Team H - Into the Jungle

Verdandi would arrive with her rather large but slow moving taskforce at the gates. They probably were some of the last to enter now and probably one of the slowest teams to move to begin with. Avalanche was carrying casually Rin's puppet on his back, by now fixed properly so it could quickly be pulled off by Rin when needed. The puppeteers wheelchair had been mounted to Ava's collar by some of Verdandi's steel wire. Rin had fixed it to her wheelchair by a special knot that she could easily undo in case she needed freedom of movement or Avalanche would require to charge ahead without her.

The way they were set-up, the group would most likely leave a rather unusual set of tracks if any would ever pick up on them. Considering they were consisting of four bear paws, Verd's leather boots and Rin's wheels.

Dandi and Rin moved forth to the gatekeeper to receive their relic, seeing how it was a chess piece with a simple seal on it, Verd would quickly place it in Rin's palm as she already had an idea how to deal with that thing.

Verd would show her rather large inventory and make sure the guard could remove it at will if he deemed something not rule-proof.

Waiting for his approval to pass so they could head off, forth into the jungle. Team H would move very slowly in general but had high-end capabilities in terms of tracking other teams while also being not that bad at removing their rather unusual tracks. With Rin's wits and Avalanche's nose aiming to find potential enemy tracks or pick up on their scent.

Verd's inventory:

Team Stats:

Rini didn't take much. She showed the change of clothes she had brought, which was the Panda onesie, but other than that, she only had her chair, the puppet, and a bag of military ration pills. The Gatekeeper inspected them all, and once he had verified that there was nothing illegal on any of them, he let them through, and they went into the forest, the gate closing behind them.

Rini immediately began to scan their surroundings, taking them into account, and figuring out the topography of the land. She had a wealth of information on survival scenarios from her readings, and knew that the most important thing in these situation was to find a source of water, and then secure shelter. However, they were only going to be here for a few days, and setting up a camp would take time and they were already slow. Finding a place to take shelter in would be nice, but it would be anyone's guess if they could find somewhere naturally ready to camp out at.

"First thing we should do is find a source of water. A riverbed would be nice. Other people will probably think the same thing, so maybe something smaller than a main river? A stream or something. That provides water for hydration, and fish, or little critters like that for food. That'll be pretty important to. Especially with, Ava was it, Ava over here." Rini posited to Verdandi.

Not being the one steering, Rini was able to survey the land and get a notion of the topography, looking around for tracks and such of the woodland creatures. They would know where a water source was, and tracks would tend to congregate more towards the water sources. It didn't take long for Rini to start picking up a pattern, and she pointed it out. "Given the tracks of animals tending towards that direction, I'd say there's a decent likelihood of a source of drinkable water not too far in that direction. Maybe a couple hours at most, but definitely reachable."

From the inside of the jungle Kye tread carefully with Kitsuki by his side. The outer layer of the jungle served as one of the better places to start looking for tracks or stragglers. He figured some teams may have the ingenuous idea of camping around the outer layer while others raced towards the inner parts where the bounty of the jungle was plentiful. The thought has crossed his mind once, but he figured if he could think of it, others would too. He was cunning but wise enough to know there were bigger fish. Being original was a key mindset for survival. Kye and his partner rushed towards the middle layer first before coming around to the outer portion of the training area. This would lead them both to their targets.

Kye saw a spectacular display of teamwork and ingenuity with how they decided to travel. Albeit slow, the paraplegic rode atop the bear's back like a sultan. Her chair was fastened to the beast of burden with several sturdy steel wires, the weight of the young girl and her wheelchair easily within the tensile strength of the ninja wire. "There." Kye declared raising a single arm in the direction of the convoy to mark his findings. They were thirty meters ahead and together appeared harmless, though he was not going to let that fool him.

