H E L P....I need somebody [Kine]

[t@®a]

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through." Horror filled screams echoed through the streets as onlookers stared wide-eyed at a bizarre spectacle to behold, a woman on the back of a...dinosaur? The extinct beast tore across the sand, sunlight gleaming in its glossy eyes as it raced towards the large spherical building up above. It took a sharp turn and continued down a narrow street lined with merchants and their carts, shaded by the larger buildings that surrounded them. More surprised screams ensued.

Its thick tail whipped about, smashing into the side of the cart and knocking a few of the vendors fruits on the sandy ground. "Sorry 'bout that." Inari exclaimed as she turned her head back and offered an apologetic yet friendly smile. The end of the street was fast approaching and they would soon meet a dead end. After taking a swig of water from her canteen, the red haired kunoichi wiped the moisture from her lips and kicked her heels into the side of her mount. "Yip!"

Its powerful legs bent, and then sprung out, launching its large frame up onto the sun beaten rooftop a football field's length away from their destination. Continuing its motion, it raced forward leaping across the flat roofs until there was no more roof for it to run on. With a thud, it landed on the hot sand in front of a set of double doors set into the large dusty sphere. Inari swung her leg over the beast's back and slid down to the side. The raptor gave a nod before dispersing in a colorful display of blue and purple, glass-like shards shimmering out of existence as they hit the ground.

Through the doors she went, and the cool air that greeted her face couldn't have been any more refreshing. A women sitting behind a desk towards the back of the lobby looked up from her work and gave a quaint smile.

"Oh, Inari-kun. You're back already?"

"Yeah, yeah. Didn't take long to get what I needed out of 'em. Is Kazekage-sama in his office?"

"He's in a meeting with the council now. Do you need me to take down a report?"

"Nah, its fine. I'll write one up later. Just let him know I'm back please."

"Will do. Have a nice day."

"You too Aki-kun"

With a friendly wave, she slipped back out into the heat. That side of the building was at least shady, so she took a seat on the steps to rest her legs a bit. It was good for her to just relax, though that was a word reserved for "the lazy and the dead" as her father once told her. Then again, that was probably why he was having heart problems now. She brought her canteen to her lips and downed the rest of her water, following with a satisfied sigh.

[Matachi]

"You let him go alone?" Gaara's monotone voice spoke in his quarters. His teal eyes looking up at the man with specs upon his eyes, a dazzling shine covering his eyes from the light that slipped in through the window behind the Kazekage. He placed a scroll atop of the table, a replication of Kinyōji's map with a circle around the plateau's to the north.

"He's with Tsuya-chan. Frankly, if he was to make a escape, Tsuya is the last person he'd want to be paired with." The man explained, placing his hands in his pockets and awaiting the opportunity to explain all further plans to the Kazekage. It was taboo to speak out of turn when it came to the Kazekage, not something that Gaara really enforced, but Adashino had come to learn due to previous Kazekage.

"Hm." Gaara stroked his chin, placing the map he picked up back down, his eyes shooting upward at Adashino. "And you came back for?"

"Reinforcements. The spot on that map is thought to be a hideout to the organization rumored to be run by Isutoshi, our only suspect in this case." The man pointed at the circled portion of the map, a small portion. Gaara nodded, "This is where Kinyōji and Tsuya have gone?"

"They went to do recon."

"They've probably gotten themselves killed by now." Gaara sighed, waving to Adashino, "Take three people with you." He sighed, he would deploy more with Adashino, but after they lost to Konoha after being used by Oto, they were pretty tight on actual soldiers.

---

Meanwhile, outside, a man approached Inari with a charming smile. He slipped next to her on the steps, seating himself there and awkwardly keeping quiet. It was a few moments before the man looked over, leaning in, "You have pretty eyes." He randomly commented on her eyes, of course, she would probably take this as some sort of pick-up line, but it was far from it.

No, despite his charming smile, it was pretty apparent that this man was trouble, and not the good kind, either.

