Gift of the Gods: The Wind Temple [Group One]

Age : 30 Posts : 8965

Darkness engulfed the beams of light within an instant as the doors shut with a thud, effectively sealing the Konohagakure shinobi within Fuujin’s temple. Robin, the leader of this particular expedition had instructed all members of his party to remain perfectly still as the doors closed and everybody lost something they had always taken for granted; vision. Despite the definite order that was given to the group, various shinobi within the squadron didn’t take their sensei’s words as literally as he had implied them. Whether it was the Aburame boy sending out a hive of his insects to scout the room while they could not see themselves, the Haretsu girl who prepared kneading clay within the mouths on her hands to prepare for the worst or the white haired fellow shuffling through his bags and pockets to see if he had anything that could be used as a source of light.

Somewhere in between all these devious little movements something was triggered, something that would have surely been inevitably triggered unless everybody was planning on standing in their spots for the rest of their days. There was no warning of what was about to come, even a group of shinobi on high alert would be caught off guard as the walls began to shift at such a speed, before any action could be taken the groups were split. The floor would follow suit and move with the walls as gravity come into play. Yoru, Shuhei, Toshiro and Hani would fall for what would feel like forever before hitting a pool of water each with their own splash. The water was cold, but not freezing and once they were out of it they would more than likely be amazing by how blue it was, this water was as pure as it got. As they would reach the surface of the water for air they would notice a source of light now, two torches enough to illuminate the room they fell into. What was once their floor was now their roof, with no way back up and no apparent way to exit this room they appeared to be trapped. The mass of water was too deep to reach the bottom of, and if they were able to they would find nothing. With sources of light and water that was more than likely drinkable what else did this place have to offer? Unlike where they had fallen from the walls were bare, once they able to step onto the light brown steps that were in the water and lead out onto a higher level they would see a stone bench and nothing more. Nothing of comfort was offered besides from a seat that looked like it would fit two bottoms at best and whatever they happened to carry on them at the time.

As for the others, Robin, Kemuri and Tani had been rocketed up from the floor each one of them by themselves at a reasonable pace. Their sides were concealed and there was no escape as they would continue to rise until they reached a large open space at what was assumed to be the top of the temple. The walls to their sides would drop down as they would be revealed to each other, the trio of shinobi managing to see each other from the numerous light sources they had in this open area, the walls were bare just like the companions they were separated from, a fountain of water stood before Tani, to the left of Robin and to the right of Kemuri. The three would venture around the big room they were trapped within but there would be no probable exits and despite anything they would try, explosive or otherwise the walls were more than adequate enough to remain intact and in fact barely appear to be damaged at all. The secrets of the temples pristine condition may be revealed by the parties, as their attempts to escape from their rooms would be futile, was this place really protected by a God? Although some of the shinobi may not have come to terms with it straight away, all they could do was sit tight and wait for something to happen.

But the party was actually one person short, each group would have obviously thought the missing person was with the other group but little would they know that one of the Genin had been completely isolated by the movement of the walls. Sael Sanaka actually began to fall with the other four ninja but he himself would only fall ten or so metres before meeting the hard ground, as the walls would continue to shift Sael would be the first to fall victim to the temples many traps, not counting the shifting walls and floors of course. The puppeteer ironically enough would become trapped within one of his puppets, the one referred to as Tortoise. Once he was separated from everybody else he noticed the roof above him in the small area he was closed within begin to crumble and soon fall, taking cover inside his puppet which was designed for this exact reason Sael would appear to be unharmed by the debris he would however become pinned down by it. It would be here he remained until one of his comrades found him; if they found him.

Age : 28 Posts : 796

Her eyelids closed for moments on end, and all she though about was the reasons as to why she came here. Easily that mission could have been declined and on her kid could have went. Certainly she was not in it for the end prize, if she so happened upon it, so be it. The days journey to the temple was hot , and more hot. Layers upon heat placed upon weary travelers. At least they cames this far, to standing inside the very god like structure itself. But was it worth this darkness? A silly question, and it was even more childish to suggest all things born of unspeakable things came from the shadows.

Silence.
Only half silence really. Around her the group began to rummage through their own things, each trying to be helpful in their own special way. Besides the rummaging of things she heard slight shifts all around her. The very ground beneath her began quake.

Then she was falling.
The fall felt like ages, ages spent in total darkness, shadows engulfing everywhere her eyes glanced. Splash. Her ears perked up at the sound. Something or someone was ahead of her, and there was water. Just as she heard the sound, her body became submerged underneath what she thought of as water. Funny, she thought, cool liquid here in the desert. Odd. Before she sank any further, her legs kicked in an upwards motion, her small hands following suit. In a moment her head broke the surface, and she was floating in the liquid mass. "Hello?" Her voiced bounced around the room, rocketing around the wall. Where are they...? That mind of hers offered a brief suggestion to use some sort of justu to propel her quicker to the patch of high level that was clearly seen, but she decided against it.

