[ Eastern Continent | Sevudian Kingdom ]
[ The 11th Imperial Brigade | 'The Genin Squad' ]
[ A collab post between @RoranHawkins , @RedFox , @Autumn Song and @Lesli ]
[ The three genin of Platoon Meilin are being trained by Aiko. The Lady of the Cho clan train the three genin together, at first. As the training proceeds, the genin are taught valuable lessons and to always keep one essential in mind; always bring a blanket when being trained by Aiko. ]
Part III
Watching the genin, Aiko continued to stay silent. It was somewhat adorable as she could catch some things that were being said. When Hideko asked if it was okay to test it out, a smile started to creep on Aiko's lips.
"Sure. We can put to whatever you guys have to the test." The jounin then simply raised one hand and formed a seal of confrontation with the other hand. Nearly immediately, the air started to grow heavier - a fog started to amass among the field, thickening with each second.
"Here I come, I suppose."
A bit surprised that Hideko asked if they could put the plan to the test, Hylli wasn't too dismissive of it. It was better than to just hear that they had failed. Now they could actually try out to use their skills and who knew? Maybe they had a slim chance.
Then as Hylli noticed the mist starting to shape around them, the Hyuzu clicked with her tongue as she dropped into a fighting stance.
"Well, this isn't ideally."
As soon as the seal of confrontation was made she began working. You see, if we surround ourselves with earth barriers, it'll be harder for her to attack from there.So she started making barrier after barrier, focusing on their rear, and slowly beginning to encroach on their sides. If there was one thing she'd learned, it was that eyes pointed forwards, and an attack from the rear was always hard to avoid.
Mamoru watched, eyes wide, as the mist started to thicken around them. Hylli quickly took up a fighting stance, with Hideko surrounding them with barriers. He reached for Oak and firmly grasped it, than started to focus on his chakra.
"I'm amassing my chakra, Hideko. We should go back to back to cover all angles." He suggested and rotated slightly, allowing Hylli and Hideko to do the same, hoping they'd follow along.
"Got'cha!" and she started working around on her side of the trio of genin.
Waiting, Hylli, looked around. The thick mist made her anxious as she tried to detect any sound that betrayed the jounin's movement. While Mamoru and Hideko worked to set up the defences, Hylli considered something. But she opted against speaking her thoughts just yet. Moving a hand to grab a knife, the Hyuzu felt like something was smothering her.
"Guys," Hylli softly spoke up, her caution evident,
"don't block every direction."
It remained quiet as Hideko continued on her defences. Then a thundering sound heralded the genin's doom, only a second later a huge volume of water raining from the skies.
Keeping her hands against the ground, Aiko waited for the genin's response as the water kept flowing from the sky, almost as if she was prepared to flush the genin out of their make-shift 'fortress'.
"What is that sound---" Hylli said as she looked around, worried what was thrown at their defences. Only for a panicked shriek to escape her lips as the cold water slammed from above on her, causing the Hyuzu to flail briefly - and slip into the water.
"Okay then." She said, as she was once again completely bathed. She ignored the cold sensation in order to adjust the ground so it had several small holes in their fortress. Enough to let the water go out, but not big enough to let an arm pass through.
"At least now we won't drown!" She threw out.
Mamoru waited for the inevitable attack to come, but it never came. Instead, he managed to look up a second before another torrential downpour hit him.
Typical, he thought to himself. As Hideko opened their fortress, water flew out of it so they wouldn't drown.
"We can't stay here! Hideko! Can you make these walls explode outwards? If she he coming to finish us personally, we can catch her off balance! " Mamoru suggested, trying to prepare for what might happen next.
Hideko nodded.
"I'll try."
Before any of the genin could attempt, the water seemed far from done tormenting them. In rapid succession, the water stopped flowing away and instead form a large barrier around the genin. As the mist started to dissipate, Aiko walked in a casual fashion towards the large water prison.
"Earth is in theory superior to water. And wind crushing or slicing through earth? Hardly something I would consider worth the exhaustion," Aiko said as the genin started to experience how the barrier started to fill up with water - rapidly reaching to their waists.
"The idea that you guys had was nice. You knew that I was the attacker, so you had the luxury to dig in. Problem? You didn't take into consideration that boxing yourself in means less mobility to move out."
Raising a hand slightly upwards, the jounin snapped with her fingers - causing the water to halt at the genin's knees as the barrier stayed in formation.
"You guys were so focused on defending and taking me off-balance that you didn't consider to turn the tables around. Letting an opponent like me dictate the rules of engagement is bad. Very bad."
