The sun was over the peak of the mountains, and it burned with an intense brightness. The sky was cloud free and a playful wind blew through the Hidden Leaf. It passed by the window of the greatest building in whole Hidden Leaf, the Hokage’s resident.

Sarutobi Kotaro, the 13th Hokage sat behind his desk, looked through a pile of papers and tried not to sweat in the midsummer sun. The Hokage read through every paper carefully, they contained important information on every shinobi that participated in the vital exam for recruiting two new Special Encounter and Tactical Unit teams. This year seven different teams with five members in each team would enter the Forest of Death for a survival test that would last for 72 hours. The two teams still on their feet when the time limit end; will be the two new SETU teams. “Well well…this ought to be interesting” the Hokage mumbled for himself when he held a paper with the information over one special group from the Leaf.

Time is now 07.55 in the morning and people started to gather at the entrance of the Forest of Death. Each of the seven teams has their own instructor. The instructor is a jounin or special jounin that will keep an eye on the team both during the exam and later. They are not allowed to interfere in any way, but will summon aid if anything from the Forest should threaten the world outside the great fence. Seven gates have been assigned to the test, spread out far enough that two teams can’t see each other. In front of each gate is a low-tech computer screen with the message “Test will commence in 4 minutes, 37 seconds. Good luck, please do your best.” The timer ticked down one slow second at a time. A cable ran from the screen to a metal box on the gate, obviously an automatic lock.
Team 5 was one of the international teams. Two from kiri, two from kumo and one from Suna. This was their first meeting, each with their own instructions on how to maintain relations with people from other villages. Suddenly a loud siren almost deafened the five shinobi. The computer screen blinked red for a few seconds and then displayed the message “Team 3 have been disqualified”, it then returned to the timer, the siren stopped.

Shingetsu raised his eyes browns when the siren sounded Hmm....what happened? he thought for himself Well, I guess it cant be helped... The Kiri shinobi went and stand in front of the gate to the forest entrance, he turned and face his whole team.

"My name is Houzuki Shingetsu, I am 18 years old, and a Chuunin from Kirigakure no Sato! Please to meet you all! I hope we all can get along well and pass this exam and be the best SETU team ever!" Right after his loudly introduction the young ninja reached for one of his water bottles at his belt and began to drank it greedily from the straw "Gome...I need to stay hydrated."

The Siren blasted, causing Nathaniel to retort backwards in shock at the sudden noise, before the text appeared on the monitor before him, Team 3 disqualified, but why? Nathan thought. his eyes then focused on movement coming from his left, as a Kirigakure ninja moved in front of the entrance. The Ninja introduced himself as Houzuki Shingetsu, and he was exceptionally enthusiastic about the whole thing. Nathaniel liked enthusiasm but he didn't like over enthusiasm as it showed a lack of a backup plan which is never a good thing.

eventually Nathaniel began to open his mouth to speak "My name is... Nathaniel Moyasu, I come from Kumogakure, I hope we succeed" Nathaniel then went back to being silent, he didn't like talking to people he hardly knew. in fact he didn't like talking to people at all, he had mission to do.

The sound of the siren made Zee jump a bit. She was trying to seem aloof and cool, but even her couldn't help but seem surprised at the sudden noise. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down, before turning her cold eyes to see everyone in her own team. There were 2 kirigakure ninja, one sunagakure ninja and another kumogakure ninja aside from herself. She recognized the guy, but only by name.

Zee stood there, with her arms crossed over her chest, hearing what everyone had to say. She heard the first guy introducing himself as Houzuki Shingetsu, and then the next one, Nathaniel, though he didn't seem to be in the mood for talking like, at all. As so, Zee took this as her opportunity to introduce herself. "My name's Zee. Ikazuchi Zee. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Zee said, bowing a bit to show them if even a little bit of respect. "I also come from Kumogakure. I expect us to be the winning team, though, so be ready to give it your everything." She said, breaking the silence she had been in for a while now.

