Private Welcome to the Jungle: Hunting Kids with Mr. Normal (Exam)

[Midori Futotta]

Sitting by a tree, Maru sipped his saké from his Ochoko as he sat back to relax at the entrance to the ancient forest. Two youkai servants of his tended to make him feel comfortable, a floating purple cyclopean demon with hair fashioned in the shape of horns held a black Tokkuri that was cracked with a mouth and a eye ready to pour more saké into Maru's bowl. The second one looked like a small monk with it's completely bald head and robes wearing a white mask over its face. The masked spirit waving a paper fan too big for it to be holding as Maru sat in the shade, enjoying his saké along with the magazine that he flipped through of his foxy nine-tails. Just a moment ago, Maru offered to graduate anyone who would meet him at the ancient forest saying as long as they met the minimum requirements for graduating that he would be able to give them an exam to become a Gennin. Obviously Maru just used this as an excuse to get out of the academy to avoid his responsibilities at being a headmaster at the school, the higher ups were starting to notice his absence so Maru decided to use the exam offer as a way to cheat so if anyone asked he was simply giving an exam to a 'worthy' student.


Maru had a few students approach him while he was relaxing, shooing them away telling them that they didn't meet the requirements for graduating despite not knowing anything about them. Some got the hint, some Maru had to threaten with suspension which obviously he couldn't do but his threat seemed convincing. After turning away another student, Maru waved his free hand and his cyclops poured him another fill of sake. "Supreme Commander. Don't you think you should at least test one of these students so your misdeeds won't be noticed?" asked the youkai who was fanning Maru, the question made Maru's fox ears on top of his head twitch. "Hey, they don't meet my requirements problem solved. Did you see that last student having the nerve enough to come to me with a mean gap and a chipped tooth? Should've recommended early retirement for his butt!" he laughed, taking another sip of his saké. Maru was a wild fox, out of control even and his servants could feel that he was going get himself in trouble. "Well at least give one a chance, you can still fail them if you don't feel like they are doing a good job. Making them walk here to be rejected and turned away is bad. Making them walk here, giving an impossible task, and force them to work hard only for their dreams to be ripped away is EEEEEEVVVIL."


Maru thought about it for a moment, he did enjoy the look on Nanami's and Eye's face when he was harshly judging them based on what he assumed. Even if he did pass them in the end, Maru snickered at the thought knowing those student's would've tried to fight him should he unjustly fail them. He was fair, so he decided that the next student who approaches him will be tested and he was sober enough to at least give them a fair grade. "Tell ya what, next student to show up I'll test them. Guess saké time is over." he set his Ochoko down and then opened up his magazine to examine the beautiful foxy ladies with a perverted chuckle. As he waited for the next student to approach him, not knowing what he'll do for the exam but he'll think of something.

Ooc:
[Exam for Uchiha Moeka Starts here!]
[Good Luck!]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Uchiha Moeka happened to be one of those overly persistent students against whom the threat of suspension had to be leveraged to get her to finally leave, but it wasn't enough to make her quit. She spent a little while pondering how to get around the eccentric teacher's ultimatum, loitering in the vicinity just barely out of sight, occasionally coming up close enough to steal brief glances from a distance, only to find more kids getting rejected one after another. "Is he just rejecting everybody? This guy..." Thought the girl, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

After making one more lap around the designated spot and failing to come up with a meaningful plan, Moeka decided to tackle the problem head on. She sped up, soon placing herself on the route where she'd look like she would have been approaching the entrance to the forest directly, as though she never made any detours after being forced to leave originally.

The girl had her black hair tied into two long twintails. She sported a shirt and shorts, both black, and wore a red skirt. Just like during her first appearance, Moeka came armed with a polite smile, except this time she had elected to let the man have the first word, and simply regarded him silently.

 

[Midori Futotta]

Not soon after he turned the page of his magazine someone was approaching him, sighing the closed his magazine then looked up then gave a cocky smile. "Well took you long enough, here I was about to leave since no one else was brave enough to– Hey. Hold on. Wait a minute." he cut himself off after realizing that this wasn't a new person that didn't know about him turning students away. This as a student he threatened to suspend who for some reason came back as if he'd change his mind. "Little girl, I told you that you don't have enough talent for me to give you the exam at this time. Don't you have one of those bull crap flower picking or medical classes you female humans need to take?" he shook his head, then stopped to think. Some of the other students might get the same idea of just coming back, Maru didn't understand the rush these children had to becoming a shinobi anyway. After all they had a high mortality rate after all, hell he died like… 3 or four times before coming to Kumogakure.

An idea hatched in Maru's mind, knowing that he couldn't put off testing someone forever. An idea that'll be mostly fun for him and would be able to have a story to tell his demons when they gathered for the hour meeting. He moved forward to do a quick cat stretch, shaking himself as if he was a dog then stood up, tucking his magazine underneath his armpit. "Well, I guess I need to show you how difficult this exam truly is before I suspend you. Come follow me, I need to get you at least lost and as deep into this forest as I possibly can. Then I'll show you exactly what you're going to deal with.." he sneered, chuckling he ordered his two smaller Youkai to stay put while he took the child into the darker parts of the forest…. He also said something to them in a weird language that utilized his voice and a weird whispering sound. "Nng set yogor Wire Trap llll fahf area ahlloigehye. L' ah'gotha lure h' ph'nglui if h' h' uaaah fahf naIIIIor." the two demons nodded, then Maru walked into the forest gesturing for Moeka to follow him willingly and the two waved wishing the child luck and when they were out of view they got to work on what Maru told them to do.