[t@®a]

Her eyes were watching God...err...I mean the clouds. Yes, amber eyes fixed on the scattered puffs of moisture as they sailed across the brilliant blue sky. Such beauty, such tranquility. For many, it would have been the perfect time to kickback and relax. To let your guard down. But if there was anything Inari learned from her experiences, it was that she could never let her guard down. As a shinobi, as a woman, she was always a target.

And it was a good thing too because if she had let her guard down, she might not have noticed the man come up beside her. Her eyes darted away from the hovering clouds, watching the stranger as he took a seat beside her. A gloved hand, her hand on the side opposite the new comer, instinctively grabbed the hilt of her paddle though she wasn't interested in a fight if one wasn't necessary. After all, all he did was sit next to her. But there was something odd about the way he approached her.

"My eyes? Oh stop it. You're too much." She giggled, standing up though turning so that she was still facing him. Looking up, she noticed that through the glass doors, the receptionist had been watching and they exchanged brief curious glances. She wouldn't take her eyes off of him for too long. With one hand on her hip, though dangerously close to her paddle, and the other hanging at her side, she gave a charming smile. Though she would have rather konked him over the head and walked away, her kunoichi training told her to use her greatest gift, her femininity, to get information out of him. And all she wanted to know from him was what he wanted with her, because she was pretty sure it wasn't just a date.

[Matachi]

That smile. It grew wider, moving from ear to ear, his nose twitching.

"You have a Kekkei Genkai." He whispered, he drew himself closer, standing next to her, his gloved fingers combed through his silver strands of hair. The guy was slick, but it was peculiar how he could possibly deduce that she had any sort of Kekkei Genkai. "I can smell it."

"Was your visit fun?" Aki asked Adashino as he came down the stairs with a frown, she wasn't really looking at him, her eyes focused on the two outside the administration building, casually conversing. Adashino looked up from his files, looking to Aki, confused about what she was watching so adamantly. He turned to see Inari outside talking to some guy, he recognized her, but he didn't know her. It wasn't uncommon to know who someone was when they were ranked so high and had peculiar abilities in a village.

"Why are you staring at them?" He muttered, slipping in front of the desk, resting the small of his back against it as he flipped through files, every so often taking a glance up at the woman who was clearly being hit on. It didn't take a genius to know what it looked like.

"What would it take to get a guy that hot to hit on me~?" Aki moaned, holding her cheeks and squirming back and forth. A large bead of sweat roleld down the side of Adashino's face, gritting his teeth and scratching the top of his head before pinching the frame of his glasses, fixing them over his eyes.

"I'm sorry if that's weird, but...I'm just very interested in Kekkei Genkai. See, I have one of my own." The man remarked, backing away and out of her comfort zone.

[t@®a]

Creeps. If there was anything about these people that was at all a benefit to Inari, it was the fact that they were so forward, so bold. It didn't take but a moment for him to reveal what he was truly after, though the startling revelation made the hair on the nape of her neck stand on end. Such talk was, at the very least, taboo in civilized conversation for it was common knowledge that the bloodline of a clan was its most prized gift, and most went at great lengths to protect it. She had heard stories of men and women who would take their own lives and destroy their bodies before they would let an enemy, an outsider, get his greedy little fingers around the one thing that set them apart from all others. And yet here he was, charming to the point of repulsion, practically salivating over her Kekkei Genkai. What nerve.

"You can smell it? Oh, well I have been out in the desert for the past six hours. What you probably smell is sweat." She looked up to the top corner of the wall where a small camera sat fixed with its lens on Inari and her admirer. Unfortunately, the angle was off and all it could see was his back. She wanted to make sure they at least got his face on camera, just in case her suspicions were correct. Her eyes fell once again on the stranger and in an act of desperation, shot him a subtly flirtatious smile.

"Speaking of sweat, its getting hot out here." She spoke, moving towards the door behind the man so that he would have to turn around if he wanted face her. "But we can talk more about Kekkei Genkai inside." She pulled open the door and looked back to see if he was going to follow. She hoped he wouldn't, but if he did at least her goal would have been accomplished.

