Chapter 1
A Differen't Kind Of Snow

The sun was rising slowly, that scarlet red glowing. Glowing over the white fluff of snow that covered the mountains and village. The cold wind sent itself towards the mansion. Outside on the balcony the kage sat, puffing rings from his pipe, and blowing smoke from his nose while sitting on his tortoise. He was silent and frozen, watching the sunrise as if he were waiting for it to come to him. The silence was broken by the jingle of his bracelet, and the rough restless voice of his companion Paps. " Haru, you've been spaced out for sometime, what's on your mind?"

Smoke would exit the pipe again and Haru would calmy hum. "It's been long...Too long, we've been waiting for change and i have a feeling that this year it will happen."His voice was croaky, as if he had sat there without saying a single word for hours. He went back inside, passing the neatly organized books and half written missions. Still sat on the tortoise, he was facing his desk and on the desk were 6 different coloured pads that were face down. The colours were black, pink, blue, white, purple and red. Slowly his eyes scanned them, he knew what they were, however he couldn't open them until his two Joninn arrived. " Today is the the day we pick the squads, rumor has it that the Genin have been eager to start. I'm a little disappointed though Paps. Usually we'd have a higher number, but this time we have an extremely low one, 6 out of 20." A stream of smoke came pouring out of Haru's nose as he maintained his serious expression. " 6 out of 20, kinda bad, but it could be worse, you did say this was a year of big change, so maybe this might be how it begins. Which Jonin have you elected to take the youths." The tortoise said, hinting at Haru to stroke its long grey beard.

Haru brushed his companions beard while speaking. " Amaya Sayuri, and Kato Byakuya." He said confidently. The tortoise bopped its head up and down, it agreed. "Ah yes, Byakuya, the lad who went to land of iron to study the way of sword? I think he is a good one, we need our men to understand the way of sword like Byakuya, he also seems like a sensible young man." Haru nodded in agreement, yes that is true, we do need more of our Shinobi and Kunoichi to understand the way of sword a bit more. It is fortunate we have somebody like Byukuya in our village. He is a man willing to spread his teachings, however."[/b] Haru paused inhaling the substance from his pipe and then blowing it out, this time out of his mouth. "Byakuya is fussy. He is a man you should not pushover and he has failed more teams then he has passed. He has no time for fallen bad apples, that is one of his many flaws." Paps narrowed his eyes a little before replying to Haru. " I still admire the man, he didn't spend his years in the land of iron training to teach the ungrateful and time wasters."

Haru simply waved his hand. "Each to their own. Anyway, Sayuri my assistant, the one you see lurking around my desk sometimes. She's good, someone who was the Amekage's most trusted at the age of 19 years old, a jonin at 16.Not to mention she likes to keep herself occupied, this will suck up all that spare time she has like a sponge." The tortoise frowned slightly. "That really can't be reason behind it Haru, if so then you are hiding something from me, why would you do that?"
Haru rolled his rolled his eyes. "No that is not the entire reason, i was just too lazy to tell you. Truth is i want to see how Amegakure train their Genin, i believe Sayuri may demonstrate that, not to mention about what i just said, she became a jonin at 16, i don't think she got that by running around picking daisies. Not to mention this also may give me more knowledge on what she's really about, she's the quiet type. My personal opinion is that our Shinobi and Kunoichi should possess talents like her."

The window blew open and all that was heard was the breeze, a clump of snow dropped onto the balcony with a thud making them the two bodies slightly jump. " I had already sent the two Jonin letters, and also spoke with them verbally to meet me here. They should be on their way right about now." Haru voiced, staring at the clock." Why didn't you let me get them?" the tortoise replied, harshly. The last stream of smoke came out of Haru's noes, he started to refill his pipe with more of the herb and tobacco. "Everybody knows Tortoises are slow..." This made him crack a smile, watching Tortoise fume, Haru would watch the clock waiting.

Sayuri Amaya

Sayuri walked the streets, her black hair reflecting the streetlights above her. At this time, the streets were largely empty, save a few people. They were mostly going to their work - some worked in a wood workshop down the street. She shivered. Some kids walked past, then turned around to take another look at her. “Look, it's Miss Amaya from the Rain Village.” they whispered to eachother before running off again. She shook her head. Deep inside Sayuri had hoped to be recognised for something more than the place she was born.

Sayuri went into an alleyway on the left, which would lead towards one of the larger roads in this town. From there she'd be able to reach the Kage's house easily as it was just down the road to the village center. This area was a little bit more crowded, with people milling out and around walking to where ever they had to go. A few of them stopped to take a closer look at this woman from Amegakure, but most were already used to having her around. Sayuri was about to walk up to the village center when an old lady grabbed her by her arm. “Sayuri-chan, please, come with me! I have to show you something.” Sayuri really wanted to sigh really deep and rip her arm loose, but for the sake of kindness and politeness she smiled at the lady and answered her. “Okay, miss Bayachi.” This woman was a pretty good ''chef.'' In reality, what she did was closer to making small snacks and then selling them to the people, but she preferred to be called a chef because of her education in Konoha she had received in making ramen.

As Sayuri and the lady arrived at her small marketstall near the kage's offices, lady Bayachi let go of Sayuri's arm and showed her what she had wanted to show her; on the stall stood a large bowl of satay. Small amounts of steam were coming off of the satay as the snowflakes falling onto it quickly evaporated. “What do you think, Sayuri-chan?!” she exclaimed, almost yelling at Sayuri. She answered simply: “It's wonderful, mis Bayachi.” The old lady continued, much to the dislike of Sayuri as she just wanted to go to see the kage and this important meeting that he had called her for. Supposedly Kato Byukaya, one of her fellow jonin, had been called as well. Likely the kage just needed two victims to clean out his filing cabinets.. as always. “Oh reaaaally? You think so Sayuri-chan? Oooooóh, it is such a delight to hear that. Here, please take these with you for the Yukikage!” Sayuri let out a mental sigh. This woman and her food.

Sayuri got handed a plastic bag with the old ladies logo on it - an ugly version of the Yukigakure logo with ''Bayachi Foods Inc.'' under it in red letters - with some satay in it. Sayuri bowed for the old lady, whom returned the favor, then quickly walked off towards the Yukikage's offices. She had wasted enough time already and hated to be late. When she arrived she was glad to see that Kato Byakuya hadn't arrived yet, as that would mean she wasn't as punctual as everyone always says she is. She contemplated whether or not she should wait for Kato Byakuya to arrive before entering the room, and decided that it was probably good to get to know her fellow sensei's a bit better. She had seen this Kato's name a few times in the various documents she had to read, and he was supposedly a really good swordsman. Besides that, he had the ice release. So all in all he sounded rather strong. However, he was also a total hard ass and Sayuri had heard through some of her contacts that this guy had failed quite a few students. Somewhere deep inside her heart she felt bad for all those genin. Regardless of her attitude towards the jonin, he was likely different in person than some might say about him. So she waited for this man to arrive, and hoped that he wasn't the type of person to always be late.