From the canopy layer he kicked off his last branch before making a descent towards the jungle floor. The young man fell at an angle and grounded at fifteen meters, a comfortable distance he help he could react to without much effort. His eye started to analyze the two females and the bear whom served as the centerpiece of their formation. Kye himself was dressed in a pair of black dress shoes, pants, and blazer. A white collared shirt was worn in addition to a black tie being the completion of his outfit. It was unsavory given the exam conditions to say the least. His reason? Well, it was his casual, go-to garb. In some survival scenarios someone wouldn't have the time to prepare, which he figured was the whole lesson for this tournament. It was why he only had the clothes on his back and blade on his hip. Anybody with an eye for weapon would be able to tell the katana was nothing of significance, but it was a functional blade.

Kye's navy blue hair swept over his right hair concealing the black eye patch he wore underneath. He placed himself before their path choosing to confront them directly over an underhanded approach. A wry smile crept across his face as his left hand fell over the pommel of his katana. "Hmph. Clever usage of your...polar bear. But your convoy ends here. Surrender your relic and we will be off. You have the rest of today and four days after that to find another, and I'm sure you both will have little trouble whether it be your luck finding a temple or taking it from another team." Flattery and persuasiveness would likely work in his favor with a lot of truth in what he said. Clearly, if they figured out transportation, the trials of the survival exams would be beneath their skill level.

Kitsuki followed Kye's lead as the two rapidly made their way through the lush environment. When he stopped and pointed out the group far ahead of them, Kitsuki had to squint to see given the dense obstructions. The young man must have known what he was doing if he could find opponents for them to fight so quickly. Kit recognized Verdandi's bear. The beast had a young girl on her back and he was dragging a wheelchair behind him. Kitsuki raised her free hand to her mouth as she realized what was going on.

The redhead was handicapped. She normally used her wheelchair to get around but because of the nature of the environment, she couldn't use it effectively. This meant that Verdandi had to allow her pet to carry her partner. It was the only way they could make it through this portion of the exam. It was a rather unlucky situation and Kitsuki immediately felt bad for the both of them. If Kye was pointing them out then he must have wanted to target them. Kit looked at him with unease. It felt wrong to attacked a group that was so vulnerable. She was frustrated with Verdandi's decision to bring her pet polar bear into the written portion of the exams but she was over that now. The girl had just doing what she could to pass an impossible exam. She couldn't hold a grudge against Verdandi to that. The fact that Verd was doing her best to help her teammate showed her true character. It was just as Kit had suspected. The Ice Princess was a good person.

The stranger with glasses was an unknown but Kit pitied her. She was a shinobi that couldn't use her legs in a world where speed and acrobatics were everything. How on Earth could she hope to pass the Exams? That's when Kitsuki realized something. This girl was not a cripple. She had passed the Academy and the first round of the Chuunin Exams. Whatever the reason for the wheelchair, it was foolish to assume that that made her a weakling. For all the musician knew she could be stronger than Kitsuki and Kye combined. She respected Verdandi and she respected this redheaded stranger as well. They had made it this far which meant that they weren't slouches. She would show her respect by refusing to hold back. They deserved her all. She'd expect the same from them.


Kit followed Kye's lead and hopped down to confront her opponents. The girl glanced at her partner. He was well-dressed much like she usually was. She had felt that her regular attire was not appropriate for the exams but he seemed so stylish and fresh that she couldn't help but feel a bit inadequate. Her military fatigues were as A-1 as they could be, but ultimately they paled in comparison to formal threads. Kitsuki decided that in the future she'd make a point of conforming her style to the environment and not the other way around. She bracketed the thought for the time being. For now, the girl had to deal with her adversaries. Kitsuki had a discreet backpack strapped to her backpack and held in her right hand a polished black cane with a golden bulb at the top. The girl's hair was bunched in its signature manner with orange bands tying up the ends. Zizz remained nestled in her hair, the Angel slowly rising from its laying down position and into a kneeling form. It was as if the creature was ready to pounce at any second.

Kitsuki said nothing and allowed Kye to speak. He was trying to go the diplomatic route first which was good, but she doubted it would work. If they bought this speech then they didn't deserve to be Chuunin as far as Kit was concerned. It wasn't going to get any easier as they days wore on and at the very least they needed to be prepared to stand their ground. Kit formed a few seals with her free hand and gripped her cane tightly. She looked at Verdandi and hoped her eyes communicated what her heart felt.

