hey, could you please help me? I don't know what to do?"

(word count: 564)

[Problem taken care of with Love editing their initial post. I trust you people will handle any resulting contradictions or similar without my involvement. Carry on]

Approving mid topic claims

Love was seconds from throwing a kunai at the exit of the escape tunnel when a kid jumped out. It was good that the enemy hadn't figured out their escape routes yet but who the heck was this kid. He had the Hyuuga eyes but the girl couldn't put a name to the face. Before she could question the child another one appeared, he appeared to be taller than the first. Maybe he was also older? Hearing him ask for help with training made Love smirk. It's possible that the boy had to keep moving so that he wouldn't start crying or panicking but hearing those words made Love feel that he too was looking for an anger outlet. The even though he ran he was still a fighter, someone who knew how to choose their battles correctly. Just as before the arrival of another child kept Love from immediately replying to the previous one.

The red haired girl stood, her new height of 5'8 fitting well on her more mature body. Her outfit could now be seen for all its awesomeness despite the chunin flak jacket of course. "My name is Love Sakumo but you can call me Ai-sama." She flashed a quick smile that of course showed off her pronounced upper and lower canine teeth. "I can help all of you." She told them while getting a better assessment of their attire. It appeared as though the shakiest, that had arrived last, was a genin whereas the other two didn't appear to have forehead protectors. She even noticed that they didn't have weapon pouches, not having headbands could be overlooked in an emergency but a ninja never leaves home without weapons. Regardless they were smart to get out when they did and even better none of them were crying, though the youngest one look as if he had done some crying before running into them. "We're going to have to leave the country." She said firmly showing them that she wasn't afraid. "I don't have any information on the current status of the attack and there's no way to know without going down there." The girl was about to clinch her fists the way she normally would be instead folded her arms across her chest. She didn't know how long she'd be upset about not know what was going on but now wasn't the time to show it. She not easily noticeable bit the inside of her lip had she had better control of Marezou she could send him in to gather an analysis. This would cause her to mentally sigh. Focus.

She thought before opening her mouth to speak again. "Obviously we can't do that without being killed or captured, so for now we retreat. Should Konoha be victorious we'll hear about it in no time." The Hyuuga chose her words carefully so as not to instill false hope but to speak with realism. "You may or may not be aware but our only ally Sunagakure was taken over by Kumogakure. I've heard rumor of a budding ninja village in the north but for now, we're on our own." She paused to allow the information to simmer a bit, reading their faces as they digested it. "I have a ...friend in River country. So we'll go there." She stammered a bit not sure if she could really call Michi a friend but he took her in and didn't do anything weird to her so he could be trusted. Although he might not be interested in her ...kind. "I'm going to do a quick perimeter sweep before we go to make sure the coast is clear." Hopefully, the tailor wouldn't mind putting them up and would have space. Even if they had to squeeze preadolescent boys should have no problem bunking together especially given the situation; Or at least she would hope so. Why couldn't one be a girl? She shook her head a bit before disappearing in a blur of speed and leaving them with a few words. "Don't move. Number three make sure they don't try anything." As reckless as it seemed to put the youngest in charge he had to be on their level of maturity if not higher since he made it to genin before them.

Love would memorize their names later, the trip to River Country wouldn't be long but great enough to get the summary of their lives. Aside from that, the Hyuuga was doing quite well her first time leading a "squad" if she did say so herself. Having run north the red head would begin to notice a change in the atmosphere as she got closer to Iron Country. She didn't need to go any further as the only damage to Fire Country was in Konoha meaning there was still fighting happening. The girl also didn't want to leave the kids alone for too long or risk any of Kumo's people accusing her of trying to sneak in to their territory. The same way she had disappeared in front of her peers Love would do the same in front of this empty land. The Hyuuga wouldn't have been gone longer than five minutes but to someone who couldn't keep up with her speed it would seem as though she'd been gone for about three. "Alright, the everything checks out. No one is looking for Kono runaways as of yet, so now's our best chance to jet." She would tell the boys without so much as a drop of sweat on her forehead. Her lungs would also be full of air as the girl was quite used to going this speed. "I hope you've all peed because we won't be making any stops." The Hyuuga added while noticing in the distance what looked like two more bodies.

Turning to their direction she would see their leaf headbands and tell them that they're welcome to join the group unless they planned to go to Kumo or Hoshi.

