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[fieldbox=Throwing knives , chocolate]

Outside of Konohagakure's walls,
Throwing knives is dangerous.


A collab done between Sketching and Lesli.

Summary :
A training between Saki Yamanaka and Katsu Uchiha. They come to the conclusion that throwing spoons can be less painful, but not as effective as knives.


Heading towards the meeting point, Saki didn't have a bag with her unlike last time. Last time she had taken a hike with Katsu, but today she would meet him outside the village near the hills, south of the large intimidating walls. She was heading towards a large pond. It took more than two hours of just traveling in a calm walking pace, but Saki didn't want to exhaust herself yet. Arriving at the pond, Saki looked around. Wondering if she was too early or just on time, hopefully she was at the correct pond.

A minute or two later, the boy followed the path set by Saki, arriving at the scene with a grin. "Good afternoon! I hope I didn't make you wait," he said gleefully. "Nice place, eh?"

"No, not at all." Saki turned to face Katsu as she flashed a smile. "And it is divine. I wish that we had asked more people and brought swimming clothes. It does look like a nice place for just a swim and perhaps picnic. Don't you agree?" She asked in return.

"I guess that could be nice," he said, thinking for a moment. "Surrounded by trees, the pond has a nice little place." He walked over to the edge of the land, looking ahead at some of the tall stones sticking out of the water in the large body.

Following Katsu, Saki glanced at the tall stones. "You mentioned that you wanted to do some training. But what do you want to do here that we can't do at a training field back at home?" Was her question, though she didn't hide her curiousity. Frankly, she was eager to learn what kind of training he had in mind and how much it would differ from previous training sessions she had gone through in team 7.

The boy hopped over onto one of the stones, wobbling forward a bit before maintaining his balance. "I was thinking we could exercice our acrobatics and balance a bit," he said, smiling.

Watching him, Saki glanced t the stones and then backwards at Katsu. "That sounds nice." A training without the need of pain or violence? Sounded like music in her ears as she would hope over onto a stone. Balancing herself, it took her moment before she looked up to Katsu and nodded. "Okay, now what?"

The boy pulled out a long line of throwing knives from his back pouch, all hanging from the same piece of leather, in what seemed to be small holsters. "Here," he said as he tossed it. "There're 32 knives there. I have the same amount. It would be a good way to train our ability to move in combat, with an extra handicap."

Catching the knives, Saki was surprised by the weight. She had expected it to be heavier when she had seen the weapons. Careful to not cut or hurt herself with the sharp weapons, she glanced back at Katsu. "Such as obstructing each other or in what kind of manner do you mean?" Saki asked, wanting to be sure as she would holster the knives. It was superior to her own holsters, that she had to admit. Perhaps she should adjust her own set of holsters and throwing knives in a similar fashion as his?

"In the sense that if I threw a knife at you right now," Katsu said as he tossed up and caught one of the knives by the blade playfully, "you'd have to move or block. Except unlike on land, you can't just move a smidge to avoid a flurry of blows. You have to either jump on a different rock or risk losing your balance. So the game is 'if you fall in the water, you lose'. Kind of like a game! No ninjutsu, genjutsu or any other weapons. How does that sound?"

She let out a sigh. Testing her weight briefly on the rock she was standing on, Saki found the idea quite fun. "Sounds good to me. Not a training I am really used to though, but am willing to give it a try." She sounded cheerful as she would pull out a knife. "Though, who has made these? They are quite nice. Bought them at the Arsenal, or...?" The Yamanaka asked, inspecting the knife quickly as she threw a look in Katsu's direction.

"Ah. I bought them from the blacksmith at the Azumi. Hayate Hyuzu," he said.

"Hayate huh? Should've known better." Saki said, readying herself. Making sure she was properly balanced, the young woman decided to keep her left hand free. It would be become annoying if she would only need to rely on her feet to move around, hopping from rock to rock while he would throw knives at her. It briefly interested her to question if her trained and experienced aim would be able to contest with his sharingan. "Ready whenever you are!"

"O-kay!" His hands went to the knives holstered around his waist like a belt, tossing up two in each hand, followed quickly by the knife that he was playing with being thrown forward towards the girl.

"Huh?!"

She had barely managed to hop to the right. Narrowing her eyes, she aimed the knife in her right hand to his right. The moment Saki felt her feet landing and making contact with the rock, she threw the knife towards Katsu's right as she used her left arm to stay balanced.

The boy quickly made a leap up, not waiting for the knives to fall down, nor to get hit by hers, catching them quickly and throwing them two by two.

Readying herself, Saki would jump to the left in order to move back to the rock she had been starting off to avoid the knives thrown towards her. Pulling out two with her right hand, she tried to land as well aim where Katsu would land. Keeping herself low and balanced, Saki threw the two knives in her right hand towards the boy.

As he landed on the rock, Katsu tried to keep a low posture, but felt the sting of his opening skin nonetheless as the knives cut and flew past his shoulders, letting the red ooze out. Quickly making a low lunge to another rock, Katsu threw another knife at her mid-air.

"Shit, are you al--"

The sentence was 'cut' as Saki attempted to move down and instictively moved to the left, almost losing her balance, as she wanted to ask if he was fine. Biting her lower lip, the young woman was forced to push herself backwards. With a fast movement, she would quickly pull her legs up and move them down to land herself on another rock. "Close." She thought as she felt an irritation at her left cheek, likely from one of his knives. Pulling out another knife, Saki readied herself again.

Just as his foot touched the piece of rock sticking out of the water, he pushed himself off in another direction, towards one of the larger boulders, though it was still not big enough to take more than one step in any direction. His hands quickly moving down and up, a few more knives found themselves in suspension with two moving towards Saki.

Following his line of movement, Saki took her breath in as she would 'follow him'. Jumping to another rock, she kept her gaze sideways locked on him. Throwing the knife, not to deflect and intercept any of his, but to try to pass them and force him into moving further, Saki would lean forward to place her hands on a rock. Grunting, as she felt the weight moving down on her hands, she would try to keep up with a fast movement by pushing herself away again towards another nearby rock.

The knife dug into the boy's arm as he raised it to protect himself, making him clench his jaw to stop himself from flinching. The knives in the air fell into his hands, two in each once more, and the first two flew at where she was. The boy jumped to a smaller rock, keeping his eyes on Saki to see where she would move.

Landing on the rock, she was about to move forwards due to the momentum she was making with her movements. Hearing two objects approaching her, she didn't waste any time to lunge forwards as she glanced in his direction for a second. Only to find herself with a problem that there wasn't a rock nearby. Two smaller rocks would force her to spread her legs in order to land her feet as spreading out her arms. Waving with her arms in attempt to keep her balance, Saki could see herself in the reflection of the water as she managed to stay still.

Katsu made a dash to the rock she was last on, balancing himself on it and turning his attention to her.

Spotting movement, Saki lowered her head as she would look at how he would land on the rock behind her. Probably making her be in a rather awkward position and stance. "Hey... there." She said, slowly smiling.

The boy waited for a second before getting up and reaching out his foot to give her a nudge.

"No, no, no!" She tried to protest as she wanted to move in order to avoid his foot. It would be too late as her attempt to turn would make her doom only more likely. Saki's lips parted as she felt how her body leaned forward, wanting to shout out Katsu's name. Only for her voice to be silenced by the water as she fell into it. A moment later, the young woman would resurface as she pouted. "Nobody ever taught you that you shouldn't touch a woman's rear without asking?"

Katsu stared for a few moments, his expression rather blank. "Ah... Well, I still win," he said with a mischievous smirk. "Since you're already in the water, maybe you could get the rest of the knives from the water, too."

"Yeah, fine." Saki replied. She found it tempting to try to drag him into the water, but decided to fish out the knives that would be in the water.



Katsu sat on the grass, pitying himself as he looked down at his arm with painful eyes, only realizing the pain now that the adrenaline had subsided.

Wrapping her fingers around the handle of the knife, Saki held her left hand on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry. It will be over quick, promised." Making sure she wasn't tightening her grip and causing pressure to pain Katsu more, she would wait for three seconds. "One. Two---"
"Wait! No! Don't--"

The grip of Saki's hand around the handle tightened as she would pull the knife out of his arm, holding his arm steady with her other hand. "Hush." She friendly mumbled, holding the knife up. "Three!"

A muffled squeal escaped the boy's mouth. He shut his eyes tight huffing. "It huuuuuurts," he whined. "I said waaaaaaaaait!"

"Hush. You're a big boy now. Nudging the rears of women." Saki replied, quite friendlily. She would inspect the wound and whistle. "Seems it isn't that deep or damaged. Just keep your arm up." She instructed him. Using the knife, the woman would decide to cut some of her right sleeve. "I'll bandage it for you now, but later when we're back at Azumi, I can treat it better."

The boy pouted, his eyes getting a bit teary as he tried to keep the trembling arm up. "It hurts either way!" he continued whining.

"Mhm. A lot of things hurt. Don't tremble too much, c'mon!" Saki replied back as she would use the make-shift piece of cloth to wrap it around his arm. "Wasn't that bad, was it?" She patted his shoulder and sat back on her butt.

"I'm doing my beeeeest!!!" he cried out. Sniffing a bit, Katsu glanced at her. "It... It doesn't... hurt as bad now, though."

"Good. I should've twisted the knife a bit. It is so rude to bump a girl's rear without permission." Saki said, but even with phrasing it like that, she still was barely able to hold back her own laughter. "Just keep some pressure on it if hurts. And heh, sorry. I should really watch my aim. Didn't want to really hit you with the knife."

"It... It was short but fun, though, wasn't it?" he said with a grin.

"That is what I keep asking Hiki." Saki mumbled underneath her breath. Letting out a sigh, she glanced at Katsu. "Yeah, it was. Though I suppose next time we will be throwing stuff at each other, lets go for the non-sharp weaponry? Spoons are great for not cutting people, I've heard."

"Yeah, but have you ever thrown a spoon?" the boy grumbled. "It doesn't go quite as fast or far as these things." He thought back to when he was trying to get Tanpo off his ripped clothes. "Hm..."

"Good! It would be fun to not be forced to keep jumping and going all over the place in a fast pace. Never imagined how it would be to just take it a bit slower and focus on, I don't know, balance? On how to learn it first at a slower pace? Man, I tell you, I would like to become some high ranked official to introduce some more relaxed pacing training than what I've been through all this time." Puffing, Saki raised her left eyebrow. "Though I've never thrown a spoon before. Now I want to try it."

"I don't really carry any around," Katsu said. "And you've never had a moment in your life where you needed to throw a spoon before?"

"No. Weird am I?" She asked, a smile growing on her lips. "I've usually a knife hiding... one moment." Pulling her right leg a bit to herself, her right hand went to her ankle. Pulling a knife up, she held the weapon up. "Always handy to keep weapons hiding where people will rarely ever look. Though there should be likely an advantage of hiding a spoon in case you don't have any, but are presented with some pudding, no?"

"Oooh! Aw... But I don't really have anything like boots I can hide knives in. Hm... Maybe I could try to find a way to keep a concealed weapon later. It's not like we'll need anything like that too much," he said with a satisfied smirk.

Sheathing the knife again in the concealed part of her boot, Saki scoffed. "Yes, like hiding away thirty-two knives isn't anything compared to one knife in a boot. I bet you ever threw a spoon before." Playfully, she would shove him lightly. "But we should definetly do such a training later on. If not spoons to prevent injury, perhaps something else blunted. Not that I've seen any blunted knives before, but suppose that they aren't that weird or rare."

"Sixty-four," the boy grumbled. "Plus, it's not the same! If you get searched, they look at your torso first! And there are too many of them to hide their presence. I suppose spoons could be useful too, in certain ways, though. Nobody'd think they're threats."

She stared for a moment at him. Blinking a few times, she would result to a soft cough and look away again. "True. I suppose." Glancing briefly up to the sky, she thought of something. "But how about we go for lunch? All this training and talking about spoons made me crave for some pudding."

"You owe me a 15 lunches for forcing me to do that dance, so you're paying!"

Looking surprised, Saki turned her head as she glanced back at Katsu. "Pardon me? I did what?" She asked, sounding quite shocked. "Do you accuse me of that I made you dance? Mind refresh my mind, but who taught you to dance in the first place?"

"But remember that these were your words," he added. "When you tried to get me to dance with that girl from the street, you said you'd buy me 15 lunches if I did it! And I did!"

"I start to believe somebody threw a spoon at you, cause really when? Where?" Saki frowned. "If you're so hellbent on me treating you, I've no trouble with it. But fifteen times? Yeah, tough luck. Not doing that just cause you danced with some girl on the street." Getting up, she snorted. "Else I would be dancing on the street every day. Free lunch sounds pretty amazing if that is all it takes."

"Wha--But you said...!" The boy scurried to his feet, grumbling in frustration. "Fine! Do you have anywhere in specific in mind?"

"I might have. Start to only wonder if I shouldn't be worried if I am not forgetting good places to get lunch and pudding. Must be the spoons. " She joked as she beckoned him to come. "So about that girl you danced with...~"

"What do you mean 'about that girl you danced with'? You basically made me!"

"Are you implying I am that cruel? Katsu, that is mean!" Saki replied back. "I don't see any benefit for me doing such an act. Do you?"

"I am! You did and you know it!"

"And I bet you had fun dancing with that girl. Now, I wonder what kind of pudding I will want in a bit."

"It was extortionnn!"

