Numafuttou no Kappa

[Mamushi]

Kappa of the Boiling Lake

This is a filler arc, set to take place before the zombie outbreak and the Mizukage vote.

Hiromasa had left Masumi behind with one intent - to find Kappa and locate the Kenzoku Kani scroll. He was under the impression that the old lush had it in his possession, but he very well could have lost it - or, worst, Kappa and the scroll could have perished in the Great Flash...

Lets hope not.

He surveyed the land from the apex of a towering tree, his chakra covered feet hugging the bark. Its thick boughs wound down to the earthen floor like steps down a spiraling stairwell, the lush green leaves of past springtimes brighter now that the bodies of dead soldiers had become nourishment for the forest. The sun had begun to sink behind the Western Mountains, its golden brilliance blurred by the clouds floating at the tops of the mountain range.

With a kunai clenched in his teeth, opened the map he'd retrieved from the village. It was a rough map of the Southern Forest drawn by his sister's capable hands. The 'x' at it's center was Kappa's takukawa, his 'river-house', and the very last place the Kenzoku Kani scrolls had been seen. Cities and towns alike had been destroyed in the Great Flash, but Hiromasa knew Kappa was a Fuuinjutsu expert - despite his untoward appearance - and he highly doubted the river house had fallen.

Only one way to find out...

He worked out a rough translation of his own position in regards to the map, scanning the forest with his eyes to create a visual of the land mapped on the paper. Two hundred and thirty six kilometers of woodland and swampland separated him from the Kenzoku Kani scroll - scarcely a day of travel, if he ran the whole time. He had no supplies - he'd have to hunt for food, and clean in lakes and rivers - and he had no concrete evidence that Kappa was alive.

Ah, the life of a shinobi.

[Sharkk]

"Sssoar until you reach a height to which you may fall!"

Hissing and a nudge to his chin awoke him, his eyes opening slowly he nudged his alarm clock, a small forest snake, sending it on it's way. Hissing out a yawn he turned to where the snake was headed, no doubt it was leaving, but also letting him know why he was awoken. Off in the distance was a blonde haired boy, maybe around the same age as Yuu himself. Tilting his head to the side he smirked, his tongue hitting the air a few times before he dropped out of the tree. Landing in a one knelt knee position he slowly stood up.

Rolling his neck around he made his way towards the individual. Hands in his pockets he smirked, the face seemed familiar, he had seen it a few times before around the Hidden Mist. His name was Hisomarsa or something of the like, no it was Hiromara, no? Shaking the useless thoughts from his head he came to a stop when there only a few meters between himself and the fellow Hidden Mist shinobi. "What bringsss you out to these partsss?"

[/color] Smirking evily he looked about, they were alone so he need not worry about some sort of ambush.
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[Mamushi]

The climb down from tree top to forest floor was quick - he merely stepped off the branch and fell, the wind whipping against his face and through his blond hair thick and humid. He landed on a branch and repeated the tactic till he reached the ground, the grass beneath his sandaled feet thick and teeming with insect life.

He brushed an ant from his hand as he stood, practiced eyes piercing the ever-present fog with ease. The crooked tree branches seemed sinister in the waning light, hanging down over the pathway like the gnarled, bony claws of some sinister apparition. I imagine foreigners hate this place.

!

He heard steps off to his left - they weren't particularly quiet, the pace leisurely, and when he peered through the trees, he saw clearly the figure walking towards him. The first thing that caught his eye was the Mizu hitai-ate. The snake-like features gave away the youth's freakish blood.

"What bringsss you out to these partsss?" Even his voice was snakelike - equally creepy was the grin on his face.

Hiromasa looked at him, his face twisted in disgusted confusion."Why do you have that stupid look on your face?" He appeared serious in his inquiry, as if he expected an answer, but then his face relaxed and he simply shook his head. "I have business with a man who lives south of here - he's probably more freakish than you are."

Am I the only ninja left in Kiri without a kekkai genkai?

"I'm in a hurry, so if you want to talk, do it while running."

