Naruto - Squad Thirteen's Journey (In Character)

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"Ha! I've got two girls and two of the most talented I might add Mitsuhide And you're stuck with lame Atsuki aka 'The Great Killjoy' and the picture of a shy loner girl over there as well. I guess we can't all be winners huh isn't that right Mitsuhide?"

When the Inuzuka student had spoken down on her and the squad, It only made the girl twitch, worried. She was much to weak to hold down the fox, so the fox had an easy advantage to get through her quicker than he had in the past with others who had restrained him while being the host. He almost found it offending to be sealed within Sayuri. Clearly he was forcfully a part of her--And whenever she reacted even the most tiniest bit negative, He pulled her in. His detection towards negetivity was keen, and with Sayuri's weakness of being the host of him it was a clear advantage and he took even the most tiniest bit of her negativity for others to fear her or for her to become so weak that maybe he can even unleash himself through her.

"You are so full of frailty, I can't even handle it--fool.." Snapped his voice inside of Sayuri as he spoke to her personally, keeping her in a daze in the real world."Why do you stand there in hesitance?" It grinned, only his eyes and sharp rows of teeth visible."Because if i ignore you--you'll go away." she uttered with her own contempt back at it, looking down. It only laughed in amusement, a low and grumbling laugh really, as his lips trembled. She was a brat. A mere and weak brat at that, nothing more and surely nothing less. "Do something. Don't let another person defend you, child." He commented, he was tolerating her for right now. This was considered the fox's way of 'sweet talking' his host into anger. Someone was defending her? She could hardly tell seeing as the fox called upon her rather than vice versa."If someone is defending me, then it isn't your fight." she growled."Now, go back in the darkness where you belong." Sayuri bitterly ordered."Now thats the child I know." it chuckled darkly. "But if you leave, whose to say what I will do once you leave--seeing as you alone cannot retain me in here for long." Warned the fox. "I'll eat at you." he said clearly before it disappeared.

Sayuri snapped out of it eventually as she shook her worrisome face off and looked at Atsuki and Takumi."...Now, you can sit and stay, and we can all forget about this little incident," he said."Or you can inconvenience everyone and bear your fangs in defense of your pride."

"Which will it be, Inuzuka-san?"

Which will it be? At this point the fox was right, Sayuri couldn't keep him in for long, and if that Inuzuka's annoying pride continued to annoy him--The fox would surely and happily act on her behalf. She couldn't control him, rather he controlled her. Now her humanity slipped off to the fox slightly as she was seemingly still her quiet self. All that thinking made her paranoid enough, the fox was right. Whenever she encountered him in her bratty ways, the situation did come back to eat her. It was only then, Sayuri felt internal conflict with the fox.

"You are so full of humor mutt, We can't even begin where or how to handle it." Sayuri said, voice apparently bitter as her kind facade faded off with ease. Part of this was the fox's doing.. No in fact, all of it. 'We'... He was referring to he and his host, however it may had come off as the whole squad in general. This probably added on more to a conflict level of situation seeing as Sayuri was known to be: Quiet, bashful, and kind. Now she appeared just as eerily hotheaded."So say one more thing out of your filthy mouth, or i'll be happy to shut it up for ya. That thing you got there too." she grinned referring to the pup the Inuzuka kept. Her bangs hid her eyes, Because Sayuri's conscious was still apparent against the fox. It was just that as of now, Kyuubi was in control on her behalf. He was her instincts, the darker side of Sayuri as he considered himself to be.

This feeling of being dominated over by a monster, Gave her fear. Sayuri had never spoken up against the fox when he took over, but maybe today would be a first. She felt as though a large hand or paw was over her entire being, and her vision was a blur in the 'mind palace'. I don't understand this monster.... she thought. Why does he always come when I feel a bit of negativity? He always sees it and takes it to his full advantage.... And right now she felt doubt, which was what also unknowingly edged Kyuubi on while he took over. I hate it when he does this sorta thing.. Hate...

She thought to herself laying in utter darkness. It was silent, and she felt all of her senses being purely blocked by the fox somehow. That was just how weak she was against his strong Chakra. But i'm not gonna let you slip into me so easily... she thought, slowly shifting her head to see his eyes and row full of teeth through this... red and flowing place. It was hard to describe in Sayuri's opinion. Things were just red, flowy, and really vile. Sayuri built up her composure in order to make the fox disappear and lose control of her body in the 'outside world' as she laid there. By now what was he making her do out there? The chakra in the air--His chakra made her feel pinned down strictly.
 
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Ryu was about to retaliate with his own comments alongside Takumi who was about to rebound off the negativity aimed back at him when suddenly a firm hand gripped the heads of BOTH Atsuki and Takumi. "Now then let's not get into a fight on your first day ok? I know Takumi said some hateful comments and everything but you need to let that go. I thought I taught you better than that Atsuki? Or is Hiyato really your favorite one out of us both? The way you replied seems a lot more like him." Mina said as she grabbed the two of them while smiling. The group hadn't even heard her coming up to them for one reason or another. Her usual motherly smile underlining the clear disdain for her students provoking each other. "She's RIGHT you know! That is something I'd do!" Hiyato commented from across the room as Mitsuhide looked around at the people around them.

The majority of people had stopped to stare at the groups assembled as Chika awkwardly figited in place with Ko looking like he was about to vomit, probably from all the bad puns being thrown about like they were everyday things. Mitsuhide himself was rather surprised by The Great Killjoy's antics. He wasn't usually one to speak out. He didn't like the fact that he was suddenly stuck in the middle of this mess. Great job getting Mina Sensei's attention...this was going to-"Please now Sora, and Ko please escort your teams to where you're supposed to be going. Also please say hi to your parents. I haven't seen them in a while and I miss'em." Mina said as she suddenly turned her back on the group and went back to one of the other squads who was gawking at them still. Shina grabbed Takumi and physically dragged him while glaring at Atsuki clearly wanting to berate him but not wanting to incur Mina's wrath on them again. Sora didn't even apologize as she shrugged and walked away. Ryu and his team had already backed off.

"Alright now is everyone cool? Anymore lame puns you want to make before we start this? Good because that both weird and uncomfortable to watch. I'm the one who gets to make bad jokes around here!" Mitsuhide said sarcastically as he walked past his team over towards the door where Shina and Sora had just vanished out of along with Takumi. Mitsuhide pulled out the letter from it's envelope and looked at it briefly. He wasn't all to happy to see the note in general. It was on a piece of parchment, the worst kind of paper, and it was crudely written and had been crumbled up a little. On top of that there was a god damn food stain on the middle of the paper. Oh yeah this was TOTALLY going to be a fun time. Their sensei was as special as a hamster on a wheel that was throwing up. The letter screamed of simply not caring about them. It wasn't what he was expecting from a jonin ranked ninja.


"Dear soon to be genin or...genin. Whatever the heck you are like it really matters. I'm your sensei Mitsunari Kohaku and I'm sure you're all very humbled to be on my squad. Now look kids I know you're just putting on your big boy and girl diapers and all with those headbands and you're all probably super cool special awesome ninja of radical natures but I'd sure you'd like to meet me in person. Please hurry to the gate. I hope you know where the gate is because if not then you must've have been dropped on y- ds- as infants. You know that big freaking gate in front of our village isn't just for show. Well...see you kids soon I guess."

- With Love Mitsunari Kohaku the best teacher ever

To say Mitsuhide was unimpressed was an understatement. To say he wanted to punch his sensei was going to far. And to say that he simply wanted to meet the man who would make such a awful letter like this is just about right. Mitsuhide casually handed out the letter to the group before slowly backing further towards the door. "So yeah uh...that was unexpected. I wanted more out of our sensei than some half crapped letter." Mitsuhide said as he moved on his heels back and forth while they looked over the letter. "Anyway...FIRST ONE TO THE GATE IS A SPIDER MONKEY!" Mitsuhide said with a smile as he bolted out the door and shut it behind him for good measure. The near by squad with Kora in it simply looked at the two remaining genin with confusion at the words 'spider monkey'.
 
Takumi was struck silent following Atsuki's pun-ishing word play. In other words, it was exactly as it should have been in Atsuki's eyes. Though he had not defeated this his contemporary physically - and despite his earlier offer of peace, would not have been completely opposed to doing exactly that - it seemed that he had defeated Takumi's spirit. And even if he hadn't exactly done that, he had gotten the last word in and successfully completed his objective. Whatever would come after was of little concern. Perhaps that was why he didn't quite mind when the force from Mina-sensei's firm grip pervaded the top of his cranium. '...Hmm. Perhaps I should get a haircut soon,' Atsuki thought as the vise-like pressure around the crown of his head tightened. He blew a strand of his now-disheveled hair from his face. 'It is getting quite long.' Though he did his best to keep his bangs shortly cut, the rest of his hair had grown down to the middle of his neck. He'd definitely have to cut it before it became long enough to be a hazard, or at least take more time in the morning to style it in a safe manner.

Then Mina-sensei started to speak.

Maybe Atsuki was being overdramatic, maybe it was a sudden draft, maybe Mina-sensei had actually, genuinely snapped. But whatever it was, it sent a creeping chill down Atsuki's spine. For the smallest fraction of a second, the Uchiha heir had suddenly tensed up before returning to a guarded state. He stared straight ahead as his mouth became a hard line. Without the slightly upturned corners of his lips and his highly held chin, one might be able to have said that all the emotion drained from his face. His bearing was still undoubtedly one of 'someone who had tasted victory today', however. If anything, he could be praised for his consistency even when emotionally restraining himself.

Although he wasn't one to act out in class - except during spars, which almost always ended with someone more than just a little hurt - Atsuki knew very well the experience of getting a tongue-lashing from a superior. Still, the fact of the matter was that it was a sign that he was being put on the defensive, and he had never preferred being on the defensive. In that sense, it could be said that the so-called victor had his victory snatched away at the last second by the talons of his mentor. Even worse was the way she spoke. It was cold in the warmest way, like two people trading veiled insults or a parent praising their least favorite child. Moreover, she had criticized the way he had handled the situation. Admittedly, it could have been better, but the execution doesn't matter in the end. What really matters is the results of one's actions, and his led to a conclusion that satisfied him.

But even so, being compared to Hiyato really hurt.

His mouth became a rigid line and his eyes became just a teensy bit narrower. It remained like that for the rest of the rant, including the dismissal. '...Whatever. A bitter victory is still a victory,' he shrugged, letting the 'hardened' mask melt off to reveal a similar but softer expression once Mina-sensei retracted her claw from his head, 'And I've got spare ammo for next time those girls and their pet come around.' He watched as the other belligerents were escorted out of the room by their respective teams, and took the time to smile and give a friendly wave in response to Shina's veritable death glare. Like her, Atsuki also had his own criticism in mind; except his was more along the lines of 'stand by your teammates, if they lose you might as well lose with them'. It would be a very... odd manner of promoting teamwork, to say the least.