[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox=Ryu Uchiha, blue, dashed, 10, Tahoma"]Ryu listened to Eiji's statement and kind of zeroed in on a single statement. 'Mister Uchiha' . As much as the girl hated to admit it, she was slightly irritated by this. The girl pouted to herself as they walked towards the inn they would be staying in, and whenever they finally reached their room she watched Eiji as he spoke. Whenever he finally finished talking the girl decided to take her chance, she may not be flaunting this fact but she did not want to hide anymore. With these thoughts in her mind the girl spoke out "Sensei, You called me Mister Uchiha earlier... but uhm, could you please not do that? Y-you know why... C-cause I'm not exactly a boy" With these words her face turned a bright red as she backed to the wall again and sat down. More because her legs were tired from being up all day than anything else really.[/fieldbox]
 
15th of August - 476

A week timeskip ;


With the tournament starting, some teams of the Akinian Empire have been traveling all week to get there. They are welcomed in a polite manner, giving a place to stay at and the participants being informed that their matches will soon start.


Kumogakure :

An incident has happened. Though the ANBU timely arrival has prevented news from leaking out, there was and still is some panic, frustration and anger residing with the top of the Cloud. This is because of the kidnapping of Midori Sato - nicked as the Savior of Kumogakure and the Jinchuriki of the Hachibi/Eight Tails.

Search parties have been sent to locate and trace the kidnapped girl and after five days, hope was slowly ebbing away. Until one of the tracking parties managed to find a trace, leading to the Sky Country. Now a rescue party has been send to deal with the situation and hopefully bringing back the Savior.


Republic of Kirigakure :

There is a small group of ships being prepared. It seems that the Republic of Kirigakure is preparing for some operation and while it has been some time that the military of the Kirigakure has done something that wasn't aimed to oppress the population, this has caused a mixed reaction from the locals of the capital. One side finds it slight threatening and without knowing what is going on, a part of the population is starting to get more wary and wondering if the Council is perhaps as corrupted as the Mizukages.

Another part of the population is however quite glad. This marks that the military isn't focusing their attention to 'keep order' and that the locals can enjoy a bit more than fearing that the soldiers and shinobi will be ordered to do something drastic. It isn't like that has been a rare thing in the past after all. Only what kind of operation is requiring this many soldiers and shinobi that number to a total of at least 200 or 300 military personal remains unanswered.


Akinian Empire :

There has been an event organized called 'The Run'. It has been a small scaled event among the veterans in Konohagakure, but after they contacted the Empress and kept lobbying at more influential people, the organization of the event saw a tremendous rise of attention and willing participants for this event. Its organized that parties will travel in a jog, while carrying heavy backpacks, towards several locations. This will take them across several settlements and hamlets who could make good use of the medicines and other supplies. Each participants is asked to run with a memento of somebody that they want to honor with the run, such as a veteran who has lost something dear to him or her - relative or limb to give examples, and those who still even to this day suffer PSTD's.

Slowly it has grown from Konohagakure to other parts of the realm, stretching from the badlands of Rain province to the shores of the Noodle province.
 
Talking about 'things' and 'stuff' concerning the 'other thing'

Collab between Sketcher, Gero and Lesli


[spoili]
Sitting on her bed, Saki glanced out of the small window. The dark clouds didn't predict a good weather for either today or tomorrow, but that was okay. Chewing on her lower lip, she didn't want to disturb the silence as she had been quite silent after the 'news'. While she could take some mental hits, she felt bad. Hopefully soon enough that would all change. Cause if that wouldn't...

"I kind of miss him."

Knowing that it wouldn't make things better, she felt the need to say it. Even though the other two would likely feel the same. They had known him for a longer time after all. Letting out a soft sigh, Saki lowered her head as she wanted to do something. But they still needed to wait before the matches would start. Before she could do something really productive.

Leaning against the door with his arms crossed out front of his chest, Koike had his head lowered as well. He was the first to receive the bad news. And he had been quite surprised. Everything had lately gone great. For him at least. It was if somebody had punched him in the face and made him realize that the happy time was over. While he had been against the idea of entering a tournament, the reason why they were going now had made him set aside his personal preference.

"He is hopefully in a better place now. Let's... just get this done."

Koike mumbled, audible enough for Saki and Katsu to hear him. Glancing at Katsu, Koike continued. "Do you have the 'package' with you?" He asked, raising his right hand to rub his chin.

"You guys are being a bit too melodramatic, aren't you?" Katsu asked with an amused smile. He turned to Koike, sighing. "Wh-- Yes. I have the package with me," he said. "You don't need to call them that as if people are gonna just jump out and call us out."

Glancing at the two, Saki chuckled. Rubbing the back of her neck, she ended with a snort. Laughing didn't seem fitting with the current topic. "I'm sorry. It is just that I hadn't seen it all coming. But I suppose we should come up with a plan on how to approach this all. I know a technique that will help us, but we will need to prepare it now. If you both are okay with that." She said.

"You never know." Koike grumbled as he frowned. He then glanced at Saki as she suggested a technique. "I'm all game. I think that the 'preparations' will do quite the work we intended for them. But if you two know more approaches on how we can carry out our plan, then I would love to hear them." The young man stated.

"Why do you keep articulating words like that?" Katsu asked Koike, raising an eyebrow. "Anyway... I'm alright with that."
"I am not!" Koike replied back, frowning at Katsu. "I am just saying that ---"

"Thus for my technique, I need you both to focus. It is a Hidden Yamanaka technique, but it will not require anything else but then just the focus of you both, got that?" Saki cheerfully started. Crossing her legs as she would move a bit more on her bed, she would move her hands together to form a handsignal, that of the Ram. It was technically not an easy technique, but it was to combine two techniques to create a telepathic bond between people. The more people, the more it would strain on her and limitating her chakra reserves. Closing her eyes, Saki would focus on what she was about to do. The Mind Transmission Technique wasn't one she used often as she didn't like it. It was great for some situations, but if it would require a bond with more than three people, she often found herself left with a headache and being dizzy if it would last longer than a hour. With her sensory ninjutsu, it was easier to lay a connection with the desired targets and maintaing the connection.

"Okay, seems it is working now. Before you two go at it, let me make this clear. This technique isn't perfect as it has its flaws. If one of you get dragged with heavy emotions, it might inflict upon the others. Next to that, it will be troublesome if we keep jabbing about everything and nothing. My suggestion is thus to keep it calm and cool. Else it might be better if we don't use this at all."

His eyes widened a bit. It was in a certain manner not very surprising. Yamanaka were rumoured to be opponents that delved into the minds of their opponents. Yet Koike hadn't ever experienced something like this. Nodding as response back, he was a bit hesistant to 'speak' up. "Understood. I suppose we best go a bit out and get ready then?" He suggested.

"I remember this..." Katsu glanced at Saki, thinking back to the last time he'd seen her use the same technique. "Anyway, I think we should all pick our ma--"
"Uhu, though if you don't mind me asking, how about those pastries I asked you about?"
"Mask mask mask mask mask mask mask mask MASK!"

"I could use something to eat." Saki said, unable to help but to smile. For two assassins, they were sure the troublemakers together in her opinion. Getting up from the bed, she glanced at the other at the top. "Maybe we can move our bags on there? That would leave the closets less cramped, y'know?"

Glowering at Katsu for a moment, Koike scoffed. With Saki speaking up, Koike nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a plan. If I had known this before, I would've considered to bring Akumu along." He thought out loud. Glancing at the other bunk bed, Koike grinned. "Dibs on top."

"Hey! You can't do that! I wanna sleep on the top bed!"

Watching, the young woman wondered what would follow. They had been barely one hour in their lodging and already the two were going at it about who would sleep on top of their bunk bed. Remaining silent, she bit her lower lip. Glancing out of the window, she tried to smuggle her laugh away as one would expect from a trained spy.

Katsu rushed over to the bed, clinging onto the ladder and making his way up. "It's mine!"

"Good. I wanted the downside anyways." Koike chuckled. Pushing his back from the door, he glanced at both as he would raise his left thumb to point over his shoulder. "But anyways, shall we see if we can enjoy a bit of fresh air before we have to go?"

"Some fresh air would be great." Saki managed to say as she flashed a smile at Katsu. Focusing on the bond, she would convoy a message to the Uchiha. "If he still steals the top bed, we can always move the baggage and you can sleep at the bunk bed of mine, okay?" Winking at the Uchiha as she would walk towards the door, her mood had became a bit better than it had been during the travel to the place.

Katsu gave a childishly satisfied grin in response before leaving his luggage up top and sliding down the short ladders. "Hup! Off we go, then!"
[/spoili]
 
[fieldbox=Operation : Air-drop, orange]
Location :
The Sky Country, at the western part of the region.

Estimated time :
22:30 / 10:30 PM.

Goal :
Sabotage and lay traps at the ruined fort. Secure the 'target' or information about the 'target' if securing her isn't possible.



Teams :

Team Alpha, - Lead by Asami Sanosuke
Team Bravo, - Led by Taro Kawaguchi
Team Charlie, - Led by Satoshi Jun

Important post for :
@Aliceee , @Inzane620 , @LibratheScales , @ChromeHound , @redlemonaide , @Cole Silver , @SugaarCereal , @Lilly , @Nim , @Lesli , @Sketching101

Leader : Asami Sanosuke
Members :
- Miu Sanosuke
- Rei Tsumetai
- Reyna Azuma

- Kaya Irozaki
- Yuki Amaya
- Seikyu Chikara


Location, Above the ruined castle, approx 1500 meters high. Airship 1


Leader : Taro Kawaguchi
Four Squads of ANBU, each squad consisting out of six ANBU.

Location, hidden camp west of the ruined castle.


Leader : Satoshi Jun
Hanako Asushika
Ayame Yukiteru
Kin Kita
Natsuo Ueda


Location, Above the ruined castle, approx 1500 meters high. Airship 2




Target / Briefing :

"The Target - Midori Sato - is located and founded among a mountainous region that forms the border with of the Sky and Bird country. The Sky country has been since a long time been a vassal of the Lightning country. Already there will be a platoon of ANBU that form the Bravo Team that will pursue the hostiles. Scouts have tracked over 50 individuals spread over small teams.

We assume that the hostiles take Midori over to the Bird country, but we're unsure at the moment why they would attempt such an action. But what matter is that the group gets intercepted before they make it to the border and this will become an international incident.

Right now the group seems to move to an old castle ruin. Probably to rest a bit out. This is the time!


You all have been trained for at least three days on how to use the parachute. We don't expect anything professional or superb, but each of you have managed so far. As long as you don't attempt anything reckless, no reason for the results to change.

In the middle of the night, team Alpha and Charlie will be dropped into the ground of the enemies in a silent manner and to sabotage some of the castle's defenses as laying in wait to ambush some of the small groups of the enemy as our stalkers and scouts report that they will be arriving at morning.

Team Bravo will lead the front attack once the leader of Team Alpha gives the signals. This is to distract the bulk of the forces while either Alpha or Bravo team will move in and secure the target or at least get an update on her status.

Remember that more lives are at stake. If you fail here today, then more innocent lives might suffer in the months to come if this group move Midori over the borders and out of our reach."




[/fieldbox]

[fieldbox=Satoshi Jun, #ffcc99]
Kumogakure Jounin | Team 3 |

Leader of Team Charlie.




The airship, zeppelin or whatever it was called seemed to be silent. They had been training for three days on how to descend off the construction that could lift up into the air as they had been positioned at the capital of the Sky country. Satoshi had been more silent and grim to his team, not as much as the friendly and patient mentor that Team 3 had enjoyed on their first mission. During the time that they had been waiting for the scouts and stalkers to report where the hostiles with the target were going, he had been the one who kept drilling the genin and chuunin to doing the air drops. It was relatively simple and nothing had gone wrong. But they hadn't jump off a zeppelin that was in the air, way above ground. Simply of a higher evaluated plateau had the group been practising how to open a parachute and briefly guide it.

But this night it wasn't a practice round. Sitting in the seat -located in the back of the ship's hull -, he kept his head lowered. There were two zeppelins and the opening that they would use to jump out and skydive towards the earth was still closed. Breathing slowly, the jounin thought briefly of the mission.

It was easy. Get down, lay down some traps and wait for morning to help ambush the hostiles. The reason why not more experienced troopers were used was what was bothering Satoshi though. He had been given the reason that they couldn't spare those at the border as they were vital to keep the troublemakers of the Wolf Country out and seeing the direction the hostiles were heading, those at the other borders couldn't be send to deal with it without making the security less tight. Not to mention that a force was being gathered to prepare for the Joint Strike Force Operation. And basically, he and his team weren't in direct danger.

Glancing up, he shot a worried expression at the others. They were the smallest team and would unlikely be going into the combat. "Listen up." He began. "We've been practicing this for three days now. It had gone well back then and there is no reason for now to be scared. There isn't any enemy waiting for us and our gear has been checked. They wouldn't allow us to drop out if they were sure that it was completely safe." Satoshi said. He raised his left hand and pointed with his left thumb to his headband.

"You all got this, don't you? It means that you're a shinobi of the Cloud. Missions as droppings as these aren't anything to us. Get used to this. Cause a lot of people are counting on us. Keep your mind on the goal and watch each others back. I doubt we will see heavy combat from close by, but stick close to me and heed my orders." Pausing the man glanced at the door. It was still closed.

Turning his attention back to the team, the man flashed a smile. "It is my job after all to make sure you all get back home. My advice is to stick to me unless I order something else. Don't do anything reckless and remember that you're wearing a headband for a reason." A loud clang was heard as the door would slowly open. It seemed that the captain of the airship decided that it was time that they should get going. The cold would move into the dim lighted cabine of where Team 3, now nicked as Team Charlie for this operation, was at. Licking his lips, Satoshi was the first to get up as he would move down the pair of goggles that each of them had been given. Half turning around, he gestured to the handle, that would initiate the parachute and break the fall. "Remember, don't do it instantly. Wait three seconds and then pull the handle. Remain calm and if you happen to get separated, don't worry. Stay where you are, got that?"