Suddenly the water barrier collapsed, once more soaking the genin as the water started to flush away. Flashing a smile towards the genin, Aiko gestured them to move out of the soaked place.
"But, you guys tried to work together. And you got an answer if your theory would work out!"
Sputtering and annoyed by the constant water, Hylli felt a brief sensation of relief as Hideko took care of the water. Or so Hylli thought as she attempted to get up, only to see the water moving in a different way and at an unnatural speed. Already fearing for another move, Hylli wasn't sure what to do until it was too late; they were captured.
Listening to Aiko as her voice moved through the barrier, Hylli released a soft sigh. They had an answer and thoroughly bathed. Closing her eyes as once more water soaked them from above, Hylli waddled towards safe and dry ground.
"I got a question, Lady Cho," Hylli began as she wondered if they had a way to get quickly dry.
"What is it like for you to be a genin? Did you also get soaked the entire time?"
She rapidly realised that she had trouble moving in the water, and that was when it struck her. The water
was the trap! Of course the water was the trap, she used earth in just the same way. Duh! Why hadn't she come up with that before? Woah, she was
really dumb.
"Okay. I feel stupid now." She said, as the water flowed away, leaving her dumbstruck and cold - again. She felt a pang of hunger, and realised, again, that she also hadn't eaten yet. Actually, that was more than a pang. Her stomach grumbled in all manners of food-deprived ways.
"Oh man."
This is not good, this is not good, he thought to himself as they stood in their dome that was still being left at the mercy of Lady Cho. As their situation went from bad to worse and the water reached to their waste, her voice cut through all the commotion around them. The cold was biting at his legs, and he could notice his shaky hands clenching the hilt of Oak with all the strength he could muster. Her words only added to that cold, stinging feeling and he was glad that Lady Cho was not their real enemy and it was only a training session. Eventually, he let out a sigh of relief that he soon realized was premature. Once again, he was hit by a mass of water, making his knees buckle as he withstood it. As he slowly walked out with Hylli and Hideko, he saw Lady Cho smiling at them. He put on a bittersweet smile as she praised them with that brilliant smile of hers and he mentally chuckled at Hylli's question. He had no question he wanted to ask right now, so he waited for her to answer.
Watching the three genin move out of the water, Aiko placed her fists against her hips. A playful smile dawned on the woman's lips as she listened to what they had to ask and say. Even managing to detect some grumbling from Hideko.
"All genin get a bit of soaking and failing. It is what you're a genin for; to make and experience mistakes. Only to, hopefully, learn from them." Aiko replied, at first,
"Granted, you guys didn't do too bad. None of you ran into the mist like some crazy person. You sticked together and tried to combat the situation as it got worse."
Not sure if they would like the subtle compliment, Aiko gestured them that they could sit down on some logs at the edge of the field.
"How about we have a break to get you lot be less bothered by the cold." Beckoning them to already move to the logs, Aiko half turned around and seemed to initiate a short conversation with one of the nearby soldiers that trained. The result being that the soldier frowned but without question went back to camp.
Joining the genin, Aiko would sit on one of the free logs and release a satisfied sigh.
"Okay, let us start with something simple. In hindsight, now that you guys knew that I could use such techniques. How would you respond to those situations, in order to improve the situation for yourself and squadmates?"
Taking seat on one of the logs, Hylli released a heavy sigh. She figured that being a low ranker meant that they had to go through stuff like this. But it was dawning on her that she had to pick her pace up. Hearing Aiko's statement that they didn't too bad, Hylli felt for a second to argue back; they were soaked and had been easily outsmarted.
The suggestion of a break was a welcome one in Hylli's opinion as she rubbed her arms to try to generate some warmth back in her body. The soaked clothing, obviously, not making it any easier.
"I suppose I could have used my knives," Hylli decided to go first, a twinge of regret visible as audible,
"perhaps thrown them out and caused a disturbance to mask ourselves. Or, in an attempt to force you back," Hylli finished, feeling her cheeks starting to fluster - why hadn't she done that? Instead, she had just flailed like a fish on the dry. Talking about embarrassment, geez.
Remaining silent as Aiko answered a question that sometimes bothered him as well, Mamoru only nodded in acknowledgement.
Yeah, that sounds like my experience, the Genin thought to himself. Walking after his teammates to the logs, Mamoru's eyebrows jumped up in surprise as he heard a rumble that would put even the mightiest bear to shame coming from Hideko. Taking a seat, he observed both of his teammates and was curious to hear out their answers. Hearing out Hylli, and seeing her facial expressions during her answer, Mamoru could relate to what she said. As she finished, he sniffed and merely turned his head from Hylli to Aiko.