[Matachi]

Chakra coursed through his specs, watching the man close, scanning him up and down. The files in his hand didn't matter, he knew this one was up to something, and it wasn't pleasant. He stepped forward, placing the files he held down on the table behind him as he did so, moving toward the door--

The man watched as Inari became uneasy, he turned his head, glaring as she tried to retreat toward the office building--

"I want your eyes..." The man hissed--

He reached out, his gloved hands were a blur on the air as he went for his target's arm in order to grab her--

A smack could be heard, and the mysterious man looked down at his wrist as a eerie wind swept up dust upon the desert streets of Suna. Adashino stood between Inari and her attacker, the man's wrist in his grip. "You and those Shūshūka bastards sure do have some nerve trying to take a target right from under our nose."

"Hnn..." The man groaned, "you are a very sharp man..." He admitted, suddenly throwing his second arm around, a long bone protruding from it, seeking to impale the man straight through the neck. "You do me no good alive!!" The man bellowed--

"Kuh--!" The man grunted, swaying to the side, his eyes narrowing upon his enemy, leaning out and sending a forward kick to his torso, putting distance between them. Skidding across the ground, he grunted, two bones popping from his shoulder

"Aaahhh~" He sighed, "this Kaguya DNA is too sweeet~" He squealed with excitement, examining the bones that so suddenly shot through his skin. Adashino's eyes narrowed, he turned his head, yet kept his gaze on the attacker while speaking to Inari--

"We take him down quick."

[t@®a]

Her eyes narrowed, anticipating what was to come following his declaration. He wanted her eyes; a creepier sentiment had never met her ears but if it was a fight he wanted, it was fight he would have. Her right hand quickly grasped the handle of one of her Kenjō though before she could draw it, a blur flew past her. With a resounding 'smack', the offending hand was intercepted by the strong grip of a fellow Suna shinobi.

Whipping around, she quickly drew both Kenjō and faced Adashino and her assailant. "Shushuka?" She murmured, though not exactly expecting an answer. It was neither the time or place for Q and A. Now, they had to fight. If anything, the strange man was feisty. He didn't hesitate for a second as he jabbed a sharp bone towards Adashino's neck. Fortunately, her ally handled him ease as he delivered a powerful kick to his torso, one that knocked him back a considerable distance.

"Hai." was her only response as she darted towards the man with bones protruding from his body. Paddles held in a backhand grip and her head cocked low, she flew down the stairs in a blurred streak and came up on the Shushuka attacker with a powerful kick, bringing her right leg up and around to connect with his ribs. That was met by a block of the forearm, plates of bone dampening her blow. Bring her leg back down, her left arm slashed down with a Kenjō in hand, poised to crack it across his skull. That was again met by a two-arm block, his forearms crossed in an 'x' shape with sharp bone spikes jutting out to keep her weapon at bay. The two simultaneously pushed away from each other but as the man sprung back towards her, Inari swiped her paddle with the broad side out^{Nageru - Throw}.

He collided with a powerful gust, sending him flying back and kicking up a cloud of sand and dust in its wake. It would seem, the enemy wasn't a strong as she assumed. But she was better safe than sorry. Though she couldn't see him through the dust, bones shot out of his back to drag across the sand and slow his fall to a complete stop.

"At this rate, you're never going to get to see my Kekkei Genk-" She couldn't finish her sentence. He came at her faster than she could have ever anticipated, a single bone spike protruding from underneath his wrist threatening to impale her left shoulder. All she could do was bend back, both paddles slamming deep into the sand on either side of her as she used them for leverage to arch her back and pull herself down. There he stood, spike narrowly missing her arm, a single trickle of blood rolling down from his nose, and a crazed look in his eyes. 'Damn...that was close'.

[Matachi]

He leaned forward, into his blow as she leaned back, grunting as his weight teetered forward--

ドオォーン!!

His face caved around a knee that jounced out of nowhere--

Adashino hung centimeters from Inari's head, soaring over her, his knee out in front of him. He eclipsed the sun, the collector was sent tumbling once more up the road, onlookers watched in awe and cleared a path. Adashino landed in a slide, dust shooting up around from his feet, pebbles rolling off his shoulder. He stood straight, brushing the hair back from his face and fixing his glasses, their attacker laid limp in the middle of the street, faint grumbles could be heard spoken upon the dirt path.

