Starring:
Date: December 3, 2013
Summary:
The time has finally come to take action against the man responsible for Eremi's exile. But first, more data has to be collected from a source that will require luck and more forceful means to gain the answers they seek.
"Pain and Gain - Necessary Sacrifices"
Forest Path just south of the WaterFall
The Waterfall [Land of Fire]
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A large waterfall that streams into a massive pool. Surrounding this beautiful location are green trees and lush bushes. The element of nature seems plentiful here, as deer and even predators come here in a neutral alliance to drink from these waters. The waters of the waterfall crash onto large rocks, causing a faint mist to surround it. The pool is a dark blue color, signifying how deep it is. The true depth of the water is unknown.
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The sun was starting to disappear over the horizon, leaving little light to flood the Land of Fire until the stars and moon would appear later at night. From the south a gust occasionally blows through with a biting chill that signifies Winter is just around the corner. With their back to one of the many trees that dot the land, Eremi could be found sitting on the soft grass rolling up the scroll that Kaydin had left him for food to last him a while. "Rise?" He'd question as he tucked the scroll away before standing up. "Its time."
The statement was vague and would definitely leave the girl with questions, but before she could speak he was already beginning to explain him. "No longer can we sit idly by waiting for things to happen. I'm ready to make things happen. Set things in motion. Its actually the entire reason we've been spending a lot of our time in the western part of the forests." Eremi would pause briefly only just long enough to collect his thoughts, "I've noticed hints of travel through the forests leading from Konoha and toward a small village in the west. Why, I'm not sure, but what I've gathered is the pattern is similar to the movements you'd expect from ANBU. Based on the length of time they've been gone and the distance the small village is from where we are, they should be coming back this way soon….And that's when we ambush them."
Neither the chill or the darkness really has much of a profound effect on the one known as Rise. She grew up in the mountains. Not to mention the fact that she spent more than a few nights up beyond the point most would retire for the eve. All of that aside, she was still enjoying the last tidbit of food she managed to snag from Eremi when his voice snapped her out of the mind-numbing haze that good food, well, food in general tended to place her under.
As to be expected, the statement that fill the girl with no shortage of questions and assumptions; but, no desire to speak was truly ever forthcoming. The girl has long since grown accustomed to most of Eremi's habits. The fact that he has not drunken from his waterskin for quite some time, for instance, prelude to a change in their usual activities for the day.
Excited, the black-haired wanderer gave Eremi her fullest attention the instant it became clear that they would be making a 'move move'. "Wait a minute.. Your not even sure that the Anbu we're gonna ambush are the same ones from last time… Or are you?" She asks, despite knowing the answer already, or at least having a good idea. Regardless of how things went down tonight, attacking a shinobi of any village — especially of the elite branches — was bound to attract the wrong kind of condition if anyone found it. This also meant that if they are successful, in order to protect themselves…. For her part, she managed to hold in gulping at the thought or allow her enthusiasm to appear diminshed, but she still visible grew a little paler.
Eremi shook his head slowly, "I don't know." His green eyes focusing on the girls, using his face to express how much he needed her to trust in him and what he has planned. "The ANBU are incredibly well trained Shinobi each with special talents of there own. While I would have liked to trail them, track them down and see who is exactly within the group, the fact of the matter is neither of us are equipped for such a task. Realistically that is." Sighing as he turned away from the girl and walked over toward the stream that trickled to the east. "This is the best thing I could come up with so far. Either we get lucky that the ANBU coming this way are the ones that tried eradicating the village to the north or are at least some how connected to Kanra Fukutsu in some way. Other than that, I've got nothing. Unless you've got something better, this simply has to be done. Which means we can't be ourselves…"
With that, Eremi would pull out a kunai from his pouch, twirl it about within his hand and then bring it up to cut through his long locks of hair. "Because we're going to be attacking Konoha Anbu, they can't recognize me or even you for that matter. The plan is to capture, interrogate and then let them go. After which they're sure to send more through the forests after us so we'll have to leave Konoha for a while, but only long enough until we can come back and deal with Kanra Fukutsu again." Dropping down to his knees, Eremi dipped his hand into the cold stream to fill his hand with water and wash it over his hair, allowing it to fall flat around his head.