It's nothing personal.....a lot of people believe in me and I can't let them down.

Considering how far and wide the entry points to the large complex had been seeded it should be set up in a way where multiple minutes if not even hours had to pass in order to reach or find another group. Verd was sure that they were slow and on a rather linear movement but she also doubted that other teams would basically sprint at their absolute highest exactly and perfectly in her direction. They idly followed the animal track Rini had picked up with her keen mind, probably already moving very close to the nearby river.

Verd tried to exhale her ideas of creating a simple wooden duplicate of the chess piece during their walk. "Can you copy it?" she simply asked while walking. Since Rin was the craftsy type and was currently being comfortably pulled right now she could at least try to get a simple wooden decoy up. Gotta make efficient use of your time within the coming days.

However, it seemed that the team would not be allowed to actually reach their first camping destination even. By what appeared to be keen enemy perception and sheer bad luck they had already been found. Maybe Dandi just vastly underestimated the tracks they had left or the actual distance between the entry points. Rin certainly wasn’t finished with the decoy yet. There would be a lot of detail-work left and they would need to somehow make a fake seal on the piece as well.

The situation was unfavorable, the caravan halted in its tracks at the very first moment Avalanche signalled unwanted company. Rin probably detached herself with her wheelchair from Avalanche or just moved herself into a more readily position. Verd halted as well, quickly put into a defensive stance with her own palm gripping for her Odachi.

She couldn’t feel any specific hostility as of the very first moment, aside from the suited boys palm gracing his own blade’s grip. The fact that the other potential threat was going to be Kit, both left the ice princess to smile and yet also feel a little heartache at the same time. Verd would keep her palm on the handle to her long katana, however refraining from any visibly hostile actions. The way her arm reached for the blade however, gave her left palm plenty of cover under the cloak to be ready for unseen one-handed seals.

Avalanche would place himself in a very protective position closely before Rin and Verdandi in turn before him. She would make slow and harmless foot movements a bit more towards the incoming threat to show her lack of fear from them. But she also wanted to make sure that the 'attackers' could see that if they wanted to get to Rin they would have to pass through the heavily armed princess and the oversized fluff monster first.

Verdandi might not necessarily be the quickest but she still would be a rather chewy canon fodder for this situation. Yuki were well known for their unshakeable emotional calm in combat situations. The ability to manipulate temperature usually came with the ability to keep yourself cool as well, literally. In the phase of negotiation this was important, because it robbed the enemy completely of any satisfaction as they hoped to shake or emotionally disturb their target. Verdandi’s iron will would be the primal answer to suit-boys initial request of forfeit and a very obvious "No" without even any words needed.

While there was room for negotiation, Verd would be ready in case they attacked despite the initial truce of combat.

“Hello Kit"

Verd would be persistent to break the heartache within her and express her friendly affection visibly with a sudden warm and honest smile. She would directly look at her, she found it irritating that someone would boss around Kit, considering that it was rather unlikely that he was the stronger of the two.

“I have seen you work Kit, your refinement and excellence, I know you are far ahead of me in practically every regard. I know I cannot beat you alone. But once you fully assess the situation you'll see it is the four of us against you two. So I promise you both one thing. Proceed with your ambush now and you will bleed for it in a way that you become the weakest target for the vultures of this exam. You might even lose right here. Negotiate correctly now and you could walk away with a tracking animal, an engineer and a medic at your service.”

Rini accepted the chess piece and appraised it before nodding. "Yeah, I can copy it easily, but it'll take some time. I need a kunai, some charcoal and water, a senbon (but I got those), and a piece of wood a little bigger than the piece." Rini needed the proper tools to actually begin her whittling, and assuming she at least got the piece of wood and the kunai, she'd begin working on it right away.

The whittling was pretty absent minded, something she was fairly used to doing. Rini actually had made her own chess set at one point when she was younger, so it wasn't particularly difficult for her to do so now. Having a fake out copy would work to their benefit for sure.

