Road to Sky Ninja

[Princess Tracy]

Normal Universe (an assumed 1 week after the current team Cybele canon, 3 weeks Maaya)

Team Cybele

"...And that's how I knew Yuri was a bicurious the whole time!" Amon finished her story. There was a weary look in her eyes and it was clear her talking was entirely out of some reflex to fill the silence as the group walk back to town; she had just relayed the tale of events everyone had witnessed firsthand that very day - and indeed had heard Amon plan out in advance to possess the body of the suspect with her new technique or whatever to find out... something that seemed more important before the bridge for the way home broke and added two hours to the journey. It was a long enough trek back to town as it was. Everyone kind of knew they were getting their pay docked - and would be glad to get some rest, no doubt

Of course, Yuri had nothing to do with today's mission. Amon had just spoken long enough to expose her fatigue induced/enhanced idiocy - no one had slept in well over 24 hours

"It's getting dark," Cybele casually remarks, not even looking up to confirm that, sure enough, the sun was over half-set, sending a last few streaks of golden light through the light tree cover. She wasn't hiding in the shadows like usual, instead out in the open by the genin's side, a little hunched over in a posture that mimicked her students - the frame of her glasses doing little to hide the forming bags under her eyes. "We should stop and make camp soon; we won't be needed back at Central until noon."

"Hey, hey, Cybele..." Amon drones, still slightly enthusiastic. Cybele gives no verbal acknowledgement, but her eyes briefly flicker to Amon as the younger-looking blonde waves for attention, though that could just be her scanning her surroundings - either way, Amon jumps on it. She leans in a little, whispering something that makes Cybele actually seize up a bit before disappearing into someone's shadow - a momentary yet incredibly deep blush apparent on her face. "Oh come on, Cybele, it wasn't THAT naughty a joke!" Cybele gives no response, but the moment of teasing does seem to have livened up Amon a little. Thankfully she wouldn't get long enough to turn her attention to Houshi or Yousuke unless they invited it

After a while, Cybele's unseen hand prods each of the genin as they cross into a clearing, signalling them to halt. Appearing once more, Cybele clears her throat and avoids Amon's still teasing smile as she goes about the performance of her old earth-house technique. Sure enough, after a minute a house rises from the ground. Cybele gives a long sigh of exhaustion, but her transformation holds nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, Cybele," Amon says in a sort of genuine way, though her smile doesn't fade, instead turning to a little more nurturing. "But your blush is so cute, how is any girl to resist seeing that, I ask you?" Cybele looks to the side again, still the slightest hint of a blush, possibly form being called cute though she doesn't respond. Amon just puts her hands on her hips in annoyance at not getting more of a rise, planning her next attack...

Spoiler

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Yousuke and Houshi (5d6-20)[6] and (5d6-20)[-2] (respectively, minimum 0) damage from the day's battles. If Houshi has at least one point of damage, there is still an arrow sticking out of his butt, Shrek-style, that Amon said she would heal but forgot to since Houshi is probably too tough to make much of a big deal about it (until he tries to sit down)

Team Maaya

The orders were simple; find the Gap Ninja and ask them the question on the scroll. How then did the entire group of ninja end up lost - no, worse than lost, seperated from Maaya! Takuya, Manabu and Momo find themselves in some random patch of forest where they had wandered after chasing a blonde ninja matching the Gap's description (or at least according the Maaya, since no one else got a good look at their target), they find themselves in unfamiliar woods, wandering aimlessly and unable to find Maaya. And it's getting dark fast

Suddenly, they hear the sound of a chattering voice marching nearby. A minute or two later, there's what sounds like an earthquake - and if the group looks, they see hugs slabs of rock rise from the earth and assemble into a fair-sized hut, complete with windows and a door.

