A Dart Through the Trees

[stormecho]

It was no surprise that the Inuzuka clan walked their dogs. However, one might question how, exactly, they would classify it as walking when they were clearly not even bothering to touch the ground. While a concerned dog owner would let their beloved pet run in the park, chasing a ball or something like that, well, it was different for an Inuzuka. They were partners, sharing chakra and tactics, fighting together... a game of fetch would not do. So, generally, a walk for an Inuzuka was leaping through trees, running long distances - something that was really fun for the partner. And that was precisely what Metsuki was doing at the moment. True, there were many time she went out to hunt instead - but that wasn't strenuous enough, especially if she helped Ao out with smoke bombs or kunai.

So, the pair, after Ao had succeeded in badgering Metsuki to finish her meal quickly, dashed off to the park. The more open parts of the park were frequented by people, including a lot of civilians that she didn't want to get involved with if she accidentally hurt them while running. Which left the shady, forested areas... Ideal for their purpose.

Met frowned at the tree trunk she was staring at, which she could leap onto without any help. But Ao... Ao didn't have the reflexes of a pureblooded nindog, nor all the enhanced strength, and add her unpredictable chakra to that and there was a very good chance she wouldn't be able to leap onto the lowest branch. "Well... how about tag?" she suggested, which made her partner favour her with an irritated glance. "I'll try to catch you by pouncing from a tree, and once you're it I'll stay on the ground. Is that fair?" She barely waited for the dog's low bark of assent before she eaped up, grabbing a branch and swinging herself onto it. After that, it was easy to jump from branch to branch, keeping an eye - and an ear, and her nose - on her partner as the black-furred canine raced below, dashing into the undergrowth so as to give cover.

With a feral grin, the girl increased her speed, hoping no one else was around... she didn't want to plow into anyone.

[hyo]

Hyosuke had been out in the part today mainly because he left his younger sister with her friends to practice being ninja. He knew she was safe where she was at because their grandfather had requested to come with them, so he could feed the birds in the park. He could not say no to his grandfather, because he was helping him with learning the iwahashi’s clan history. It was something his father was requiring him to do in preparation of being Clan Elder one day. Hyosuke knew it was a long shot if he became Elder of the clan, but it was something if his father pointed him would do. He would do anything for his father.

Hyosuke found himself up in a tree with his back against the tree. He looked over when he heard voices coming. His brown eyes fell on the duo, he knew who they were. They had met before a few times and they were on the same team. Hyosuke choose to remain away from the team for now, he was not too sure about making friends just yet. He was scared of his bloodline activating on him. He was not too sure what they meant when the clan lost their memories from using the bloodline. He knew he could go talk to his father about it, but every chance he got Kosuke was too busy for him. His grandfather did not have the activate bloodline and the only other one he knew that had it was Dai, but he seemed too busy for Hyosuke as well.

Hyosuke watched the two of them start and play a game of tag. He had overheard her talking to the dog. He did not find that one bit odd considering that she was from the Inuzuka Clan and they were well known for their canines. The Iwahashi Clan, Hyosuke found out that not many knew what they were or their twisted bloodline. Hyosuke pushed some of his hair back from his face and hoped that the two did not see him. He knew they might because of the red jacket that he wore, but that was only because he found it cold most days. He yawned slightly and watched them. He had nothing better to do, but sit up there and watch them and dodge if they got in his way.

[stormecho]

They hadn't gone far when Ao suddenly growled, picking up a scent that was somewhat familiar. That was enough to lure her partner out of the trees, so she could scent it as well and ensure she knew who it was. She hadn't even landed when the half-wolf suddenly dashed at her, making her yelp and stumble back. That gave Ao the opportunity to slip into the deeper undergrowth, where Met couldn't follow. Grumbling, she stood up and brushed her clothes off, getting rid of twigs and leaves. It had been a trick - that wasn't fair. Not that she had specified any rules... Frowning, she cast around for a moment to pick up the canine's scent and then leaped into the trees again.

It was easy enough to track her - they were partners, and Met knew her scent as well as her own. Soon she was back on her trail, always a bit behind, not that it mattered. Finally seeing the familiar black fur flash through a bush and into a clearing, she tensed and pushed chakra into her legs to increase her speed, hurtling forward and down, fingers reaching out to brush against Ao's fur... Only for the mixed-breed to suddenly whirl around and snarl, making her stop, tense and wary. That sort of sound wasn't a trick - someone was out there. She sniffed the air and frowned. A familiar scent, a bit faint because it was in a tree...