Hani's arms and legs splashed her body along to the edge of the pool, enough , just enough, to where she could stand on the light brown steps the led upwards. Her body lurched forward and her hands rested on her tiny knees to catch breath before continuing. Moments passed or two before she began a climb to the taller level above her. Quickly those violet hues scanned the room , noticing the very bare area. Eyes flicked upwards , staring at the ceiling, once their floor , and went back to her area. A few more moments of mere glancing passed , and her eyes fell upon the tiny bench. With a sigh she smiled, "At least that's something.."She said under her breath. The tiny pair of feet she had moved her in direction of the two burning torches that rested upon a near wall, instead of the bench. Light after all, especially movable light, would be a good thing. "Anyone hurt?" She called, hoping everyone said no. Her body paused for a second, wondering if going to the torches was a good thing, but then continued to it.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Being the last one in the group to enter the temple and knowing that things couldn't be as easy as simply finding one massive "temple" (otherwise he was sure his clan would have mentioned the place before if not looted it), Toshiro had been expecting something to happen. So he wasn't completely surprised when he heard the grinding that said that something very heavy was moving very quickly and fairly close by. When the boom of stone colliding with stone and a blast of displaced air assaulted his face he silently swore that the next time he roped into something like this he was sending in bloody clones. With stealth clearly no longer an option the chuunin had been about to yell for whoever had gotten stuck with him to get back to back incase this was just the first part of a multi-pronged attack when the floor suddenly wasn't were it had been fractions of a second ago. A minor detail that elicited a rather major response from the white-haired chuunin as gravity greedily asserted its control. "Kuso!" Then he was in free-fall with no idea how long until he hit bottom or if the bottom would be something survivable like water or a something less welcoming like a bunch of sharpened stakes. He couldn't even tell if the shaft was narrow enough to make arresting or even slowing his descent possible or if doing so might create bigger problems. After what seemed like forever with the only way to orientate which way was up the displacement of the air felt against his face and hair, he eventually caught the glint of what could only be light reflecting off something below.

With the end of line (literally as well maybe figuratively) coming up the chuunin did his best to warn anyone who might be behind him what was coming up even if the rushing wind of their descent probably made his warning unintelligible. "Water!" A warning Toshiro took himself since he had no idea how deep or shallow whatever was reflecting the water was. To that end he tucked his head in and wrapped his arms as best he could around his neck while twisting his best as best as possible to have his shoulders and not head or neck take the brunt of any impact. A precaution that proved mostly unnecessary as even after the momentum from body and gear carried him deeper than most would sink the chuunin still hadn't hit the bottom when he finally stopped. Then he started kicking upwards to the surface until he broke and spat out the small amount of water he had swallowed on impact. Able to see again and hear more than the rush of wind he could take stock of the fine mess he had landed in yet again as he went about getting out of the pool. A stereotypical "inescapable room" with two torches for illumination, the pool of water he had landed in, and a stone bench. It was the person occupying that bench that made him exhale a sigh of relief - at least he had the good luck to not be the only non-genin among however many had gotten sucked into this particular mess.

So it was with a much lighter voice than he might have used if he was the only subaltern in the group that he replied as he stood at the edge of the pool and shed water in the manner of a retriever. "Just my pride but I'm sure it probably needed it" Somewhat dryer and now sand-free, if not particularly happy about the way he got that way, Toshiro took the last step to clear the pool and onto the stone floor of the room itself along with the other three unwilling tenants. There he took the time for another and better look at the walls, frowning as cold facts asserted themselves. Whoever had designed this room obviously anticipated that the unwilling occupants would make a serious attempt to break out; not only were the blocks of stone massive but they had been fitted together without mortar or seams. Even with the pool of water to draw on the chuunin doubted he had a jutsu in his arsenal that could move them more a few inches. And he was too experienced with explosives to use them in a room like this - even if they could somehow avoid being caught in the blast it was entirely likely that it would only break. So for now he would wait and take stock of the situation. If he was lucky maybe one of the others stuck in the room would be a Doton-user, otherwise they might be in a tight place.

Resolved to wait as long as needed, Toshiro sat tailor-fashion on the floor and began to take inventory of what supplies he had on hand that survived their dunking and which had not. An inventory that proved the wisdom of "hope for the best and plan for the worst"; because he had put everything that would be damaged by water in plastic bags incase of rain or being dunked in a river the later pile was quite small and held nothing he would miss. Anyone have an idea for getting out that won't bring the roof down on us?"

Age : 31 Posts : 1036

Gift of the Gods: The Wind Temple [Group One] Aburam10

His body began to tighten as he felt the moving on the ground. He didn't exactly know what was happening so he remained still. He figured it was just some door opening, or worst; the walls closing in on them. The young Aburame really didn't know what to do, to move or stay still as ordered. His bugs had already been planted on each and one of the people of the room. He placed his hands on Hus pockets as he heard the sound of the walls shuffling, and even the ground below him moving. Seeing as he could not see anything around him, it was only best for him to remain still and hope for the best. For a split second everything became quiet, as he felt the ground below him move and disappear from his feet making him somewhat loose footage.

His stomach began to feel twisted as he felt gravity take over his body. The Aburame boy would quickly gasp for air as the unexpected drop caught him off guard. He heard the voice of someone else but couldn't listen to what they said as he crashed against the surface of a water source. "Water..." He said to himself as he closed his eyes as he got pulled down below inside the pool of water while he felt others crash down in the pool of water. His instincts quickly responded as his hands began to spread to the side and his legs began to kick to stop the fall and to keep himself from going any deeper. After a rushed swim up to the surface he noticed as there was two torches, a small platform to his right where others quickly made their way to. He assumed he was the last one on the pool of water as he didn't reacted as fast as the others and got pulled down below the water to feel for bottom, but nothing.

