31 - Ivory

"Great, we got a whole load of nothing at that stinky place," Rina complained as the two trudged down the roads of a random village surrounded by dryness. "'Lead', my ass. I'd rather go back to the cave and play Cards Against Humanity."

"You're just salty because even Kitanai is funnier than you," Kessho retorted, crossing his arms.

"I got more points than you, Mr. Bright Pink Crystals."

"As a matter of fact, I use red or green more than pink."

"What do you mean red and green, have you seen all those yellow forks?"

"They're not yellow, they're gold!"

And this is but a snippet of Rina and Kessho's arguments that always redirect to tableware. The two were stopped from further talking as they walked out of the village, spotting a silhouette on top of a nearby cliff.

It was hard to see against the sun, but what was visible was the medium length black hair and- you guessed it, stupidly long and poofy silver dress. Only one humanoid creature could look cool in fancy-ahh dresses on top of a desert-not desert cliff.

"There, it's Makoto," Rina pointed her chin towards the figure.

"Another remote puppet. Do we follow it?" Kessho asked, the argument about yellow forks fading entirely.

However, the puppet in silver turned to them, jumping down the really tall cliff and landing without the slightest damage. It lunged forward, dashing past Rina and leaving the shadow thread manipulator tangled in ominously glowing silver strings.

"What the fuck?" she flinched. "This thing is chakra sealing."

"Shit," Kessho gave his highly intellectual analysis, managing to dodge away from the puppet's attack now that he was prepared. A circle of spiked crystals formed around him, which he tried to attack his foe with only to miss.

"Perhaps you should have considered not stalking my puppets," a voice spoke from the puppet.

"What the- it talks?" Rina stumbled up, backing away.

"No, Ivory does not talk. I'd be stupid not to be able to channel my voice through my puppets. It makes conversing far easier, considering I doubt anyone will ever manage to get near my real body," she scoffed.

"Makoto has sass and puppets named after colors," Kessho noted.

"Colors, stones, trees, flowers, roles, myths, or objects," Makoto corrected. Ivory suddenly lunged forward again, tying Kessho in chakra sealing ropes as well. "I expected more from a group so confidently chasing after any hint of me."

Rina and Kessho were both fighters relying strictly on their jutsu, which sucked because they were both chakra sealed at the moment.

Now that it was closer, the two observed Ivory. It was humanoid enough, appearing female with medium length dark hair. Its face was covered with a silver masquerade mask with too many frills, and of course it was dressed in a Makoto™ long dress, solid white with gray embroidery.

It raised a thin blade.

Things were going terribly.

"Naruto Uzumaki..." the blond muttered, glaring at Sai, who only smiled. "Sai."

"Sakura Haruno," Sakura said, glaring at Sai just as visibly.

"Fuyuka Hoshino," the blue haired girl said, shooting her own glare at the pale boy.

"Um, Yozora Tsuyoku," the purple haired boy offered, not as hostile as his teammates at their new teammate. Kakashi's substitute, Yamato, glanced at the tension between the team, which was so intense it might as well as be visible. "Well, uh, I guess that's that."

"We are going to Tenchi bridge and meeting with the spy in Orochimaru's organization, and capturing them alive. That is Team Kakashi's mission."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, we're spending a day at the hot springs to improve your teamwork and lessen tension," Yamato announced as the team trudged on. They were frankly larger than the usual team, with Fuyuka and a bonus Yozora due to him being Fuyuka's student.

"I thought we were on a mission, and I don't wanna go to any hot springs with this guy!" Naruto complained, glaring at Sai. It's not like Fuyuka hated the guy any less than her teammates, but she was too mature and awesome to start unnecessary arguments. And also because she was plotting his (metaphorical, of course) demise in her head.

"Naruto is such an idiot," Sakura complained, sinking into the water as the others in the female side of the springs laughed. Naruto's shouting from the other side faded, but the laughter did not.

"Keep your face straight, don't react, and nobody will associate us with him," Fuyuka suggested, her eyes twitching slightly.

"Yeah, I know..." Sakura sank further into the water.

"This is boring," Fuyuka announced flatly. "I don't want to be here."

Fuyuka took back everything bad she's said about Captain Yamato when the team was greeted with the fanciest dinner ever.

"I propose we let Captain Yamato stay the boss of Team Kakashi forever!" Naruto exclaimed dramatically as he scarfed down the food. Sakura was far from slow in her own devouring of dinner. "I second this!"

"Thirded," Fuyuka announced, finishing her third platter of sushi. "I haven't tasted good salmon in way too long."

Yozora and Sai just ate in silence, the former thanking their captain and the latter wearing his fake smile.

Yamato smiled at his team. "Well, I hope you enjoy it, because I'm not made of money."

Kessho was, for once, profoundly grateful for the neon orange dragon that came out of nowhere and its rider with equally orange hair. He noticed that this was one of the people in the restaurant earlier, who had no knowledge about Makoto.

"Say, is this the Makoto lady you were asking about? Oh, I didn't follow you, I swear, I just saw you getting near killed and decided to help out. Do you need help? Huh, this isn't a human, right? I can sense a bit of chakra, not enough to be an actual person. I'm no good at sensing, though, so I can't be sure."

Okay, their savior talked a lot, too.

The orange haired male hopped off his dragon, cutting Kessho and Rina free with his scythe before turning to Makoto. "Anything I need to know?"

"That's a remote puppet, it can seal chakra, and Makoto can channel her voice through it," Kessho informed the stranger, standing up and summoning a circle of crystals. Rina got up as well, her hands poised to unleash her shadow threads.

"Awesome! I'm Sakasa, but I'm pretty sure I've said that already. I'll ask more when it's over," Sakasa promised, preparing to swing his scythe.

"Let's hope you pose more of a challenge, after all, Ivory isn't even my preferred fighter," Makoto remarked, Ivory lifting its blade once more.

"Fuck you," Rina declared, facing Ivory.

Kessho nodded, glaring at the puppet in silver. "Fuck you, seconded."