He turned and sprinted into the forest, a kunai gripped loosely in his curled fingers.

[Mamushi]

- Intermission -

The home was small and quaint, its decor bare and spartan. Outside, it consisted of four wooden walls, its triangular roof built in the same manor as the classical japanese homes, with thick ovular shingles made of dried mud-brick. A single door adorned the outside of the home, and at its base was a mat that read, "Drink Heavy". Inside was similarly unimpressive. The walls were painted off white, and there was a single futon pressed to the eastern wall, and a stove pressed to the southern wall. A window was the western walls only redeeming feature, and the northern wall was covered, from ceiling to floor, in cut-out images of naked women.

A cup of tea sat steaming on the stove, its maker dancing across the small house with a deerskin pouch clutched in his fist, liquid spilling from the top as he moved.

"Hee, hee, hee, what it is to live!" The old man tilted the pouch back and sucked it dry, finished with a loud burp. "Ahhhh! That's the good stuff."

He stopped his little jig when he came to the window. The glass showed a truly hideous visage. His face was wrinkled and pockmarked, unshaved and matted with dirt and grime. His beady black eyes were completely bloodshot, and his bulbous nose seemed swollen and reddened. The top of his head was bald, but straggly hair hung around the sides, cut in a tonsure. Instantly, he became alert.

"Someone has triggered the perimeter seals... I wonder who..."
He raised a hand to scratch his matted beard, revealing all manner of seals running from his hand and down his arm, disappearing up his shirt sleeve. "Maybe those Kumo-nin finally decided to pay me a visit... or maybe its Hiro-chan! The little tyke must be what, 13, 14 by now? Yes..." He stepped to the stove, grabbed his cup, and took a long, satisfying sip. "Yes, that's him. I recognize the chakra. But who is with him?"

With a grin on his face, he prepared for his guests.

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[Sharkk]

His head tilted to the side when he saw the boy's face twist in disgust before the boy complained about the expression Yuu's face. But, things seemed to go down hill once the boy seemingly calmed, only to choose to become more harsher with his words, thus causing Yuu's head to straighten, and his face almost turn into anger, but he paused and took a moment to think. Business? What business could it be? Perhaps Yuu could gain from this, thus he smirked and let the insults roll off his shoulders.

"I'm in a hurry, so if you want to talk, do it while running."

Nodding he took off, following the boy.

[/blockquote]

[Mamushi]

- Intermission -

Numafuttou was a dangerously treacherous place. The water of the lake truly boiled, the scalding temperatures reaching up in the area of 140 degrees. Legend had it that long ago, before the Great Wars that erased history, the Yonbi had called the lake his own, bathing in its waters when it came down from the Southern Reaches. Its chakra saturated the water, heating it for the centuries to come. The myth was somewhat ridiculous - Hiromasa knew that the Yonbi had never lived in Mizu - but he could imagine that some manner of monstrous creature dwelt in the dark depths of the lake.

He couldn't have been more correct. He didn't know - his family had always been tight-lipped about it - but the Kenzoku Kani themselves lived in the lake - or rather, they lived beneath the lake, in the deepest of a myriad of underwater cave systems that reached all the way under the Southern Reaches and opened into the sea.

Just as Kappa's proximity seals were activated, so to do the Kenzoku Kani receive a warning by way of the family busybody, Kaniwakai, the smallest and youngest of the Mighty Crabs. She was an excellent tracker, and very unobtrusive, despite her bright shell and pink gi. Hidden in the underbrush at the edge of the lake, she dug into the mud, searching excitedly for a land-fish. She smelled Hiromasa and Yuu long before she saw them, and the instant she did, she secreted a pheromone from her pores that carried not only down into the soil, but sank into the lake itself, instantly alerting her kin. The last of the Kawashima had finally come to claim his birthright. She was glad one of them had survived the flash, but she was wary of the unknown. She was too young to have known any of the deceased Kawashima, but her brother and sister often told her how crazy the matriarch of the family had been, and how ruthless the patriarch had been - she wondered what Hiromasa would be like, and if he would bother to summon her at all.