Investigating, the group finds a tall, attractive, busty woman with glasses and long purple hair that Momo recognises as her (and Kaede's) maid, Cybele, along with a moderately gigantic boy with a moderately ridiculous sword not worth dwelling on, a white haired boy with a girlish figure and grey eyes - and the stance of a swordsman, sure enough carrying a small arsenal on him, and... well, Amon, a fairly tall girl at 5'3 yet possibly the shortest member of the other Team; her blonde hair is almost as long as Cybele's, and her eyes are large and blue with a baby-like quality of curiosity. of course, all that poetic description pales in comparison to what pokes out from her short-skirted black dress - beside a more regular leg, there is a battered one of wood, with metal and leather bindings to propel it. The leg leaves her subtly lopsided if one watches when she doesn't carry the suspiciously bulky handbag of hers

Each member of the group wears the Soragakure headband, marking them as allies, save for Cybele of course, while Amon wears hers as a bandanna. Amon's chattering seems to have distracted Cybele enough that she doesn't notice the Maaya-nin just yet. What will our charismatic ninjas do to approach (or avoid) these folks and their comfy looking magic hut?

[Princess Tracy]

Sakuya

Sakuya has been dispatched by her mistress to find the Gap Ninja - and to eliminate their threat before they can meddle with fate further. In her mistress' words, 'that's my job'. You've tracked the anomalous dimensional activity to somewhere in this forest; scanning until dark, you find a group of 7 children gathered around a smoothly crafted hut. There's a lingering scent in the air of dimensional distortion, the Gap is nearby. You somehow doubt they are among these shinobi, but can't be sure just yet. Perhaps observing for a while would be the best route...?

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke stares blankly into the darkness as he listens to Amon's story, ignoring large portions of it in favor of polishing the Roukanken. There was little Amon knew about Yuri that he had not already uncovered, listening was simply a waste of time. When Cybele speaks however, a switch is flipped in his mind and he focuses all of his attention on their sensei. "Understood, sensei."

Standing up, the swordsman unties his headband and brushes the hair out of his eyes when his bangs cascade down his forehead.

[ZeroNumerous]

Sakuya

The perfect and elegant maid leapt through the trees with all the practiced skill and grace of a ninja. While she lacked the inherent training of more specialized ninja, she did have the training that naturally grows out of living in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She tries to remain quiet as she moves, but she lacked any training in it and only her natural skill carried her through the forest. She stops when she finds the gathering and the home. The appearance of the children caused her no small amount of worry, as any battle with the Gap Ninja would likely draw them in. Even so, Sakuya does her best to avoid contact with them.

However, she still needs to find her prey. She skirts around the gathering, and spreads out in an ever-widening circle as she searches through the area.

Spoiler

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Sakuya takes 10 on Hide and Move Silently, getting 20.

She'll search a 30ft radius around the kids, and expand that radius out by 30ft on every pass. She takes ten on Spot/Listen for 25 each.

[Jacior]

Hara Manabu

Manabu sighed as they walked. How long had they been walking again? It felt like forever. Of course, being the shortest member of the first genins didn't help. Just meant you had less leg length and had to move them more to keep up. Worse, he was getting hungry. He was hungry all the time, it felt like. Must be the lightning in his blood. Burns up a lot of energy.

Or at least, that's what decided to tell himself.

Then someone was chattering. Which was odd. Were there other people lost in these woods? And then there was an earthquake and a hut and wow what the heck was going on?

Manabu chose, at least, to go investigate. Upon discovery of kinsmen, he is more than happy at the possibility they might have something to eat. The small white haired boy stepped out into the clearing without hesitation. "Hail from Soragakure!" He raises a hand in greeting as he walks towards them. To anyone who hadn't seen him before, it'd be a shock.

Bright white hair and yellow eyes are enough to make him stand out. But the fact that he was wearing a Soragakure headband around his neck would make anyone look twice. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?"

[zeone3000]

Houshi sighs at Amon's antics as per usual, "What makes you think she will not dislike you more by doing these things to her?" Harking back to a previous conservation, "You'll never going to be able to pet the cat." Then he realized how that could be twisted by Amon, "Forget I said that."