He brushed his hand against his face attempting to cleanse his face with any excessed water on his face from his hair. His mask however remained in tact, while his clothing were completely soaked. "It seems we are stuck on this place. I knew I should of kept my nose out of it." The young Aburame said as he exited the pool of water and stood in the platform where the others stood. Hoping to dry off fast he began to look around. The walls were tightly sealed, and even if he used his earth jutsu the walls will remain in tact. His techniques would be used in vain and his chakra would be wasted. There was no telling how log he would be trapped here. Now it was a matter of time and knowing how to use his supplies. Quickly searching through his pockets he would noticed the few food pills he had collected before coming to this trip. They were easy to consume, and didn't exactly took space. He would do this in his own corner, and placed them back in his pockets. It would most certainly be smarter of him if he kept them to himself...and only given if really needed. But from the looks of it he only had two , which would make things more interesting.

He looked at the white haired chuunin with a confused look on his face but of course they would not be able to see this as he had his mask on. "If you don't know what to do and you are a Chuunin. Then I don't see how our suggestions would help in this situation. Clearly the walls are well made and simple techniques would just do no good. The only suggestion I have for you is don't exhaust yourself by using pointless tricks and look around for answers. I'm pretty sure there are ways to get out of here without having to use brute force." Shuhei smiled to the boy and turned to his side. Looking around the walls or anything he could use to his advantage.

Age : 34 Posts : 590

Even as the sounds of stone on stone filled the area Yoru knew something was up. However he did not know that the very floor he was standing on would open up. As he fell from the hole he looked around at the others that fell with him. As he drew closer to whatever was at the bottom of the hole he heard one of the other members of the small group yell."Water." Followed by a simple splash then he was covered in water. After being in the hot sun all day Yoru felt some what refreshed by the water.

As he slowly made his way to the surface of the water Yoru took a quick look around the room he was now in. Not far from where he had landed he spied a pair of torches and most of the group heading over to it. Not wanting to get caught into another trap that might be in the water he swam over. "Anyone hurt?" He heard the woman call. "Im fine but my scarf is drenched." Yoru replied as he lifted himself onto the bench he sat and began to wring out the water that made his scarf very heavy.

When he felt he got as much water as he thought he would Yoru looked once more around the room. Nothing really stood out to him yet he was sure there had to be a way out. Looking over the other people that he was with he was very glad to see the Aburame with him. "If anyone is going to find our way out of here it will be him." He thought. After catching his breath Yoru began to probe the darkness with his mind. If he was lucky they may have not been the first to fall into here, if so he might be able to convince those that came before to show them a way out.

Age : 28 Posts : 796

And everyone came up out of the water, drenched from the blue life liquid. The straggles that came out seemed lost, dazed and confused. Each had their own say, their little words they decided to say. But no one, not one if them knew what to do. Hani cast her eyes in the direction of their group. Their names to her she forgot, meaningless until made meaningful. What she did remember was that the white haired boy was was the same rank as she, and the rest were genin. Her spirits fell even further when he also gave no clue as to what happened next. Robin would know what to do...maybe. Of all people she fell with, why couldn't she have had better luck?

"Alright people.." Her voice began, "I don't know all that much about you all, and what you can and can't do. Each of us, at most, only know our names and each others rank, unless some of you are already friends. I know, this isn't the best time for a life story, however we need to know a bit more of each other. You may not want to spill everything, but cooperation is key.I'll start." With that she clapped her hands and strolled over to where every one was gathered. Slowly she gathered her breath, and sigh. "Tusyo, Hani. Chuunin. I specialize in ninjutsu and the medical arts. My elements are Raiton and Suiton. " And that was all. Those violet hues of hers cast her gaze upon the white haired chuunin, as if bidding him to speak next.

After each person said their little part, she smiled. "Good. Now lets tuck in for today. I believe that enough.. Excitement for now." And so she took off her cloak and laid it down. It was time for sleep, and sleep came.

End of Day One

Summary of Day Two

The "morning " of day two had came and gone just like that. Time was now once again approaching "night" All through this day , people milled about, thinking about what's to come. The first thing she did was to be dry. In this cave like area she had no wishes of catching a cold. Next was to take a quick inventory of things, making sure everything was in order.

As the day went on, she noticed people trying their own little things, testing out jutsu on the rock walls to no avail. Even she tried sifting the water with chakra , trying to see the bottom of the water mass. It was soon determined that there was nothing out of the ordinary in the "lake", and blended in with the very normal room.

Every now and then she sighed. Patience was what was needed. Even the Ex-Hokage said to stay put. Even though they were walking about, she knew that the group was waiting for something, anything to occur.

With only little exploration of the cave and small talk littering the air, the day soon came to close.
This ended day two.

End of day Two

Start of Day Three

And so, day three had came. Along with hunger. Thankfully she carried her medical kit on her person. Slowly she reached into her lab cost and brought out a small case with three food pill. Carefully she opened it and placed only one into her mouth, leaving two inside the container. Then she stood up from her spot and slipped her pills back inside her coat. Hani walked over to the others and asked about them and their health. For that day was short, her body could sense that it was a short day. That or she was confused, oddly confused

Day three was short and uninteresting.

End of Day three

--

Spoiler:

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

To say that Toshiro was annoyed would have been to sorely understate his current outlook. He was... irritated. When the last of the oddball assortment that had been caught by the moving walls above had removed themselves from the pool that had broken their falls, he had felt his hopes rise. He might not know more than the bare minimum about the others but he had immediately recognized the only medic on the double-sized team and that no one had gotten injured in their blind falls was a serious boon that hinted at possibly their having gotten lucky. So when he had chanced his request to see if any of the others might have a means of getting out of their situation, he had expected the worst to be a round of negatives. Instead one of the two genin had all but said he expected the two chuunin to be doing the thinking in this situation and sounded surprised at being asked for any insights. Right then that genin had gone to the back of his "people who might be important enough to keep alive" list.