After Mitsuhide made his first statement, Atsuki quickly replied, expression morphing into the trickster-like one he had used earlier with equal speed. "Actually yes, Senju-san. I do have more, but I'll save those for another tail." There was a short pause, just barely the span of a breath. Despite the short duration, the silence permeated the room. "Well, I thought it was clever," Atsuki mumbled, rolling his eyes and returning to his poker face. He accepted the note and opted not to read it. All he needed to know was that he had to head to the village gate, whatever else didn't matter nearly as much as that. Besides, the note looked like it had just gone through the wringer anyway, and he had the feeling that he would find himself disappointed by reading it, if Mitsuhide's reaction was anything to go by. He glanced at Kora's confused team and shrugged back. Atsuki didn't understand the spider monkey reference, and frankly he didn't have the wish to pursue that particular tidbit of knowledge right now.

Atsuki turned to look at his remaining teammate, the surprisingly spiteful Hatake girl who used only one dog pun in her entire refutation - and one of the low-hanging fruit variety at that! As he neared, he was struck by the aura exuding from her. It wasn't a physical manifestation of chakra, just a feeling that something was wrong. He didn't know Sayuri all that well, but he knew something had to be up. One doesn't just suddenly start speaking adding aggressive words in a situation with all the volatileness of a baking soda volcano (that is to say, very little). To be fair what he'd said wasn't exactly nice either, but she obviously wasn't supporting his own punishment - she lacked sufficient dog-based word play - and he didn't have any prior knowledge of similar outbursts from the girl. Perhaps she was taking anger management on her off-days. "Hatake-san, are you alright?" Atsuki asked, tone simultaneously flat and authoritative, "Don't mind Squad 14; they're idiots, and it's all over anyway." He moved to place a reassuring(?) hand on her shoulder. "Senju-san has already left to meet our sensei at the gate. Let's not keep both of them waiting."
 
It would seem as though while Mina sensei came to interfere and shut down the conflict, The fox piped down but held a glare. Sayuri was still in that pitiful mental plane on the other hand as the growling she heard became faint. What she felt was similar to sleep paralysis and the fox had slowly lost its control over the little girl as the pressure of chakra--the heavy aura dissipated. Hate and anger was now apparent in the Kyuubi's voice as he left Sayuri alone. What made him recede that quickly for him to put back Sayuri's conscious in play? It was almost like the encounter with her Hashirama teammate--except a completely different reaction. The reaction was instinctive and similar, but Sayuri sensed something more.... Fear? She can feel it no matter how much the fox tried to cover it with his pressuring chakra. Whatever he felt, she did -in some cases depending on the intensity-, and vice versa. Except he always felt what she felt.

"Uchiha!" it roared at Sayuri, Mostly following up with violent hissing noises as well before giving off a malevolent vibe. He attempted to make the Uchiha back off with this vibe, but couldn't put it into affect due to the fact that the approaching Uchiha made him recede back in place. It was as if the fox tried not to show fear, but showed a defensive side in the form of its vigorous hissing and changed growling. 'Uchiha!' its last words to Sayuri from within her before Sayuri suddenly took a heavy and loud deep breath in hearing Atsuki's voice.

"Hatake-san, are you alright?" he asked. Uchiha.... she thought silently as she stabilized her breathing quietly, shoulders slightly heaving but giving way. She took a good place up at Atsuki. What did he do to make the monster recede? It must be more than just his simple approach to her."Don't mind Squad 14; they're idiots, and it's all over anyway." he added nonetheless to her quietness as he placed a surprisingly reassuring hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, the girl quietly fidgeted back abruptly, however his hand still landed on her shoulder and she tensed up. Waiting for him to be like Mitsuhide. Waiting for the fox to try and burn the Uchiha's hand in response. But nothing happened.

Nothing happened...? She raised her head at the Uchiha, surely she did indeed show peculiar behavior. Subtle signs of awkwardness. It was hard to talk to him now--She was already amazed and for some reason felt blessed to have him on her team. Only because the fox most likely did in fact receded when he came closer. Finding that she was staring for to long, she responded."Senju.. left?" She uttered lowly, turning to the door before shaking her head."Oh right! He did!" She forcefully grinned at the Uchiha pointing at the ceiling. She said that as if she had knew since, but it was apparent that the girl didn't truly know and thus, she looked back at the Uchiha.

"Hey--I know this is weird for a first meeting.." She stated. "But sorry.." What was this girl doing? Apologizing for the malevolent aura she.. or in this case truly, the Kyuubi had given off before? If the fox had everything in him to interfere, he most definitely would. In the most worst way possible. "And thank you, Uchiha. I hope in the future we become good friends.. and that I don't cause you any trouble." she smiled thoughtfully. Knowing that the Uchiha most likely didn't understand why she all of a sudden apologized and felt grateful towards him, she then gave off a worrisome grin as her eyebrows furrowed."But forget it!" She quickly added waving out her hands in front of her, fretting. This was another conversation that was one on one which was longer than she expected. And it made her feel slightly awkward."I hope it isn't any trouble if i tag along with you." She stated. She also hoped he said that he wouldn't mind. She wasn't swooning over him, like what other girls would do to male Uchiha's in general, she simply needed his companionship to keep the Kyuubi in. And because she didn't quite pay attention much to the note because of her interference with Kyuubi. "Damn it! Forget that too!" She fretted realizing indeed that it sound like she was 'trying to hard' to 'get with the Uchiha'. That simply wasn't it at all, and she can hear the other girls practically judging. "Sorry--Not cool?" She abruptly sighed, frustrated in her own socialization skills before laughing at herself. She was truly an interesting character to begin with.

Sayuri thought that if she hanged out with the Uchiha, or formed a good and strong bond of friendship with him -if that was even possible or if he even accepted her-, That the fox would begin to be the slightest bit more submissive. But was it fear the fox felt, or a general disliking? One thing for sure was that she treated the Hashirama differently from the Uchiha. With the Hashirama, the fox felt uncomfortable and keen--Willing to even inflict a tiny damage against her other fellow teammate in order to keep him away. With the Uchiha however, The fox began to recede almost in fear. But in spite of that fear--he himself still put up a fit indirectly, like a defensive mechanism towards Sayuri and couldn't bring himself to inflict any damage in response to her Uchiha teammate. In conclusion Sayuri had assumed that perhaps the fox had past encounters with these 2 clans, and thus takes a general disliking of them. Nonetheless, while she pondered, she felt happy inside. If he didn't like these 2 clans, perhaps he wouldn't come out ever again.

The girl could almost hear the fox growling within her as if it were trying to say,'Foolish child! I hold no fear of any kind!'. While she called it fear, Kyuubi simply called it caution.
 
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As Atsuki approached Sayuri, he couldn't help but notice that that malignant atmosphere surrounding Sayuri had begun to change into something else. If he had to compare this new air to something, it would be like a small animal trying to make itself seem bigger in order to ward off a predator. Nevertheless, he continued moving forth. There was an odd pause when the young Uchiha laid his hand on his teammate's shoulder, one preceded by an abrupt inhalation. 'How odd.' Sayuri had all of a sudden gone dead still, and the halfhearted aura of malevolence that had been encompassing her earlier had seemingly disappeared with a touch. As if there were a trap waiting to be sprung, the sudden, tense calmness gave Atsuki the vague feeling something was supposed to be happening right now. Fortunately before the whole prolonged touching thing became too awkward even for the typically apathetic Uchiha, something happened.

Unfortunately, that something was staring. Having multiple people examining him from a far was something he was accustomed to as a prodigy, but having one person from a larger group scrutinizing him in close proximity was just a bit too far out of his comfort zone. Atsuki averted his eyes a little bit above Sayuri's head to give the illusion that he was still looking at her without making this situation any more troublesome with actual eye-contact. At the same time, he quickly but composedly returned his hand back to his side as she came to the realization that her gawking wasn't exactly a seemly thing to do. Especially not in the front of the classroom where everyone could see.

"Yeah. He did," Atsuki replied with a noncommittal nod, making no effort to conceal the complete disbelief of Sayuri's overdramatic attempt to save her own pride shown plainly on his face. "He left a short while ago after reading this," he explained, handing the crumpled, crudely informal letter of dubious helpfulness to the jinchuuriki. "I recommend reading it to get a better grasp of the situation," he said despite not actually having read the note himself. And of course that fact, one which would reflect badly on himself, was conveniently left out of Atsuki's advisory. For all he knew, it was an essay about spider monkeys and the main gate, which had nothing to do with actual ninja business. Speaking of which: "Senju-san also mentioned something about the first to arrive becoming a spider monkey before leaving, but I don't know what that's all about." He shrugged, not particularly caring for that challenge of speed. 'What's so good about being a spider monkey anyway?' Atsuki mentally digressed, 'I'd much rather remain a ninja.'

"It's fine," Atsuki said, fanning his hand outward as if waving away her worries, "I didn't really notice whatever you think you did wrong, so you don't need to apologize to me. " That wasn't exactly true; he had a pretty good idea of why - as in the reason - she was apologizing, which was that malevolent aura and that very out-of-character statement, but he couldn't figure out why - as in the rationale - she was apologizing. After all, she'd not done anything to affect him, and it was her decision. If anything, she should have been apologizing to the rash Inuzuka boy. Granted if she actually did try to do that, Atsuki would have to stop her on principle. Perhaps she was one of those shy, clumsy girls who constantly apologizes for every little perceived offense, or maybe she knew that it was a situation he wanted to handle on his own. Whatever it was, she was certainly very worried about it all. "Right," Atsuki replied bluntly, turning away from the girl before she continued to embarrass herself by tripping over her words further, "At any rate, giving you the note is all I came here do. So if you have no other business, I'll be making my-"

"..."

"What."

In a split second, Atsuki pivoted on the ball of his foot in order to turn and face Sayuri once again. Slowly, his shoulders rose and all of his face below his eyes began disappearing under his huge collar. As she laughed to herself, Atsuki stared with a stunned look of surprise in his narrowed eyes, trying to discern whether this was some practical joke or somesuch. What he said earlier was a statement of utter disbelief, but yet there was no sign of rejection in his flat 'what' or annoyance on his face - just surprise. After realizing that this was a genuine question, he blinked twice, rose his head, and, just as quickly as he had been rendered incredulous, composed himself. "I... don't mind," he decided, turning back around and crossing his arms indignantly, "We're teammates, so we might as well get used to sticking together." A logical rationalization for a very irrational ninja. "You'll have to wait a bit, I have some loose ends to tie first," Atsuki informed, a single index finger pointed straight up and torso turned face Sayuri. After a quick survey of the room, evidently to locate these loose ends, Atsuki sauntered past his teammate and stopped right in front of Mina-sensei's desk. He bowed, torso perfectly perpendicular to his lower body. "Thank you for being my teacher, Mina-sensei," he intoned before standing up straight. That was the easy part; now was the hard part. "Err... Hiyato-sensei!" he called out from across the room to get the sensei's attention, "You too. I guess." Well it wasn't exactly a formal departure or even a proper thanks, but at least Hiyato had gotten something from the kid that had all the reason to have left just then and there. But now that that was done, Atsuki crossed his arms once again and marched out of the room. As he passed her, he gestured for Sayuri to follow and made a point of holding open the door.
 
