Another path

The Swamps - 6th night

< Hello everyone ! I usually have a few things written down when I plan a chapter so that I remember what I was thinking of doing when I come back but nothing here. I guess I just had no idea how to write this but let's try anyway. Next chapter is the final one of the third trial and I'm so relieved. Not that I don't like this part but it was so exhausting to plan all the plot/twists/writing that it feels like a year has passed since I first started it.
So yeah, glad that's over with.

On another note, I think we could get on a one chapter (on Friday) every two weeks basis from now on, I'll be less rushed and the quality should improve. Chapters need less planning so that's a boon too.

Anyway, I hope you'll have a great day and enjoy ! >
_____

Tamamo was currently bored out of her mind. Like staring at her own hands would be less boring ("only got two of these !")... She was looking for shinobi but they were trying to hole up away from her. If it wasn't a game of hide and seek, then she didn't know what it was ! She could have just burned everything away to hunt them down but it would have been unfair for the other species living here. Also Kurama-sama would have had her head.

She noticed one of those water beasts riding the current down a bit ahead of her. Didn't looked like it had more luck than she did. She pouted as she jumped up in a tree, hoping to get a better view - or accidentally step on a hiding spot. She unfortunately only got to witness the mesmerizing panorama of the Swamps beneath her. That was pretty... but not very helpful. She'd been for six days now and her mission was to literally roam and search high and low for some toddlers. So yes, she was bored out of her mind and no one could blame her for that ! Although she did get bored rather easily, but that was irrelevant.

She checked her furisode for any stains even though she knew she'd find none. A surprising talent of hers was to always be pristine and proper. That's how she could wear a furisode in the middle of swamps and yet be able to fight, all of that without getting dirty. She kind of looked forward to seeing how the participants would look after seven days of survival.

After yet another rustling nearby and another false hope, she sighed and crouched while lacing her arms under her thighs. She looked like a moody child but she didn't care since no one was here so no one could see her and-

A small vibration in the ground interrupted her internal rant. She immediately got up and followed the direction it came from at blinding speed. After a few miles, she came across a less dense forest. Using her memory, she tried to locate the origin of the transient vibration. And once she did-

"- Aah !!

- Oh, what have we got here ?

A mere slam of her golden tail on the ground shattered it like glass and a stunned Fū was revealed. The green-haired kunoichi then pouted as she slammed her hands on the ground lightly.

- Not fuuuuun, how did you find me so quickly ?

- What caused that vibration in the ground ten minutes ago ?

- A vibra- Oh, I bumped my head on that thing !

She pointed at the wooden plank that was previously isolating her hide out from the soil.
That was... a bit underwhelming for Tamamo. She had longed for a good fight and well...

- Ok, new game !

- New game ?

Since were they playing games ? She hadn't gotten any memo about this from Kurama-sama !

- Yeah, I lost to hide and seek so that's one point for you. Now let's play tag !

Tag ? What was that ? She didn't know anything about that "tag" or even that "hide and seek" thing ! What was this child talking about ?!

- Try to catch me !"
And with that Fū kept in the air. A dumbfounded Tamamo watched her soar away, her mind still trying to recover from the confusion. After a few dozens seconds, she realized that : 1- the girl was Chōmei's Jinchūriki and 2- she thought of the trial as a game. She didn't really understand what kind of game but she had all the information she needed. I'd it was about catching a prey, she'd manage. She speeded forward to catch up with her target.

When she got only twenty feet behind, Fū noticed her and started laughing. Tamamo fought the urge to just turn around and be on her way. Why, of all the people she could have ended up chasing, it had to be a demented flying child Jinchūriki ?

***

Fresh waters were such a relief... Gamatatsu didn't mind spending some time on the earth but there was nothing better than a cool gentle stream to regenerate his strength. He'd had to leave the water stream the previous day because he'd spotted a shinobi so it felt nice being back in it.
Now that he thought about it, he had completely lost track of that boy. But he knew for a fact that another kitsune had been around so maybe they caught up with him ? He somewhat hoped not, the boy had put up a good fight and it would hardly be fair for him to go from a lava golem to a kitsune, including an encounter with Gamatatsu himself.

Well, today had been quite a boring day. A peaceful one, yes, but also very uninteresting. Tomorrow was expected to be much more eventful. The summons had now roamed the entirety of the Swamps and identified potential spots where shinobi could hide. A consensus had been declared : all summons would take the night to recover their strength then track the contestants down at sunrise. Would be more fun if they were able to chase them down an entire day, wouldn't it ? Plus some shinobi might get overly confident and he was kinda looking forward to seeing their face when they'd get caught.

Wow, now that was a Suzuka-like thought process. Was she rubbing off on him ? To be fair, Suzuka never ruptured her contract with the Toads, she merely summoned them less often. After all, her ability to summon the Kitsune wasn't contract-bound so they couldn't argue that it was offensive to them she'd have another type of summons. Moreover, his brother, his father and himself were rather fond of the blond and sometimes paid her a visit just to talk a bit and see how each other's doing. She'd asked them not to tell Jiraiya though... Even though she trusted the Sennin more than she'd let on, she didn't want anyone from Konoha to have any way to interact with her. She was rather adamant about it so they accepted her wish.
Meeting with Suzuka meant meeting with all the people surrounding her and God were they colourful ! The Kitsune were a peculiar bunch, with their own moral, codes, values and ethic. They felt very different from humans yet very similar and that was a bit weird to him... As for the shinobi... Well, he wasn't about to ask about Sakuya's age anytime soon...

And it seemed like the habits of those people rubbed off on him. Not sure if that was a good thing but oh well, he'd deal with it later.
For now, he just wanted to enjoy the feeling of cold water and the knowledge that tomorrow was gonna be exciting.