As Maru lead the child, not looking behind him as his tails writhed behind him and his getta making loud clopping noises against the dirt he decided to break the silence. "So tell me about yourself. What's your name, why do you wanna be a shinobi and all that jazz. I mean I know it's because you have to but.. I can always recommend early retirement." he said out loud, shrugging as he took a left turn. "Besides with me running the academy and CPSS it'll be easy for you to be able to live a normal life. It'll be illegal if you use jutsu and all but hey you'll be a citizen at least. Beats having to save lives or shipped to the frontlines as a wall of flesh for a terrorist to cut through." he offered, taking them further and further into the forest.

Ooc:
[Maru tells his two Youkai something in a weird Language and then attempt to take More into the forest. Will she follow?]

[Maru's Youkai servants does what he ask, everything set at the entrance]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka felt smug when her approach seemed to bear fruit. As the eccentric headmaster turned to lead the way, her polite smile slipped into something borderline giddy, though the jounin's voice snapped her back to her senses and made her regain her composure, though she didn't bother to continue smiling at someone's back.

"So you really weren't even listening to me the first time..." Moeka mumbled as she followed along. The girl couldn't help but stare at Maru's tails as they flapped around even as part of her realized that she would be much better served watching the road. She tore her eyes away from them before speaking up, introducing herself a second time. "I am Uchiha Moeka. I want to be a shinobi because it's simply in my blood to be one. You have of course heard of the Uchiha clan? So you must be aware that it would be an enormous waste for me to do anything else."

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru chuckled at the young Uchiha's response to his question. "Is that right?" he asked, certainly finding it amusing that she was using the family name as the reason for wanting to be a shinobi. "You know, I had another Uchiha student of mine like you who told me not to underestimate the power of a pure Uchiha…. I knocked him out. First lesson: Just because people of your kin are powerful doesn't mean you're as good as they are. " he laughed, continuing to walk deeper into the forest until the dirt road vanishing from view, medley of beastly sounds, which were caused by birds, added life to the forest that was growing dim due to trees that shaded the area. Maru occasionally making these weird squeaky fox calls stopping suddenly to listen for a moment, then continued walking further into the wooded area seemingly looking for a particular sound as they walked seemingly without direction.


They eventually came upon a small clearing which he eventually stopped again to make the same weird animal noises, cupping his hands around his mouth to enhance his sound before raising both his ears in attention. His nine fluffy tails sticking straight up as he listened, making the noises at a lower pitch then listened again… He shrugged then gestured for the child to follow him deeper into the greenery, not making much conversation as they went. Soon the sounds of the wild began to dim, the greenery above making the land look darker as they ventured into the heart of the forest. Once they were in this part of the forest, he stopped to set up a web of ninja wire traps in three different places. Maru's tails wagging as he worked, always setting the traps in mostly places where they looked invisible with a small glimmer of light that could exposed where the wire was a while always setting the traps up behind them so they didn't walk into it. Finally, once they got to a completely unknown and deep spot in the forest he completely stopped then put his hands on his hips. "Perfect, we are here." he declared.

He spun around to the child, folding his arms with a smug smile on his face. "Last chance, Uchiha. We are completely lost but I can always alter the environment to find our way out, giving you the option to back out now and forget about this whole being a Gennin thing." he offered again, trying to get the child to leave to test the determination of the child. "Do you believe in monsters? Things like ghost, demons, and all that. Surely you gotta believe with most of my servants being demons, heck it's in Kumogakure's history that demons did indeed attack the village." he asked, seemingly wanting to know if the child believed in any sort of strange and scary things rather than the basic 'humans are the real monsters.' While terroristic shinobi are indeed what the child could very well be dealing with things that are less than human like himself….

Ooc:
[Maru for some reason set Ninja Wire traps in 3 of the clearings in the forest… weird….]

[The forest becomes silent, a chold wind blows by that had a metallic scent of blood wisp by...]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

The young girl took in her new surroundings with little outward interest, and listened to the headmaster with much of the same.

"I'm not leaving." Moeka's reply, however, came out with conviction. She then continued in a bratty tone. "And I won't change my mind, so please stop wasting your time with that kind of talk and let us get to the test already." Catching herself, the girl paused and gave a slight, friendly smile. "Alright?" She added gently, trying to make herself seem less impolite. Moeka then began tapping the tip of her foot against the ground.

"Monsters?" The change of subject made her set herself foot firmly back on the ground. The girl raised her finger. "Of course they're real. Just because I've never seen something like a ghost doesn't mean I wouldn't believe in it. I've only seen elephants in illustrations too, but only an idiot would claim that something doesn't exist just because they haven't seen it with their own eyes. But why are you bringing this up, sensei?"

