Oh goodness, Saizo would think to himself as he started losing light. He was on his way to the land of Deaths very own Tsukigakure. A relatively new super power among the villages, having thrived from war of others, a rather nasty way to get rich, or at least Saizo thought that way. The villages would adopt many of Kazans people, yet it was far different. It was kind of nice compared to Kazan, not nearly as hot. In a sense, Shippuugakure helped create the village of the moon, or at least expanded it. Not on purpose necessarily, but it was Shippuu and Boufuus money. Saizo was anxious to get through the forest so he could see how that money had been put to use. There was just one problem though, It was nearly pitch dark in the forest. Saizo would try and search his bag for a lighter but to no avail. He couldn't quite find anything. It was a strange forest indeed. Saizo had no fire jutsu, so using his chakra to light the way wouldn't be an option. It was too bad he didn't have fire nature. So many uses. He would walk around aimlessly, trying to figure his way around. He was unsure where he was in this forest. He was unable to find any exits either. Was this forest always like this? Saizo no longer knew if it was night or day. He had entered in the day, so he would assume he hadn't been in there that long, but the darkness that covered the forest wouldn't allow him to be certain. Maybe if he climbed up one of the trees?

Saizo contemplated this, but thought it could be potentially dangerous if he missed a step or angered some kind of critter. What kind of critter would live in such a place, he then would begin to wonder. HE imagined bat like creatures with razor sharp claws and other monstrosities. Why did he have such a wild imagination, he would wonder as he soon got nervous. What if something like that really did live in the forest? How would he fight it? Its not like he was a ninja or anything. Oh wait, he was...how awkward. "Well, thats enough worrying." he said to himself, loud and confident in his abilities. This was in an attempt to motivate him, cause deep inside he was tired and possibly a little scared. How the hell was one suppose to find their way around in this cave like forest?

Shinoe trekked through the darkened forest, her heavy boots making her foot falls none too soft, though she attempted to lessen this fact by walking slowly, attempting to avoid crunching any twigs or fallen branches in favor of the softer leaves, grass and dirt. The moisture covering everything made it much easier; it had rained the previous day and although it was most definitely hot, inside the forest it was too enclosed and humid for all of the moisture to evaporate. Which made travel through it currently a little unpleasant. The brunette girl continued walking, peering up at the forest's canopy occasionally. It was really hard to tell the time of day when in Nox forest, but she had been through here a few times now and was beginning to be able to see the signs. The sun was probably beginning to set as she walked. That meant she should find a place to hole up for the night to wait to travel. She had no scruples with traveling during the evening, but in Nox without a torch or fire jutsu, it just wasn't practical or particularly safe. Shinoe didn't feel up to tangling with wolverine-bear, or worse, wolves. A tight smile tugged at her lips at that prospect. That would certainly give her a thrill but she didn't want to have to kill a wolf and she would have to to survive an encounter with a pack.

That was when a sound echoed through the forest, or rather through the area relatively around her, which made the kunoichi freeze and listen. It wasn't an animal, but a person that made the noise, speaking of not worrying or something. Not recognizing the voice, she immediately stepped behind a nearby tree, barely breathing as she waited for the other person to pass by. She couldn't be sure who it was, but most Tsukigakure villagers didn't pass through this forest willingly unless for dire need, especially not so close to night. The Hozuki was curious and yet disinterested, she didn't want to be discovered and delayed or drawn into a fight or worse a conversation. So she simply waited, kunai in hand and peeking out a centimeter from behind the large tree to see who would pass by.

How does one maneuver around such a confusing place. He would yell in his mind with frustration. Its been quite a while since he had entered the godforsaken forest and yet no sign of an exit in sight. Why were there no signs? Maybe it was off limits to the general public and Saizo waddled in on accident. It would explain the lack of human contact to the forest. It seemed untouched by human hands. Of course, Saizo couldn't really see, so how would he know? Guess it was more of a gut feeling rather then actual fact supporting the conclusion. Well, he wasn't a sensory type ninja, so he couldn't sense his way out. Skills like that would probably be very useful in situations such as this one. Well, guess the only thing he could really do is hope he wanders in the right direction and stumbles upon the darn exit.