Finally she realized who it was, and placed a hand on Ao's scruff to calm her down. "Iwahashi-san?" she said aloud, a bit confused. He had been announced as one of her teammates, and had been in her class, but she had never paid much attention to him - it had taken a bit of time for her to even recognize his scent. Still, it would be polite to greet him since they were right there...

[hyo]

Hyosuke was not shocked has the half wolf ninja dog caught his scent just like that. He was expecting that at least. He was surprised that the dog alerted Metsuki of his presents here. All he was doing was sitting here and minding his own business. He watched the girl come up next her dog. He did not know what to think about this time, he could have easily darted away from the area. Hyosuke sighed to himself and leaned his head against the tree he was sitting on. He closed his eyes after looking up at the tree leaves for a moment or so.

Keeping his eyes closed was short lived once she addressed him by his last name and adding the san to it. True, he had not tried to get to know her when they were first assigned the team. He did not feel like he owed her anything just yet. There were teams that got along just fine, but Hyosuke really did not know where he fit in with the duo there. He knew he would have to keep his movements calm and slow so not to startle the dog that was down below. ”I wonder if the dog can even jump up here to me….”

He looked over to Metsuki and waited for a moment. ”Inuzuka-san,” Hyosuke spoke to her with the same distance in his voice. He had no need to befriend her just yet. He was not sure if he was going to activate his bloodline and from what he gathered about his family that did have the bloodline, the Crimson Rings always activated. Why bother if he was just going to lose that memory of her?

[stormecho]

She hadn't been sure - or well, it had been his scent, but acknowledging his presence seemed more polite. Just because you knew someone was there didn't mean you had to instantly start talking to them without warning... unless it was an enemy, or an unknown factor. Then, it was alright. Ao began to growl at the sound of his voice, so she nudged her partner and pulled on her scruff to remind her to settle down - even a regular dog looked frightening when it was clawing at the tree you were sitting in, and even if a nindog couldn't jump into a tree when it was Ao's size, it could find something like a log, and then jump from there to a branch, and then the tree-sitter was dead or missing an arm.

Alas, now that she knew he was there, and he knew she knew he was there... her mind went blank on what to say. Metsuki scratched the back of her neck with her free hand, trying desperately to think of something that wasn't obviously desperate.

"...It's a nice day, isn't it?" Well, there went that thought - of course he knew it was a nice day. There were many nice days thanks to the climate of the Land of Fire, and to comment on it was stupid. "How long were you watching us?" she continued, grinning up at him. There, that was better. They were teammates - it would be sad if she couldn't think of something nice to say to him, even if she hardly knew him. Ao gave up on looking menacing and instead focused on being grumpy, leaning against Met and grumbling about how she wasn't allowed to intimidate anyone. Judging that there was no danger now, the girl released her hold on her dog and scratched behind her ears instead, waiting for an answer.

[hyo]

Hyosuke watched has the dog growled pretty much about him being there. He did not think he had done anything wrong today, but apparently he had just by being there in the trees. He was not the one that came rushing in the trees or anything. He had been there for a few hours thinking to himself about some things. He watched Aoi for a moment and turned his attention to Met when she spoke to him again. It was strange feeling that he was feeling. He did not really care what she had to say about things. He noted that her train of thought was on watching them and he wondered why he would be watching them. To him they were uninteresting. She would have to try harder for him to watch him if that was the case.

Hyosuke moved and pushed himself off the tree branch and landed on the ground without much of a trip. He watched the two of them for a moment before moving his brown hair out of his face. ”I was not watching you, I have no need to watch you. I was clearly here before Aoi found my scent and alerted you to me. Do not accuse me of something that I did not do, Inuzuka-san.”

Hyosuke knew that he was being a bit harsh with her, but he had his standards anyways. She accused him of watching her and he was going to set her straight about things. He really did not consider her a team mate after all. They barely knew each other and he did not want to get to know her. ”Do you intend on accusing me of something else?” His brown eyes narrowed on her has she spoke and he stepped a little closer to them to imitated her.

[stormecho]

Metsuki's eyes narrowed as he spoke, instantly defensive. She hadn't planned for him to take her comment that way - it had been friendly banter of a sort, a neutral question as she saw it. Surely, if he had been sitting there, he had seen them? Thus, he had watched their little game of tag. But no, that seemed to only set him on edge, and now it was up to her to figure out how to keep him from bristling even more. Everything had to be smooth among the packmembers to make sure they worked well together: that was obvious. And right now it was her duty to make sure he didn't stay indignant and angry around her. "I assure you, I did not mean it that way, Iwahashi-san." she assured him quickly, though she stood her ground when he stepped forward. "I assumed, that is all. I was not accusing you of anything, nor do I intend to. I will be more careful with how I speak." the girl promised.

