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Tick, tick, tick. . .

The sound of the running wall clock snapped Mao out of his growing revere, dull gold optics swiveling with a practiced ease to once again take in the classroom around him. The room itself was sturdy enough, filled with stable wood desks and chairs as well as a few loose filing cabinets along the far wall.

The academy hadn't changed much from his own days as a genin, probably the same instructor too! The lazy ninja couldn't suppress his own chuckle, the edges of his lips pulling into a simple grin. These genin didn't know what they were in for.

Earlier in the day, after receiving his instructions from the messenger-nin Mao had taken the liberty of moving to his assigned area of the training grounds and thoroughly trapping it. His style of combat placed a high premium on getting the drop on his opponent and as a shinobi it was rarely required that he (or his new genins) ever fight fair.

As far as he could tell the entire area was so thickly boob-trapped with so many well concealed sealing tags that even a hunter unit might have a fair share of difficulty moving through. Well, that was where teamwork came in. Once the group realized he'd trapped the area they'd have to designate one team-member to sensory-duty while the others went on the offensive: basic teambuilding at its finest.

Lifting his feet Mao thrust the bottoms of his heels against the teacher's desk before him, cocking his chair back onto two legs. He balanced here for a moment, eyes closing briefly as the sweet release of unconsciousness washed over him. . .

Nagisa was clinging on to the last bits of unconsciousness as best as she could, but the scratching at her feet was making it very difficult. Groaning, she pulled the blankets over her head to block out the sun, but that only resulted in her ankles being exposed to more scratching of her friend's small paws. She kicked in the direction she thought he was in, and chuckled when she felt the soft fur against the bottom of her foot. She pushed him off the bed, earning a small yelp as a thump was heard.

"You had it coming, Lee." she mumbled from under the covers.

A moment later she felt a heavy weight jump onto her bed and it started to pull at her hair that had slipped free from the covers. This caused her to grow more irritated by the second and she turned over, gathering up her impossibly long pink hair and glaring at the ninneko before her. "Cut it out you little shit, else you'll be homeless." she told him, yawning afterwards, somehow making her threat less convincing. The cat licked one of his paws, looking not at all concerned with her threat.

"There's someone at the door." he told her, hopping down off the bed. She raised a brow at him as she reached for the pack of cigarettes at her bedside table.

"Well, go answer it. It's not like you do anything else helpful around here, damn cat." she said, gesturing with a hand out to the surrounding state of their small apartment. The visible kitchen and sitting area were all hazardously crowded with clothing, dishes, and other things like garbage and ninja tools. The small ninneko looked around as well and scoffed.

"It's not like I'm the one who made this mess. Honestly, are you even a woman?" he asked her, shaking his head.

"What, you want me to verify it for you? Fine." she said, placing a single cigarette between her lips and standing up. She pulled up her shirt past her chest, the thing was previously long enough cover up her intimate parts, and she grinned at the small cat who sighed and brought a paw up to cover his eyes.

"Alright, I get it." he told her, grumbling as he padded away.

Nagisa let out a laugh and released the hem of her shirt as she made her way to the front door. When she opened it, she noticed a man holding out a scroll towards her. She looked at him for a long moment, letting her eyes travel up and down his body. "Aren't you a nice looking hunk of meat?" she asked as she took it. She glanced down at the scroll, seeing her name scribbled on the seal that held it closed. It bore Tsunade's familiar writing. She glanced back up to thank the messenger, but he had already vanished. Standing there for a moment, she scratched her butt before she would close the door with her foot.

"Goddamit, Lee... where's my lighter!?" she said after a few moments of looking around.

The small black cat pranced into her view after a few seconds, holding her lighter in his mouth. She knelt and took it, lighting her cigarette before sitting fully on the cool wood floor. She picked Lee up and sat him down on her lap, and petting his ear as she opened the scroll so they could both read it.

A few moments of silence passed before the ninneko spoke.

"So, we get to met the little ones today, hm? You should probably- what's with that face?" he asked her as he turned to look at her.

Nagisa was beaming, absolutely ecstatic about the news. She quickly jumped to her feet, causing Lee to yelp in surprise.

"Oh my gosh! Lee! Do you know what this means?" she said excitedly as she started pacing around.

"You have an excuse to pick on children?"

"Y- No, Lee. Damn."

"You have a reason to quit smoking? And drinking? And prostitu- OWW! OK, I don't know!"