Waiting for a moment, the man would turn around to face the opening. Jogging the small distance, he would then jump out. The cold air moved into his face,but the goggles would prevent him to force his eyes shut. Balancing himself, the man would wait three seconds. Adrenaline rushed through his body and made the man briefly wonder if this feeling was what birds daily had when they would soar down back towards the earth. It was both terrifying as exciting.

Pulling the handle as soon as he left the cloud and could see the dark landscape, the dark colored parachute would start to move out of the man's backpack. Blinking with his eyes, Satoshi focused for a moment on retaining his balance. Being sure that he had everything under control, he tried to see if he could spot any good landing zone. But he was way too high from the ground to spot any good landing spot.

For a moment, Satoshi wanted to use his sensory technique to see how his team was doing, but he needed both hands to keep directing the parachute in the direction of the ruins of the castle where they were needed to go.
[/fieldbox]
 
Ayame Yukiteru
Team 3 Genin | Kumogakure

Ayame was quietly stroking and feeling her bandaged palms with a single finger the entire time they were on the aircraft. She didn't even look at anyone, but not out of her normal shyness. It was more out of quiet sadness. She hadn't spoken or slept properly for five days, the dark circles under her eyes showing her insomnia. It was a week after... That happened. She always felt a small shiver down her spine when she thought about it, but it completely silenced her general fears. She had sat next to Natsuo just fine. Chibi on the other hand was tagging along, the small pup hanging around her shoulder. She swore the canine had gotten just a bit bigger; her teeth were coming in, that's for sure. But the problem was that Chibi was the only one left. When she had gotten home from the hospital a day later, everyone else was gone, probably having ran out of the open door. Chibi was sleeping under her bed, complaining of hunger. There was no way she found everyone else.

She looked to Satoshi-sensei as he spoke, gently touching the headband that hung around her neck. The silent girl nodded; although she was mentally stilled, she wasn't going to make that come in the way of this mission. The gashes on her hands were mostly healed, but she always was concerned over the stitches coming loose from moving her hands too much, especially during the three days of parachute training, but they were mostly scabbed up and healing by now. She watched her Sensei lept from the opening, taking a deep breath as she grabbed the pup, slipping her through her neck opening. She didn't want Chibi falling out of her jacket and falling to her death. She was secure over her chest, thank goodness. She stroked the white fur as an act of reassurance, even giving her a little poking out head a kiss. Slipping the goggles she was given on, she went to the opening as well, staring down at the land below. With another deep breath, she spread her arms out, and fell forward.

She tried her best to resist the urge to scream and cry, but even with the wind causing even her hair clip to become loose, she held onto the area where Chibi was, feeling the puppy scratch against her chest. She grit her teeth, thinking about now was a good time to deploy the parachute, reaching for the handle and pulling. She felt just how frightened she was. Her heart was rocking in her chest, her breathing unsteady while she was getting to regulating it, and her hands shook.
"S-Scary..." She heard the pup whimper. She was clawing against her chest, her gently petting the pup as she sank slowly to the earth, making shushing noises as to calm her down. She held onto one of the ropes holding the parachute to the backpack, guiding herself to where they needed to go. She saw Satoshi-sensei just a little farther down, so she decided to keep nearby but not too close to fall into him.
 
[Fieldbox=Operation : Bird in a Cage, royalblue]
In Kirigakure's port

Important post for :
- @Sketching101 : Arima Tsukino
- @Rusty : Shin Yuki
- @Inzane620 : Aya Oda
- @Edward : Genso Otsutsuki
- @LibratheScales : Nanami Fukumitsu
- @Fieryfly : Nami Tachibana




Short briefing given to each participant :

A few ships are going to sail out as there has been an operation planned and given green light by Hiro Akiyama. The objective is relatively simple. At first the few galleys will bring us to a port of the Nagi Island - a vassal of the Republic. The operation is kept however secret until we have our objective.

Our objective is to find some of the nests of the rare Roc birds. These birds have been always causing some trouble to those who reside near the mountains and hills that form the center of the Nagi island. We'll be going in two groups. One group will try to help comfort the farmers and few villages who view the large birds - as the largest seen specimen of the Rocs have been reported to be big enough to grab and fly away with a sheep. This isn't even rare as the birds have been even preying on humans who have attempted to drive them of the isle. Those who happen to be fortunate to survive such confrontations have the scars to prove that these creatures aren't a joke.

It is being planned that some of the birds will be captured and brought back to Kirigakure in order to study them and allow some of the Akiyama clan who are experienced to handle and tame wild creatures to try their hand at them. Literally.


Your orders are thus hopefully clear.
Don't be late.




Mika Hayashi,
Kirigakure Jounin | Team 14


The port was quite busy. It usually was, but today it seemed it was reaching a peak. Five galleys were at the ready to sail away. Leaning with her back against a wall, she was waiting for the shinobi that would travel with her today. The mission wasn't relatively too difficult if one would read that they had to just capture a few birds. But Mika had done some of her own research. It seemed that these rocs were large enough to be even a threat to a group of adults, meaning a few things.

If it was possible, they could end up being potential beasts of war and else providing some support in other manners. Though it was to be expected that she wasn't given the full briefing and details either, Mika did suspect that it was one of the reasons why the top had decided to send a batch of shinobi. If done right, it wouldn't require seasoned veterans to clear this operation and what better way to inspire some trust in the population to show that the new generation of Kirigakure's shinobi were trained and educated to help the people of the Republic instead of oppress them?

Letting out a soft sigh, Mika pulled the hood that covered most of her features away into the shadows a bit further. Her pale blue eyes eyes moved her gaze to the galley in front of her. Hopefully those brats would arrive soon. While they had around a hour still before they had to go to be in line with the planned schedule, Mika wanted to go earlier. The sooner they were at open sea, the sooner she could experience some peace. Hopefully.

[/fieldbox]
 
  • Love
Reactions: K3l
[Fieldbox=Operation : Air Drop, plum]
Asami Sanosuke,
Kumogakure Jounin | Team 5 | Team Alpha


Her arms were crossed as she held her eyes closed. The 'cabine' was rather silent as Asami had ordered them to remain silent when the aircraft had taken slowly off. She was doubtful if the lot was ready, but that was mostly because she hadn't really faith in a bunch of rag-tag rookies like those who would follow her lead now.

There were several times that they would feel as if the hull had hit something like a bump. Half opening her eyes, Asami wondered about their 'target'. Midori Sato, the Savior of Kumogakure. She wondered why the girl hadn't yet managed to free herself or done something to make her and her captives stand out easier for the scouts to find. While she had never displayed any high expectations nor trust in the girl's capabilities, Asami didn't have a low opinion on Midori. Sure, the girl hadn't been that great and obedient. But she hadn't been that much of a trouble either. Possibly just hating her, but Asami was okay.

She could grow likely old with Midori Sato, the Savior of Kumogakure, hating her guts.

It was a title Midori had 'earned' not just on herself. If Asami hadn't been there, the girl would have probably been in more trouble than not. But it wouldn't probably sit well with anybody if Asami would take the glory for herself. Only here she was. Who know already how high in the air to then dive and risk her life to save that spoiled brat. Making sure that she had tidied her hair in a ponytail, so that it would be a bother during the fall down, Asami cleared her throat.

"Ready yourselves. Keep your mind sharp and focused. The unlucky brat who happen to get lost, don't start to make a ruckus. First make sure that you don't break a leg or anything else. Once everybody is at ground, clean up your parachute and simply stick together and then wait for future orders." She instructed with a stern voice. She briefly glanced at the group. More so at the few members who were also part of Kumogakure Team 13, Midori's team. "We're not here to play heroes. Keep that between your ears. We're here to do our job and to get a chance to prove your worth. That means listen to orders." She briefly paused. Mentioning that she was also assigned to the mission to not just lead the team, but also for another reason. If for some reason Midori would end up as unstable jinchuriki, one of these kids had to be 'sacrificed' to become the next host of the Hachibi.

It would perhaps not come to that. But in case it would, at least they would have enough small fishes running around to be used for the covert plan. A plan that Asami had suggested. A plan that she disliked and hoped wouldn't be necessary.

A loud sound originated from the door, who slowly went down. It was time to get going.

Pulling herself up, Asami would move down the pair of goggles. Her heart started to beat faster as she would wait for a moment. "Okay, now go, go go!" She beckoned to the group to jump out as the flying construction was hoovering over a cloud. "Move it!"

Hopefully that brat was still alive...

Alive and unscathed.
[/fieldbox]
 
  • Bucket of Rainbows
Reactions: redlemonaide
[fieldbox=Alone?... Probably, #ffcc99]
Rini Yoto
Amegakure genin of Team 15 | Part of Sho's Team during the tournament.


She held with her left hand her bag leaning on her left shoulder. Standing in the hall of where the lodgings would be of the Akinian participating teams, Rini felt lost. She knew where the room was where she and the two other participants would stay. But without Itsuo, she wasn't sure who she should speak to. There was that jounin, Aiko, who she could approach as she was the designated guide and person to approach.

But maybe she was wrong with joining the tournament? Rini decided to sit down. Glancing around, she thought it would be a good idea to see if she saw any familiar or infamous face. But all she did was to see if she could spot Itsuo. Or even Ryoku. The man had been so kind as the girl thought back to their conversation. How long had it been? A year? No. Several months after she had been mad at Itsuo. Just after she had figured that the man was an ANBU and she had still been blaming everybody for the fact she was now without parents.



A few months back,
The words of an old sensei.
I am always here for my family.

A collab between Little Sister (Aliceee) and Big Brother (Fox). Ryoku expresess his will to support Rini through these difficult times for her.​

[spoili]
Raising her arm, Rini stared at the surface of the water. Throwing the small stone into the water, she silently kept staring at how the stone sank away into the water. She had just tried to continue her stamina training, wanting to improve herself. But afterwards she had came to this silent spot at the outskirt of Amegakure. Picking up another small stone, she threw it. Watching how the stone would fall into the water with the rain, Rini pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. The raincoat prevented that she would get soaked by the rain, but she wished it was a bit bigger so that she could hide herself in it. From the world and the pain.

It was one of the days when Ryoku just did not want to be closed in his office. Ignoring the paperwork that was his constant blight, he went out, between his people. Walking down the streets, he greeted people here and then, sometimes engaging in small chatter with them. Despite the rain clouds that showered the village, the mood was rather warm. Most people were smiling and the streets themselves were filled with pleasant chatter. Deciding to go for a walk outside of the village, he made his way towards the outskirts of the village. As much as he enjoyed being surrounded by his village, from time to time, he needed the silence that only the outskirts offered him. And a few minutes later, he realized he was not alone. He spotted a small figure in front of a body of water that formed after the numerous rains. Approaching it from the behind, he then crouched down between the small figure." Would you mind if I interrupt you, my young friend?"

Shocked and surprised, she recognized that familiar voice. Her head whipped to the source as she saw the Amekage himself. Turning a bit pale as she wasn't sure how she should react, Rini licked her lips as she close to panicking. Then she realized what had dawned earlier upon her when the Jounin commander had called for her and the team. Her lips curved down, but her voice was rather timid as she didn't dare to spat Ryoku in his face or sound aggressive. "I don't think I would be able to stop you, sir. Lord Amekage-sir."

Ryoku smiled at Rini."Please. When we are alone, we can drop all the grand titles. I am Ryoku." He then grabbed a small stone, just like Rini was doing before he joined her and threw it at the body, then watched it singking. He watched it with great interest, then he turned to Rini again."May I ask what brought one of my young pupils to this place?"

Feeling only a little bit more at comfort as he didn't seem to mind her to become personal with him, Rini however felt she should be scared. Why would he want to be personal with her? Was he going to scold her? Punish her? She had after all spat his commander in the face. Flinching, she turned a bit more pale. Watching the stone he threw in the water, her right hand also grabbed a small stone, but she was too scared to throw it into the water. "Cause I... I don't have any place else to go to, sir."

Ryoku felt a bit saddened by her words. He knew that Rini was the one who spat into the face of Lady Hoshi, but there was no sense in punishing her for that. It was a situation that was mishandled by all parties involved, so he decided to let each side take something from it, rather than dishing out punishments - he felt bad even thinking about it. He then had an idea."I have an idea, Rini. Have you ever been skipping stones?" He asked in a friendly tone.

"No sir, I haven't." She answered as she tried to make her voice sound more firm. But in his presence and not knowing how deep in trouble she was at the moment, Rini couldn't make her voice do that. It was almost a whisper and Rini tried to avoid looking at him. Staring at the water, she tried to muster her courage for the question. "Am I-I-I in trouble, sir?"

Ryoku chuckled at her timid question. He decided to be a bit bold and sat down right next to Rini, then he placed her arm on her back."Why in the name of Sage would you be in trouble, Rini? Because of the incident with Lady Hoshi?" He was silent for a moment before continuing to speak."Why it is true that you behaved very rudely there, I am not going to punish you, I never had the intention to do so. It was a mistake by both parts involved, Rini. I just want you to learn something from it."

Though she flinched again, by his arm on his back, she heard that he wasn't going to punish her. More surprised than fearful for messing up with saying something in the wrong way, Rini looked up to Ryoku with widened eyes. "Learn? But sir, I spat in her face. And she is a-" She slowly stopped talking. It was his decision and he was the leader of the Rain province. And her sensei. Questioning why he didn't punish her would have a reason behind she suspected. "I don't think I will do much good, sir. I've acted quite out of the line these last times."

