Winter Area

It wasn't long before Megumi stopped to catch her breath. She'd been using her chakra to run faster, but she didn't have much left, so she decided she would wait on the other side of the border in a small cave while Jin and Jari caught up, if they were going to anyway. It was nearly dark, and that meant that now, in the Winter Area, it was going to get very cold. He hoped Jin would catch up so he could use his doton to make a door for the cave and they could stay warm inside.

She didn't have to wait long either, as within a few minutes Jin and Jari appeared before the cave. They were out of breath as well, expecially Jin, who was still exerting his chakra over his three recon birds to gather information. As soon they the two of them spotted the cave they ran inside.

"Damn this place is cold..." Jari said as he and Shinshi moved close and began to make a fire.

"This is nothing. Try living in the depths of a mountain for three months with no light..." Jin said harshly, his tiredness putting an edge into his words he didn't mean. "Sorrt about that..." Raising a hand the three birds flew down to him, shrinking down, until he caught them in his hand and put them away. After that he focused his chakra, made a few handseals, and used one of his advanced doton, "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!" And with that wall of frozen earth rose up and blocked the mouth of the cave from the outside world with three holes in it, one at the top to let out smoke, one in the center so peer out of, and one near the bottom, for air if they needed it.

"I say we stay here," Jari said, having learned to ignore those sort of rare outbursts from his friend, "Until morning. Then we high tail it outta this place, get a scroll, and head for the slightly better comforts of that Tower."

"Sounds good to me." both Jin and Megumi said as one.
-=-=-

Spring Area

When Gyaku noticed that Mitsuru was taking far too long he sighed and placed an open scroll on the ground at his feet. He was in the forests of the Spring Area, just outside of the Village of Hidden Growth. With a drop of his blood he used a unique type of summoning technique and Mitsuru appeared at his feet, falling on his face right after that.

"So, you aren't dead yet, but near it..." Gyaku said, not really caring, only observing. "I see, that girls infectious blood was dualing it out with your natural poisons, and it looks like the infection won after all. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to take your soul after all. Good buy Mitsuru-chan."

Raising his hand ip a seal appeared in Gyaku's right palm, an inverted version of that on Mitsuru's chest. Once it was fully revealed he flipped the prone ninja over with a kick and placed his seal over the boys. Immediately Mitsuru's eyes opened and he let out a silent scream as his eyes began to glow brightly. The lights in his eyes dimmed, then flickered, then went out, and when Gyaku pulled away he knew everything his pawn knew. Everything from the boys jutsu to the information he'd gathered all his life. Even where the hidden Black Sand Village was.

The night passed slowly for Jin, who couldn't sleep. Jari was out like a light after they'd had a small meal and stoked the fire. Megumi had reluctantly fallen asleep shortly after that, using Shinshi like a pillow, same as Jari. The gentle bear didn't mind, and slept the night away as well.

When the first light of day shone through the cracks of the wall Jin woke the others and they set out. There was almost a foot of snow on the ground, but none in the sky. It was cold, crisp, and silent. with every footstep there was a crunching noise that could be heard far away most likely. There would be no stealth here, as using chakra to silence the crunching snow would take up energy needed to keep the team warm, and help them stay alert for a fight, which seemd to be coming to them.

"Hey, we're pretty close to the Tower Area now..." Megumi said, shivering, teeth chattering. "Should we head that way? See if we can find another team, get a scroll, then get out of this cold?"

"I don't see why not. The test area wasn't very big to begin with, and it's the second day already. It's reasonable to think that teams have moved closer to the Tower by now, with or without their second scrolls..." Jin said calmly. "Let's head that way, and stay alert!"

Jin was pretty sure those Ame-nin would be following them, maybe not on purpose, but in this general direction at least. They had their scrolls, so maybe they wouldn't bother his team, but they might, and they'd definately have the advantage here. he hurried the other two along until they topped a small hill with a sudden drop off before them. In the distance he would see three girls, all with Kirigakure symbols on their forehead protectors. They were laughing and talking, and he could see two of them, each with a scroll. But, from this distance it would be hard to say for sure if they had one of each, or just an extra.