Mina smiled at Atsuki and nodded her head in gratitude for his show of respect towards her. "You may not officially be my student anymore Atsuki but you can always come to me when you need to. Please remember that. I know that I'm not the kind of girl you guys like to hang around but I will still be here for you as a fellow ninja and your friend." Mina sensei said as she grinned at Atsuki. What caught her off guard was him calling over to Hiyato who was talking to Shin about some sort of jutsu he wanted more advice on before he left the classroom. The flamboyant teacher looked over to Atsuki with a confused look. He wasn't sure what he was about to do. Did he not give him something or was he going to ask him a question of some sort. However when Atsuki made an attempt to thank him. Hiyato told Shin to wait one moment before he went over to Atsuki before he went to the door and knelt down and put his hand on Atsuki's head in a fatherly sort of way. "I know you don't like me all too much and you see me as a goof but look little buddy. I'm Hiyato Sensei. I'm the man. If you ever need any advice from me. If you ever need a training partner or simply someone to chat with or whatever feel free to come find your old teach. I'm sure you'll be a fine ninja. Just try your best out there and leave nothing behind got it? Good because I got to talk to Shin over there. Well...I suppose this is it. Good luck little dude." Hiyato said removing his gentle hand from Atsuki's head and sauntering off with a grin back to his other students who craved his undivided attention.
 
"Thanks." Sayuri uttered as she walked out the room. Soon she began to travel along with her fellow teammate, happiness plastered across her face. She was content with her team, but the curiosity of what her sensei would be like really got her thinking. "Hey.." She said for attention as the note was stuffed in one of her pouches."What do you think our sensei is like?" She asked. In Sayuri's opinion he seemed like the laid back type, who is skillful less than he is credited for. Take the food stains on it and such, and the way that it was barely a letter. So she figured, he was seemingly laid back but ultra deadly in battle. Though, assumptions can be incorrect really, she was only assuming. No way would a sensei be a slacker. Or maybe he eats like a pig often and got lazy with the letter? Well.. No sensei can be lazy either.

She moved forward calmly, trying to slightly hurry it up so that the two would't wait long."I wonder what Mitsu is doing." She then stated, somewhat concerned. If she were in his position, she surely would've been bored as well. But if the sensei was there would probably attempt small talk. But Mitsuhide seemed bright and thus, she figured he'd be ok. No way would he be bored ever to her. It also seemed as though she was already giving foolish and petty nicknames as she traveled. She landed rooftop to rooftop, her hair flying back because of the speed in which she traveled. It flopped around really, as did the sleeves of her large sweater, Even with the body flicker technique. She occasionally looked at the Uchiha member, only curiously due to his demeanor but simply continued on.

"Hey." She uttered at him again to get his full on attention. She then let out a giggle and a grin, this was only in attempt to change his seemingly serious demeanor in her opinion."You look to serious--even like you're death glaring ahead. Figured i'd try to break that." She said, a sweat drop at the back of her head as she looked forward again and landed on a ledge, backflipping off it quickly and dropping down from one small building.
 
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Mitsuhide was rushing quickly jumping over building roofs and bouncing off tree branches and jumping down onto the street only to jump back onto the buildings above him. In a rush he didn't notice anyone or anything in his way and he was moving exceptionally fast for a mere boy. He had a smile on his face and he couldn't help but love the feel of wind on his carefree face. He felt free when he was in the village like no one could hurt him. This village was important to him! This village would be his home for the rest of his life if he had it his way. This place was the place of his kinsmen and the place where things finally came to rest. Two great ninja wars were in the past and now he could only look forward into the future!

However half way to the gate he finally noticed his 'friends' had just let him run off like an idiot and so he decided to jump down off of the buildings looking miffed. He grumbled with a frown on his face until he saw old lady Yang over by the food shop and stopped by there. "Hey Miss Yang how's everything goin'?" Mitsuhide said with a grin and a smile on his face as the older woman looked over and smiled happily at Mitsuhide. She then went up and hugged him suddenly as Mitsuhide chuckled. "Oh you...Mitsuhide how you've grown up so fast. It wasn't too long ago that I remember your mom and dad getting those as well. Would you like some chocolates today to celeberate you getting to this point in your life?" old lady Yang said to Mitsuhide as he thanked her but refused. He couldn't possibly take chocolates today. In the past she used to give him some every week or so. She was a like a second mother to him. Well grandmother but that's besides the point. Before too long another man walked up to them and it was Mr. Kujikawa who was a wood mill worker in the village. He also did carpenter on the side. It was funny how many different people he knew. Mitsuhide felt him grab him and put him a light headlock. "Oh so the punk head got a bigger head didn't he? Well shit good on you Mitsuhide I knew you'd do it you little sucker." he said with a laugh as old lady Yang told him to let Mitsuhide go as Mitsuhide felt the bulging arms of the man lift off him he breathed in deeply and smiled. "Sorry guys I gotta get moving you know stuff to do and a teacher to meet and all that but it was nice seeing you all. I'll come see ya some time when I don't have to train." Mitsuhide said as suddenly he felt a glass of water being shoved into has hand by Yang who told him it was hot and he better get some rest after this. Mitsuhide nodded and thanked her before downing the glass as quick as possible he ran off on the two of them towards the gate. He loved the people in this village. He couldn't imagine them doing anything wrong to him ever.
 
The start of the duo's journey proceeded in silence. Sayuri seemed pleased with this turn of events, and so far for Atsuki, it wasn't an at all an unpleasant experience. The rush of air as they crossed the Konoha rooftops made for a zen-like feeling of freedom as Atsuki began to fall into the rhythm of free-running, but because he had so immersed himself in his own actions, he had to admit that he was a bit caught off guard when Sayuri actually decided to break the ice and start a conversation. "..." Atsuki remained silent as he thought up his answer. He didn't quite know what to think of their sensei. His first impression hadn't been a good one all around but, since Atsuki didn't care much for leaving a good first impression himself, it would've been hypocritical to base everything off of that alone. "I'd like to hope he's somebody exceptional," he began as unenthusiastically as ever, "This talent is wasted on him otherwise." There was a thoughtful pause. "He's obviously not a very formal ninja, but I don't mind. Informal is fine. Rude is fine. Abusive is fine," he quickened his pace ever slightly, "As long as he isn't complacent or incompetent, I can't - and won't - complain."

"As for Senju-san..." Atsuki continued, glancing over to his companion to see if she was keeping pace. He didn't often think of the other male in their squad - for many reasons, not only because of their two clans' age-long feud - but Mitsuhide didn't strike Atsuki as the type to lie down and allow himself to be bored. "...I doubt someone as blithe as him would be too bored in that situation, especially if our sensei is there for him to bother." Atsuki answered. Even if he was just sitting there waiting at the gate, Mitsuhide would surely find something to do to pass the time. He shrugged. "He'll be fine either way, so I wouldn't bother concerning myself with him right now." And with that said, silence engulfed the two travelling shinobi once more until it was broken yet again by Sayuri.

"..." Slowing his pace and shaving off excess momentum, Atsuki came to a halt along the edge of the same building that Sayuri had just backflipped off. He looked down on the girl and leaned his elbows on the metallic railing, expression as inscrutable as ever. "It's my problem, not yours," he responded dispassionately, "You needn't worry about things that can't be helped." He flashed her a wide, heartless smile. "I'm fine, so let's just get moving again so we don't hold everyone else back."

The girl looked up, realizing his momentary halt as she also froze in place."Well-Are you just gonna stand there or are we gonna gooo?" She asked, stretching out her 'go' as if she was an eager and impatient child. "Well if you keep making that face--Its going to be my problem. I'll make it my business!" Her tone was slightly bitter, but nonetheless she never had the ability to be truly bitter towards or against someone."I'll fret and feel concerned." She concluded admittedly in response to Atsuki, who kept telling her not to worry over such things which couldn't be helped. Some things could be helped in Sayuri's opinion, But she simply left it be and didn't want to escalate the topic into a back and fourth argument. When he declared he was fine, she sighed,"Ok--I'll take it as in you really are fine." the girl concluded, as she stopped again rather abruptly and squatted at the edge of one small and round building.

She was looking ahead at what she saw down below her. Various stands, men loading and unloading things from carts and wagons, Kids playing in small groups, and just about other things you would see in a busy area of a village. It seemed to peak her interest as she watched more, certainly like a curious cat. There were small food stands, and some other leaf ninjas that seemed to be having a break. It was filled with various noises she keenly paid attention too. Mostly it was chattering from the people down below, some bells ringing even for attention, and giggling laughter from the children.. And lets not forget the occasional loud yelling of elders. Theres a sight she rarely saw. Not without her father, Shisa or some other Hatake escort assigned to her. The girl turned her head back up at the gates which was somewhat far ahead and pondered for a moment. She looked overat Atsuki."Can we travel on ground?" She asked. "We can body flicker too--I just wanna be near this scene." She explained briefly with interest in her tone.

While she was sight-seeing from above, having a nice aerial view, Sayuri flickered over more closer to the scene, standing over a ramen shop titled,"ICHIRAKU RAMEN'. She looked over at Atsuki as if waiting for him. Would he leave, or come with her -and probably nag her?-. She was so easily distracted by the busy area that it really was fascinating to her indeed, Especially for a girl who was often guarded at home and rarely visited the actual busy and bustling areas of the leaf village. The Hatake clan was slightly located in the outskirts of Konohagakure. It wasn't much of a clan--In fact it was probably the smallest clan but made up for its population for having well known and skilled members over the few generations it appeared in. If she did want to travel however--Growing up, she wasn't out the Hatake territory for to long if someone took her out for a bit, so she saw this traveling to the front gates as a opportunity to take advantage of.

Atsuki regarded Sayuri with a abstruse look. If he had to describe her in one word, it would be troublesome. Even though she'd been smart enough to drop the topic instead of continuing a futile argument over the merits of sticking someone's nose into other peoples' business, Atsuki could tell that she was just saying that to satisfy him instead of any personal agreement. Those types of people were hard to read; you couldn't easily tell if they'd stick to their word or not. Not that it mattered too much to him; Atsuki knew he could endure something as simple as incessant questioning. "Yes... That's right," he finally spoke, finally shifting his scrutinizing gaze from Sayuri. His monotonous words were vague as to exactly which statement of Sayuri's he was in agreement with, but something about his body language indicated that there was a high chance that she wasn't going to get a straight answer even if she tried. Without missing a beat, he body flickered away from sight and reappeared on the building ahead of Sayuri, evidently getting on with it as she had suggested.

Unlike his companion, Atsuki hadn't the want nor need to experience the city. For someone with an admittedly barren social roster, there was little reason to leave Uchiha territory by his own volition outside of a change of scenery during training or to go to the Academy for lessons. Still, it wasn't as if the place was completely foreign to him. His mother did often make a point of dragging him away from his nigh-constant training so he could follow her into town to accompany her while she was shopping and doing other, similar activities. He hardly enjoyed those experiences, but he could appreciate them for what they were: a chance for a regretful mother to spend time alone with her estranged child. He glanced back, noting that Sayuri hadn't followed him, and skidded to a stop. He looked at the gate, attempting to gauging the remaining distance left, and then looked back in the direction he had just come from. Atsuki inhaled sharply, tugged up the ends of his sizable collar to conceal the expression on his mouth, and returned back to where he'd last seen his teammate.

