Kakashi raised a hand as the wind kicked up a few stones along with dust. He dusted his arm off as he stared along the tree line. "I'll give you credit on that one. Never knew a log could block a jutsu. Either that or you have some speed on you." He would need to get rid of that little toy fan of hers. He merely waited quietly hands in his pockets as his gaze slowly passed from tree to tree. He almost seemed to calm as he waited patiently.
Nightshade jumped down from a large oak tree found behind other small ones. With an empty hand she metioned toward Kakashi and out of the other small trees came full fleshed panthers. They began to make their way to Kakshi, growlling and stomping on the ground fearoshously. With the fan in her other hand she vanished from sight and appeared in the trees behind Kakashi, waiting. The panthers began to run angrily at Kakashi. Nightshade placed her hands together around her fan to make a unique jistu appear. From the fan came a dragon made of wind, but it emited no sound. With her dragon awaiting for its deadly attack and Nightshade's clonded panthers allready on the attack, all Nightshade could do is wait.
Kakashi quietly looked from each of the adversarys that had now made themselves known. "Quite a nuisance indeed." Placing his hands together he let his forefinger extend revealing a hidden scroll. "Here kitty kitty.." At that he hummed a slow chant slamming the scroll along the ground. Words started filtering from it as the ground would seem to open up behind each of the panthers. Dogs it would seem, giving off a rather odd form of chakra would land along each of the panthers. Sinking their fangs in they would slowly seem to absorb each one's chakra forcing them to remain still as Kakashi seemed quite at work with yet another jutsu. "Kawarimi no Jutsu" Kakashi would then vanish from thin air as the panther's resumed being slowly destroyed one by one by the large dogs.
Kankuro instantly heard voices and the sound of people, with ease he prepared Karasu for whatever was coming. They voices were closer, then suddenly he saw who it was... something about him was familiar, he knew that name... just not the face. "I believe your name is Neji, though, the rest if a mere blur." He looked at who Neji was travelling with. "Who's this?" Kankuro looked at both of them for a minute. "Before you anwser I hope you know who I am... so don't mess with me." Kankuro said with a grin on his face. He was ready if these two attacked him... after all, he was a puppet master!
OoC: Thanks.
Kankuro grinned back at Neji. "Well, I'm guessing it's nice to meet you, oh, and the ninja... well, one of them's my friend... Gaara." Kankuro looked at both of them... he was still at guard not knowing if they would attack him. "Now, have you come for a fight if not, could you possibly tell me where the nearest village is... or where Gaara is?" Kankuro was hungry, it felt like he hadn't eaten for days... but Gaara came first. He looked Neji straight in the eyes not looking away. "I'd really like to know."
Neji stared back at Kankuro. This was an act. The members of the village of sand were the enemies. Or at least that's how he believed. Kankuro wouldn't have been this friendly. He would have acted more like a bully. "BYAKUGAN" Neji said as his eyes changed. He looked through Kankuro's act. Kankuro was planning to attack him. Once he made any type of hostile movement, Neji would make his move.
Kankuro knew that look in Neji's eyes, and skillfully unleashed Karasu. He made Karasu do some basic attacks... buying time for him to hide. Kankuro jumped backwards while Neji was distracted. Gripping the chakra strings tightly he dove into a very hidden spot under a cracked log. Looking up, he could see everything perfectly. Neji was a good fighter... he could tell. He threw Karasu at Neji a poisned blade extended from the puppets hand, straight for Neji's chest.
Neji jumped backwards as the blade barely missed. "A puppet master?" Neji asked as he flipped over backwards. He landed in a tree branch and looked around. "Damn it" he said. He lost Kankuro. If he hadn't been distracted by Karasu, he could have used the byakugan to home in on Kankuro.
He looked left and right. "Shikamaru, help kakashi" he said. He couldn't get a lock on Kankuro. But he could get a lock on Karasu. He jumped at Karasu and hit him with an open palm. Karasu bumped backwards stiffly, and Neji hit him open palm with his second hand in the marionette's face.
Kankuro cursed under his breath, Neji dodged an attack from behind... he was indeed good, actually... better than Kankuro expected. He wasn't going to underestimate Neji anymore. He saw the other ninja run off, no chance in taking him out as well. Kankuro tugged hard on Karasu's strings. Karasu kicked off a tree and charged again at Neji. Once again, Neji barely dodging the blade. Kankuro suddenly became aware that we might lose this fight... but quickly cleared that thought from his mind. He smiled, he had almost forgotten Karasu's "secert" weapon. "I think it's time to end this..." Kankuro said under his breath. Karasu jumped on top of a narrow tree branch, Neji expecting another blade attack... but this time a blade didn't come, but a poison bomb. It exploded. Neji was lost in the poison fog. Had Kankuro just won?
