A/N: I feel like you guys should know this is one of our shortest RPs.

Kimi was, understandably, frustrated.

For countless, precious minutes, she'd been quarreling with the guards stationed outside the interrogation room, attempting to make them understand that yes her teammates were genin and yes they could come and go as they pleased because they might need her. The guards seemed to be lacking a few brain cells, though, as they only continued to stare blankly at her, exchanging incredulous glances every so often - so she gave up, promptly shutting down the not-quite-a-conversation as she walked stiffly into the room, the door swinging shut with an unsettlingly loud clank behind her.

The boy, who looked to be only a few years younger than herself (a fact she mentally cursed at, as she knew they'd specifically chosen her for this task thinking a kid could best handle another kid), sat strapped down to a cold, hard metal chair. His head lolled against the back, eyelids fluttering, mouth parted but soundless.

"Hey, kid, you awake?"

If he hadn't been before her abrupt question, he was now.

He started, shooting up as far as his restraints would allow, dazed blue eyes scouring the room and sweeping over Kimi at first glance. Realizing he was held down, he kicked out fiercely, straining to free himself.

"What... the hell...?!" he grunted, shifting his arms (lashed against his sides) to try and gain even an inch of movement.

Dryly, Kimi replied, "That answers me well enough. What's your name?"

The boy paused, taking stock of the situation. He'd been captured, obviously, by enemy ninja. This would be the part where they worked him for information - tortured him, if it came to that. And he knew it would, because a traitor to his village he was not.

The understanding calmed him slightly, though his heart still hammered in his chest. He turned his head to give himself a better view of the girl before him. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered if she thought he was stupid, as this wasn't exactly the sort of situation where one freely offered information as though responding to an amiable chat.

"...What's yours?" he eventually asked, of that mind that if it was her who'd lost control of her mental faculties, than he'd be foolish not to take advantage of it.

Kimi eyed him curiously for a moment before she moved to stand in front of him, backing herself up against the wall, as she figured this would take a while. Stubborn kids and all things considered.

"Now, what makes you think this is a situation in which I'm going to answer your questions when you don't answer mine?" she shot back coolly. "You see, there's a difference in status here. A name, in my opinion, is easy information as long as you leave out the surname. I don't see why there should be a problem with it. If you want to be difficult right from the start, however, I could just leave for a while, have dinner... perhaps breakfast..." She trailed off in an almost teasing manner, watching him for a reaction. "I don't suppose you know that they don't serve dinner here, do you?"

Straightening the line of his mouth into a severely flat line, he flicked his gaze away in apparent disinterest as he - subtly as he could manage - tested the strength of his bonds. A furrow appeared between his brows when he concluded they were too strong for his meager muscles to break alone.

The threat of going without a few meals didn't have the bit he suspected she wanted it to have, but he was sharp enough to know that he shouldn't press his luck, lest he live to regret it.

"...Sei," he supplied flatly, rather grateful that Akari and Ren rarely ever referred to him by his full name.

Kimi's cold smile flickered to life.

"See, that wasn't hard. I'm Kimi. Now, how about a harder one? What were you d--"

She was cut off as another young girl (dressed in an assortment of clothes that could only be described as interesting) yelled from the hall.

"But Kimi-san said we could go in!" There was a short pause in which a muffled argument seeped under the door, though Seiichi couldn't focus on it enough to glean anything useful from it. "I don't care. Do you want me to kick your ass?"

Kimi would ignore them, she decided, thinking perhaps they'd go away if they weren't acknowledged.

"What were you doing outside the village?" she finished.

Seiichi coyly tilted his head, following Kimi's example and simply dismissing the commotion he continued to hear just outside the cell.

"Which village?" he asked, because he wanted to see how far he could go without getting backlash, and also because he had no intention of merely going along with this girl, no matter how cordial she may have seemed.

Kimi's eye twiched, seeing as the continued sounds outside the door were beginning to ruffle her calm demeanor.

"I doubt even an idiot wouldn't know where they were right now, so don--"

Once again, she was cut off unceremoniously, though this time it was the result of a girl (presumably the one who'd been so very close to resorting to violence outside the door), in an outfit that could only truly be described as interesting, hurtled through the door.

"Kimi-chan! What can we do to--"

She crumpled to the floor as a result of the redhaired boy following on her heels driving his foot into the back of her knees.

Despite the livid expression he wore, his tone was even as he said, "As I was saying, perhaps we should wait until she's finished before interrupting."

The girl, paying him no heed, instantly jumped to her feet, shooting him something of a menacing (sort of) glower.

"Shove off!" she snapped, before switching back to Kimi. "Kimi-chan, what can we do to help?"

Still hoping that, if she ignored them long enough, her teammates would take the hint and leave, Kimi remained focused on Sei.

"So, answer my question," she demanded, all niceties forgotten. "What were you doing?"

Seiichi, not one to sit idle if he could help it, had been making use of the distraction created by the blundering idiots (as he'd taken to dubbing them in his head) to try and collect his thoughts. He was momentarily startled when he couldn't instantly recall why he was there, in what he presumed was Kusa, in the first place. He blinked once, twice, when it hit him, though he made an effort to keep the realization off his face.

"...Probably what you're doing," he answered shortly. "Following orders."

Irritation flashed across Kimi's face as she opened her mouth to say something scathing, annoyed as she was by his attitude, but the flashily dressed girl interrupted.

"C'mon, Kimi-chan! W-"

"Go help search the woods to see if there's anyone else," Kimi snapped, coming to terms with the fact that her teammates wouldn't simply leave her be even if she denied their existence. "That work for you?"

The redhead glanced at his eccentric teammate and dully asked, "Do I have to go with you?" He knew better than to fight Kimi's orders.

"Yep!" Etsuko sang cheerily.

Kimi dragged her attention back to Sei as the pair left the room, with Etsuko not-so-casually pulling Akito along (likely against his will). To calm her flaring temper, she set about smoothing out the wrinkles in her shirt.

"Now," she drawled, "what orders, exactly?"

"Kill me or let me go," Seiichi muttered flatly. He wouldn't tell her anything of use, not with his teammates and village at risk if he allowed his tongue to be loose. And his stubborn tendencies made it difficult to pry any sort of information from him, whether they be friend or foe. Her status as the enemy, however, did not improve her case.

Kimi cocked her head, considering him for a moment, before a cold smile flickered across her face.

"I wonder if that's an option," she mused aloud, "it would certainly make my job easier."

Straining a bit, Seiichi leaned forward in his bindings, a steely look hardening his bright blue eyes. He kept his tone even, monotone, despite the anxious pressure he could feel weighing down his chest.

"Do it. The only information you'll get from me will be from an autopsy."

Kimi studied him curiously, smoothing over the look of excitement that had appeared on her features at the idea of getting honest-to-goodness useful information from an autopsy.

"I see," she said, then paused, realizing acting without permission from the village head would land her in hot water. A sigh escaped her lips. "Then, I'll have to go make the necessary arrangements. I'll be back."