Saizo would stick both arms out, making sure anything he couldn't quite see, he would be able to feel and avoid, instead of running into tree after tree. Wasn't a very amazing idea, but his options were pretty limited at this point. He would pass by many large and small trees. Why did they have such a huge forest so close to the village? Someone could chop down this forest for quite a lot of wood, make a huge profit, and the village wouldn't have lost anything valuable right? Were the moon villagers accustomed to this sort of darkness? Saizo believed that to be rather impossible, but maybe it wasn't. It would be similar to the extreme heat resistance of the people of Kazan at one time, or for a more modern example, the resistance to the cold that most Hyouga people seemed to posses. Saizo would walk a litle further, tripping over roots and smacked by branches, till he finally started getting tired. He would put his hand on a large tree he had encountered and just take a little break. He sighed before opening his mouth to speak in a rather annoyed and quite frustrated tone. "I hate this forest."

Shinoe was surprised to see that the stranger was a guy, though it was hard to tell his age in the shadows. She could however see clearly that he himself could barely see his surroundings as was apparent from his outstretched arms and cautious walking stance. Smirking at his vulnerability, the brunette watched as he unknowingly leaned against the very tree she hid behind. As he commented out loud his extreme dislike for the forest of Nox, the kunoichi replied, "Oh boo hoo, I'm sure it hates you too. You're not exactly a charmer." She was very interested in seeing his reaction, but was prepared for the possibility of violence as she still grasped a kunai behind her back.

{OOC: bleh, sorry for the concise post, Tera killed my brain cells.}

Saizo would open his eyes wide in shock. Did the tree just talk? Was he going crazy? How many weeks has it been since he entered the forest? Time flies by so fast. He would quickly take his hand of the tree. He would then slowly examine the tree. This was rather silly as it was so dark. "Uhm, hello?" He would say. He wasn't really sure what to expect. He was still unaware of that there was someone on the other side. It didn't cross his mind that another person could be in the forest. Wait a second, not a charmer? That hurt his pride just a little. Having trees make fun of you wasn't really a confidence booster. He had never heard of trees talking to anyone, possibly meaning this was the first time or he was losing his mind. Or maybe it has happened before, but everyone who has ever witnessed it has died. Oh no, that would be silly, cause Saizo was still alive...oh. Saizo didn't really know how to fight a tree, never having done it before, not really ever needing too. Should he punch it? Punching it sounded like a terrible idea, maybe if he could get his lighter. Maybe burn the tree down to size, then who won't be charming? Saizo would wait for a response before proceeding.
(OOC: Lol, Im kinda brain dead as well)

Shinoe tilted her head in curiosity as the boy greeted her, even though he still could not see her. Could he really not tell that she was behind the tree from the direction of her voice, considering that he was right next to it? He couldn't think that the tree was talking, right? Shaking off that idiotic thought, the brunette stepped out from her hiding place. "Who are you and what are you doing in this forest? Are you a villager?" By villager of course she meant a villager from Tsukigakure though it was unlikely. Now that she wasn't just peeking from behind foliage, she got a better look at him, though of course it was still very hard to see and she had to squint a bit. He was much taller than her and looked to be a bit older too. The kunoichi suddenly felt less secure of her dominance in the situation and gripped the hidden kunai tightly, prepared to fight at a moment's notice.