She then turned her eyes to the clock in the wall. 4 minutes and something till they had to go out, huh? It should be interesting, seeing how other ninjas from other villages fight.

Pale green eyes widened when a siren sounded loudly through the area. Haruhi had just in that moment widened her mouth and yawned, then was startled when she thought the sound came from her mouth. After noticing that it did not, in fact, come from her loud mouth, she groaned audibly and sat down on the ground with little to no grace at all. She wiped a growing band of sweat from her head that was the result of the relentless heat of the sun beating down on the five man team. Her eyes trained on her colleague Houzuki when he decided to introduce himself in his usual cheerful manner. Of all people to have been sent with her from the Mist, she was happy their Mizukage picked someone with personality. Really that was not something everyone in Kirigakure had. At least, not one that Haru wanted to be around. In the least, despite Haruhi feeling a bit like the Mizukage didn't trust her to go alone, she respected the fact that Houzuki wasn't annoying or anything with his cheer.

Wincing when she realized she was sitting on a good portion of her impossibly long hair, Haruhi grabbed it and started to comb through her honey blonde locks as some others started to speak in introduction. The first was a man who was either antisocial or adorably shy, who introduced himself as Nathaniel. The other, Zee, a pretty girl who was also from Kumogakure that was sporting the traditional tanned skin color of many people of that region. The two seemed nice enough, and both were confident the team was going to have a win.

Haruhi grinned. Of course they were going to win; Haruhi was on the team.

She didn't say that aloud, however, in fear of getting the evil eye from Shingetsu. The guy was definitely scary when he was mad about something. She couldn't keep all of her smart mouthed comments however, not spoken, so she too decided to introduce herself once they fell into a short silence.

"My names Haruhi Hikari. I'm from Kirigakure just like Sharky here. We are absolutely going to win... that is unless this heat kills us first." she said pouting.

Drawing her hair up and tying it in a ribbon before wiping her head with the back of her hand, she continued to ramble on mostly to herself, but loud enough for the others to hear. "I mean I know this is "Fire Country" but seriously I feel like im melting. 'Go on and apply for SETU', they said. 'It'll be rewarding as a growing kunoichi' they said. What they did not say that I was for sure not going to like. This. Heat." she complained, taking her anger out on the grass beneath her, pulling it out and shredding it in a tantrum. Eventually she crossed her arms and lay back on the grass, her brows still pushed closer in a frown, and fell quiet, mumbling curses aimed at her sneaky Kage.

One by one the members of her new team introduced herself, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Ayane waited until everyone had spoken, but had some difficulty when the girl from kiri complained about the heat. Ayane herself felt a bit cold, she missed the desert.
"I guess it's my turn" she said and stood up. "I'm Makashi Ayane, pleased to meet you all. I hope we'll work well together." She finished by flashing a friendly smile at everyone.

The timer kept going, suddenly faster than logic could explain. Before they had a chance of getting better acquainted and get some kind of strategy formulated the timer reached zero. A bell rang and the gate swung open. They all knew what this meant, 72 hours, three days from this moment, only ten people would leave that forest with their honour still intact.
Ayane looked at her new team mates, she barely knew anything about them except their names and which village they had been born in. They'd have to learn fast.
She approached the gate and heard some kind of creature roar in the distance. She flinched and turned around.
"You guys go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

The timer had struck 0, after everyone had introduced themselves, how quaint, Nathaniel took a last glance at each of the individuals, Houzuki Shingetsu, never heard of the guy before seemed decent Enough if personality was anything to go by, but could be a act. Ikazuchi Zee, heard her name around Kumogakure, never met her in person she seemed marginally easier to trust due to coming from his village, then their was the other two the very prideful Haruhi Hikari, and the friendly Makashi Ayane.

the iron gate swung open, 3 day's to survive and outlast the other team's, 3 days to learn about stranger's and maybe make friend's, but Nathaniel doubted the latter. he begun moving towards the gate but Ayane seemed hesitant to go forward after the roar of a beast came from the depths of the forest of death. "Okay" Nathaniel said in reply to her statement of lollygagging behind, as he moved forward towards the forest of death and towards becoming a S.E.T.U Member but he couldn't help wondering what would happen in the forest during the three day period.

