Land of Lightning

At the Land of Lightning, the man being targeted was keeping a level eye for any possible danger. Or so everyone thought. In reality, he was bored out of his mind. He was kept under guard at all times, and not allowed to leave the village for the time being, either, until the special multi-village squad arrived. Roku sighed. Being Raikage had its perks, but this was not one of them. He hoped the squad arrived soon - freedom to leave the village right now would be awesome.

Kuro paced back and forth, bored that the Raikage hadn't noticed she was behind him. Then finally said,"Oi...you seem like you waiting for some people?" Hopefully the guy didn't mistake her for Tsukiko, she did have a striking resemblence to her and Tsukiko did metion something about knowing the Raikage. "You know you guards aren't very good at detecting things." She said in a tone very similar to Tsukiko's as well. Kuro was so alike to Tsukiko they could have been twins or copies of each other.

Roku glanced over his shoulder at the girl. "You looked remarkably like Tsukiko - I assume you're part of the squad sent to keep tabs on me? Your chakra and it's flow resembles hers. Besides, no one else approaches me that casually most days, truthfully." said Roku. He had noticed her but hadn't paid mind to her - anyone trying to assassinate him wouldn't show themselves so openly like that.

A glint appeared in the sky and Roku glanced up before holding out an arm as a stone bird landed on his bracers, stays long enough for him to untie the message on it's claw before giving a call and disappearing. Roku unfurled the note and glanced it over. "Looks like the other squad members are on the way - Jin and Koji - makes sense that they'd use people I know personally to avoid picking a member of Gyaku's little group by mistake." said Roku, tossing the paper scroll into a nearby bin.

Traveling in such a manner, on the back of a dragon and a giant frog, was certainly making things go faster. Jin made sure to keep his dragon far off to the side of Koji and his summon, as with every giant leap there was a near hurricane force wind which threatened to cause the dragon to fly off course and crash into one of the near by trees.

"So, you use mainly doton, right?" Koji asks as they travel. "I wonder which of us has the stronger jutsu? My mokuton requires that I be able to balance out my water and earth chakras perfectly, otherwise it-" His words are cut off, as suddenly a lightning bolt flies up towards them from a hill. The bolt misses Keniku, however it strikes Jin's dragon, shattering it. "Shit, you okay Jin?" As he asks Koji stands up on Keniku's back and begins making hand signs, then yells, "Suiton: Water Wave Palm," and a torrent of water flows out towards there the bolt came from.

Jin sighs, closes his eyes, and claps his hands together. The fragments of the dragon then turn to dust, and as he says, "Compress," rather calmly as he falls, the dust comes together under him, forming what looks almost like a giant paper airplane made of stone, which he then uses to glide down to the ground. When he sees where Koji is aiming his water torrent he begins making more hand signs. "Stone Clone Technique!" with that five piles of stone rise up out of the ground, then take on his features, as if they were being carved. All together they draw their swords and charge at the enemy.

(Balmung6, if you want, if you're bored enough, you can take over the generic lightning nin for the fight)

(nah, you can control the lightning nin, Soul)

Raikage was having a cup of ramen with pork slices, trying to be patient and wait for the squad. Suddenly he stopped and swallowed the current bite of ramen, then tapped his chopsticks on the side of the bowl. "What do you have to report?" A scout appeared, kneeling, behind Roku. "Sir!" said the scout, "One of the other scouts claim they heard a noise out farther away from the village, and a moment later saw something that resembled a lightning bolt from the ground, sir!"

"A lightning bolt from the ground? That means it was made by a ninja - if it's a lightning bolt, it might be one of ours, but we can't risk it with Gyaku and his flunkies out there - keep an eye on the land surrounding the village, and send a runner to tell the sages to increase the range of their detection barrier for the next hour or two!" said Roku, drinking the last of the broth in his ramen bowl.

"At once, sir!" said the scout before vanishing.

Roku gazed at the droplets of broth left in the bowl. He hoped that battle went okay, he thought. He'd go himself if not for the insistence on having a personal guard.

Roku glanced at Kuro for a moment before reaching inside his coat and pulling out a small dragon figure made of crystal the color of lightning. "Your sister made many of these in various colors during the festival after the Land of Dragons incident years ago," Roku said in a thoughtful tone, "And she didn't seem the type to turn traitor - easy to annoy and quick to change moods, but not a traitor. I wonder if that story is true, and if so, why she did it..." he pondered aloud.