She pushed away from the wall and exited the room, snapping off something rather crude to the guards before she vanished from Seiichi's sight. He watched her go, assuring himself she'd actually left before leaning his back again, staring fixedly at the ceiling. He winced sharply when he felt a sudden, throbbing pain in the back of his skull, deciding a moment later that he was likely knocked unconscious at some point due to a harsh blow to the back of the head.

"...Pathetic..." he murmured, cursing his inadequate abilities, his thoughts flickering between the best ways to handle his current situation and the status of his teammates. However much he fought with them, however much he sometimes wished he'd been held back a year in the Academy so that he could have been granted a different team, they were his teammates now, and he'd be damned if he ended up being the reason for their demise.

_______________________________________________________________

Ren scowled heavily, seizing Akari from the back of her collar, lifting the red-faced genin completely off the ground in the process.

"If you don't pull yourself together in the five minutes, Akari," he growled, "I'm going to trap you in a genjustu so powerful you'll be unconscious for a month.

The girl only writhed in his grip, trying to twist herself around so that she could glare at him. Not an easy feat with such an iron grip on her collar, but she managed somewhat. Though with the tears dotting the corners of her eyes, she looked pathetic despite her best efforts.

"Sensei, how the hell can I be calm when Sei's--"

She choked back a sob, wrenching her head back around, trembling hands clenched into fists at her sides.

Hoshimi, who stood off to the side, opened her mouth to offer words of comfort, though quickly thought better of it, knowing anything she could say would be meaningless while Akari was still so worked up.

Ren sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, still keeping Akari aloft at arm's length. He wasn't in any particular hurry to have her frantically running around the clearing, berating herself for Seiichi's capture. Again.

"The brat's captured," he said easily, ignoring the way her shoulders tensed and her kicking feet stilled. "The enemy will work out sooner or later that he wasn't alone. With you like this, you'll be dead weight in a fight if it comes to that. So unless you want to join Seiichi, rather than rescue him, shut up and listen to me."

She responded with strange obedience, his words resonating with something in her heart, and she clamped her mouth shut, eyes still boring holes in the ground beneath her dangling feet.

"...Better," Ren admitted. "Now let's get working on an infiltration plan before you start with the waterworks again."

He ordered Hoshimi and Akari to wait - patiently - at the edge of the clearing while he paced the perimeter, placing explosive tags at set intervals so that he could have semi-complete coverage and warning if his heightened senses failed to provide it.

"Sei was taken by surprise, probably, because as impulsive as he is, he's still capable of handling himself to a certain degree - more so than you two, anyway. I can basically guarantee that he's being interrogated at this point - we'd do the same with an intruder in Konoha - and that we have a set amount of time before they decide what to do with him. Though..."

Akari, seated now beside an ever-calm Hoshimi, having been ordered not to move or do anything strenuous that might flare up her chakra network, watched Ren with bleary eyes, her tears having subsided at some point when Ren set her down and now.

"Though...?" she prompted. "Don't trail off like that, Yandere-sensei, it freaks me out."

Ren paused, his gaze flicking over them in consideration. He imbued another tag with his own explosive, fiery chakra as he spoke again.

"It should," he told them dryly. "I was just deciding how best to tell you that there's likely only three options for Seiichi once they're finished with their interrogation." Slapping down the set tag on the curve of a low-hanging branch, he turned around, holding up a hand with three fingers raised. "One: Depending on whether or not he's given them anything useful - which I'm betting he won't because that kid has a head like a boulder in terms of how stubborn he is - they'll put him through hell. And yeah, I'm referring to torture."

He ticked down a finger, disregarding the hollow looks of fear his remaining genin exhibited.

"Two: If they don't get anything, they'll still see him a useful, in the sense that they can trap us in a hostage situation. In that case, we'll probably all end up captured unless we can get some damn back-up here."

Another finger ticked down.

"And three: If they thinks he's useless - that the threat of anything happening to him won't be enough to draw us out, that he either has no useful information to share or he's not forthcoming with it - they'll kill him, plain and simple."

The unwavering certainty with which he delivered his verdict did nothing for Akari and Hoshimi's nerves, their glazed looks of horror only worsening.

Turning back to his work, Ren said, casually, over his shoulder, "...Right. If you understand, that's good. You'll doubt yourselves a little, but you won't do anything stupid, either, not if you want this to work so that Seiichi doesn't end up as a tragic example of just how cruel we shinobi can be."

The girls continued their vigil in silence. Every so often, Ren would round on them again, apparently recalling another point he'd wanted to make, and always this somehow heightened their fears. Because what he said was true. As shinobi, as kunoichi, it was life and death for them any time they left the safety of their village - and sometimes even within their protective, homey walls, danger loomed. They knew that, but up until this point, it had never struck them as real. Hoshimi was too young to fully remember the scare of having Hinata kidnapped and the bloody consequences that followed, and Akari only felt a hollow ache when she thought of the fate of her father, whatever happened to him.

Death had never been so close before, and now it was breathing down their necks, tainted with unknown bloodlust.

Amidst another of his sharp-tongued lectures, Ren cut himself off, surreptitiously angling himself so that his better ear was positioned towards the trees, focusing on the tendril of voices he could faintly make out behind him. He stood from his previously crouched position where he'd been laying out a set of tags under a thin covering of soil, taking a moment to dust himself off in the interest of looking nonchalant; he then motioned to the girls.

"With that said," he went on, as though he were joining a lost thought, "I think it would be in our best interests if we made ourselves scarce for the time being. So get to it."

Hoshimi, taking notice of her sensei's tense shoulders, had already activated her Byakugan, her eyes trained on the forest Ren seemed so invested in. What she saw shook her from her stupor, and she grabbed Akari by the wrist, dragging the girl back into the shadows of the overgrown mushrooms that populated this forest, clamping a hand down over her mouth to keep her from protesting.

Satisfied with their position, Ren gave his full attention to the forest, sliding his hands into his pockets with a thoughtful frown curling his lips downwards. Waiting for the voices to draw closer, for their cover to be blown (not that he was particularly interested in hiding himself with the genin). Waiting for a fight.

They were lucky he didn't have to wait long.

"-and that's when I knock them flat!" Etsuko announced proudly, a sly grin of triumph curving her lips as she pushed off the flat top of another mushroom. Akito, languidly moving just beside her, cocked his head.

"Where am I, exactly?" he asked. Throughout the whole of her grandiose plan to capture the remaining enemy shinobi, he hadn't once heard mention of his own exploits. And while he would have liked to, he couldn't say he was all that surprised she'd somehow dropped him from the story completely.

"I told you, you passed out from fear!"

She most certainly had not told him that. Or maybe he hadn't been listening. Both were equally likely.

"Anyways," Etsuko said, as if he hadn't spoken at all, "I know them flat on their back with a round house--"

She'd left the edge of the mushroom forest, landing at the very edge of the clearing. Akito, just a step behind her, sobered. If she'd stopped talking, that meant trouble.

He spotted Ren instantly, as the man wasn't making any effort to conceal himself), and he couldn't help but release a short sigh through his nose.