 

[Midori Futotta]

"Because, Uchiha, your exam will rely heavily on avoiding monsters." he said right after the child asked him, moving one of his nine-tails closer to his left in front of him to pull out from it's fur two gems one was red with a fiery glow to it while the other was a clear crystal with a rasengan like spiral spinning around in it. He held out the gems for the child to take from him, clicking them together twice before explaining their importance. "These two gems represent your eyes. The Uchiha clan are strong, yes, so strong bad people and evil creatures will seek to harvest your organs to further their own power. The most useful being the eyes, especially if they are plucked out while you're still alive because the trama will make them adapt faster inside of the new host. Keep these gems on you for they are worth 50% of your grade." Maru explained, waiting for the child to take the gems so he could continue.

Finally when the stage was set, and everything was set into motion Maru without warning set out a dark red vapor like aura that threatened to knock the student down from the sheer force behind the chakra. The sudden spread caused the trees to shake before stilling… Maru stood there, not moving anything for the exception of his tails for about a good minute before he smiled. So why did Maru truly ask about monsters, as well as a strong aura of miasma rolled in to cover their ankles demonic laughter and cackling could be heard in the background. Strange shapes began to materialize, around the trees hard to see because they hid among the shadows but not all of them hid away. It was as if they wanted to be seen as they causally moved from the trees to stand behind Maru like some unholy army of grotesque terrors. Things that looked human took off their faces to expose that they were faceless, skeletal looking abominations popped their joints then licked theirs lips, a red thing with eyes covering it from head to toe blinked then opened its mouth to scream for no apparent reason, and huge 9 ft bulky ogre like creatures with massive clubs moved trees out of their way just for the intimation factor. A large flock of bird people in monks robes landed on the branches to draw their katanas, big monkeys as tall as Moeka dropped from the trees munching on a kill to laugh at the child… and among all these horrors both animal like, humanoid, and downright demonic were ethereal beings that could only be described as just ghost. A whole mob of unknown things gathered in this one area, not making a move as Maru seemingly had some kind of power over them.

"Your test, Uchiha, is to flee while being pursued and hunted down by 88 demons! Well 89 if you include myself… run, hide, fight but we won't rest until you're captured or we get those gems. Oh, I almost forgot." after entering his Youkai sage mode, he puffed his cheeks out then blew on the ground below them causing the ground to rumble as if it was just awakened. "Just made the environment an ally, so I wouldn't hide in somewhere too long or take the same path. Because now I could move the earth around so you could be in a clear plane one moment and a sea of tree's the next. So good luck kiddo." Maru said overly cheerful, turning to his group of demons to tell them the rules of the hunt and offering a reward for helping him make this child's exam hell!

"Hey guys! First one to capture her or bring the gems to me gets to be the leader of that demon tower I just took over! Loyal servants, treasures, all the sacred saké you can drink for the small price of a little brat failing! No killing or ripping her soul out but everything else is fair game! I'll even let whoever brings her in physically pick a punishment for the poor child! Countdown! 10… 9… 8…"​

For all his power, Maru was a bit over confident… so confident that he allowed the child a window to run away while he was announcing to his demons what they'll receive for the child along with a 10 second head start. Not to mention with him opting to use the environment for heavy cover to make the child lost made it easier for the mob of confident demons to lose track of where the child was running. Will Moeka find the way out of the forest!

Ooc:

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

[Welcome to the Jungle! Moeka is about to be pursued by 88 different species demons plus Maru. Environmental alterations: Heavy Cover. Objective: Get Out of the forest!]

[Some scary things will chip away at Moeka's Sanity, making Maru's progress bar increase the more scared Moeka is.]

[Combat is optional, some Youkai will help Moeka and give her items that'll help her with her progress, improve her sanity, or decrease Maru's progress.]

[Progress decreases when Moeka is trapped, captured, or gets the Jewels taken from her increasing Marus progress]

[Sanity level decreases when attacked, sees something disturbing, or cursed increasing Maru's progress]

[Maru's progress can decrease from items, beating a demon, escaping capture, and sabotaging Maru himself by setting traps of your own/using genjustu against him.]

[Whoever gets to 100% first progress wins!]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka's eyes widened as the unsettling scene had unfolded before her eyes. She listened to Maru explain the rules with both arms raised up to her shoulders, not a battle stance, but the simple wariness of one who expected for something to leap out and scare them at any moment. Although her gestures resembled something very close to panic, her dark eyes focused intently on the tailed demon. Moeka's arms gradually went back down to her sides as she took in Maru's words, and after a slight moment of hesitation to establish a definitive conclusion of the explanation, she bolted out of the clearing before the demons were let in on the plan.

She swiftly hopped from tree branch to tree branch just like she had been taught to do in the Academy, her intention simply to cover as much distance as possible. After the first few seconds and for several moments afterwards, the girl had traversed sloppily, her step heavy enough to crack a branch and her shoulders disturbing leaves. She had then taken a sharp turn from her current trajectory and continued with the more typical grace and nimbleness of a shinobi, exercising as much care in leaving no trace of her passing as her skill would allow.

The intent of her actions was to leave a false trail for her pursuers to follow. She hadn't paid enough attention to the path she took on her way towards the clearing, but if Maru had intended to obfuscate the surroundings with strange Ninjutsu and she would be required to find a way out from scratch, the mistake may have been minor.

