Sown

thirty-nine

A violet haze rolled through the forest. The cloud enveloped trees, choked bushes, and curled over blades of grass. Foliage withered as the virulent plume weaved between tree trunks and smothered the men collapsed in its besieged advance.

Kankuro writhed and grasped at his throat. Brought to his knees, the Suna shinobi coughed violently into his hand. His Sasori puppet clattered noisily at his back - unable to manifest chakra strings, the puppeteer was at the mercy of his pursuers. "I should be immune to poisons, what the hell is going on?" He strangled out painfully. The men at his sides fared no better, worming feebly as the toxins invaded their lungs and bloodstream. "Godammit . . ." He cursed.

"Hikoboshi!"

"Tokoyo!"

Just as soon as the words ghosted through his ears, Kankuro was nearly bowled over by a strong gale, barely able to keep himself upright with a hand pressed into the soil by his leg. Despite battering him, the gust swept the poisonous gas back towards the direction it originated from.

"Good work, Hanae, Tatsui." Another voice called out from behind.

A hand laid into his shoulder caused the puppeteer to turn. His eyes still burned with tears but through his clouded vision he was able to make out figures appearing through the trees. Blinking away the moisture, Kankuro finally recognized them to be samurai. The armored men split into two groups, one standing with swords at the ready and the other kneeling next to the fallen members of his squad. "We're saved," the captain gasped.

The samurai standing to his side kneeled. The horns on his helmet gleamed in the sparse light filtering through the foliage and remnant of gas. "I'm sorry we didn't arrive sooner. Are you alright?"

Kankuro waved his hand weakly, letting the thought of his safety be pushed from his mind for the time being. "Be careful, the enemy uses poison gas. Don't breathe it in."

"Our armor was designed to fight shinobi. Our masks are impermeable to gas and vapor." The steel-clad man pointed a thumb into the air, "and if worst comes to worst, we have those two."

The face-painted shinobi followed the direction of the appendage to the sky above. Two large raptors hovered just above the trees, a barn owl and harpy eagle watching the scene below with sharp eyes. They had color to their feathers, assuring Kankuro they were not the same clay-borne fowls Deidara favored as part of his arsenal. A metallic mask pressed into the teen's face - suddenly the air pulled into his lungs became much cleaner.

A female's voice resonated strongly through the air, "these guys need antidotes. Get them to the medical unit back at base, use Hikoboshi and Tokoyo to carry them!" Soldiers moved at her call, carrying those too weak to function back into a previous clearing followed by the impressive birds. Owner of said voice approached Kankuro's side as he found enough strength to rise to his feet. "You should go too, come on."

Kankuro shook his head, "I've got some resistance to poisons, I'm better off than those guys." He motioned to the puppets resting in the grass just a ways off, "besides, I have to watch over these. One of the resurrected is captured inside." Looking the engorged wooden doll over, the samurai nodded. It was a technique completely new to her, but there was no time to admire it now.

The screech of metal against metal drew the attention of everyone in the clearing. Just a little ways ahead Mifune had crossed blades with a man adorned in a gas mask. The daimyo pressed his sword into the angle of the other's sickle. Both men shook from the force behind each other's strength. Moments later more arrived on the other side of the clearing - a woman well past her youth, a pale sporting a lavender agemaki, and an eyeless, engorged salamander constantly running its tongue over its lips.