Rise could only bow her head in response, and question for the first if her decision to follow Eremi was the right thing to do. She perks a bit as he went on to explain the plan in further details. Still, even without having read any books regarding combat strategy and the like, Rise knew from experience that any strategy implemented was bound to fall apart during real-time combat. That is to say, in one shape or another. A lucky few may have gotten away with things falling into place from start to finish, but only just.
She sighs heavily. Then turned her attention to her bag and began rooting around inside of it for what she would need for a disguise. In truth, compared to Eremi she had to do a lot more 'prep' work to become less her and more of someone else. Tinted goggles (meant originally for impromptu travel to the Land of Wind), hair trimmed up and gelled back before being mostly covered up with a mud-brown scarf, lower face covered by face mask (her prize for beating a certain jounin a while back at arm wrestling), combat knife tucked into bag, and finally all of her current clothes had to be swapped out for marginally less desirable. At this point during the change Rise paid no heed whatsoever to Eremi's presence. She did not expect him to leave or stay for that matter, though, deciding an outfit out of the sparse extras she had tucked away sorta blinded her of any thoughts regarding the male. Nothing short of physically stopping her will actually grab her attention. Albeit in that case, things might end up even more awkward. In the end, spandex suit is swapped for a shorts and skirt combination, black and blood red respectively, and blood red t-shirt overlapped black jacket. An… odd ensemble overall, but one that should work. Hopefully.
"So, what do you think?" She asks innocently with her hands clasped behind her and eyes intently on her companion.
Too busy working with his own disguise, Eremi missed any chance of catching a glimpse of Rise changing into a different outfit. It was probably for the best anyways…With his hair now flattened, Eremi brought his backpack around and started rummaging through it and till he produced a long black, hooded cloak and a roll of white bandages. The cloak was wrapped around his shoulders and the bandages were unraveled so he could apply them around his face and head, leaving just his eyes visible. There wasn't much he could or actually needed to do as far as a disguise went, so this should be enough.
Grabbing his backpack, he'd stand and turn to face Rise who had completely changed, "Oh, wow. I mean…" Turning away as if to avoid the awkwardness, thankful his face was covered, but still bringing the hood up to cover the rest of his face just in case. "You look great." Walking over toward some brush and placing his backpack within before turning back to face the girl. "We're both Taijutsuists, so regardless of our ambush, it will result in combat. So just be prepared and remember…no pills."
Rise grinned from ear to ear. She had her doubts about loosening the bands up to further 'enhance' her disguise, but if nothing else, seeing Eremi's reaction was well worth the small bit of embarrassment to her. Her excitement even prompted a fistpump to the sky, though the instant Eremi began to turn around she hid the fist and tried to play off the action with some 'innocent' whistling.
"Right and… right." She replied. Although the last 'right' comes out softily. A lie that she hoped Eremi would not see through… or find out about. The girl had not lied about her dependency issues before… BUT, she promised herself to use them only as a last resort and nothing else. Just to be on the safe side, she only made certian to carry a pair of the most potent 'enhancers' before secreting her back pack in the same place as Eremi's pack. "Lead the way, 'o mummy in shiny bandages~" She joked and gave a mocking salute to boot! One last joke before being forced into a more serious state of being for the mission.
Eremi eyed the girl curiously before nodding as if accepting her response, "This way then. If anything we'll have about an hour to prepare and then an hour or so before they arrive. Assuming my calculations are right." He turns west and jumps into the trees, landing on a branch before pushing off and moving to the next one and the next after that. His speed increasing as he moved through the forests. Normally he'd keep his speed in check, knowing his training and Satonezu heritage isn't something most people can keep up with, but considering his partner this time around was Rise, he could let loose.