WC: 995
[Exit. Instant Travel to River]

In an instinct of self-preservation, Kaiyōno leapt back a couple meters, adopting a half-defensive stance. Standing before him, a woman with eyes as blank and vacuous as his own, accented by flaming locks of reddish hair tied into a low bun, the slight frown on her face expressing something between startle and confusion. Along with what was presumably her set of Byakūgan, her most striking facial feature was her set of roguish, unusually sharp and large canine teeth, almost dog-like in nature. The young woman stood several inches taller than Kaiyōno, with noticeably tanned skin, almost cocoa, in stark contrast to the boy's paler, cream complexion. Kaiyōno slowly wavered from his protective stance, readjusting to an upright position as he quizzically considered the woman opposite himself. She had a very unusual look - for a Hyūga at least - but mixed bloodlines had often produced oddballs within the clan, so it was certainly possible... and the only reason she'd have her Byakūgan at all would be because she was one of Kaiyōno's fellow Hyūga clansmen, wouldn't it? Plus, the young boy almost seemed to recognize her likeness from the village... relief filled him as his eyes drifted to the gleaming metal plate at the center of her waist, proudly displaying the spiral leaf of the Village Hidden in the Leaves that was so familiar to him.

"Judging from your eyes and that Hidden Leaf symbol, I'm assuming you're a member of Konoha's Hyūga Clan," Kaiyōno began. "Should this be the case... we're friends." Opening his mouth as if to say more, the Hyūgas' conversation was cut short by a third voice emerging from the bush.

"Hey would either of you be interested in giving this clumsy student a hand with his training? It helps me to deal with what's going on in the village."

Kaiyōno considered the newcomer quizzically, exchanging glances with the Hyūga girl beside him. Similar to her, he was... something of an oddity. A distinctive crop of snow white hair sat atop him, shaped into sharp spikes at the back which softened into bangs in the front. He bore emerald green eyes, placed in something of a juxtaposition with his caramel skin. Matching his eyes, a set of wooden samurai-style armor painted green, peculiar as can be, sprawled across his torso, accented by golden fur which cushioned his neck and shoulders. Meanwhile, Kaiyōno bore jet-black hair which he kept in medium waves, blank white eyes, fair skin, and a blue-kimono shirt. This new kid was almost Kaiyōno's perfect opposite in terms of appearance. Again, Kaiyōno's expression softened and his lips separated, but they were left hanging open by the rise of another voice, this one noticeably higher-pitched and almost infantile.

"Hey, could you please help me? I don't know what to do?"

Now, this one... though he probably was only about seven or eight, actually looked a lot like Kaiyōno in a way. He was meeker than the Hyūga boy, and quite thin to match that as well, a lot like Kaiyōno was at that age. The major point of difference between the two was the jade eyes and the Byakūgan, but other than that, there was the matching complexion, the hair, even the color of clothes. Upon closer observation, Kaiyōno took note of the streaks underneath his eyes - the poor kid was crying.

"My name is Love Sakumo but you can call me Ai-sama." Kaiyōno redirected his attention to his fellow Hyūga at his side, who flashed a toothy grin as she addressed the small group. Those are some pronounced canines... the young boy thought. "I can help all of you. We're going to have to leave the country. I don't have any information on the current status of the attack and there's no way to know without going down there.  Obviously we can't do that without being killed or captured, so for now we retreat. Should Konoha be victorious we'll hear about it in no time. You may or may not be aware but our only ally Sunagakure was taken over by Kumogakure. I've heard rumor of a budding ninja village in the north but for now, we're on our own."

There it was - that anxiety, that tenseness that crept up on Kaiyōno when he left the village, the flaming apprehension he felt for the Leaf, which he couldn't to anything to dissuade. Calm yourself, Kaiyōno... calm... The young boy gulped down his fears, focusing on the discipline and rigor a shinobi needed to maintain on a mission. "I have a ...friend in River country. So we'll go there." The Land of Rivers, huh? Being the young academy student he was Kaiyōno had never left the Land of Fire simply because he didn't need to, and being curious by nature, traveling was indeed something he wished to do, but these circumstances certainly left a bit more to hope for.

This girl, who presented herself as Ai, then turned on her heels and disappeared in a blur, surveying the area for traps or hostile ninja, but not before putting, perculiarly enough, the small seven year old in charge of Kaiyōno and the other boy. Only then did Kaiyōno note that out of the three of them in this clearing, that same seven year old with his gleaming green eyes was the only one bearing a forehead protector - indicating he was a genin, despite being a couple heads shorter than Kaiyōno.