Moving her foot from the ninneko's tail, she said excitedly, "I might be able to teach someone my Hiden. I mean, the chances are small considering how tough it is on the body... but there's still a chance. Right?" she asked him, kneeling down to his level.

The cat looked thoughtful for a moment, before closing his eyes and nodding. "Right, but first you have to get ready." he told her.

Nodding, Nagisa spent the next hour or so showering and getting geared up while Lee did what he could to tidy up the small space the two called home. When the two were ready, they set off towards the Academy at a casual walk. Yawning as Nagisa and Lee entered the building, the two roamed around the familiar building until they found Classroom #14. She reached out and opened the door, looking around to see that her studen't hadn't arrived yet.

"They're not here." Lee said as he hopped up onto the teachers desk, sounding about as disappointed as she felt. Nagisa closed the door behind her, looking for a trash can to dispose her used cigarette. She promptly pulled out another and lit it, moving over to the window and pushing it open. A big gust of wind blew into the room, lifting the long pink strands of her hair and blowing them around her head. It was then that Lee spoke the words she was thinking.

"You forgot your hair tie." he told her, licking his paw and rubbing his ear.

Nagisa nodded and reached back into her hip pouch, pulling out her spare, and held her cigarette between her lips as she gathered her hair and tied the end of it as she usually did. When she was finished, she leaned against the wall and returned to gaze back out the window.

"What now?" Lee asked her.

"Now we wait." she said, slowly letting out a large sigh and watching the smoke float out of the window.

"C'mon, Azhul. We have to manage this." Up at the crack of dawn, the black haired boy stood in his home's back yard, breathing heavily with droplets of sweat running down his forehead.

"Damn, kid! Don't you know what 'chill out' means!?" Perhaps not what would be expected in an everyday conversation, but rather more common in the midst of combat, or like this time, sparring, a spirit of fire hovered over the ground in face level with the short boy.

"Hehe...I see what you did there." Tao wiped his forehead before a swirl of white fire surrounded his frame and gathered in his palm. "Now! Do it! Telep-..." Before the boy got a chance to launch the firebolt gathered within his hand, a door swung open behind him. Tao's home was a larger building fitting the representative of the Mei clan, his mother. She was known to be calm, relaxed and harmonic. Despite the passionate hearts associated with the Mei clan, she had always kept a very relaxed stance towards the rest of Konoha. One could call it professional, of course. Being a politician, there was little else she could be if she hoped to make progress.

"Tao Mei!!!" That calmness did by no means extend to her own family, however. Tao's flames paled in comparison to the hellfire glaring at him from their home. "You've woken the entire neighbourhood! Get your ass in here, NOW!!"

"H-hi, mom..." Tao gulped, immediately dispelling the fire in his palm. "We were just uhm..."

"How long have you been at this!? You look like you ran a hundred miles!" The woman shook her head with a sigh before her bear feet touched the ground and she walked up to her son, grabbing hold of him. "You're gonna' meet your squad today. Please, look respectable." Lin pointed at a scroll in her hands.

"Hey!" The boy stood up to her. "Being a warrior is sweaty business! It's not like the others don't work out!"

"I am sure the others don't blow up their backyard at five AM!" Turning her attention to Azhul, she narrowed her eyes into a heart piercing gaze. "You better have taught him something, that's the only saving grace now."

"Shower!" Tao pitched in, laughing nervously. "We were just gonna' take a shower! See you later, mom."

"Wait...I'm going to take a shower!?" It wouldn't be that surprising that the spirit made of fire was objecting to standing under a constant beam of water. Grabbing the spirit's hand, Tao hurried into the house before his mother tore open a gate to hell. "Y-you're not serious, are you?"

"Yes Azhul, I'm serious. I'm going to drown y-...Of course not! Did you want to stay out there with mom?" As they entered his room, Tao placed his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow while looking at his friend.

"Fair point."

"Alright. I'm gonna' jump into the shower. Try not to get killed by mom." Not the most reassuring goodbye, but after having been scolded by his mother, Tao didn't waste any more time before cleaning off. Of course, he didn't have to spend long in there. Grabbing the soap and shampoo, he made quick work of the task and stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist as he reentered his room. "Have you...been in here the whole time?"

"I'm not going out there alone!" The spirit shook his head and flipped through one of Tao's comic books with his claws. "So what are you going to wear?"

"Uhm..." The boy responded, opening his closet. He just managed to slip on his boxers before the door to his room swung open. "Wha-...mom!?"