"There is a very thin line between acting out of line and in the line. As I told, you will not be punished, I will make sure of that. You made a mistake, nothing more, nothing less. Look at me, Rini. You think I did not make mistakes?" He chuckled a bit, remembering some silly decisions."I can only wish that to be true, Rini. We all make mistakes. By punishing you, I would just sow the seed of evil. And I want to avoid that by all means possible. I don´t believe in punishing people for mistakes. I believe in ... well ... in them. We all learn from our mistakes and I know you are no mistake, Rini."

His words made her only baffled than she already was. She could see some wisdom in them, but she felt only ashamed more by her deeds and words. Thinking about the words, she looked back at the water. The anger slowly ebbed away as she thought about his words. Instead of anger and depression, she felt a painful sting of sorrow and regret. "Thank you for your kind w-words, sir." She responded after a moment of silence. Wishing that she could revert time, she knew that was a fairy-tail wish. [/color=#ffcc99]"I just wish that I could've done something, sir. I'm not the best. In anything, at all."[/color] She spoke, pausing for a moment. "I feel sometimes it is all my fault. If they hadn't been at home. If I had... I don't know. I don't know who is to blame anymore but that ... girl."

"Ah. Yes. If anyone is to blame for that, it is me." His expression was saddened."I am the one to blame for that, Rini. It was my duty to protect my village, my family. And I failed in that duty. I am carrying all ... all those who have perished on that day with myself. I hope they will be able to forgive me one day. Until that day ... I will note be able to forgive myself." He remained silent for a while, throwing another stone."But there are still other people relying on me, Rini. Should I delve in doubt, I would end like that stone. Sunk by my own insecurities and sorrows. We cannot allow them to do that, Rini. While you lost something that no one can replace ... you still have a lot of other things. Things if great importance. Your ambitions, your dreams, your goals. Your Team needs you, Rini. Don´t let the boys make you feel any other way. You are a vital member of my Team 22, Rini."

His words caused her to grow silent. Her fingers clenched harder around the small rock she held in her hands as he threw another stone into the water. Staring at the slowly sinking object, Rini couldn't help but feel bad for him. She wanted still to grow mad and blame him. Cause if there was nobody to blame, what then? Was it then just fate that her parents had died for? It was a thought that made her feel scared, not wanting to later perish herself just on the whims of fate or something else. "Thanks sir, but," She wanted to tell him that she was weak. Pathethic. But somewhere she felt also too proud to do such a thing. "I don't think I deserve this kindness, sir." She whispered, thinking about how she had behaved to Itsuo last time. "I've been really bad to a good friend of mine. He was trying to help me and not sink away in anger. And when I learned he was an ANBU, I scolded him. I said some really bad things, sir."

Ryoku placed her hand around Rini´s shoulder, trying to comfort her."Don´t even say that, Rini. All people deserve kindness. You included. If anyone else things otherwise, they will have to deal with me." Ryoku then grabbed another stone and let in fall on his palm, then he offered it to Rini."He is your friend, so I am sure that he understands. You should still apologize to him, Rini ... but I am sure he can understand. Else, as an ANBU, I can ... order him to understand." He tried to joke a bit, to cheer his student up, while still oferring her the stone on his palm.

Accepting the stone, she looked at the two stones in her hand. She felt relieve for some reason. Though still feeling guitly, she wasn't angry anymore. Perhaps still harboring distrust and some anger towards that specific girl, but not against the ANBU or anybody else she had blamed before. Slowly clenching her hands, holding the stones firmly, she looked up to Ryoku. A question popped up in her mind. "Sir, may I ask what your dream is?"

Ryoku turned to her with a smile."Of course you may, Rini. Let me show you my dream." He molded some chakra in his free hand and placed it on the ground. The muddy ground dried up and the soil started to rise, forming a small scale model of Amegakure."This is my dream, Rini. The safety and prosperity of Amegakure. Even though I failed it once ... I ... I had to find the strength to continue. For all the people who still live in the village. For them. Our village is my dream, Rini."

Amazed by what he managed to conjure, Rini grew silent once more. She found his dream quite nice. And the fact he admitted that he had failed, yet continue to fight for it made her think more. She had only been blaming others and pursueing a goal that she didn't even believed in. Trying to become stronger to get rid of needing anybody. It had after all led to where she sat before Ryoku had came. Alone, bitter and saddened. "That is a nice dream sir. Has that always been your dream?" Rini asked, her voice becoming a bit more confident as she wasn't afraid that he was going to punish her for her behavior.

Ryoku shook his head."My dreams were selfish in the beginning, Rini. I wanted to become the most powerful shinobi in our village ... then in the world. Just for the sake of it. As time went by and life stopped giving and started taking, I realized something, Rini. Strength is not measured by your muscles. Strength is measured by this." He pointed to her hearth."Strength is measured by your heart, Rini. How much love can it hold, how much love can it give. Love is the key to strength, Rini. The strength to protect the things we cherish and love, Rini."

That made some sense and reminded her of what her mother usually tried to told her. The stories where love, trust and friendship conquered all kind of odds. It was just hard to believe after all that had happened. That and she knew out of painful experience that strength wasn't just measured in muscles. She barely had any of that anyways! "I think I understand. Though if you don't mind sir, you don't strike me as much as you say." Rini said, slowly a smile erupting on her lips. "More like some wise hermit. In those kind of stories." Realizing that it wasn't really a compliment, Rini felt stupid. "I meant in child stories, I still like them. A lot." Did I just admit that I like bedtime stories? Wow, really a new level. Way to go Rini... She thought to herself.
[/spoili]



Leaning forward, Rini felt a bit more at comfort as she kept watching people heeding their own business. She doubted still that she was going to be vital to anybody or practically helpful such as the Amekage or Itsuo. A small smile moved on the girl's lips. But she could try.

She wouldn't mind it if it would be a rocky road.

Only to not be alone anymore...​

[/fieldbox]
 
A Sister's Lunch

A collab between Libra and Alice

Summary:
(Flashback)
Even with their scuffles, Nanami and Mika go to have some lunch, ending in a rather heartwarming moment.

"Bored..." She mumbled as she hung from the swing, the playground instrument gently swinging back and forth, making a slight creaking noise.
"You're a-always bo-o-ored." Jeriko bleated. The ram was lying by the swing set, looking like a huge marshmallow on the dark ground.
"Well no one's come by today," She exhaled slowly from her mouth, looking towards the ram, "It's just been icky and quiet today here."
"Well keep yo-o-our boredom quiet... I'm trying to sle-e-eep." He complained, lying his head back down.
She sighed, pulling her long black hair from the dirt as she sat up, just sitting on the swing and looking at the sky.

It wasn't much of a bother for Mika. Keeping herself under the radar was quite simple. When she had to go out, she would use the transformation technique in order to keep her identity hidden away. As she walked through a park, Mika felt more comfortable with just keeping her presence hidden with a slim hoodie, with the hood pulled up. Enjoying the peace and calm, she came to a slow halt. "Oh you."

The voice of the woman was still audible for both Jericho as for Nanami, sounding quite bored.

"Oh you." She parroted in the same bored tone, narrowing her eyes. Why was she walking through the park? Her of all people? She sighed, better not give her a lecture or pin her to the ground again.
"What is it?" She spoke, "Don't tell me that we have to do something else..." She slightly pushed herself to go back and forth on the swing. Jeriko was fast asleep, so he didn't say anything.

"Not sure, asshole." Mika replied, her tone sounding slight amused. "I thought you were a little punk, but seeing you now, I'm quite sure. You're quite the little bitch, aren't you?" The woman continued with her offensive comments, observing how the chuunin would live up to the lesson she had been given last time.

She then flinched, turning away. She was not going to throw an insult at her, no matter how much the desire burned within her.
"S-so... How was your day..?" She said, forcing a smile, "Good, I hope..?" Her eye twitched, like it hurt to be nice.

She was resisting? Mika was slight impressed. Only for a moment as she would reply back to Nanami. "It could've been better. It slightly suffered a bit as I'm now looking at something idiotic." Raising her chin by a bit, Mika would pause. "I suppose you had a splendid day so far. Just swinging and being... a little bitch, huh?"

Her eye was twitching even more. She wanted to punch her in the mouth so badly...
"Yeah i've had a... Great. Day so far..." She said through her fake smile, "Really i've been... Bored. So far... Because no one but you has come here yet today..." She released a sigh, breathing in and out as to calm herself.
"So what brings you here, hmm? A walk?"

Staying quiet for a long moment, Mika had expected at least a sneer back. The twitching at her eye was a clear signal that she was hitting her mark, but yet the girl was keeping her cool. "Yes. I figured that a park is useful for such an activity. What about you?" Mika asked, in a more neutral tone. Deciding to lay off with the insults, she briefly glanced at the ram of Nanami.

"Oh, I always come here..." She said, "I usually watch the kids play, though. It reminds me of something I didn't really have..."

"I see." Mika calmly replied. "Suppose you're indeed nothing more than an orphan, huh? Is being a kunoichi a better option though? Nobody else than your mother that is going to miss you?" She asked on a neutral tone.

"Well... I'm not exactly an orphan..." She rubbed the back of her head, her face turning a shade of red, "I got kicked out of my house by my dad. We got into an argument and he said some stuff so I got the boot." She sighed, "Couldn't stand having me around any longer and I wasn't a kid anymore. But I do have one person who'd miss me." She pointed to the ram, seeming deadly serious.

Taking the information, she hadn't been able to find that on the profile of Nanami. For a moment she could feel the guilt boiling up, but Mika surpressed it rather quickly. "Probably yes. I suppose it is now expected that I should apologize for threatening that bag of fluff." She said. A pause followed her words. "But that is all you do? Just wandering around all day with him?" She asked, walking to the nearby bench.

"Yup. He's practically my only friend, and my bed." She said, rubbing the back of her head, "We just wander around all day, maybe steal some money or food, then find a clear alleyway and sleep at night." She explained, leaning back enough on the swing for her to just barely flip out of it, but lean back up.
[color=skyblue"You don't really need to apologize, though..."[/color]

"Good, I wasn't." The woman simply stated as she sat down. Crossing her legs, she eyed Nanami. "That must be very exciting then. Living as some... homeless kunoichi. Explains why you haven't been caught stealing, I suppose." Underneath the cover of the hood, Mika raised her eyebrows. "How about a honest meal instead of a stolen one?"

"Wh-what?" She stuttered. Did this woman really just say that?
"N-no... I couldn't possibly ask that of you..." She stuttered, "I-I'm not someone to waste money on, really!"

The woman scoffed back. "And thus you fall back into stealing? How is that different than just robbing somebody from their wealth? If I pay for you, then at least you don't need to worry about such excuses as that you're not somebody to waste money on. If anything, I think the economy would do better if I share a meal with you than to let you continue steal your next one."

The girl frowned, "I guess you're right..." She admitted, hopping off the swing, "If you're really okay with it..." She walked over to Jeriko, tapping him on the horn, "Hey, cmon we're going."
"Fi-i-ine..." The ram stood up, her hopping on. He walked to Mika, though seeming hesitant with it.
"So... Where we going?"

"I'm not sure if I'm that okay with it." Mika grumbled as she got up from the bench. "But else I'll need to consider to turn you in. Doubt that the jounin commander will ever let that one slip if he catches word that my sole student at the moment got arrested for petty theft." Glancing at the ram, the woman said nothing to the ram. "No idea. You may pick. I don't really care what we're going to eat."

She only exhaled hard, "I'd rather not starve to death, thank you..." She replied to that. She did not want to go to jail... When she said that she didn't care, her eyes brightened up.
"Ramen!" She said while thrusting a fist into the air, "I've never had it fresh and i've always had to watch people eat it... But the only taste of it that I got was out of the garbage..." She sighed.

Without much emotion, if any at all, Mika glanced sideways at Nanami while the girl spoke. She held her hands in the pockets of her pants, but could feel an unpleasant feeling as she drove her the nail of her thumb into her index finger. She realized that she was partly to blame for the miserable state of the girl. Now she wasn't sure if she should give no care and vent out on Hiro or try to still make amends. "What have you been doing with your money then? You're a chuunin. That means you get paid at least enough to eat ... you know, meals. Or goes it all to the big guy?"

"Well... Before I was trying to save for a house." She mumbled, "But that was... A couple years ago." She sighed, "I took a long break after I found out my mom died. I couldn't sleep or eat at some times, it just felt terrible." She looked down quietly as Jeriko continued to walk, "So I couldn't earn any money. My dad took what I had when he forced me out, so..."

"Sucks to be you." Mika calmly stated. "I supposingly could try to help later to manage your income as living space. To continue to wander around is a disgrace for being a kunoichi for Kirigakure. Not to mention that I rather not work with homeless people-- I mean, kids." The woman glanced sideways at Nanami while she paused. It was clear that the woman wasn't done with testing the boundries that had been set. "But first things first. Lunch."

Nanami glared at her for a moment when she said what she would rather not work with, but said nothing.
"Yup, lunch." She said as she turned around, lying on Jeriko's soft back and looking at the sky, just relaxing for the ride to the Ramen shop.
"Wait. You haven't told me your name yet." She said, not changing her gaze.

"I haven't indeed." Was Mika's reply. She had a ramen shop in mind that they could visit. But she doubted that the ram would be allowed inside. Or fit through the door. Hopefully they could perhaps take their lunch with them? Not really a worry now, Mika concluded. "Just M should suffice." She then said back to Nanami.

"M?" She rose her eyebrow, "You're a strange woman..." However, she shrugged it off, "Whatever, I can't tell you how to live your life, and you can't tell me how to live mine." She seemed to carefully move onto her side as to face away from her.

"M." Mika simply repeated. "And might be strange for you, but you'll perhaps learn to value names. They can mean power and respect. But also danger. If you know my name, you might be telling somebody else of who I am while I haven't worked a long time with you." The woman calmly replied. She didn't inform Nanami that it was a sort of custom with the ANBU. That would be information given too early after all. "Actually, I proved I can. Ass-hole."