 

[Midori Futotta]

While Moeka had already been gone before Maru set up the ground rules for the demons to follow, while some wanted to chase after the child right then and there they respected the rules of the game. Shrugging it off since there was a 1 out of 89 chance that someone would be able to find the child. It wouldn't be fun, nor fair to chase the child now especially since the odds are stacked against one measly child… the chase makes it more fun so instead they started to count down with Maru so the games can begin! " 7! 6! (..66) 5! 4! 3!.... 2!... 1!" and in that moment was when all the demons scattered! The ground rumbling with the footsteps of many different things, while the leaves shook from those who took to the trees to hunt the child down. Maru was crawling at an inhuman speed backwards, pushing by demons much bigger than himself causing one large Oni to trip causing the area to shake when the ogre fell to the ground with a loud boom. Causing Maru to go a few inches airborne before landing, continuing to crawl in that odd fashion as though nothing happened.

A group of five Sarugami, the big monkeys in monks robes, hopped from branch to branch while everyone else who decided to head where they think the child went giving the direction they believed she began running. A few moments into the chase Maru heard one of the monkeys in the trees yelling among the chaos. 'Check this out, the human cracked a branch here.' one of the Sarugami told it's group as they examined the branch while the other demons just stampede into an unknown direction screaming like maniac's. Maru stayed clear to watch the monkeys plan, smirking to himself almost caught up with the less intelligent approach to hunt. A good hunter doesn't rush to catch their prey, strategy is needed especially since the prey is trained shinobi. Maru closed his eyes, getting to a safe place to sniff at the air and letting his fox ears rotate to see if he could hear something. Inuzuka's are known for their smell and hearing rivaling that of wolves and bloodhounds. So it wasn't hard for Maru to lock onto a particular smell, then he smirked…. 'Got Cha….' crawling normally he zig-zagged passed the stampede of shouting demons to branch off alone into an unknown location.

The Sarugami group and the other demons went in the false trail while Maru was pursuing the smell. He surprisingly covered more ground crawling like a wild animal, because a few moments into the chase he could see his target in the trees hopping from branch to branch. He snarled to make his presence known, his tails radiating with a crimson vapor like aura and the sound of his crawling through the shrubs sounded like they were getting closer. "Stupid little girl! You're just a human! You can't outrun a God!" he taunted, lunging up towards the child with a snarl bearing his canine like teeth at the Uchiha when suddenly he was tangled inside of a web his own ninja wire! 'N-NAAAAANI! Maru thought when finding himself bound struggling against them from his carelessness when manipulating the environment. "JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET OUT OF THIS, KID! I'LL FIND YOU!" he sent out his aura as a last stitch effort to slow the child down but it didn't do much…

Ooc:

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

​

[The Chase begins! Youkai scatter through different locations]

[Oh-No! Maru caught on to Moeka's scent. The five monkeys were fooled and the stampede chasing Moeka followed the monkey's leads.]

[Superise! Maru found Moeka in the trees! Wasn't paying attention so he is now stuck instead of ninja wire allowing Moeka to get away. -1 Sanity from experience of almost getting caught and +6 progress from escaping!]

[Maru's spreads his dread aura in fustration! Nothing happens...]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

As Moeka turned around towards the noise behind her, her eyes widened. Not only had she been caught sooner than she anticipated, but it was by the someone she least expected to see. While Maru did say that he counted himself among the demons that would be chasing her down, she didn't expect him to be so zealous about the idea. She let out a small yelp as the tailed man swiftly crossed the distance between them and lunged for her, placing her hands together for a counter attack that simply wouldn't have made it in time, only to be miraculously saved by someone's wire trap.

Turning back to face her front, she continued the escape after a moment spent overcoming her surprise. It appeared that she would need to take much more radical measures to escape from the demons and pass the test. Putting her hands together, she began weaving seals as she ran. Moeka took a deep breath and began flinging fireballs left and right at random, setting trees alight. The flames would naturally begin to spread, and in due time cover large chunks of the forest. Her idea was to use the resulting smoke and heat to conceal her movements from eyes and noses alike.

(Used the Fireball jutsu's Special Action - Mythical Phoenix Fire)

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru struggled against his restraints again, seeing how the child was getting away and the mob of greedy youkai that he called were heading in the wrong direction. He made a loud high pitched screaming sound that sounded more like loud barking with a mixture of weird gekkering. "WHAOOOOOW!..... WHAOOOOW!!!!!.... eeh! ehh!.... WHAOOOOW!!!!!" the demons looked in the direction of the fox calls, an oni pointing into the direction of it knowing where the signal was coming from. "That's Maru's call! That way!" with a battle cry a large majority of youkai stampede into the direction of where Maru's calls came from. Maru hearing the ground rumbling a few moments later, he looked back then smiled knowing now he'll be free. "Hey, took y'all long enough, mind giving me a little-" Maru started to say, but the whole stampede just passed him by with the same battle cry going in the direction where Maru's body was facing. He tried to get their attention, but none of them paid him no mind and just kept running to god knows where. A flock of flying disembodied heads zipped past Maru's face then headed up above the trees, seeing a flock of Kotengu flying to get a bird's eye view of the surroundings.