Huh? There was someone behind the tree? He would have never figured that out. Ok, maybe not never, but he would have taken some time to actually wonder about it. First conclusion being talking tree wasn't very scrupulous. The figure was short, but other then that, he couldn't quite see anything else. By the sound of the voice she was either a young women or a really young boy. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but calling her a she seemed like the best course of action, as he could defend himself against an angry little boy, an angry young women would probably tear him to pieces at being called a male. "Oh..." he would say, after realizing his error about the tree. It was a silent oh, but still loud enough for others to hear. "Well, actually, I would like to ask you the same thing. Course you asked first so, my names is Saizo of Shippuugakure." he would say, nonchalantly. He didn't think he had anything to fear. Then again, it was pitch black. For all he knew she could have a small army behind her, just out of his sight.

Maybe she was also a traveller who got lost. Hopefully she wasn't and she could help them both out. From where he was he couldn't quite tell though. He had already put his arms down from his silly attempt to find where he was going. Maybe she had food. Saizo was pretty hungry. He hadn't packed any because he thought he would have been able to make it to the village. This silly forest being the only thing stopping him from reaching it. It was kind of nice though. Offered a shroud of mystery, but being alone out here was not something he would like to do again. Course now he had a sort of company, whether it was good or bad, he had yet to figure out.

Watching the stranger closely with suspicious narrowed eyes, Shinoe was about to snarl a sarcastic reply when he remarked that he also wanted to know who she was and what she was doing here. But stopped when he admitted that she had asked first and so complied by answering. She didn't recognize his name at all, but that didn't matter as in the next heartbeat he stated that he was from Shippugakure. The kunoichi paled several shades, taking a step back as she realized the implications. The fear sparked anger inside her and she stepped closer to Saizo, pushing the blade of her kunai to his throat. "What do you want from me?!" She growled with desperation. "Are you from the Navy? A new recruit to Suitomo's crew? An assassin? Well??!" The brunette would demand loudly, using her free left hand to shake Saizo using her grip on the front of his shirt.

Saizo would raise a brow at this petite girls actions. She was threatening him already? But they only just met. Threats usually take place on the second date. Well, there wasn't many options for him to take here, kunai to his throat and a hold on his shirt. He could always ditch the shirt. Saizo wasn't uncomfortable with his body or anything, but he did like the shirt. It was a nice shirt, but he also liked his face and neck. Hmm, tough choices. Her questions were rather... strange to say the least. Navy, Suitomo, or assassin. Well, Saizo was none of those. Was she some kind of criminal? Why would she fear the Navy is she wasn't? She also seemed to have made some enemies in the wrong places. Suitomo, one of the great pirate lords, if not, The Great Pirate Lord. He was a scary man. Saizo knew he was related to that man somehow. The Hozuki family tree wasn't very clear cut. Pirates and their affairs, and what not. He could be his 15th cousin for all he knew, that still didn't change the fact that they shared the same blood.

"You seem to have a lot of enemies there, dear. Lucky enough, I don't belong to any of those factions, but I do wonder, why you ask. And maybe you could give me that name of yours?" he would say. Not really worried about the kunai to his throat. It isn't like he needed to be. He felt as if he had total control over the situation. Know that he thought of it. She had a kunai, that would mean she was a ninja, right? A ninja of Tsuki? He couldn't quite tell. She was an interesting young lady, that much he could say. Rather snarky. She was also quite close, he could get a good look at her face. It was kind of cute actually. Young and he would imagine smooth, or at least that is what it looked like in the dark. That shroud of mystery he was thinking about earlier, being put into action.

Shinoe was a little mystified about the boy's lack of reaction to a dangerous weapon being wielded at him, but decided that this only solidified his shady-ness. So she settled her expression into one of hardness and aggressiveness. But at Saizo's remark about her having a lot of enemies she realized that she had said too much. What if he wasn't after her at all? Her rambling about pirates and assassins was definitely not helping her case. When he stated that he was in fact not a part of any of the groups she had listed, she looked at him doubtfully, but when he asked her name she hesitated before lowering the kunai and letting go of his shirt, but not putting away the weapon. "......It's Shinoe."