She retreated into the lake, swimming deep down to the caves below.

___________

Eventually, Hiromasa forgot Yuu was even following him, setting into a quick pace as he dashed through the forests. They had been running for quite a while - a dozen hours, at least, and Hiromasa wasn't sure - or concerned - how the Genin was keeping up. He was somewhat fatigued himself, and he'd been using chakra to enhance his speed. Finally, when he felt the temperature begin to raise and the ever present fog grew thicker and heavier, he knew that they were near the lake, and he felt it prudent to ask,

"Are you alright back there snake-eyes?"

In mid run he jumped onto the side of a tree and ran to the top, stopping only when he had reached its its highest point. The tree was not particularly tall, but it was tall enough, and gave him a great enough vantage point to make out Kappa's island and home in the center of the lake, shrouded in mist so thick it seemed as if a white blanket had fallen over the earth. In the distance he could see the Southern Reaches - the cupped the lake and extended far beyond it, sinking into the ocean and out to regions unknown and uncharted.

Satisfied, he jumped to the ground, dusting himself of when he landed. "This is the place I was looking for." He looked around, eyes jumping around the small clearing. "Make a campsite here. When I get back, I'll teach you a jutsu, and you can teach me one as well. Deal?" He wasn't a fan of bloodline ninja - he rather disliked him - but Yuu had proven he knew how to be quiet, and Hiromasa could appreciate that. He hated inane chattering. If only he could kill that weird grin...

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[Sharkk]

It had been awhile now, running through the trees, jumping from one branch to the next. Feeling fatigued his eyes darted towards Hiromasa's back as the boy spoke. "Are you alright back there snake-eyes?" Laughing slightly at the statement he nodded as he spoke. "Yesss, blondie."

[/color]

And upon watching Hiromasa run up a tree he himself stopped, using chakra to stay on the tree as he stood on it's side. "Would be suprising if he could see anything even from the top of the tree, but perhaps within a few moments focusing any could."[/color][/i] Shrugging his shoulders he looked about, his eyes closed shortly after though, hsi ears focused on the sounds of life. But, his eyes jerked u pon upon hearing familiar hissing, to which he hissed back to.

"Hello my friendsss."[/color]

Next thing he knew Hiromasa was dropping to the ground and began speaking. Dropping to the ground himself he took in a breath. Ignoring Hiromasa's command he took it as a request instead. As such he knelt down and began setting up camp, the offer of knowledge of a knew jutsu was too much to pass up.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/left][/blockquote]

[---<TAKI>---]

(OOC: sorry for the shorty was in a rush Q~Q)

Appearance

Quick flashes of a soundless being swept through the forest at a balanced pace, flickering through the trees with grace and finesse. Silently had Taki's chakra charged feet fell upon each bough as she leapt tree to tree, slowly trailing behind both Hiromasa and Yuu roughly by 20 meters. Her silky blackish blue hair flushed with the winds whipping away at her face and frame, it was a pleasant sensation indeed. What was she doing here? What was her purpose? Simple, boredom. Kirigakure's activity had met an impasse for the time being given the situation, with nothing to do or an missions that needed to be accomplished she was only left with the option of aimlessly wandering around, ending up in her following the party of two.

She cared not whether they would come to acknowledge her presence or not as she became overwhelmed with curiosity. She wanted to know what the two had been chase after or searching for, it had to be something right? They seemed all too serious. Seconds of travel turned into minutes of burnt chakra, the primordial stages of fatigue began to rear its ugly head as she watched Hiromasa halt his path of direction to scout the area and soon descend to the earthen floor. As she got closer and closer to the two the fog began to set it, but it wasn't anything that could obscure her line of sight.

"Just what exactly are they doing....heh guess its only one way to find out."

Taki herself discontinued her forward path of travel once she reached a bough just above Hiromasa and Yuu. Taki dropped down to the soils below as her feet sunk heavily into the earth, landing with a wide crouch, one that could have been easily mistaken for a sensual pose. After having absorbed the shock from her landing Taki came to a perfect stand, whipping a few stray bangs back over her ear.