"...huh, and I was sort of hoping we'd just get to go home."

"What a coincidence," Ren murmured, offering a dry, closed-eye smile. "I'd been hoping for the same thing myself. In any case..." He lifted a charcoal brow, studying them with interest, and soon a devilish smirk was curling his fine lips. "If I'm not mistaken, you - or more aptly, your village does - have something of mine. A runty-looking blue-haired bore."

He leveled a hand at about the height he considered Seiichi to be.

"About yea high, looks kind of cold, doesn't really talk. I'd really appreciate it if you just returned him to me."

Ren would have tried for the subtle approach if he'd been in a different state of mind. As it was, he was too pissed at himself for allowing a student of his to be taken so easily. There was also the fact that he didn't consider two kids - and they were kids, by no stretch of the imagination worthy of his time - proficient enough to warrant whatever trickey he might have otherwise employed.

"Hey that's--"

Akito slapped a hand over Etsuko's mouth, cutting her off. His eyes never left Ren. The man was older, more experienced, and the confidence he radiated didn't appear to be for show alone, or even intimidation. His blood-red eyes held Akito's easily, alight with a dark, daring mischief that raised the hairs lining the back of the boy's neck.

"If you hadn't noticed..." Akito began in his his usual monotone. "We're not the sort to be aware of such matters, let alone be dealing with them."

Ren's other brow crept up to join the first in mock astonishment.

"Really?" he asked, voice pitching higher in his feigned disbelief. "That's troubling, seeing as your little slut of a girlfriend was pretty interested in my description of the brat." His smile was astonishingly charming, though past the glamor, if one looked hard enough, they could make our the glistening fangs of a monster provoked from its slumber.

Akito ignored the insult and started to respond, only to have Etsuko's elbow slam into his gut, silencing him.

"Hey!" she snapped. "I am not a slut! I'm only twelve, you know, that'd be really weird!"

Akito shot her a brief glare, though he simply rubbed at his eye and addressed Ren's previous point.

"Of course she is," he said, referring to how she'd be interested in the boy's appearance. "Anyone would be aware of an intruder being caught - it's not that quiet of an event."

That information wouldn't cost him anything. It was common knowledge in their village when invading shinobi entered the cells of the interrogation force.

Ren looked Etsuko up and down appraisingly, then turned an inquisitive look on Akito, as if to ask how he could have possibly labeled her wrong. It wasn't a matter of importance to him, not really, but he was angry, far past his boiling point, and he wanted to cut someone down - physically, verbally, emotionally. He didn't care as long as tangible pain was involved. But he kept his bloodlust in check as he said, flatly, "I think you're missing the point, brat - whatever you say is going to sound like a lie to me."

The corners of his lips curled up in a nasty smirk.

"We're shinobi, after all, and enemies at that - falsities roll off our tongues as easily as they do conmen's. So cut the crap and tell me what I want to hear before I have to resort to something that will be very un-fun to you, but oh-so satisfying for me."

Akito wasn't swayed, much to Ren's rather childish disappointment.

"If whatever I say is a lie, why should you bother telling me to tell you what you want to know? Won't you believe the answer to be a lie?"

Despite the emotionless tone with which he spoke, he was tense. Could the surprise of Etsuko's ability buy them enough time to escape through the trees? He wasn't in the mood to die today just because they'd decided it was a fine idea to throw themselves up against an older shinobi.

Ren smiled again, and again no warmth touched his eyes, his lips. He was cold and venomous as he studied the state of his nails, only glancing up at Akito and Etsuko as though they were an afterthought.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," he assured the stiff redhead. "If I really suspect what you're telling me to be a lie - even after I've asked you so nicely now - I'll beat you to the point where you'll begin to question whether you're seeing dead relatives or not, then I'm sure you'll be willing to cooperate with me."

The boy sighed slowly, as if this was entirely too annoying of a matter for him to be dealing with.

"But, you see, we still wouldn't be willing to cooperate then, as if we were that horribly beat, I doubt we'd be able to cooperate. So, you're sort of out of luck," he added with a small shrug. "As, I'm afraid, I'm not really willing to share information with an enemy."

He paused, then, with a hint of mockery in his voice, he said, "You're a shinobi, I'm sure you understand."

Ren flicked Akito a disinterested glance, unimpressed, before returning to overlooking his rather unkempt nails.

"You seem to be underestimating my precision when it comes to these things. I'd get the information one way or another; you know, I wasn't considered for my village's intelligence division simply because of my good looks and pedigree. As for being a shinobi..." He cocked his head slightly. "You think you're funny. That's cute. You and me, we're on different levels completely - while I'm around, you hardly deserve the title of shinobi, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Akito agreed dismissively. "That still doesn't change the not sharing information matter."

He subtly elbowed Etsuko in the ribs, much like she'd done to him earlier, effectively silencing her. He'd seen one of her outbursts coming and knew it wouldn't help them in their current situation.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to focus long enough to go get Kimi-san, would you?" he asked, looking to Etsuko. Perhaps he'd considered simply leaving the matter to Etsuko to handle, hoping her ability would hinder them enough that he could address their severe lack of support, but he couldn't abandon his teammate, no matter how often she got under his skin.

Etsuko blinked, seemingly confused by his request, but just as quickly her face hardened into a look of firm determination.

"Nu-uh, you're not making me leave," she declared stubbornly.

"Lovely," Akito sighed, before looking up at Ren again. "I don't suppose you're done trading insults yet, are you? It's growing rather tiresome."

And Ren grinned, a dark look shadowing his eyes as he lowered his hand.

"What a shame. It's not often I get to exchange witty remarks with someone who has an actual backbone. But I suppose I'm done, anyway, since you're beginning to bother me as well. You're the type of brat I really can't stand - you, too, slutty minor," he added, smirking in Etsuko's general direction.

Akito'd tensed considerably even as Etsuko spluttered half-formed protests in the background. He hands dropped to the sais strapped to his hips.

"You're still talking," he commented idly.

Etsuko, though, was done with the pleasantries. Enraged as she was with both Ren and Akito (who hadn't even spoken up in her defense!), she couldn't refrain from lunging forward decisively, swinging a foot to connect with the side of Ren's head.

"Dammit, I'm not a slut!"

Ren rolled his eyes. Impulsive brats were worthless - something he'd been trying to beat into Seiichi's thick head since day one - and their rash actions would eventually get them killed, if not someone they cared about. He might as well teach the girl a lesson. Flitting in, he wound his fingers tight around Etsuko's ankle and, using her own momentum, launched her straight at another mushroom (careful to keep her away from where Hoshimi and Akari still waited, breathless); he then took the chance to jump towards Akito, a wry grin on his lips.

"It's a bad habit of mine, I admit. I'm just so damn sociable sometimes."