Atsuki arrived just in time to be addressed by his dawdling teammate. "As long as you're heading that way," he thumbed towards the gate, narrowed eyes looking back at her as he spoke, "I don't care what you do." He moved to the edge of the rooftop and followed after his flickering confederate, landing safely atop the ramen shop rooftop. "Stay on task," he advised, body crouched and finger out as if he were an adult talking to a child. Though he decided to stay on the roofs and didn't drop down to street level, Atsuki would make sure to keep watch over Sayuri and keep her on track. He had a feeling if he just left her, she'd get lost or something. Besides that, going on ahead would mean he would have to wait alongside Mitsuhide and their teacher of dubious credibility, which wasn't something he really wanted to do.

While Atsuki met her over the rooftop go Ichiraku Ramen, she eyed him. Feeling a bit doubtful that he would agree."As long as you're heading that way," he pointed back at the gate, reminding her of the task. Her head flicked back to the gate as she blinked and looked back at him."Really?" She asked as he stated that he didn't care what she would do. Immediately, Sayuri stood to her feet and nearly hugged the male roughly, obviously happy over his approval."YOU'RE ACTUALLY NICE.. WELL FOR RIGHT NOW!--WELL..FORGET IT!" She nearly yelled ecstatically in his ear by accident before he strictly reminded, "Stay on task,". The girl stumbled back a bit, releasing her teammate before she raised an eyebrow, and turned around almost sulking it would seem. He seemed to be slightly overbearing at a time like this--She just couldn't stand it! It bothered her to say the least. But this was just the taste of freedom and exploration that got to her, making her more lenient and quite possibly resembling more of a bratty child.
Before she body flickered, Sayuri scoffed. "You need to relax more--Don't be like that!" She muttered with a brat-attitude before looking over her shoulder. Her sulking immediately shifting into a grin."Just kidding.. Lets go!" The Hatake said calmly as she body flickered to the ground and spun on her heel to look at the front of the Ramen shop. She scrunched up her face, shaking her head before turning back around yet again and beginning to travel on the ground. At first, Sayuri moved slightly ahead of Atsuki but gradually sloweed her pace down while they did two things. Satisfy the girl's curiosity and sense of freedom, and move forward to meet their sensei and Mitsuhide. Sayuri was to say the least, was easily caught up in even the littlest of things. She would stop and look at the business the villagers did: Be it them shipping or unloading items, some who played chess outside shops, people who ran their stands smoothly, etc. She literally stood and watched momentarily for a few seconds before remembering the main task and negotiation Atsuki practically gave her. She could roam--But stay on task while doing so. However it was simply just hard for her to do since she was easily fascinated by the little things. At one point, The little girl stopped stopped in front of a black feral cat and looked over at Atsuki, as she lightly skipped around it."Hey--This is a thingy right?" She uttered over her shoulder, placing her hands over her head to represent the cat ears as she flopped them trying to remember."Nyao...... A.. Cat?" She inquired with important interest, blankly facing him. The Hatake child immediately picked the creature up and close to her face as one of its paws pressed against her nose. She widened her eyes, then let out a small giggle as she squatted there on the ground.
While Sayuri was being her whimsical self--Fond of the little things, there were some villagers who just couldn't cope around her presence without indirectly reacting or cursing about her lowly. She may be fond, but they weren't. They were almost doubtful with the girl's presence around and superstitious. Sayuri barely paid attention since she was busy being distracted by the cat. Some older people (middle aged and elders) gave her a look of contempt. Sayuri barely noticed it, but a few times when she looked their direction ; They simply looked away or glared even more intensely than before--Muttering something under their breaths and occasional cursing. She hadn't experienced such a thing in a fair while really--Not in public either."Thats the child...." An elder uttered to another."The Hatake child." the same elder chimed in while a younger female who was maybe in her thirties glimpsed at Sayuri."Her? But isn't she the child of Shisa Hatake?" She asked in a low whisper."She's a bad omen--I heard its sealed in her. Bad luck--She causes nothing but trouble. Even without trying." A male elder said to the woman.

As Atsuki had become more subject to her personality, 'troublesome' really was becoming more and more an apt one-word descriptor for the rowdy girl before him. His ears rang with the sound of Sayuri's obtrusive rambling, his dark clothing crumpled under her aggressive embrace, and his arms were tightly pinned to his sides by the overwhelming force of a particularly excited young lady. "..." Unlike what other boys his age might have been, he wasn't at all embarrassed by a tight hug from a pretty girl. In fact, he did little to resist and little to react; his body was almost like a ragdoll and his face was as stony as ever. Atsuki blinked twice. He was not an affectionate person, nor was he a person who received much affection himself. Therefore, it would come as no surprise that he was not the type of person to indulge in hugs or praise or any other type of touching, nor the kind of person to get a very substantial warm and fuzzy feeling. When he was finally released from the vise-like grip of her bear hug, he merely sighed at the rumpled mess that had become his outfit and began to pat himself down in an effort to smooth out the newly formed wrinkles.

"I shall take your concerns into consideration," Atsuki recited flatly, essentially saying 'talk to the hand because the face isn't listening' in the most decorous way possible. Sayuri's misconception that his constant stiffness of behaviour was something to be fixed was exactly that: a misconception. Between his two more obstreperous teammates and his mysteriously unceremonious sensei, someone had to remain disciplined enough to rein everything in when necessary; although, Atsuki hoped everyone was goal-oriented enough that it would never need to come to that. He made across the rooftops, pacing himself so that he could keep an eye on his easily sidetracked associate whilst simultaneously being far enough ahead to goad her into getting on with it already. Every now and then, he'd look back at Sayuri who was busy getting herself distracted by a sufficiently interesting happening or shop. Admittedly, Atsuki felt pangs of envy as Sayuri had her miniature tour of the village. He would've liked to be as careless and content as the rest of his squad, but unfortunately his life was a cycle of endless ambition. Self-improvement was not something that plateaued, and if it was, he wouldn't allow it to happen to himself. After all, he was a person with a lot to gain and little to lose, and the only way to reach that peak was to strive for greater and greater heights. "That's a cat," Atsuki answered simply before watching in disgusted disbelief as Sayuri picked up a filthy little creature and decided to wallow in the trodden streets. "That's unseemly and unhygienic," he scolded from his perch up on a building rooftop, "Put it down and get up off the ground. You might get a disease." He turned his back to the girl and continued moving forward in order to prompt the continuation of Sayuri and Atsuki's trip to the gate.

"Oh--Uchiha, don't be so uptight. Its just a small cat..!" Sayuri looked over as he stood there on the rooftop."If anything, your personality is a bit.. unseemly.. and.. yeah." She attempted to mirror back into a retort but simply averted her attention back to playing with the feral cat."Put it down and get up off the ground. You might get a disease." he stated."Okay, okay.. But--" Sayuri responded with a sigh before standing up, cat still in her bare hands as her sleeves were scrunched up to her elbows. She body flickered to meet the imperial-like Uchiha on the same rooftop and held out the cat to him."At least poke it.. No harm done--rightttt?" Sayuri eyed over the cat to see Atsuki's reaction before she gently placed the cat down on the rooftop and clapped her hands clean, taking a step forward."Nee... You should travel on the ground with me ; If you're gonna be all bossy." She reached over at Atsuki's shirt and tugged it gently in order to stop his movements. He seemed to be the listening type anyways--Always attentive regardless of the nonsense she spoke of. Remind her of a obedient and loyal service dog really. "3 minutes at least. Just relax--for 3 minutes." A chuckle escaped her lips.
Then Sayuri released him, placing a sleeve over her chin."But now that I think about it.." She said."Hey--Uchiha, Why are you so.. Domineering?" She asked."You seem to always be strict on yourself. High standards and all... Does it have to do with your clan? Family? I understand that it isn't any outsider's business--But I think it isn't all that bad to let loose--Even for a minute." Sayuri gave him a slight awkward smile as she tilted her head to the side before realizing her words."I mean--Don't get me wrong. Holding high standards could be good too, and being strict on yourself. Even if it has to do with clan or family--But if I were you i'd kinda be a tiny bit rebellious.. I'd fight the rules rather than break them... Wait did that make sense? Never mind!" Laughed Hatake before she body flickered ahead on the ground."Gee! We've been talking for so long--Sensei would most definitely punish us now!" She yelled, practically cutting Atsuki off as she was looking over her shoulder.

Atsuki shook his head. "No thank you," he answered, giving a solid shake of his head that might have been a little too eager in its delivery. He had spoken in a voice that was quiet but firm at the same time, and to emphasize his reluctance to makecontact with the feral beast, he took an additional step away. The stray cat's cleanliness was definitely, 100% suspect, and the Uchiha didn't want to take any chances. Touching filthy beasts was an easy way to get an illness, and a ninja was only as powerful as they were healthy. Sure, if push came to shove and he would be forced into contact with any foulness in the field, he'd definitely do his duty, but if he could avoid it without much detriment, he would. "What do you mean, Hatake-san?" He asked as he kept an eye on the cat, following it with his gaze and taking literal steps to maintain a safe distance away from it. "I'm always relaxed," he half-lied, stopping in place upon feeling the tug at the back of his shirt, "Can't you tell?" He wasn't really a particularly worried person, but he couldn't really be called at ease either. He had a goal in mind and was working towards it; that was all. To others, he might seem high-strung, but to himself he was as relaxed as he'd ever be.

Atsuki flattened the wrinkles out of his shirt when Sayuri finally let go. "Diligence is a virtue," he answered simply, smoothing out the last few creases in his clothes, "I wouldn't expect someone as careless as you to understand." She asked why he was so assertive of his will, but there was a lot more to it than she, or even he himself, could imagine. The source of his imperious nature was only a single branch in a vast tree whose deep roots reached farther down than Atsuki had yet to learn for himself. "I could ask you the same thing," he shrugged impassively, "Why do you think it's fine to be so lax all the ti-" He was cut off by Sayuri's departure. He shook his head and gave out a quiet sigh and mumbled to himself, "If he didn't specify a time, he can't really punish us for not making it on time." Nevertheless, he too resumed hastily making his way towards the gate.

"Well, I'm only so laxed all the time because i'm never out--As in outside Hatake grounds!" Shouted Sayuri with annoyance."You know what its like being confined in one area? Day in and day out for even-- years?" she uttered."I mean the only times I did go out--" Sayuri landed on a tree branch momentarily before jumping up to the rooftop of a building."Was for business my dad would take me to! And then after business I was allowed to go out... But I don't remember much--Just the sheer fact that being in a different environment is fun." the girl pointed out."Medical ninjas came to me, Or adults from other clans who were well acquainted with my father came to check on me--Even Hokage a few times! Never kids though... Kids were..Never." Sayuri explained."But now that i'm in a squad with particularly you and Mitsu--It makes me all the more happier." She smiled calmly.

