Hiro bit his lip as he watched Ume dash towards their opponent. She drew her blade and cut at the masked figure, slicing both her and the trees behind. As he saw them fall to pieces, he thought mournfully of the letter, 'Also, please do not damage the reserve unnecessarily...' Why was he thinking of that now? This was hardly the time or the place... but then again... He bit his lip harder, drawing some blood. He shook his head and then wiped the blood off of his chin. The woman before him threw down a smoke bomb, and he stood up straight... it spread out quickly, forming a thick cloud in front of him. As it slowly grew, he put his thumb to the ground and murmured, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."<br/><br/>He saw Tara appear for only an instant before the smoke covered her, melting with the white smoke signalling her appearance. Hiro leaned forward and put his hands on her shoulders, "Tara." He whispered, watching as the faint outline of his arms disappeared into the imperceptible smoke, "Don't say anything, just listen. A masked woman is our opponent. Not the one in the veil, though... -or the cat girl."<br/><br/>"I'm hurt... and she wants me alive." He quietly said, "But we can trick her... if you transform into me and pretend to surrender... we can catch her by surprise."<br/><br/>He took one hand off of her shoulder and put his palm against her cheek, feeling the faint hint of fur. He leaned in closer, "Will you do this for me?"<br/><br/>Hiro couldn't even see how she would respond, veiled in the smoke as she was. He heard a familiar voice and looked up, as if that would help his hearing any. Ume again... Paper bombs and exploding kunai? He furrowed his brow...<em>That girl</em>, he thought, shaking his head.<em>She could hit me doing something like that...</em>If you didn't know where your allies were, the risk of accidentally hitting them with something like an exploding tag was much higher than normal. That was collateral damage... His thoughts again returned to the letter... 'Also, please do not damage the reserve unnecessarily.'<br/><br/>Why would Nara-sama include that to begin with? Was he expecting them to damage the reserve? Maybe Ume would... No, he must have<em>anticipated</em>a fight to break out then. This fight, perhaps. So then perhaps this<em>was</em>a test. That explains the nonlethal genjutsu she used on him... Was this masked woman their new captain?<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">Swift: Tap Reserves 30 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=78996) vs. DC 15. 15 chakra gained.<br/>Full-Round Action: Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Tara)<br/><br/>HP: 10/53 (Nonlethal 30)<br/>Chakra Pool: 20/64. (Reserve 27/42)<br/>3 rounds remaining on Speed/Strength Ranks.<br/><br/>– Speed Rank 4 (Ex): The character gains a +5 bonus to Jump checks, a +4 dodge bonus<br/>to Defense and Reflex saves, and a +2 bonus to attack rolls. The character's land speed<br/>increases by 25 feet, gains a +4 speed bonus to Hide checks, and his attacks have a<br/>kawarimi defense 1.<br/>When not suppressed or dormant, speed rank 4 costs 4 points of chakra every 5 rounds.<br/><br/>– Strength Rank 4 (Ex): The character gains a +2 bonus to attack and weapon damage<br/>rolls, and a +6 bonus to opposed disarm, trip, grapple, bullrush or overrun checks,<br/>strength checks and Break, Climb, Jump and Swim checks. His carrying capacity<br/>doubles. In addition, a character with Strength Rank 4 ignores hardness from objects with<br/>6 or less hardness.<br/>When not suppressed or dormant, strength rank 4 costs 4 points of chakra every 5 rounds.<br/>Whether active or dormant, strength rank 4 increases the character's effective Strength<br/>score to determine his carrying capacity by +4.<br/><br/>Tara<br/>Level 4 Monkey Champion Paragon: Medium magical beast; HD 8d6+32; hp 59; Init +3; Spd 40 ft., climb<br/>40 ft.; Defense 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dex, +7 natural); BAB +8/+3; Grap +13; Atk +13 melee (1d6+4, 2 claws); Full Atk +13 melee (1d6+4, 2 claws) and +13 melee (1d6+4, bite); FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SQ darkvision 60 ft.; AL Hiro;<br/>SV Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +9; CP 50; Rep +0; Str 20, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 12.<br/>Skills (24 skill points): Acrobatics +15, Athletics +16, Stealth +12, Perception +12<br/>Feats: Simple Weapons Proficiency, Weapon Finesse, Improved Natural Attack (claw), Alternate Form (Quarterstaff), Tiny Size<br/>Abilities: Darkvision, Evasion, Henge no Jutsu at-will<br/>Ability Score Increase: Constitution, Constitution<br/><br/>Companion (Ex): Tara is Sarutobi Hiro's companion summon, and as such, she is always half his level.<br/>Alternate Form: +3 Quarterstaff<br/><br/>Rank Requirements: 8 (4 Base, +2 Level, +2 Paragon)<br/>Chakra Cost: 46 (20 Base + Level +18, Paragon +8)<br/><br/>Tara's quarterstaff form has a hardness of 10 and shares the same hit points as Tara. Once the staff is destroyed, Tara is dismissed. In addition, the staff may freely expand and grants the user a 10 foot reach. It also can collapse and become as small as Tiny when needed.<br/><br/>While in this state, Tara is still aware of her surroundings and can speak, hear and see all the same. She can still change back at any time as a free action.</div></div>