Twisting around, he aimed to deliver a bone-crushing roundhouse kick to Akito's chest, though the boy was quick, if nothing else. With a surge of chakra applied to his feet, he flipped backwards out of Ren's reach, pushing off with his hands once again to land upright, his sais now glinting in his hands. He instinctively backpedaled, correctly assuming Ren's assault wouldn't end at just that, as the raven-haired man backed him up, his own kunai twirling around his finger. he charged suddenly, flitting around to Akito's back; the kunai flashed out, just scraping over the nape of the boy's neck as he dove forward to escape the inevitably lethal blow.

Akito stumbled, but swung himself around to face Ren, sais raised defensively as he anticipated another attack. His breaths already came quicker than he would have liked, though he attributed the tightness in his chest more to fear than fatigue. This was why he disliked troublesome assignments.

He couldn't wait to catch his breath, however, as the moment he'd turned Etsuko lunged over him, using his shoulders as a brace, on her war-path towards Ren, looking as though she planned to surprise him with another kick. Because the last one had gone so well.

Ren lifted a brow incredulously as her display. That she hadn't put any more thought into her attack after he so easily countered her before... Someone would have to work that habit out of her if she was going to make anything of herself. He sidestepped the lunge, then swiftly kicked out with his stronger leg, connecting squarely with the small of her back and shooting her into yet another mushroom, where she swore loudly as she slumped to the ground, eyes spinning.

Ren sighed, craning his neck to give Akito a sympathetic look.

"My brat's like that - impulsive as hell. Must get tiring, having to deal with that all the time, hm?"

Akito, grateful despite himself for the brief respite given to him by Ren's lack of attacking, used the moment to straighten, adjusting his grip on his blades.

"You could say that," he said dryly. Really, the only reason he put up with her antics was the thought that - if and when they were assigned a new sensei - Etsuko would be put through hell due to her personality and behavior. That would be revenge enough for him.

The pain was getting to him, even as he swallowed thickly, trying to push his discomfort to the back of his mind. He would land a blow on this man, one blow before all was said and done.

Ren cast a curious glance between Akito and Etsuko (who'd yet to stand), his brow furrowing as he habitually danced back from any strike Akito might have been considering.

"This really isn't going to end well for you, as I'm sure you've realized. Two genin - well, maybe one and a half genin - aren't really equipped to handle a jounin. I'd pity you if I didn't have the strangest desire to carve out both your hearts with this little knife of mine."

He teasingly displayed the kunai, index finger and thumb hooked through the loop, a playfully demented smile gracing his lips.

"Well, actually, that's not quite true," he admitted after a moment's thought. "It's not the kunai I'm eager to use..."

Ren suddenly changed directions, kicking off the ground with his heels and instantaneously shooting forwards, hands flashing through signs, teeth bared in a disarmingly cheerful grin.

"Have you two ever wondered what it feels like to be burned alive? Because I assure you, it's not all that pleasant."

Akito swore, scrambling backwards in reaction to the sudden shift in Ren's attack. Of course Etsuko had managed thrown away when he was in dire need of her assistance fending off whatever Ren was planning to unleash with his complex signing.

"Sorry," he muttered, though it came out as more of a grunt as he pushed off the ground again, hoping to escape Ren's range before his jutsu came to fruition, "but I'm not the curious sort."

Snickering as he finished the last of his signs, Ren sneered at Akito, malignant fires burning in the depths of his crimson eyes. "Not my problem, brat," he said smoothly. "Silent Illusions: Hellhole."

There was no passion, no fury in his words - only a glacial certainty that this would be the end.

Akito, unable to avoid it, froze, his joints instantly locking into place, and his body crumpled to the ground. Trapped inside his mind, he faced the onslaught of Ren's original genjutsu, a cocktail of destructive, devilish torment - a trial by fire, as Ren described it to his whiny genin when they'd asked one training session.

It was a favorite of Ren's, perfect for his somewhat sadistic nature and his unnatural obsession with flames. Though he'd created more than just a few of his own special genjutsu, he more often than not came back to this one. Because it was reliable, because he knew it so well - because it got the job done.

Most of the time, in any case.

"Ren-sensei! That girl wasn't caught!"

He instantly spun around, his trust in Hoshimi's eyes rather absolute, and a scowl tightened his features. He'd thought to expand the range of his genjutsu in the hopes of capturing that idiotic girl as well, but it seemed as though he'd miscalculated, either in the jutsu itself or his assessment of her ability to dodge. Not that she'd instill much confidence in him, what with her love for raging head-first into conflict without so much as a Plan B.

He dove forward to meet her, and they clashed in midair, with the Etsuko mercilessly throwing her fist at his face, her leg moving to nail him in the side without pause.

"Don't. Touch. Akito!"

Ren instantly threw up a hand to block her incoming fist, slamming an elbow down hard on the assaulting leg as he closed the already minimal distance between them. He shoved aside her arm, ramming his shoulder into her chest, an action that sent her stumbling backwards. A wry grin touched his lips as he huffed out, "Like I give a damn what a slutty minor wants from me..."

She was favoring her injured leg. It was obvious, and a bit pitiful, if Ren was being honest (which he usually was when he allowed his sadistic tendencies to show themselves in full). But she didn't let up on him, drawing closer and closer despite the risks to batter him with a series of punches and body blows that would have been quite effective on someone of a lesser caliber. As it was, he kept up with her with ease, and matched her blow for blow, until his boredom grew to be unrelenting. He dodged more than he returned strikes, but now he closed the gap once again, flashing through another set of hand signs.

"Fire Release: Dragon Bullets!"

The fireballs sailed right for her, and Etsuko wasn't fast enough to avoid all of them as she dove for the cover of a nearby mushroom. Fire skimmed along her shoulder and much of her side, licking along her exposed skin with white-hot fury; concentration shattered in the wake of the undeniable agony, she hit the ground with a dull thud, the impact vibrating through her battered body and eliciting a string of colorful swears that flew from her lips with startling fluidity. She worked off her jacket quickly, throwing it aside as the flames already eating at its base raced over the fabric, devouring it within heartbeats of her fall.

While she would have been immensely grateful for it, Ren wasn't one for giving his enemies a moment to catch their breaths, not when his entire body was alive with scalding tongues of fire, the very same that dwelled within his chakra network.

He stopped just beside her, a satisfied smirk crawling across his features as he planted a foot on her abdomen, stopping her from moving away unnecessarily. He dug the sole of his other sandal into her wrist, pinning it to the ground in order to keep any jutsu she could scrounge up at bay, as he was fairly certain someone of her level wouldn't be well-versed in one-handed signing. He bent down slightly, increasing the pressure of his foot against her stomach with sadistic glee.

"Now, I've just thought of something: Without a comrade to help him, that brat probably won't be able to escape my genjutsu by himself. So, I thought to myself, why don't I be nice and make an offer?" He dug his heel in, lips flickering into another mocking smile, and she gasped, clawing at his ankle with her free hand to no avail. "Tell me what I want to know, and you can save your boyfriend from all the suffering I've got in store for him."

She was all too aware of Akito's thoughts on the matter. He wouldn't speak to her for a long, long time if she gave into this man's demands, but it would be worth it, she knew it would be it, if divulging this information meant bringing Akito home alive. She wouldn't abandon another teammate; she'd changed, dammit.