Her eye twitched at the last sentence.
"Gee, M." She said in a rather matter-of-fact tone, "I don't think you have proved you can have any type of rule on my life." She then grew a devious smirk, "And it's been over ten minutes since you called me a foul name, good fuckin' job, gold star for lack of self control."
"You're gonna ge-e-et it..." Jeriko quietly bleated.

The woman sideways glanced at the Chuunin. "Are you sure? I suppose that I can then write the jounin commander about your perfomance then." Mika would calmly reply back. "I do hope you like the academy. Might happen that you will be going all over it again or who knows? Spend the rest of your time serving in the gutter, cleaning up bird poo and doing E ranked missions for the rest of your life." Pocketing her hands into her pants, Mika half closed her eyes. "But that is all theory. We can test it out and prove my theory that I have some type of rule as your superior. Bitch-face." Glancing at the ram and girl, Mika would simply raise her right eyebrow slightly up as she waited for a reply back.

The young adult rolled her eyes, "... I don't believe you'd do that." She mumbled, turning away from her. It wasn't for defiance though, it was to hide tears. If she got knocked back to the academy or spending the rest of her life on low-ranked missions... She would never be able to find and get rid of her mother's killer if that happened, she already worked so hard while she was alive to gain her approval. She couldn't have all that hard work be wasted, right?
"... Don't say crap like that." She said through her teeth. Her fists were clenched even while she was lying down.

"And that is probably why you're still a mere chuunin." Mika retorted back to the other. She briefly paused as a scoff would escape her mouth. "Or what? Going to cry again like a little bitch? Bet somebody you used to happen to do that, huh?" Mika let out a loud sigh. "Not going to be surprised. Children take up to their parents after all. Not going to be surprised or amazed if she was also a thief or who know what she did to get some food or money?" Mika continued, snorting afterwards.

Nanami's eyes slowly widened, her head turning towards the jounin as she said foul things about her mother. She was pumping with anger as she quickly slid off Jeriko to step right in front of Mika.
"Don't... Don't talk shit about my mom..." She said through her teeth, her eyes streaming with tears, "Even if I only really saw her a lot when I was little, I know that she was the best fucking person i've ever met. She wouldn't stoop to the shit I do, so don't say shit like that when you've never even glanced at her!" Her nostrils were flaring, her eyes full of rage, "I broke my back over trying to have her come around more often, sometimes I even went without fucking sleep just to train. I had so much dedication for her to show more love to me and then she fucking gets murdered, and i'm not so damn keen about someone talking shit after she's died!" She then stamped the ground with her foot, probably to avoid uppercutting the older woman.

Mika stood there just calmly listening to the angry response of Nanami. Remaining silent until the girl was done, the woman would frown and then scoff. "And this is why you're a mere chuunin. Average at best. You get all riled up by words. Why? Because your mother was the best person you knew?" The woman questioned. "Then why would it matter what I say as outsider? You lose your cool and composure over a few words, while you know better. Jeez, you're more at the basics than I had feared. First lesson, ass-hole." Mika's tone lowered a bit as she locked her eyes with Nanami's. "Keep yourself under control. It is for a good reason that it is being said that shinobi should be emotionless. If you can't control them, you wind up dead."

Staring at the girl, Mika would simply walk past her. After a few steps, she glanced over her shoulder.

"Just like that amazing mother of yours. Now stop whinning and let's get that lunch, unless you want to prove me wrong... ass-hole."

Nanami took a few deep breaths after she had been spoken to so closely. Tch... She didn't know what she had gone through, she bet she wouldn't understand. Yeah, sure that emotionless thing, she could do. But this bitch just wedged a metal rod in her gears even from looking at her, she couldn't stand her.
"I don't want lunch anymore. Y'know what? I'll even stop stealing, sure i'll just up and starve to death, that's fine." She said through her teeth, climbing back on Jeriko, "If that would make you damn happy."

"Not really." Mika replied as she would turn around. "Clearly, you either don't watch how much you get paid or on purpose don't use the money that you earn as a chuunin to take care of yourself." The woman paused as she then raised her eyebrows again. "It is a pity though. I was so sure that if you would be able to show me that you know how to follow orders I could throw you a bone. I'm sure that somebody in the higher ups could help you get a trail of your mother's killer. But I suppose you're more comfortable with rolling in the mud."

"I told you before, my asshole of a dad took all my money while I had taken a lot of time off duty." She said through her teeth, "Just..." She buried her face into Jeriko's scruff, "P... Please stop talking about her..."

"I won't. You need to learn how to harden yourself for taunts and provocations from your enemies." Mika replied calmly. "Better that I provoke you than an enemy who would attempt to harm you." Pausing, Mika thought about something. She decided to switch the topic or at least switch to another person instead of Nanami's mother. "Where does he live?" She friendly asked.

"I don't care for that bastard anymore. Why would you want to know?" She asked, allowing her head to raise.

"That is quite a stupid question." Mika replied, snorting. "You're a kunoichi that got robbed by a civilian. If that reaches the ears of the jounin commander, you can bet your ram that people will doubt your capability. Beside, if you don't want me to treat you on lunch, we can always see if there isn't a way to make your father pay. I grew hungry with all the provocation after all."

"It was just a stupid fight and while I wasn't at my best, it was nothing..." She mumbled, "...I more so gave it to him than it being stolen."

"You gave him the money?" Mika became silent after mumbling the question. She just stared at Nanami. She had expected that there would be some fighting or argument as she had called her father after all a bastard. That much was clear and to be expected. But giving the money made it different. "Then you hopefully have learned that lesson. Now, I suppose we should get something to eat. I'll teach you about how to manage your money later on."

"He just took advantage of me okay? He got angry, I got angry, I yelled at him then threw and left all I had at him, and left. Yeah, I know it was stupid but I was feeling like if death could shit." She said through her teeth, "I didn't ask to have a dad like him, fucking sitting on the couch all day with his alcohol and shit, acting all nice during the day but an absolute asshole at night."

Mika remained silent for a moment. "Good. Then next time you won't be stupid, hopefully." The woman said with a calm tone. Staying silent, the two would approach an establishment. "That seems like a good place. Your fluffbag can stay here for a few minutes. We'll take an order and then just take it outside." Mika stated, waiting however on Nanami before she would approach the entrance by herself.

Nanami rolled her eyes, slipping off the ram as they stopped at the establishment.
"Yeah yeah, I know..." She replied, following Mika to the entrance. Was she waiting for her? Nah...

Opening the door, there weren't much patrons present. Mika briefly glanced over her shoulder to check if Nanami was still following her. There was a whole lot of different tastes that they could order for their ramen. "Go ahead. Like I said, my treat." Mika told Nanami, taking a step back to provide the girl to see what she would like to order.

When Nanami had stepped into the shop, she honestly felt a little excited. It wasn't that this was something interesting, it was just that it was new and she had never gotten fresh ramen before. She walked over to where they were to order, and man did she love the smell...
"S-shoyu ramen please..." She said, sounding remarkably shy and innocent compared to how she's spoke before. She even shrank back a little, "T-to go, please..." She slightly faced away from the man who had heard her request, raising an eyebrow and getting to making the ramen anyway.

Mika had raised her right hand to signal that he should make it two before going. Just in time. Turning her attention to Nanami, Mika frowned. "What just happened? You like men who make ramen, is that it?" She asked, glancing at the man who was making the ramen. "J"

Nanami quickly faced the older woman, snorting, "I do not LIKE him..." She said under her breath, "I don't like anyone." She frowned at her, "I literally am incapable of having romantic feelings to anyone... I think."

"Ah. If that is how it is." Mika replied, shrugging lightly. Glancing around, she decided to not further question it. It wasn't her interest to know what would interest her student. She briefly wondered how Haruhi was doing, but knowing the girl, she was probably either training or eating. Or both. Or training for eating more.

The girl remained silent for the time it took for them to be presented with the containers of ramen. She picked both up, waiting for Mika to pay, when she had, she left the shop, sitting down and handing Mika her's. She opened up her chopsticks, dipping them into the soup of noodles and rolling them around before bringing the hot food to her mouth. Damn it tasted good... She even got teary-eyed.

Silently and rather calmly Mika accepted the lunchbox as she would also sit down. Eating without saying anything, she seemed to enjoy the lunch without much of a smile or any indication as the blank expression remained on the features of the woman. Only after a few moments, she spoke up. "Shall I get a tissue for you?" Mika asked, glancing sideways at Nanami.

"No thanks." She said, though food was in her mouth as she spoke...
"Ca-a-an I have so-o-ome?" Jeriko bleated. Nanami only grinned at him, holding the noodle-wrapped chopsticks towards him. He bit down and slipped the noodles off, eating them. She chuckled as she watched him eat; his chewing always entertained her. She proceeded to continue to eat, as if she never allowed the chopsticks to touch the ram's lips.

"Okay." Mika replied, though as she turned her head by a bit a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. Further eating her lunch in silence, she ignored the fact that there were now and then a few people who passed them to look a bit odd. And she couldn't blame them. A hooded woman, a teen and a big ram sitting in front of a ramen shop. It wasn't again too strange, but a few people found it 'rare' enough to throw a brief glance at them.
"Better, ain't it?" Mika asked, halfway during her lunch. She would glance again at Nanami, making sure that the lunchbox she had was properly closed. "You can have this if you want. I am stuffed."

She had completely finished the ramen by time she was asked for the rest of Mika's. She still felt kind of hungry.
"Yes..." She said, quickly taking Mika's and finishing it up in ten minutes. Belching, she put a hand on her stomach, smiling wide.
"U-uhm..." She mumbled, seeming a little hesitant to say something, "Thanks... F-for the lunch that is. I haven't had hot food in years." She chuckled gently, "It was either cold and fished from a garbage, sitting on a sale stand, or moldy."

Getting slowly up, Mika frowned as she looked down on Nanami. "Thanks for sharing that information with me." The woman said, looking away. "Well, seeing you thus likely have no money saved..." Mika seemed to pull out something. Keys. Holding it up, the woman would drop it in front of Nanami. "Get yourself some rest and use this place for now. It isn't too far from here. It is two blocks from here on the..." Giving the address, the woman would pocket her right hand away.

"It is easier perhaps for the administrative staff to know where you are than to send a messenger to stalk you down and inform you of when we have a new mission." Mika informed Nanami. Raising her left hand to pull her hood bit further down to further hide her features. Already turning around to walk a bit away, Mika stopped. As if she had forgotten about something. Glancing over her shoulder at Nanami, Mika spoke up again. "I doubt your friend will be able to climb the stairs or even fit through the door, but I'll make sure that he won't later at night get any trouble. For now, talk to you later."

Nanami watched as the woman suddenly stood up, though her brow twitched at what she thought to be a sarcastic remark. Sheesh even after treating her to lunch she has to be such a-
Next thing she knew she had keys and an address given to her. She was completely awestruck. She stared at the keys with a shocked expression, listening to the woman speak. She gripped the keys, watching as Mika walked off. No way, this had to be some stupid trick. Looking back at the item in her palm, she felt like crying, though made no tears. She wasn't sure if this was actually happening.
"C'mon Jeriko." She said, walking to where Mika had instructed.

"So it's here..." She stood in front of a door, slowly putting the key it. It wasn't gonna work... It wasn't gonna work...
The key slid right in. Her eyes were a little wide as she turned it, the door opening with a twist of a handle. She walked in, absolutely not believing any of this was happening. She felt tears come down her cheeks in her silence. It was empty, but it was a living space... She shut the door behind her, walking into the other room, also empty, but having a bed. An actual bed... She walked over and collapsed into it. It wasn't soft, but... It was a bed. And there, she just bawled, tears of joy.


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nanami Fukumitsu
Team 14 Chuunin | Kirigakure

Nanami was still fast asleep, riding on Jeriko's back to their destination. Even if she had a home now, she would never stop using Jeriko as a bed, as weird as it sounds. The ram walked through the streets, getting strange gazes from people, and heading to the harbor, remembering Nanami's instructions clear as day. He continued on, until he was standing right in front of the woman who he hadn't seen that long ago. He jerked his body, as to signal Nanami to wake up.
"Hnn? Whuh?" She groaned, sliding off the ram and stretching. She seemed up in an instant, staring at Mika for quite a while, until she bowed.
"Hello. Nanami Fukumitsu reporting for duty." She said in a rather gentle tone to the woman. It was the only way to thank her for her deed, but discreetly.
"So, birds this week?"
 
Rain, Sleet, and Shine

A Collab Between Sugaar and Gero

Summary: Eira's very first kenjutsu training session (flashback feat a thirteen year old Eira)

It had been a tiring morning. Not because of the trainings he had been given, but because it wasn't something he did enjoy. For a bit of money beside his occupation as shinobi, this was quite flexible and thus not really a bother. Other than the occasional student that wanted to prove himself and then only trip as most of them weren't even that experienced or old. Leaning with his back against the wall of the dojo, Hantaro had his eyes half closed as he sideways saw how the last kid would exit the building. At least, he was assuming it was a kid from the length and confident smirk that the boy had on his lips. Only leaving with rubbing the back of his head and probably one or two bruises on his left shoulder. Now it was just waiting for the next appointment. The last of today if he had counted it correctly.

It hadn't been the best morning for Eira, she'd woken up late and missed breakfast, but that was fine. Especially since it was starting to look up. Honestly she'd been waiting ages to start her training, but the teacher had been booked up. There was too many genin brats in the Hon estate, well she herself was a genin but she wasn't a brat by far. Eira was actually interested in learning kenjutsu, unlike some. Ever since she got serenity she'd been anxious to use it. These, among others, were the thoughts that ran through Eira's head as she exited the Hon estate's inner circle. The previous trainee had just come back and now it was her turn. She saw who she assumed to be her teacher leaning against the dojo and approached the man. "Are you Hantaro-san?" she asked, somewhat informally.

