| [May. 22nd, 2017|01:54 am] |
Of everyone on the team, Raidou had not expected to be last man standing. Ryouma was fast. Genma was sneaky. Raidou was… lucky, apparently.
Then again, he also hadn’t expected Kakashi to convert everyone to his cause. Getting chased by Kakashi and his hellbeasts was one thing. Getting chased by all of Team Six and hellbeasts…
Maybe lucky was overstating it.
Then again-again, all did not seem to be well in the ranks. Kakashi looked bloodied and grouchy, Ryouma kept edging away from the tall golden shepherd trotting along at his side, and Genma was not exactly practicing his best stealth.
From his perch inside a tall, lightning-blasted tree trunk at the top of Toukunomiru Ridge, Raidou had a pretty good view of the group making their way carefully up the slope, and that was telling. He shouldn’t have been able to see any of them. Or hear them. A civilian wouldn’t have spotted them. A chuunin might have had trouble. But an enemy hunter of equal skill would have been long gone by now. Which begged the question — incompetence or sabotage?
They weren’t that hungover.
So, next question: were Genma and Ryouma both in on it? And did Raidou risk signalling them?
Or was this an elaborate double bluff to draw him out of hiding?
This was why solo-mission operatives had the highest break average. Way too much time talking to themselves.
Well, in another twenty minutes they’d be exactly on the spot Genma had designated as a meeting place (a large and lustrous poison-lacquer bush Omashi had fallen spectacularly into last year), and Genma would have a next move planned, or Kakashi would inspire one.
Raidou had taken the precaution of leaving two blind scent-trails, rolling himself in mud and strong-smelling leaves, and substitution-swapping to his current hiding place. He was reasonably confident in his ability to remain undetected for at least another twenty-three minutes. Maybe twenty-four if Kakashi was especially distracted.
He settled back to watch with interest.
Genma led the little party confidently through the maze of old traps. At the top of the ridge, the brown pug leapt from his shoulder and put his muzzle to the ground, following one of Raidou’s trails. The golden shepherd peeled away from Ryouma’s side and found the second trail almost immediately. The wolf-dog vanished entirely into the undergrowth, gone like a shadow.
Kakashi crouched, frowning, by the scene of Omashi’s misfortune and stirred a patch of half-dried mud flakes with his fingertips.
“Dead end,” the little pug called, with its odd raspy voice.
The shepherd gave a low yip. Raidou guessed it meant something similar.
Kakashi picked up a leaf and held it to his nose. Then, eerily, his head swung around and he looked right at Raidou’s tree.
Raidou held his breath, and his chakra.
“Your Trials were an anomaly,” Genma said suddenly, catching Kakashi and Ryouma’s attention. “Usually they’re fun. I was support staff last year, so I really got to enjoy watching the candidates try to avoid traps.” His mouth curled. “Like this one.” |
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