Atsuki slowed his pace and came to halt by sitting himself down on a thick, sturdy tree branch. They were rapidly nearing the gate, so he could allow for this shortmoment of respite. Sayuri's words resonated with emotion and sentiment not too dissimilar to those of a younger Atsuki. However, he doubted that her house arrest was her own fault as it was in his case. "Hn. Yeah, I guess I wouldn't know a thing about something like that," he acquiesced with a noncommittal shrug, nonchalantly swinging his feet back and forth off the edge of the tree. He didn't regret his choice and all the experiences that followed. Regret would only sully what opportunities he'd sacrificed up until this point. "It's good that you're fine with this team arrangement, though," he grunted, dropping himself down the short distance between the thick, lower-positioned branch and the ground. He moved his hands behind his back and looked over his shoulder to his teammate. "I'll take the ground since we should be there in just a bit."

"Okay." Sayuri responded, following her teammate suit. As they quickly ran on ground, they had finally made it to the front gates of the village. There, Sayuri found Mitsuhide and smiled."Sorry for the wait." she apologized, bowing her head slightly.
 
"Oh hey guys so happy of you to FINALLY make it. It's not like I declared a race or anything on the way here..." Mitsuhide grumbled at her as he made a dog hand sign and then put his hand on the ground causing a small chunk of wood to come out of the ground at which Mitsuhide picked up and tossed it in one hand up in the air. He had been doing that quite a few times by now and a small pile of wood was collecting at Mitsuhide's feet. Mitsuhide picked them up and put them in his pockets. "Now that we're all here where is our sensei? I haven't seen him since I got here and I want to let you guys know that's the four million yen question I have." Mitsuhide said as he got up and looked around the area again to see if anyone had shown up. He checked in the stores nearby but saw no one out of the ordinary or in ninja gear. Just like when he had gotten here. "Oh so that's how it's going to be huh?" Mitsuhide said to no one in particular in a tone that indicated he was clearly not happy about this situation as a whole. Scratching his head he moved forward and groaned. "Well then it looks like he's late!" Mitsuhide said in annoyance. However someone called him over, a member of the Village's guards who stood vigilant on the wall an Uchiha by the name of Kenshin. Kenshin was alright despite the fact that he was a damn dirty Uchiha jerk at times. In fact to the contrary Kenshin has never been anything but nice to him and only picked on him when he well...really messed up. So Mitsuhide tolerated him as much as he tolerated a spider in his house.

"Oh hey Mitsuhide and little Atsuki! Got a lady friend with you too? Must be your new squadmate! Nice to meet you I'm Kenshin Uchiha. You looking for something!?" the man called as Mitsuhide nodded and explained he was looking for his sensei who was supposed to meet them there when Kenshin chuckled to himself and then produced another slip of paper from his desk telling the group that it was from their sensei. Mitsuhide thanked him halfheartedly as he tore the envelope a part with his finger. However the thing wouldn't come undone for some reason. Mitsuhide kept trying but then gave up and used the sharp point of the wooden block he produced earlier and used it to get the thing open. After fumbling around for a moment he pulled out a small note. Just like the one they had received at the school. "What the hell?" Mitsuhide said as he quickly scrolled through the writing and turned a deep red after reading through it a second time. "What the hell? Are you...SON OF THE HOKAGE! THAT BASTARD!" Mitsuhide said angrily his day had gone from bad to worse. He stamped at the ground in frustration and kicked a rock clear out past the gate. He threw Atsuki the letter which stated that they'd need to find three more letters across the village and a small map marking the three places. One was in the park, one was underground, and one was near the hot springs. "What's wrong Mitsu? The letter say something bad?" Kenshin asked waving his kunai around in a circle. "Yeah it looks like we got to split up. Hey I'll take the park side what ones do you guys want?" Mitsuhide asked groaning. "By the way Mitsuhide I want to-" Kenshin's friend Tatsumi Kobaiashi started as Mitsuhide interrupted him telling him he appreciated it but he wasn't in the mood to talk.

===

The Letter itself:

"Dear new group of genin. I'd like to say congratulations on making it to the front gate. I'm sure that it was such a hard trip for you youngsters! I mean brand new ninja and already here you are staring at the village gate. But....you're not leaving the village just yet. In fact if you want to find me you're going to have to play by my rules my ninja in training! I'm somewhere you'll never guess...or well I assume you won't even if you do guess right I'm going to still make you work your butts off so here's the deal kiddos. I've hidden three letters around the village one in the park where the war memorial is at, one in the hot springs location, and one in the middle of the sewers underground. I'm giving you a warning you'll need the skills you've gained so far otherwise you'll be SO out of luck little guys. Have fun, stay safe, and hope to see you soon!"

Sincerely and with best regards,

Your Sensei, Mitsunari.
 
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Sayuri reached for the letter quietly from Mitsuhide's hand, reading it. Separation!? What if the thing came back again--Bothering her because either Uchiha nor Senju weren't around!? The girl merely doubted this hide and seek game and let out a barely audible whisper. It was bad enough that she was the only girl in this squad--She was even more of a social wreck around the opposite sex personally! But separating was inevitable really, and she took in a gulp of air as she let out a sigh. Don't feed the thing.... she thought to herself. It's going to sense it... she added to herself mentally as a look of worry showed on her face quietly."I'll go to the..." She hesitated,not knowing the location exactly."H-hey.. Maybe we should go together?" she suggested meekly under her large sweater which once belonged to her father.

Sayuri pointed the locations out on the map and then pointed around the sewers. She didn't want to be separated, but it was simply inevitable. The sewers? How that sounded dreadful, and she tried to indirectly avoid having that spot for good. She quickly shook her head. There she went again, nervous as usual"Oh!--Nevermind. I don't think its a good idea to separate--We really don't need to do it." She fretted."Whatever you guys go along with--I will. I mean, its fine!" Sayuri stated. Besides, this suspicious feeling came from the fox and taking more caution she thought that maybe the thing would do something bad to her if they regrouped--Or to her new teammates. She didn't know which to trust more and couldn't decide.
 
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Atsuki gave a nod of acknowledgement to Mitsuhide, but said nothing. He had never consented to such a contest of speed nor did her particularly wish to waste energy answering a rhetorical question. He beheld the punctuality-based frustration of the Senju clansman with an inert expression upon his face. While he couldn't share in the sentiment as it hadn't been too long between the time of his arrival and Mitsuhide's complaints, he couldn't help but emphasize with - and find pleasure in - the boy's frustration. Their mentor seemed to be a very inconvenient person. Hopefully all of this trouble would be worth it. His gaze followed Mitsuhide as he was called over by one of Atsuki's own clansmen, a shinobi by the name of Kenshin. He watched the exchange between the Senju and the other Uchiha, taking note of the item passed between them. 'Another letter. Oh joy.' Atsuki thought flatly, the reactions of his more excitable teammate doing nothing to abate his irritation at this flagrant waste of time and paper.

Once Sayuri completed reading the letter for herself, Atsuki snatched it from her hands. His hawk-eyed gaze quickly went to scanning the letter in question. From the reactions of his comrades, he had a good idea of the content therein, but it never hurt to see the instructions one was to follow for oneself. "If any of you know any real clone jutsu, we could send those out to retrieve the letters for us," he suggested, eyes still perusing the letter and coming to the end of the letter's content, "On the other hand, I doubt 'tactical acumen' will be a satisfactory demonstration of our abilities for this troublesome sensei of ours..." He folded the letter neatly. "Clone support would still be useful, but either way, I'll take the hot springs since I'm the best suited for it..." Atsuki decided. As much as he was loathe to admit it, that was where he would be the most effective. After all, Mitsuhide couldn't brazenly enter the women's half, nor could Sayuri enter the men's. On the other hand, Atsuki was a bit of a different case. His dark hair was long but not too long, his body was slim but lean, his facial features were delicate but boyish...in layman's terms: he looked like a girl. Hell, a few people once told him he acted like one too. Granted, most those people soon learned their lesson, but it was food for thought. Either way, this was an asset unique to Atsuki, and a ninja neglects no part of their arsenal. No matter how utterly degrading it was. Although, if he had to admit it, his reasoning was all that and the fact that the underground would be a not-so-metaphorical shithole. And he'd rather like to avoid having his first impression be 'looks like shit, smells like shit, and is covered in shit'. He straightened up and stepped out in front of the group.

"Now then, we'll need to rendezvous somewhere like Hatake-san suggested," Atsuki continued, hands behind his back as he paced before his two teammates and the Uchiha interloper. The change between the normally reticient Atsuki and this commander-esque display was a vast thing. Still, the characteristic seriousness of the young Uchiha was still very present. "I suggest somewhere closer to the three areas. However, since we can't split the map into three, it should be one we all know." He cast a quick, knowing look at the ignorant Hatake clanswoman. "The girl gets the map since I believe Senju-san and I have a working knowledge of our locations," he said after a short moment of feigned thought meant to preserve Sayuri's dignity. Not being able to leave her clan compound might have been a point of embarrassment for the girl, and troubling her needlessly would be foolish. He tossed the letter back to Sayuri before putting his hand to his chin in thought. "The front of the Academy might work as a rendezvous," he shrugged, "or this gate. I don't mind where, personally, we just have to have a meeting spot." A sudden thought occurred to him. "In fact... Once the first two people finish their objectives, they could leave the meeting spot to support the final seeker to make everything more efficient," he suggested, stopping in place and turning to his teammates. "Also," he'd almost forgotten something important, "While you're out and about, I'd advise keeping a look-out for clones or suspicious activity. I have the sneaking suspicion that our sensei's going to be watching our actions one way or another."
 
"Well whatever happens I'm sure we'll find out look if there's no location given like the other two notes then let's meet near the academy like Atsuki said. Hiyato is bound to be there and since he knows our sensei he can help us. Also while you got a point teaming up would be good I'd think we'd get the job done much faster. Also no you get the sewers Sayuri. I know you're a girl and all but the park is full of trees and yeah wood boy here. I think I know my way around there more. Besides you're smaller you'd fit better down under the city." Mitsuhide said plainly before looked over everything and sighing. "Well if I get done I'll meet you at wherever. Good luck guys I hope you get through your job alright. Think of it more as a....challenge than our sensei being a jerk." Mitsuhide said as he jumped backwards and flipped onto the nearby building and started to make his way towards the park.

Sometime later At The Park....

As Mitsuhide arrived at the park area where ninja came to train occasionally he noticed that a group of nin were indeed fighting there it looked like the three family members from the Yamanka Clan, Nara, and the Akamichi clans. He chuckled and thought how easy it would be to just spar with their sensei instead of this ridiculous excuse for a fetch mission that they were sending him on. After sitting down for a moment to catch his breath and admire the handy work of the man who easily kept up with the three genin. "I wonder if our sensei is a cool guy and he's just screwing with us? I doubt it...he's sending us scurrying around like rats but there's always a chance he could be." Mitsuhide thought to himself frowning as he got up and dusted himself off. According to the letter it was somewhere around here and he would need to find it. Wonderful...just wonderful. Mitsu took off his jacket that had his clan's symbol emblazoned on the back of it and decided that he'd come back to get it later. He hung it on a nearby small tree. However first he gathered his kunai and ninja stars from his jacket pockets and slid them into his belt that was around his waist. He grinned to himself wondering what the hell was waiting for him in the forest as he jumped onto a tree limb and then vanished into the forest.