It was the suggestion from his fellow chuunin that kept Toshiro from making a comment about drones having only a single purpose and no initiative. Instead he nodded his head almost imperceptibly in acknowledgement to the unvoiced request that he go next. Since neither of the genin seemed to be forthcoming with anything useful, the two chuunin would need to spell things out for them by example. "Hinamori Toshiro. A chuunin as well - weapons and ninjutsu being my stock in trade. Suiton and some fuuton." Then his own teal eyes shifted to the bug-using member of the quartet with a silent order to speak.

Once the other two had said their pieces, he too was about to turn in until an idea hit him. If they had all that water it was only sensible to use it. A few handseals and a slight surging in chakra later out of the water came two wolf-sized and wolf-shaped creatures who nodded at their creators mental command before settling down to guard the four Leaf-nin. Paranoid? Maybe but Toshiro hadn't survived almost five blood-soaked years of being a shinobi and made chuunin by taking pointless risks. Just because he hadn't found a way in didn't mean there wasn't one and he would be damned before he let such a threat sneak up on the group because they didn't post a sentry. That eternal need to be sure of warning while in hostile territory assuaged, he bundled up his sand cloak and used it to rest his head after having removed his bow, quiver, and katana but still very close to hand. The chuunin had enough experience (unpleasantly too much) at sleeping when wet to worry over-much about catching something.

Day One
With only the unwavering light from the torches to go by, Toshiro felt a new level of appreciation for the watch he wore on his wrist. That expensive impulse buy allowed him to keep to what would be a normal schedule in a place where nothing else existed to judge how long they had been caught. A place that, even after he had sounded the walls for hollow spaces and joined his fellow chuunin in checking the water for a concealed exit (marbles making serviceable sounding weights as well as superior caltrops), gave no hint of a possible escape. The only good things he learned that day before going back to sleep was that somehow the air in the room was being kept from becoming too stale with the extra burden of four people (since the water-wolves didn't need to breath). That and he discovered that in spite of their horrid taste, if eaten quickly without tasting them and washed down with enough water, ration bars could indeed be eaten as a meal.

Day Two
Resigned to waiting until something happened, Toshiro had spent nearly the entire second day the quartet of Konoha shinobi were stuck in the room dozing. At least he had done so after giving up playing Go on an improvised board after his twenty first loss to twenty wins against his wolf-constructs. That twin lupine smirk when with a single stone Toshiro's entire position had been compromised beyond recovery had just been too irritating. Between that and another "intake", as he refused to call it a meal due to that being an insult to all decent food, of ration bars it was one day he would be eager to forget about entirely when he could as soon as the four ninja turned in to sleep and the wolves again took up their silent unsleeping sentry duty.

Toshiro: 135 CP - 9 = 126 CP

Spoiler:

Age : 31 Posts : 1036

The Aburame remained seated as the others began to speak. It had seemed he had triggered a nerve on some as he had stated his comment. Did he cared? Ofcourse not. He looked at Yoru a fellow ninja he had previously met outside this closed place. Then the other chuunin spoke, suggesting all speak of their abilities. The Aburame young man nodded as he completely agreed on whatever information he could gather on his own team mates. He himself had already perform actions of his own before any trapping had happened so he can maybe use that for his advantage? His eyes drifted as each of the chuunin spoke, now his turn as the white haired chuunin seriously looked at him. Shuhei of the Aburame clan. My affinities, Earth and Lightning release." Shuhei spoke as he remained seated next to Yoru while his back remained against the solid wall most seem to search around for. "I can also use my signature Aburame destruction bugs." he then stopped and looked around for any signs of emotions from the others. He felt he had given enough and would certainly not be willing to share a lot more than what he has given. He liked to keep things to himself, this was a matter of survival and there was no telling how long they were going to be trapped.

Day two:
Shuhei continued to listen for suggestions but simply denied having to waste his chakra on useless motives. After searching the walls once more..he did t exactly know whether his attacks would even make a scratch. Even worst ...will it trigger another trap that will end the life of everyone in the room. He continued to listen for any comments the others had to make concerning the time and how long they have been there. But from the looks of it..only hours had passed. His body was easily beginning to feel the pressure and was certainly making him a lot more tire knowing that he was trapped inside a a temple without knowing if he would ever come back. After sometime of watching the rest of the team get some sleep he decided to rest for a bit himself. Though always keeping his hearing to an extent in case something happened. He ate one of the food pills he had on stock to keep himself from going hungry.

Day three: Refusing to remain seated and doing nothing like the female among the group he began to wonder about the others health. And though he didnt really trust the ones within the room he had to make sure there was enough help and that everyone was alive in case of anything. He looked at Yoru whom seemed to be rather fine from his own sight. The girl was fine as we though the tiredness on her face could not be hidden. The male chuunin unlike Shuhei and the girl seemed to spent most of the day sleeping, something Shuhei had already gotten enough of and just couldn't stand one more hour of sleep. He looked over his two pills left..and then placed them back on his bag. Surprisingly enough the pills have managed to keep his hunger settled for quite sometime.