There were five heads in total, all looked pale and wrinkled with crazed smiles of mad men. "Damn fox, how are we supposed to see in this dense forest." one head said. "All that stampede is doing is screaming and running without direction! How can we possibly- not soon after were there fiery explosions and bodies of wimps of Youkai flying. The leader of the gang of vampiric disembodied heads grinned, while the Kotengu flew in to check on the injured the floating heads flew towards where it saw the blast come from. They are small human sized heads, that gave them an advantage because they can easily cover more ground faster. While the attack did have the other demons forced to take a detour due to the walls of flames in their way and it did mask her scent from anyone with sensitive noses did end up revealing her location to those who could fly!

Eventually these bodiless fiends ended up locating her among the trees then all five heads began to swarm the child all screaming in at the same time. "GIVE US THE JEWELS!" they closed in like small birds than began biting her arms, face, and shoulders to disorient her. Wanting to make her trip and fall out of the tree so they can search her properly for the gems… with their teeth. Meanwhile, Maru was able to break free from his binds and continued his pursuit with the scent of fire and burnt flesh lingering in the air. 'Damn the forest is on fire, there's no way I can sniff her out in something like this. If she's this desperate to light the forest on fire, the chances that she'll get away is slim to none…. Maru thought to himself. 'However…. That inferno shard I gave her must be glowing at this point from the heat, if she figures out that there is something in that shard. I'll have to call Cold-Blooded…' he nodded to himself coming up to a wall of flames head on. "Move!" Maru told the flames which began to part open to let him pass unharmed while closing in behind him in case there were any other demons looking to pass with him freely. He ran, running to where he believed was where the child was probably heading towards.

Ooc:

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

​

[Maru struggles to get free, failing he calls forth the stampede who don't really help him but pursue the child]

[Moeka made the reckless choice to use the fire ninjutsu Fireball: Mythical Phoenix Fire Jutsu to avoid the demons! Sneak attack! Moeka hit five different demons and lit chunks of the forest on fire causing them to make a detour. 6+ progress! -4 Sanity because it exposed Moeka's location.]

[Moeka is swarmed by five heads biting her like bats! Using their teeth to search for the jewels Maru gave to her. -5 sanity]

[Maru manages to get free then join the chase again, using the power of his Breath Of the Wild Senjutsu to alter the flames so they'd move out his way]

[The red gem (Inferno Shard) glows a fiery red from the heat in the air…]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka erupted into confused screaming as the heads began to go at her with their teeth. At first she attempted to ward the monsters off with kicks and punches, and it took her a few moments to gather her wits and put her efforts towards something that might have been more productive. The girl once again reached for her trusty fire ninjutsu, repeating the same sequence of handseals that outed her to the flying demons in the first place - Mythical Phoenix Fire. This time the jutsu would serve its intended purpose, a perfect fit for the current target-rich environment. Moeka took a deep breath and fired off a volley of fireballs, aiming for each one of the heads. With the jutsu finished, she had no plan but to stay on the move, trying to keep a safe distance from the hordes and using both the trees and smoke as cover.

Her day definitely took an unexpected turn. Some semblance of regret mixed in with the anxiety over her bizarre circumstances. "Maybe I should have just left when he told me the first time..." Thought the girl, but then immediately grew irritated by the thought of giving up, and it showed on her face. Her next few branch leaps were more resolute, as though defiant.

 

[Midori Futotta]

The disembodied heads continued to bite even when the child who screamed and flailed in confusion. When they were punched away, they laughed then went back in to bite again! 'Where is it! Where is IT!' the chance for them to rule over the Youkai that dwelled inside of the forest was so close they could taste it! Literally! Unfortunately after the girl managed to wiggle herself free and the heads dashed forward, looking for this time draw blood and get the jewels even if they had to tear the child apart. As the heads moved forward the child shot flames towards the flying heads, them being at a close range were quickly consumed by flames which caused them to shriek in surprise as they were suddenly on fire! 'GHEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!~' they all screamed before falling to the ground cussing the child as they escaped leaving them to burn.

Meanwhile, Maru hopped through the wall of flames than looked left then right before running straight again. At this point, none of the demons were able to find the child. The smoke was hampering the visibility of the forest, plus with them having to take a detour thanks to the flames they were practically looking wondering at this point. But Maru wasn't a Jounin for nothing, he had experience in hunting things both human and supernatural not to mention he had a few years of the Anbu under his belt. Maru made a handseal to coat his hand in a blue flame then made a foxfire to use for his Crystal Eye Jutsu. Once it was completed he threw the foxfire that split up into four and he commanded them. "FOXFIRE! FIND MOEKA!" his foxfire scattered, not soon after when he closed one eye he was aware of where his demons we're, what happened to the five heads, and finally he could see where Moeka was running or at least a vision of the surroundings. 'Heh, you're mine!' Maru declared running through the trees.

Moeka could only see a blue fireball behind her, completely harmless since it just floated not really doing anything. But the foxfire was acting as a sort of security camera that made Maru aware of exactly where she was, however there was one problem…. She was a good distance away, getting there by foot would be difficult since Maru wasn't that fast. That was when he found a giant centipede crawling around in front of him like a huge train going by and an idea hatched into his mind. Hopping on the insects back, Maru slammed his hands on the centipedes back to infuse natural energy with the animals. The cursed chakra gave Maru complete control over it, making it's eyes glow red and sticking onto the bug by channeling chakra into the soles of his feet he screamed 'Yah!' and the cursed centipede got to moving into the direction he wanted it to head towards. With Maru focused on the location, the Centipede moved there making a loud rumbling noise that almost sounded like rocks were moving when in reality it was the centipedes legs.