Then, a fellow shinobi shows up out of no where, "Uh, maybe but how do I know you are actually an ally?" Recent missions have made Houshi very suspicious of individuals showing up on their doorstep.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke lets the headband drop as his hands blur to his hip, drawing the long Konpaku blade from its sheathe. There were as many as four people around their camp, intentions completely unknown to the swordsman. "I know you are there. Show yourself and come in peace lest to try our patience." He is answered by the voice of a child, poking his head out from the brush. Content with the child's answer and allegiance, the white haired genin devotes the entirety of his attention to the remaining hidden presence. "Maid, my sentiment extends to you as well. I know you are there and your attempt at stealth is not adequate enough to deceive these eyes."

Now completely ignoring Manabu, he trains his eyes on where he knows the maid to be. "I do not wish to fight but if you intend to bring ills upon my team I will not hesitate to cut."

[Princess Tracy]

DM

"But come on, Houshi~" Amon pleads at his scolding. "It's so cuuuuute. You should have seen her the first time I whipped out my Kaede impression." Cybele stares to he ground in shame. At Houshi's retraction, Amon's eyebrow perks. "Are you starting to learn sexual slang at last, Houshi-kun? Took you long enough."

Amon doesn't notice ANYONE until Manabu steps out. Jumping a little at the sudden noise of his greeting, she plants herself in a battle pose as she turns to him before realising he was a kid from her own village. Scratching her hair, she rubs off her embarrassment, smiling stupidly. "Oh, hey there, kid. Amon," she introduces herself, beaming as she gives a nod. "This is my team. Guys...?"

With that opening for self introduction out there, Amon reaches into her bag for some rations. "I have a couple of bento I could split with you if you don't care for foraging. Are you out here yourself, mister...?"

Cybele says little, seeming rather distracted with something...

Yousuke and Manabu

Yousuke and Manabu see what looks like a... maid skirting swiftly around the outside of the clearing. She doesn't look too aggressive, or skilled at stealth, but does look fast as hell

Sakuya

While the purple-haired one blushes like a child, there is no mistaking her skill as she instantly clicks onto Sakuya's presence, and as she turns the curve of her figure leaves little to the imagination that she is anything but an adult. She gives a brief glare warning Sakuya not to try anything funny, but otherwise just keeps her eyes on the maid.

There is no sign of the Gap Ninja around the clearing from what one can see...

[ZeroNumerous]

Sakuya

Sakuya takes not that the eldest girl and the white-haired boy openly admit to noticing her. Naturally, she assumes that she's been noticed by others as well, and ceases her activities. Her Mistress would be quite irate if she did not introduce herself before playing this game. The white-haired girl steps into plain view for everyone present at the gathering. She's wearing a black shirt with long white pinstripes, a matching black skirt with a frilled edge, and a thin apron with embroidered white lining. A pair of fingerless black gloves, with white cuffs, cover her thin hands. The skirt doesn't extend far enough down, and leaves a space between her thigh-high socks where the skin of her legs show. Her feet are covered by thin black high heels.

A maid's cap adorns her head, as well as a pair of furred ears reminiscent of dog ears. Each ear is pierced with a single and simple golden hoop. Her wild white hair rests untamed underneath her cap, and is fairly normal aside from a pair of thin braids that hang down from behind her ears. Her blood red eyes close as the young maid performs an elegant courtesy. "Greetings. I must apologize for attempting to deceive you, but I am on the lookout for a dangerous woman and did not want to get you involved."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke bows in kind to the maid's emergence and then nods to his sky-nin comrades. "I hope your mistress is well, Sakuya-san. If you are currently tracking a dangerous ninja I would be glad to offer my services; I know that the Mistress' servant does not leave mansion save for orders from her mistress. I owe your household gratitude for taking in Camille and if you would allow me the honor of paying back your mistress, I can promise that I will not hold you back."

Recognizing Takuya from his Academy days, Yousuke gives him a longer stare than he spares the other genin and returns his gaze to the maid.

[Jacior]

Manabu gets distracted by all the sudden activity. He starts by addressing Houshi first. "I'm wearing the headband, aren't I Tall-Guy?" He says gesturing to his neck where his forehead protector was. He rolls his eyes at Yousuke. "You really aren't going to make many friends acting like that. You should try, I don't know, being polite and non-threatening? I'm sure someone of your talent can do that, Konpaku Yousuke."

