RAIN...

SPAIN...

A groan of dread escaped Sakura's lips as she gazed forlornly out into
gray light of early morning. The raging downpour that had swirled out of
nowhere last night hadn't stopped yet. *The roads must be like brown
rivers by now.*

"Kinda like the time Naruto drank all the expired milk in Konoha at once..."

What were the odds that Gai would cancel practice on
account of the village washing away? *And deny me the chance to twist
both ankles and eat four gallons of mud? Not bloody likely!* Sighing,
the pink-haired kunoichi prepared to once again sacrifice her body to
the bushy-browed demon of hard work.

"Iyaa, dame! Auuuuuuun.... <3"

After she finished dressing she removed her forehead protector and put
it back on so that the guard faced forward and dark cloth covered the
top of her head. It wasn't much, but it might keep some of the mud out
of her hair... though it reminded her of that creepy judge again; ick.
At least she wasn't as sickly-looking anymore. Two weeks of training
every day with Gai under the beating summer sun had given her a glow of
good health that was only slightly marred by the dark rings under her
eyes, which attested to what she still did with her nights. *It will be
worth it! Ino pig is going down!*

She most likely is. The question is, on *whom*?

With one last painful glance in the mirror to verify that, yes, she
definitely looked like a class-A dork, Sakura snuck out into the hallway
and down the stairs. Opening the coat closet, she pulled out her
father's straw raincoat and hat. They were cheap to replace if the mud
ruined them, and wearing her own raincoat with this outfit would be a
crime. With the bird mask finishing her 'disguise,' she opened the door
and stepped out into the rain.

"I AM THE SCARECROW! BEWARE!"

Locking the door behind her, Sakura took a moment to consider the rainy
street. She would have alter her routine a bit if she didn't want to be
spotted looking even stupider than usual on the way to the training
field where she'd be meeting Gai. First, she gathered some chakra into
her feet so that she could run over the puddles without disturbing them.
Second, she concentrated for a moment and performed the seals for a
slightly stronger than normal genjutsu; there were fewer people on the
streets, so it would be harder to blend into the crowd.

Yah, especially in THAT getup.

Shooting out into the street almost horizontally as she hugged the
ground, Sakura made a close brush across the path of a gaggle of
academy-aged kids. Changing directions quickly, she darted between two
of them, then immediately broke right as a middle-aged woman carrying
bags of groceries under an umbrella moved to fill the gap. From there
she straightened and began a series of quick, shuffling dodges as she
entered a more congested stretch in front of a fruit stand.

But did she backtrack to pick up the pink frog waiting on a log? After all,
it's worth 200 points.

A moment later the crowd began to close around her. Checking to see if
there were any ninja looking her way, she hopped up into a twisting
forward flip that brushed the tops of a few heads. Infusing her hands
with chakra, she landed in a graceful handstand on the surface of a
large puddle that people were skirting around, then cart-wheeled onto
her feet and back into the fray. Despite the water that sprayed from her
loose straw cloak during this string of acrobatic maneuvers, not a
single person even so much as glanced her way.

Except the Romanian judge, who held up a scorecard reading "-4".

*HAH! BEAT THAT, INO PIG!* she exulted, for a moment wishing that
someone would notice her and stop to stare. Diving into the thick of
things, she tried to vary her evasions a bit more, adding an extra bit
of flair that she'd be embarrassed by if anyone really were watching.

[Neji] "What...is that girl DOING?"
[Hinata] "My...she certainly is...energetic..."

A jolt from behind told her that this had been a mistake. Spinning, the
pink-haired kunoichi was horrified to find a woman in a long khaki coat
sprawled face-first in a puddle at her feet. A tray of dango, now
scattered in the mud, lay close at hand.