Having graduated from the academy Shinka should have been a in really good mood. However one of his pet project was proving to be troublesome; since there was no one around to teach him how to use his Kekkei Genkai, he had to make up jutsus if he wanted to use it. So far he wasn't doing too bad. Sure, one was a weaponized version of a water nature training exercise, one was a new version of a jutsu that had a different version for all five basic chakra natures, and one was a failed attempt at the first that he decided to work with...but still, this was all on his own, he he wasn't doing too bad.

Right now however, he was having some problems. Like his Storm Bullet, he was trying to make a storm version of a earth jutsu he had seen before; one that let the user cover part of his body in...well...earth. It might not sound like much, but you wouldn't be laughing at it if you had seen someone use it to punch a hole in a rock with just one punch. Fascinated with the concept, Shinka had made it his new project. Almost immediately he realized to major problem; storm chakra hurt to touch. Sure, getting hit with a rock would hurt as well, but if you just touched one, it wouldn't harm you, not so for storm chakra. So his first order of business was to find a way to attach storm chakra to something without harming whatever was being coated. A few months (and trips to the hospital) later, he found something that worked; by first creating a very thin coat of his own chakra, it would create a buffer to protect who, or whatever was being coated from the storm chakra (further testing reviled that this was only because both the buffer layer, and the storm chakra layer were both his chakra, and so they naturally reacted well with each other). However he soon discovered that using the buffer layer had an unintentional, yet awesome side effect; it pulled storm chakra (or at least his) to it. During his first test of the buffer layer, having long ago learned to test this on things other then himself, he applied a layer to a kunai and dipped it into a premade Storm Pool. Now a Storm Pool is very shallow, being only a few inches deep. So it came as a complete surprise when he saw the chakra from the pool slowly rise up around the kunai to cover it in an even coating.

He was natural excited, having thought that his new jutsu was complete already. However, his hopes were soon dashed. A few seconds later, the storm chakra began causing damage to most of the kunai. It was as if the kunai was being eroded. While there were a few spots that remained safe, the kunai as a whole was not more then scrap metal now. While he was on the right path, his buffer layer wasn't quite ready yet (as the 'kunai grave' could tell you). He had hoped to get it finished before his team assignment...however "Gah! Not again! I really thought I had it this time!" Yeah...it was still a work in progress. Dispelling the jutsu, the storm chakra fell back into the rubber lined bucket that held the rest of the pool "ugh...I need a break." Tired and disheartened from his failure, Shinka left his modest apartment to go out for a walk in the village, in hopes of clearing his mind

Kazumi restlessly sprawled herself across her bed as if she were a spider. It hadn't been all that long ever since she and her classmates graduated from The Academy, and she'd been extremely excited for the new memories that were waiting to happen. However, Kazumi was never a role model for patience, and she'd been having a particularly hard time falling asleep at night. "Ugh... I need to find someway to use my time wisely instead of just thinking that sitting here would bring something exhilarating into my life." Kazumi thought to herself. She then slowly got up from her bed, put on her jacket, and headed out to find a place where she could train in peace and silence.

She eventually stopped at a small, ice-covered lake which seemed to have a melancholy feel to it all. Kazumi found herself looking into the ice, where she could see a deformed reflection of her being. Her mind pondered a bit until she suddenly got an image of herself being trapped under the layers of ice, helpless. The breeze suddenly picked up, causing a small rustle in the bushes. Startled, Kazumi ended up panicking and falling over, where she ended up breaking the thin layer of ice and falling into the below zero lake. "Yeeeeeppp!" Kazumi yelped as she submerged into the water. She swiftly jumped out of the water, but soon realized that there was no place that would make her any warmer. "At this rate, I'm gonna end up with frostbite!" In a rush, Kazumi stumbled on bushes and weeds on her way back to the Village.

On her way back to the village, many travelers spotted her, and she just knew that they weren't feeling much empathy for her. Because of this, Kazumi began to think some not-so-friendly thoughts about them, which was really a very rare sight. As she finally approached Yukigakure, Kazumi found her way to a restaurant in which she loved ever since she first arrived at the village. Kazumi had known the shop owners and the restaurant was practically a second home for her. "Thank you so much Miss Yarumi. You don't understand how much I needed this!" Kazumi spoke as Miss Yarumi put a blanket over Kazumi's shoulder and gave her a bowl of hot udon.No need to worry Kazumi-chan! I'll be here whenever you need me!"

Time passed as Kazumi and Miss Yarumi had a chat to catch up in one another's lives, but eventually Kazumi decided it was time to head back home. Kazumi had trouble finding the keys in her pocket and opening the door, especially as it had been getting dark and her street was definitely not lit well enough. She was able to open the door and found that both of her adoptive parents were still at work. "Wow.... What a great day of training, huh Kazumi?" She sarcastically thought to herself as she changed out of her nasty, wet clothes and into comfy pajamas. Kazumi then threw herself onto her bed and without even realizing it, she had already dazed off and fell into slumber.

(Italicize: Kazumi's thoughts
Bold: Kazumi's speech
Italicize and Bold: Others speech)

Akane Himura

The city was usually a little dead in morning, this was the perfect opportunity for Akane to test her ability regardless of the snow. She ran to pick up speed and then leaped onto the shed, then onto the roof of a random house. She tried to acquire a quiet and soft landing, the snow helped a little with the softness, unfortunately not for silence. She leaped from house to house with little ease, she took her time as she knew that some of the roofs one the houses were quite slippery. She had overheard rumors of the Genin teams being picked, she found this out by casually ease dropping as she was quite the nosy bugger. "I'm going to be a great Kunoichi, i don't care what anyone says, i have the agility and the speed. Who needs to be kind when your main objective is to kill the target, like what i'm i going to do... Compliment them to death?" she found herself getting worked up over her own thoughts as if someone were arguing with her.

Her brown eyes were frozen which indicated mentally she was in her own world. The girl extended her leg a little to short, then suddenly was brought back into the real world as she felt her foot tap the edge of roof but not grip. She fell to hard ground, on her side. She cried out in pain, half way cutting herself off trying not to alert anyone. She quietly sobbed, tears already rolling down cheek, her cheeks went red due to contact with the snow. A couple minutes later a woman would drop her grocery bags rushing to Akane's aid. "Dear are you alright, here let me help you up." The woman said extending her hand to help the little girl. Like a surprised pussy cat Akane forcefully twisted her body facing the lady. She forcefully slapped the generous ladie's hand back and got to her feet. Akane's face clean was clean of tears, nobody would of known she was crying. "Don't touch me, don't ever touch me, I don't need anybodies help." She yelled angrily as if she were being molested, her voice echoed down the alley. She gave her last angry glance to the woman's shocked face, and then ran off, holding her own injured arm.

Blade of the Heart, Byakuya Kato

Yes, the ice cold Sensei once again must go through these tedious process and ungrateful savvy of picking up subordinates that lack a lot of requirements. Not that the ninja samurai master is late all the time or has a fetish of failing student, that wasn't the case, the students he kept getting for the past eight years in Yukigakure were nothing more than candidates of being his students failing to meet his criteria. It was nothing more than a petty like audition for the best voice and talents; as a judge, Byakuya must be able to find the right Apple, an apple that has potential to be ripen as gold, sparkling apples that never before felt by the ice cold master. Byakuya once more go through the same procedure with the same mysterious demeanor for all these years, simply visit a monument of dead ninjas and samurais and being late for whatever reason.