"Finally!" Shingetsu said when he saw the gate swung up. "Stay close to me Hiraki-san. I dont want to get chew at by Mizukage"
We need to move fast, and when we can, we need to came up with some strategies for encounters. Shingetsu thought for himself as he launched himself up in the air toward tje forest.

Haruhi stood once she saw Shingetsu moving ahead. She rolled her eyes and tightened the ribbon holding her hair.

"He only cares because he knows I'll be his successor one day. Let that sink in. You get to babysit the future Mizukage." she said confidently before sticking her tonge out at his back. Running ahead of him and hopping up into the trees to stay off the ground, Haruhi was feeling lighthearted but was also keeping her senses sharp, looking out for any possible threat.

Again the sound of some kind of beast was heard nearby and Haruhi paused, curiosity wanting her to go and see what it was.

The gate opened and let all of them out in the open. Oh, yes, it was time to finally get on with things. She had to make every encounter count, though. She put the strands of her white hair that were covering her face away so that her field of vision became clear again. She wasn't the kind to wait for everyone, she was more the kind to watch over everything from a branch, out of the reach of everyone. It was better to have an eagle's point of view, after all. "Then, make sure not to get into trouble everyone. And don't eat anything that might be poisonous. See you later!" Changing up her personality, Zee readied herself.

Making the hand positions necessary, she wasn't about to be the last one getting out of that place, even if the Ayane girl from Suna said that she was waiting for everyone to get out, she didn't want to be left behind. Whatever that monster was, well, she would just have to deal with it as it came. "Wind Release: Wind Talon!" She said and out she went, with quite some speed on her. She then jumped, disappearing into the thich of the woodworks. She continued on jumping through the branches, though, not losing sight of her teammates. "Don't die on me now." She said, though more to her rather than to anyone else. No one else was with her at the time, after all.

Ayane fell into place at the back of the shinobi convoy. It was her natural spot as a puppeteer, she could survey the whole team and react to their movements, it felt good that she didn't have to make hard decisions. Besides, there were some fairly nice backsides in this team... She could get used to this.
As she jumped from branch to branch she checked the position of her summoning scrolls. They were keeping a pretty good pace, and there was always a risk that her scrolls switched places mid-jump, which could be disastrous if they ran into a fight. She'd coated her scrolls in different materials just to make sure that she'd never mistake one for the other.

As they made their way deeper into the unknown Ayane grew more and more uncertain. Her new friends seemed content in rushing head first into danger, but Ayane wanted something more to go on. The thought of fighting side by side with people she'd met only a few minutes before was utterly unappealing, not to mention dangerous.
She spotted an opening in a small rock formation below. Large enough to accommodate five persons with ease, and still small enough to keep those five relatively hidden from prying eyes.
"Hey, down there!" She called out, feeling pretty certain that the forest was too large for another team to be close by just yet. "Let's take a break and talk!"
Immediately Ayane dropped down and landed on one of the rocks that overlooked the formation. She looked right, left, back and forward. Apart from a few smaller animals that fled at the sight of her the forest was silent and empty. She waved to her team mates to come down and took a seat herself.

"So... I don't know about you, but perhaps we should work on some kind of strategy... I think we'll see some action before the end of the day. I got a look at the other Suna-shinobi that are here, let's just say that some of them doesn't look shy." her eyes trailed over her friends and stopped at the Kiri-shinobi with the large sword. He was a loud-mouth, perfect to get the ball rolling.
"The swordsmen of the mist are basically melee attack-types, right?"