The kunoichi suddenly felt very awkward. She had just threatened what was likely a civilian and complete stranger for no good reason. Annoyed at him and herself for the blunder, she shuffled her feet in taking a step back from him, glancing away for a moment in mild embarrassment but still attempting to keep the tough girl attitude. "What's someone from Shippugakure doing in Nox forest anyway?" The brunette demanded suspiciously, as if this encounter was completely Saizo's fault.

Shinoe, eh? It was a nice name. At least she let go of him, though the kunai was still out. He felt like he should ask about that. Whether she was a ninja or not. He would get to it soon enough. He felt like he shouldn't lead the conversation. He was the outsider after all, and Saizo had nothing to hide. "Well, I'm a bit of a traveling merchant, you could say." He said. This was an honest answer, as he did travel to villages and sell little curiosities from other villages to the locals. Of course this was just a little hobby of a sort. Really just an excuse so he could enter village walls and avoid any hostile views from the authorities. Saying he was a ninja from a different nation wasn't really the way to get on the good side of the law. The villages were not at war, but that didn't mean they were allies. Saizo hated that about the world. Always hostility and violence, never peace and acceptance. Sort of like this moment right here, where Shinoe came onto him weapon out and a bit grabby. Saizo didn't necessarily like violence. It was more of a last resort for him. He wished others could see this though.

"You wouldn't happen to be a ninja?" he would ask, still quite curious of the kunai, in a way it was sort of bugging him. He had never met a ninja from the land of Death. It would be an interesting experience. He also had one more question that was bugging him, but he really didn't feel it appropriate. He was itching to ask though. "I know this is intruding into your privacy, but can I ask you why would a man such as Suitomo be looking after you?" he asked almost a bit shyly. He would be ok if she refused to answer. Saizo had no right to ask her personal questions like that. Curiosity was killing him, but he would try and suppress it if it would come to that.

Shinoe frowned in surprise and awkwardness when Saizo explained his profession. "Oh... I guess you're heading to Tsuki. Don't you know better than to go through Nox?" She asked in derision, still annoyed. "Even the villagers don't go through here if they can help it, especially at night. " He did look kind of young though, not much older than her, so she guessed he wasn't a very good merchant. Catching his glance at the weapon still in her hand as he asked if she was a ninja, she sneered as she put the kunai away. "No, I'm a traveling kunai juggler," The brunette said dripping with sarcasm before biting out with a short tone, "I'm a Tsuki kunoichi." Shinoe shook her head, not believing this guy and started to turn to walk away, but was stopped by Saizo's last and most personal question. It made her hesitate, looking down at the ground. "What, you thought I was serious?" She asked in a rather unconvincing way before continuing, "Jeez you Shippu's are so gullible. Now hurry up before something decides that you're tasty." Shinoe then began walking quick paced towards the hidden moon village, not that it was close by.

What a hotheaded one he had found. She seemed to be the whole package, short tempered, sarcastic, and rather violent. Unfortunately, he couldn't let her leave quite yet. He wasn't really sure if she wanted him to follow, but he was still lost, and she was the only real way out for him at the moment. Whether or not she was a wanted person. It wasn't his business, and he knew that, but this wasn't really about her, it was about him. Saizo would then grab for her arm, trying to stop her from leaving. Guess he was the grabby one now. He would grab her somewhat tightly, mainly due to desperation. Maybe a little too tightly. It wasn't his plan to shatter a wrist or anything, but sometimes his emotions would get the better of him. "Wait." he would exclaim as he grabbed her arm. Hoping she would heed his request and ignore his sudden actions. Suppressing his curiosity would be hard if she was to even allow him to follow her, then again, judging from her past actions, she didn't seem like one to help out travelers. He would just hope he wouldn't hurt her on accident.

