'Hnn... I need to stretch my legs. Maybe I'll find some better material else-where for my fathers chair..'

She had been planning on taking a vacation of sorts, heading somewhere other than Konoha, for a while. Today just happened to be the day she had chosen to take off. She knew Masami would be good for a few days; the girl seemed to know her way around well enough, and she was sure to leave a nice bag of money on her bed for her to notice later on; it was plenty to take care of herself food-wise and such for a good long while. So, yeah.. no need to worry about her. It was Demi's own sadistic and twisted version of survival training after all; just a far more comfortable version.

So, she grabbed her smaller bag, a backpack of sorts, and filled with an assortment of clothing, some money, and a few apples and other such fruit from the fridge that would stay well enough for a few days. She also threw in a few of her favorite books; a bored mind for her was an awfully dangerous thing, after all. She spun around the room several times, violet gaze searching for anything at all that she might have left behind. Flynn, the plushie, was safely tucked into the side of her backpack, where it would remain for the time being. Given that she couldn't remember anything else she might need to grab she exited her room, the hotels mini suite, and the building itself... not pausing until she was at the village gates.

Word Count: 267 / 800

For once, he was not late. Red eyes blinked slowly, his gaze fixated upon the treeline in the distance, almost as if expecting something...

I'm coming home...

Calm yourself. This is long overdue. You just need to sleep in your own bed for a few days. A bit of refocus. Right. That had to be it. He could feel... something. Something bad was on the horizon, something that would engulf the world. The winds smelled faintly of blood. Weird.

Shaking his head, the male reached to his back, making sure that his pack was secure. A rather large knapsack, filled to the brim with trinkets, toys, candies and such for his younger cousins. Of course, tucked into the pack was the storage scroll housing two of his newest blades. Carrying all of them would be a bit too much, even with his newfound power. Of course, Satsujin was secured upon his back as always. Onikiri and Ashura were stored in the scroll, and oddly, he wore the Chainblade as a belt under his cloak. Crazy Iki.

I'm Coming home...

Happiness bubbled in him; to see the mountains of Kumo after so long? Yes, please. He'd stayed nearly a month and a half longer than everyone else whom he'd traveled with. Time well worth spent; he'd met a new friend, did a little shopping. But there was no place like home; and Kumo was calling him. It would feel good resting high in the clouds once more; not that Konoha was bad. The air here was 'thick' to him. He was more used to the thin air of the higher altitudes.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they have forgiven my mistakes...

Meh. What was taking her so lo-- oh. Red eyes turned, as he felt the wave of madness wash over him, long before he saw her. His travel partner, usually on time.... strange.

"So, you've come. Are you prepared to go, madam? And where is your lovely student?"

331/800

"Hello, I'm more than ready to get going." She came to a stop near Luca, and chuckled. "Well, Masami wasn't around, I'm figuring she was out looking for more things for that project we're working on. So, I left her a letter explaining where I was, and some Ryo so she doesn't end up starving on me while I'm gone.. don't think my father would appreciate that too well." She shrugged lightly. "It's entirely possible she ends up catching up to us of course... " Given the fact that she had left information which included the time they were leaving to start this journey and where from.. it was, all in all, entirely possible for her student to come running up at any second; that was, if she got to the letter in time.

Demi had no doubts that her student would be fine; else she would have found her and dragged her along if she had had to. But, if anything, it would give Masami a bit of a break from her, and give her some time to herself, if she chose to stay.

She shifted the pack on her bag, making sure that both arms were through the straps so that he had no chance of falling off when they got moving. "Shall we get started, then?" She was more than willing to get going, that itch to travel picking up once more. It was nearly undeniable, of course, when it hit; a sort of impulse deep within her brain; something close to the same impulse someone suffering from a long standing addiction would have.

Word Count: 266
Total Count: 533 / 800

Oh, no. Nononononono.

This was bad....she was giving a bad impression of herself....already, on the first mission she had for her teacher, she'd been late three or so times already. Although, Demi King was one to leave notes and depart without any other warning....