Shingetsu stopped and landed on a branch as soon as he heard Ayane cried out. Second after he understood what the Suna kunoichi wanted, Shingetsu jumped down and squatted on of the rocks. "More or less. I am a close quarter specialist." He answered Ayane and started to drink from one of his water bottles

oh boy it seems someone else has a idea of how We should be doing this Nathaniel thought to himself as he noticed the girl who wanted to stick behind the group point to a formation of rock's. It seemed to have a jagged edge work making it able to conceal 5 or 6 people relatively well. is that what she was planning? waiting out the 3 days in relative safety. but that idea was quickly dashed by her next word's. She wanted to take a break and talk. Why did that not appeal to Nathan in anyway shape or form. I don't know maybe its because it would be forceful interaction It necessary I know that but do i really want to do No I don't but it is a necessity Nathan thought as he let out a heavy sigh and
dropped down onto the rock's.

he then noticed she had summoning scroll's. this little Sunagakure Ninja, had scrolls but what did they summon? was it possible to make a contract with what she summoned. Nathaniel thought as his thoughts became slightly more childlike at the thought of summon's before returning to a more serious tone. Ayane wanted to speak to Shingetsu. oh that was fine with Nathaniel just ignore the guy carrying so many summoning scroll's still being ignored has its positive's yet their came Shingetsu with his over-sized sword. Nathaniel couldn't keep it in any longer "whats the point of being a close quarter specialist if you can't get close to the enemy?" He paused not wanting to continue his sentence so he decided to start a new one "well what can everyone else do?" he said quietly "maybe we should showcase a little?" he murmured "a little" he said barely audible before returning to silence

Haruhi had already stopped nearby when on of her teammates suggested they group up and talk. With a shrug, she turned and walked over to the group, leaning lazily against one of the large rocks they were using as cover.

As Shingetsu and Ayane began to talk, she wondered what kind of abilities the Suna girl had. Then Nathaniel spoke up, asking a question that seemed rather odd. Clearly as a close quarter specialist, you would approach the enemy yourself or wait to be approached before attacking. When he asked what everyone else could do, Haruhi looked around the group to see if anyone was going to speak up. He had voiced her thoughts, as she too was wondering the same thing. It would be a good idea to know the strengths and weaknesses of the people who were on your team. When it looked like no one was going to speak, she decided to.

"I suppose I'm a more well rounded kind of shinobi. I adapt my fighting strategy depending on the situation. I would say I'm more of a close quarters specialist as well, as I prefer to fight with my fists. Though I may seem overly confident, I know when I can't handle a situation. If there's an enemy who I can't take on, I can take the role of support, covering my partner or sneaking up on someone and attacking from behind." She paused and thought for a moment. That pretty much summed it up. "And though I love a good spar, I don't think this is the best time for us to fight eachother. I don't know about anyone else but I don't pull my punches when I'm fighting, even when training. If one of us gets hurt while we try to show off, it could mean bad news in the long run."

Haruhi kicked a small pebble that was near her foot. Though she wanted to joke around and have some fun, she knew that it was best for her to act more mature here. This time she didn't only have herself and Shingetsu to think about, but there were others who would be affected by her idiocy if she were to mess something up. There would always be a time to harass these guys later. She smirked at the thought of forcing the shy guy to hold a conversation for more than a minute.

"Eh? What the hell did you just say to me?? You motherf..." Shingetsu almost yell and you could hear that the Kiri ninja was really angry. He reached out for Nathaniels collar but stopped immediately. Calm down now, don't let these assholes get to you. There is more important things to focus on here than being piss off at someone "I'm...I'm really sorry for blazing up like that. I'm sure your intention wasn't to insult me." Shingetsu apologized.

Zee got down and regrouped with her teammates. It seemed they were talking about what each of them could do. Zee just stood there, leaning against a rock and hearing what everyone could do. They were lucky she wasn't planning on betraying them anytime soon, or that information would be a bit too important for them to be giving out just like that. And some people seemed to be getting salty as well. Zee reached for her sword on her back, but, luckily enough, the kiri ninja was mature enough not to go and just start a fight. SHe calmed down with a sigh. Well, since no one was talking now, she might as well.