The wheelchair bound girl was intelligent, but her passive perceptive abilities weren't quite up to the same level, and since she was actively focused on whittling and checking their path, she hadn't quite noticed Kye and Kit's approach until Verdandi had begun to maneuver into a defensive position. Rini slipped the partially whittled chess piece into the side pocket of her chair. She left herself attached to the polar bear for the time being, a simple tug would free her, and as long as she was watching them, she'd know when or if combat was about to begin.

While her hand was in the pocket, she switched the chess piece for a round metal pipe that was also in the pocket, but didn't pull her hand out just yet. Her other hand held the kunai in a defensive motion, although it was posturing. She'd be utterly useless in physical combat. Verdandi was seemingly ready to fight, but also wanted to go the diplomatic route for the moment, so Rini was fine with playing that game.

"It's Verdandi, me, my puppet, and Ava. You two joining us makes group of 6, easier ambushing potential. Wipe out higher competition teams. Passing the round won't matter if you can't beat them later. Working together is advantageous, lets us be safer and have better foraging potential, minimizes ambushes against us and conserves energy, while letting us take on higher danger teams. Better for survival rounds." Rini spoke fast, obviously thinking faster than she could actually speak, given that she wasn't speaking full sentences.

"No need for betrayal either unless we can't find other teams or relics. No issues with trust, while keeping a second relic on hand just in case. Won't have to search for one later if both teams can't find another, but that probably won't be an issue. Alliance is smart."

Rini's gaze bounced between Kit and Kye, monitoring their body language to get indications of their inclinations. If it came down to a fight, she'd take them now and be done with it, sure. Rini wasn't about to lose. Her eyes narrowed as Kit's hair moved, Zizz's shift into a kneel not going unnoticed, it wasn't a trick of the wind. There was a difference between normal hair moving and something moving it. There was something else around. That was a movement of something. Pet? Summons? "Correction. Hair. 4 and 3 makes 7."

“Hello Kit"
"Hey Verdandi"

Kitsuki returned her adversary's acknowledgment with a slight nod. She was watching the Ice Princess, but her primary focus was on her partner. Judging from the wheelchair that was being towed, the girl was paralyzed from the waist down. She wasn't a physical fighter but that didn't mean she was totally helpless. If an unconventional attack were to happen it would be from the spectacled redhead. She had noticed the girl slip something into her pocket not long after they had run into them. What are you up to?

Verdandi proceeded to pay Kitsuki several compliments. She used their shared history and connection to try and talk her way into a deal. The kinky-haired genin said nothing while the two spoke. She listened as they explained what Team D had to gain if they allied with them and what they had to lose if they attacked. The rules did not forbid partnerships between teams. The first portion of the exams had taught her that if it wasn't explicitly forbidden then it was fair game and even what was explicitly forbidden was negotiable if you were crafty. The idea of an alliance had occurred to Kitsuki although she had intended to try and work with someone other than the Ice Princess. It wasn't that she didn't trust Verdandi, she was sure that the Yuki was a good person at heart. It was just that she had forged a stronger bond with another kunoichi whom she knew was loyal and could use the help.

Hmmm...the two of them, the puppet, and the polar bear. From what Verdandi said their focus isn't really combat but support. Its possible their strategy from the very beginning was to ally with a team stronger than them. Not bad...

After Verdandi had finished speaking, the handicapped girl chimed in. She spoke in short punchy sentences that were logical and to the point. They were a persuasive pair. Verdandi using the charm, flattery, and guile that royals tended to learn from young while this stranger brought the Facts and Logic. The numbers would be in their favor in the event of a hostile encounter and their diversity of skills would make them an unbeatable team.

When Rini mentioned her hair, she gave a quizzical look and then remembered Zizz. She was so used to having the Angel mess around in her curls that she had almost forgotten the its presence. The creature had become a part of her and her it. Rini was one of the first people to actually notice her. Kitsuki's expression shifted back to that of a neutral state. If she drew attention to Zizz it would only make them more curious or concerned. She wasn't hiding the Angel, not really, Zizz apparently just liked chilling there. That being said, she wasn't exactly trying to draw attention to her either.