Age : 34 Posts : 590

Even as he felt around he found no sign of any dead weather that was a good sign or not he was not sure. However he felt that if there was any people who died in this temple it was not in this trap. As the woman suggested the group gets to know eachother he began to memorize everyone. Would be best to know it just in case if he comes up with a good idea. When it came to his turn he calmly said."Yamamoto Yoru. Genin. Ninjutsu and Weaponry. Elements are Fuuton and Katon. Also I am a psychic." After figuring out that there was no threat Yoru reached into his pack and pulled out a piece of jerky. Better to eat the regular food before he went to the food pills he thought. When the woman suggested they rested Yoru used his pack as a pillow and slowly drifted off to an unpleasant sleep.
Day Two
Even as he sat there Yoru was trying to find a way out. Choosing not to use any of is Chakra simply for the sake that he might need it for later. When he finally called it quits he reached into his pack and pulled out a simple scroll and began jotting down his notes of all the things he saw since coming into the temple. Maybe if by luck he might come up with some hint as to how to get out of here and on to the prize. Though he didn't really want it he felt that it was better in their hands rather than in the hands of some crazed Nuke-Nin. When everything was written down he began to look over all of the pictures he saw. Though he had no idea what any of it meant he was sure that in some vast amount of words he has read and translated he will find the meaning behind the pictures he read.
Day Three
As the third day came along Yoru was laying flat on his back choosing not to look at the scroll. Not a single language he translated has ever come close or mentioned the hieroglyphs that were all over the walls in the main room. Sitting up he looked over the members of his team that he was stuck with. He was sure there was a way out or else there would be souls all over the place. Yet he was still unsure if that was because there was a way out or if nobody merely fell for this stinking trap. Feeling his edge slowly start to dissipate he taken to running combat scenarios in his head. Just for the laughs he chose the chunin with the white hair. Give himself a change since he already fought the Aburame and knew his style of combat. Though he was only interested in that for a short while he finally went over to the edge of the water and focused his complete mind on the task. Placeing both hands he began to focus his sixth sense to the entire room they were in. From the ceiling to the lowest part of the water he used his clairvoyance to see the truth. If it was a switch that lead to a new path or a hidden tunnel he would find it.

Age : 30 Posts : 8965

Days and nights would pass with nothing to measure the time short of the shinobi counting each hour, minute or second as it passed. Though energy would surely be reserved and used in more productive ways such as finding an escape for their sealed location and then using what energy they had to regroup and complete their objective. Such ideas would dwell in only the most optimistic of the group as thinks sure were not looking up so far. Rationing food and lazing about trying not to trigger anything that could make their dire situations even worse the shinobi for the most part obeyed the instructions that their leader Robin initially asked of them as sat tight for a little more than three days before anything would actually change. Already realizing that these walls wouldn't crumble, crack or even chip from their attacks or jutsu the two groups spent most of their time idly waiting until something would finally happen. Once the time passed some noises would be heard through the walls, as if things were shifting a distance from where they were. Surely they would investigate the noises, but most likely cautiously not that anything bad was to come of it yet.

Though after another handful of minutes passed, a single slab of the walls foundation would seemingly be sucked into the walls and fall to the side, outside the shinobi’s reach with a loud thud. Almost another minute would pass before the wall completely opened up with an approximate two metre width, leading down in a tunnelling fashion further than any of the shinobi could even see. Eventually both groups would find their way into the only possible exit they had before them, dark with seemingly no source of light the shinobi would have to be resourceful if they wished to see where they were stepping or at the very least move quickly. The group of four took a slower approach, warily entering the dark channel and making their way through it in a pace that was reasonable but in no way quick Progressing further with Hani leading the squad into unknown and unexplored territory followed by Yoru, Toshiro and finally Shuhei. It wasn’t until they had ventured hundreds of metres into this passageway did they realize how much trouble they were about to be in, with another creek and grind similar to the ones they had heard before the hall had opened up. The walls were starting to close again. The four shinobi would begin to sprint forward as fast as they can to avoid being crushed into dust as Hani led the four through narrow passageway with her three male companions hot on her heels. A light finally dawned at the end of the tunnel as the kunoichi’s speed would reach its limit, testing their wills to survive and push the girl would make it out with seconds to spare, as would Yoru as they would both crash to the floor as they leapt from the corridor just in time.

The Aburame and the Chuunin however being held up by the other two weren’t moving quick enough as they were incapable of overtaking their comrades and forced to only move as fast as the people in front of them. As the walls inched closer and would start to rub against their body and arms as they pressed towards the exit the walls would close together when in a selfless act Shuhei dived into Toshiro pushing him off balance and caused him to get the momentum necessary to escape virtually unscathed as his left sleeve would get compressed between the two walls that now pressed against one another. Literally barely making it, and probably not if it wasn’t for Shuhei whose body was now sealed within the walls. An out of character act of the Aburame who hadn’t appeared to warm up to his Chuunin superior selflessly saved his comrade knowing that he wasn’t escaping regardless. The three shinobi would eventually progress moving up flights of stairs and bends and curves as they would climb levels to regroup with their comrades optimistically hoping they would still be alive.

For the Hokage and his two kunoichi companions, things would appear to run a little smoother. Presented with the same situation as the four shinobi from the bottom room, Robin and the girls would move a bit move a lot quicker than their teammates and would escape through the walls with ease and their previous room of captivity would be forever gone. This wasn’t the hardest part for these three however, as they journeyed down flights of stairs and through many curves and bends, they found eventually came to a room that looked like every other they had seen so far, nothing spectacular and nothing threatening. The girls would lead a couple steps ahead and would soon be caught off guard by another one of the temples defences. The ground below them would begin to sink in as they would become stuck and descend into the stone that appeared to almost liquefy as if it was quicksand. As this would happen the wall in front of them bar the archway that they were walking towards would open up and shoot out sharp metal rods that were about ten inches long out from the wall. These things not only had the ability to penetrate and kill but were soaked in poison as well so even a scratch would eventually become fatal, only taking a few hours after infection. The floor however wasn’t actually sinking, as soon as they walked into the room they were all cast into a Genjutsu that was triggered by human presence, but the poison-laced rods were very real and with only a shred of time to work this out, dispel the technique and avoid the projectiles; the shinobi were in a tight spot.