"I am more the kind to fight with her fists, or with swords, on that regard. My jutsus are all offensive too, so I'm not really the kind to beat around the bush. I am also mostly someone with a short range, so I have some jutsus too to shorten the distance between me and some enemy." Zee explains, without getting into any important details. Well, not that the guys could ever hope to guess what was her hidden trump card. And even though Zee seemed unfriendly, she was just making sure, in her own way, that these people were trustworthy.

They went around the team, and even though no one really explained what they could do, at least everyone revealed something that could be useful, except the Nathaniel-guy... But that shouldn’t matter much as long as the rest of the team was somewhat honest about their skills. Lots of offensive force in the team. No medic, which was a shame. In the desert you always brought a medic, they were key to a successful operation then the environment was out to get you. Three people with swords in the team, that was good, they should look really intimidating with that sort of weaponry.

Ayane noticed how all eyes were turned on her. She’d opened the discussion, and yet had not revealed anything herself. She could almost feel the questioning minds of her new comrades. She touched her summoning scrolls, wondering if she should summon one of her dolls, or would that reveal too much. The Kazekage was always so strict with preserving the secrets of the sand. “Good, then we know a little something about each other…” She started, and then her eyes widened and her back suddenly straightened, like she remembered something.
“Excuse me” she said carefully as she made her way to the edge of the rock formation and peered out.
Once again the felt the questions from her team mates burning in the back of her head.
“I need to go to the...” She hesitated, and continued with a whisper “The little girls room”.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll just sneak behind that tree over there and be back here before you know it.”
Said and done, she left the safety of the rocks and made her way over to the designated tree/bathroom and disappeared into a flurry of green leaves and branches. For some reason, someone, somewhere had decided that all girls should pee in pairs (at least). Ayane had never figured out why. Sure you could talk, but talking while peeing was uncomfortable at best...

After the better part of a minute the head that was closely associated with Makashi Ayane peered out of the bushes and looked around for intruders or enemies of any sort. Behind her came a hand that was most certainly not hers. It snaked around her head and grabbed her across her mouth, only a tiny yelp escaped before she was dragged into the bush. Less than a second she emerged one more, held floating above the ground by a man. He was roughly two heads taller than her, but more than three times wider, and very strong looking. He wore simple pants and a ragged blue shirt. His face was a bearded mess, his arms was also covered in hair.

“Look what we have here” He said, and was backed up by laugher. Two more figures emerged from the bushes. One another man, dressed in a black robe that covered his body, tiny man, like a child. One woman in an exquisite purple kimono featuring pink sakura, her hair was long and well groomed. Long story short, she looked like she’d just stepped right out of a city street, not a dirty bush in the forest of death. Neither bore forehead protectors or symbols of any kind.
“Don't even think about it!” Thundered the tiny man when he noticed the swords. “One move and she gets it”.
“Idiot!” The woman snapped “That’s the whole point!”

Ayane tried her best to wriggle out of the big man’s arms, but he was too strong for her to have a chance. Arms swinging as much as she could, legs kicking furiously at his legs, she was helpless.
“Let’s get started with this one then.” Said the burly man, shifted his grip and swiftly put pressure on Ayane’s neck, with a loud CRACK! her head was turned almost the full way around, her wide open eyes stared into his for a second before he threw her lifeless body on the ground and stomped down on her chest hard. CRACK!

Haruhi didn't think anything odd about Ayane wanting to go piss on her own, so with a shrug, she diverted her attention to a small centipede like bug that was currently crawling over her foot. Eyes wide in childlike curiosity, she would bend through her knees and crouch down to get a good look at the foreign creature. She poked it a few times with the hilt of a kunai and laughed when it flipped over on its back and got stuck.