Neji's eyes became watery and cloudy. He screamed and coughed. Kankuro could barely see him through the fog. Then...POOOF!!! the poisoned neji poofed into a puff of smoke and a log was there in its place. Replication Jutsu.
"I could tell your puppet was highly equipped with weaponry. No common puppet would be used in a fight." Neji said with a half smile. Karasu went after him with the blades in both hands, but Neji stood his ground. As the blades were about to pierce, neji grabbed it's arms, and impaled them into the puppets sternum. "This is thick wood. It won't be easy to pull yourself out" Neji said to both karasu and Kankuro. Then Neji jumped backward.
(That was a wicked good move with the replication Jutsu.)
Kankuro couldn't believe what just happend. Tugging as hard as he could, he tried to pull Karasu's hands out of itself. Suddenly, the puppet fell, falling right on Kankuro. "Damn it!!!!!" He thought. As quickly as he could he nimbly ran, Karasu's hands nearly out. Kankuro looked back, had Neji seen him? Quickly and quietly Kankuro found another good hiding spot... catching his breath he looked around. Neji was gone. He looked out in front of him... and thers stood Neji smiling. Kankuro peered over at Karasu, grasping the Chakra strings tightly, He pulled Karasu hard, and ramming Neji who fell over from the hit. Kankuro hopped into a tree trunk, which had been cut down. Karasu jumped at Neji, but Neji dodged yet another attack. Kankuro cursed again, but he had cursed to loudly. Neji had spotted him. Using Karasu as a sheild he rammed Neji again, but Neji narrowly dodged Karasu sharp poisoned blade. "Your not bad Neji." Kankuro shouted... though, he really ment it, he hadn't had a fight this well since he and Shino fought. Grasping The Charka Strings tightly he yelled out, "Come and get me Neji!"
Neji looked at Kankuro, tightly grasping the chakra strings. Neji was having a bit of a difficult time trying to figure out how to defeat him. Clearly he wasn't in Neji's class in close combat, but he couldn't get to him without an attack behind him by Karasu. He might have to destroy the puppet. If that could be done.
"Kankuro, you can not win. Your fate is too lose. You aren't at my level" Neji said arrogantly. "And your toy can not do anything to beat me either." He reached in his pocket and grabbed a kunai knife. Then jumped at Karasu. Kankuro was quick with his fingers and was able to use one of karasu's poisoned blades to block the knife. Then as they locked blades, Neji grabbed a shuriken, and swiped at the puppet. unfortunately Kankuro also had the same plan, and Neji's shuriken met Karasu's second blade. Neji jumped backwards and thought to himself "that was alittle too close for my liking" and he threw a 3 shuriken at Kankuro, hoping it would get passed Karasu.
Kankuro watched as two of the shurikens zoomed by Karasu's head. One hitting a tree. The other two barely hit him, one nipping him in the arm. Then, his mind began to work. "Neji, you should give up." Kankuro said smiling. He had a gut feeling that if this plan worked, he could win the fight. Pulling the chakra strings hard he drew karasu into the shadows. He dropped the strings and charged head on at Neji. Karasu was still waiting in the shadows...
Kankuro made the first move, striking Neji in the stomach. Neji grabbed Kankuro's fist, and twisted it. His hand was broken, Neji jumped on Kankuro's head, and kicked downwards, dropping him. "You can't beat me in hand to hand combat, I told you that already!" Neji shouted. Neji kicked Kankuro in the face. Kankuro lying face down on the ground. "Do you remember what I am?" Kankuro's voice came out squeaky. "Your a puppet master aren't you?" Neji said. "Right. Hahahaha." Neji grabbed Kankuro's head... though, it wasn't Kankuro's head, it was a puppets! Suddenly, Kankuro's voice came from no where. "Never underestimate a puppet master!" Suddenly Karasu jumped from the shadows, both poisoned blades ready to strike.
Neji was horrified. He had been briefly tricked. He had a look of disgust as he jumped backwards attempting to avoid, but Karasu came back right at him. Karasu Jumped into the air and the blade was comingstraight for Neji's face....but Neji smiled....
"Kaiten" Neji said. It was his defensive maneuver. The whirl. He spun around fast, blue chakra surrounding him like energy. The blurry spinning top of neji caught the tip of Karasu's blades back at the puppet. They impaled Karasu's face, and crossed each other. It would have been easy to remove them, save the fact that the hilts of the blades had been stabbed by the longer hidden knife inside karasu's mouth. They all crossed and become stuck. Karasu also wouldn't be able to fire the rockets, because of the position his arms were in. Neji grabbed the stiffened Karasu and bent it to the side. Then took out his kunai knife, and cut the chakra strings.
He looked over at where Kankuro was hiding.