"Hidan Jutsu: Ryushiton." Jin said, reaching into his pouch and taking out two small wolf figurines. "You're my last two, please don't die like your brother..." he says quietly to them as they began to grow larger. Once fully grown they looked at him, then nodded, and took off, going in a wide arc around to the far side of the three Mist-nin. "When those two get in place they'll howl. When they do that, Megumi, use one of your genjutsu, then Jari and I will hurry in and take them by suprise."

The others nodded, even Shinshi, and they began to move into position.

Hiato picked the Heaven scroll in the middle of the air "Thanks Mijaro" he said with a smile, but still panting a bit. Umiko than said, staring at her brother, as if she needed his consent "We should rest now...". Mijaro consented "YEAH, lets rest. Here and now!". Hiato said nothing, as he was purifying again his chakra, shapening it perfectly into a very microscopical scale, controling it's flux and balancing it perfectly inside his body. Now his chakra perception magnified. There were no suspicious chakras near, no danger at all. "This place is safe, we can rest here a bit and than find a better place to sleep. We should spread and find some food"

20 minutes passed and they were back, each of them with plenty food. Umiko got three big fishes. After filling the void in their stomaches and properly resting they decided to find a place to sleep. Hiato found the lack of dangerous chakras in the air a bit strange, most genins must have already battled and were now heading to the tower. As their still needed the earth scroll, Hiato thought that they should head towards the tower area. Most genins there had already two scrolls and many would be wounded or tired.

They roamed a long time but, unfortunately, even despite of purifying his chakra at every moment, Hiato could not find any genins near. They than found a den inside a tree and slept there.

The next morning they roamed again a long time without finding anyone. They were now at the Winter area, when Hiato detected some chakras "There are two teams ahead" and he closed his eyes, before continuing "But we must be aware. All there are powerful"

Sho gave a soft smile, looking down at the sleeping girl. It was at this point where he was practically dragging Kiyoko, and simply lifted her onto his back to more easily carry her. The path within the forest began to grow colder, with clumps of ice and eventually snow replacing dead leaves on the ground. The lifeless trees remained a constant however, just with snow layered on their thick branches. Soon enough the pair of Ame-nin were entering the Winter area. The landscape was a bleak sheen of white and rather barren, nothing but snowy hills as far as they eye could see. Sho picked up the pace and utilized chakra to increase his running speed. He didn't want to spend anymore time out in the open and exposed than he needed to. It seemed that the area was built to be able to support life to an extent, as he stumbled across a small aclove sheltered from the cold somewhat. As he carried Kiyoko in, a deep growl resonated from the back of the cave-like structure. Sho sighed and set his cargo down by the entrance and got to work.

After about an hour or so, if Kiyoko woke up at any time--which he doubted greatly--she would find herself wrapped in a heavy, dehydrated cloak of white fur and leather. Several strips of seared and dried meats from the bear lay splayed out on top of Sho's shuriken pouch for when they got hungry, his method for cooking the food unknown. The bones and excess meat of the creature had been buried in frozen snow to keep predators away. He had only a few pieces of meat himself, being more tired than hungry. It was well into night now, so he squeezed under the makeshift blanket next to his friend and nodded off. When his eyes opened next, light was streaming through the lip of the aclove.

Sho grumbled and poked Kiyoko's cheek. "C'mon Yoko-chan...we gotta...go..." a yawn interrupted his words and the Ame-nin arose from the warm blanket. After eating a few dried strips of bear meat he offered some to her and pointed at the pool of melted water near the back of the cave. "Get some breakfast and water in ya. We should get moving soon."

Kiyoko woke to something poking her cheek, most likely Sho. She did see the bear pelt on her, and she was sad for the bear, but too late now. Hearing what Sho said, she got up and walked (still a bit wobbly) over to Sho. She took the meat he offered, but she hadn't been really hungry yet. The Heaven Scroll...