While not one to really fancy planning in the first place, all the assuming Eremi spouted was starting to get her worried a little. She briskly forced such worries down whenever they managed to find a foot hold, and set her focus solely to Eremi. A curt nod is all the answer he receives from the girl before it's time to get moving. Her bloodline may have sharpened her reflexes and adaptability but it is hard work that truly contributes to her to being able to keep pace with the Satonezu without only exhausting her self int he process. The urge to outpace continuously gnaw at her at every leap of the journey. She resists, if only barely, and even went as far as to stay a few seconds behind Eremi. This was as much as safety measure for both of them as it was another way to reign in that competitive side of her.
As they moved through the trees, there was one spot that Eremi had in mind that would be perfect for an ambush. The forest opened up to a small clearing that had several knocked over and rotted out trees that allowed visibility to the sky and would force any one using trees for movement to take a detour around or simply continue through the debris. More often than not, most people would choose the route of going through the area and why wouldn't they. That's what he was hoping for anyways.
"Just up ahead now." Slowing down until coming to a stop as they reach the outside border of the clearing. The stars and a quarter of the moon shine up ahead in the now night sky, granting some visibility to the area ahead. "This is it. Does any type of ideas pop out at you?" Jumping to the ground below and walking ahead, "It's a straight shot from here to the village and back to Konoha. Which means any traps to set up would be here to there." Pointing about as he spoke. "I don't carry seals or exploding tags, but if you do, make use of them." He hunched down near a dead tree and picked up some dirt to rub on his body and smear into the bandages that covered his face. "This is where I'll be."
During the journey, Rise's mind kept wanting to wonder back down the path of concern and doubts about their mission. Desperate for something — ANYTHING to keep the worse at bay, dark-haired young woman took to keeping a sharper eye on their surroundings. In this way Rise assuaged her worries concerning the intel retrieved by Eremi being a trap by finding nothing to worry about except the rare and panicked attempts of a bird or bat attempting to get out of their way.
She nearly loses herself to the repetitive sights, but thanks to Eremi, she's given something new to focus on. She does not follow Eremi to the ground due to lingering doubts giving her pause at the last second. Instead, Rise just listens as the rest of her senses are put to use scanning the ambush point. "'Fraid not." She emitted, cringing at the brief memory flash involving the last time she wielded such things. A mental curse is not far behind when the memory fades.
"I'll stick up here, just in case. And route them if they come this way." If I can' She adds silently, then crouched down to finding a thick enough canopy point to hide amongst. Before she goes, Rise spares Eremi a few moments to give out any further 'advice' or what-have-you, just in case.
The tree that Eremi had chosen to hide behind was nothing more than a home for the insects now. Having fallen quite some time ago, the branches had broken off or withered away while the tree itself was almost a completely hollowed out log. The plan for the tree was to be used as a weapon, catching the ANBU by surprise and hopefully leaving them unable to defend properly. The element of surprise was the best they could hope for.
Hearing what Rise had to offer, Eremi really didn't have anything else to say, "The ANBU will come this way, naturally. They aren't expecting an ambush. Why would they? They're in the Land of Fire and near Konoha, so why be more cautious than necessary. They'll take the easiest and fastest route back to the village to turn in the report for their mission. Most people expect hardships and challenges heading toward a mission, not away and that's where we will benefit." Watching Rise as she was moving into position before he spun about himself, "When they come, I'll attack first and then you come in from behind. Until then, we just wait."
Rise eyes widen for a brief moment, then is hardened as she nodded one last time before disappearing. Relaxed and possibly weakened too? She cannot help but smile. Literally, she cannot, but tried nevertheless to wipe it away. 'Where did that come from?' She thought worriedly.