"Alright, the everything checks out. No one is looking for Kono runaways as of yet, so now's our best chance to jet." And just like that, the group of four headed for the trees.

[Exit Thread; Instant Travel to River Country: 941/900* words]
[WC941]

*1000-100 from speed

Azaire felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Even as an Academy Student he could feel the atmosphere of foreboding that filled the air. He took a good look at some of the others assembled before him. The Pinkish-Red haired Chunin with a fire in her steely grey eyes brighter than her hair and sharp intimidating canines as if she was some type of predator. If it wasn't for the trademark clear eyes of the Hyuuga clan that graced her face he'd swear she was an Inazuka or something. And along with her the black haired Hyuuga boy who seemed pretty laid-back despite the situation and another strange genin that popped up from somewhere whose features seemed pretty familiar, he was probably from some well known Leaf Village Clan but Azaire couldn't place it at the time. Besides they all had bigger things to worry about and as he thought this his feelings were reflected in the chunins words and actions as she quickly took charge and began steering us into some sort of action.

That action would take the form of fleeing. Azaire couldn't be sure where he was going but what he was sure of was that he had no plans, no strength, and no way to make a lick of difference on his own so he followed Fiery Hyuuga enamored by her strength and determined to learn as much as he could from her. So as they set out on their journey Azaire began to think of how he could convince the Chunin to take him on as a squad member. He had no idea where'd he would find the others but he didn't have to know everything now. He needed to plan and keep busy and not let him stop even for a moment. Who needed to catch a breath anyway. He hoped he wouldn't be expected to sleep with the other guys if the travel went on long. He never slept with another guy before and the idea horrified him. He felt like he might never manage to find a husband and get married if he did something so immodest! But what was he even thinking. He was a shinobi! This was just one of the sacrifices shinobi had to make. Distracting himself for a bit he Azaire took a good look at the Genin to see if he wore any clan symbols to help identify him, but Azaire didn't want to look to closely for fear of being rude so he eventually gave up. His bunny tag along, Soldier, had hopped onto his shoulder and cozies itself into the fold of his wooden chest plate near his heart. He'd never admit it to the fluff ball but having him there warm, cozy, and close to his heart with the rapid heartbeat so faster than his own. Well it surprisingly comforted him a good deal. "Guess you're tagging along too then."

At the time he said this the last two leaf ninja had popped up and anyone who had not seen the slippery little bunny crawl into his armor might think he'd been talking to the two newcomers. "Please lead the way Ai-Sensei!" Azaire wanted to slowly get her used to the idea of teaching him her greatness. Without further ado he jumped up into the nearest tree and would begin following the Chunin he wanted to be his Sensei to wherever they would be going. He had all but completely mastered tree walking without even trying to hard so jumping through the tree's was a breeze for him. Azaire breathed in the woods around him and felt a pang in his heart as it reminded him of his father. As Azaire made his way to their destination he couldn't help thinking if his father was alive somewhere how he would have been so disappointed in him for running away from their home but as if sensing his mood the bunny started head butting him causing him to nearly fall from the branch he had been in the process of landing on. Azaire looked down at the fuzz ball to see him giving a look like, "He would have understood! He would've wanted to evacuate you himself even! Don't ever think he doesn't love you always.!" Azaire smiled down at the little bunny with the will of fire burning in his eyes.

"You're not going soft on me are ya soldier?" Azaire would say it jokingly to let the bunny know he was thankful and cheered up now. The bunny snorted which is something you should absolutely hear once in your life because the sound a bunny makes when it snorts is so unbelievable that it's an experience you'll never forget. "K-k-Kawaii!!!" Azaire blurted this out and when the bunny gave him a curious look he blushed ad immediately got back to jumping branches. Shrugging it off the bunny settled back into his breastplate keeping his heart warm and his mood cheerful as he spent the rest of the travel attempting to get to know his traveling companions. Starting with the Hyuuga and next the Genin and the last two for last.  He would ask them about their life in the village, The family they may have left and how they felt now. He would ask if there was anything special they liked to eat because he could cook really well and could make almost anything, and if they had any songs they liked because he'd inherited a beautiful voice from his mother. This was his normal routine. The reason why most people around the village knew him and thought highly of him. In this moment he was a peoples person that didn't know the meaning of brooding and although he felt safe from the black haired Hyuuga, he got the gut feeling that his number one, and only, candidate for Sensei could see right through him with her Hyuuga eye's. At this point taking care of the others was as medicinal as worrying about himself and left him a lot less vulnerable to the others. It was never a good idea to show weakness in front of anyone. Not even an ally. At least that was his motto. It wasn't long before their travel came to an end.