Kiyoko quickly checked her pouch, and she was grateful that it was still there. "We're heading for the tower correct?" Kiyoko asked. She preferred to talk the snow and chomp on it, so she quickly made a snowball outside and started eating it. "We'll probably pass my teammate on the way...if he's still alive, we'll take him with us. If not....well....I don't really know....do some ninjas come around after wards and pick up the casualties?" Kiyoko asked Sho. She was still groggy, but that couldn't slow them down.

Once she was done, Kiyoko was ready to go. "You ready? Let's head out."

With a howl the wolves signaled that they were in place, causing the kiri-nin to jump and look around. By now Jin was in position, hidden in a hole in the snow made from pouring the rest of their water on it. He had been gathering his chakra in preperation, and now it was time to act. As he lept up out of the pit he heard Megumi cry out from the cliff, "Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!" He could see the panic on their faces as the illusion took place. Jin himself was affected, caught in the illusion as well, but that didn't matter. He could hear better than he could see.

"Wha-what's going on?!" Kasumi nearly shrieked.

"Just calm down sis," Chisumi said quietly. "Didn't you notice that guy?"

"What guy? All I coul see were those two weird wolves, then everything went black." Masumi put in.

"Those were some sort of jutsu, they were made of stone," Chisumi said. "You should have been able to noticed that. Now, where is the genjutsu user Masumi?"

"It's- Hey, what was that?" Mashumi said, jumping as something brushed against her pouch, the one she'd been keeping the scroll in. "The scroll, it's gone!"

"Forget the scroll now, we've got to focus." Chisumi yelled.

"Right, right...up, that way. On that cliff we were passing I think..." Masumi said, pointing, althrough it helped no one.

Kasumi was about to speak, then she went quiet. Jin had slipped up behind her, knocked her out, and dragged her away from the illusion. Jari then got from his hiding spot and took her. After a quick search he found not just one other scroll, but two. With the one Jin took they now had two of each scroll needed. Jari silently gave Jin the okay and they were about to leave the girl, then one of the girls still in the illusion cried out, they couldn't be sure which, and said, "Water Release: Ice Darts!"

From the illusion area comes a flurry of ice crystals as sharp as any senbon. They fly from every angel as the user spins, covering a larger area. suprised by this, Jin catches one of the darts in the shoulder and lets out a cry of pain. the other girl then says something and the same jutsu is used once more, however this time all the darts come straight at Jin and Jari.

"Doton: Doryuheki!" Jin cries out, slamming his hands onto the ground after a quick series of handseals.

A wall of earth rises up before the three of them. The inital ice darts are blocked, but the wall is thin, and just as Jari gets the girl out of the way it breaks down completely. Because of this Jin takes a good deal of damage, catching two in his left arm and one in his right leg, causing him to fall back, into the snow, which begins to melt as his blood flows from his body.

"I think we got him!" Masumi said with a wicked laugh afterwards, "I can smell the blood!"

The wolves ran towards them, Jin could hear. He and the girls were still caught in the genjutsu because it affected individuals, not an area. To anyone watching, however, they would see the two stone wolves running around the girls, trying to corner them as they launched suiton and taijutsu moves at them.

"So what are we waiting here? Lets get there and kick some asses" Mijaro said loudly. But Hiato didnt answered; he was stil focusing all his attention at his chakra perception, gathering information and taking decisions. With a small grin he opened his eyes again "Not yet. I am really thirsty and we got no more water, look" he said, turning his opened canteen upside-down and shaking it.

"So what? Can't you fight just because of that? or are you scared? Uh? Are you scared?" Mijaro replied, loudy. Hiato, still grinning, said with a peaceful voice "We saw a river just south from here. I would go there myself and take some water, but I think it would be better if Umiko went there, as she is the fastest here" At this point Mijaro opened his eyes widely and replied with anger "What do you mean with that? This little girl is not faster than me" he said with a special provocative intonation at the 'little girl'. "You know I am faster than you brother! I can get the water and come back and you will not even notice". With that they started a long arguing.

Hiato was in the middle of them, just watching. "Why dont you race each other? The first one who brings water wins" he said shaking the canteen in the middle of them. "FINE" they both said and started making handsigns "Burst of Speed".