Once out sight and hopefully out of range of most sensors before the trap can be sprung, the girl would use their remaining time to reflect and ease some of the tension out of her body. She's not at all successful with either at first. Not at least until she began to -look- at the whole event from a different perspective. Specifically, from the mindset of a huntress. She needed not to draw a blade in order to better channel the feeling. Simply knowing that her teeth could rend flesh just as easily as any blade, the dense shadows shielded her, the wind was so far in her favor, and the fact that her prey is, or at least should be unsuspecting, was enough of a primer to set the mood. All that remains… was time.
What would probably seem like an eternity, happened within the hour as the last of the daylight faded away into darkness. The clearing lit up only by the stars that filled the sky and the quarter moon above. There was a silence in the air, with the only thing heard being the breaths the two made in this cold and chilly night while they lied in wait.
Eremi was hunched down at the knees with his body pressed firmly against the dead tree, face covered by the hood of his cloak and resting against the crumbling bark. Insects crawled across his shadowy frame, many moving passed him while others would explore the new possibility of a home. To the boy, he ignored it all as his focus remained on listening to the sounds of the forests and the chance of catching their prey off guard.
The chance, however always remained that what he was spouting before with the ANBU not being cautious with their return home was just hypothetical. He knew not the abilities of the ANBU they were waiting for nor of their behaviors. Within their group could hold the same type of shinobi as Eremi or even Rise. Constantly checking their surroundings, always expecting the worse and never letting their guard down until safely home. If this was the case, the ANBU would completely avoid the clearing and go around or target Rise as she was alone, taking her down first before coming for the boy….
She welcomed the embrace of the shadows and they in turn did the same. If she moves at all, nothing betrays her actions. Mother nature was kind for no wind was about to carry her scent, though, she did have a sense of irony since a bird decided to roost upon Rise's head at one point. Again, Rise remain still in spite of her pride and instinct demanding that the bird be made an example of. Fortune again smiles upon her when it leaves without incident, alleviating the girl of one concern so that she could better focus on the main objective.
The darkness provided by the fall of night becomes a boon to the soul. It also signals a certain amount of safety being added. Thus allowing her to soundlessly shift into a more comfortable position and regard the area more closely. From afar, her choice was perfect because a shadowed, thick tree branch among others is not something to concern oneself with. The price however became a reliance on the peripheral vision, sound, and intuition.
Time ticks by some more, prompting the girl to wondering what-ifs and counter attacks. The future grew bleaker with every one that came to mind.
It wasn't much longer after night had taken hold of the lands that the sound of swaying branches from the west would reach the ears of Rise and as the cause of the noise drew closer, Eremi's as well. It was the ANBU. Each making their way toward the clearing using the trees until reaching the clearing and having no choice but to run through.
One after the other they'd jump into the opening, lit up by the moon that caught their figures and land on the dead trees and bark of the area. Their foot steps were light, leaving little to no sounds, but as Eremi hunched close to the tree with one ear pressed against the log and the other to the sky, he was just barely able to make them out. Enough though that as the four ANBU continued ahead, Eremi was able to time properly just what he was about to do next.
The fingers of his hands would twitch slightly just before clenching into the tree and through pushing his feet against the ground while lifting up at the same motion, Eremi brought the tree up before him and propelled it forward at the group. It was a large attack, but even if it wasn't able to catch the ANBU by surprise Eremi was already following behind, leaping through the air himself with a foot leading the charge.
She nearly tenses up the instant the sound of fleeting sound of footsteps reach her ears. She wills herself to do otherwise. Just like she willed herself to keep from peeking to far over a tree limb to confirm rather or not their targets arrived. Straining herself, Rise just barely manages to follow their movements and note for any signs of flaws to them. Too much pressure, a tendency to slide instead of properly place their foot, distance between footfalls — every bit of data she gathers puts her one step closer to figuring out how best to make her move. Or so she believes.
Then the attack begins… and yet, there is no assistance from Eremi's companion. Not directly. While the Anbu dispersed themselves and were busy trying to analyze the situation and prepare a counter-attack, Rise began to slowly maneuver into place to cut off anyone dumb enough to make a break for it first. Although her senses remain attuned to the battle, she cannot devote too much focus towards the task without the risk of making a misstep along the way. Once safely tucked away again she watches and waits for her chance to strike, to carol, and to hopefully disable in a none permanent way.