Kitsuki considered the proposal. The redhead was indeed perceptive and intelligent, as one would expect from a kunoichi who had not much else to rely on. That would make her a powerful ally, but on the other hand it made their situation even more perilous than would originally assume.

"No"

Kitsuki's statement was as terse as it was blunt. She had yielded leadership to Kye for the purpose of traveling through the jungle. Tracking, scouting, and foraging were not her strong suits and so she felt no urge to speak up when he had taken on the task of leading them. However, negotiation was in her wheelhouse and she knew one of their adversaries. Normally, Kit was soft spoken and quiet, but recently she had learned the value of assertiveness. She would project her own confidence right back at Verdandi. The musician's iron-will being amplified by her alien companion.

"Give us the relic now and we can talk about an alliance. You both are obviously very smart and not exactly oriented towards direct combat. The more time we waste negotiating with you is the more time we give you to prep an attack. If we don't take your relic now, you can also betray us when it suits you. Give us the relic and we'll have insurance against you back-stabbing us. Verdandi you've given me several compliments and for that I'm thankful, but you should know I don't pride myself on my fighting abilities. I pride myself on my sense of morality and justice. If you give me the relic now, I swear to you I will not betray you nor will I take advantage of you. We can work together to find you guys another relic, but if you don't hand yours over immediately, I'll be forced to attack."

She spoke to Kye without taking her eyes off of the enemy group.

"Kye, get ready. We can't afford to hesitate or hold back. If they don't hand it over, its on."

She held the seal she had prepared earlier with one hand. The other hand would begin to slowly twirl the cane. The object moved like a miniature windmill as the deceptively strong girl steeled herself for battle.

1 Technique Prepped

Just as he expected. Generally, when Genin make it to the second part of the Chuunin Exams, it's not out of luck. The albino and the cripple displayed some extraordinary talent which got them this far, so kneeling to his threat wasn't going to be likely. Though, as Kye was more direct with what he wanted from his opponents, Rini and Verandi exercised deception. Or at least that was what Kye saw it as. Trust was something earned, not given. To believe he would trust an enemy team in a 'no rules' jungle of death was an insult to his intelligence. There had to be terms to put him and Kitsuki ahead if he were to trust them. And Kitsuki read his mind regarding that.

"You two want our help in this exam? There's your compromise. If any of us meant any ill-intent from the beginning we would've ambushed you instead of confronting you like this. Give us your relic, and we find two for you both, together. Or you fight us now and risk more to your health and chakra than it's worth." Kye let his hand off his katana, finding either of the girls not any real threats. He was confident his Taijutsu alone would allow him to win. Not only did it help him preserve chakra, but it helped prevent him from inflicting any grievous injury.

After he reiterated what Kitsuki said he'd position himself by bending at the knees just slightly and raising his hands up closer to his chest level. He was ready to go at the first sign of resistance or hostility from the opposing team. They had no say in this. Either they would obey their compromise or they would initiate the combat.

Verdandi scanned the battlefield. The situation was still hanging in the unknown at first, the seconds it took for them to judge and form their initial reply felt like years to her. She yet didn’t allow her nervousness to surface. She had to play the tough negotiator. She had offered terms to a person whom she knew valued honesty and righteousness to a fanatical degree. While she deemed such values worthy of praise Verdandi had to admit she wouldn’t mind breaking a rule or two if it served her purpose. She had to admit that the idea of backstabbing them still crossed her mind. That she had already considered ways to betray them either now or even later into the alliance. Yet Verd wasn’t addicted to her plays of mischief. If there was an option for the honorable way that wasn’t just insane, she’d take it.

Once the demands of Kit and her partner were stated, the suit-boy removed his palm from his blade, Verdandi acted in kind. Body language exhaled a lot and was meaningful in such a rather risky situation. Ceasing any offensive or even defensive stance gave Kit a clear answer quickly. With a soft, almost melodic whistle Verdandi glared back and Avalanche slowly relaxed from his tense protective stance.

It was up to Rini to give into trust now and toss them the relic, since it was in her possession, Verd just nodded to her in order to display her own confident conviction that this was the way to go. One could still defeat them and take both relics off their bodies. Betrayal was unlikely to come from Kye, but Dandi had to keep her Plan B close, just in case.