Moments later, he arrived at the Kage's office, same expression as always, one could not simply comprehend if he is an aloof or friendly person but either way, eyes must not be deceived by ones appearance, never judge a book by its cover. "Good morning, Milord, Paps and to you Ms. Sayuri. Better late than never, it's that time of the year again is it?" he greeted with a calm and composed attitude and manner and then he turned the Kage with a calm yet serious face " Milord. Whatever the candidates for this year and year after year. Let me make it clear for the eighth time for this eighth year that I take my subjects very carefully and I do not make any further considerations that of mere luck." the man's standard is complicated and complex which make it seems that his standards are high.

He later opens up a pocket book, browsing through pages and read a few philosophical phrases. This book is virtues of time and patience, a book that is a guide to the master himself. "Men does not wield rusted blades but if the heart of men is sharper than the rust of his blade, his blade will become sharp with the conviction that he polishes. He read it out loud to his colleagues and kage.

Kyouka Hasegawa

Call me Kyou because I'm awesome and with the strongest mode I am number one! The morning is cold as always, Dad leaving with the same old letters, what's this? He got a project of architecture in the Great Five Lands, he'll be home almost a year, how magnificent and he left money, just great. Well, like I care on where this is going, today is definitely my day and I'm sure Mom would be proud too. I looked at her picture and prayed for her to bless me.

After finishing my house chores, I took a shower and wear my best outfit because you know what they say with the strongest mode I am number one! Even though I am happy that I'm finally a Kunoichi, I still can't stand the fact that I'm not the number one rookie among my classmates, being part of the top rookies is not satisfying for me but then again I have to acknowledge that there are stronger people than me. Akane Himura..... That girl damn I don't like her but it's no surprise that she may be one of the top graduates and whoever the number one rookie is, he or she will be my rival! My negotiation skills are at top of the charts meahahahaha!

But still being paired with Akane is bad news, I just don't get her deal but being paired with that weirdo, Shinka Arashino is one of the things that will throw me off, I can't stand him talking all day and his annoyingness..... Oh well, maybe talk no jutsu is his best skill after all. I just have to look at myself before them. Whoever my team will be, I shall be called Captain Kyouka! Ha hahahaha!

I laughed out loud and it was so embarrassing.

Sayuri Amaya

Sayuri quickly bowed before Kato as he arrived, delivering a hidden smile facing the ground, as she found out everything she had heard about him was true. “It seems to be that time of the year, Byakuya Kato.” She made sure to emphasize her tone on his name. Sayuri quickly walked up to the Yukikages desk and dropped the plastic bag on it. “Miss Bayachi made this for you, sir.” She bowed again and walked back, still facing the Yukikage. She was wondering what filing cabinet she would get to clean out this time. However, Kato did speak of candidates and subjects. Perhaps her request to be a teacher had been approved?

She maintained a still face, not wanting to give away that she couldn't quite be sure of why she was here. However, something irked her. It was the hypocricy in Kato's statement. She didn't turn to talk to him, but simply looked at the Yukikage as she spoke these words, almost silent, but loud enough for all of them to hear. “Perhaps, Byakuya Kato, their sword is rusted. Are you as a teacher not supposed to polish it for them?” She glanced down at her feet, perhaps to show that she was humble, but everyone understood what she meant by this and the words weren't particularily subtle or nice. She then glanced at Kato himself and smiled gently. “Or are you scared your own sword is rusted?” Her eyes glimmered a bit, something she could not stop. She loved this, the rivalry, the attitudes of people around her. It felt good to be back in the shinobi works, rather than filing papers all day.

Itsuki Yudai

Itsuki was cleaning his room from the mess he had created last night. In his night blindness when he went to the bathroom, he had thrown over some stuff that was laying on a table. He grabbed the fallen pot and put it back on the table. He was lucky he didn't like cleaning as much as others, because the clothes on the floor had stopped the pot from breaking. Bút, it was time to go and clean. After putting everything back on the table he grabbed the clothes and dumped them in a clothes bin in the room. When he was done he sighed, took a look around and let himself fall back into his bed. Slowly his eyes started closing.

He thought back of class. He thought of everyone that failed. These people were so much better than him, how come he passed and they didn't? He could barely do a shinobi-worthy henge no jutsu, let alone perform a perfect one. And everyone around him was so strong. How would he ever be in a team with them and be considered a proper shinobi? He would always fall behind. Sigh. Itsuki got up and decided to go for a run. Something to clear his mind at the very least.

He left the house and started running around the village, through the village center to the other side. Somewhere around here were the training fields, he was sure. Somewhere over there... he squinted and in the distance saw one of the training fields. The snow was sometimes a bit annoying, blocking your vision and all. He jogged over and quickly entered the field. Weird. It didn't seem like there was any other students around? “Maybe with their kekkei genkai they don't need to train.. they are just magically good at everything.” he grunted to himself as he started to run circles in the training field, making a circular shape in the snow because of his boots. Despite his small anger, he was calm. More calm than before, at the very least. After about eight laps he stopped, and took a breather. Then he went to the center, where a tree stood. Some of the bark had been chipped off by people using it for taijutsu training, so someone had taken precautions and had strung up some sort of padded pillow on the tree. Clever.

He started kicking the padded pillow, for as long as his body would allow it. He could feel himself tiring out so quickly, but made himself keep going, so that maybe he could become better. When he could barely stand, he put his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths. “I'll never get there this way.” he panted to himself. Itsuki shook his head and stood up straight, this time punching the pillow over and over using every technique he could imagine, straight punches, hooks, palm thrusts, everything. This would be a long day.

Haru Himura, The Yukikage

Haru sent a gentle smile to both Sayuri and Byakuya, he then looked at bag of food placed on his desk. He never really liked eating from that lady, usually he would end up giving it to paps. "Byakuya lad"! The tortoise shouted, rising its head and smiling. "It has been a while, we need to catch up." Haru rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow, he turned to Sayuri and then to Byakuya. " I Hope your morning has been pleasant, if not, then the hard banter belongs outside." He gestured Sayuri to stand on the left side of Byakuya.

" I don't know whether to be impressed or worried. 6 out of 20 candidates are Genin and waiting for action, the others are staying in for couple months." He inhaled from his pipe, and let out massive screen of smoke from his mouth. " These coloured pads in front of my desk are information on the 6 genin, you will each have 3 like always. I alo expect them to be Shinobi under both of yours care, especially you Byakuya, give them a head start if you can, I doubt even you mastered the way of the blade in a day." He said, staring him down with a smile. "Sayuri, I don't expect this to be a hard task for someone like you, i picked you both because you two are the best this village has to offer.