His plan worked, now he could proceed alone and fight for the scroll. The chakras he sensed were the way too powerful, so it was better having a stealthy operation than getting in a fight. Alone he could do much more that way. The whole area till the river was clean of dangerous chakras. The Nomuro brothers would be safe.

He closed his eyes again and managed to purify his chakra flux so that he would cast the Chakra Absorption Jutsu with his whole body. This not to absorb any chakra, but to dont let his own chakra escape, to make him 'invisible' to those chakra perception techniques. Than he headed towards his foes.

Sho let out a small groan as he stepped into the light of day. It was fairly bright, and judging by the amount of sunlight they had slept in until almost midday. He began walking across the white landscape and looked back to talk to Kiyoko. It just occured to him that he hadn't answered any of her questions. "Oh, yeah...I guess we're headin' to the tower." he scratched the back of his head and looked out into the distance. "Looks like there's some other teams with the same idea..." the boy pointed to gouts of ice being flung in the distance. "We could walk around 'em if you want. And damn, you're one cold chick...'if he's still alive.' Are you going to treat me like that when I get a wound I wonder...?" Sho spun around to stare her eye to eye and began to walk backwards.

"But whatever, I guess we could pick up your teammate." he looked past Kiyoko at the Autumn area far in the distance with a contemplating expression. "I hope Taro and Mifune are alright..." kicking up a bit of snow Sho bolted off in the direction of the disturbance he saw earlier, intent on getting to the tower as fast as possible. "C'mon, let's check this out before we check in!" he patted his nearly empty shuriken pouch and felt the Earth scroll for reassurance.

After a few minutes of running the conflict was coming into sight. It was an odd thing to behold. A pair of strangely animate wolves encircling a pair of kunoichi. He ran up a hill and watched from behind the small outcropping. "You wanna intervene and destroy some of the scrolls or just move on?" he asked in a slight whisper.

(I was distracted by other things sorry!!!!)

"Nah, I wouldn't do that to you. My teammates, however are a different story. Well, I guess everyone is." Kiyoko replied. She looked around, sensing something...oddly familiar with her. Death. Sure enough, as she followed it, in a different direction, Kiyoko found her teammate's body. "Died a fighter, I see. I could cut him a little slack I suppose." But then she saw that the blood was..."Fresh. Like it happened only an hour ago....oh, Kizuru..." She looked around, but she had lost sight of Sho. Picking up Kizuru's body, and getting blood all over her face because of it, she came out of where she found him in the first place.

"Dammit, Sho! Can't you at least wait?!" Kiyoko yelled, not seeing the boy, but knowing he wasn't far off. She came to a spot where she could see him and came up to him. "I've got dead weight on my back, you think I wanna fight? I say we should move on. If Kizuru's body was here....it looked like he was happy to see someone before he died...maybe then...his brother Yuzi, was here?" Sensing what she sensed with Kizuru's body, she eventually found the older boy, killed execution style. "Sho, come look at this. Same way that Kizuru was killed. Execution, but why? They....didn't do anything except for probably pissed someone off. But they fought at least."

It was a few minutes before she caught up with him, and as the younger shinobi approached Sho caught a whiff of a rather distinct smell. Blood...he turned around sharply and brought up a kunai in defense, but simply raised an eyebrow questioningly. Kiyoko, for whatever reason she had that Sho couldn't fathom, was carrying around a corpse on her back. You have a dead guy...on your back... he thought with a particularly confused look. Listening but not totally understanding, he quietly observed the girl set the dead weight down and run off, only to come back with...surprise, another corpse. He was about to say something when she pointed out a peculiar similarity between the bodies. Each had been slain by a wide slit across the throat and jugular, probably bleeding them out within seconds. "I see what you mean...poor guys." a frigid breeze blew through the snowy hills while the Iwa-nin's fight raged on a few hundred yards away. After a long silence, Sho finally piped up.

"So there's actually a team hunting down others?" a brief flicker of light registered in his eyes. "You don't think it was that poison shinobi from yesterday, do you?" That possibility seemed to be the most likely, Mitsuru hunting down other Amegakure-nin as some sick form of vengeance for having been beaten back by a couple of genin. In any case, Sho wasn't going to stick around to find out. "C'mon...we should get going."