The letter, short and rather blunt like the author undoubtedly would have spoken it, plainly stated that she was leaving for another village. Kumogakure no Sato..... The Hidden Cloud Village was quite a ways away, no? At least, if Masami knew her geography right.....

The Fuzai noticed that beside the note, there was a bunch of stuff. She didn't bother looking inside; she knew what kind of stuff. The stuff that she could get by if...if... IF SHE LEFT

Dammit, Demi.... I knew you were....whimsical? Is that the correct word? Either way....Ugh. Gonna have to chase her down.... Masami was NOT going to have this. Time in Konoha? Without a teacher? Maxi probably wouldn't know about this...Demi would kill her if she told him.... But the note, however specific, did not say how long that her teacher would be gone. And that.... was bad. She didn't exactly know the way back to Kusa...she'd never been outside the Land of Grass, after all. She had good memory, but directions escaped her right now. And Demi would probably want her to stay put....

Oh, well. Time to give chase, huh?

The unnoticeable young woman took some of the things that Demi had left her before departing. A small amount of rations, a bag of Ryo for....who knows, and several other things. She put these together with her own belongings, quite simply her clothes. She hadn't thought to bring anything else....her clan had taught her to pack light, as cumbersome belongings often got in the way if she had a job to do. Once she had everything all packed up, she went...southeast. And apparently she hadn't left too long ago; Masami still had time to catch up to them.

A streak of blue and white barreled out of the rather grand doors of the hotel. I can make it....It's okay...

A few minutes later, she was racing through the narrow streets of the Market District. Then, jumping over houses' roofs... She had to find them. She had to... Masami was admittedly avert to being left alone.

She made it to the gate.... but when Masami thought in Demi's and...what was his name? Ehh, whatever--she immediately turned invisible. The Fuzai looked on at two obviously higher-ranked ninja.

[426/800]

"Hello, I'm more than ready to get going."... "Well, Masami wasn't around, I'm figuring she was out looking for more things for that project we're working on. So, I left her a letter explaining where I was, and some Ryo so she doesn't end up starving on me while I'm gone.. don't think my father would appreciate that too well."..."It's entirely possible she ends up catching up to us of course... "..."Shall we get started, then?"

Luca smiled; a strange thing. It was only half a smile, the kind that made it seem as if he was amused by her words. "Well then, if you are sure she is not coming, then we shall start." With that and a swish of his coat, the male turned away from the gates and began to walk. Fast steps, ones that would bring him to Kumo rather quickly. He had no fear that Demi could keep up with him. In addition, he prefered to take the lead; it was his village after all. Onward!

Step by step, heart to heart, left right left. But something was wrong.

"Demi..." He could feel it; the faint tingle of energy welling withing him. Overwelming urge... surges of chakra released themselves from the male's body. Those red eyes glowed brightly, the energy filling him and threatening to overflow. Those same red eyes would be turned on her, an excited, almost crazed look covering his face.

"Faster!" With those words, the male vanished from sight, the only sign of his movements was the violent cloud of dust and wind that passed his form as he stopped next to Demi, a hand already in motion to grab her. His body shifted; the pack was slung across his body, Satsujin was swung and gripped with his right hand a moment before he pulled the Malkavian off balance and practically tossed her onto his back. "FASTER!"

God, this energy. It filled his body, every muscule and fiber. It felt like an orgasm that refused to peak. Mind numbing bliss, spreading throughout the body and refusing to abate. He'd felt this once before, this feeling. He attributed it to the new power he'd unlocked within himself; Jinton. Speed, pure unfettered speed, a sweet nectar to drink for pleasure, and a sour poison to force an enemy to drink.

Something caught his eye; so the genin had chosen to come? Very well. The giggle was audible to people guarding the gates several hundred feet back. With the elder Kusa nin upon his back, the male, giggled again, took a step and appeared at the Genin's side, tucking her under his left arm. "FASTER" Came the cry, the oath as the male once more took off for Kumogakure.

The landscape blurred past, the a deafening howl filling the ears of the travelers, unending save for the cracking sounds of trees as Luca swung Sastujin through the to clear the path ahead of them. What would have taken them days if they had walked, would now only take a few hours; as new to using Jinton as Luca was, he was still a Shinobi, and a male; pride would be his downfall soon enough.