Rini quickly weighed the advantages and disadvantages of handing over the relic and teaming up. That left them at a major disadvantage, given that they could just be left alone and without a relic, but the two did promise that they'd help get them 2 more relics. Given their readiness to fight, the group had to be capable in combat, which meant that the likelihood of them being able to assist was pretty high. Of course, they also seemed to be weaponized for close quarters, and Rini held the advantage there easily, despite appearances suggesting otherwise.

Still, she didn't want to reveal all of her tricks either, and using the group as pawns to push her forward to the next round wouldn't be that bad either. And if it came down to it, Rini knew that she could take back both relics. At the same time, she also knew that they were probably faster and could just dip out if they wanted to.

A moment's hesitation, and Rini considered feeding the relic to Avalanche. Killing was permitted, but only accidental, so retrieving the piece immediately would prove difficult. Of course, that might also provoke a fight, and in that case it only secured their relic. The move was actually probably smart to make. Even if they fought and lost, they'd still end up keeping the relic, just lose some time.

Realistically, tracking down other teams might be difficult, and doing it twice would be hard as well. But getting them as allies vs fighting them now was the real choice, and when faced with the benefits of their two groups working together, Rini had to admit that she would prefer the benefits to the cons on this once.

"We help you, you help us. It'll be much easier as a team, so now you owe us." Rini said, and picked up the relic, tossing it towards the group. Her throw was pretty pathetic, and it didn't make it, so Kit or Kye would have to pick it up, but Rini had no intention on going back on the terms. She was the type who would absolutely cheap shot an opponent, but she meant what she had said. Pulling out the partially whittled fake, Rini continued her fake. She knew what the real one looked like and had memorized the patterns on it, so making it from memory would still be easy.

"I'm Rini Nakamura, resident engineer, puppeteer, and genius." She motioned to the puppet that was still lifeless on top of the Polar Bear. "I don't fight myself, but my puppet is fully combat capable. Flamethrower, Senbon launcher, and electric current. Ranged capabilities and melee options as well. Fairly durable. Good in most scenarios. Shall we head out?"

Kitsuki was glad that Kye backed her up. He seemed like a reasonable fellow but you could never tell with boys. She was afraid that he might contradict her or undermine her opinion. Fortunately, he was as gentlemanly as he dressed. Verdandi appeared to think it over before relaxing her posture. She must have realized the futility of the situation. Either that, or she had come to trust Kit's good nature. She gestured to Rini who produced the relic and tossed it towards them. The relic fell short of its destination and landed on the ground. Kitsuki gave the girl the benefit of the doubt in that she really was just that weak as opposed to purposefully forcing them to go and physically get it. She walked over and picked it up without much incident. If this was a trap then Kye would have her back. Assuming no shenanigans were pulled, the young black girl picked up the piece, examined it, and then slipped it into her pocket.

"Deal"

She held it tightly in her fist and used the Angelic Return technique to send it into the far past. This would render the object "un-steal-able". That was unless one of the competitors had the ability to travel back 1 million years in the past. The move was done subtly and to the others it would likely appear as though Kitsuki had simply placed it in her pocket. Rini formally introduced herself. She confirmed that she was a more brainy type of shinobi. That would be useful. Kitsuki walked over to the sulking redhead and extended a hand of friendship.

"Kitsuki Kurahasa, close quarters and mid-range combat specialist. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and a bit of Bukijutsu when the occasion calls for it"

Zizz watched as Rini worked on the fake relic. The Angel could no longer contain her excitement. She flew out of Kits' hair and began flying laps around Rini as she watched the engineer work her magic.

"That's my friend Zizz....I think she likes you." she said with a chuckle and a smile.