He looks over at Amon and continues. "My name isn't kid. Hara Manabu, if you will." His voice seems to fail him as Amon reveals food. "I.. uh." His stomach growls. "Am a little hungrier than I thought." But he's interrupted as the maid decides to stop playing games.

He turns and bows to her. "You know a great way for everyone to get aquainted? Dinner! Let's do that now."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke stares down at Manabu inexpressively, and does not give away any hint of emotion. "I did not become a shinobi to make friends, Hara-san. And given the circumstances I was very polite. Before I could know of your team's presence and allegiance I offered my terms and expressed my interest in a mutual peace. I took no overt action toward your team save for drawing my sword and even that was done to in case I needed to defend myself."

Breaking his stoic facade he frowns and continues. "If anything, I consider it rude of you to speak my given name so lightly despite having never met before. Additionally, I also do not think it is polite to accuse me of impropriety when I have done nothing to earn it. You knew not of my intentions."

[Princess Tracy]

DM

Amon jumps at all these people popping in to the clearing. "Oh,it's Sakuya! Hey, hey, Yousuke, maybe it should be Sakuya-senpai. You know, since back in the mansion when you lost that bet and..." she quickly descends into childish titters as she remembers the sight of Yousuke in a maid's outfit, almost recalling it out loud as she blushes.

Cybele keeps quiet, thinking. She seems to notice Momo in the distance now. At the mention of a dangerous woman though, Cybele locks gaze with Sakuya again briefly. "Dangerous? Try not to bring danger here then. I seem to have as many as 6 children here."

"Whatever you say, 'mother'," Amon remarks. "Hey, whoever is left out there come on out and we'll bully Cybele into making us food!"

Spoiler

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Now I really NEED to sleep

At Yousuke's scolding of Manabu, Amon gives him a playful pat on the shoulder. "Lay off, Yousu-chan~" Amon recites, a label she'd worn out from Yousuke's days spent as a maid. "Nothin' wrong with a fresh-faced ninja being lively and friendly, is there?" she asks with a smile, in obvious reference to herself. Nodding to Manabu she adds, "Don't worry, Yousuke-kun's always like this - ice cold. Now, about that food..."

Amon passes Manabu a chocolate bar to keep his strength up. Yousuke may notice his pack feeling slightly lighter.... (DC 10 Wisdom check to realise Amon stole his chocolate and gave it to the kid as punishment)

[zeone3000]

Houshi hangs his head at Yousuke, grunting and points to the door, "Just get in the house before you get him going."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke irritably shrugs away from Amon's touch and pouts (adorably) "Tch, fine." He pauses for a second and adds, "And don't call me Yousu-chan."

[Jacior]

Manabu just gives Yousuke an equally blank look until he's done talking. "Wow. You are kind of pompous." He says breaking into a grin that wasn't entirely friendly. "I mean really, your intention to fight first was clear when you drew your blade! Really uncouth behavior." He put his hands up behind his head. "Defend yourself? More like looking for an excuse to fight."
He shrugs. "Not surprising. Those who specialise in taijutsu tend not to be the most level headed individuals."

"As for names, you'll find I really don't care." He takes a seat on the grass.

[zeone3000]

Houshi sighs, "And you're just instigating at this point. Just drop it or you're not getting any food from us."

[Jacior]

Manabu nods at Houshi. "I am! I won't deny it. But I will say that he started it." He stuck his toungue out and flops back in the grass. "This day sucks." This is before he notices the candy bar Amon maneuvered in his direction. "CHOCOLATE! YAY!" He tears open the wrapper and takes a big bite.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke rolls his eyes at Manabu and bends down to put away some of his supplies as he explains himself, "I became alerted to your presence long before you made yourself known to my team. Do not blame a shinobi for preparing himself for the very worst. Survival instinct is the deciding factor for genin seeking to live past their first year as shinobi." Finished packing, he moves to enter the stone house and offers this as his parting call, "And for future reference, do not point at what you interpret to be my belligerence when you are the one antagonizing me."