Jin and his clones charged the lightning-nin, swords raised in an agressive manner. As the clones surrounded him he used the Body Flicker technique to get around and behind the man. By now the torrent of water stopped, meaning Koji had either run out of chakra already, or was closing in on the battle.

"Ranton: Laser Circus!" the ninja calls, placing his hand together. A glow of light and electricity forms around his hands and then several beams of chraged light fire out towards the clones. Each beam hits and drestoys a clone, and one even circles around behins the ninja and nearly hits Jin. "You're quick for a Doton user. Too bad you're on the other end of this storm!" He preforms another series of hand signs, then holds out his left hand and it glows with blue electricity, "Raiton: Lighting Hound!" A huge hound made of lighting is created, and it charges towards Jin.

Jin smiles and makes a few hand signs, then says, "Doton: Lighting Rod." With that, a pillar of stone rises from the ground, and when the hound approaches him, it is drawn towards the pillar and absorbed, then the lightning chakra is released into the ground and the pillar shatters. "You're turn Koji."

"No problem, Mokuton: Binding Nest!" Koji says, landing behind the lighting-nin. Roots grow up out of the ground and entangle him, so that he cannot move. "Now, look, we don't want trouble. We're Special Squad 13 members, come here to help and protect the Raikage, got it?" koji says, walking up to the captured ninja. "So, why did you attack? Did you think were a part of that bastard Gyaku's Uragiri?!"

Jin walks over and places a hand on Koji's shoulder, halting his move to draw his katana. "We are not here to fight. Now, please, take us to the Raikage, he knows the two of us." he says, calmly, "I believe that, if we are so much a threat, he would easily kill us, seeing as how we are both very weak against his Raiton." The ninja shakes hsi head, and once he is released he travels with the two of them into Kumogakure.

Another scout appeared behind Roku. "Lord Raikage! One of our own and 2 nin from another land are approaching the gate, sir! Should we allow them entry into the village?" he asked.

Roku paused for a moment. "Can you tell me anything about the 2 ninja?" asked Roku.

"Of course, Lord Raikage!" said the scout. "One was riding a giant tree frog and the other appeared to be riding some sort of flying statue, sir!"

Roku grinned. "It's alright, let em into the village - they're old friends of mine." he said, standing up from the ramen shop and walking towards the front gate to meet them there, keeping his Raikage hat in place.

Pulling out a katana, Kuro cut the stick in half. "Nevermind I doubt Tsukiko could be friends with him." She said coldly returning her katana to her sheath.

Roku laughed. "Forgive my friend there, he was just doing his job - had Gyaku disguised his flunkies as you two he could have slipped into the village." He glanced at Kuro. "And your sister and this guy were allies, though I must admit she wasn't all that warm and friendly to either me or him for very long." He looked back at the two. "Nice to see you too, Jin. How's your 'work' been going since we parted company back in the Land of Iron?" He phrased it carefully - he wasn't wearing any ANBU gear and didn't want to reveal that about his friend if he didn't want anyone to know.

Roku leapt from rock to rock, descending into the lower regions of the Land of Lightning. "True, but Gyaku also knows my strength - I've faced off with him and his flunkies 3 times now. And he knows that a Suiton user won't hold up to a master of Raiton - I don't think he's planning anything for me with this ninja, though I suspect the group attacked might have a part in Gyaku's twisted ideas. Maybe one has a special kekkei genkai he wants." said Roku.

Roku spotted a path of mist below and descended, keeping an eye on it as he landed nearby and kept a close eye on the figures within it - it wasn't a normal mist - there was chakra woven into it, and besides, this place wasn't cool enough for mist of this size to form this time of day.

Roku leapt down, giving Koji and Kuro's activities a glance. "Need any help, you two?" he asked.

(short post, sorry, but im totally exhausted)

Roku flashed over and brought his hand down, fingers splayed outward, catching the shuriken on his fingers as they spun to a halt. "Easy, boy - we're friends, not foes." said Roku.

"I have my uses in and out of combat, but everyone seemed to be handling themselves just fine until Kuro got slashed." Roku said. He walked over to Kelik and handed him his shuriken. "Here kid, I think these are yours." he said with a smile.