Haru put the coloured pads in front of him, closing his eyes the man let his hand hover over the pads and placed his hand on a random one. Opening his eyes it the colour was revealed. "Well then, seems we got a pink. Now Byakuya i know you aren't a fan of pink so i think i will let Sayuri take it." He chuckled at his own jokes, regardless if nobody laughed. "Give it up Haru?" The tortoise yelled. Haru would sigh and turn over the pink pad. " Shinka Arishmo". He read out loud. "Seems to be youngest out of the 6 that have graduated. So he's the Storm release kid, what luck." The stream of of smoked ran like a fountain from the kages nose. " He lives by himself in a apartment it isn't far from here, and it seems Sayuri will be babysitting the banterous kid. It says that his Ninjutsu is nothing much to worry about, just a needs polishing. However his Taijutsu, Genjutsu ,and aiming need a lot of work. How you choose to tackle it Sayuri is it up to you."

Haru picked the next following colour, blue. The Kage would turn over the pad and raise an eyebrow. "Itsuki Yudai, age 15. The guy looks like a ladykiller with that big coat. Says he was born in small village in Snow country, graduated at 12, so he's been a genin for 3 years. His dream is to become a proper Shinobi, always maintaining the code of honor". "Right up Byakuya's alley", the tortoise rudely interrupted. Haru nodded his head slowly, his lips forcefully pressed. "You know code an honor Byakuya, so he is yours, apparently this guy is my biggest fan, I do see a bright future for him alongside you Byakuya, heck he's almost got the same haircut as you."

Haru picked up the red pad and turned over. "Psh, I'm not surprised about this one, after all he is from Konohagakure. From the Kazeno clan, his name is Marcuzuko or Marco, very foreign name. The guy looks like a flirt with women, you can tell he's cocky just by the way he's posing in his picture, I want to see his ego vs yours Byakuya, show him what its like to be a true swordsmen, it is said that Kenjutsu is rather strange, quite unique, maybe you can identify to us what style it is. He is actually the oldest out of 6 to graduate."

Next was the white pad, Slowly Haru turned it over to reveal a very sassy Kunoichi by the name of Kyou, Kyou Hasegawa."She works hard, don't be fooled by her sassy image." Haru said, revealing the picture. " Its unknown where she was born, her father was merchant that use to pass through Snow country sometimes, so i'm guessing she is a traveler. Teachers say they've never seen an academy student so desperate to answer a question, that they almost jump of their chair. She seems smart, I'm sure Sayuri will make her look dumb though, says she is a prized swordswoman, and one of the few to actually care about Genjutsu, I put her in your hands Sayuri, you will make her fire even more deadly.

Turning over the purple pad the kage would slightly frown. [b]"Melayomi Kazumi, like Marco she is from the leaf..However i didn't expect her to come this far, she isn't completely bad skill wise. she has great reflexes and good chakra control, i've seen her myself. But it's her personality, listen she may fool you with her angel like attitude, but look beyond the mask she puts on. She took quite a tumble at life, was said she came here to our village, feet bleeding, her parents did not care for as much as they should of. Sayuri, take care of her, don't let her do anything stupid like risk her life, harden her too, make her appreciate life a little more."

Finally the last one, his hand reached the black pad. " Now time to complete team Kato." Haru said with a grin, he would turn over the pad and then turn back, his left eyebrow raised. "All i needed was to look once and know that this was going to be a handful. Unlucky team Kato, your last team member is none of other than Akane Himura." He glanced at Byakuya, his eyes solid and darker than usual. " You know she is a trouble maker round the village, stubborn too, so i doubt even you could make her change Byakuya. However she deserves a chance, maybe she will learn the hard way, maybe this will teach her to appreciate the village life a little more. You got to watch her at all time, she's sneaky, and quite good at holding her own, not to mention she's the rowdy type, may not attack you, but her peers, i'm guessing it would result quite bad."

He put all the pads aside, and looked at both bodies in the room. "Bad or good, i like the outcome of this, i have feeling that this is the beginning of change. Not just for village, or the genin but for the 3 of us in this room. The tortoise doesn't count, they never change." He refiled his pipe before he would continue. "I don't know how you both feel about your teams, but i expect you to try your best with them. Before anymore time is wasted, i'm going to let you both go, you can go meet your genin and do what is appropriate, perhaps getting to know them a bit more, after all not everything on paper is true." Before the Sayuri and Byakuya could leave, Haru put out his hand. "Forgive my rudeness, I forgot to ask you if you have any questions as right now is time to ask."

Sayuri Amaya

Sayuri listened in silence, remembering the names read out to her. It seemed like she got stuck with the outcasts. Not really a problem. She liked outcasts, they were like her in a way. She bowed before the Yukikage in silence, before answering him quietly. “No questions, sir. I understand my task. And you are right, this is a big change for the village.” She stood up straight again and walked out the door, making sure to leave it open for Kato. She wasn't sure of her team. In Amegakure, the teams were picked based on combat abilities. In Yukigakure, it seemed to be more like they were just a rag tag bunch of shinobi put together. Then again, six out of twenty shinobi that passed the exams. That's not a lot to work with, so in a way she understood the Yukikage. When she finally got outside the office building, she spoke to herself softly. “A big change. I can feel it.”

Sayuri followed up with several handseals, weaving them together quite fast. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.” In a poof of smoke, three shadow clones appeared in front of her, all looking at her waiting for orders. “Find them.” The three shadow clones nodded and weaved their own seals, poofing into a cloud of white doves which all flew in random directions. However, three large flocks would fly in seperate directions to the locations they'd likely find the three genin.

First up was the young boy, Shinka Arashino. The doves flew towards the appartment that the boy owned, only to see him walk at the door right at that time. The doves flew down, towards the boy, flying in a great whirlpool of doves before him. Before he would be able to react they'd fly away again, revealing Sayuri standing there. “I'm your new sensei, Sayuri Amaya no Ame. You are expected to be at trainingfield A at 9.30. Don't be late.” The boy would have only a few seconds to marvel at the clone as it smiled at him, before it'd release itself, transporting knowledge of having found Shinka to the real Sayuri.

The other flocks were still looking for the other genin, the first flock arriving at the Hasegawa's family house. It appeared they had left a window open, of which the flock took full use. They all flew down into the open window, whirling around in the living room. It appeared as if nobody was home. At the very least, the family wasn't talking right now. As Sayuri would appear in the center of the flock after it dispersed, she'd take a look around finding a girl there lost in a thought train. “Kyou Hasegawa.” she'd speak somewhat loudly, waiting for her to face her, before continueing. “I'm your new sensei, Sayuri Amaya no Ame.” She'd take a look around the house to look for her parents. Apparently, nobody else was home, so she faced Kyou again. “Trainingfield A at 9.30. Don't be late.” She would take another look around the house, making sure nobody else was there. How strange. She looked at the girl again, smiled and then released herself. Now the real Sayuri would have knowledge of both Shinka and Kyou being found.