Eventually the centipede managed to close the distance so Maru could see the child moving in the trees and Maru decided to get the child to slow down he'll have to make a move. "Yanno! After you lit the forest on fire one would think you'd use a clone or transformation technique to make yourself stick out less." Maru taunted, tapping his centipede ride which made it use it's antennas to shoot small bolts of lighting at the child. Missing every shot on purpose to scare the child. "I wonder what your fellow clan members would say if they can see you now. All sloppy, running around like a frightened deer, not even using techniques that the academy teaches to fool a few demons. If you give in now, this will all stop and you won't have to be a shinobi. You aren't going to pass. I mean a failure is worse than someone who just isn't ready, disappointment yes, but it'll be a smart decision to give in." Maru continued to taunt the child. Enhancing his words with genjustu that would cause the child to go into a fury at him and make her attack him. He was planning something to make the hunt a bit more… interesting. Especially since the trees are hampering his progress.

Ooc:

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

​

[All five heads we're hit! Perfect shot! +5 Progress!]

[The Horde is unable to find Moeka! +5 Progress]

[Maru cannot find Moeka either, uses Crystal Eye Jutsu Along with its special action! Maru is aware of Moeka's location! +4 progress]

[Maru uses a Giant Centipede as a ride! Maru finds Moeka and uses Taunt against her! Moeka has a small headache and feels a bit angry -3 Sanity.]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka tried to evade the strange will-o-wisp tailing her, bobbing and weaving among tree branches, all to no real avail. It wasn't long before Maru would catch up to her once more. In her rush to get away, she didn't realize that the lightning bolts were never meant to connect, and expended unnecessary movement to avoid them. She intended to focus on the way forward even as the man showered her with taunts and thunder, but her patience hadn't lasted long at all and she snapped back.

"Why would I need to use those crappy little techniques..." Moeka rose to the provocation in a rage, clasping her hands together again. She repeated the same handseals for the third time. "...When I have much stronger ones to fall back on?!"

She spun on the ball of her foot as she leaped off yet another branch, turning herself around to face her examiner. The girl breathed more fire his way, the deadly projectiles of Mythical Phoenix Fire aiming for Maru's improvised mount. But this time their trajectory was curved in a way that would leave them with more air time, and although the destination of their flight was harder to gauge as a result, it nevertheless made them slower and therefore easier to dodge. A keen observer would realize that the attack was a diversion meant to spook the insect rather than its rider into doing something irrational, and the curvature would naturally guide evasion into a specific direction.

As the chakra Moeka dedicated to her jutsu was about to run out, she shot one last burst of flame at the blue sphere that was most likely the cause of her current plight. The first part of the volley was only meant for leading Maru away from the ball to prevent him from effectively interfering with this final shot. She needed to get rid of that thing or she had no chance of getting away.

When she was done, she spun back around to land on the next branch and rebound, sharply changing her route in an attempt to lose her instructor. She was woe to do so after her little bravado, but to stop him from catching her yet again using the same technique, Moeka might need to fall back to the true-and-tried Academy jutsu of transformation.

 

[Midori Futotta]

It was a good plan, but in this case it wasn't going to work. Maru coated his hand in natural energy as soon as he saw the child begin to weave handseals, than as she let loose a volley of fireballs he allowed the child to believe that they made a direct hit on the centipede that seemed to charge towards the fire instead of trying to avoid it. All the fireballs looked like they hit, but instead they turned into blue harmless chakra that absorbed into the palm of Maru's hand. The centipede and the kitsunebi remained unharmed from Maru simply dispelling the attack before it did any damage. "Thank you kindly for the donation! he laughed, the centipede shot another bolt of lighting that missed on purpose as the child changed directions. Maru was growing bored, so from his sleeve he drew his whip then brought his hand over his head. Coating his hand in a light blue aura then attempted to strike at the child's back, missing and instead hitting a tree instead. The focus wasn't exactly to harm the child but give them a boost of energy through Fist Of Virtue: Charity since he knew she will get tired, especially since she's using high level ninjutsu. 'Suit yourself, Uchiha.' Maru thought.

Maru raised his hand, then dropped it down when Moeka hopped off a branch to make an entire row of trees sink below the grass as if the grass itself was water! Maru moved his hand to clear a whole 120 yards worth of tree's making a grassy plains with the trees pretty far away at this point. Maru hopped off his Centipede that continued the chase in the deforested area as, the sage trying to call another monster to help in the chase but alas his calls weren't heard. Figuring the child would close the distance between her and the trees, Maru began weaving hand seals. Using his manipulation of the environment to cause massive swirling storm clouds overhead however there weren't any clouds where Moeka and the Centipede stood because they were in… the eye of a cursed purple clouded hurricane! The Centipede seemingly unaffected or didn't care about the wind continued to shoot lighting at the child, this time the storm bolt hit sending a electrical shock through Moeka's body. The Centipede snapping it's jaws, staring down at the child not even attacking anymore as though it was waiting for Moeka to make the first move.