He sighed and took his shuriken from him. He then looked at Jin. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked trying to think. Then it popped into his head. "Jin?" he questioned. "Are you the ninja who was originally suppose to train me?" he asked wondering it it was really the Jin he knew from the Land of Earth. Kuromaru finally woke up and jumped onto Kelik barking happily.

Roku made a handsign, forming a cloud that wrapped itself around Kuro's wounds, replacing the dark bandages with fresh skin as it soothes the muscle and knit everything make together. He glanced at the two genin. "No wonder Gyaku's flunkies attacked you guys - capturing 2 jinchuuriki at once would be worth quite a bit for that group's nasty goals." He walked over to Naoto and squatted on his legs. "Perhaps when Gyaku has turned his attention from my village you and Kelik could visit the island near here where I usually train - it might help you get control of the Kyuubi and the Tonbi." said Roku.

"Don't worry." Koji says with a smile to Naoto. "Those pills are specially made to help the body regenerate chakra by absorbing small amounts of the chakra in nature through their bodies as they breath. You don't even recognise your elders, do you?" He laughs a little then looks over to Roku and the others. "Yeah, no doubt, but if this was really his doing then they would have out up more of a fight. Anyways, yeah, my name is Senju Koji, and I'm a jonin from the same village as you."

Jin looked over and watched as Roku finished up the work he'd begun in healing Kuro. His methods weren't instant, but they worked, and were designed more towards being used in the middle of combat as a wuick fix for the medic-nin later on. he then turns his attention back to Kelik. "Yeah, I was sorry to hear about that kid, but that is a perk of the Inuzuka clan, each of you recieve your own pup when you entr the academy, and they grow and fight along side you for the rest of your life. I've for a technique that's a little like that." With that he takes out one of his wolf miniatures and causes it to expand and grow to full size, seeming to come alive beside him.

"Hey, roku, shouldn't we get these guys back into the village? It's starting to get kinda late isn't it?" Koji asks, looking from Naoto to Roku, then over to Jin to see him nod.

"Alright everyone, climb aboard!" Koji says, making a few hand signs, biting his thumb, then slamming his hands on the ground. "Summonging Technique: Keniku!' With that a tree frog, about the size of a dog, appears before the group, with after recieving a nod from Koji he moves back and begins to grow until he is so large everyone there can fit easily on him. Koji then grabs Naoto and leaps onto Keniku's back, then sits her down gently. Jin does the same with Kelik and Kuromaru, then jumps back down and grabs Kuro as well. When Roku gets on they all hold tight and the giant tree frong who believes he is actually one of the great toad summons of Konoha, begins to leap towards Kumogakure.

"It shouldn't take us long to reach the village from here. Your sensei might have gone around the fray after we arrived. After all, having the Raikage and two jonin was more than enough to handle those guys," Jin says, trying to reasure the kids. "We'll get back to the village and find a place for you two to rest up, then I'll go out and look for her."

"You sure you're up for that Jin?" Koji asks, looking on ahead, "I mean, you seemed down for the count earlier. Maybe you should rest too and let us all head out in the morning, or maybe get someone else to go looking for her."

Roku nodded. "Koji's right, let Kuro look you over before you go - that ninja back in Kumogakure hit you pretty good." said Roku.

Shiba stood sitting on the head of Gobi while sipping down a cup of sake he picked up in the land of rivers. He had been saving it for a special occasion but there was nothing to do and drinking was always a good idea. The large dolphin horse sat quitely waiting for Shibas' next words. Shiba quickly poured another shot of the rare blue sake and quickly downed it.

"You sure you dont want any Gobi?"Shiba asked with his rogue smile.

The large beast sighed and shook it's head.

"Dont you ever get tired of drinking Shiba?"Gobi said answering his question with another question.

Shiba just waved his hands. And poured another drink. The effects were quickly taking over as Shiba's words became more slow and sloppy.

"Dish is sum good drinkie eh?"

Gobi chuckled at shook its massive head again. Shiba layed down staring up at the bright blue sky. They would leave soon;Shiba didn't like to stay in one place for too long. He was a man of the road and cities just didn't cut it from him. Being outdoor with nature was quite exciting and peaceful. Of course he had to worry about bandits and rogue ninja but that didn't bother him as much as it should have. With a clap of his hand's Gobi disapeared and Shiba was left with standing on the rugged terrain.

"I think our next stop will be Konohagakure. I hear they have pretty tasty sake."

Shiba tied his coin purse to his sash and began walking down the path whistling a song he had just made in his head.