Not too long later she heard a shuffling in the grass followed by a yelp that caused her green eyes to snap up in the direction Ayane had went. Out came three strange people who bore no villiage symbol. They seemed a bit out of place, and when she saw the large guy holding her teammate up in the air, she stood and stepped forward, reaching behind her to grab the hilt of her sword.

"Don't even think about it! One move and she gets it." shouted the shortest of the three figures. He sounded like a man, so she assumed he was. Haruhi was worried about the safety of Ayane, not focused of anyone else. Her eyes were trained on the big man. He was her target.

Only a few moments later did the big one, in a low burly voice, speak up.

“Let’s get started with this one then.” was all he said before snapping the neck of Ayane. The moment he tossed her teammates body on the ground, Haruhi was moving, weaving her hand signs for her clone jutsu, summoning two at each of her sides as she ran forward. Channeling chakra to her left fist, as soon as she was within a meters distance, she jumped up and came down fast on the three who each dodged by moving in different directions. One of her clones grabbed the body of Ayane and moved back just before Haruhi's fist connected with the ground and made a crater with a large BOOM.

The dust and debris that was thrown up around her temporarily blocked her view of the area as she stood. She saw one clone had moved Ayane's body back to the group and the other was perusing the big guy who was now separated from the woman and the small man. Her green eyes glared at the man, anger boiling the blood in her veins. He had just killed someone right before her... and Haruhi was not kind at all to those who killed innocent people. Shaking out the pain in her left hand, she noticed a familiar presence stir within her.

"My, my Haruhi-san... I haven't seen you this angry since your mother passed away. What is it with you humans and death... that makes you even more of a beast than me, hm?" The unwelcome questioning voice in her head did nothing to help ease her emotions.

"How I act is not up for discussion, or the very least your criticism." she spoke aloud as she dashed forward towards her target. Her clone was fighting hand in hand with him, and seemed to be outmatched in strength, lasting only this long due to being smaller and more agile.

"Do not mistake me my dear... I quite adore it when your serious, as your fights end up that much more... amusing to me. Though this time you are clearly not suited to fight this one at your current state. I can... offer you my assistance in exchange for a VERY good show... now doesn't that seem reasonable?"

Haruhi frowned at the suggestion. She was capable of fighting on her own with her own strength. She didn't need Gobi's help beating the shit out of somebody, no matter how big they were, and THAT was a fact. Willing her beast to stay quiet, she reached behind her and unsheathed her Kokuyōseki, bringing it down over her head towards the large man as she came upon him.

As if with little effort, he punched her clone in the gut and reduced her to a puff a smoke before whirling around and catching her sword mid swing in between his hands. He had stopped it just inches from his head, and the force had caused his feet to dig into the ground a few inches as green eyes glared into cold black ones.

"Chidori!"

With a smirk, Haruhi watched as the man's eyes widened, having not paid any attention to Haru's one remaining clone that had since joined the fight after getting Ayane's body to safety. Confident that her clone would be upon him any second, she was far from ready for his next move. Using his grip on Haruhi's sword to move her as she was still gripping the hilt, with a loud roar he would spin around, sending Haru smashing into her clone just as it approached the two. Her side hit her clone painfully and she was easily flung ten meters away as if she weighed nothing. Her clone poof ed away, and Haru rolled to a stop on the ground eventually, her large sword flung a good distance away from her as she lay on her back gasping. Having the wind knocked out of her, she wasn't ready for the man's second move towards her, aiming a kick to her side that caused her to fly up and into the base of a tree.

She heard a loud CRACK and for a second, feared that it was her spine, that was until she felt herself falling backwards with the tree that had just snapped in half.

"Too easy. Pretty girl like you should stay home and clean." He said as he slowly walked towards the winded Haruhi.

"Gobi-nee chan... I may need to take you up on your offer..." Haruhi barely whispered.

"Hmm... only because I am afraid you may certainly die here. I'll give you a taste of my power. But... on one condition..." Haruhi mumbled a "Hn?" as she struggled to sit up.