Etsuko's panicked gaze flickered to where Akito lay, twitching periodically in his nightmarish dreamscape, a twinge of all-too familiar pain drawing his brows tight together. Her own burns left her feeling too dazed to think properly.

What did she do?

"N-no..." she grunted weakly, straining to wriggle out of Ren's hold.

Ren's grin widened. It seemed switching tactics had been the right decision after all; she was the weaker link of their duo.

Once again grinding his heel into her stomach, he hooded his crimson eyes thoughtfully as he looked her over.

"No?" he echoed. "Hm, then I suppose I can't guarantee that brat's going to wake up any time soon - if he does at all. Guess you wouldn't care, though, right? Because the village comes first, before any single life."

Something of a bitter, honest smile crossed his lips, though it was lost in the demonic fire that lit his eyes.

"That's what it means to be a shinobi, kid. Sacrifice, death - they're both synonymous with ninja, as one of my little genin kindly informed me. But, despite that, you have a choice: Tell me about my missing brat and I'll let you go tend to the less slutty brat, or keep silent and die knowing he's going to go down with you."

She was truly panicking now, the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her veins enough to flush out her incessant pain, enough that she was once again writhing around, struggling to break free of Ren despite her compromising wounds.

"You can't! You can't hurt Akito!" she practically screamed. "It doesn't matter, anyways! Kimi-chan probably already killed him, she doesn't like keeping prisoners at all!"

A frightening sort of calm stole over Ren's expression at that information. That same, deceptive calm infected his voice, as well, and his next words came out in the likeness of a cruelly charming purr.

"Oh? That's unfortunate, really. I was honestly hoping to keep the number of useless brats I had to kill today to less than three, but if what you say is true..." A chilling smile tugged at his lips. "Then I really don't have a reason to keep either you or Akito-kun alive, now do I?"

Unbothered by her frantic struggling, he didn't release his hold on her, bending over practically double to poise the sharp tip of his kunai just over her throat - able to draw blood with just the flick of his wrist.

"Are you sure you don't have any last words, little slut?"

Etsuko stilled at the icy touch of the kunai, swallowing dryly, her mind jarring to sudden, calamitous halt. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. When she was finally able to speak again, dredging up her voice from the depths of fear and loathing that had swallowed her mind whole, her voice cracked. Pathetically.

"Y-you can't... if... you c-can't hurt Akito..."

"I can't hurt Akito?" Ren questioned before snorting. "What kind of delusion are you laboring under? Certainly not one of mine, though that would be delectably vicious..."

He internally sighed, thinking this was getting completely out of hand. He'd calculated for some resistance, obviously, but he really did think that most genin valued their lives above their village at this stage in their career. It was human nature to be so self-preserving. These brats just kept pissing him off.

Annoyed now (different somehow from the constant, simmering rage that boiled just beneath his skin), he weaved a quick set of hand signs, and a clone poofed into existence at his side. Without taking his eyes of Etsuko, he jerked his chin at his clone.

"Do me a favor and go take care of the catatonic brat."

He watched Etsuko silently as he clone went off to do as bid, weighing her reaction against his expectations. If this didn't get her to crack, he would really kill them both without a second thought.

"Don't! Don't... if... if you don't..." Etsuko trailed off, then steeled herself, braving Ren's hellish stare to meet him eye-to-eye. She could live with being branded as a traitor if it meant protecting her teammate. "I... Kimi-chan's our teammate so I know..."

Ren raised a hand and his clone paused, only steps away from Akito.

"You know what?" he pressed, narrowing his eyes to dangerous slits. "Be specific or Akito-kun won't be going home with you again, brat."

Now that she'd made her decision, the words flowed from her mouth like water bursting from a dam, her terror and anxiety cloaking the stopper that would end her half-coherent ramblings.

"We, um, we went to ask K-Kimi-chan how we can help and sh-she told the man we could go in so we did and the... that person you mentioned, he was, um, there and she was talking to him and he was alive at that time and she got pissed and told us to come out here and search, so we left."

Releasing a pent-up sigh, Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. Kami did he hate these kids.

"You brats couldn't have just said that from the start? I wasted chakra on you, too, dammit..." Mumbling something under his breath, he relaxed his shoulder, straightening up slightly and scrubbing a hand through his black curls. "Well, I suppose it isn't a total loss; I got to look good in front of my sniveling genin again." He blinked, glancing from the kunai still left in his hand to Etsuko. "Oh, right. Thanks for the information. Hopefully someone from your village realizes you're a little late and comes to get your ass, because I sure as hell don't have any intentions of being any nicer than I plan to be and dragging you home."

That said, before she could offer up any hint of protest, he flipped the kunai around, catching it by the blade, and swiped the handle into her temple, rendering her rather unconscious. Stepping back, he undid his previous genjutsu as he crossed over to Akito, his clone at his heels. Genially reaching down, he grasped Akito by the front of his shirt, dragging the groggy, gasping redhead up so that they were properly face-to-face.

"Your girlfriend's out cold," he said tactlessly. "She gave up the information I wanted, though she did it to save your sorry ass, so maybe don't be too hard on her?" He rolled his eyes. "Not that I really care, though. Anyway, I just thought I'd be polite and tell you what you missed while you were... shall we say, incapacitated?"

Akito's eyes narrowed, his attention zeroed in on Ren.

"What did she tell you?" he probed, working through his feasible reactions depending on the severity of the information Etsuko had given up.

Ren offered another cheery closed-eye smile, knowing perfectly well that he had what he wanted.

"That's our little secret, Akito-kun. Don't worry too much about it, or you may actually split that fragile skull of yours open."

Fragile was likely an understatement, given the hell Ren had inflicted upon him during the brief span of his genjutsu.

"Anyway," he went on, "I'll say hello to Kimi-chan for you when I see her to take back my blockheaded genin." He cocked his head, snickering. "Oh, but doesn't that answer your question already?"

Akito barely resisted the urge to swear. He was going to kill Etsuko for this.

"So, you only know that Kimi-san is with him?" Akito almost sneered. "Great. Good luck, then. Have fun."

Ren was sneering right back at him.

"Oh, I plan to, Akito-kun. I'm all for that eye for an eye rule, you know, so Kimi-chan or Kimi-san or whoever is going to be put through any suffering she inflicted on my genin... though I'll likely triple it, just for her."

Ren would have left it at that, tired as he was of this placid conversation, but he couldn't resist the urge to add:

"You know, just based on what I know of shinobi, I can guess what sort of place would house captured ninja, and, well, I have been to Kusagakure before - one of the chuunin exams I attended was here. So I'm quite confident I can navigate my way through your shitty village."

Akito frowned, but his stubborn streak didn't look as though it was planning on dying off any time soon.

"Like I said, good luck. Kimi-san" - here he paused, catching himself before he could comment that Kimi was nothing like them; surprise could be to her benefit in this situation - "won't wait for you to show up before she gets rid of him. You should probably get a move on if you're so eager to get that guy back."

His grin was utterly frigid as Ren eased himself back from Akito.