The last genin proved more difficult to find. Melayomi Kazumi. She wasn't at home, that was for sure, as this kid had not even made her bed yet. The flock flew around for a bit, before finding her wandering the streets. It was getting late, so it was obvious she was headed home. Instead of surprising her on the street, the clone waited for her to arrive at home. She'd appear amidst the whirl of doves in the street, looking up at a window that was likely her bedroom. The shadow clone jumped up, to the part of the roof where the window was, before opening it silently. Here, Sayuri's training with Amegakure nin came into play as she managed to open the window without a sound being made. She'd climb inside, softly landing on the wooden floor. “Please wake up miss Kazumi. Your day has only just begun.” Once again she'd smile at her student, though it wasn't because she thought she was funny or anything. It was more or less to put the student at ease.. somewhat. “I am your new sensei, Sayuri Amaya no Ame. I expect to see you at trainingfield A at 9.30. Don't be late.” She looked around the appartment, as far as you could call it that, then looked back the girl and smiled. She released herself and conveyed that she had found the last genin.

The real Sayuri found her on trainingfield A at 9.20 so she would be a bit early. She hated this trait of hers, always being early, because it was so damn cold in Yukigakure. Knowing how easy going students were she'd likely be waiting in the freezing snow for twenty more minutes. She sighed and pulled her hood on, which fit lightly onto her head and then pulled her black hair forward so it would fall over her shoulders. Sayuri had made sure to pick a trainingfield that was not very large because she'd be moving elsewhere after this initial meeting anyway, for a special mission she had set up for her team. This mission was so special.. not even the Yukikage knew about it. A very delicate matter that she was taught in Amegakure was to always start with these kind of missions to weed out the weaklings in a team - and she was quite sure the Yukikage wouldn't approve of her methods.

So apparently Shinka's new sensei had some sort of strange bird clone jutsu, which while awesome, didn't distract from the bigger issue; his sensei was a very beautiful women. 'What are the chances?' He wondered to himself. Now while Shinka did have a problem with females, it wasn't the same problem most people think of when they hear 'problem with woman', no, he was just really shy around them. A result of having been babysat by far too many teasing kunoichi. 'I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. There was no way that I'd bee on an all guy team, there had to be at least one girl. Maybe I'm lucky that the one girl on my team is my new sensei. Maybe it won't be so bad' he thought

After getting the message, Shinka reached the training field at 9:27, wearing a jacket. So far the only other person there was his sensei. Unsure of how to approach her, he settled for a simple greeting "u-um...h-hello sensei" his voice squeaked a little. After that, he waited for the other members of his new team 'I wonder what they'll be like?'

Byakuya Kato
Not that he got pissed off on what Sayuri just said but it does hurt a lot and it's something he refrains of remembering of. He kept quiet as always, what Sayuri said to him is the same thing that some teachers over the years told him. His Lord said the same thing for the past eight years, clearly Byakuya should have gotten it in thought but his thoughts are deep. He questions himself if he can really teach these students and polish them. Afterwards he smiled and told his Lord, "What a nice cut. So, Sayuri and I are going to have students with counterparts of coins. Either way, I have to admit that the students presented as my team candidate is promising but in the long run, we shall see if they can be my official team. Excuse me Milord, Paps." Byakuya head out right after Sayuri did and did the same trick, "Hyouton Kage Bunshin no jutsu! Three separate ice clones designed to send the message for his students. First up, a guy who seem shallow about himself in his own corner, he is a wearing a coat.

"Itsuki Yudai. I will be your instructor. Please head out to the snowy fields and nice haircut. The same pattern followed as Byakuya's clones scattered and then to a girl who is at a state of aloofness. "I'm sure even the strongest person would need help, Akane Himura, I will be your instructor please head to the snowy fields. ASAP. Now, wherever Marco is, it will be difficult finding him but all it needs to take is a Tiger to search for him. Byakuya summoned his Tiger, "Kuchiyose no jutsu he first gave him some catnip. "Find this handsome young man, don't bite him, bring him to the snowy fields ASAP. The original Byakuya was at the snowy fields first.

Kyouka Hasegawa
Lost in thought, Kyou got dragged back to reality as a woman just scared her to death, she was fixing her skirt but then the wind blew as the woman who said to be her Sensei disappeared. "Whatever, I will just wear a different outfit! Few moments later, her outfit is still the same, she head out to the training fields by jumping from roof to roof and tree to tree.

Finally, she arrived at the training fields and Sensei was there, "Sensei! With the strongest mode, I'm number one! She made a dynamic entrance with her loud and energetic personality and jumps and backflips then finally a cartwheel to end her presentation. kyou looked around. "Akane sure isn't here.... Much to her surprise....... "Haahhh? The heck you doing here, Shounen idiot?" It was Shinka who appears to be her teammate. Truth be told, she doesn't seem to get along with him, reasons aside.

Akane Himura
Akane had no time to react when her new sensei's clone approached her and instructed her. So it seemed the rumors were true, the teams had been picked she felt a rush of excitement. The girl felt that she was finally was moving up. However the negative vibe didn't take long to slither on her. "This guy better not expect me to know my teamates or waste my time with friendship. I could care less for them, its me or nobody." The injury from this morning made her arm bruised, this wasn't anything she payed attention to, her mother always said she bruised easy. Though she felt a little pain in it the girl ignored it.

She would make a trek back home and another a trek to the snowyfields. She had everything packed, as if she were leaving the village for a B rank mission. As she walked up steep and white blanketed hill, she would see her sensei. She could spot him a mile away just on how he was dressed, and he seemed to be only guy in the village with a hair cut like that, the only one person that came close to him in hair was Itsuki Yudai. Akane would keep a bit of distance from Byakuya and wait 5 minutes before speaking, her hands tucking impatiently onto her brown rucksack. "Well we going to move out or not? If the others are late then tough for them." Her second encounter with the man and she was already whining.

Kazumi was awestruck as her newly found Sensei gracefully and beautifully disappeared in a swirling white flock of doves. "Finally. The. Time. Has. Come..." Kazumi slowly thought. She stood in a silence for a few seconds before she exploded into a gust of excitement. "Alright, so I have about an hour or so before I have to get there.... Don't be late Kazumi. Don't. Be. Late." Soon enough, Kazumi found herself on her bed, snoozing.

Brrriiinnngg! Brrriiinnngg! Her alarm clock sounded at 9:20. Kazumi got up from her bed, rubbing her eyes in an innocent manner, just to realize what was really going on. "Alarm? Bed....? Seennnsseeeiii...?" Kazumi thought as the pieces began to put themselves together. "Holy..... YOU BAKA! I have to get ready!" She thought in a panic as she zoomed through her room like a tornado of stress. Once she got ready, she zipped through the obstacles of her home, heading for the Training Field. Kazumi stumbled a couple times, yet she was able to dust off the dirt. She began to see the Field in the distance, along with 3 other people which she made out to be her team. "Great. Just great." She thought simultaneously as the time hit 9:31 and she stomped onto her spot. Kazumi felt slight disappointment, but that was soon cut off as she was then again filled with excitement. Kazumi had talked to Shinka and Kyouka, but they weren't necessarily all that close. "Well. I made it. Now it's just to see how this introduction goes...'