He jumped from tree to tree for about three minutes as he worried if his sensei was screwing with him. Nothing had popped out of him and nothing seemed to be chasing him to his knowledge. What was he doing here!? Why the hell was it so boring!? Why was he talking to himself!? Whatever...he needed to find something anything that would give away the letter's location. Mitsuhide stopped on a tree and thought about where he would hide a letter. But as he looked something started to sizzle and he looked about as suddenly he got a good whiff of smoke coming from around him and he suddenly knew what was going on, "F- you sensei..." Mitsuhide said as he quickly jumped from that branch onto another thanking god that the tag was one of the slow ones when he was suddenly sent flying from an explosion from underneath him. Apparently Mitsunari had hollowed out a second tag inside of the branch. Mitsuhide screamed as he desperately tried to think of a jutsu he could use! But nothing came to mind so his body reacted by hitting the ground rolling leaving him winded but fine, "Ha sensei you got to do bette-" Mitsuhide said as he got up and went to walk forward as he looked backwards after landing hard as he stumbled backwards and fell into a pit dug right in front of him! "Oh heck no!" Mitsuhide shouted as he narrowly managed to grab a ledge by complete coincidence. This was the second hole he found himself almost falling into today it seemed. Earlier while walking to school he almost fell after stepping into a pot hole. Lucky for him it seemed their sensei knew mercy because beneath the pit was a bed of pinecones not sharp pointy objects of death. "That...that is just dir-" Mitsuhide begun to say as the ledge he had grabbed started to collapsed on itself. But Mitsuhide's instincts kicked in and he managed to stop himself by using his legs and arms to stop himself from falling by propping himself up against the sides of the wall. He breathed in deeply and bounced off the walls until he was out of it. When he got out he looked down it and breathed in deeply; The hole was pretty big and he knew that it was definitely man made. I mean how else would something like this happen!? Giant freaking holes in the ground didn't come out of nowhere.

"Mitsunari Kohaku huh? You are one sick jerk..." Mitsuhide growled as a piece of wood that caught on fire from one of the tree branches that exploded fell down the hole past Mitsu and into pinecones setting them ablaze. However Mitsuhide was already out so it posed not problem to him besides the fact that it could have ended miserably for the young Senju. That was one of the things Mitsuhide was actually good at: jumping and the other was ninjutsu. Especially ninjutsu he always liked to brag about it when he could and this was a perfect opportunity to be grateful about his natural stamina as well. Regardless this was not the time to think things over as when he finally got out he tripped a log trap but this time he was not about to let some trap screw him over. He activated his substitution jutsu and changed places with a nearby log that had been a part of a nearby tree. Nature was really helpful and convenient...when it wasn't trying to KILL HIM. "I'm not going to get caught off guard after that..." Mitsuhide said as he absent mindedly blocked a kunai trap that he tripped on purpose using another kunai.

"I'm not going to be stopped! Not by Mitsunari Sensei and not by some ninja tools dang it!" Mitsuhide said smiling to himself as he ran through the forest that was called a park, "I'm Mitsuhide of Clan Senju great grandson of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, and great grand nephew of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage! I'm not going to be stopped here by some traps!" Mitsuhide said proudly as he smiled remembering the smiling faces of his family. He'd make them proud he would! After springing some other traps using his environment to his advantage. When in the middle of a field he found a note on a cut down tree stump. "Oh yeah because I'm totally that stupid..." Mitsuhide said as he pulled out a seed from his pocket and activated his Wood Release: Wood Clone jutsu that he had in reserve. He figured he might be tested today so he made a clone or two before he went to sleep yesterday. With the clone already made it required minimum use of his chakra reserves. "Sensei you really shouldn't have underestimated a genin..." Mitsuhide said smiling to himself as the clone materialized before him and he pointed at the log which the clone walked towards.

"Come on activate the traps..." Mitsuhide said as his clone walked forward slowly. "Oh yeah just send me in because I'm a clone...you know we're lucky that dad taught us how to create one thanks to him knowing the shadow clone jutsu!" the clone complained but Mitsuhide told him to stick a sock in it. The clone walked up hesitantly as he looked about and slowly reached out to grab the letter. Expecting a trap the clone flinched but then immediately shook out of it and reached for it again. But...nothing came as the clone reached the letter he smiled and grinned to himself. "Hey I got it!" But as he went to open it the thing exploded sending the wood clone flying towards a nearby tree which triggered another sort of trap with more explosive tags! "WHERE DO YOU FIND THE TIME TO SET THIS UP!? WAIT THAT COULD HAVE KILLED ONE OF US!" Mitsuhide shouted as jumped backwards and the explosive blast sent him rolling into the grass but luckily for him he had just been knocked back by the push because he was already a decent distance away and he only got the wind knocked out of him. So much for his wood clone...but when Mitsuhide went back he was half expecting another trap but instead the stump was blown away and there was a letter underneath..."FINALLY BY GOD!" Mitsuhide said as his t-shirt was singed, his pants were dirty, and his hair was filled with dirt...but now he had the letter and that was all that mattered..."Head to a small...tree in the middle of the park...and say the word cat. Your other two teammates should have the other key words. In order you need to get farther you'll need to say the words in a specific order. All will be clear in time. Hope you didn't mind the paper bombs!" Mitsuhide said aloud as he growled and shouted in frustration getting frustrated he jumped off to where the small tree was suppose to be...there was a small map of the park and where the tree was, at least despite the crude hand writing at least he was making it easy on them. Whatever awaited them Mitsuhide hoped it was worth it...and he also hoped the sensei was readying himself to get his neck wrung out after this too!
 
"The girl gets the map since I believe Senju-san and I have a working knowledge of our locations," Sayuri fairly felt slightly embarrassed. She knew few places while they knew more than her. A life of freedom really made her quite envious--She loathed staying in with a passion. It wasn't fair. Why was she doing everything in the Hatake territory only -and strictly- but not outside? The thought really made her frustrated, she could feel her blood boiling and her cheeks becoming red but sighed and quietly tucked herself in her sweater.

One thing Sayuri learned just about now was that: Boys never listen. They simply thought what would seem better for the girl -which was good and bad- and ignored her voice. Sayuri didn't know if she should find them caring or plain annoying for ignoring her and deciding whats best. Are all men like this? She couldn't comprehend it. The boys clearly took dominance over the situation and handled it, While Sayuri would try to speak up in between them while they chose their places. At one point she tried to get the park, but Mitsuhide objected kindly."Also no you get the sewers Sayuri. I know you're a girl and all but the park is full of trees and yeah wood boy here. I think I know my way around there more. Besides you're smaller you'd fit better down under the city." he suggested. Good reasoning. Then Atsuki began planning a rendezvous point, as he suggested the academy. "Um.. guys.. " she uttered before the boys agreed on the academy as the point of meeting. When the conversation was concluded to a finish and the two began to leave, the girl clutched onto the map, looking up at the sky as she released a sigh.

"You boys are idiots..." She uttered, as the wind blew her hair back. Sayuri turned around and body flickered to the nearest building. At first, Sayuri seemed ok because there wasn't much thought to being in utter darkness of the sewers below Konoha. However as she traveled with the use of following the map, and neared the location slowly--Nervousness struck. She only gulped as she was halfway to the sewers, trying to drown herself with the sounds of the people below her before it grew fainter. Following the map, was fairly easy for Sayuri. She should thank the two later for allowing her to keep the map. She wondered if the task of getting the letter would be difficult and had the feeling that it indeed would be. Hr main worry was trying to find it and being the last one to meet at the academy. Sayuri was so deep into thought and worry, that she nearly went passed the sewer hole and stopped abruptly, sliding across a rooftop before turning around and jumping to the ground.

"Woah--That was close.." She said to herself before she opened the manhole. What she saw was darkness below, only shined by the sunlight above her. This was when fear crept in and she looked around giving a gulp. Those two owe her! But its not like they knew her fear of complete and utter darkness! How tricky would this be--To fight and adopt the darkness as her own. Sayuri gathered up the courage to go inside and closed the top shut before she decided to fall down and land perfectly, looking around. The lights which lit the sewer up was dim, and faint as expected. She proceeded to walk as she folded the map and put it in one of her pouches, switching it with one Kunai under her sleeve rather discreetly. The darkness made her more tense than the traps which would be set up ahead of her and Sayuri already wanted to run. But something made her keep going--and she didn't know what.

So you left them..? She could hear the fox speaking to her as it fed off of her negativity, her nervousness, her anxiety--The darkness which shrouded her."Disappear." She growled to herself in annoyance. You say that yet you're the one whose telling me to blanket you... it retorted with amusement before falling silent. Sayuri cautiously walked further down, looking more at the ground and occasionally above and side to side. It was instinct and a habit that she often kept looking behind her but she made sure to remain alert. She did have the trickier job after all in her opinion and she tightly gripped on the kunai under her sleeve.
 
Atsuki was pleased to see that his teammates were acceding to his superior tactical genius. The fact that his initial assessment of his allies had so-far been proved beneficially incorrect was a pleasant surprise for the admittedly pessimistic young man. As long as things kept up like this, it would be smooth sailing...as long as their sensei proved as competent as the hype suggested. His impression of the man wasn't a very good one, but he hadn't yet lost faith. Whether this glorified errand was to be a true challenge that would demonstrate their sensei's true colors as a hypercompetent shinobi, or another farce that would cement his incompetence in Atsuki's eyes remained to be seen. For him, the others, and their sensei, he hoped it would be the former. "Hmph. I make my own luck," Atsuki commented confidently, hands thrust into his pockets as he made his way away from his group and towards the hotsprings, "This'll be over in a cinch." He waved a hand into the air. "I'll see you all on the other side."

o–< > | < >–o​

Konoha Hotsprings

After leaving his comrades to their own objectives and beginning his movement towards his own, it didn't take too long for Atsuki to arrive at the hotsprings. It wasn't really packed full of people, since most were out and about, doing more important things this time of day during this part of the week. Things that Atsuki and his squad ought to be doing instead of something as menial as a fetch quest under the pretense of a challenge. The hotsprings were, as the name suggests, a very hot and very humid place. Warm steam rose from warmer pools of water, and droplets of sweat had already begun forming beneath his mane of dark hair. Perhaps this would be a place he would've liked to spend time to reward himself for a job well done, but right now, he found little pleasure standing in such conditions. His objective was to find a letter hidden somewhere around here, but there wasn't any kind of obvious clue as to the location as he made his way closer to the entrance. If anything, Atsuki supposed that setting up these challenges would be what he would an acceptable reason as to why their sensei's initial letter lacked a decorum suitable for the situation. Still, it would've been nice if he had at least put the effort in. A prepared letter from the night before would be better than that piece of crap he passed on this morning.