As the tree came flying toward the ANBU, despite being taken by surprise, they were quick to respond. Two on either side of the leader, one that wore a bear mask and the other in one reminiscent to a hawks, dispersed. Leaping away from the attack only visible by their silhouette in the moonlight. The leader of the group, that was up front wore a raccoon mask and in an instant withdrew a sword that split the tree in half, leaving the pieces flying to either side of him. Though what the Raccoon wasn't expecting was the flying foot that followed and kicked into the mans head, sending them tumbling backwards and into the legs of a cat masked ANBU. The latter crumbling and falling on top of the former.
Eremi would land on his feet after the attack, head scanning around for Rise, wondering why she hasn't attacked yet, curious if fear has gotten the better of the girl. Whatever the reason, he couldn't think on it for long as both the Bear and the Hawk were already attacking. Within the eye holes of the hawks mask, glowing red flashed through as hands reached behind the back and flipped ahead sending several shuriken flying toward Eremi. The Bear was quick to follow up with hand signs, one after the other before finally finishing. The result of which were to cause the shuriken thrown to multiply, turning into hundreds of shadow cloned shurikens with little chance for avoiding, especially in the dark.
It would have almost been better if it had been fear that had kept her from attacking on time. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter was the simple fact that Rise… forgot how the plan went. Well, not forgot per say but misinterpreted some key points about it. As a result, Eremi is forced to hold his own against not one, but all entire ANBU team by himself at this point. She would not let his valiant sacrifice be in vain! +.+
They note the shadow passing over ahead, but only the one with the red eyes dares to break concentration on Eremi long enough to see for himself what it heralds. Swathed in moonlight, it is difficult to some degree to even read just what was flying high above them all. At least at first, then a 'pieces' of it seems to break off. One piece rocketing away as the main silhouette begins to become more define, the other just appears to hang in the air. A few precious seconds more and several things become clear. The first, a path for Eremi to possibly evade is opened by the piece that was sent rocketing to the earth first: A thick log, to be exact, and soon to be a pincushion. The second or perhaps the third, is the object that hung in the air, its true purpose being revealed as it grew larger… and larger… and larger still until it too becomes clear.
Another log just slightly bigger than the last had been dropped from high above, seemingly on a crash course for the bear masked nin if not for the natural mechanics of the world altering its course along the way. It slams dangerously close to him. Or at least where he stood. The red-eyed one managed to let out a warn, though the price for that meant missing the whistling sound of shuriken before the back of his legs were cut in passing. The masterful and perfectly timed shuriken launched well before Rise made her move, but only a minor nuisance at best. Speaking of Rise…
Just as the other two Anbu were beginning to recover, Rise makes sure to put them both down by driving her feet into them as she landed from her moonsault. The anbu may be skilled, but few if any at all are have regenerative abilities. In short, bones were definitely fractured if not broken beneath all that flesh and clothing.
The shuriken flew toward Eremi, most invisible within the darkness, but he knew there were more there than he'd actually be able to dodge, at best he'd be able to lessen the damage he would take from the onslaught, possibly shifting his body at the most opportune moments to receive scratches instead of being perforated. He was prepared to do what was necessary, but what he was expecting to do quickly changed as Rise finally showed up to help. The log dropped before him and without hesitating, Eremi ran toward it, pressing his back against it for protection as the shuriken either stuck into the log or flied past.
When the shuriken cleared, Eremi jumped up kicking at the shield at his back with a spinning kick that sent the log hurtling toward the Hawk. In response, the red eyed shinobi flashed through several hand signs before disappearing in a cloud of smoke only to reappear next to Rise who had just recovered from completely taking out two of the other ANBU in a single strike. The hawk went through several hand signs in seconds before raising a hand to her mask, slightly lifting it to place a curved finger at her mouth and releasing a giant fireball that lit up the area in an orange-ish glow.
