[action thread] Moment to Strike [closed to Itae, Kisa, Naruko and Leigh]

[kusa_dionaea]

The hot wind that blew through the leaves spoke of endless sun and oppressive heat. Voiceless murmurs of a village hidden by blinding windstorms and blank rockfaces, too harsh for any plant to prosper, save for the most hardy. The taste of dust and sunbaked air, the faintest trace of voices on the wind. They were more than halfway through the

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[elder_uchiha]

Itae would have been agitated at having Zetsu appear in an annoying manner once again - though she was glad she chose Kisa’s ankle and not her own - but the news made up for it. A small smile came onto her lips at Zetsu's words and she nodded.

"Thank you, Zetsu. Let's go, Kisa."

She didn't wait for any reply, she simply moved. It had been far too long since she'd had a good fight. And they could catch the Kyuubi, too. A win-win situation, as far as Itae saw it.

[hoshigaki_kisa]

Kisa hated the fact that she could never quite sense Zetsu’s presence. Never more so than when said plant-woman burst out of the ground and snapped at her ankle, effectively tearing one of her legwarmers as she jumped out of the way.

Growling in annoyance, she turned to say something to Zetsu, but Itae had already set off. She settled for kicking off the remaining scraps of cloth and the other legwarmer (there was no point in wearing just one, and she still had her bandage wrappings) before following.

[rock_leigh]

Leigh easily ran a few paces ahead of Naruko while Risu dug her claws into the fabric covering Leigh's shoulder. The green-clad kunoichi was hardly running as fast as she could since she didn't want to leave Naruko behind. All the training she did, especially all the laps, meant that Leigh was an incredible sprinter while also possessing the stamina to make any professional cross-country runner envious. She kept a careful ear attuned to her friend so that if the blonde started to fall behind Leigh could ease up on the pace

[uzumaki_naruko]

Naruko was having a difficult time on the sand. Running on any other surface she could usually keep up with Leigh-chan no problem, but the sand shifted, the small grains harder to cling to with chakra, and often sent her stumbling. Not that she would fall, she could do better than that! An extra burst of chakra let her catch up with Leigh, and by then the ground was becoming more rocky than sand. The heat wasn't letting up, but at least she could keep in-step with Leigh now.

"Ne, ne, Leigh-chan, how long do you think it'll be before we get bac--" something sent a chill through her, and Naruko suddenly felt like they were in a whole lot of trouble.

"Leigh, be careful!" Naruko hissed, the hot wind was at their backs, and she couldn't see anything strange, but that didn't mean a thing.

[elder_uchiha]

A flash of chakra and Itae, bundled up in a brown cloak to blend in better with her surroundings, stood before them. The wind seemed to be pick up, but Itae held her gaze and strove to catch Naruko's eyes immediately.

"Naruko-chan."

[rock_leigh]

Leigh immediately came to a halt by sweeping her leg out in front to change her momentum enough to keep her from going forward and kicked up an immense cloud of sand-dust in the process. Her braid swung over her shoulder while on the other side Risu struggled to keep her place. Thick brows furrowed in confusion until the figure appeared from nowhere. Instantly Leigh felt a chill penetrate to her very bones.

The tone of voice that spoke Naruko's name had Leigh's expression change from confusion to battle-ready. She didn't like it, not one bit. It was dangerous, foreboding, wrong. False familiarity yet not? The frown deepened. She peered at the new arrival through the rapidly dissipating cloud, eyes widening at the semi-familiar features and the red-and-black eyes. Uchiha Itae! her mind supplied

[elder_uchiha]

But of course. Dust. Itae knew there was a reason she didn't appreciate this country. She lowered her eyelids a little and waited for the air to clear. She could still sense where her target was, as well as the other one, but the distraction was a little irritating.

"Kisa, if you would?"

[hoshigaki_kisa]

Several meters away from Itae, a patch of sand erupted as Kisa emerged from where she had been hiding underground. Although she preferred suiton jutsu, learning a few earth-based techniques had been well worth the effort. How else could she have concealed herself in the desert?

One hand resting on her hip while the other balanced Samehada over her shoulder, she regarded them with a shark-like grin. Her ‘opponent’, she was surprised to see, looked rather familiar. Green body suit, thick eyebrows, incredibly shiny hair in a braid… The girl appeared to be around Naruko’s age, but could have easily been taken for that Maito Gaia woman from Konoha

[uzumaki_naruko]

"No, I like it much better at home, thanks." Naruko growled, her eyes flashing red as she glared at Kisa. This is really bad. As much as she'd like to think she'd gotten better over the last few years, Naruko wasn't stupid enough to think she could take on Akatsuki. Leigh-chan was the faster of the two of them, and if she dropped her weights she would outstrip Naruko easily. They had to get help, otherwise...

Naruko swallowed hard, glaring at Itae and being careful not to look her in the eye. They needed help and fast if they wanted to make it home.

"Ne, ne, why wait so long before looking for me, or were you too scared of the old pervert lady kicking your ass again?" Naruko flexed her fingers, feeling the strange pulling sensation that meant her fingernails and canine teeth were growing longer and sharper. "If that's the case, then I'll just have to do it for her!"

[elder_uchiha]

That was curious. Itae watched Leigh for a moment, examining the girl's chakra flow for a few moments. It's as if she can't use her chakra at all… though she was obviously a student of Maito Gaia, the outfit and hairstyle said it all. Itae was almost disgusted at the thought of two women running around like that. But Kisa might have fun with a rematch of sorts. She smirked and then looked back to her target, Uzumaki Naruko

[hoshigaki_kisa]

“What a pity.”

Kisa raised her sword and pointed it at the green-clad girl. Perhaps Itae would let her drain a little of the Kyuubi’s chakra later; Samehada would like that. But first she had to get this one out of the way. She didn’t know how the girl planned on beating her without using any chakra, but standing around wasn’t the best way to find out.

“Shall we?”

[rock_leigh]

"If we must fight, that's fine, but first we must introduce ourselves!" Just because she knew of Kisa didn't mean anything. Opponents introduced themselves before a fight if they'd never met previously. Leigh assumed her trademark ready stance: standing profile with one arm bent at the elbow, palm towards her, the other arm tucked against the small of her back while her face was pure determination. "I am the Azure Beauty of Konoha, Rock Leigh! And neither of you will be taking Naruko-chan anywhere she doesn't want to go!"

[hoshigaki_kisa]

How nice. The girl, Leigh, had manners. Kisa would have preferred to start fighting straight away, but it would be rude to do so now without introducing herself.

“Hoshigaki Kisa,” she replied simply, not bothering with titles. “And Naruko-chan doesn’t have much of a choice in this matter.”

[rock_leigh]

"Naruko-chan has more than you do," Leigh said. "And don't call her that. You haven't earned the privilige of addressing her with such familiarity."

A similar exchange with the Uchiha wasn't necessary. Personally, given everything Itae had done Leigh didn't really wish to give the older woman that courtesy. Besides she would have heard Leigh's introduction.

Leigh kept her eyes on Kisa as she shifted, but when she broke into a sprint it was towards Itae. She had a rare advantage over the Sharingan-user, and she would employ it to give Naruko-chan the chance to escape.

[elder_uchiha]

Troublesome. Itae darted her eyes over as she heard and felt Leigh approaching her. Didn't the girl realize that Kisa was more than a worthy opponent? Though perhaps…ah. She was trying to save her friend. Maybe even use a technique that the girl's sensei had thought up.
Itae could still easily overpower Maito Gaia.

Ah, there went Kisa. Itae returned her focus to Naruko and then smiled a little. This would be invigorating.