Shinoe didn't particularly want this guy to tag along, but she wasn't heartless enough to just leave him to the wolves...literally. Maybe she could just get him close enough to the village where she could point the way and tell him to walk straight until he got there. But glancing up at the forest's canopy, she doubted that they would make it that far. The kunoichi didn't get much farther in her thought process as Saizo suddenly grabbed onto her wrist tightly, ordering her to wait. The abruptness of the physical touch made her react instinctively. Her Hydrification Technique activated, turning the arm that he held into water, allowing her ability to jerk her wrist out of Saizo's grasp. In a battle ready stance before she knew it, Shinoe just realized what she had done and paled. She might have been able to get away with someone from Tsukigakure or really any other country seeing that, but someone from Shippu was sure to know what she just did and that that meant. And so she ran. Turned and bolted away from Saizo and kept running. She couldn't think of what else to do really. If he was who she feared him to be she wouldn't have a chance fighting him and if he was the merchant he claimed to be, she couldn't truly justify killing him only to keep her secret. She would have to leave Tsukigakure, start up in another country if another one would take her in. But only if she managed to get away from the strange man.

Shock. It filled his entire system. Her arm had literally been converted into water. There was almost no mistake in his mind. But then that would mean... could she really be? Was she a Hozuki as well? In Tsuki? was there a reason he was unaware of. A sort of tie? Or maybe she was a pirate like the rest of them. No, she had stated she was a ninja. He wasn't sure how to react though. She apparently did, though. She ran away from him as he stood there, eyes wide and mouth open slightly in surprise.  She didn't know, he was a Hozuki as well. He didn't know whether to chase after her or let her leave. She was family. Saizo thought he was all out of that. His mother having passed, and his father. Well, he didn't like to talk about his father. His father didn't exist in his eyes. He had never met any other Hozuki other then his father. This was a first. Maybe she was luckier. Maybe she had a family. Or maybe not. It would be a difficult subject to talk about, he would know. First, he would have to catch up to her though. Unless, it was best for him to let her go.

He was completely flustered about this. He wasn't sure what to do. He was to curious though. He wanted to meet her. Not as a random stranger he just ran into, but as a friend. He would quickly snap himself out of it. He would quickly try and run after her, hopefully getting them out of the forest as well. The only problem being, he couldn't quite see her anymore. It was too dark for him to see that far. He would only hope she had kept running in the same direction, as he would try and go as fast as he could. If he did find her though, what was he going to say? He hadn't figured any of this out yet. He would then use a weak imitation of a body flicker technique. He didn't actually know the technique, he only knew of the principles, so it was a rather sluggish attempt, he also didn't use any hand seals in the attempt, so to call it body flicker would be incorrect. It was more of a sudden burst of speed he would use to catch up. "I said wait!" he would yell at the kunoichi, appearing right in front of her now after a lucky "Teleport", almost by pure coincidence. He would start to liquify his own body while there, in an attempt to show that he was from the same heritage. He didn't know what she would do, but he hoped she would come to the same conclusion he had.

Shinoe was too afraid that looking back would slow her down or trip her up so she kept her eyes ahead, barely managing not to trip on miscellaneous bushes and tree roots as she ran. She didn't hear any footsteps following her so she hoped she was in the clear, but then that thought was shattered when she suddenly heard Saizo's voice yelling at her before he appeared in front of her from nowhere. Skidding to a stop, the brunette growled, bringing back her right fist before launching it forward towards the man's face for a punch, only to meet water as he transformed using the Technique they apparently shared. She felt as though that little bit of water that touched her hand washed over her entire body in cold shock. The kunoichi was so stunned that she stumbled back a step before finally tripping on one of those tree branches and fell on her behind, looking up at Saizo with wide uncomprehending eyes. "H-Hozuki?" The girl stammered breathlessly.
She had never met another Hozuki besides her father. She hadn't really thought if more existed or not, though she supposed it was a little foolish not to, Suitomo had said they were a clan... Still, to actually see one in person was unbelievable. And terrifying. That fact began to sink in to her as she began to scramble backwards away from Saizo. If he was a Hozuki as well, who was to say that he wasn't here on orders from her father or perhaps another influential Hozuki to dispatch her?