The man glanced at the last student of the day. Eyeing Eira, the man remained quiet as a stern expression on his face was present. "I am." There was little enthusiasm present in the voice of the man as he would push his back from the wall. "You came on time. That is good. Lets start with the theory. What is important while wielding a sword?" The man asked, his right eyebrow slowly rising.

Eira payed no mind to the man's tone. As long as he did his job, he could be as dry and unenthusiastic as he wished to be. It was a little unfortunate that she didn't know the answer to his question. She'd just have to wing it she supposed "Technique and form." she answered adding no inflection to the answer, to make it seem like she was certain that she'd gotten it correct.

"And discipline." Hantaro said. He paused for some time as he then shook his head. "We will start with the basics. First, balance training." The man would gesture to their right, the other side of the dojo. "I want you to hop on one leg from this wall to the other. And then back on your other leg and foot as warming up."

Eira raised a confused eyebrow before shrugging and moving into position. She leaned her weight on her left foot and raised her right. She hopped successfully a few times but lost her balance about a third of the way there. She grumbled a bit, walking back to the starting point and trying again. This time she made it half-way before toddling over and falling on her butt. She marched back to start once again, with a frustrated but determined look on her face. Unfortunately she did even worse this time, only managing a few hops before she fell forward into the dirt once again. She lied there, prostrate, and lamented for awhile.

The man simply watched and remained silent. The stern expression didn't shift as Eira fell. Glancing aside for a moment, Hantaro raised his right hand to scratch his cheek for a moment. "If this is going to be hard, you'll have a long way to go." The man mumbled. "Get up." He instructed the girl as he would place his hands at his back. "Show me how you stand one one leg."

"My downfall, was getting frustrated with the exercise," she mumbled almost to herself, wiping some dirt off her cheek as she stood. Once again she returned to the starting point, standing next to Hantaro. She lifted up her right leg, leaning on her left. Unlike the other times she held her arms straight out, to steady herself as she stood still. She didn't hop though, she simply waited on the man to give his opinion on her form.

"And what are you doing wrong?" The man asked Eira as he would simply frown and take a step away from the girl, while he would allow her to ponder on the rather cryptic question. The man would raise his chin by a bit as he closed his right eye.

"I thought the reason of showing you this, was for you to tell me that," she said matter-of-factly. She gave him a bit of side-eye before turning away and thinking about his question. It was obvious what was going wrong, she couldn't keep her balance very well. That couldn't be everything though. Maybe she was having trouble focusing, or hopping to fast? She always seemed to tip over, so perhaps she was just top-heavy. "I can't keep my balance, and keep tipping over," she replied after a moment of silence. It probably wasn't the best answer, but she couldn't see any other reasons.

The first comment was met with a frown from Hantaro, who simply said nothing. He was used to it, but wouldn't waste breath on replying or explaining why he had asked the question. With Eira providing an answer on the question, the man slowly nodded. "Yes. Which is a disaster for a sword fighter. Well, for most fighters." He paused. "Know what happens when you can't keep your balance in a fight?"

"You die." she answered. It was true, in battle the opponent will and should take any opening. Making such mistakes in combat was fatal.

"Then I wonder what kept me alive." The man chuckled as he shook his head lightly. "But yes, it is quite dangerous as without your balance, you're going to be more at risk of getting wounded or worse. But without your balance, you'll lose focus. Focus is what is important when wielding a weapon. A weapon as a sword is an extension of your arm. If you can't balance yourself, then an extension will only make it worse. Thus, first thing first. Balance control and training. Keep on hopping, pup." The man gestured as he would let her hop on one leg for a while and see if she would get any improvement on her balance.

Eira frowned a bit at the nickname, it was one she begrudgingly accepted . In fact, her father called her that frequently, so did everyone really. She set her sights on the goal once more, she was getting sick of this back and forth. Eira wasn't one for failure, it just wasn't in her agenda. She wanted to end this quickly so she could become a better sword fighter quickly. She took a deep breath and changed the foot she put her weight on since her left was getting tired. Then she hopped forward, when she felt herself losing balance she stopped and re-oriented herself before continuing. This went on for a couple minutes before she finally made it to the other wall. She caught herself on it and then lowered her leg. Turning back to face Hantaro, Eira rested her hands on her hips and smiled. Giving her an overall victorious look. "I made it," she informed, stating the obvious.

He watched her simply, leaning again against the wall at his back. Saying nothing, he would let do it on her own. When she was done and stating that she had made it, Hantoro simply nodded. "And now back." He replied. "Lets make it more interesting. If you can't manage it within a minute, twenty push ups."

The smile dropped instantly, now it was on. Challenges and bets had always been her forte, once she was challenged she almost never lost. It was bit of a pity that there was no repercussions against Hantaro if she made it, then it would be a true bet. She stood on one leg for the millionth time and hopped back over to him easily, 30 seconds tops.

"Fast learner, good. Best of today, but then again most today were pups who didn't even ever hop in their entire life." The man said, slight amused. "Good, now it is time for the ´real work´." He would walk towards a small cabinet. Opening it, he would grab two wooden practice swords. Throwing on up towards Eira, it seemed light but it was quite heavy. "Simple start, take a stance."

Eira caught the thing with both hands. She'd learned her lesson on underestimating the weight of things before. Namely, when her father had tossed her what she believed to be a simple ball that turned out to be a medicine ball, a 20 pound medicine ball. The sword was pretty heavy, she strained to lift it off the ground. Then she took her stance, spreading her feet slightly and planting them firmly on the ground. She also squared her shoulders up and pointed her "blade" towards Hantaro. "Ok, ready,"

He would simply observe her stance from his place. "Why do you take that stance?" Was his first question. It was asked in a tone where it would be hard to decipher if it was asked because he wasn't agreeing with her chosen stance or approving it. "And why wielding the blade with two hands?" He fired another question, deciding to give her a chance to answer back.

"I don't want to be knocked over," she said in regards to her stance "It's a pretty heavy instrument, so two hands would be best, also..It's blunt so this would be effective way to inflict damage, given the circumstances" she demonstrated, raising the sword over her head then swinging it in a downward arc, then again in a diagonal sweep. The movements generated a whipping sound in the air every time she swung the sword.

"You don't want to be knocked over." Hantaro repeated, slowly. He rubbed his chin for a moment. "Do you imagine yourself as a very strong person? Physically at least?" He asked her calmly.

"I suppose not," she shrugged "But there's no point in making myself even easier to overcome," she added. Well she wasn't quite sure if her posture was correct but he hadn't said that it wasn't.

"Then let's change that. You're not very broad, so why making it easier to hit yourself?" The man said as he would walk and stand next to her. Facing the same direction as she did, he took another stance. He held the wooden sword with his right hand, the tip diagonally raised towards the front as he stood half turned. "This is a better stance. It provides less room for your target to land a hit on you. You already don't have a big build, so you will be harder to hit then standing as if you're a boulder." He then raised the blade and still kept it holding with one hand.

"Holding your weapon with one hand has its advantages as disadvantages. It provides less striking power, is heavier and depending on the weapon harder to control and attack a person with. Parrying is thus also more often problematic, but you have a hand free." Raising his free hand slightly, the instructor nodded towards his free hand. "If I spot a chance, a free hand can be quite troublesome for the opponent. I can grab a kunai and try to stab or throw in close ranged or when blades are locked. I can grab or punch my foe and else maintain balance while using my other arm to swing and use my blade." He would pause in order to give her a chance to ask questions or try the stance and information out herself.

She hadn't thought of it that way. It was true that she probably would be a powerhouse that could defeat foes by plowing through them. Eira mimicked his stance, relaxing her shoulders and remaining light on her feet. She held the blade in her left hand, it was difficult to hold it like this but she managed. She tried a few practice waves and frowned, if it was like this she'd have to practice controlling where the sword went. Not knowing what to do with her other hand she tucked it behind her back for now. "It's not much advantage though if they have their hand free as well, is it?" She questioned still swinging.

He glanced to see if her stance was correct, but he would let her figure it a bit on her own what she found comfortable or not. "True, but to assume that you'll always have full advantage over a foe is bad. Best is to get an advantage and make it count. Trying to get more advantage over your foe won't guarantee a victory. What does is how you use your advantages and weaknesses. Keep that mind, pup. Cause while an experienced fighter might be able to fight better, if you manage to stay calm and do your best, you might possibly overcome him or her."

"Right." it made sense, take your opportunities as they came, stay level headed. The thought of taking down masters made her smile, cutting down enemies with speed and precision. Life goals. "Ok then, what's next?" she asked curiously.

"Boring stuff. Practicing kata's." The man took the stance as well as he would simply swing and thrust the wooden blade. "Practice you swings and parry movements." He would show her a few. A simple left to right sweep. A hack from above and moving the blade with a simple movement in order to deflect an imaginary attack. "Might be dull, but you need to get used to the weight and length of a blade. Practicing the movement and kata's is important. When you can dream them, you'll be able to use real swordship technique into combat instead of just swinging and stabbing around with a sword."

"How long do we do them," Eira asked. She did a few sets of the sweeps, then moved on to the up and down ones. She could see how this would get dull after a few swings but she didn't have so small an attention span, she could probably do this for a good half an hour before getting bored of it. She repeated the fist one, the moved one again to the third.

"For years." The answer was said with a certain amount of increased amusement that was present in the man's voice. "The best swordsman or woman continues with practicing their kata's and stances. The basics is what one needs to master to be a capable fighter with a weapon. Even if you can do some impressive tricks or moves, the basics should be perfect, cause else everything else will just be less effective." Hantaro explained as he made a gesture. "And the sooner and longer you train everyday, the easier you'll get accustomed and capable of doing it at a better expertise."

Eira chuckled bit at the man's statement, it hadn't been what she meant, but it answered her question. "So this is a full time thing then," she said continuing the kata's. It would take some getting used to, her arms were already tired from doing it for five minutes. She might need to do those push-ups after all.

Pacing slowly to the right, Hantaro placed his hands behind on his back."It is something you will be doing for as long as you want to be called a swordfighter. Every day it is a good day to practice. Rain?" The man paused briefly. "Good day to practice your katas. Snow?" Again a pause. "Good day to practice your katas. Accidentally burned your breakfast?" The man frowned as he turned his face back to Eira, his eyebrows raising as if he was waiting for her to finish his sentence.

"...A good day to practice my katas," she finished shaking her head, and moving back into her downward swing."Got it, practice: rain, sleet, and shine." simple enough, she supposed. "When do I learn to actually fight with a sword?" Practice was well and good, the teen saw the point in it, but actually sparring with a partner could be good practice as well. More interesting training than this, at least.

The man chuckled as he shook his head. "Once you've practiced your katas. In order to learn how to fight, you need to know how to move yourself. Else you're in for a bad time." The man thought for a moment on how to explain it simple. "You're were after all not allowed to walk alone if you made it clear to your folks that you could do that. Show me you know how to walk and I'll let you walk alone, aye?"

"Aye," she said repeating the man. She was a bit let down, she wouldn't be fighting for awhile if that was the case. She moved through her katas at a more even than her previous hacking. Hopefully all this discipline and practice would pay off soon. The girl had no problem with practice, but she needed some small sign of progress to encourage her on. "Is there anything besides the katas that I need to be committing myself to?"

"Patience. Lots and lots of patience." Hantaro sounded again amused. "In order to be a good swordsfighter, you need to focus. Thus be patient and focus on your training. Once your katas feel like nothing more but instinct, then you're ready." Pausing, the man halted as he would reach out. His fingers twirling around a handle. "But I suppose seeing you aren't complaining nor showing any disappointment behavior, we can go with one small spar." Lifting the wodden practice blade, the man took the stance he had shown her before. "Take it slow and remember, be patient. Because you don't spot an opening, doesn't mean there isn't one."

Patience, Eira had a bit on that on stock. Not endless supplies, but enough to get by. She grinned a bit and went to stanf opposite of Hantaro. Now she was glad she hadn't let that small bout of disappointment show. She held her sword out in her left hand, and held her other out by her side. She watched Hantaro closely, waiting for a chance or an opening. It would be impossible for her to best the man, who was practically an expert, but she could still try her best.

Nodding approval as he did see some flaws in her stance, it was still good enough to pass. "First thing you need to focus on is how your opponent moves. People are most often easy to read." Moving his right arm a bit, the man made sure that his movements were slow and thus quite easy for her to follow. "You and I don't have special eyes, but that doesn't restrict you. Read and anticipate. Then strike." Taking slow steps to the side, the man would allow her to come in with the first attack

Eyeing the man, she held back her first instinct, to step backwards, that would just put her on the defensive. Instead she charged the man, head-on. She brought her sword up and slashed downwards, aiming for the man's chest.

The slash downwards was parried as the man would step to the right. "Remember your balance." He reminded her as he would take another quick step backwards, awaiting her next move again.

Reorienting herself, she stepped up again. This time trying a diagonal sweep, aimed at Hantaro's right shoulder.

Blocking the sweep with presenting his own blade in the path of Eira's attack, Hantaro would gently push her blade backwards. "Again."

Eira frowned a bit, digging her heels in to keep upright. As instructed, she attacked again. From the side this time, towards his left flank.

Deflecting the strike, he kept moving with her. "Anticipate." Pushing her blade back, the man would take a step backwards and waited for her next movement, again.

Eira moved with Hantaro as well, stepping forward each time. She knew if she struck again he'd just deflect it, so she tried something else. This time, she aimed directly for his sword, swiping upwards.

