Though Marise remained silent, Tashi was more forthcoming. Chiyo narrowed her eyes at his words, "You overestimate your village. And Konoha's. Everyone knows that Hiruzen Sarutobi is a peace-loving man. This makes him reluctant to wage war, and should we show the strength of our Jinchuuriki... war can be averted."<br/><br/>"People believe the Kazekage to be weak because he is young, but he is the Second's son... Aimi's brother." She explained, "He will not balk at an army. Even the Third Hokage's."<br/><br/>They continued for a long time, throughout day and night until dawn. Chiyo didn't sleep and didn't seem keen on letting them either. She knew where they were headed. If Aimi was going to try and catch Shiro sneaking across the border, there was one very opportune place to go- one place he would have had to go in order to avoid both Tanigakure and Sunagakure's forces. Ahead of them they saw a narrow mountain pass, plains behind them and desert in front of them. Marise could have sworn she saw something in the distance, but without her Byakugan activated, she couldn't be sure...<br/><br/>Chiyo strained her eyes as well, and soon Tashi saw it too. A lone figure, a couple hundred meters ahead of them.<em>Limping</em>through the sand.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Mountains flanked Shirō in both directions, left and right. He had a slight limp, walking with trouble as he dragged sand with his foot. The older man gritted his teeth and shielded his eyes from the morning sun. This was the border between Rivers and Wind. He turned around, narrowing his eyes at the horizon. In the distance, he could have sworn he saw a number of figures... It could have been anyone, but he was so close to the border. They must be after him. Even if all of them were of that sparrow clan, his Raven could handle them... Now that he was finally far away enough from Tanigakure's reknown scouts and beastmaster clans, he could summon his escape without chased back to their hideout. It must have been safe.<br/><br/>He bit his thumb and knelt down to touch the desert earth... but then he heard something moving... he immediately turned around, but was too late. Sand wrapped around his ankle like a great arm and hoisted him up off of the ground. He was flung upside-down, hanging from the arm made of sand. Turning his head around, he followed it to its source... a mound of dust rose from the desert, taking the shape of a egg... it washed away, mites of sand blowing in the wind to reveal Aimi beneath.<br/><br/>"This was... unexpected." Shirō said as she turned him around to face her. (http://youtu.be/k9st9iSvB44)<br/><br/>"You're coming with me." She said, standing completely motionless.<br/><br/>"Why would I do that?" He asked, narrowing his blue and green eyes.<br/><br/>"You'll tell the world what you've done." Aimi declared, "You'll tell them and nobody will think my brother tried to start a war."<br/><br/>"Whose orders do you think I was following?" The man said, "Your brother's no fool. He'll kill to preserve the security of his village. That has been my mission these past few years."<br/><br/>"You're lying." She said, shaking her head, "I heard you poisoned<em>children.</em>Isamu would never have anything to do with that!"<br/><br/>"When you were just children yourselves... he let you become the jinchuuriki, no? All for the sake of<em>his</em>people. Not yours. Is that creature inside you not also a poison? He<em> let</em>you run away from<strong>his</strong>village because you're a monster... to protect his own people, he didn't even try to chase you... you think Isamu cares about some kids from another village, if it means he can secure the future of his own!? He didn't even care about his own little sister!"<br/><br/>"B-Be quiet!" She was not prepared for him to... to talk back. So suddenly he hit her hard and all her fears and insecurities came rushing back. She'd missed sleep pursuing him... what little sleep that gave her rest from... from Shukaku's constant clawing at her mind. Even now she heard his voice, wild and bloodthirsty. 'Let me out.' He cooed. Aimi closed her eyes for just a moment, to wipe away just the barest of tears, lest this man see her so weak. It was time enough for him to draw his kunai and cut the sand arm holding his foot hostage. He fell to the ground face-first and crumpled there, but quickly recovered, just in time to duck out of the way of her second attack. Two lightning fast tendrils of sand came rushing towards him, but he leaped out of the way.<br/><br/>Aimi began to slide her feet on the ground beneath her, her hips swaying as she began to belly-dance... her signature fighting stance. He wiped his nose and stared hard at her. She had bags under her eyes, and didn't seem quite as alert as she should have been. She broke much sooner than he anticipated. He feared he'd have to fight one-legged again if she had the thought to crush his ankle then and there...<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aimi's Hide; 22, Shiro's Spot; 12... Aimi's Move Silently; 8, Shiro's Listen; 13<br/>Surprise Round; Aimi uses Sand's Embrace to grapple a flat-footed Shiro... Attack 19! Hit. Grapple check; 31 vs. ...natural 20+13. Well, I'll be damned.<br/>Shiro's Bluff vs Aimi's Sense Motive; 21 vs. 15<br/>Initiative: Shiro 19, Aimi 10<br/>Shiro uses Swift Planning with an action point, 15+5+12-4 = 27.. Bonus to skill checks and attack rolls: +3+1 from Improved Plans. He activates his speed and strength ranks... <br/>Aimi full-attacks. 24, 23! Miss, miss.<br/><br/>Conditions: Aimi has 5 wisdom as a result of wisdom damage from a recent bout of Soulless Slumber. Shiro has Speed/Strength Rank 3.<br/><br/>Holy crap look at these rolls..<br/>1d20+0<br/>18+0 = 18<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>18+0 = 18<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>20+0 = 20<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>11+0 = 11<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>3+0 = 3<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>12+0 = 12<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>1+0 = 1<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>1+0 = 1<br/><br/>1d20+0<br/>15+0 = 15<br/></div></div>