There, that had to hit the right note. She wasn't grovelling - she was his equal - but she certainly didn't want to annoy him, and since they were teammates, she desperately didn't want to annoy him. Yes, she would go out of her way to ensure they became friends, or at least trusted each other, but she wouldn't abase herself for that purpose.

[hyo]

Hyosuke watched how Metsuki redeemed herself with her words, but it was too late for him. Her words had already been spoken to him. He did not think he would be accused of watching them when he did not even notice them until it was too late. He had learned from his father and his cousin that he would have to choose his words carefully or they would come back and bite him in the rear. It was something he valued and learned from. ”You might want to consider your little saying next time. There are a lot of us that will not stand for you assuming that we wanted to spy on you. I have nothing to gain to by watching an Inuzuka and her mutt.”

Hyosuke did care where his little statement took them. If she wanted to fight him, he would defend himself. He rather not get in a fight considering his grandfather and his sister was here in the park as well. He turned his back and walked over to a tree and leaned on it. Hyosuke sighed to himself has he realized his little time to himself had came to an end. ”You are quick to state your assurance. Are you upset that I spoke to you like that?” He was not scared of her and didn’t show it. He was more annoyed than anything at the moment.

[stormecho]

Metsuki tilted her head, eyes narrowing some more at his words. He wasn't earning himself points with the way he talked, that was for certain. "She isn't a mutt." she told him slowly. "I'd prefer it if you didn't call her that." He was acting like he was higher than her in rank, that her slip of the tongue had offended him greatly. She hadn't meant what she had said, had been more than quick to make amends, and yet he persisted in being rude to her. He wasn't stupid - insulting an Inuzuka's dog was never tolerated much. Still, she waited, eventually nudging Ao in the ribs. The wolfdog wasn't pleased - she only moved after casting a dark look at Hyosuke, and after baring her fangs once trotted off into the undergrowth to hunt. A few rabbits would probably be around, enough for a good meal.

Met herself didn't move. His question surprised her a bit. "...Yes, it upsets me." she answered slowly. "And I don't want it to upset me. That would be bad... We're in a team now, which means we should get along. I don't want to be angry at you, since you're a team member and that would prevent us from working together on missions." To her, it barely needed to be explained - they were a pack, and though there was always some infighting in a pack, they always united when they needed to do something. Besides, she needed people she could trust - she could hardly rely on her clan when she was the pariah, looked down on and shunned.

[hyo]

Hyosuke watched her and the dog reaction when he called Aoi a mutt. It was what she was after all, a mix between a wolf and a dog. He shrugged some. He could tell that he had already upset her and the mutt and for now he would not. He watched the dog show her teeth to him and he raised his eyebrow some. ”I will keep that in mind.”

He turned his attention to the trees that were above him while she was talking to him about how he had upset her and she did not wish for that. He could not help wonder why she was trying to force a bond between them that he could not see happening. He did not want to get close to his teammates because that would lead to emotions and that would lead to his bloodline. He grinned slightly and moved his hand up and rubbed his eyes slightly. ”You speak as if you want to made some sort of bond together. I will assure you that will not happen between us. I do not require a bond between a mutt and her mutt.” He knew he was crossing the lines when he called Met a mutt in the same sentence has calling Aoi a mutt, but he wanted her to hate him and not try to make friends with him at this time.

To pull off the little show he was doing at the moment he even had a smirk on his face about it. He was ready for a fight if one dare to break out, but he could also pull the sister and grandfather card on her has well. He crossed his arms and pulled his head down and looked at her in the eyes. He was waiting and watching for any signs to her movements.

[stormecho]

Met could not stop her reaction to his words, baring her own teeth before she caught herself and closed her mouth. It wasn't just stupid to expect him to be daunted by that - though she did have dangerously sharp teeth - but hers were longer than even a normal Inuzuka's, and she didn't want to go boasting her own... differences. That would be beyond foolish - she would talk about it if asked by someone she trusted, but showing off anything that began to seperate her from her clan was dangerous. She didn't want to be shunned by everyone, not just her clan...

"You're trying to make me angry." she remarked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She wanted to bite him, to hurt him badly for that insult - not just against her, but Ao was not a mutt, no matter what her clan said! "You shouldn't. If you don't want any... bonds," How stupid that declaration was - bonds were so, so important... "then you could have just told me to leave, and not bother you. You don't need to insult me and my partner. I can take a hint." Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head, mostly out of disbelief. Was he stupid enough to think he could make it on his own? "Do whatever you want. It's not my concern..." And with that, she turned and leaped into a tree, going from one to the next until she was out of sight. She'd need to find something to beat up - she was too angry now to bother trying to return to her usual territory.