"Right, thanks for the advice. But like I said - an eye for an eye. If I find out my genin died at the hands of your precious Kimi-san, I don't care what happens to me in the end, but I'll make sure your village understands just what it means to incur my wrath."

He paused a moment, letting that sink in. Akito said nothing.

"Now, I've wasted enough time with you and your slutty girlfriend - sweet dreams, brat."

Akito had rubbed him the wrong way from the beginning, even more so than that girl had, and so he thought it fitting that the redhead was sent into the blissful void of nothingness by way of his sandal-clad foot, and Ren smiled in blatant satisfaction as Akito's head whipped to the side following the blow, his eyes closed.

Releasing another sigh, Ren turned around, dismissing his clone with a wave of his hand before picking his way back to where he'd stashed his genin. He held up a hand to halt their inevitable flood of questions, collecting his thoughts.

"He's alive, for now," he said succinctly. "But we need to hurry - the person in charge of him apparently isn't fond of keeping prisoners alive for long. Come on, let's get a move on."

Akari, with Hoshimi just a step behind her, scrambled to catch up with her sensei as he took off for the village she could just barely see in the distance. She fidgeted uncomfortably; they'd thought they wouldn't have to get this close to Kusa in their reconnaissance mission, having had more of an interest in tracking the incoming and outcoming ninja to get an idea of the village's numbers.

"W-Wait, Sensei!" she called after him, sucking in a sharp breath as her foot snagged on a tangled root, only just saving herself from smacking into the ground. "That... You were..."

"Very cool," Hoshimi supplied helpfully, though her words and her polite smile were equally shaky.

Ren only bared his teeth in another grin.

"Don't act like you ever doubted me, brats."

______________________________________________________________

Kimi returned eventually, her expression cross.

Seiichi, who'd been this close to dozing in her absence, snapped to attention as she began her mild-mannered rant.

"Well, you're lucky. They're intrigued with the idea of catching anyone who might come and getcha, so you're not dying yet."

She brightened in a moment, though, and Seiichi felt something drop in his stomach.

"Although, they did give me permission to see if I could get anything out of you, so they don't mind if you're really screwed up. They just don't want you dead. Isn't that nice?"  

That was not nice, not nice at all, but Seiichi'd be damned if that thought showed on his face.

"...Just get on with it. I'm bored."

He chose to take her words as confirmation that his teammates and sensei were alive and well - probably, anyway. Though whether or not they could do anything for him was still uncertain. Drawing in a deep breath, Seiichi watched Kimi, his blue eyes sparking just beneath his bangs.

Kimi cocked her head, studying him thoughtfully as she mentally reviewed the most efficient methods of torture she had at her disposal. She had a lot to choose from.

"Very well. I wonder, have you been taught anything about interrogation yet?"

She flicked a kunai from her pouch as she approached him, twirling it around the end of her finger before catching it in her palm as she stopped directly in front of him.

"Well, have you?"

Seiichi forced himself to drag his eyes away from the kunai. So this was the reason for that haunting feeling settling in in the pit of his stomach. Interrogation. Ren occasionally went off on long spiels about what he considered to be important information for a shinobi to know, and interrogation was always one of his favorite topics. Seiichi flexed his fingers around the edge of his chair, lifting his gaze to meet Kimi's.

"...I know enough."

The faintest flicker of an amused smile passed over Kimi's lips.

"Then I suppose you might know where I'll start since you're unwilling to simply answer?"

He reflexively clenched his hands, the muscles lining his arms straining as he recalled in morbid detail what Ren had told him about the most pain-sensitive areas of his body. Without responding, he simply leveled a glare at Kimi, refusing to waver against her while he was still in control of his mental faculties.

"Ah, you don't?" Kimi guessed, really only continuing this conversation - one-sided as it was - to add to the mental bit of her planned torture. Pain, though effective, wasn't the only way to extract information from unwilling mouths. "Then I'll tell you. It'd be irresponsible of me not to take a chance to teach you a little something, wouldn't it? The best place for me to start would be the arms, hands, or the feet," she mused. "I suppose the feet would be difficult, I'd have to remove the shoes. Arms, the restraints would get in the way. So I think I'll go with the hands. Now... you can unclench those hands, or I can do this to both of them."

A pleasant smile tugged at her thin lips as she - without warning - merely flicked out her hand, burying the kunai through one of his clenched fists. A sharp, broken gasp left his lips, his spine tensing even as he uncurled his non-injured hand on survival instinct alone. The pain, Kami the pain - it radiated up his entire arm like a bolt of lightning, but that was nothing compared to the agony gripping his hand. He gritted his teeth, trying desperately not to give her the satisfaction of seeing him react any further to her tactics, though his lack of experience in this field showed itself in the tears that were already leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"G-Go... Go to hell..." he spat bitterly, his voice choked from the sob he'd trapped in his throat.

Kimi studied his reaction with interest, pressing his other hand open with one of her own as she removed another kunai from her pouch. She noted that he visibly tensed, though his head wrenched around deliberately, and whether that was done to take his attention away from her knife or to hide the tears that traced down his reddening cheeks, she didn't know. Nor did she really care - he was, after all, just another the unfortunate few who crossed her path in this line of work.

"Sorry, that's not the answer I'm looking for. Feel free to share information when you're tired of this."

She dragged the kunai shallowing across the palm of his restrained hand, smirking as he hissed out a breath. She couldn't let him lose too much blood too quickly; there'd be no fun in that.

Seiichi'd resorted to biting the inside of his cheek to hold the rest of his various, pain-induced noises back. Unfortunately, that only led to his mouth flooding with the coppery liquid, and he turned his head to split out the crimson glob, afraid he might choke on it if this continued, as he suspected it would. He struggled with the grip she held on his hand, wanting nothing more than to draw back his hand and possibly smack her with it in the process.

"I'm not... planning to say... anything... important," he managed between each heaving breath.

Kimi paused, rocking back on her heels and letting his hand go free.

"Hm, really now?" she murmured, absently twirling her kunai. "Then I suppose this action is useless. Perhaps I'll just continue for the pleasure of it."

She suddenly gripped the kunai in her hand again, jabbing this one into Sei's other hand, eliciting a foul curse and another flood of tears from his red-rimmed eyes. He bit back a manic howl, teeth sinking into the already split flesh of his lower lip; sweat beaded his brow, the back of his neck, his lower back. He couldn't see straight for a moment. He swore loudly and repeatedly within the confines of his own mind, shallow breaths hissing out from between clenched teeth. Whether or not he could come up with a suitably bland remark in response to her blatant sadism, he was silent, his throat caught in the vicious grip of agony and useless.

Kimi's head cocked again. He was holding up well, she supposed, for being so young and so very out of his element. But he would crack eventually. She'd make sure of it. And she was just debating the best method to carry out next when she picked up a faint knocking at the door. Frowning, she turned away, leaving Sei to wallow in his pain.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"Kimi-san, I've a message from the village elder regarding your prisoner."

She rolled her eyes irritably. That old man didn't know when to lay off her.