He knew this approach was a little more, well, surprising, he would think, for lack of a better word. Just turning into water in front of her, but it also seemed like one of the only ways to get her to listen. She hadn't exactly seemed in the mood for talking after all. He would watch her stumble around in her shock. Saizo knew the feeling, still actually experiencing some of it. To have gone so long without ever meeting members of your clan and then suddenly running into one in a place like this. Rather mysterious how the world worked. He would nod his head to her question, after turning solid again. "And you are too, eh?" he would say a bit more casually. "Surprising to find another family member who isn't a pirate." he would say to her, he had forgotten that he hadn't mentioned he was a ninja to her yet. All in due time he supposed.

He would try and approach her while she flailed around on the ground, apparently still afraid. He would stick his hand out to help her get up. Whether she would accept his gesture, he didn't know. She was still suspicious of him. Maybe having showed her his own technique had strengthened it. He couldn't blame her, almost all Hozuki were criminals now a days. It was rather hard to find ones who  weren't, and if there were some, chances are, they were in hiding. She also seemed like she was hiding, but she actually decided to become a ninja too. Not a very smart way to hide, but to abandon dreams, well, if you had to do that, then there was no point in living a life of secrecy. He really didn't know what to ask her first. She was probably just the same. It was her first time having a meeting such as this, judging from her reaction. He stared at her, coming up with so many thoughts. He probably wouldn't have time to share them all. Maybe he didn't even want to share them, but he would keep his mouth shut, and give her some time.

Shinoe stopped scrambling, knowing it was useless now that he had caught up. As he asked the redundant question to confirm that she was a Hozuki as well, she could only nod grudgingly, though her look warped from resentment to confusion and curiosity when he stated his surprise at finding a family member that wasn't a pirate. "...And you're not?" The brunette asked doubtfully. When he offered his hand to help her up she ignored it, pushing herself up without his aid before brushing down her skirt, now sullied with damp dirt and leaves. Frowning at Saizo she alternated between fixing her skirt and looking at her shoes, and stealing glances at him. She had certainly never seen him before that she could remember and neither did she recollect the name 'Saizo'. "Why're you here, really? I can't picture you being a merchant now that I know who you really are." She still didn't trust him, if anything, him admitting that he was from her Clan was evidence against him.

He would chuckle at her remark. No, he hated pirates. He hated them for many reasons. I guess the main root of that hate was, his father being one. It was because he had been a pirate that he was never around. His mother was forced to take care of Saizo all by herself. She had to fight hard for both herself and him. His absence caused her harm. He couldn't forgive him for that. Ever since he had a growing hatred for pirates. "No, a pirate life is not the one for me." he would say in a relaxed almost joking kind of tone. He was trying to ease tension again. He could feel her distrust in him. He didn't blame her. His clan wasn't really a friendly one. Saizo was naturally too trusting, though. It made it easy for him. For all he knew, she could also be a pirate and was lying to him. Her reactions on the other hand had said something else. She was also starting to catch onto him though. He wouldn't dare try and keep up his merchant disguise. If he had, it would only lead to more distrust.

"Well, uhhh, I guess I have no reason to hide it any longer. I am a ninja from Shippuugakure." he said. He was unsure of how she would react. She seemed to have enemies all around the Land of Ocean. Maybe she had some terrible connections in her past. Saizo wouldn't really know about it. His father being a low ranking pirate that people could have cared less for. He was a disgrace. But enough bout that bastard. "I had come here to visit Tsukigakure. It was a sort of goal of mine to visit it, along with a few other places. This is, well, a surprise for me just as much as it is for you." He would say. He was being awfully calm, he wasn't going to hold anything back. It wasn't really like him to do that. Well, except for the things he held deep in his psyche. He would look at her face far a brief second, before he would look down. He was unsure of this. After so many years. Why here? Why now? It all felt a bit unreal to him.