"Very good." Locking the blades for a moment, the man would force her wooden sword to suddenly continue its swing as he would pull his own back and proceed with a step to the left.

Eira stumbled a bit from the movement, but recovered well enough. Spinning on her heals to face him, she clashed swords with him again. This time from above, making sure not to put in too much weight, in case he pulled away again.

Lifting his own blade up, it appeared to be a feigned as the man would step aside again to let the attack pass by. Raising his free hand, he nodded twice. "That is good enough for now. Now have you spotted any opening during this brief exchange of blows?" Hantaro asked, raising his right eyebrow slightly up.

Eira followed through with her attack, her sword sticking in the ground where Hantaro had once been. She was slightly out of breath from the chain of attacks, she didn't really have it in her to analyze his movements in the heat of the moment. "You never attacked, Usually backed away too," she said shrugging, what else was there?

"What were you doing with your free hand?" He asked her patiently. Letting the blade of the wooden sword rest on his shoulder, he would wait on her answer before explaining what his point was.

Eira tilted her head and blinked, thinking back. She sighed, and smacked her forehead "Nothing," she said reluctantly. She'd actually forgotten that bit, she could've thrown a kunai or two and made things at least a bit trickier for Hantaro.

"Good. You seemed to be okay with balancing yourself. If you use one hand to wield a weapon, your other is free. Keep that in mind next time. This is why you need to practice your katas all the time. Till you can dream them and then you will notice the difference." Nodding again, the man continued. "Unless you have any questions, I suppose we can call it a day."

She scoffed slightly, the teen hated proving people right. It was annoying, but she saw now the importance of katas becoming second nature. If they had been then she wouldn't have had to focus all her attention on attacking with her sword. "No, I think this is fine for now. Besides, I just got done sparring. Seems like a good time to practice my katas," she said smirking a bit. "Thank you for your time Hantaro-sensei,"

"Good. Keep that wooden sword for now. You need something to practice your katas with and to get used to wield something that is slight heavier than a regular blade." Subtly waving her off, it was a clear indication that she could take her leave. "Practice your balance and the basic katas you have seen and worked on today. Remember what I said before. Every kind of weather or situation should be good to practice your katas!"

Nodding, she slung the sword over her shoulder and started back towards the estate's inner circle. She waived back over her other shoulder. "Yes, yes. I remember:Rain, sleet, and shine!" She called re-entering her home.
 
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[fieldbox=Treasure hunting? , #33cccc]
A collab written between SugaarCereal and Aliceee

Summary :

Eira Hon gets a rather exciting mission to discover some secrets that have caught Kiyomi's interest.



Frowning, the young woman's eyebrows rose slowly. Reading a book, upside down, Kiyomi was just having some peace and quiet in the gardens of the royal palace. There were the occasional servants who wondered what the young ruler was trying to accomplish with reading upside down on the bench, the teen was too much busy with the history book to give a reason. And seeing nobody didn't seem to wonder or ask her why she was doing that, she didn't see any reason to inform them of that. Turning a page, the eyes of Kiyomi moved her gaze over the content that the book was giving her.

Just as she was about to turn another page, Kiyomi heard somebody approaching the bench. Her eyes moved slowly downwards to glance at the face. It was one of the Sworn Swords, who made a salute in her direction. Announcing that a certain visitor had came with a letter that she had been summoned, Kiyomi would get up and sit in a more normal fashion on the bench. "Very well." She felt a bit silly and was almost close of just sitting upside down and continue reading her book. Quickly tidying her hair, she would likely have to wait a few minutes before the person would likely reach her as the security wouldn't just let visitors get too close during leisure times like these.

She'd been waiting for a while now to have her audience. Security and authentication had held her up and whatnot. Whatever, it was of no consequence. In fact, it'd be unacceptable if precautions had been any less thorough. This was a meeting with the empress after all. Eira stood a bit straighter as her guide told her they had the OK. She nodded curtly and followed behind him. It was a bit of a walk, but finally she was led out to the royal gardens.

Spotting one of her guards with an ANBU, the guard would bow briefly to Kiyomi and gesture to the ANBU that she could proceed. However, the guard would stay on his position. Eyeing the ANBU, Kiyomi made a subtle gesture as she dismissed her guard away. Closing the history book that she was holding, she flashed a polite smile towards the ANBU. "Hello. If you wouldn't mind..." Kiyomi gestured to the mask of the ANBU.

Bowing respectfully to her empress, Eira stepped up as instructed. She watched as the guard slunk away at Kiyomi's command. She might've smiled back if it hadn't been for the mask, though it seemed like that wouldn't be a problem soon. Of course there were some inhibitions about removing the mask, an ANBU's mask is their life after all. But considering who was asking, it shouldn't be too big of a deal. Eira turned her mask so it hung on the back of her head, covering her hair rather than her face. Golden eyes blinked back at the young girl in front of her while she waited to be addressed again.

"That is slightly better. I prefer to look the person in the eye when I am talking with them. Now, I assume that this is going to be rather routine for you, but I've picked you out of the ANBU that aren't too advanced and yet have gotten a name for themselves." Kiyomi started. She would enlist a small pause as she tilted her head to the right by a bit. "I need somebody to head towards Keishi. You see, the previous palace of the Fire Daimyo is still in place. And there is a sector that has been kept as a secret vault. There are probably some traps." Kiyomi briefed the ANBU as she would glance briefly at her right.

"I need to know what the family kept there and while I would enjoy to discover it myself, it is clear that I'm not going to be send on such an adventure-- I mean mission." A light giggle escaped the teen's lips. "And seeing you're recommended as a loyal person, I suppose you would be the right person to send. Any questions you have for me now?"

Eira memorized her objectives as they were given to her. It didn't seem so convoluted, a simple find and retrieve mission. A small smile graced her features at the teen's correction, as it did seem sort of like a treasure hunt, but she returned to her impassive expression soon after. "No, your grace, that should be all." she answered with a small shake of the head.

"Good. Oh, I do have this." Opening her book, Kiyomi seemed to search for something. Holding the book open at a page, she would show the ANBU a loose and damaged piece of old paper. Picking it up, she held it out. "Of course I've let it be notified and you're expected at the city of Keishi. A man with the name Takehiro will guide you to the sealed and guarded sector of the old palace. This is a part of the old map of that secret sector, but I am not sure if it or isn't outdated. But it is yours if you want it. "

Stepping forward, Eira would take the ancient-looking paper from the girl's hand. She was very gentle with it as any rough handling might just rip it. Thus destroying potentially vital information. Once thoroughly examining the scrap, she folded it up and stashed it away inside one of her pockets. Eira wondered if she could somehow look into the validity of the map, it'd have to be looked into later. "Understood," She confirmed, referring to her guide. Takehiro, huh, the young woman made a mental note of the name.

"Good. I hope to see you soon back and hear a full and detailed report on the findings." Kiyomi replied back. "Safe travels and just leave the care of the findings to Takehiro. He is aware of what I want to happen with anything of value." She further informed Eira. As she finished her sentence, Kiyomi made a subtle gesture that Eira could take her leave.

Eira bowed once more to Kiyomi. She would right her mask before exiting the gardens.

[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox="Aya Oda, Blue, solid"]Today was the day of the operation given the a okay by none other than her daddy! So of course when she was brief on this about giant birds and that they were being sent to capture some, she light up like a fire. She adored the idea of having adorable war birds on their side, that and flying on one would be fun as hell! So if her dad's clan were going to tame them, then they would be tamed no doubt. Of course some participants made her feel a bit uneasy yet thankfully some of them would be reassuring the farmers and the few villages that were impacted by the Roc birds.

So when the day came she raced down to the port with her sword in her bandaged hand. Her entire right arm was bandaged showing that Shin eventually got his way and brought her to a hospital. Although it was still far to late to prevent the burns that were etched into her skin. Yet she really didn't seem to mind it that much, it just felt weird every now and then.

Arriving at the busy port with the galleys ready to take off, she surveyed around for the person they were to meet up with. It took a couple of minutes with all the people and such, yet she was able to find the person she assumed they where to meet up with. The description was spot on, a woman who was probably covering her face with a hood. Then again Aya was no stranger to run up to random people. So that's what she would do since its never failed her. So she started to run up to the woman but someone beat her to it, which only assured her this was the one and was thata ram?

Halting in front of the two she would salute with her left hand and grin. "Aya Oda reporting for duty Miss! Just a heads up for you although Im sure you know. Genso is kind of..... well can you think of something that's just bad? That's what Im warning you about." Aya said pointing at her right arm to signal that Genso done fucked her arm up. She would then gaze at Nanami and hold out her left hand to her with a sincere smile. They might as well get introductions done now than later. [/fieldbox]



[fieldbox="Miu Sanosuke, Green, solid"] This was one boring ass ride, silence was good an all but really her cousin probably made them be silent just because shes kind of bitchy sometimes. Oh well the occasional 'bump' entertained her. The objective was clear on what they were suppose to do, they needed to sabotage the castles defenses and to lay in wait to ambush a small group on enemies that they got word on. Then the team she was on would signal the bravo team consisted of Anbu and they would lead the attack and provide a distraction while either Bravo themselves or Alpha went and secured Midori. Of course they had to get to the ground first, and having to be instructed on how to use a parachute and to not fuck it up was probably annoying for their leader. Yet when she finally spoke it wasn't to motivate them, it was pretty much her telling them to not mess up. It was understandable, she was certain most of them were Genin so listening to orders now was very important in this situation.

So when they were instructed to jump on out, she stood on up and grinned at her cousin. "See you at the bottom then." Miu said before making sure her parachute was on properly, then would take a running start and leapt on out of the airship and as they were told too, waited three seconds. The wind slamming against her was not as much fun as she thought it would be. The wind was practically preventing her from breathing, so when she passed through the cloud she pulled the handle and out would come her dark parachute as she focused on regaining her balance before observing the castle below. "Well... maybe I can see why Asami is slightly nervous at the aspect of doing this with nothing but Genin." Miu mumbled to herself gazing below looking for a pot to land but currently was too far away to find one.[/fieldbox]
 
Meeting!

A collab made between Sketcher and Lesli

Katsu spots Aiko and approaches her for a quick chat.

[spoili]
Katsu had excused himself from his friends upon the crossroads, taking another turn with a fast pace, to confirm something. He locked his eyes on the red hair. "Senseiii!"

Aiko had taken a little walk around the building to get some fresh air as some rest. She had been all week busy with the arrangements and management of the travel of the Akinian group that was both going to participate as going to watch the matches. Personally Aiko loved it as she found it fun to see some international event that wasn't just to split people apart, but bringing them together. There was else always the option to pay the nearby town a visit, though she didn't have any chance to do so. Hearing a familiar voice, Aiko turned around with at first a surprised expression moving over her face. Spotting Katsu, Aiko's lips moved into a smile. "Katsu! Hey!"

"Hi! I thought I saw you," he said joyfully. "Are you here to watch the matches too, sensei?"

"Yes, I am. My own team is going to participate." She replied. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised her left eyebrow. "And what about you? Not going to make any trouble while you're here, yes?" She asked back. There were quite some teams that had enlisted themselves to participate, but she hadn't seem or couldn't remember seeing the team of Koike being on the list.

"Trouble?" he asked, seeming a bit hurt. "I'm not that troublesome, am I?" Letting out a sigh, Katsu tilted his head a bit to the side. "Koike's making us watch the matches so we'll gain experience or something," he grumbled. "It's a bit tiresome..."

She was a bit surprised. Knowing Koike, it was unlikely to hear that they would participate. "That is good! Better to watch than to risk to get bruises and what not if you want my opinion." Aiko said. "Perhaps we can watch a match together? Or if you're allowed to get a snack down town. I fear that the food we will get at the lodgings won't be really recommendable."

"I'd like to see a match with you sensei, but I'll have to refuse the snack," Katsu said, sounding a bit disappointed. "I just split up with the others, telling them that I'd meet up with them as soon as possible."

"Wait, are you serious?" Aiko gained a bigger smile on her lips. "No snacks? Are you going to try to be a bit mor--"

"I'm not as big as a glutton as I'm made out to be," the boy cut in. "I just like eating when I'm hungry like a regular carnivorous animal..."

Aiko couldn't resist the giggle that escaped her. "That is true." She answered back. "But I'll probably easy to find. Or else I can always make a shadow clone as I'm not at all participating. It isn't really my thing, but I doubt that come over as a surprise." She said, briefly glancing as she noticed a group exiting the building. Luckily it was still peaceful all around the place. "Though," turning her attention back to Katsu, Aiko gained a bit more stern expression, "you're not going to gamble, yes? You should not waste money on such risks."

"I wouldn't even know where to go for something like that," he said. "Though it could be a good way to get quick money..."

"Don't even think of that, young man." Aiko said, though her tone was slight amused. "Remember that it is now my task to watch you all and if I hear that you indulged into making bets..." Trailing her voice off, it was clear what Aiko's opinion was on the topic.

Pouting the boy nodded with his eyes trailing to the side. "I understand," he said begrudgingly. "What will be the first match you'll be attending? Your team's?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. I must be honest that I doubt that they will reach the finals, but they are a bunch with potential. Am hoping that they can prove me wrong, but you know." Pausing, Aiko wondered if she should talk about other teams. She remembered that she had given information about others to Koike during the chuunin exam. And nobody had minded then, had they? "I just wonder how they will fare with teams that have jounin participating with them. Luckily, you're not participating, are you? Else I would need to cheer for you too."

"I asked Koike to let us, but he said nooo we're not readyyyy. He's gotten pretty bossy since he became squad leader!" he complained. "I guess he's just afraid we might be out of our league and get hurt, but it's just... Y'know..."