"He already said I can't kill him. Honestly, what else can he have to say about the matter?"

Knowing him, he just wants to annoy me, she added to herself, rolling her eyes again as she started for the door. Flatly telling the messenger to go away didn't seem like the worst idea, seeing as she was comfortable in her assumption that if it was just the elder passing the time by irritating her, he wouldn't mind being ignored while she got on with her vastly more important business.

"Actually," the voice just beyond the door said, "you now have permission to do what you wish with him. The team members that accompanied him have already been captured, so we've no need of him anymore."

Kimi caught the barely-stifled gasp from Sei, and her lips curled with delight.

"I'm simply here to be sure nothing occurs during the execution, as well as to take his body away for autopsy," came the rigid, monotone voice again, lacking in any and all inflection. It sent chills racing up and down Seiichi's spine, though he dutifully ignored them in favor of squeezing his eyes shut, steeling himself.

"Really now?" Kimi questioned brightly, pulling open the door. "Why couldn't you have said that first?"

A man stepped through the threshold, blank-faced and rigid as his tone. His dark eyes swept over the room, appearing uninterested in Kimi; the grin that had been building on his flat lips fell the instant he caught sight of Seiichi, bound and limp in his chair, sitting atop a growing pool of blood that was disturbingly large already. Unbridled fury rolled off the man in waves as he rounded on Kimi, his form flickering, and then it was Ren standing there, red eyes burning and face dark with his rage.

"...You've been such a bad girl, Kimi-chan," he murmured lowly, that frightening calm encasing his words once more. "Just like that slutty friend of yours and her wimpy boyfriend."

But Kimi had already sprung back and away from him, her legendary speed putting distance between them in a heartbeat.

Her eyes narrowed. "So I'm not getting permission to kill the brat," she sighed. "Lovely."

Ren watched her carefully as he crossed the room in a few long strides, taking up a defensive stance in front of Seiichi. The boy wasn't moving, his heart jumping frantically against his chest, eyes fluttering on the verge of unconsciousness. He needed medical attention now, which meant Ren would have to finish this, quick and efficient. The problem with that was that - in the interest of keeping Seiichi alive - he couldn't put any of his more destructive jutsu to use, as he had with the duo of brats in the forest.

Damn.

"If you really thought you'd ever have the chance to kill my brat, then you really are compatible with those brats I left bleeding in the forest," he said after a moment's silence, his muscles loose, waiting for her to make the first move.

If he thought he was going to send her into a catatonic state of depression by mentioning her missing teammates... well, that was just plain sad, in Kimi's opinion. She grinned, fingering another of her kunai, something unsettling in the depths of her dark eyes.

"Actually, I wouldn't call it idiocy," she said simply. "After all, if they hadn't been interested in luring you here, those kunai in his hands would be in his heart. It took you so long to get here, it would have been simple."

She paused, considering, then added casually, "Oh, and I have to wonder, are you trying to concern me with the comments about those idiots?"

She didn't wait for a response, lunging forward with a plan of attack shaped in her mind's eye. Her kunai and hand flashed out in a steady stream of rapid, lethal assault, and Ren sprung away, wanting to guide the battle away from Seiichi. Rather impressed with her speed but ultimately unperturbed by her skill level, he countered her where he saw the opportunity, ducking and dodging whenever that seemed more appropriate.

She was good, he'd admit that. But good and godly were far from the same thing.

Ren's habit of self-flattery often went unchecked at times like this, as a side note.

"Hah?" He blinked, recalling that she'd actually asked something of him while he blocked the arc of her kunai with one of his own. "Not really, no," he grinned a tad maliciously. "I'm only bragging - another bad habit of mine."

Seeing an opening, he moved to slip under her guard, his blade poised to tear into her shoulder, but Kimi instantly twisted to the side (her reaction speed was rather impressive), and the kunai skimmed her shoulder rather than bite into as Ren had planned. Her foot struck out for his knee but Ren danced back, shifting to drive his opposite knee into her side. The blow struck her breathless for a fraction of a second, then she was moving again, clamping her arm around his leg to immobilize it before her kunai founds its mark in Ren's captured thigh.

He hissed out a quick breath, cursing his ineptness (because this was a brat landing hits on him, for Kami's sake). Blood welled up around the kunai's point, soaking into the thick fabric of his pants, scalding the skin beneath. Ren plucked the blade from his leg, wincing ever so slightly, his teeth gritted, silent for once beyond the ragged edge to his breathing. He quickly tossed it into his waiting hand, drawing back slightly before pushing off with his less tattered leg, his dual weapons slashing for Kimi's chest.

Swearing under her breath, Kimi skidded back, avoiding only the worst of his attack; cuts crisscrossed her flak jacket, dripping red and screaming for her attention. Some of them were far deeper than she would have liked. She narrowed her eyes, taking a mental stock of her weapons in an instant, and she fitted three shuriken between her knuckles, preparing to throw them as a distraction, as something, just to give her the upper hand - when she suddenly spun around, an idea kindling among her racing thoughts. Ren tracked her movements with interest, though his curiosity burned away to white-hot anger as she let the shuriken fly, on track to impale themselves in the unmoving Seiichi's chest.

Muttering a curse - something about the impertinence of brats - Ren flicked his wrist, sending one of his kunai on a flight path to intercept the shuriken; it was only half-successful, as one of the throwing stars managed to nick Seiichi's temple, to which the boy hissed out a curse of his own. That got his attention, in any case, and drew him out from that depressing stupor. Ren thought he could live with that.

Ren had had enough, and that was saying something. Honest anger was hard to come by for him. Irritation, perhaps, was a daily occurrence, a mild buzzing beneath his skin. This was anything but mild. It was a wildfire of loathing that sped through his veins, it was molten fury bubbling in his chest, waiting for the perfect opportunity to blow. If his student wasn't at risk of being swept up in his emotions, Ren would have gladly reduced this Kimi-chan to a smoldering pile of charred bone and ashen flesh - and the building along with her. But Seiichi was here, and he had to be a responsible adult. Which meant his method of vengeance had to be somewhat more subtle than a raging fireball.

He curled his fingers into a favorite set of signs, walking steadily closer to Kimi, even as she backed away, wary eyes narrowed again as though she could sense his murderous intent.

A demonic smile curled Ren's lips as he finished.

"Silent Illusions: Hellhole."

Kimi stiffened, having been expecting some sort of ninjutsu to counter her. Before the thought could even cross her mind to prepare a mental block, the genjutsu had taken hold, blanketing the scenery around her with crackling flames and - in the distance - she thought she could faintly hear the screams of the damned.

Well, what an anticlimactic end to an utterly dull fight.

Ren heaved an overly dramatic sigh, scrubbing a hand through his tangled hair. His leg smarted with every step he took but it would hold his weight for now, and he could have Hoshimi take a look at it if he saw the need to; her chakra control wasn't adapted to medical ninjutsu quite yet, but she'd taken to more practical means of first aid already, and she and Seiichi both carried medical supplies with them on every outing from the village.