Shuhei Aburame aka Strange Ace is dead and will not longer be posting as discussed with the user. Please continue, sorry for the delay.

Age : 28 Posts : 796

The noise was just terrible. Loud screeching began as one of the walls began to move. Quickly Hani rose, and she rushed over to get a closer look. It took a few minutes, but soon a passage opened up into.. into well nothing. Right before her eyes lay a small passage, a tiny hallway of sorts. Obviously this would be their only way out of this lake room, even if they had no clue where it would take them. Hani hesitated before glancing to her group. Her hands formed a gesture , beckoning them to follower her. They too rose from their positions and came forward. Without looking back she took a few more steps within the walls and soon developed a nice fast walking pace between them.

Every now and then she would look over her shoulder, just to be sure her team was following her. They were. Ever so slightly her hands shook, her body was becoming nervous, more anxious as they delved even deeper into this crevice. And for good reason. It was maybe a few hundreds of metres in before what had open began to close. With creaks and groans did the walls begin to close, to relax in their original state. So Hani did the most unpractical thing and yelled to her term that they should start running. Her legs picked up into a jog before quickly progressing to a run. The walls seemed to slid past her, blending into and with each other. With every second her legs tried to go even faster. Oh how she wanted to live! To die in this empty hallway of a cave would be dreadful. Truly she had not lived enough in her life, and now was not her time. The girl pushed herself harder to pick up speed, and soon , light appeared.

With a final dash of speed did she burst out of the darkness and into their next objective. Nearly, she had almost fell upon exiting, but then regained her balance. Then she turned around a breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Yoru emerge with her. Slowly she gave him a small smile while they waited for their team. Moments passed when finally the white haired male came out of the tiny hole. With him out the wals finally collapsed back together, sealing up once more. However they were one man too short. Slowly it dawned to her as she rushed over to the Chuunin. Her hands went to pick him up and to steady him. "He's gone, isn't he?" A simple question. One with a sad answer. Upon hearing his reply did she close her eyes briefly. A terrible way to die. A death between walls. His last act was to save this boy before her. A small heroic act.

She let go of the white haired male and turned to Yoru. Her eyes made contact with now only two of her teammates before suggesting they head up the flights of stairs presented before them. Hani gave a small nod and then began to climb up the many flights. Together they traveled many flights up, walked carefully around each bend and each curve. Their hope was to meet up with Robin and the others. And also to see them alive and well. Just what exactly were they getting into? She had to wonder.

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

Cabin fever. To most it is a humorous term that summed up the boredom inherent to bad weather that kept people indoors mostly by choice. After over two full days of being confined to a single room with three other people and precious little to keep the mind distracted Toshiro had a somewhat different definition. One that involved the overpowering urge to find who, regardless of status as divinity or not, and do fairly unspeakable things to them in exchange for three days of mental torture. So it was with visible relief and a quite "about time" that he greeted the appearance of an exit from the room with its solitary pool of water. By the time Hani had gestured for the three other Leaf-nin to follow her Toshiro had already been halfway standing and was in the process of securing the last of his equipment. Taking up his place behind then genin who had introduced himself as Yoru and ahead of Shuhei, the white-haired chuunin gave the hallway a once-over before following the pair into the hall. For some reason his instincts were screaming to not set foot in the hallway but he ignored them. After all, the odds of a second exit appearing might very well be zero so it wasn't as if he had a plethora of choices.

As the quartet went down the hallway Toshiro had almost allayed that sense of this being a bad idea when he heard a barely-audible creek and what could only be the sounds of a long-disused mechanism coming to life. 'Damn it.' Given his past experience with a similar situation the chuunin had a good idea what was happening - either the ceiling was about to fall in while the floor gave out, or the walls were about to shake hands. As the walls started to move in he had just about yelled his own order for the others to run when Hani beat him too it. Instead he gave Yoru a shove to get the genin moving and took off into as quick a run as he could with the pair in front of him. As the Leaf-nin ran for their lives Toshiro silently cursed his place in the line. Given just how fast he was it would have normally been a simple matter to have outrun the walls by going full-tilt and bouncing between them to gain height that could be converted into even more speed if need be. He had done just that before making chuunin but couldn't for one reason - in doing so he would have knocked down at least the pair in front of him. He would rather be squashed than live with the guilt of knowing he had sacrificed two or even three other Konoha-nin to save his own hide. Instead he ran as close behind Yoru as he dared while yelling 'Pick it up! Move it! MOVE IT!' in the privacy of his mind as if by doing so he could make the two in front of him to run just a hair faster.

When the end of the walls came into sight Toshiro felt his spirits soar. They went even higher when Hani made it into the open followed by Yoru. With the way ahead clear the white-haired chuunin pulled out all the stops to get out when uncaring reality asserted its grip. It wasn't enough. Fast enough to be just a blur he might be, but Toshiro still needed a few steps to build up to that speed. Having been held back behind the other two for just a few seconds too long was still long enough that he couldn't work up enough speed. Not that he didn't try, Toshiro was far too stubborn to go down without a fight, but he knew he wouldn't make it out of the walls. For that instant he forgot about the genin behind him so the sharp shove that sent him hurtling forward, and gave the extra speed that made the difference, came as a total surprise. So much so that he stumbled once and needed to kick off one of the walls to stay upright but he didn't stop moving forward until he was clear of the walls and hit the ground in a roll. It was in that roll that he took his only look back to see Shuhei standing with arms extended and head high before the walls slammed shut.