If permitted, the Angel would settle on Rini's shoulder. It would use its myriad of wings to cover its nakedness as it watched her fashion the forgery. Kitsuki then walked over to Verdandi and gave her friend a big hug. If the embrace was accepted she'd say to her: "You made the right choice. I swear we'll get you guys another relic." Kitsuki was leaving herself extremely vulnearable by moving so close to the opposing Team. But she knew if they were to be allies they'd need to be comfortable in each other's presence. She trusted Kye to watch her back and she trust Verdandi to not be so vicious as to stab a friend in the back. She guessed they'd be a bit miffed that they had surrendered their relic without a fight. If she were in their shoes she'd be more than a little upset. Kit resolved to work through that and do her best to earn their trust and respect.

Kit walked over to Avalanche and if the bear was amenable to it, she'd begin to give him a friendly pet. This would transition into a friendly scratching of the fur behind his ear. These were her allies now and she'd make it clear to them that she had no problem putting her safety in their hands. She was confident in their sense of loyalty and her own strength to overcome any potential betrayal.

"There is a lot of ground to cover and we might have already lost a day. Let's go everyone."

If there wasn't anymore pressing business to attend to, they'd leave the area as one of the largest and most well rounded alliances of the Second Round.

Exit

What an exceptional breakthrough. The opposing team surrendered their relic giving Kye reason to believe they were foolish. Either that or wise enough to discern their genuine intentions. He didn't mind working with another team. In fact securing another relic would be easier with twice the bodies. Sure it was more work than walking off. If Kitsuki and Kye chose to leave now they'd be home free. Now they had to find two relics to make up, but all choices had their pros can cons. He was confident with this agreement they would all be in good standing to proceed. "My name is Kye Takamura, close range specialist and long range support." He included himself in the introductions before heading out with Kitsuki and the others assuming they followed.

[Exit]

Verdandi watched the transaction transpire as she had hoped and nodded towards her new allies. While the price was a bit higher than originally planned, Verd was pretty happy cause making an alliance considering her lack of experience and training was very much her primary objective. She had no doubt that Rini was capable and able to hurt these two if necessary, she was also aware that she underestimated her own bear when it came to raw power, though in combat with someone like Kit who was far ahead of the normal Genin ranks it would only be logic that both Rini and Ava could be seriously harmed in the process of combat. Verd didn’t want to reveal her own few but useful tricks either, so she was actually quite content over the result. However, she found herself a bit disgruntled since Kit and Kye both seemed to express two different promises. Kit always talked about helping them get one more relic while Kye had promised broadly that they would help them get both they needed. Verd was pretty keen on making sure that the boy in the suit would keep his word and didn’t bother to correct Kit on her version of things. For now.

It was obvious that while hostile intentions were diffused, all parties included remained battle ready in case of unsatisfying results from this alliance. But Dandi was pretty sure that Kit was indeed the honorable kind, in a fanatic but certainly admirable way. There was still hope this could actually lead to a fruitful friendship. Considering their combined firepower now they should be able to easily find one if not two of the relics spread around the jungle and beat any foe crossing them on the way.

“Verdandi Yuki, Frost Clan, Kenjutsu, Beast Master, Medic, Melee Combat.” She added to the introductions. Giving Kit a hug back and watched her pet Ava, whom trusted Verdandi’s calm behavior against the frilly haired lady and enjoyed the short pampering. It certainly felt better to hug it out than fight it out for now. Time to hunt for more relics now though.

[EXIT]

Rini made a mental note of the pocket Kitsuki had put the relic in, but otherwise disregarded the interaction from that moment on. They were allies for the time being. As Zizz circled her, Rini was much more interested in the angel than any relics. Realizing it was watching her make a counterfeit, Rini continued with her work, allowing it to land on her shoulder.

"Well, hello there Zizz."

Rini wasn't sure if the Angel could understand her, but she let it in on her processes. Whenever she finished with the relic fake, Rini would point to her puppet.

"If you really want to look at some of my engineering, there's something I designed. There are grates that you can somewhat see the internals through if you want to take a look. Kinda need them so I can upgrade it and swap out canisters and stuff like that, or tweak things here or there."

From there, Rini pulled out her flute, and began to disassemble it, getting a pipe cleaner out fron another pouch and she worked on the maintenance of the instrument. Obviously she didn't play it at the moment, given they didn't want to attract attention, but cleaning was important.

-exit, Day 1 finished?