" I could have used the Samurai Sabre in conjunction with Hylli using her knives. I hesitated in aiding Hideko setting up our defenses further, as I wanted to keep myself available to create an opening for Hylli, should you decide to come and flush us out personally, Lady Cho. It seems I have completely forgotten about the option that you don't need to come personally to finish the job. A mistake that could cost the ultimate price out there." He finished, a somber expression his face as he turned to Hideko, curious to see how she'd reflect on the situation.
Still shivering, she spared as much energy as she could for her towel to arrive, but she was forced to talk before that anyhow. She hoped no one had heard her stomach grumble, but she knew that it couldn't have escaped the ears of his co-shinobi. After all, listening for dangers was, in theory, part of their skillset when you finished the academy.
"I-I c-can't make a r-roof above us y-yet, so you obviously t-took advantage of that." She said.
"Maybe I c-could've made the ground b-beneath us m-move? But t-then I'd have confused everyone from where to p-point their attacks." Her belly chose exactly this moment to let loose its thunderous howls, and she coloured bright red.
"Also, w-when is lunch again?"" She asked hopefully, as if nothing ever happened.
Taking a seat on another log, Aiko was mildly amused and made little effort to hide it from her facial features. Hearing out what the genin thought they could have done better, now that they realised that Aiko possessed abilities to attack from a distance, the jounin opted to stay silent.
" All good ideas and suggestions. The truth is that we will eventually put them to the test. What is important is that you lot get any experience in fieldwork, at a rapid pace. Getting known how to respond to various threats effectively will be the difference in success or well, worse than being soaked."
Pausing, Aiko's smile briefly became more evident as she overheard the grumbling of Hideko's stomach. Opting to ignore to comment on it, Aiko continued.
"Now that I got a better idea of what each of you is capable, we will attempt to work in separate trainings. Hylli," Aiko turned her gaze to the Hyuzu,
"I will work on your close ranged capabilities as how to further utilize your knives. Mamoru," turning her attention to the Senju, Aiko continued,
"I will try to teach and train you on how to create openings for yourself. I can't have you rely on others to deal the blow, when you should be equipped to do it yourself. Which leaves Hideko," Aiko crossed her arms out front and turned her gaze to the newest genin. For a few seconds, it remained painfully silent.
"Truth be told, I have some experience and knowledge on earth release. But I don't nor well, can't use it myself. I will, however, train you in how to expand your capabilities. Both defense and offense. Any questions from you guys?"
Hylli briefly shot a look at Mamoru. The first experience she had upon meeting the Senju still impacted her opinion. And she honestly wondered how he would combine a chakra flow technique, if hers was to blow up. Deciding not to respond to it, Hylli shot a look at Hideko as the latter's stomach unleashed a fearsome roar.
Wanting to respond to the latter, Hylli opted to remain silent as Aiko spoke up again. Hylli was curious to see what more training they would receive. Being addressed first, she nodded when Aiko stated that they would work on her close quarter abilities as her knives - something that Hylli looked forward to, as long as it didn't involve more water being splashed on her.
"Yes, Lady Cho, looking forward to it!"
Hideko understood what she was trying to say.
"W-well, let's just say that I h-haven't been able to m-master all of my forms yet. I c-could use your help with those." She shuddered.
"A-as an example, the t-technique I actually m-meant to use was the R-rock Shelter Technique. That f-failed." She said, grinning despite the cold. Oh damn,
was it cold when you were wet! Actually, she knew a technique that was warmer than this. Why wasn't she using it? She used the Rock Armour technique to cover almost her entire being in rock, and huddled on her knees. She already felt the questioning looks of her team members on her.
"It's warmer this way!" She demurred.
"Really!"
The young Senju listened closely to what Lady Cho told them in regard to their reflection on the events that transpired. Mamoru felt Hylli look at him, but before he could return the look, Aiko was already talking with him, so he looked at her, eagerly taking in what she had to say. As he thought about what she said, he felt a tingle of shame creep up inside him. He felt as if he utterly and completely failed, despite this being only a training exercise. He nodded in return and than raised his eyebrows as Hideko surrounded his entire torso with a technique that resembled his way of enhancing his close quarter strikes. He let out a deep sigh and nodded again at Lady Cho.
"Understood, Lady Cho. Thank you in advance." He spoke in a quiet voice, hoping the others won't notice his insecurity, now on the surface, for all to see.
The genin responded in a fashion that satisified Aiko. She seemed a tad amused when Hideko responded and proceeded to cover herself in rock. In an odd way, it reminded her of someone else.
Before Aiko could say anything, two men came up to the small gathering bringing some blankets and wrapped rations.
"Rest out for now. We will begin the individual training soon."