Oh damn. XO

As the woman got her hands under her and started pushing herself back to
her feet Sakura's guilt got the better of her, and she stooped down to
see if she could help. But as she extended a hesitant hand, her victim
raised her head and Sakura's blood ran cold. Glaring up at her was the
mud-caked, wild-eyed face of Mitarashi Anko. The playful bloodlust that
the jounin usually radiated was absent now, replaced by a look of naked
fury that made Sakura's knees weak to behold.

Better hope you have money to pay for those dango, forehead...

Her legs seemed to think that this was an excellent idea, and a moment
later Sakura found herself zooming away from the scene at top speed. *I
can't believe I just did that! I pushed a jounin into the mud, laughed
at her and ran away- I'm worse than Naruto!* Sakura wasn't paying much
attention to which way she was going as she fled; as long as it was away
the from scary woman, it was the right direction as far as she was
concerned. *I'm so sorry! Please don't follow me, please don't follow
me, please don't follow me...*

"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!"

Yep, Sakura-chan is totally boned. She's about to get her drain snaked in
the most painful way imaginable.

Reacting just a heartbeat faster than the chuunin, Sakura pulled the
fastest kawarimi she'd ever done, swapping places with a smoked ham

*SNRK* NICE ONE!

hanging in a nearby butcher shop window as two of the nins fell upon her
position. The third was already dashing for the front door of the shop
as she bounded over the counter, ripping a bloody cleaver out of the
chopping block as she passed. Smashing open the rear door with her back,
Sakura used the broad blade to defect a handful of needles that
flickered her way as she slid backwards.

Keep on diggin' that hole, Haruno...

Her hands hidden from her pursuers by the straw cloak billowing behind
her, she flicked three needles down to make three little splashes where
the first copy's feet touched the muddy ground before it leapt back up
to the rooftops. She and the other copies, each going a different
direction, made not a ripple as they landed.

Oooh, nice strategy!

Suddenly a hand-shaped shadow filled her vision and Sakura felt herself
flying backward. Both she and Ino stopped fighting to and cry out in

Extraneous 'and' there.

*YOU TOLD HIM ABOUT THAT?*

*OF COURSE I TOLD HIM! IT WAS FREAKY AND WEIRD!*

Heheheheh.

"With all these clients and foreign ninja around town, we can't be too
careful," Anko admonished, watching Sakura warily as the body before her
continued to struggle under the control of two different masters. "We
have to assume that anyone can be a spy or an assassin, and having two
minds _does_ sound pretty suspicious," she intoned darkly.

"DAMMIT, I BUMPED INTA YOU! IS THAT A #&%IN' CRIME?"

Awww shit, Inner Sakura got loose. XD

Taking a bold stride forward, she shook one of them under Anko's nose.
"So ya fell in the mud; oh no! The world's endin'! Let's all kill Sakura
'cause the #&%!in' _jounin_ can't dodge for crap!"

You tell 'er, Inner Sakura-chan! XD XD

The second examiner snorted indignantly. "You call that an apology?"

"Well, I knew ya were gonna get all crazy on me no matter what I did,
you sicko freak!" Sakura shot back venomously.

"What did you just call me! Say that again, you little monster!"

"YOU THREW A KUNAI AT MY _HEAD,_ YOU _SICKO FREAK!_"

*dies laughing*

Ino, having long since escaped her grasp, was staring at her with a kind
of sick fascination normally reserved for particularly gruesome
accidents. *I'm not sure, but I want out of here right now! Let me go!*

*I CAN'T MOVE MY HANDS!*

*WELL, NEITHER CAN I!*

*dies harder laughing*

And suddenly Ino disappeared. Her distant body seemed to vanish as well,
making her feel helpless and naked, but she was still protected by the
Fushinka, for on some level her mind had managed to remain conscious.
*Fat lot of good it does me,* she mused tearfully, staring into the
silent darkness that surrounded her. *What am I going to do now...?*

Good question. And we're all eagerly awaiting the answer! ^_^

================================
Please do not stare at my crotch.
              ~~*~~
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com



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