A quick leap brought him sailing over the snowbank, flipping head over heels to stick his tongue out at Kiyoko before dashing off back into he snow. Catch me if you can, he thought with a grin. The Ame-nin ran and leapt across the uneven terrain for a barely a minute before passing the Iwa-nin's battle. He caught the eye of one of the shinobi who had the upper hand and called out with a smile; "Cya at the tower!" and continued along his merry way, Kiyoko in tow. Hopefully.

Kiyoko shook her head. "I'm not leaving my team's bodies to the elements....But I can't carry Yuzi and Kizuru on my back at the same time..." Sho took off running, but Kiyoko stayed. She knew in her gut that Mitsuru was dead long before these two were killed. "Sho!!!" she called, not wanting him to get ahead. The executor was still around, she knew it. And if their target was Ame-nin, then..they'd probably go after Sho, seeing that his grandmother was the current Kage of their village. She ran after Sho, and caught up with him, and also she stopped him.

"You need to slow down, plus those are my teammates. And that poison ninja has probably been DEAD since yesterday, no one can really survive once they are infected...actually, no one but me has lived from that infection. Yuzi and Kizuru were just slain about an hour ago. If Ame-nin are their target, and if they know your background...." Kiyoko didn't finish. "Please at least help me carry them until we get to the tower to bury them? I'm begging you, and besides, their blood isn't dry yet, I can use it."

The place was a dense and snowy boreal forest. Indeed it was a trully beautiful place. A peaceful whiteness covered the whole place. A whiteness only tainted by a few frozen drops of blood that eventually slipped from one of the Suna genins. That genin had a wooden splint at his just broken arm and several bandages at his wounded legs. He was running, but his team partner was leaning him with his right arm around his chest. He did not actually needed it, as he could still walk and run, it just a small act of friendship from his buddy. The last member of the team was a kunoichi, three yards behind them. She was the only one alert, watching every moment her surroundings, checking if they were not being followed. But there was no living soul there. No chakras in the air, no suspicious smells, nothing but the white forest.

She closed her eyes for a single moment, a bit relieved as she convinced herself that no one was following them. She turned her head to the left feeling the light breeze and opened her eyes again. Two dreadful brown eyes were staring deep into her eyes. He was at her left and only six feet of distance separated them. The girl didnt noticed that genin approaching. She tried to act or maybe to screm, but it was too late.

She closed her eyes and was now falling at the ground, as the genjutsu targeted her. With a spinning leap to his right, Hiato held her with his left arm and vanished into the woods. His move was not fast at all, but it was precise and above all, silent.

Only after a whole minute the other two realized, with surprize, that the kunoichi vanished. The unwounded genin drew a kunai and millimetrically scaned his surroundings, completely aware. He did not detected any treat but he was, somehow, certain that the enemy was nearby. "I know you are there! Show yourself so that I can kill you" he shouted to the air. The genin became even more nervous as no one answered.

Now he just got pissed. He started performing some handsigns and, without saying a word he cast his jutsu. And what a powerful jutsu that was. Violent gusts of wind came from the north, ripping trees from the ground and cleansing all snow from the place. The spot where it was a snowbank revealed now a genin kid whose smile described his 'Oops, you found me' thoughts. "There you are little brat".

Hiato was in trouble now.

So, as it stood, Jari and Shinshi were out of sight, hiding the unconcious girls body after having taken her scroll. Jin was lying in a pit of blood and bloody snow because of the Ice Darts one of the two other girls had used, and those three were still in the Bringer-of-Darkness illusion, meaning all they could see was darkness.

"Damn it...Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Jin says as he yanks the half melted ice darts out of his body, causing even more blood to flow. Looking over he can't see Megumi anywhere now, no suprise, and Jari starts to get up and help, but he signals him not to. The pain has pissed him off, so he begins preforming hand seals. "Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu!" with that ten clones rise up from the ground, all looking exactly like Jin, and all made of solid stone. He then reaches into his pouch and takes out explosive tags, placing one on each of their backs.