Atsuki looked around nonchalantly, head turning every which way as he surveyed the area. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss, but on his second, he noticed how the steam obscured his surroundings but was just clear enough to provide a vague image of what was behind it. He stopped in place. The entrance was only a few steps away, and past that threshold he'd have to enter the hotsprings proper. Leaving and entering repeatedly would be inconvenient and a waste of his time if the hidden letter had been out here all along. Even with that aside, Atsuki had a feeling that Kohaku Mitsunari was not the type of person who'd spend money to enter a hotspring and not take the time to use it himself. And even if the letter wasn't there, the act of searching the front first would eliminate options in a more efficient manner than going in and coming back for it later. He walked back to the start and observed the steam clouds from there. If his sensei wanted to conceal the letter here as well as possible, he would use a cloud that covers an area from as many angles as possible, starting from the starting point. Slowly, he began retracing his steps, inching closer and closer to the hotsprings proper and the 'correct' choice.

He stopped about three-quarters of the way through. 'It's that one,' he thought, eyes glued to the ebb and flow of a particularly suspicious haze. It was far from the entrance, particularly thick, and covered its angles well. If Atsuki was a jonin, that was where he would conceal something out here. He made his way towards the area in a completely mundane fashion, crossing the bridge, rounding the main building, and then crossing another bridge. There was no need for an alternative method of navigation, like free running or body flicker; they would've just been a waste of chakra and stamina. After passing through the veil of condensation, Atsuki resumed his search, starting with his visual survey. His eyes darted around before noticing a fluttering white thing above. Attached high up on a wall was a letter, its unsecured edges being blown up and down by the rising steam. Now that he knew its location, all he had to do was grab it. The problem was that condensation had clung to the walls, moistening the surface. That meant that traditional climbing would be difficult, as would climbing via jumping to and from the corners of two buildings.

Fortunately for Atsuki, he was no ordinary Academy graduate. He turned around and sprinted at the nearest wall. Just as he was about to slam face-first into a building, he planted a foot on the side and brought his hands together. As chakra coursed through and began vitalizing his body, he kicked off the wall. As he neared the peak of his body flicker-enhanced jump, he thrust his hand out and snatched the letter tagged to the top of another wall. Then he braced himself for impact with the ground as he began to drop. "Oof!" he grunted, landing in a crouch with the railing just barely behind him. If he hadn't done his initial take-off as decently as he did, he might have landed in the water. If he did that, the note would surely have been sullied. Speaking of which, Atsuki brought up the letter and took a look at its contents.

"Huh?" Atsuki was stunned. This wasn't the letter. It was definitely a letter from Kohaku Mitsunari, but it wasn't the letter, the one he was looking for. It was just another set of commands instructing him to, quote-unquote, 'look inside the hotsprings for the information you need'. Unfortunate as this development may have been, at least his venture over here wasn't a complete waste. He thrust the other letter into his pocket and made his way to the main building to gain entrance into the hotspring's facilities. After pushing through the facility entrance, he walked towards the person behind the counter. "Hi, my sensei left something here earlier that he told me to get for him, do you know where he was?" he asked nicely, "His name is Kohaku Mitsunari." The woman manning admission put her hand to her chin in thought before answering him, "That's strange, I don't ever recall seeing your sensei here today. Or yesterday, too." A realization dawned on the young Uchiha. '...I see,' he thought, 'I shouldn't have expected it to be that easy. Looks like this was intended to be an infiltration mission.' He walked away from the counter and waved back at the lady, "It's fine! I'll just go back and ask him if he's sure this is the place."

After not even a second after leaving that building, Atsuki rounded the corner and went to quietly getting up on the rooftop. There was significantly less moisture here, so he could get a decent grip on the less distinct handholds. He had to be quick about this or bystanders would think he was a pervert or something. In the same vein, he had to be quiet about it too or people would notice, and that would regress to the first point. Finally pulling himself up on to the roof with a terse grunt, Atsuki crouched down low so as to make himself smaller and reduce his detectability. Crossing the relatively short, flat rooftop with as much silence and stealth as a trained 13-year old could muster in broad daylight, he finally came to the partition separating the male bathing from the female. "...I'll try the guys' first," Atsuki resolved, dropping down into that area with little ceremony. Wasting no time, he made sure to dart behind a rock. The steam here was thick and, unsurprisingly, water took up most of the space. Visually, he should be fine. His silhouette wouldn't seem to amiss once he ditched his clothes.

And ditch his clothes he did. If he was going to investigate the area for a period of time, it would be prudent to blend in. Obstructive steam or otherwise, if he looked out of place, he looked out of place. Peeking out from behind the stone, he checked both ways before leaving cover to quickly swipe a vacant towel and tie it around his waist. He began walking around the area, looking into every little crack and crevice, overturning every possible stone, and going through the place with a fine-toothed comb. This was a public place, so he shouldn't expect traps or anything since even his sensei wasn't stupid enough to deny the potential for collateral damage. On the other hand, it a public place, so hiding the letter from any unintended eyes would be essential. After a few minutes, Atsuki completed his search to no avail. 'There's a two-in-three chance that the seeker would be male,' he sighed frustratedly, 'Of course he wouldn't put it in the guys'. Adjusting the difficulty is a matter of simple probability.' He grabbed his clothes hidden behind a rock close to his landing zone and body flickered back up to the rooftop to store them there safely. He then removed his towel from his waist, wrapped it around his torso, and ran his hands through his hair, spreading his bangs over his forehead and straightening out his hair. "...Alright," he muttered, checking his surroundings before dropping stealthily into the steam below.

A cursory glance to the environment before him revealed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, so Atsuki made his way deeper into 'enemy territory' as it were. If he had to take a guess based on the 'theme' of the mission, the letter would be hidden in the backmost area... "Hm?" Snatched from behind a stone was another note in sloppy handwriting. It was hard to read, almost downright illegible. He could've sworn he could make out letters though. Atsuki brought it closer to his face. On closer examination, the writing looked to be less like letters and more like an-

"...!"

Belly-first into the steaming-hot water Atsuki went, hands over his ears and body braced for a inevitable blast. When he resurfaced, he was surprised to see that the hotsprings were still intact. He was less surprised to see the present women staring at him confusedly. He blinked twice, his expression blank and his gaze leveled right at the ladies staring at him oddly until they were either intimidated away or lost interest. It seemed even with his well-adjusted appearance, Atsuki's countenance and demeanor made him stick out like a sore thumb. He felt something light land on his head. It was the explosive tag, but there was something off about it that he just couldn't let be. He made a hand seal, "Release!" Like magic, the explosive tag formula disappeared, replaced by the handwriting he was sure he saw earlier. In the span of a single second, the salt content of the womans' side of the hotsprings increased exponentially. He wasn't peeved because it wasn't the letter he was looking for. He wasn't even peeved because it was just another set of instructions. No, the contents of the letter was just a simple one-line statement of fact:

'The information you're looking for can be found by releasing the genjutsu instructing you to look in the hotsprings contained in a letter along a wall outside of the hotsprings.'

And so, with an expression of utter irritation marring his youthful face, Atsuki crumpled the paper in his hand and sunk deeper into the waters to wallow in his own despair.

o–< > | < >–o​

Redressed, dried up and ready for action, Atsuki began to make his way to the meeting area specified by artlessly written words and a much more useful map on his real note: a little tree in the middle of the park. Also contained within his hard-earned letter was a codeword - 'rabbit' - meant to be uttered in tandem with the other two code words, and a sarcastic line or two regarding the inconvenience of genjutsu and sneaking into an opposite gender bathhouse. If there was anything to be gathered from this experience, Atsuki's concerns regarding this sensei's competence were at least allayed, if not nonexistent. 'If our sensei's the kind of person to do something like that, I have to wonder what everyone else had to deal with...' he thought as he neared the designated gathering space, '...and if any of them also want to, I don't know, wring out our sensei's neck or something.'
 
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Back to the situation of Sayuri, the girl could barely see as stated from before. While she ignored the temptations of the Fox, She edged deeper--barely with caution and looked around the dimness. Some lights flickered above her, while others were broken. "Seriously.. what good can I do here?" She uttered to herself. First day being assigned to a team and the girl was filled with complete and utter despair. Her self doubts only made her more self-concious, and she worried more about social bonds than ever. But then again, was she really filled with despair? No. She was focused on pleasing others and keeping up a kind and caring reputation. 'Cute' if you will, Because no one ever suspects anything from the innocent looking. She made her presence known through kindness, what she felt society should see her as. But in reality she saw things as a mere game of life. The less you reveal, the more you'll appeal right?

'Sfft!'
"Uh!?" Immediately snapped from her deepest thoughts, Sayuri had carelessly stepped directly on a trip wire! "Tch!" she uttered, clenching tightly on the Kunai she held before Turning around swiftly and throwing her left hand in front of her. By luck a shuriken clashed with her Kunai and she looked up. Although lighting was scarce, she made the use of her other senses. Her hearing, and heard a few 'clacking' noises of something opening. There were three of those noises coming from her sides and straight ahead. "Ohh no..." She muttered with concern, keeping her composure as she took a step back, ready to move. Her gut instinct kicked in that she was trapped in all directions, and to prove that it was corrected--She heard a flinging noise, and in those three directions various Kunais and Shurikens came raining down on her, causing a heavy cloud of dust when it collided to the ground.

Swiftly, the girl performed 4 handsprings instinctively backwards as the weapons from ahead followed after her a few feet. Performing the last backwards handspring, she landed on her feet and slid across the stony ground. She panted lightly--But wasn't exactly to tired yet, however the adrenaline rush which fed her from that near and torturous death experience made her learn her lesson. To think of the task only and nothing else. Sayuri got herself up to her feet as the dust cleared and sighed in a relief sort of way before hearing one last 'swish!' and widened her eyes, moving to the side. A kunai had nicked her cheek and went flying a few feet further away than where Sayuri stood. Her eyes dilated five times nervously. If she hadn't moved on time--She swore she would've been dead with that head shot right there. It seemed as though Mitsunari Kohaku was a man with high power in actuality. Perhaps laziness and sloppiness was a coverup. Well if it was, Sayuri can relate to another facade maybe.

As she stared far, she noticed that there was two paths to walk in. One was bouldered shut, However a fiery light was lit from the other--where the Kunai had flew off to. At first she was cautious.. What if the Kunai was attached to a paper bomb actually? and it led her to a trap? But then again there wasn't really much of a choice. The other path was closed up. There wasn't a time to think right now--There was only time for caution and taking the risk. So Sayuri reluctantly moved forward, but was greeted by a disgusting wetness on her feet. She jumped back, and squatted on the ground feeling the platform with her hands below her. It seemed as though the platform ended here, and she would have to get across to the lit up path by either swimming or focusing her Chakra to the soles of her feet. The water was deep unexpectedly, and she blinked, taking a deep breath and thinking about what her Father had said to her this morning.

"Focusing your chakra takes time..."