There was a way out of the storm, though the winds were harsh it wasn't exactly impossible to find a weak point in the winds to get out. But of course, as Maru appeared on top of the centipedes head decided to again try to get the child to quit. "See what I told you, by the time you get out of here the other demons will be here." he said, sitting down cross legged putting a hand on his cheek. "You're tired, scared, a bit bagged up there. I even tried helping you out back there, we both know I can make you loop through this forest right? You won't find a way out now with this hurricane. Just give up already, my friends are already waiting to swarm in and you haven't even made any progress. What do ya say? Give up, you leave, and I forget this exam ever happened?" If Moeka knew anything, demons were very much known for lying. Maru was most likely bluffing about the demons coming and by how he could loop her around the forest. If he could do that, wouldn't he have done it already? There was a way out of the hurricane, Maru was just trying to get her to quit by making the situation hopeless. "I don't think you're willing to die for a rank that gives you just about the same amount of respect as an academy student. If you keep going like this. You're.. going… to.. DIE." lighting flashed in that declaration, but will Moeka give up now?

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

[Maru uses Naturalization Senjustu against Moeka's fireball, jutsu dispelled and absorbed into Natural Energy. -2 sanity]

[Maru tries to use Fist Of Virtue: Charity to try to help Moeka last longer. Maru misses, Moeka gaining distance. +4 progress!]

[Maru uses the Breath Of The Wild Senjustu to alter the environment so it's clear for 120 yards! Maru attempts to call another bug but nothing is around because the others are still lost +4 progress!]

[Maru calls a Hurricane to trap himself, the centipede, and Moeka in the eye of the storm! +2 progress for Maru]

[The Centipede uses storm bolt to zap Moeka! Ouch! -5 sanity]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

"Is this an illusion?" Was the thought that went through Moeka's mind as the trees she was traversing just moments ago sunk into the earth. Her impromptu landing ended up rather smooth, and she intended to continue the getaway even with the total absence of cover. She had found herself buffeted by increasing powerful winds the farther she ran, and was soon forced to back away lest the storm sweep her off her feet completely. Moeka crossed her arms in front of her face to protect herself from the wind and lightning bolts heading her way. But even with all the carnage going on, she could still hear Maru's taunting. It irritated her almost more than her current circumstances.

"Give up, give up, give up, give up, is that all you know how to say?!" Moeka shouted past the winds. "So what if the next step isn't prestigious? I have to get there before I can go higher!" Her eyes darted all around the surrounding hurricane, looking for any kind of weakness within the storm that she could slip through and continue running. In the meantime, she continued to yell at Maru. "It's as you say, there's nothing special about the next step. Countless idiots crawled their way up there. Most of the worms that made it that far don't even hold a candle to me, so I think I rather would die than be stuck below them for any longer!"

The stress of the situation had forced out more than she would normally be willing to share, but that exhausted all the remaining patience she had to spare for yet another repeat of this conversation. Moeka then dashed for what she perceived to be the weakest point within the storm, resolved to force herself out of the wind barrier and keep on going for as long as it took.

 

[Midori Futotta]

"Hmmm…" was all that Maru could actually say after hearing the child tell him once again that she would rather die than give up. He did consider himself a demon, so how did she know that he wouldn't just fail her in the end? There are… well 83 demons who were working against her for personal gain, the environment wasn't on her side neither since Maru can change it at will, the weather also worked against her and don't get him started on himself who was rooting for the child to throw in the towel. So why does this Uchiha have hope that they'll pass?! It both interested and annoyed the fox that she was willing to die for such a lowly rank, exactly since there wasn't a guarantee that she would even get the rank. Maru let the child run towards the wind barrier to attempt to escape, he made another call to draw the attention of the other demons but they were still lost looking around for Moeka. Ignoring the big ass hurricane behind them and the whistle to run in the wrong direction that would make them go deeper into the forest! "THAT'S MARU'S CALL! THEY'RE THIS WAY! FOLLOW ME!" said a drunken red Oni that was leading the stampede into the wrong direction, their battle cries can be heard getting farther away. The storm behind them flashing lighting as if attempting to get their attention but the band of imbeciles we're still going the wrong way.


As the wind knocked Moeka back, Maru grew frustrated with the lack of reinforcements ignoring Moeka for a bit to complain. "When this test is over, someone is going to either get eaten or I'm killing all the males." Maru declared. "They aren't citizens anyway… CENTIPEDE GET HER!" The centipede hissed with venoms, then charged in making electrical sparks with its antennas to fire another stormbolt at the child that missed her by an inch. Maru was hoping to give one of the demons a chance at capturing the child, but the giant centipede was good enough and was a lot better at taking orders. The insect fired another blast again, missing and the centipede hissed with the growing frustration that was boiling up inside of Maru who was starting to grow bored with toying with the child. "I already said that you aren't getting out of here! Fine. If you're not going to quit, leave me the choice. CENTIPEDE GRAPPLE HER!" the centipedes eyes flashed red then it ran forward, opening its jaws looking to bite on the child to end the exam once and for all.