"Deal? hey hey hey, where's my cut? I'm getting in on whatever this is too. Can't just let cuties like you two escape with all the goods now can I?" She exclaimed in a sassy and bold manner.

[Mamushi]

Someone isn't very good at silent tracking...

He could hear the muted echo of their steps, just barely, and, coupled with the standard paranoia of a surviving Chuunin, he was able to discern the approximate location of the 'stalker'. They couldn't be anything but - anyone who followed two people for twelve hours was either extremely crazy or extremely bored. He considered confronting their follower, but eventually decided against it. Frankly, he didn't quite care, and if they proved hostile, and Snake-Eyes couldn't deal with the problem, well -

To bad for Snake-Eyes.

He disappeared a moment before Taki dropped to the forest floor, missing her grand entrance. The trees swallowed him, his figure vanishing in the shrubbery. He paused for only a second to gain his bearings before he sprinted deeper into the thick fog, his excitement growing greater with each step that brought him closer to his birth right.

He broke through the tree-line to the sight of Numafuttou - its boiling waters seemed bluer than they sky itself, blanketed by such thick mist that Hiromasa could hardly see through it - in fact, if not for his life amongst such conditions, he would be incapable of seeing at all.

"Finally decided to come?!" A raspy voice sounded to his right, voice slipping into a cackle.

That can only be..."Kappa... long time no see."

A figure walked towards him through the mist, the hazy silhouette growing more defined the closer it came. Before long, Kappa stood before him, a wide, snaggletoothed smile splitting his wrinkled face. The old man had a massive scroll tucked under his right arm, and was dressed in a gray robe-like garment that reeked of booze and fish.

"You stink old-man... terribly."

"Kukukukukuku! You're just as disrespectful as your mother! And twice as ugly!"

Hiromasa couldn't help but laugh. He only vaguely remembered Kappa from his childhood, but he could appreciate his humor. He was perhaps the only person left in the world besides himself that knew of his family - that knew the kind of people they had been.

"I have the scroll here, young Hiromasa-chan... all you need to do is sign it!"

Can't be that easy... He voiced his doubts.

"Ahh, but it is! You need to impress the crabs, my young friend! I already know you're capable - a Chuunin already, and a talented one to boot! No, you've proved yourself to me already, Hiromasa-chan. I require no convincing - I only demand that you return here whenever you can." He dropped the scroll to his feet and tapped it with his foot, watching with bulging eyes as it unrolled. "Sign next to your sister's name!"

_______

Kaniwakai watched and listened to the interaction from the edge of the water, careful not to reveal her presence to Hiromasa. So he's a Chuunin already? She floated closer, pincers gripping the rock that led up to the bank. Hmm, I wonder what Kaniken will do to make him prove himself...

Having heard all that she needed, she sunk back into the lake to carry the information to her family. After he left, she'd return to Kappa's home and grill him for info so Kaniken would be ready when Hiromasa eventually summoned him.

"That's him?"

She almost jumped out her shell, so surprised was she. "Kaniken, don't do that!"

Her brother, far larger than she, waded into the shallows. "Hehehehe. Hmmm, he's a Chuunin? He looks pretty young... I'll see how talented a fighter he is when he summons me."

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[Sharkk]

He heard the girl before she even dropped to the ground. Easily able to tell the differance between the forest and swamp sounds from a tree hopping shinobi. Watching her land he merely smirked, Hiromasa was gone at this time, having already taken off as the girl was dropping down.

So it was just Yuu and this girl, a Hidden Mist shinobi no doubt. Ignoring what she had to say he continued to make camp, taking his time as he ignored her. Finishing within ten minutes he stood up, dusting his hands off. Rolling his neck around he loosened up. "Girl, you got ssstalker issuesss?!"

[/color] Laughing slightly he glanced towards the way Hiromasa took off in before turning his eyes back to the female.