Sayuri Amaya

Sayuri smiled at Shinka as he arrived, making sure to wave her hand at him. “Hi. Good to see you.” The boy didn't seem overly sociable so she chose to leave it at that, he likely didn't really feel like talking too much. A few minutes later Kyouka arrived with a dynamic entry, something most energetic, happy and nice kids chose to use. But then she cussed at Shinka. Sayuri merely smiled and looked her in the eyes. “Good to see you here Kyouka. I'd prefer if you didn't call him an idiot.” She looked around the trainingfield and shivered a bit from the snow. “Your life might be in his hands sometimes.” These genin were old enough to realize that being a shinobi was more than good fun, exciting techniques and being with friends. It was about death, misery and pain too. Something Sayuri knew all too well. And when it's all about death, misery and pain you need to be able to trust your team. Calling them names isn't helping that.

A bit later Kazumi arrived as well, pretty much right on time. “Good to see you, Kazumi. You look well rested.” She smiled and started walking out the gate of the trainingfield, not saying much. Then, as she walked towards a busy market street, she explained what they were gonna do. “Guys, I have a big mission planned for us. Not even the Yukikage knows of it, but I stole it from the mission papers when I had the chance. It's an S-ranked mission, but I think that is too low a ranking as it'd probably be more of a ?-ranked mission, something that is unknown cannot be ranked, right?” She looked around and smiled again. She wanted to see their reaction to her telling them this. But then she'd continue, looking forward again. “See, we have a strange threat in this village. Someone has been here doing things.” In the distance, a shop sign came up that said Banban's BBQ house. It was a small cosy restaurant where you could barbecue your own foods. “They've been giving out lots and lots of coupons,” she said as she held up for coupons. “.. and mine are about to run out of time to use them. So you'll have to help me get rid of them.” She'd smile, as this was nowhere near a S-ranked mission, let alone a mission at all. They were just going to eat together, how was that a mission?!

As she entered she bowed for Banban, the chef, and handed in her coupons. The man smiled, but then again he seemed to smile permanently, almost if someone glued his lips in the shape of a smile. “Miss Sayuri! And her team, how cute, how spectacular, how insanely good to see you all!” Sayuri would sit down with her team at one of the many BBQ pits which was at the center of a table, while a waitress delivered some plates with many types of delicious raw foods on them. “Let's begin this mission, shall we? And just to get to know you all a bit better.. you all should tell me what you think being a shinobi means? And please think about this answer carefully, you might just insult me if it's something stupid.” She smiled again, but this time she was dead serious.

Itsuki Yudai

Itsuki was just rounding up his training as he pushed out a few more punches on the tree, before the clone appeared. He was somewhat startled by the sudden appearance of this clone, but managed to maintain his composure well enough. “Yes sir.” he replied, rather dull. He would then head to the snowy fields, but was a bit surprised about this half thought out location. It snowed almost everyday in Yukigakure, so what snowy fields did this man mean? He found it after thirty minutes of checking almost every snowy field around the village, and jumped down from the tree he had used to scout around this area. “I'm here.” he said as he looked around, trying to see the rest of his team. It seemed to be just Akane that was here. “Hey Akane. How are you?” Itsuki wasn't particularily interested in Akane's life but he believed that you should be nice to your comrades and fellow villagers anyway.

His eyes went up and down Kato Byakuya's body, trying to find out what he was like. Sure enough his reputation as a swordsman went far ahead of him, but what else was this man capable of?

Marco

The snow was falling outside Marco's window, he was hoping the sun would breakthrough, but he had since long abandoned the hope of sunny weather. Marco was still awake as he heard voices, one particular voice. “Marco, come on, wake up!” The woman yelped, gently poking the red haired shinobi, whom scuffed, as he slowly opened his eyes, the eyepatch covering the right eye. “It's my dad, if he finds you here he's going to kill you. Run!” She urged, as Marco quickly realized what was going on. “Oh crap.” He let out, rather relaxed as the girl was picking his clothes off of the floor, throwing his shirt and jacket onto the red haired boy, whom got dressed, without stressing. That is, until he heard the footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Honey, I got newly baked bread and fresh Orange juice for you, princess.” The senior shinobi said as he was about to open the door into the girl's bedroom. Marco was putting his leather boots onto his feet when the door swung open, his jacket still on the bed. “Crapbaskets..” He let out as he grabbed the jacket, her father cursing and coming towards him. He turned around and grabbed his hand around his sword sheath with the blade in it, turning around towards the girl and winking at her. “See you later, my love.i” Turning towards the jounin. “Smell ya later.” He then leaned backwards and rolled out of the window. Four stories below him, there was a pile of snow which he gracefully landed in, and rolled out of, quickly dodging into the passing crowd and blending in, so that the jounin chasing him would have to give up the chase.

Marco stopped to ask for the time of a local shopkeeper, where he also bought some fruit for breakfast. The Yukigakure world famous Snowberries, as big as apples, looking like strawberries. They were incredibly tasty, their taste much sweeter than the horrible weather, Marco thought.

He would head towards the exercise field to grab some exercise, walking into seclusion, he heard something behind him. Soon he heard quiet taps behind him, like someone, or something, was coming towards him. He began turning around, his hand on Eva's handle. When he came about half towards turning around, he was knocked back a few feet by the weight of the three girls whom had all thrown themselves at him.

“Whoa there Zu, Zi, Zo!” He yelped, all three of them hugging him, before quickly stepping backwards “W-We're sorry, Marco-Sama. We were just so happy to see you, we haven't seen you since yesterday!” The oldest one, Zu, one year older than Marco, said. Marco was one for telling people's intentions, but these three, he never could quite figure out.

“You made me think there was someone else coming behind me, I'm heading to train in the fields.” Marco told the three, as he turned heel and began walking towards the field, when suddenly he heard some rustling in the brushes. “Girls. One surpirse a day is plenty.” Marco said, waving the girls off. “Uh, Marco-Sama, that wasn't us”. And before Marco could react the growling of the tiger was heard as the tiger lunged at Marco, knocking the genin to the ground, where he skidded for a few seconds, before crawling back to his feet.

“Didn't know the circus was in town!” He shouted, drawing his sword and taking his battle stance, blade forward, left hand holding his side.
“Come here pussycat!” The tiger growled as it charged at Marco again, whom quickly tapped to the side, dodging the tiger's charge, the girls cheering hyperventilating something about how cool Marco was for fighting a tiger.
The tiger lunged at Marco, faster than before, much faster in fact. Marco could only take one step to the side, leading to the paw hitting him in the side, sending him sliding onto the snow with a big bruise. Marco began climbing towards his feet, his hand on the blade when the tiger charged again. Marco tried to protect himself with the blade, to deflect the animal's jaws, but much to his surprise, the tiger didn't try and bite him, instead, he tackled him, tackled him onto his back, where Marco held on for deer life, holding onto the tiger's fur to keep himself on the animal's back, holding his sword up into the air, leading to a very magestic mental image for the girls. All of which shouted “Marco is riding a freacking tiger!”. But that was all Marco heard before the tiger set off with him on his back, he himself hanging on as tightly as he could.