"Now, go and destroy..." Jin says in an oddly dark voice, then claps.

All of the clones rush forward. One gets taken out far away from the girls, and when it does it explodes, spraying shards of stone at them. Eventually the rest surround them and detonate, the resulting explosion causing blood to spray everywhere. Jin had never killed anyone before, and now, just because he had lost his tember for a moment, two people had died, and wose, they were girls.

In a moment Jari was there, helping him up, as he had collapsed from the effort of making and controlling so many clones for the first time. A moment after that Kasumi, the last remaing sister, woke up and began to scream, cry, and throw up at the sight. Jin looked over, shoving Jari away, and glared at the girl for a moment before walking over and slapping her.

"How many did you kill to get all these scrolls?" he asks, holding up the four he'd taken from them. "How big of a risk did you take? The life of a shinobi is a game of life and death, and your sister just lost that game. do you want revenge? Do you want to kill me? Then, here, take these scrols, become a Chuunin, become strong...and when you do come and kill me..."

That was the worst he'd ever spoken, or treated anyone before, and Jari was afraid that maybe this Jin was just some sort of clone. He watched as his friend untied the girl, gave her the two scrolls they didn't need, then turned, signaling for he and Shinshi to follow behind.
-=-=-

Village of Hidden Growth

"I see...that boy, Jin, he has some potential. If I can get him angry, break him, he could be a killing machine. And since only he and his father know those odd little statue jutsu, he'd make a good addition to my jutsu collection as well. Maybe when he reaches the tower I'll have to go see him, in person." Gyaku said, standing over the body of one of the proctors, the one which was supposed to be in charge of the fights once they got to the Tower. "Henge." He says quietly, taking on the mans features as he makes his way casually into the Spring Aream headed straight for the Tower.

Along the way he finds a few dead bodies, all killed exicutioner style. Most are Ame-nin, but some are Konoha, and there are a few Kusa-nin as well. He can't tell if this is the work of one of his men or somone else though. Normally he has the policy of not killing unless it was needed, but no one every listens to that rule all the time. Like that boy, Jin, who killed because he'd been caused pain, and was still bleeding out as he and Jari and that beast headed for the tower.

Any semblence of a smile was immediately washed away when Kiyoko appeared before him, a dead-set expression of determination written on her features. For a brief moment the thought that she meant to take the earth scroll for herself crossed Sho's mind, but was quickly laid to rest. He came to a slow stop only inches from the kunoichi and listened to her tight-voiced plee. An eyebrow quirked in slight confusion at her explanation. He hadn't been aware that the girl's blood had poisonous properties, only that she could manipulate it in a fashion simialr to water control. Thinking hard about it, she was right. His Mizurappa had taken off a sizeable chunk of Mitsuru's flesh, and if Kiyoko's blood could infect...then it was a sure kill. Sho shook his head slightly and sighed as she finished ranting. After a long moment of silence, he said;

"You're really indesicive Yoko-chan." he smirked, looking at her skeptically. "First it's 'they get in my way'," he said in a mocking version of Kiyoko's voice, "and then it's 'they deserve a decent burial'." with a sigh he walked back to the spot where the bodies lay and examined both. It took a second before he scooped up the larger of the two corpses onto his back. "Just to let you know, this is against our training...never let your teammates hinder you, no matter the circumstances. You're lucky that you're cu...I mean...that we're friends." he recovered from the slight stumble and began trudging back in the direction of the tower.

Something nagged at the back of his mind for a small period of time, and he couldn't help but ask the question that had pushed itself to the front of his thoughts. "What did you mean by that comment? About my background..." he stared down at the snow while walking, a faint smile on his features. "I'm the grandson of Konan. The leader of Amegakure...it'd cause an international war if I died outside of the rules...know what? Nevermind. Let's just get to the tower."

"The only reason I'm really burying them is because they died fighting for each other. These two are brothers. Yuzi is the older one. And besides, I'd probably be hunted if I didn't anyway." Kiyoko heard Sho's stumble, and she smiled. "It's okay to compliment me if you want to. As long as you don't bring up that incident yesterday." there was still blood on her face, but what was the point of wiping of blood that was going to be on there again? Picking up Kizuru's body, and getting more blood on her as she expected, she caught up with Sho again.