For several long seconds Toshiro just stared at the space where the last member of the team had been standing facing a death of his own choosing just moments ago. What can you say to the shade of a near-stranger who had decided in a moment that if only one was going to get out it would be you? The white-haired chuunin didn't even verbally answer his fellow chuunin's question, just giving a curt nod as he took the proffered hand to help get to his own feet and moved to the rear of the group with a last look at the space that had become Shuhei's tomb. While the temple might claim more before the day was done, even if he had to go through every one of the kami themselves, he was going to see that those would be the last lives it claimed.

Toshiro: 126 CP

Age : 34 Posts : 590

After the past couple days he felt it was time to move on however even though he was tired of the area he still did not feel like using his abilities. As Yoru felt around with his sixth sense the sound of grinding stone filled the room as an exit appeared not far from them. Excited as he was he felt that it was going to be a trap. However an exit is an exit so he might as well take it. Following behind the Chuunin woman he started to make his way through. Even as he kept going he felt his sixth sense screaming at him to hurry. Though he wanted to scream run it still wouldnt have helped, even as the walls began to close in on him he held his composure.

Running through the hallway Yoru could feel it the urge to run faster then he was already going welling up inside of him. Pushing his very being into this run he felt that he may very well not make it. Those thoughts where things that would kill him so he quickly pushed them out of his head and pushed harder for the end of the hallway. As the woman ran through the opening Yoru pushed himself the last couple feet and even dived through rolling his way into the room.However the worst thing was when he heard the walls close, he didnt even have to turn around to hear it. It wasnt the crunch of a body he heard, it wasnt even the womans question. It was the screaming, the screaming only he could hear. Though he barely knew the Aburame he still felt a loss he couldnt explain.

Walking up to the closed walls he pressed his hand on the wall and he could feel him. The pain of death still fresh he used his calm feelings to allow the Aburame to move on to the next life. Whispering to the spot that was once a hallway he said,"Until we meet in the next life brother." Turning his back on the wall he made his way to the group tightening his scarf around his face so nobody saw him clenching his jaw.As he made his way up the stairs with the rest of the group he continued to stand close to his comrades in hope of picking anything up from them. However all that he seemed to be getting was their past experiences, as he reached the top of the stairs he felt around using is sixth sense. Weather it was to find the missing comrades or simply looking for the next trap that might try and take another life. He was completly into the moment and the mission.

Age : 28 Posts : 796

Their feet echoed all around the group as they slowly progressed father and farther down the winding passage. It seemed that they all were thinking about their fallen comrade, and were silent in due respect. However she did not feel quite the same as the others. That ache after losing someone just was not there. After all, she hardly knew the guy, therefore had no attachment to him. Hani did feel some sort of lose, but it was far from being true. The emotions present seemed rehearsed, presented like how they were supposed too. If anything, she felt sad that their team was down a member, and she felt pain knowing whatever family he had back home might feel.

Now and then the young girl glanced back at her two companions. To her it felt odd, as she had taken the lead over the group. By no means did she consider herself the "leader" , but if she was not, who was? No one had step forward really to proclaim themselves. That trivial matter was nothing to the woman, and instead she thought about the others. Others being the team the Ex-Hokage led. So far they had it easy. Only being led to an empty lake room and almost being crushed by walls. But what of the fate of the others? By what means were they surviving? With no forms of communication between the two shinobi teams, they were to come up with their own fanciful ideas of what was and what wasn't. There also was the question of, "Did any one else die.?"

Silence. Oh how stiff the air was with silence. The female began to hum. A soft silent tune with no real connection to anything else. She wasn't humming a tune of a now existing song or hymn. Rather she let her voice carry a sorrowful tone, one that carried lost. It was not all that sad however. Now and then it be came light as a feather, hopeful and full of mirth. Something to fill the void.

Minutes or hours passed. It's been long since she stopped humming. Her mind wandered and wandered, going on in little circles. How were they doing? It wouldn't hurt to shout. Once again she glanced back at the males that followed her. Now and shed look back to see how they were doing. And when needed they took breaks from walking. The stone stairs seemed to carry on for ages, seemingly with no end. In a way it hurt, hurt to look at the same scenery for this prolong amount of time.

As if an answer to her wishes, or desire for change, her eyes could see a large opening a few metres ahead. Moments passed as the entrance to a large room appeared. From their angle they couldn't see inside, not even a little bits. "Hey guys..lets stay here for a bit. No need to rush into a room that could be trapped just yet." She hoped the others would listen, and was sure they would. No one else wanted to get Hurt. However.. If they were already here, to another room, could possible the others be near too? It had seemed they progressed further up, far away from the lake room. It was tempting to call out for Robin, their leader, but alas she didn't. Once again, she bit her tongue and remained silent with a worried look on her delicate face.

--
[OOC: Sorry fellas, not feeling very inspired as of late. Writers block I suppose.]

Age : 48 Posts : 1036

As the trio of Konoha-nin walked down the hallway that was the only path out, Toshiro had the majority of his attention on the hallway itself. After the last two incidents he was getting the impression that whoever had built this place didn't go for small traps but rather massive ones that used the building itself. He had been sorely tempted to create a few clones and send them ahead to trigger any traps but caution had stays his hand. If the last trap was typical then it was entirely likely that further traps were of that same nature - which was once triggered they sealed off the way forward. As that seemed to be the only way out of this death-trap Toshiro wasn't going to risk prematurely closing it off. That idea shelved the snowy chuunin had settled for staying as alert as possible for any signs of another trap and being ready to, if needed, bodily drag the other two along with him if need be. Given just how much of his focus that hyper-alert state took it wasn't surprising that he didn't really have any to spare for activities like talking. Besides, what little focus wasn't on that task was busy dealing with the events of the immediate past and their aftermath.