[Jacior]

Manabu just raises a hand and makes a vague gesture of dismissal. "Don't care. There's chocolate to be eaten." He speaks through a mouthful of the sweet substance. He wasn't pleased that his first meeting with the infamous young swordsman had revealed a very agitated personality. But at least he wasn't teamed with the boy... Yet. Changing teams in the future... who knew what would happen

[Cespenar]

Momo enters the hut only after the friendly antics between Manabu and Yousuke subsides. Wearing plain, long black hair and a simple brown cloak covering her figure, she would look homely... if not for her otherwise stunning features.

She takes a step towards Yousuke, and bows almost to right angle.

"I'm really sorry for my teammate, Yousuke-san (uh, can I call you that?) He's really a good person if you would know him."

With that, she rises up again and smiles. "I'm Momo. Ah, Uchiha Momo, actually."

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke bows and shakes his head at the Uchiha, carefully considering his next words. If she was here on behalf of her teammate's rude behavior he supposed she couldn't be so bad. "There is no need for introduction. You are Kaede's sister are you not?" Vaguely remembering his grandfather's lessons he reaches for the back of her hand to kiss and says curtly, "Konpaku Yousuke. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Relinquishing her hand, the swordsman backs away politely and looks out into the 'yard' through one of the small windows. "And do not worry about your teammate. My patience is not so deficient that I cannot tolerate the petulance of a child, least of all when I must deal with Yamana-san on a daily basis..."

"And you may call me Yousuke-san if you wish."

[Princess Tracy]

DM

As before, the hut is spacious and furnished by various stone structures, including enough beds for nine people... one suspects Cybele detected intruders quite a while ago. Past the entrance hall there is something of a kitchen including a large, oval-like table. As Momo and Yousuke step into it there's a popping as Amon remembers her cue to follow up on Cybele's technique, and in a puff of smoke a variety of groceries and cooking utensils are extradimensionally 'unpacked' directly into the kitchen area. Half of the bedrooms are upstairs

Amon

Amon thinks for a second as Yousuke (adorably) pouts. "Yeah, I guess you're not Yousu-chan," she remarks playfully, looking wistfully into the distance. "Because, my, Yousu-chan was adorable in that outfit..." she giggles. Ah, maids.

"Ha, calling taijutsu users brutes, never gets old..." Amon remarks at Manabu's instigation, looking a little pained for a moment as she recalls how badly that tends to end. On a whim, she hikes up her skirt enough to show the scarred flesh where her leg's flesh met the wood of its prosphetic. "You better not get him too mad~" she warns in a sing-song voice, before grabbing Manabu by his shirt, hoisting him a little closer to her, tapping her wooden leg for effect and saying in an incredibly creepy face and voice, "Yousuke-kun isn't very nice, you should be scared of Yousuke-kun. Yousuke-kun cuts things he doesn't like, cuts them right off, ufufufu~"

That done, she releases him, entering the house. She doesn't even notice Momo enter behind her until she peers inside, at the exact moment Yousuke kisses her hand. Blushing, she acts like she only entered to perform her little spacetime storage technique, then leaves, slamming the door behind her. "We finally meet a pretty girl and Yousuke's already putting the moves on her..." she mutters to himself. "If this goes on, he'll take all the romance on the road before I can get any..."

Thinking, she adds, "Did she look familiar to you?"

Cybele

Cybele smiles obviously to Momo as she passes by, before turning back to Sakuya as her young ward enters the house. She points to the edge of the clearing, somewhere to talk. "Come, explain to me what we may be dealing with, if you know. Perhaps I can swiftly dispose of it if there is a threat to my team."

Sakuya

Spoiler

Show

The Gap Ninja is a master of spacetime techniques who has been sighted throughout history, leaving man to believe she is immortal. Remilia gave her loyal dog a device that glows when the Gap's presence is felt; currently Team Maaya are giving a low level buzz of someone who has encountered them. Sakuya has not yet met or seen this Gap Ninja, but word says they are tall, blonde and beautiful. Though some legends describe her as an old crone, yet they all insist it's the same person. Either way, strange incidents have been occuring lately that Sakuya must put right. Not a week ago, the alarm went off to show the Gap had broken into the vault of the mansion and stolen... something. Some kind of book, apparently. Sakuya was told to retrieve the Gap Ninja herself, preferably in one piece. Remilia offered to 'play with her dog' with her favourite game if her orders are completed fabulously enough.