They arrived on the field Kato had ordered to take Marco to, the tiger stopping without any warning, sending Marco flying through the air out of the bushes, Marco slid on the ground for a moment before he quickly scrambled to his feet, standing right in front of his teammates and sensei, looking towards the bushes, he quickly got into his battle pose. “I'll make a carpet out of you, ya big kitty!” He shouted towards the tiger, that now walked out of the bushes aloof, heading towards Kato.

It wasn't until now that he realized what was going on. This was his teammates, and the guy in front of him was Byakuyo Kato, most likely the best swordsman in the entire village, Marco didn't care much for politics or nobility, but a good swordsman was always on his radar. The tiger obviously belonged to him, given how it walked towards the jounin very calmly.

“Uh. Good morning.” Marco said, chuckling, putting his blade back into it's sheath. “Nice cat you have there, Byakuyo-Sensei.”

All of them...his entire team was made up of very pretty girls. If Shinka was a more paranoid person, he would have assumed that both his team, and the many kunoichi that had babysat him were part of some elaborate conspiracy to make him afraid of girls. Why? Well that part was harder to figure out. Regardless, he was now stuck with them. 'Why me? Why is this happening to me?' He recognize his new teammates from the academy; Kazumi and Kyou...no, wait, it was Kyouka right? Kyou was just a nickname. Anyway, while he didn't know much about Kazumi, he was familiar with Kyouka...she was mean. For some reason he couldn't even guess, she seemed to hate him

When his sensei said that she had some kind of super top secret mission that the Yukikage didn't know about and went beyond S Rank, his eyes widened 'she...she can't be serious. We're just fresh out of the academy. I mean, I know that we'll eventually get missions where our lives will be at risk...but not this soon! This is worse then a suicide mission; at least you have a chance at completing a suicide mission even if you die...but this? This has to be some kind of trick or something, there's no way she could be stupid or desperate enough to take us on a mission like that' he was proved right when she pulled out the coupons

After they had sat down and the waitress delivered the raw food, she asked her question; what do you think being a shinobi means? Now the real question here was, did she mean literally, or was she looking for some kind of deeper answer? Eh, might as well answer both ways, better safe then sorry "it...it means that we're now a part of the village's armed forces...but that might not be the answer you were looking for. F-For me, it's a way to both fulfill my dream, and repay the village for taking me in" he manged to get out with little trouble 'I only stuttered twice. Awesome!'

Byakuya Kato
All of his students have already assembled right where he wanted, judging from the looks of it these candidates are qualified to be part of Team Byakuya. Each of them possess the potential to become both magnificent Samurai and Ninja. Without further notice, he quickly closed his book and finished his analysis based on the team. Much to Byakuya's surprise, Marco tamed Aro, he tamed the beast that he couldn't when he was a child, he was surprised and impressed. A Kunoichi who have emotional problems of angst but also one of the best ninjas in this village, Akane Himura, she is both infamous and famous for being troublesome and one of the best ninjas around this village and generation. Then a fine young man Itsuki Yudai who posseses keen eyesight, compassion for his teammates and honor. Clearly, Byakuya could not be anymore pleased for what Yukikage Haru and Paps has given to him, this is the first time Byakuya got keen and interested.

Marco tamed Aro faster than I expected, there is no one in this village aside from me who can tame such beast and possesses efficient blade which I like . Akane Himura, of course a Himura and what more could I expect from a prodigy in her own rite. Itsuki Yudai, remarkable from what I have observed prior graduation, he has the potential to lead his teammates. No, he has the potential way above that, he is a man of honor whose blade is capable of leading and inspiring others.I could not agree more. He thought and then he stand up and closed his book.

"My first impression of you guys together is that I like you, individually A small moment of congratulating each of them. "However, I don't like you as a team. Let's get down to business guys. Each of you are very remarkable and you proved me that you are able. Marco, I have to say that no one has ever tamed Aro for this past eight years, normally a lot of people would shit their pants but you stood up there and befriended him, you are the first student to ever ride on his back which means she likes you. Furthermore, a person like you who possess good charisma is likely to be loved by animals and his comrades, you have a large potential of being a Hunter Ninja and learning the Tiger Sage Mode, however you lack self discipline but you passed. Byakuya done judging Marco's performance and he revealed that Aro is a girl tiger, tigress!

"Moving on. Itsuki, I could not salute you more for your compassion for your comrades, you code of honor is what makes you a fine Shinobi and you have the mantle of a Samurai and you possess the potential to be a Samurai. Remember, Kekkei Genkai doesn't define the man but it is the man who defines himself with or without Kekkei Genkai, his heart will be greater than his blade. I like your personality however; you need to be sharp with the eye of the tiger, your not as bad as Akane in terms of socializing with people but you lack the blade of being straight forward. Done judging Itsuki.

Now on to Akane, "If it isn't Ms.Himura the so called troublemaker but surprisingly one of the finest kunoichi in this generation of Genin. As a Himura I am willing to gamble that you are capable of learning Ice Release but I'm afraid at your current state you don't. Your performance is amazing in the academy, like your teammates I have observed you as well. I acknowledge that in skill wise you are the strongest among your teammates here, don't let it get into your head just because I am stating the truth. In the end, what is a men without a friend to as to what is a Shinobi without his comrades as to what is a Samurai without a Master? You lack conviction and kingship even though you are capable of being a leader. But fear not from this day forth, I will be the blade that leads you and thrust it into your head that there is more to life than being number one. After a moment of silence, Byakuya begin to attack. "Thousand years of death! Which was done unto Akane then later the boys received a clone of each of Byakuya, kicking them to Akane's side, the clones disappeared.

Byakuya then transformed into something that would make things more interesting which is Kyouka Hasegawa. "Shinobi Lesson 1: Do not be deceived by the looks and words of your opponent, you have won my gratitude however can you show me teamwork and the conviction for me to say THAT I TRULY AM YOUR MASTER!? Marco and Itsuki, I'm sure you wouldn't hit a girl but Akane, I'm sure you would hit a girl especially if its your rival Kyouka Hasegawa, I heard she's better than YOU! That was totally on purpose to separate the team, if they would fall for that. "Team Byakuya! If you win, we will have an S Rank mission but if you fail, I WILL SEND YOU ALL BACK TO THE ACADEMY! The test begins for his team as Byakuya charges onto them.

Kyouka Hasegawa
The energetic girl died on the inside that her life will depend on Shinka someday but its take it or leave it and then she sneezed, Is someone talking about me?. But then sensei told them an S Rank mission, Kyou got all excited but then it was all about eating which feels like a contest, she gladly accepted it. When they arrived, she smiled at Kazumi and said "Mimi-chan! Then he turned to Shinka, "Less talking, more eating! but if I were to answer that to for Yuri Sensei. A true Shinobi is someone who balances himself or herself! knows how to negotiate and make the right decisions, this is very focal for a a Kage..hmmm now that I think about it, I want to make a business! NO! My dream is to make people happy! Happy Lucky! I will create a fine business with proper negotiations like and judgement like a Lawyer and do business in peaceful terms with less hassle and lesser conflict and with that even Yuri-Yuri Sensei can have a good life and eat Bayanchi products all day and not only that, I myself is a traveler and Sensei! There is more to life than Yukigakure but even so I love this village, that is why when I become a fine Kunoichi, I will treat you into my business stuff, Mimi-chan can be an awesome cosplayer! *ignores Shin* Kyou continued eating fast, she couldn't explain what she was saying due to the fact that half the time she was talking, her mouth was full.