After kicking the log, Eremi had already started off toward the Bear, racing across the open field with plans of ending him quickly. The Bear however made a single handsign and where there was one of the individual, there now stood three. Each spread out evenly before running toward Eremi to meet in Taijutsu-Kombat.
A brief and only mild sense of guilt shoots through after peering down at the 'disabled' shinobi at her feet. She began to shake her head in hopes of dispelling the feeling. Then there's a sudden noise at her side. Familiar and — She turns, eyes wide in suprise upon seeing the red-eyed shinobi from earlier finish the last seal. Rise doesn't wait a second more to see what the technique is. She chose instead to rely on her gut and put some distance between them as soon as possible. Even then, Rise does not escape completely unscathed.
If Hawk-san was aware of her comrades laying at Rise's feet, she cared not for their safety in the least bit by trying to incinerate Rise. And if she didn't, well, her chose of tactics would go from cruel to amateurish (at best). Regradless, by reflexively trying to save them by carrying them both out of harms way, Rise's embers from the resulting fireball's explosion threaten to engulf her. Would have, if not for that very same explosion sending her flying and forcing her to instinctively hit the ground rolling.
She comes out of the roll, skidding along the grass. Her first thought is to yell at Hawk-san for endangering her friend. She reigns it in, for now, and focuses all of her efforts in rapidly closing the distance between them. Smaller fireballs are fired back, impeding Rise briefly, but only just. Undaunted, She tries to force the apparent Ninjutuist into a Taijutsu match.
The Hawk would watch Rise react to some basic instinct for needing to save the other ANBU that were unable to protect themselves, as if they might be in danger of being eveloped by the fireball technique that Hawk was using. Unlike most opponents Rise might be used to, Hawk was a member of the ANBU which is an Elite order of shinobi. Meaning if there were techniques the red eyed shinobi wanted to use, regardless of her team mates being near by, she would use them and use them with such exceptional skill they would not be in danger. Though the Hawk didn't mind Rise feeling an impulsive, yet befuddling need to save people that they had just incapacitated moments ago. It meant a greater chance of connect with her jutsu.
The shadow clones of Bear as well as the real one would converge on Eremi all at once as he raced toward them. One of the shadow clones suddenly jumped high in the air, while the other two locked hands and kept racing forward. Briefly Eremi's attention went up, curious as to what the airborne clone had planned, but in doing so managed to get close lined and knocked hard into the ground. On his back, Eremi would see the clone that was up above spinning downward with feet aimed in a dive bomb similar to how Rise took out the Cat and Raccoon earlier. Not wanting to experience the same fate, the boy rolled out of the way and sprung to his feet, leaving the clone with nothing to crash into.
She's evades most of the fireballs by a hair's breadth and is forced to run a wide circle just to accomplish that much after awhile. The ANBU really were no joke. At least, not as much as a joke she used to saw them as given that even Chuunin were rumored to be accepted into their ranks. Needing to slide to a stop, and then abruptly alter her course a second later to evade harm forces Rise to realize that she can't just rely on a contest of endurance to save the day. Every move she made was only giving her opponent more weapons to use against her in the long run.
'No more.'
One. Three. Five. In an effort to bide time in between attacks, Rise launches a barrage of shuriken in odd increments, forcing — if just for a few extra seconds — her opponent on the defensive. Rise capitalizes on that opportunity. Even if it meant having to endure the stinging sensation of flame and melted slag from a pin-point fireball counterattack.
She sprung low along the ground, feinting by preemptively cocking her fist back only to plant the limb into the ground and spin herself around for a sweep kick.