Time.. But this task needed to be done ASAP! "But then again.." She spoke to herself. "I have all the time in the world.. This task isn't timed.." Sayuri concluded as she stood and did a ram hand sign, quietly trying to focus on her chakra to get it down to her feet in order to walk across. When she was absolutely confident that she got it, Sayuri took one step forward looking down at her feet and nearly wobbled a bit as she regained her balance. She let out a small giggle of triumph before walking forward across to the Kunai. When she approached it, she tilted her head aside. It had been lighting up longer then Sayuri expected it to, and she figured that maybe its harmless. Slowly she walked forward, and bent down carefully to see what was scribbled on it. However upon trying to read it, it only had a picture.

"→"

The lines helped her differentiate where the arrow was meant to point to and she blinked."Right?" She uttered as her gaze looked to her right. There was a wall, with a hole near the ground and she laid on her stomach to peek through it. It was small, but through the hold she saw another path to walk on and water between them. But wasn't the other side blocked off? How did sensei expect her to travel through?! She hopped to her feet and looked straight from where the Kunai was. It was barred off and she walked to it, putting her arm through. Although she had a petite and tiny frame, she couldn't go through it and looked around the bars for any weak spots. Rust? Nope... Broken or bent spots? None.. She didn't have any other jutsu to go through these bars and merely stared down at the note.

With the note being her only hint, Sayuri turned around back at the water and focused her chakra once more again. The process was repeated, and she began to walk over the water with slight struggle. Although she walked on water, it was somewhat unstable and Sayuri disliked the feeling of it. When she saw the bouldered entrance, she couldn't see a single thing. She placed her hand over her chin and thought for a moment. What could she do?

"!!--Of course!" she gasped to herself, smacking her forehead. Sayuri eyed the note which rested at the palm of her hand and began began to fold it with both hands quietly. She turned the paper tag into a bat and blew into its body to puff it up. While she did that, she transferred chakra into it and Sayuri released the paper bat as it flew off her hands and made its way up to the top of the blockade. From the looks of it, it seemed completely sealed off without any flaw however when the bat hit the far corner, there was a hole. Big enough to fit Sayuri's size but not perfectly.

At first Sayuri walked a few feet backwards and proceeded to run to the blockade. She figured she could use the chakras at the soles of her feet to get through. However once she began running up the blockade, she somehow lost her chakra at her left foot to her surprise and quickly pushed herself away from the rocky wall, now up in the air and quickly trying to regain the chakra control to her feet. She landed thankfully on time, fear had triggered the girl to quickly reform her chakra and she let out a sigh of relief. It was odd--she was able to somewhat stabilize her chakra to her feet, but it didn't last long depending on what she did. It was most likely the foxes doing maybe? She didn't know personally--she just figured maybe it was because she jumped into things to fast and thus stood there.

What should she even do? It should be simple enough by now! How hard was it to even go through one simple hole up in the wall? Frustration crept in, But Sayuri kept in mind that she needed to be level headed about this. She opened one of her circular pouches and made a paper clone. The clone wouldn't last much long because she didn't know how to properly control her chakra -enough to make it resist water-, and when the clone was made, she pointed up at where the glowing bat was.

"I need you to boost me up there." She stated, walking backwards again. Her clone quietly listened as it walked to the blockage and looked up then back at its actual host."Ready?" She asked. The clone nodded in silence and with that, Sayuri ran to the clone and jumped into its hand. Once her foot touched the clone's hand, it granted her the extra boost and tossed her up in the air. Sayuri reached the hole with one of her sleeved hands, but almost slipped off before using her other hand which wasn't covered by her sleeves and grabbing onto the edge with her life."Eep!" She uttered to herself before climbing up and poking her head through the hole. The hole was a bit cramped for her to crawl through with ease and she was nearly stuck half way through. The glowing paper bat flying ahead of her and following the path of the sidewalk in the sewers.

"Dammit sensei!--NO!" She abruptly yelled, voice echoing thorough."STUPID TEAMMATES!" She squirmed before giving a sigh. Sayuri pressed her hand against the wall which held her up in the air and held her breath. She slid through and fell into the sewer water, sitting up with disgust and shivering. The water was cold, and felt filthy to say the least. She walked to the sidewalks of the sewers took off her soaked up sweater, shivering with disgust. Sayuri traveled along the sidewalk nonetheless with the sweater around her neck. This time she was careful about tripwires and traps.

Those who could see--Often relied on sight more than anything. However it felt as though that since the girl was assigned here under the sewers specifically, she was tested on her adaptability skills, or strategizing skills most likely? Maybe the other use of her senses in particular... Sure, she often doubted herself but she was quite handy. While Sayuri followed the bat, its light grew fainter and fainter--dimming all by itself slowly. She soon saw a envelope rather, hanging from above."What the--How the hell am I supposed to get that!?" She shouted angrily about to take a step forward before noticing a wire on the ground. She froze in place. Just one wire straight across? There had to be more--It was best to kinda over estimate in this situation and Sayuri looked ahead and her eyes grew wide. The bat had uncovered many wires... Lots of them connected to various weapons and traps on the sidelines of the walls as well as above even.

Her foot which was in front of the wire trembled before her, As she very slowly moved her head forward, another wire was visible going horizontal and she widened her eyes again. This was no ordinary trap--It was well planned and in fact, very deadly. Sayuri froze awkwardly, and unwrapped her sweater from her neck as she tossed it beside her. She had to get across to obtain that prized envelope and stepped back, squatting over the edge of the platform. Damn.... What happens now..? She thought to herself before biting her thumb and trying to figure out what to do. Sayuri decided to make one of her paper clones and it appeared beside her as she looked ahead. Her clone didn't have her sweater on, and she bit her thumb pondering.

"Do me a favor, and in some way try to make it through these wires without triggering them." She ordered."Its a test of how nimble I am.. I don't even know if my frame can get through this smoothly." Sayuri added. Her clone stepped forward, walking over the first tripwire and slowly going under the second. Eventually the clone was near halfway to the envelope but soon froze in place as soon as it's foot went through. There was a trip wire right under where its foot would land, and more tripwires that made the clone freeze with its leg up. "This is going to be tricky.." She uttered before the clone moved and triggered several of the wires with its one leg, having weapons greet it before it scattered into shreds of paper bits.

Sayuri investigated the wires more as she stood up to her feet and eyed the first one in particular. This one was laid out perfectly straight unlike all the other ones which were angled and she walked back and fourth from end to end of the wire. At first nothing seemed any unusual, but then upon a very closer inspection, she saw something shine across the first with but vertical from it and hidden well against the wall. Its shadows hiding it when Sayuri stepped closer then walked back to see it from afar. This wire wasn't bunched up to the others, and was more distinguishable to find. She followed where it led to with her eyes and it led to a bunch of other wires. Sayuri took a few steps forward to follow it some more but didn't see it connected to anything like the other wires. The girl took out a Kunai, this must be a wire which deactivated the traps? Sayuri decided to take the chance and quickly cut the wire before body flickering back a far distance. Nothing happened, but the rest of the wires only loosened.

She crinkled her nose and walked for her sweater, grabbing it. While Sayuri carefully took steps over the looser wires which were now visible to her she finally made it to the end and looked up at where the letter hung. The girl flicked her Kunai at the wire that had the envelope, and caught the sealed envelope--opening it. There was a hard card and when she opened it there was a picture of a fox as well as a explosive tag with a note over it that said,'PUT ON BLOCKADE'.

Sayuri barely saw the actual note but held onto it and was ready to get out of here

[spoili]
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After climbing out the sewer, and being welcomed by daylight again she took the time to view the actual card. It was a picture of some sort of heavenly looking beasts. A larger fox looking being and a small pup befriending one another. "Komainu.." She said to herself. Kamainu were large guardian lion-dogs, which kept in the good and scared away evil. But why did she have a mythical creature? Probably because of her dad who was like one? What was this other beast exactly? Sayuri was fairly curious and gasped abruptly."I need to get back to the academy!" Sayuri remembered before traveling to the meeting place.
 
"Holy hokage my team must suck..." Mitsuhide said as he flipped a kunai in his hand placidly idly waiting by the small tree in the middle of the park. Surely they'd be here by now if they had traps similar to his...or they failed them and they're dead. Or they're in bigger or more elaborate tests. Or maybe they don't understand what they're suppose to do. Wait a second...did they...did they go to the wrong meeting place? "I swear to Grandpa Senju that if they didn't read those notes or lost them so help me..." Mitsuhide said growling as he kicked a rock out into the distance after dropping the kunai next to the tree. Daylight wasn't going to last all that much longer. How long had he been at those traps and walking today? He didn't think it was too late all thing considered. "So yeah what do you think about me?" Mitsuhide said with a chuckle as he poked his wood clone's severed head. "I think you're an ass because you won't CANCEL THE JUTSU! What kind of sick bastard does this!?" Mitsuhide's clone growled at him as he smiled. "Well somebody has got to keep me company while I wait so why not my own blown up head? Besides you're only a head you don't take that much chakra to maintain." Mitsuhide said to himself as the head rolled it's eyes. "Whatever not like I got a choice..."
 
It was fast and it was sudden; without any warning whatsoever, Atsuki appeared in the clearing before Mitsuhide. The foliage in the direction he had arrived from ceased its brief rustling, and the leaves and loose grass kicked up by his unexpected arrival gently descended before finally settling back down on to the floor of the clearing. He crossed his arms and stared down at the Senju boy and his severed head. "Are you having fun there, Senju-san?" he asked rhetorically, making awkward eye-contact with the wood clone for a short second before directing his gaze back up and turning his head to look about the area. By the looks of it, the sun had fallen far more than he had anticipated and expected, leaving only the last vestiges of daylight to shine down on the little clearing. There wasn't much time until sundown, and their last teammate hadn't even arrived yet. "I would apologize for my lateness, but," he began, "Considering not everyone has gathered, that hardly seems necessary." Although, when it came to wasting time during that farce, he wasn't entirely guiltless himself. A pleasant, distinctly clean smell emanated from Atsuki's figure. Sure, his inability to discern his true objective meant 99% of his search in the hotsprings was for naught and was definitely a large source of wasted time, but that wasn't the entire reason for his late arrival, nor was the travel time between this place and that. His eyes settled back down on Mitsuhide and his ligneous pal. "How long were you waiting here for?" Atsuki asked as he began to walk nonchalant laps around the clearing in order to pass the time, "And did your letter happen to contain the keyword sequence?"
 
"You tell me Atsuki is your idea of fun talking to a severed head?" Mitsuhide said as he released the jutsu and the wood clone finally turned into normal wood once more. "I have been waiting for you two for the past...what ten minutes? Not that it really matters...you know just meeting our sensei at this tree here." Mitsuhide said as he smacked the tree lightly not intending to injure himself. "So you got a letter too and we weren't just being picked on by our would be sensei? Mine was cat for whatever good it is until our token female member gets her butt here." Mitsuhide said as he flipped a coin in the air. He had gotten it out of his pocket. Looking at the results it turned out to be heads. "So uh yeah..." Mitsuhide said not really all that comfortable around the Uchiha.
 
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