On one hand the silence seemed... appropriate after what had happened. Even if he had barely known more than his name, Shuhei had been a fellow Leaf-nin and one whom had willingly traded his life for Toshiro's. Hardly the sort of thing quickly forgotten unless you had a serious case of egomania and, whatever other flaws of character the white-haired chuunin had, that wasn't one of them. Toshiro's silence was his way of dealing with the sort of guilt that came with knowing that he was alive because a comrade wasn't. While some people would chatter away to try to bury some of the guilt, the white-haired chuunin preferred to bottle up that sort of thing until he could deal with it constructively - usually by using it to fuel one of the cold rages that made him so vicious in close combat.

On the other hand, the silence did grate on his nerves just a bit. After all, for someone whose entire life had been spent around people or nature a certain degree of background noise was a given. Something that made the dead quite, broken only by the trio's footfalls, a constant reminder that they were inside a giant deathtrap with the only way out being the one said deathtraps designer wanted. That, even more than the silence, was stroking the fires of Toshiro's silent anger. He had always, even in the worst situations, been able to have an exit route - some means by which he could exert a degree of control over a situation. To not have that option made the chuunin feel helpless and he loathed that feeling. The first time he had felt that way he had lost his near-brother/ teammate/ rival and the last time had been when his girlfriend had hovered on deaths door with his being unable to say goodbye. What made it worse was that this time he didn't have a name or face to the cause of that feeling that he could lash out at to get the satisfaction of a response.

With how on-edge Toshiro was it wouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone who knew him that he had tensed up slightly when Hani started humming. Once he located the source of that noise however his scowl lessened just a bit at that break from the all-encompassing reminder of being a lab rat in someone else's maze. Of course all good things have to end and when the silence returned it felt even more oppressive, as if it had been offended at being broken by music. So it was with an audible sigh of relief that Toshiro greeted his fellow chuunin's announcement that they were almost to a room. A room meant space to move and react instead of being trapped in a narrow hallway that offered only one, easily blocked, route of escape if something happened. Of course it also was a near-certainty that it too was trapped but in a way that was almost a relief. After hours of feeling like a rat in a maze with no exit here was a chance to take back, even if only temporarily, the initiative from this kami-foresaken pile of rocks.

So while the other two did whatever they did to rest, Toshiro busied himself with preparing to see what was in the next room-slash-giant trap. From within his slightly torn sleeve he removed the pair of the chemical light sticks he had taped to his forearm then he removed a small mirror from his pouch. The former he tied to a pair of kunai with some wire, creating a pair of light sources he could throw into the room with a fair degree of distance and accuracy and the mirror would let him see (if only slightly) whatever the lights revealed without having to expose his own neck. He also began securing the majority of his explosive notes onto kunai - while the walls might still blast-proof, maybe whatever made up the trap(s) in this room wasn't. Once his preparations were done Toshiro leaned against the wall and removed a bottle of water which after using it to was the dust out of his throat he set down - coincidentally (or not) in a place where a single misplaced foot could send it flying into the room as a distraction or a quick source of water. The entire time he had kept looking at the entrance to the room as if it was some sort of enemy to be sized up. If he came to any conclusions, Toshiro kept them to himself - instead his hands ran through a several handseals before a pair of soft pops accompanied the appearance of a pair of clones that stirred up just enough dust to show that they were more than simple illusions. "You know what to do, now get to it." With that the pair of doppelgangers nodded and in silence took up their places next to Hani and Yoru. The extra targets that would, hopefully, draw any fire at themselves instead of the real shinobi and if the worst happened they would provide the pair with ready-made targets for kawarimi or simply an expendable shield that could also shove them out of the way of danger. His final preparations done, Toshiro settled in to wait for Hani to give the group the order to move into the room.

Toshiro: 126 CP - 6 CP = 120CP

Spoiler:

[ooc: See? I made it - barely]

Age : 34 Posts : 590

Even as they walked up the stairs Yoru couldn't help but feel the loss over the individual he knew. Though he only met him once before this mission he still felt a connection with him that was hard to explain. Looking over the condition of his teammates he saw them all dealing with the death in their own way. From what he could feel from the woman she didn't feel much for his death. Where as the white haired Chuunin felt more than words could tell. When the woman began to hum he felt his own mood lighten even if she was not meaning for it to do that.

When he felt it was time he turned to the man."You shouldn't blame yourself for his death. Shuhei did what he thought was right. Even in death it calmed him a little to know someone lived." With that he continued up the stairs. Reaching into his pack he drew out a few kunai and began testing its sharpness. Though he knew they were perfect he still felt that testing them would calm his nerves, more than the woman's humming would.

When he finally went through every weapon in his arsenal he began to recite the spiritual sutras. Yet even as he recited it for the hundredth time he still felt stressed. When the white haired chunin created clones to stand next to him and the woman he looked at him with knowing understanding. With that he turned to the woman."I agree if you wish I will take first watch."Even before he was given an answer he was pulling out a kunai from his bag and stood watch while he let the other sleep. Solitude will be the best way for him to gather his thoughts and find a way to move on from Shuhei's death.