Perhaps he could have some of his own fun while the blond boy was away?
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[ooc; Hiromasa if you want me to edit out your leaving to go on ahead then let me know and I'll edit]

[---<TAKI>---]

Her face contorted in brief irritation as the man before her blatantly ignored her, how rude, does anyone know how to treat a lady? He strolled to a nearby tree and pressed her back against it with a short lean. With her legs crossed she placed an open palm up to her mouth before letting out a soft womanly yawn. "What a drag, everywhere is just so boring now, even the people. Ugh" The shinobi life just didn't seem vibrant and lively enough anymore, not since the great flash, but thats to be expected when things are in disarray and order is trying to be established, both old and new. Those ten minutes seemed to stretch on like an eternity of silence, an eternity of haphazardly looking for random thoughts and subjects to dwell upon to make the time pass. Mental images flickered within the recesses of her own mind, thoughts of future power, romance, and life as a whole brimmed within.

"Girl, you got ssstalker issuesss?!"

Taki's mind was thrust into reality once more as the man's hissing speech pierced through her ears and mind. Her eyes darted to his position, soon noticing that he set up camp. "Wait, did he just call me a stalker?"

"Hey! who the hell'r you calling a stalker?! I was just trying to find something to do cuz its boring as hell! So call me a stalker one more time I swear i'll make sure you never have kids."

[Mamushi]

That hardly took ten minutes...

Hiromasa returned to a completed campsite to see the stalker and Snake-Eyes having a verbal tete-a-tete. He ignored Yuu, his attention instead held by the woman. Wow... She was perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing thing he'd seen since the beginning of the war. Her beauty was tempered by her apparent insanity - not only had she stalked them, but he caught her in mid-rant, her face flushed red and finger wagging menacingly...

"Yo." He waved halfheartedly.

It'll probably be hard work convincing the summons to work for me... that must be why Kappa allowed me to sign the scroll so easily.Then again... it is technically my birthright.

He couldn't quite avert his eyes from Taki - she cut a striking figure, and he was almost certain he'd seen her somewhere before... Ah, now I remember.

"Maa... you're one of those Youton users aren't you?" Hn... another one.

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[DAVID BOWE]

Summoning scroll signing approved @ Hiro

[Sharkk]

Raising an eyebrow and letting one eye shift to the banshee of a women he sighed. Beauty came with annoyance almost a hundred percent of the time. Though her bantering was cut short with Hiromasa's return. Tilting his head to the side he listened to what Hiromasa had to say, questioning their guest on her Bloodline possibility.

Hmmm, a Lava Girl? Interesting, though revealed her reasoning behind being so quick to become hot headed. "Ssso your misssion was sssuccessful?...Hmmm now about the jutsssu..."

[/color]
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[Mamushi]

His eyes lingered on Taki before he glanced at Yuu, his face blank, as if he'd forgotten who Yuu was, let alone that he was nearby. Almost immediately, his eyes flickered back to Taki and his expression changed - there was something intense in his gaze -

And just like that, it was gone.

"Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten." He tilted his head in thought, tapping his finger to his temple. "Ah, I know just the jutsu." Dramatically, he pulled his mesh sleeves free of his wrists, rolling them up to his elbows. "Pay close attention snake breath - I'll only show you once!"

Slowly, painstakingly, so the Genin could see and recognize every handseals, Hiromasa initiated the jutsu, his hands dancing so lethargically as if to have been moving backwards! "You know the purpose of handseals, of course - this is a brief array, and a testament to the jutsu's simplicity."

He had both started and ended the sealing array with Suiton-natured handseals, inhaling deeply as he finished. His cheeks swelled up to epic proportions, like a chipmunk with a jaw fill of acorns, and he belched five rock hard balls of water from his lips, the spray rapid and continuous, like an oral gatling-gun. The water, chakra laden and reinforced, slammed into and through a rather thick tree trunk roughly ten meters away, the crash echoing through the forest.

"That was Suiton - Teppoudama. Pretty basic, very useful, and easy to execute. You give it a try. The trick is in the molding of the chakra - to much, and the jutsu will implode and give you a stomach cramp - to little, and the jutsu won't form, and you'll just be wasting chakra."

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