But just as all hope seems lost, Moeka was able to find the weakest point in the wind barrier on her second attempt at freedom and would be brought back to the forest where her path to exiting the forest would be unchallenging for the exception of the fox fire that floated over her head. Maru and the Centipede attempting to get out were trapped inside the hurricane while Moeka was able to take full advantage of the lack of any obstacles in her way. 'Damnit.' Maru thought as he hopped off the Centipede, looking at the winds trying to time his exit so he could get out while he still was aware of where the child was. She couldn't get that far, but he really needs the other 83 demons to pick up the slack on this one because she was getting a little too close to actually exiting the forest. 'Looks like I have to actually take this whole cat and mouse game seriously now. Gotta use all my tricks to ensure that Moeka doesn't pass.' Maru thought to himself, the child had pride he could give her that and stubborn too. Maybe a different approach is in order to ensure his victory.

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

[The First attempt at escaping the hurricane failed! Maru and the Centipede are closing in. -5 sanity]

[Maru attempts to call the demons attention! But they seem to be really lost by now….. +5 progress]

[Maru's Centipede begins firing storm bolts! All of them miss… ;-;]

[Aha! Moeka was able to find the way out on the second attempt and would succeed! No obstacles in their way making it smooth sailing for now. +5 progress]

[Maru and his Centipede attempt to chase after the child! Can't escape the wind barrier and still trapped within the hurricane…... ;-; +5 progress]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka clumsily ran out of the whirlwind, nearly tripping over herself as she attempted to regain balance without breaking pace. During this recovery she had noticed her shadow, cast on the ground in a way that didn't quite make sense at this time of the day, and it reminded her of the pale blue light that heralded Maru's approach.

"Eyesore!" She yelled out. The girl spun around as she performed Mythical Phoenix Fire, spewing out several fireballs at the pursuing blue flame. While perhaps not the most efficient use of chakra, Moeka decided not to take any chances and get rid of that thing for sure. But even with the fox fire out of the picture, she still wasn't done. The girl clasped her hands again, preparing yet another jutsu. Sweat poured down her forehead; the examination was pushing her chakra to its utmost limits. Her reserves still held on only due to her skills at manipulating it, which were exemplary among academy students.

In a puff of white smoke, the girl transformed into one of the man-sized monkeys she had noticed around the start of the exam. She began to utilize her hands to assist herself in her sprint, taking the extra step to mask the human being underneath the illusion, and in that form, darted back towards the flaming trees hoping to lose her pursuer in the fiery mayhem she herself had caused.

 

[Midori Futotta]

'Damnit' Maru thought once more, losing his vision on where Moeka was from his kitsunebi being extinguished. Getting back on his Centipede, he made the insect charge towards the swirling wind barrier, succeeding in breaking through and continued on the chase. Upon Maru breaking free the hurricane dispelled, clearing the sky so Maru could make another attempt at getting the attention of the stampede of Youkai that were chasing after nothing. Maru made the Centipede charge into the forest, looking up he saw one of the man-sized monkeys in the trees who were on the pursuit. He didn't even realize that this was Moeka in disguise so he decided to shout out to the monkey demon to let it know where the child was. "Took you guys long enough.. she went that way I think. Keep going straight, I'll try and cut her off." Maru told the false demon, then steered his Centipede right and before Moeka realized it Maru was off her trail.

Despite being found at least three times, right now there were no demons nor was their Maru pursuing her with her transformation technique. The tengu flying around like vultures looking hard to find the child from the sky were flying a good distance away, and Maru was searching elsewhere since he lost her when his kitsunebi was destroyed. Plus with the blaze it hampered Maru's sense of smell so he couldn't sniff the child out with all the smoke around. This was a big win for Moeka, not only was she was able to fool her pursuers but there was nothing holding her back now. This meant that Maru was going to have to do something extreme in order to flush the child out of hiding. 'Damnit she's close, it's looking like I'm going to have to really do something drastic in order to find her this time.' Maru had choices. Choices, choices, choices, he just needed to think of the pros and cons of what he was about to do next.

Ooc:

Moeka's Progress

Moeka's Sanity

Maru's Progress

[Crystal Eye Jutsu dispelled! Maru is no longer aware of Moeka's location. +5 progress]

[Maru breaks out of the Hurricane! Dispelling the Jutsu to continue the chase! The demon stampede is still lost!]

[Moeka transforms into one of the man-sized monkeys! The disguise was convincing enough to fool Maru and the Centipede making them search elsewhere! +5 progress]

[No Maru or demonic obstacles this round! SMOOTH SAILING! +10 PROGRESS]

 

[Uchiha Moeka]

Moeka's heartrate spiked as Maru called out to her, but she quickly realized that her disguise had managed to trick him. She turned around slightly and gave the teacher a nod of acknowledgment, and then kept running with everything she had. The girl finally came back to the burning treeline, and she took comfort in the concealment it offered. She went straight ahead for a little while just as Maru told her to, but then made a sharp turn so that their paths wouldn't converge.

For once the tailed man wasn't snapping at her heels, so she had the luxury of a dull moment during which she could take a bit of a breather, though the rest was mostly to her state of mind rather than her body as she had to remain on the move. The constant running was taking its toll, she could barely navigate the forest through all the smoke, and all the bobbing and weaving she had gone through to get away had caused her to lose track of her relative whereabouts entirely, but Moeka still felt closer than ever to her goal.

"There's no way they'll catch up to me now..." Was the thought that went through her head. "I just need to find my way out of here."