Itsuki Yudai

He looked around and noticed Marcuzuko flying through the air as the tiger calmly walked through the bushes. That was Marcuzuko, the swordsman, the ladiesman, the ignorant and the arrogant. He called himself just Marco, obviously. “Yo, Marco.” Itsuki said, indifferent as always, as he stuck up two of his fingers in the peace sign. Then he put his hands in his pockets and turned back to face the sensei, mister Byakuya. He started spouting all kinds of nonsense, but Itsuki listened regardless. When he transformed into Kyou and challenged them, he grinned. He shot two short glances at his teammates before looking back at Kyou.

“Oi, sensei. If we were to enter combat with a real girl.. ofcourse I would hit her.” He grinned and pulled his hands out of his pockets, slowly starting a first seal. Snake.. after that he rapidly sped up his seals. Ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger. “Besides, you got my speciality messed up. I don't use a blade. I use ninjutsu. Either way.. let's go!” The last bit was more of a yell to get the team started than something he said, as his cheeks filled up with oil.

He spat it out towards the sensei, or Kyou if you will, after which it ignited, a large ball of fire now being sent out to Kyou. After that, Itsuki jumped backwards making it clear the attack was meant more as a distraction. “Oi, Akane, Marcuzuko. I need some time to fully start my next jutsu, so please cover me.” He did a strange thing, namely that he bowed to them as a thank you. “Please keep him back.” He started four more seals going which were more slow than before. Ram, tiger, monkey, tiger. He then flicked his fists towards the ground, igniting them in fire. However, one could tell easily that he had to have some time for the jutsu to fully warm up and be able to be used because of his lack of ninjutsu training. While he waited for the jutsu to be ready, he'd watch as Akane and Marco would fight the sensei and see how they fought to figure out the best way for him to fit into that.

Akane Himura

As Byakuya launched the embarrassing technique trying to catch out Akane. The young Kunoichi would pull out a kunai and block with the tip. "Fucking pervert, she thought .Now the real fight would begin. She was at risk of getting sent back to academy if she didn't beat her sensei, but the prize was worth it. An S-rank mission, this is what she came here for. The young girl would grit her teeth together as Byakuya now transformed into Kyou (her rival) and watched as he would be charging towards her. "Don't order me around. And you better not get in my way red." She said while flashing fingers at both of her teamates and then staring down Byakuya like a bull seeing red. Akane would start weaving hand-seals quickly and accurately as if she were about to do a powerful jutsu. " This guy thinks he can turn into that bitch just he get under my skin, he's sadly mistaken." She would wait for her opponent to get closer, still weaving hand-seals, she was waiting for just a little bit of chakra to get her middle and index finger. "Jokes on him, those hand-seals were just to stall."" She voiced mentally as she leaped to his left side and launched a quick thrust towards his temple. It was the Temporary Paralysis technique, if she caught him with that she would have time to escape the fireball Itsuki launched.

Haru Himura

Haru wondered how the two squads were getting on, it felt awkward not having Sayuri messing around with everything. He found himself actually getting up and sorting out his paperwork, also finishing missions that required signings to be clear. His office was spotless, every morning he'd clean it, every 3 hours the man would be seen doing numerous things, from mopping to sweeping, to polishing. When asked why he did this, he'd always reply with. " Just because i'm the Yukikage doesn't mean i expect people to clean up after me". He hated certain things being done for him, such as cooking and cleaning, the fact he was so use to doing it on his own as he had no wife or girlfriend . " Haru, you've been quite active today, whys that? Is it because your lady friend isn't here?" The tortoise was always full of banter, he simply breathed it. "I'm too old to be chasing young girls around with my downstairs broom... Especially my assistant." He replied slightly blunt, but it was assisted with a smile as he sorted out his desk. Paps sighed and would lower his wrinkled spotted head. " Lad, since this year started you've changed, I don't know if its the age, or if you are finally turning into those important kages that just sit around on fancy seats. Heck i'm older than you and I haven't changed, moping like an old man. I remember the Haru from back in the old days, the one that didn't give a care in the world, the one who would attack them pretty ladies with his broom no matter who they were. Are you finally giving in Haru? Is that what being human feels like? Is that what its about? Growing old and becoming dull?" Paps shivered in discomfort, his words came from the bottom, did he really not not understand?

Haru stopped his current action for moment, his facial expression loose. He stared at the desk with with a high feeling in his chest. " I don't know Paps, not all humans are same though. There are some who are older than me and as cheerful and banterous as you. Maybe i'm trying to get myself back together, or trying to protect what is mine. Truth is paps, I'm scared... I'm scared of change." He went back to sorting his work, his frown turning into a smile as he stacked paper on paper and stamped. "The downstairs broom will never sleep Paps." He said almost laughing at the inside joke.

Marco nodded lightly ”Uh, taming the tiger, yeah, totally did that..” Marco chuckled out. He listened to his teacher tearing into his teammates, for someone who's a trained swordsman and Samurai, Kato sure was.. Energetic, even a bit random, Marco thought to himself. But I guess all geniuses are a little bit eccentric.. He thought to himself, letting his guard down a little, just as a clone appeared up behind him, the finger strike hitting him in his lower back, making him fall forward, ”The hell?!” He shouted, rolling in the snow back onto his feet, only to see their sensei having turned into a girl.

Marco's posture instantly changed, and he smile. He knew exactly what was going on, but he figured he might as well continue with his regular mischief. “Whoa, when did this beauty show up?” He asked, his face curling into a smile, however, the amusement soon ran thin.

”Sensei did say that if we could handle this, we would go on a S-ranked mission, right? I mean, I'm not one to pass up a challenge. You're all probably pretty good at this whole ninja business and all, but we're not S-ranked. Heck, Kato-sama ain't either.” Marco stated, gently rubbing his neck. Before he turned around, his back against his transformed sensei.

And if he wants to send us back to the academy, then let him. We won't have to study all over again, he'll get a slap on the wrist and lose favor with the Yukikage and we will get a new sensei. I didn't come here to be toyed with. If that's what I was into, I would've hung out with the tiger some more. I came here to become stronger, and so did the two of you.” Marco told the other two genin, looking at the jounin once more. “So give me a real reason to fight you, I don't respond to false promises and empty threats. If you two want to be treated like morons, that's your choice. Wake me if we're gonna start training for real.” Marco remarked to his teammates, as he walked a few meters off and sat down, then laying down on his back in the snow, the sun barely breaking through the clouds now that the snow storm had settled, the sunlight was faint, but still enough to give the genin both light and warmth on his face as he laid there, in protest.

He let out a yawn as he looked up at the sky, relaxing.