Hawk leaps high as her name, proving her namesake. The sweep was another feint. A fact hawk may have learned to late, because hardly a second later Rise is in the air and upon her. Kicking and kicking, prying at whatever hasty blocks Hawk tried to pull to ward off blows meant for the ANBU shinobi's chin. All the while she kept sending them both just a bit higher with each strike…
The three Bears met up once again before two ran to either side of Eremi and the last stayed out in front. Each of them only a few feet away, just out of reach as they didn't want to give the hooded figure a chance to attack all of them at once nor did they want to give him a chance to run out after one of the Bears without fear of being attacked from an exposed side. The Bears plan now was to stay back and use a ninjutsu from all sides, making it nearly impossible to avoid. With that in mind they all began forming hand signs while focus chakra within them.
Eremi stood in the middle of the three Bears, slowly shifting his feet beneath him on the ground and twisting his head as he tried to keep an eye on all three of them at once. He was going to wait until they rushed him again to mount a counter attack, but it was clear as they were beginning to form hand signs they had other things in mind. Not wanting to be in the middle of some over powered ninjutsu, Eremi slightly hunched down as he pushed his feet into the ground before pushing off and jumping into the air with a quick and powerful spin kick with such force it actually creates a whirlwind around him that expands outwards in all directions and over takes the three Bears. The two clones would disappear from the blow leaving the real Bear tumbling backwards. Eremi would be quick to follow after while reaching into a pouch strapped to his back and producing something to tie up the ANBU member.
Higher and higher and higher still! It seems that with each passing moment that gravity has abandon the duo, though, this is soon to proven a lie with the soft tug of the invisible force making itself known. At best there's only room for one or two more strikes before the demand must be obeyed. Rise gambles it all on by withdrawing for the final strike.
Seeing her chance, Hawk doesn't waste time trying for more special techniques. There was simply no room for it in a moment that demanded that only the fastest will obtain victory.
A kunai slides into her hand.
Rise rotates..
The hand is brought down…
Leg becomes extended…
Two cries go out. One of battle, the other from pain a second later…
The spin kick was delivered with such speed and force that an actual whirlwind accompanies it. The very same whirlwind along with Rise's blow reaching first is why he ended up with a Kunai in the shoulder instead of dead center between her eyes. Both are sent flying away from each other, but it is hawk ends up recieving the worst in the end once gravity chose to dispense with the pleasantries and start dragging the stubborn shinobi back to the earth. Rise hits the ground in a crouch, then falls to a knee just as Hawk made her own crash landing. Pushing through the pain, Rise rises back to her feet and practically drags herself over to the fallen Konoha shinobi.
One look is enough to confirm that Hawk won't be getting back up anytime soon. Even so, Rise takes no chances and proceeds to remove the ANBU mask and bind her using some steel wire left over from her chuunin days in Kumogakure. Then see to Eremi before taking care of her own injuries.
With the ANBU either incapacitated or bound, the plan was a success. Eremi would walk over toward the two that were taken out first by Rise and reach down to pick up the Raccoon, placing the man over his shoulders. "This is who we need, no one else. The rest can stay here until they escape themselves or are found." Knowing at least two are still conscious, "If they're smart, they won't follow us and by doing so they will save this mans life. We have no plans of kill him, now let's go." With that Eremi took off toward the north west and bounded into the trees with hopes that Rise was following quickly behind.
The high from her adrenaline rush still courses through her veins, so at the time Rise just simply smiled dumbly in response to Eremi's statement. When he takes off, Rise crouches down, preparing herself for the leap that would carry her after Eremi, but hesitates. Belatedly does she recall that the Hawk's mask was still in hand. Dishonor or Danger. Rise chose the possible dangers in lingering around long enough make sure all the ANBU were near each other. She lingered longer still, because just as she was about to reseal the mask back in place, the clouds that had briefly darkened the moon move away. The face was so eerily similar that Rise just sits there in shock for a few moments, trying and failing to keep her wits her together.
Absentmindedly, Rise wiped the blood away from Hawk's lip before returning the mask to its rightful owner. After that she takes off as after Eremi as the devil himself were at her heels. 'Uchiha Narusegawa' It wasn't her. The face still brought home the fact that Rise had betrayed one friend for the sake of another. She may just need to borrow Eremi's waterskin for awhile after this.,