"End him."

The girl from Suna had to use the bathroom, and Zee merely glanced her way once or twice to make sure she was still there. However, what came from the bushes next was a complete surprise, and something that instantly brought her to edge. Well, that was a pity, that the girl from Suna was taken out so early in the game. Or, well, at the very least, it seemed that she had been taken out. The truth, though? It was hard to know at this point. Zee thought that no one that was selected to become a part of S.E.T.U. would kick the bucket that easily. Still, they were mocking them. These guys... It made Zee's blood boil. "Damn it! I let someone wind up dead again..." She reached to her back, taking her katana and unsheathing it with a single, quick motion.

Of course, if the girl from Suna wanted to pretend that she was death, then Zee would follow in with the little theater she was putting up. She took up an stance, with her sword ready to strike down whoever got in her way. The other girl was already getting to action, and as so, she would follow suit. The girl even used the Chidori. Bringing the big guns since the start, huh? Her hands started weaving away for her next jutsu, throwing herself at the girl in the kimono. "Cloud Style! Flame Beheading!" She slashed away to the air, making the girl laugh a little at her. Soon enough, the wave of flames followed her slash.

The girl in the kimono was a bit surprised, yes, but before the flames could reach her, she disappeared into thin air. "What?! Where did she go!?" She couldn't believe her eyes. She searched to the sides, not wanting to lose sight of her. And then, a voice sounded behind her.

"My, you need to do better than that. Or you won't get out of here alive, just like that girl over there." With a kick to her back, Zee was sent flying, before hitting a wall. She quickly recovered her footing, though, and turned to face her again.

"You must have a death wish." Zee said, sheathing her sword again and focusing her eyes on the girl with the kimono. "Murakumo has no business getting dirty with the blood of the likes of you. I'm going to pummel this one myself." She started making hand signs again for her next jutsu. "Wind Talon!" She dashed forward, with the power of the wind helping her dash foward with incredible speed. "Take this!" She said, as she approached the girl and tried to hit her jaw using her open palm. Yet again, though, she dodged the attack and appeared again behind her, laughing under her breath.

"Ufufu... Try as you might, you cannot hope to defeat me." She said, before Zee turned to see her, her eyes cold as always, though she was still gritting her teeth.

"Stop running away and face me!"

"You gotta do what you gotta do I guess" Shingetsu said when Ayane excused herself and went to the "bathroom" although he never understood the gesture to apologized to other people when you need to...release yourself. The young Kiri ninja was scouting out the area with his eyes when he suddenly felt something changing in the air, and the next moment 3 people were walking out of those bushes where Ayane has gone behind for a quick while ago.

Everything happened so fast, when the big mysterious strange snapped the little neck of Ayane. Shingetsu could feel how his anger was taking over his mind completely. Although he barely know the Sunagakure kunoichi, she was a member of his team. And he just failed to protect one of his teammates. "Dammit woman!" Shingetsu shouted when Haruhi charged right into the fray. He has to act fast, in a matte of a second Shingetsu appeared in front of the big strange that just threw Haruhi on the ground. "One step closer, and I will kill you" That was a statement more than a threat. "Oh? And who is going to stop me? You? I fucking hate ninjas. Especially the kinds like you!" The big stranger delivered a hay maker as he screamed at Shingetsus head. As he struck the young ninja the stranger expected to hit the flesh, bone and blood. But all he struck was...water. It made a big splash like when you hit water right on. "Heh...nice punch." Shingetsu smiled as his head merged back to the physical form. "What the hell are you?" The big man exclaimed and looked at Shingetsu with suspicious eyes. "I'm a member of the Houzuki clan! The most powerful clan in Kirigakure no Sato! Remember that you trash!" The young Houzuki answered with a fierce voice as he grabbed his sword hilt and swung an overhand swing at the big man. The sword sung an angry song in the air but struck nothing but the ground as the big strange managed to avoid the attack in the last second by jumping backward.