"Yes, it would. Maybe that's what they want....but enough about that. What were you going to say earlier? Hmmm?" Kiyoko laughed, and then sighed. "I am indecisive, aren't I?" she said, nodding at her own stubbornness also.

Her lip extremities turned up. Umiko reached the river alone. She left her brother behind a long time ago and proved to be the fastest after all. She kneeled near the partially frozen river to take some water, the symbol of her victory. It was when she saw a fillet of red blood coming from behind a bush. Completely alert, the leaf kunoichi approached the spot crouching and holding a kunai. She held her breath and than, with a quick move, jumped over the bush.

Umiko landed in a puddle of still fresh blood, which poured from three familiar genins. The three genins they fought last day: Noku, Gira and the tall man. All killed the same way, with a strange execution style. What impressed her the most was that they were still holding their scrolls; Whoever killed them was not interested in the scrolls. Umiko got all them: 3 Heaven and 1 earth.
The kunoichi than arranged their corpses in a more dignified way. All side by side, laying with their eyes closed and with both hands holding their respective headbands. Once those were her enemies, but now they were dead. She respected the dead.

-=-=-

Hiato did already perceived that his foe was much more powerful than the average genin. He sensed much chakra in his body, and also noticed that it was completely balanced, which was rather more typical at medical and genjutsu nins than at element or taijutsu users. That probably meant that he was not only a master of the winds but also knew much of genjutsu. He was certainly not a medical nin, as his partner had so many untreated wounds.

Hiato stood up and now was completely immobile, analyzing the odds of succeeding with his genjutsu over his foe. This apparent paralisys made his foe laught "Is that all fear? I am now considering killing you the funniest way..." and with a scroll he summoned a large spiked mace before ending his sentence "...bashing your brain out of your head" and rushed toward him.

Hiato had already decided, he would use the One`s Reality, but it needed to be perfectly cast, his enemy should be closer. The risks were huge, but he had some odds of succeeding. It was now the time. His foe was near. Three, two, one...

"Konoha Senpuu" Mijaro performed a powerful taijustu against that uncautious genin, whichs brief flight ended with his head against a hard rock. He fell unconcious. Hiato shouted happily and surprized "Nice work, Mijaro". The Nomuro boy had now one of his hands at his back and the other opened, with all fingers pointing towards the last enemy, the injured one.

With a grin of confidence, Mijaro placed his hand at his hip poach and grabbed something inside it. Quickly he lifted an item towards the sky and stood in this heroical stance. It was a moment of glory. The dense clouds opened, letting warm sunbeans fall over the boy. All angels and invisible creatures in the air stopped for a moment. The globe itself slowed down to admire its glory.

The wounded genin now shook in fear; his vision was a bit blurry, so he did not saw what which item the leaf genin held, but Mijaro had such a heroical stance that the genin felt a strong fear covering his heart. This, combined with his recent lost of blood, made him faint and fall in the ground, unconscious.

Mijaro held his Canteen: The symbol of his supremacy in speed. This made Hiato twice more surprized than before "Did you already got to the river and came back?". With a shinning grin he answered "YES! I did". He was the only one who knew it was not true. He simply melted some snow with his katon and filled the canteen with it.
No way he would lose to a little girl...

Ruko and his team moved swiftly through the Winter Area, having left the Spring zone after shocking the lake and the two ninja in it, not finding any scrolls down below in the water. "Dammit, spent too much time observing and not enough fighting, next nin we meet, I don't care who they are, they are getting a royal beating and a few scrolls taken from their pack!" He raced faster along the cold terrian, through the trees, when he spotted a few bodies below. Killed execution style - in a test like this? The blood was already frozen in the Winter area's cold temperatures, but going through their things, he struck gold. "Ha! Two scrolls!" said Roku as he tucked one of each scroll into his pack. He questioned why the scrolls remained, but was too pleased about his discovery to give it much thought for now. He headed for the tower with Sora and Touma right behind him.