Shinoe blinked in surprise and confusion when Saizo stated that he couldn't live as a pirate. Was it possible that she wasn't the only one that had gotten sick of their Clan's standard profession? She was trying to think that out as he admitted that he was not a merchant, but a ninja like her, albeit from Shippugakure. She wasn't really sure how to feel about that. It interested her greatly to know that he was so similar to her, but she still couldn't shake the distrust. Just because he was a ninja didn't mean that they were best friends. At base, they were still two ninjas from different countries, though to be fair she wasn't even from this country. But as he told her more about why he was here she began to thaw. If he really was speaking the truth....the last thing she wanted to do was push him away. Shifting awkwardly, the brunette gripped her left arm with her right hand, attempting to think of what to say or do.

However the decision was made for her when she heard a menacing howl that wasn't nearly as far away as she would like it to be. Grabbing Saizo's hand she would order, "C'mon, we've gotta get to higher ground." Assuming the other Hozuki didn't mind being dragged, she would walk around for just a minute or so until she spotted a nice thick and tall looking tree before letting go of the ninja and taking out two kunai before beginning to stab into the tree's trunk to help her climb up to it's nearest branch. Looking down at Saizo, she would ask, "Assuming I believe you... Why did you leave?" She herself wasn't sure what she meant, though she imagined it was a collaboration of the Clan, the pirate life, whatever family he might have had and Shippugakure in general. The kunoichi would not stop at the first branch, using it as a stepping stone to get to the next highest and not stopping there.

So there were animals in these woods, he would think as he heard the howl. Could it have been a bat-wolf? Probably not. Still, it was probably pretty vicious. Catching a glimpse of the wild animals in the forest would be fun, but Shinoe had other plans. She had grabbed his hand and tore him away from the spot. She was apparently starting to lighten up to him, at least thats what he believed. They were already holding hands after all. They found a nice climbing tree after a while. The plan was apparently to hide in the tree till the wolves passed? It wasn't the best plan they could have come up with. He wouldn't argue with her judgement. She wasn't the kind of person he would want to argue with after all. It was kind of funny, the way she climbed the tree. She probably didn't have very good chakra control. Saizo would place one feet on the tree. He would wait a second before proceeding with the next foot. The technique wasn't a jutsu, but a general skill that most students are taught in the academy. Used for chakra control training for the most part, it had uses elsewhere.

He would walk up the tree at a slow pace, wondering what her excuse was as to why she toke the difficult way up. He would hear her question, but he didn't quite understand what she had asked. Was she referring to a life as a pirate or did she mean his traveling? He wasn't quite sure. Maybe she meant the clan. He would respond based on that conclusion. "I can't say I was every truly a part of it." he responded. Hopefully that answer would suffice. He would follow the little brunette squirrel as she hopped from branch to branch as he slowly made his way up walking.

Shinoe glanced up at the next branch and grimaced, she wasn't sure if it was in her reach. But stretching her legs and pushing hard on the last branch, she managed to grab hold and get an elbow on it before hoisting her torso up. Glancing down at the ground, or rather down at Saizo as he answered, she was about to respond when she did a double take seeing that he was walking casually up the tree. Her face reddened in embarrassment and she looked away from him before going back to her task of pulling herself up to sit on the thick branch, leaning her shoulder against the tree's trunk. The brunette felt like a complete idiot. Not only was he a real shinobi, he was obviously more skilled than she was. She couldn't even control her chakra enough to be able to do what he was doing. Glaring down at the other Hozuki she stated with a half-hearted growl, "You better not have been looking up my skirt..." Her expression would soften somewhat as she straightened out said skirt a little before asking tentatively in her gruff voice, "What rank ninja are you anyway?" Probably jounin knowing her luck, laughing his ass off at her secretly.