[Overlord Rion]

Takuya had facepalmed at Manabu's words. He found he was already halfway through the action the moment Manabu opened his mouth.

Little kids just need to be smacked around a bit, that's all.

I really don't need you bothering me right now. I need to make a decent impressio...oh hey, it's Yousuke.

Putting the moves on Momo! Quick, punch him and claim your girl's honor!

Wait, what?

DAMN IT MAN MOVE YOUR ASS OR YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE HER TO THE MORE HANDSOME GUY.

Right, I'm ignoring you now, shaddup.

Expressions pass over Takuya's face, one of horror lingers for a second longer than most. It lands about the time Amon hikes up her skirt. All that manages to leave Takuya's mouth is "I just can't catch a break, can I?"

[Princess Tracy]

Takuya

Amon seems to finally see Takuya. Clearly this is not the most ninja of ninja in her perceptions. She waves to him pleasantly from the doorway. "Hiya. Got a name?" she invites. "Looks like your whole group is gathered. Is that... Momo Uchiha in there with Yousuke?"

Amon pouts, "Yousuke certainly puts the moves on all the pretty ones, doesn't he. He never kissed MY hand, that's for damn sure."

[Cespenar]

Momo blushes almost to a Sharingan red, and does all she can to not jerk her hand back from Yousuke's too quickly.

"Yamana-san?" she asks faintly. "Her?" she points to the blonde girl. "Oh, I'm sure she's nice too," she says, waving a hand in good nature.

[Jacior]

Manabu only grinned as Amon hoisted him off the grass by his shirt. "I'm not a defenseless little puppy. I can play just fine with the big dogs." He flexes a little and rights himself, climbing to his feet. He hears what Amon says about Yousuke putting moves on Momo and frowns slightly. "Kaede's not going to like that."

He shrugs and steps over to Amon and bows properly. "We have not been formally introduced, what with Konpaku's sense of the scene must be on me. As I said, my name is Hara Manabu. You are Yamano Amon. I must admit that's about where my knowledge of you stops though. Perhaps you'd care to have a discussion of some kind? I feel I haven't made the best impression on your teammates."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon

Amon cheers up as the cute little boy tries to introduce himself again, giving a little shonen-chuckle. Patting him on the head, she bends down to his level, informing him "I have a sister your age. Don't worry about impressing me; I'm a pretty weak ninja as far as Soragakure goes, so if you're enough of a genius to be a genin you're probably a lot better than me, or soon will be."

"It's YamaNA, by the way, Yamana Amon." Thinking for a moment, she produces a little med kit. "I'm a medic and mechanical expert. Want to see my puppet?" she asks, excited. "So, what brings you out here?"

[Jacior]

Manabu blinks. "So, you're a puppeteer? That's rather unusual isn't it?" Though he visibly bristles as she talks down at him and pats him on the head. "Please do not do that. I have problems enough with people looking down on me because of my age." He runs a hand absently through his hair. "It's an unfortunate side effect of being 8." He crosses his arms and grumbles off to the side. "People see youth and they assume childishness. It's irritating." Secretly, Manabu loved having his head rubbed, and if Amon was paying attention, she'd notice he'd pushed his head into her hand.

"I am a ninjutsu specialist myself. Though... I really haven't done much since I started going on missions. Momo is the only one on our team to actually kill anyone." His eyes flicker towards the house. "She's the only one growing, it feels like." He shook his head. "Anyway. You were going to show me that puppet of yours? I'm afraied I don't know many tricks myself, I suppose I could show some of my Jutsu."

[Bad Situation]

Quirking his eyebrow at Momo's good nature, Yousuke simply shrugs. "...I will not poison your opinion of her. You will form your own opinion of her in time, I suppose." Instead, he turns his attention to the doorway and then back to Momo. "If I make you uncomfortable you need not concern yourself with me. Go and rejoin your friends. Your company is much appreciated but is not worth your distress."