"Hmm, well, to be honest, I wouldn't let you participate either. Remember the chuunin exams? I fear that this is going to be even harsher and tougher." Her smile vanished a bit. Feeling a bit guilty that she had also let him participate that time and get hurt, Aiko wanted to apologize for it. "But it is also better. The less people kno--"

"I've gotten tougher," the boy cried out with a frown. "I mean... Not so much, but I can take care of myself to some extent..."

"Of course you have. I would've not allowed you to be transfered if I hadn't thought so myself." Aiko replied. "But remember, you're still a chuunin. And what do you want to prove or joint a tournament like this for? Most are here for the fame, money or such trivial matters. Is that what you want?" She asked him.

"I don't! It's just... I..." His gaze fell as he spoke. "I just... don't want to be weak anymore. I feel like I'm holding him back..."

Feeling bad, Aiko crouched a bit to get on the same height as him. "Who said that you're weak? I can remember a quite energetic and smart shinobi who was ready to be in a team. Like I said, I already think you're strong and smart enough as a shinobi Katsu. Else you would still have been on Team 8." Ruffling gently his hair, she continued. "If anything, I think you're making him better. If he is making choices to not join in such a competition as this, because he thinks about the whole team and not his own, then that has to mean something. Or do you disagree?"

Katsu gave a faint smile before becoming the jovial boy he always tried to be. "Ah... Sensei, I should catch up to the others before they go too far," he said. "When does your team's match begin?"

"In an hour or two." Aiko answered as she would straighten her back. Glad that she had managed to get him to smile again, Aiko paused for a second. "Now, go. Keep watch over him for me, would you? We need a strong shinobi after all to make sure he doesn't start to get back to how he was."

"Alright!" He started to jog away, turning his head back and waving. "I'll be at the arena on time!"

[/spoili]
 
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Kin Kita
Kumogakure genin, Team Satoshi
Airship 2


Kin didn't know how to feel. He tried to figure out what he was feeling, but it was like a mixed bag. And having a mixed bag of emotions at this time would be bad, so he decided to just put his feelings aside and focus on Jun-sensei as he spoke to them. They had indeed trained quite a bit in the last few days, and now it was time.

As Jun-sensei smiled to them, Kin's confidence gained a bit of a boost. Their sensei had confidence in them, which was all that was needed for him. As the airship door opened, and he watched Jun-sensei jump out, then Ayame jumped. Kin took a deep breath and then followed, going out the hatch and counting three seconds before pulling the rope to open the parachute.

The feeling as he was slowly dropping was incredible to him. The gentle breeze that went across him as he floated down, looking at Jun-sensei and following him from slightly higher while concentrating on properly adjusting his directions accordingly. He wondered if he will experience this many more times, or if it will a rare occurance, hoping for the prior.
 
[fieldbox=The next steps... , wheat]
Kimi Iomaski,
Kirigakure's Spymaster | Council Member




Kimi basically starts to plot. And going to divert her interests in some characters - basically for all of Kirigakure. Fun ^_____^
@Deuce , just tagging you. Hope you will like the fact I will make some highlight on your plans. :)




"That annoying bastard."

Leaning back in her seat, Kimi was biting on her left thumb as she stared at the few collected documents on her desk. She was still not pleased with the last council meeting. They had continued, but there hadn't been a decisive decision about the Six Tails host. Hiro had managed to convince the other council members to postpone the decision. Narrowing her eyes, Kimi felt irritated. It wasn't often that she was thwarted like that and while she wouldn't be worked up about it, it was in this case different. Hiro had managed to learn of things that weren't perhaps now important or that damaging, unless Rika could somehow rise from the dead. Yet it was a thorn in her side as she didn't want to deal with Hiro while progressing her plans.

Thus she had 'requested' some profiles on a few people. Mainly the pupils of Hiro and such. Of course she wouldn't hurt them as she wasn't interested or looking for a fight with the man. They both were attempting to make Kirigakure and the whole state a better place than it had been in the past. With the new era of the Republic, that was now a chance they could use. Fighting beside against each other would weaken the state and leave it vulnerable for its rivals. But Kimi wanted to convoy a clear message to Hiro. Getting into her affairs was something that the woman couldn't accept. Not even from Hiro.

Picking up the profile of Shin Yuki, Kimi was soon enough done. There wasn't anything 'interesting' that she could use. Not at least something to use against the man. Placing the profile down, she had been pondering on the fact that the boy had the Ice Release, but was it worth to pursue the boy for having that ability? The Republic wasn't in the state at the moment to after all nitpick over the most smallest of details that could be useful.

Aya Oda. Kimi snorted. She had still Aya's brother underneath her thumb. The poison forced the man to keep returning to the HQ and she had let it continue for a week with also letting some ANBU instructors help remember the man what his place was. He was now in theory property of the state. If the 'state' decided that he had served its use, he would be left to rot and die. Simple as that. It was however interesting that Aya Oda was sort of adopted by Hiro. Now that was something she would keep in mind...

Picking up the profile of a certain Genso Otsutsuki. At first Kimi didn't see anything out of the ordinary or interesting that would make her being more interested to see what she could use the genin for against Hiro. There was little she could find in the history that had been noted down about the genin and she was about to close the profile, until she saw something rather interesting.

"Oh. my. Hiro, Hiro. Tsk tsk, you sly one. Trying to hide this, huh?"

The woman's lips moved up into a genuine smile.

"Kaze Otsutsuki (Father)Deceased
Mirai Uchiha (Mother) Alive"


Now THAT was quite interesting. Placing the open profile down on her desk, she couldn't resist to giggle. This was most certain something that she could use. After all, who would like to hear that a half-Uchiha was roaming around in Kirigakure? Those wretched bastards were part of the force that once dared to stand at the gates of the Republic's now capital. While Kimi had a healthy respect for the sharingan as she didn't consider it a joke, she did consider the Uchiha and most other clans of the Empire - more specifically the Fire province and Konohagakure - as wretches. They were the blasted reason that they had lost the only two reasonable Mizukages and leading to the officials that brought the decade of corruption and misery on Kirigakure.

And she wasn't the only person who despised, distrusted and viewed the Uchiha and those other filthy bastards from that region as she did. No, practically anybody in Kirigakure who had seen the corruption and knowing who had taken away their last reasonable leaders in the past war as humiliating them cursed them silently.

And now there was practically one a halfblood of one of those wretches living among them. Well, the mother was even alive. It made Kimi narrow her eyes in delight. If something that Hiro would likely dislike to hear about then it would be this Genso. Deciding that she would fish more information about this particular Half-Uchiha, Kimi was content with her findings. Now, that Aya.

It was obvious that she couldn't just hurt the girl to send Hiro a message. The security had been better than before. The man had made quite the change already. The Demon Sharks were growing better and stronger. The corrupted officials being removed and now making it even harder for her to influence them. But there was also that genjutsu corps, the Shadow Sharks, that kept a genjutsu barrier up around Kirigakure. It was to prevent hostile forces of large sizes to be grow confused as the barrier would start to confuse them as the small corps would continue to make it difficult for unorganized forces to disturb the peace around the valley in which Kirigakure was settled.

Thus the conclusion : It wouldn't be easy to make it clear to Hiro that he should step away from her affairs.

But what could Aya serve in the schemes? Perhaps getting mugged and ending up in the hospital? Kimi was seriously considering it. It didn't interest her that it would cost some coins and an innocent's life. In her opinion, there was no such thing as innocent people after all. Only guilty or soon-to-be-guilty.

Only problem was who she could trust with that? It would also make likely the brother of Aya a bit restless and she wanted to keep her 'rats' silent and obedient. Not all riled up and restless. That would only lead to troubles. But perhaps...

Checking the profile, Kimi knew what she would do. It was quite simple and would be for the good of the Republic. And her plans. Deciding that she would conjure a plan on how to a certain event happen, Kimi decided to plot about something else important.



What she would have for lunch.​
[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox=Shin Yuki]
[fieldbox=Kirigakure]
Shin yawned quietly to himself as he walked towards the ships that awaited their passengers. Although the first day with his new teammates had been fairly energetic, he felt like the rest of the time since then had been somewhat lacking. Perhaps it was just because he didn't expect the entire team to be so... could he call it disfunctional? Aya and I don't seem to be at odds at all... We haven't had any serious friendship issues, but the main problem is probably that our... Other teammate... injured an ally... He frowned slightly for a moment, but let the distaste pass as it seemed Genso hadn't done anything to cause any problems since, which does of course, help his case of it being an accident. He looked around the port, taking a few moments to look through the groups of people for anything unusual. Of course, this probably would have taken longer if he didn't notice a bandaged arm as well as a ram. He smirked as he walked closer, just in time to hear a comment about Genso from his teammate. "Shin Yuki." He said before glancing to Aya "And Aya will probably want to..." Shin glanced to the ram for a brief second before continuing "butt heads with Genso... It might be best to keep her in a different group if you can control that." He said, smirking at his joke and looking to the person that Aya had been talking to. "And if you can, I'd like that same treatment... I don't take kindly to those who hurt their allies... At least, not if they do so the first day they met them."
[/fieldbox]
[/fieldbox]
 
[fieldbox=Natsuo Ueda , #a85405]
Team 3 Genin | Kumogakure

He wasn't afraid to jump, not really. Actually, he was looking forward to that part. But he was anxious about the mission, it was much higher rank than his first one. A fraction of time ago he was just an academy graduate, now he was moments away from jumping out an airship. Deep down, Natsuo knew he could handle this, but there was a lingering feeling of apprehension that he couldn't seem to shake. His hands clenched and released repeatedly. A sharp peck to the cheek broke him from his stupor. Black beady eyes met his own before their owner would deliver another painful peck on his check. Hissing, he glared at the bird. She stared back at him before continuing her preening. Piyo hadn't pecked him for no reason, apparently, as Natsuo now saw that he'd been ignoring his leader somewhat. The man's words rang true. They had been practicing with the parachutes for days. That was then though, there'd been no stealth or strategy. Nor any lives at steak, now there was.

While he thought about that and listened to Satoshi speak, something clicked. Those lives were counting on him. Those people were counting on him. They needed him for support while they went and risked their lives. What kind of shinobi would he be if he let them down? Hesitation had no place on a mission. He could save that for later when every thing was said and done. Right now, though, he needed to complete his mission. He took a deep breathe. When he let it out all the nerves disappeared, like they'd never existed. A familiar spark lit in his eyes, and Piyo peeped quietly in his ear. Perhaps she sensed his mood change? Now that the trepidation was resolved all he felt was excitement. The door opened, slowly but surely. Satoshi jumped, then Ayame, then Kin. A grin spread across his face as he rose from his seat, fixing his googles in place."You ready, Piyo?" He asked the bird on his shoulder. A cheep sounded. Taking that as a yes, he began to run. Right as he approached the small ledge created from the opening, he jumped.

There was a strange moment of suspension before gravity hit. In that moment Natsuo got a huge rush of adrenaline while he stared at the clouds below. Physics caught up with him, demanding that he fall. Always one to please, he obliged.

One

The wind whipped at him from all sides.

Two

He felt the moisture of the clouds brush his cheeks.

Three

He saw a small blue blur diving near him.

Natsuo reached for his lever and gave it a firm yank. The force of the stop jolted him, and his parachute tipped and swayed precariously. He snatched his guides up quickly to steady his chute. Once he was finally still he gave a puff of relief. Piyo now soared around his descending form in swooping circles, sometimes landing on his head before taking off again. Natsuo marveled at the land below him; it all looked so calm and serene. Too bad it wouldn't be for long, he thought as he guided his chute down.
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[Fieldbox=Hiron Hon , maroon]
Konohagakure Jounin | Team 9

Lowering his head, Hiron rubbed his neck with his right hand. He had just arrived in front of the main gate of Konohagakure, passing a checkpoint at the inner walls. If correct, his team would get the message that they should meet up with him as they were heading out for a new mission.

Nothing too exciting. They were assigned to do some watch and patrol around a few farms who had reported some ominous sounds and movement during the evening and sometimes at night. It was likely loose alarm as the folk who were a bit too cautious. Not that Hiron could blame them. Most of the farmers who had taken up residence in the new countryside weren't from these parts. They were people who had been promised some good and fertile lands that they could use for farms and their cattle. There were only a few problems.

While the Senju project saw a large piece of land around Konohagakure from forest and woodland being shaped into meadow, farms and such, there was the fact that most of these new settlers weren't from around. They were just settled for a few months and it was thus understandable that they weren't feeling right away at home. And while the forest had been 'driven' back with the new agricultural project, there was the situation with the animals. It would take some time before both humans as animals would be able to settle both to the new situation. Causing thus reports like these. While one could speculate that the signals aren't taken seriously, they quite are. Already Hiron had seen two squads head out and with everybody of those squads wearing flak jackets, it was clear that the top wasn't going to dismiss it as some scared farm folk.

Glancing in the direction of the town, Hiron hoped that his team would gather soon. They did have after a schedule to meet up with some of the farmers and settlers in order to learn what they could do in order to help and make them feel more at ease.

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Neji Uchiha
Konohagakure Genin
Team Nine
Neji made his way towards the main gate. He had gotten word from Hiron sensei for the team to meet at the main gate. Neji made sure he was prepared for a mission as he figured that was what they were being called for. Neji left his house as hey made his way out of the Uchiha compound and through the village towards the main gate. Things had not really gone the way Neji had hoped so far, but he was confident he could turn things around statte with today's misison.

Neji passed through the checkpoint at the inner wall and then made his way to the main gate. He saw that Hiron was already there but no one else was that. Neji walked up to Hiron. "
Hello Hiron Sensei. What is the mission today?" Neji looked at the man that was his sensei. Neji hoped that today's mission would be a good one where he could impress some people.