{OOC: Feel free to make up assorted animal enemies to attack them if you'd like.}

Looking up her skirt? He would never. Well, he may have caught a few glances. I mean, it wasn't like he was trying to or anything. He wasn't a pervert. He was still a man, though. He hadn't planned to look up her skirt. It was a bit her fault too. He couldn't have just looked away. He had to make sure she could climb the tree, right? I mean, if she had fallen or a branch had snapped off, it would have been best if he was looking up. That didn't mean he was staring at her undergarments whenever he could, he just ended up seeing them a few times. "Uh, I, eruhmuh, I um Why would I want to do that. Er, I mean I would love to. Wait, thats not what I meant to say, I jus uh.", his words stumbled out of his mouth as his face got progressively redder with each sentence. It wouldn't be true if he were to say that he didn't find her the least bit attractive. His chakra started fluctuating underneath his feet, interrupting the steady chakra flow, most likely having been due to the embarrassment. Because of this he had lost footing and was falling backwards. As he fell, he toke out a kunai and stabbed the bark of the tree. He would hang from the tree with the kunai being the only thing keeping him up. He would put one arm behind his head as he would let out a weak laugh and forced smile. "Im a Chunin", He said. From his last actions, it didnt seem like he was a very competent ninja, definetely not competent enough to be chunin, but he truly had achieved the rank. It had taken some work, but he was proud of it. He hadn't asked her rank yet, had he? Maybe, he should do that. Unfortunately, that would be interrupted by the arrival of some unhappy forest critters.

As Saizo performed verbal vomiting, Shinoe's face transformed from one of indignation to a hot blush of embarrassment to plain annoyance, though the blush lingered still. She was seriously considering punching him off of the damn tree just to get him to shut up. Though her wish was heard apparently as he suddenly lost his footing on the tree's trunk, falling until he caught himself by stabbing a kunai of his own into the bark to save himself. During that process, the brunette had a hand outstretched, though not near enough close to be of any help as she stared down at her family member with wide eyes and a sweat drop. As the boy let out a weak laugh and admitted that he was in fact a Chunin level ninja, Shinoe withdrew her hand and looked away, letting out a sound, "Tch." Though the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, glad to know that he didn't outrank her too much. "Well I-"

But what she was about to say was cut off as she suddenly noticed two wolverine bears stalking towards their tree. The first sniffed the air and then it's head raised to look up towards the two shinobi before letting out a threatening growl as the second padded up to the base of the tree, it's claws scraping against the bark as it stands. "Shit shit, watch out Saizo!" The kunoichi couldn't decide if it would be best to try and climb further up the tree or to surprise the animals with a full attack. For now, all she could think to do was throw one of the kunai she had been using to climb at the closest bear.

What the hell were those things? What ever they were, they made his silly bat monster thing look like something a young child made up. They were huge and vicious looking beasts. Hmm, were they as tough as they looked though? They were ninja after all. If they let simple bears beat them then that would be disgraceful, to their clan and their villages. Then again, these weren't exactly simple bears. They looked a lot uglier. Saizo was completely focused on the big hulking creatures as they seemed to have been focused on him. From his current position he didn't seem reachable, that didn't mean he would stay there though. He wanted this to be a fair fight. "Before I kill the bears, is there any rules against hunting them or some thing of the sort?" he would say to her, rather calm. He had faced worse, maybe not uglier, but worst.

Saizo would jump off the tree before listening for the response. He honestly didn't care at this point. He aimed for the one with the kunai stabbed into it. He seemed much angrier, obviously due to the kunai. She could have aimed it better. Maybe in the eye or at least his face. Instead it seemed to stick out of his back, his hide stopping it from going to deep. Before landing on its shoulders he would perform a jutsu. He quickly shifted his arm into a long blade. He would then land on the bear and quickly jab his arm(The blade one) into its neck. Whether or not he would penetrate deep enough to kill, he had no clue. He just hoped it hurt like hell. He would then point his other hand at the second bear. A small puddle of water formed in his hand before blasting the second bear with a significant blast of water, this was intended to cause some damage, but probably wouldn't kill. He hoped Shinoe would join in. He didn't want to fight two angry bears at once.


CHK: 135/155


Ze Jutsu

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