"Give it up." Adashino spoke sternly, his gaze shifted, revealing his glaring left eye, while the reflection of the sun on his left lens left a glare that his his right. "You lose."

He placed his hand to the ground, broken bones fell from his body as he lost focus of his chakra, clicking as they hit the floor, dressed in his blood. He was unstable, and the wounds inflicted by the Kekkei Genkai stopped healing suddenly. Blood spilled from his nose and lip, spitting bits of teeth from his shattered maw, while grumbling. "No...noooo..." His voice spoke in a hiss, grabbing at his head, staggering back and forth. His hands clasped at the clothing he wore, ripping it away and shrieking to the desert sun that hung above.

"Hhnn..." Adashino watched him go into a rage, his broken face swelling. "He's not right in the head, it seems." He noted, glancing back at Inari, fixing his glasses again. Turning away from the attacker, Adashino waved his hand, "this is over, but I think I'll be needing you for a mission." Was he really dismissing the fight he was in? Why--?

Sand crawled across the path, the man's wounds began to close, bones popping from his fists--

"WE'RE NOT DONE, YET! WE'RE NOT DONE, YET!!" The man charged forward, straight at Adashino's back--

Sand wrapped around the man's arms, snapping the bones that extended from his fist's clean off before encasing them completely. He gasped, looking at his arms, which forcefully extended in opposite directions, his legs becoming heavy with grains of sand, as well. He felt the world slip from under him, inverting and raising him into the air.

"Wh...what is this? What is this?!" The man shrieked, his eyes wide, he struggled against the sand. His heart sunk, he watched as Gaara descended upon him, his piercing eyes.

"So, you interested?"

[t@®a]

Smack. Or was it Crack? The sound of knee meeting face that resonated in Inari's ears. If there was one thing that could be said for her new found ally, he had impeccable timing. With that powerful strike, the battle was over. Pulling her self back upright, she felt a slight twinge of pain in her lower back. Her face showed a grimace though it quickly faded as she realized Adashino was looking at her. She would have preferred to get a thorough stretch in before she undertook such a maneuver but either way, she would be fine. The pain passed after a short few seconds.

"That was quick." She complimented, grasping her twin paddles by the handles and heaving them up out of the sand. Both twirled effortlessly between her fingers before falling into place at her sides. With her back to him, she didn't see the Kazekage emerge from his office and instead of responding to the man's request of mission assistance, she started to warn him about the attacker's approach. The words couldn't get out of her mouth fast enough because as soon as she fixed her lips to speak, sand was beginning to converge around his arms and legs. "Kazekage-sama?"

She turned her head to see none other than Gaara, preparing to make short work of the manic collector. Inari couldn't help but feel comforted about his appearance, despite the fact that she wasn't at all concerned about the bone wielding assailant. She had already analyzed his strengths and was fairly certain she knew what he was capable of. She had already underestimated him once but in spite of that, he proved to be little more than a crazed brawler. She faced Adashino once more.

"What were you saying? Oh yeah a mission. Well if I declined, I would just be sitting here eating dango all day so for the sake of my thighs, I'm going to have to say absolutely."

"AAAAAaaaahhhh...."

The blood curdling scream belonged to the collector, now Gaara's captive. As his bones were crushed under the immense pressure of the sand, he lost consciousness. She assumed they would take him in for interrogation soon, or maybe they would just let him die. Either way, he was officially out of the picture. Her eyes narrowed with disgust as she watched his limp body flop onto the sand. 'What a creep...'

"So, where are we headed ummm...uhh...I'm sorry but I'm drawing a blank on your name here. Not my strong suit hehe."

[Matachi]

"My name's Adashino." He introduced himself, pinching his chin, he took a quick glance over his shoulder at Gaara's display. "We're heading North. It seems like these Shūshūka guys are getting bolder by the moment." He sucked on his teeth, moving past Inari and up the road. "We're gonna' need a few more people before we head out."

END