Akari - the slacker - felt content to leave the healing to her two teammates, despite the constant threats Ren sent her way.

He couldn't decide if he was grateful for having only gone up against a handful of brats, or unsatisfied. He may have had a hole in his leg but that wasn't anything to sweat over; no veins had been severed, no muscles shredded beyond repair. He would live, and he supposed the chakra he'd managed to save would be useful on the trek home. He'd sneaked into Kusa without incident (much to his surprise), but there was no guarantee security would be just as lax as they made their escape.

Without a word, he crossed to where Seiichi sat, lashed to his chair, and silently began undoing his binds. Once the boy was free, he set about extracting the kunai from his hands - and even Ren couldn't repress a wince of sympathy at the mewling cry of pain Seiichi released as a result. Seiichi rocked forward, exhausted, and Ren bent to catch him before he slipped from the chair. Closing his eyes briefly, Ren scowled; he'd been too kind to allow any of those brats to live. But, he reminded himself as he blinked, carefully maneuvering Seiichi onto his back, there were more important things to regret at the moment.

"Alright, Sei, no complaining," he said firmly, knowing the boy's tendency to refuse any and all acts of courtesy. "One word of protest and I'll finally make good on that promise to sow your mouth shut with wire."

But Sei only nodded mutely, burying his tear-streaked face in Ren's shoulder. Bravado was useless to him now, in this state. Ren had saved him, and all he could do was be grateful and weakly grip the man's jacket, trying - and failing quite miserably - to distract himself from the fire searing the backs of his hands.

Checking another sigh, Ren cast a faintly enraged look at where Kimi lay, half-conscious and half-delusional, before stalking out of the interrogation cell. They stuck to the shadows as Ren weaved his way through the village, on course to return to his other waiting genin, and he did his best not to jostle Seiichi too badly as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop the closer they got to the city limits.

He'd save his lecture on their inability to escape from enemy hands later. For now, the brats deserved a rest.  

______________________________

DELETED SCENES 

Scenes which I deliberately cut out, as they would have made the scenes I kept a little too confusing, with all the back-and-forth they would have required. But I liked the conversations in them, so I thought I might share 'em anyway.

As Etsuko and Akito are scouring the forest in search of Ren and the girls: 

Etsuko: *dragging Akito along as they make their way through the village, humming to herself under her breath* We get to fight~ We're gonna find us s-

Akito: *once again in a rather monotone voice* If we were really going to run into anyone, do you think she'd send us alone?

Etsuko: *scowls* Shut up, idiot.

Akito: *silently rolls his eyes*

Etsuko: *as they reach the edge of the village, which really isn't that different than the forest around it, as most people can't navigate the area easily, so the hidden village is almost in plain sight to be honest* So, which way first? This way! *without waiting for a response as she drags him with her*

Etsuko: *not even attempting to be quiet as she hops from giant mushroom thing to mushroom thing on the trees, Akito walking along the ground beneath her with his hands shoved in his pockets* See, here's my thought. If one of them got captured, then the others gotta be easy, too, right? That means maybe we can take them, then we take them back, then we show them off to the elder and he'll be so stoked that he'll... *trails off, having not gotten this far in her planning*

Akito: *in his usual tone* Considering that most likely you'll somehow manage to irritate him or mess this up, I'm leaning towards that he'll make us do some low level mission again, like trimming Old Lady Asako's trees again.

Etsuko: *snaps, very loudly once more* Akito! I'm not going to mess it up! Jeez!

Akito: *raises a brow, as if to question if she's not going to mess things up, what is she doing right now*

Etsuko: *just continuing with her loud, echoing words despite the almost rebuking expression Akito sent her as she insists on explaining just how she's not going to mess things out and laying out an entire story of how amazingly she's going to take them down, complete with her own version of events that are obviously catered to her "amazing" poweress*

Akito: *honestly ignoring her, wondering how soon she'll get bored with searching, as he's quite fond of the idea of going home and napping* *yawns as if to punctuate his thoughts*

Before Ren rescues Seiichi, once he, Akari, and Hoshimi have successfully infiltrated Kusa: 

Ren: *pauses atop the roof of a small building, holding up a hand to halt the genin at his heels as he takes a quick survey of his surroundings* *was slightly surprised he'd been able to infiltrate the village with minimal trouble (only having to subdue one unsuspecting shinobi) but grateful for it nonetheless, as he'd been able to preserve his chakra for the task ahead* Okay, this looks like we're heading in the right direction.

Akari: *shuffles to the edge of the roof beside Ren, peering out at the rather indiscriminate buildings she can see around the one they're currently resting on* *furrows brow* Seriously? But everything around here's so... plain...

Ren: *flicks her an irritable glance, honestly wishing she'd have be able to read the atmosphere and keep her mouth shut for a while* What, did you think it was going to be some grandiose mansion marked with Kusagakure Cipher Division in big, bold letters or something? *smirking a little at Akari's indignant pout, shakes his head, gesturing towards a mundane, one-story building not too far from their position* Nah, right there, that's our target. It's low-key, so you wouldn't suspect anything of it, especially in a housing district like this. It's likely that's where they're keeping Sei, so I want you two to stand guard here while I go after him. *obviously this does not go over well with Hoshimi and Akari*

Ren: *eye twitches* ...Hoshimi, I'm going to give you three seconds to grab Akari and run before I seriously consider impaling a kunai in her jugular.

Hoshimi: *tersely, refusing to budge* Sensei, for once we have no intention of believing your idle threats.

Ren: *incredulously* Idle threats? *sighs, hanging his head* I can't believe the day that I'm not taken seriously by a brat has already come... I must have lost my touch... Che, I knew I shouldn't have left those Kusa brats breathing... *scowling, lifts his head, causing Akari and Hoshimi to flinch back at the dark look in his eyes* In any case, I can't guarantee your safety while I'm trying to get Sei back.

Akari: *breaks in, her expression unyielding* Like we care! We wanna help Sei, too! You've already protected us, Sensei, let us do something - we're not useless, dammit!

Ren: *narrows his eyes, faintly wondering if all genin get this pushy in dire situations* ...Nope. Not happening. I'm not going in there worrying about three idiots, I barely care enough to go get the one. So sit back, relax, and maybe respect your damn sensei.

Akari: *frowns, crossing her arms stubbornly, though at Hoshimi's light touch she softens slightly* ...Fine. But if you don't come out in the next hour, we're going in after you, Ren-sensei. Got it?

Ren: *smirks, rising to his feet* You're underestimating me again, brat. It won't take half that long.

Ren: *having finally left the genin behind, warning them not to draw attention to themselves under any circumstances, stands now at the entrance to what he's gathered is the interrogation headquarters for the village (or whatever you want to call the place)* *he'd used the transformation jutsu a while ago, taking on the appearance of a shinobi he'd seen milling around the building* *muses to himself for a moment, wondering if he should just waltz in or knock, seeing as back home it's customary to seek permission first before going inside* *ultimately shrugs and raps his knuckles on the door a few times, deciding that he can just force his way inside if something seems out of sorts*