861/800

She had taken off right after Luca, cackling into the wind that rushed past. He had wanted faster and she pushed herself to oblidge. Then he had.. disappeared? No, not quite. She was grabbed up before she knew it, though she ignored the instinct to do something to cause him to drop her. For some odd reason she trusted him, she couldn't quite lay her finger on it, but then again.. she was currently in the midst of a war of the mental variety.

'You should be afraid. You should have him put you down this instant.'

'Afraid? Fuck fear. I don't know the meaning of those words.'

'If he crashes he could kill you.'

'Fuck safety! This is fun! Weeeeeeeee~!'

There would be no rational thinking for this Malkavian today, or ever.. really, other than the fact that she was resisting the urge to use Auspex and turn everything into slow-motion of sorts... she'd likely deafen herself completely given the noise of the wind, so yes... resisting was a very good idea. There was something oddly satisfying in moving as fast at they currently were. She couldn't help the cackle of pleasure that escaped her as she realized that Masami had joined them just as quickly. Excellent! Her student would get the pleasure of traveling at such awesome speeds, too! Great experience! Great fun, too! Though, a little voice in her head told hr to listen for the screaming that might start. That same little voice that told her her student just mights succumb to several levels of fear.

A little voice, almost like a whisper, fluttered across her mind at that point, 'You should do something to reassure her! Let her know she's safe!'

'Like what? The hell do I know about keeping people calm? It's my bloody job to scare the shit out of them!'

'Maybe a pat on the arm... or where ever you might be able to reach. Or say something to her?'

'Say what? For fucking sake do you not realize how fast we're moving? She wouldn't be able to hear me even if I screamed.. and I'd probably deafen Luca before my words reached her ears anyway... GAH!'

Snapping back to whatever form of reality Demi normally resided in she reached out, lightly tapping Masami in what she hoped was a reassuring way. She found herself wish for a moment that she had a better control over emotions.. then she would make sure the female was calm... as it was, the best she could do was offer the pat and pray the girl didn't try and wiggle herself lose, or something silly like that. She really didn't want to explain to her father why her student was dead.. and why she didn't have his chair completed as well.

Word Count: 473
Total Count: 1,006 / 800

One second she was looking at this black-haired man, and the next he was gone. And one tick of the hand later, so was her teacher. What in the world was going on? And then, she would have given a mental sigh if she had the time; the same happened to her. In a flash, Masami was swept off her feet. And not in the fashion of a storybook. She felt kind of like a limp noodle, or a sandbag. And then--oh god no

The man started moving. He was pretty strong; he could carry both Masami and Demi (not ragging on their weight, it's just a pretty impressive feat) without a problem, and run as fast as he was besides. Speaking of which.... his speed was astounding. Incomprehensible, impossible; Masami, if not for a basic education, might have thought that she was traveling at light-speed. Her surroundings were but a blur around her; the last thing she needed was motion sickness. The Fuzai was only slightly sickened by the fast movement, however, a phenomenon greatly appreciated by her. Her body finally settled down from the spontaneity of everything that was happening. Aaaaaaand then the fear set in.

What? Who is this guy? How is he moving this fast? Where is he taking us? And---oh no I looked down....God, I'm gonna die. He's going to let go of me, and I'll fall right into that tree hollow, and die bleeding out, alone--

She tried getting a hold of herself. Tried. She would have to write that on her resume or something....

For now, though, Masami tried to break the hold of this mystery man. Her hair whipping her face, and her sleeves somehow tangling her arms, she just gave up.... and then she got a tap on her shoulder. Either it was her teacher or a bird had very precise aim.... Okay, it was Demi. The pat sent a chilling, but familiar sensation through Masami. It was calming, in a strange way. Masami decided to just let it go appreciate the change in blurs that occurred. They could deal with this guy after he stopped moving...

He did. Masami wondered where the three of them were, exactly....She didn't imagine Kumo looking like this....

[801/800]