[Exit Thread; Instant Travel to River Country]
[WC: 1048]

The poorly lit tunnel was enough to scare any young child, due to the never ending blackness that just seemed to go on and on regardless of what direction that you were looking in. This fact is what made Nike even more afraid than what he usually was. Already confused as to why they were being evacuated was playing on his mind.'Was it a drill? Were they being attacked? Was it a safety precaution in case some thing was running rampant through out the village?' All these thoughts were passing through the young boys head as he was treading through the darkness following all the other escapees like himself following the orders of those higher ranked than him. 

Not paying attention to what was going on around him, Nike failed to realise that those in front of him had stopped moving causing him to bump into the person in front of him. This person obviously turned around to see Nike, but whatever he was about to say had gotten cut short by the chunin escorting them, to stay there whilst he scouted out the area of the exit. The waiting game was not entertaining for an extremely energetic person like Nike. His vibrant personality of his often got on the nerves of the other students and today was definitely not going to be any different. The longer he was waiting, the longer the time seems to stretch and the idle child could not find anything to entertain his mind inside this bleak tunnel underneath the village.

Movement! Shuffling of feet! This was music to Nike's ears as he just wanted to do something, his body began to feel is pressure of being underground and he was not particularly fond of that feeling. Twisting and stretching his back, one could ear the faint clicking of his spinal cord echo down towards the front of the escape route. Thankfully, it would not need to be endured for much longer as the light from the outside world had begun seeping in. Emerging from the tunnel a bright white light took over his vision as his eyes were trying to adjust to the his new surroundings. Looking around Nike saw two groups of people, those with the chunin and others who were just staying away from the pack. Heck, Nike was always one looking for something pretty fun to do, so he decided to investigate as to why these people were just there...

Going over to them cautiously, Nike noticed that one of them was wearing a headband, that of typical Konoha colours, however one could never be to careful when investigating the unknown. Looking back to the others, Nike noticed that they were no longer there. He had been left behind. Such a thing was worrying but he figured he was should be in okay hands...

The closer he got, the clearer he could see that only one person was seemingly older at first glance where as the rest seemed to be the same age as him. They had probably not noticed him coming, so Nike decided to make his presence known through a subtle cough. Should any of them turn around he would just greet them with relaxed posture, with his hands behind his head, whilst introducing himself.

It did not take long for mysterious ragtag group of people to be notice him, in fact it would make sense that they would be fairly apprehensive considering the circumstance as to why they were outside of the village. However considering the Konoha headband wrapped around Nike's head was fairly visible to see, that should of eased some of the uneasiness they could of been feeling. Either way Nike had interrupted something that was going on, only to be told by what seemed like the oldest and the person in charge of group that they too were evacuating the village, and more specifically to the River country. Nike had no idea, where this place was nor did he even know where those that were inside the evacuation tunnel were going. For all that he knew they could be just hiding out and waiting out until it is safe to go back to the village. Little did they know that the likely hood of it ever being safe to go back was close to zero, heck even Nike did not know that, but his concept of getting evacuated was to get as far away as possible to be completely safe from the danger.

Regardless of Nike wearing a Konoha headband, he was young and being evacuated with the rest of the children of Konoha who were unable to defend themselves. It seemed that the leader of the group was able to put two and two together, that he was just like the other young shinobi outside of the village walls. Hence why the reason as to why he was offered to tag along with them. Not that he much of a choice at this point considering the main evacuation force had since long gone, Nike graciously accepted her offer.

"Thank you"

It was quite a god send to be invited otherwise he would be alone and to be frank isolation was something that the young man truly despised. Despite this Nike was ready to move when they were, and it definitely did not seem like they were going to spend much longer in this place anyway. Supplies were low for Nike anyway meaning there was definitely not much to have to carry around with him. 

Time was ticking and with it, the further away the leader of the group seemed to get from the village. Nike hadn't even begun to move, realising that should he not start he will get left behind with nobody. Running to catch to the group heading towards the River country Nike took one last look at the place that he had called his home. Now it was time to go, for better or for worse the young man would probably never return here, but for now he had a new family.