"Oh don't act like I haven't seen it all." She waved it off. "Here, I prepared some clothes for you." Lin dropped down a small bundle of cloths onto her son's bed.

"Way to make me feel all comfy..." Tao sighed softly and approached his bed, seeing the clothes laid out for him. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! It's your clan's traditional outfits. All of us wear it except for you because you want to be hipster." Lin playfully ruffled her son's hair. The clothes she had laid out for him were a traditional outfit from their ancestral home. A silken vest beautifully embroidered with golden thread along the linings and a flowery decor stitched into the black silk fabric with a nearly as black thread. The short pants reaching down to the ankles she had laid out matched the vest in both style and fabrics.

"I uh...think I'll go with a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, thank you."

"Stop being difficult, kid. You need to look good, you're a Sorcerer. Look the part!" Lin raised her chin, proud of the title bestowed upon their clan.

"You do know that they'll just get dirty, right?"

"Of course not! Your opponents should be no more after you raise your hand!" She grinned, leaning closer to the boy. "No one said you shouldn't look good when you kick ass."

"You're scaring me, mom..."

With a heavy sigh, Lin shrugged and started out of the room. "Fiiiiine. Put on whatever you want, but make sure to eat breakfast before you leave."

Slipping into a simple black T-shirt along with a pair of black shorts, Tao put his gloves on and headed out of the room. "You know, you always clam up when mom's around."

"Maybe because she can banish me!?"

"Hm, yeah. That sounds uncomfortable." Tao giggled slightly at his own statement before grabbing a sandwich his mother had laid out for him. "Alright, bye mom! Bye Azhul, cya around."

"Wait, you dweeb! Take this scroll with you!"

Grabbing hold of his shoulder bag before leaving their home he dropped the scroll into it. Tao slipped into his black ninja slippers and ran down the stone steps and onto the dirt road before heading towards the academy. He was technically eating his breakfast, just not before he left. This worked, right? It didn't take long before he came in contact with the academy, seeing how several other Genin were walking into the building. He hurried in and made his way towards the designated location and opened the door to see a woman in there with long pink hair. This was going to be his sensei? "Hello." The boy spoke, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her and the cat. "Aw, kitty!" He did love cats, perhaps a bit too much. Dropping down on his knees he looked at the cat with a sheepish grin. "I'm Tao, by the way. Nice to meet you." It was proper to kneel when presenting yourself to your superiors, right? Well...at least he was on his knees.

As dawn's first light broke through the window, Shingetsu awoke with a start. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up to look out the window at the rising sun.

Mm... Looks like today's the day. I should start getting ready.

She stood up from the bathtub she used as a bed, her body solidifying into its usual shape as she did. She stepped out and stretched, testing her muscles and scanning her room to make sure everything was in order. The room was small and lit only by the morning sun, just the way she liked it. The only furnishings she had were her bed/tub, a chest with all of her clothes and gear, a small hotplate with a tea set on it, and the plaque with the Hozuki family crest where she hung Kiba and her jacket.

She pulled her Konoha genin uniform from the chest and looked it over dispassionately. No style at all, she thought before liquefying herself and slipping into it anyway. She strapped the pouches containing her gear on, then grabbed her kettle and stepped down out into the house of the family she was staying with.

"Ah, awake bright and early! I thought you would be. Here, no need for that. I already made tea and a bit of breakfast for you."

Shingetsu smiled at her landlady, a kindly woman who ran a bakery from the lower floor of the house. Momoe Shiemi was the one who had taken the young Shingetsu in when she arrived in Konoha, and she had practically adopted the runaway. Kind and diligent, she represented all that was good about Konoha villagers in the eyes of Shingetsu. She had never married, but her bakery was more than successful enough to allow her to support a child. In a short time, the two had grown nearly as close as blood relatives.

"Many thanks, Shiemi-san, but that was not necessary. A ninja of Konoha has to take care of herself, after all."

"Oh, nonsense. You need to have the energy to face whatever your teacher might throw at you. And it's not as if I mind cooking, you know."

"Well, I can hardly argue with that. Especially when that omelette smells as good as it does."

"Darn right it does! And don't forget to take some rolls with you when you're done. They're filled with sweet bean paste so you can keep your energy up. It's good for building chakra, you know. I've got to start the bread for the shop now, so I'll see you when you come downstairs."

"Thank you again." She seems even more energetic than usual today... I wonder if it's just because of me finally becoming a genin?

Shingetsu sat down and ate quickly, but not too quickly to savor the meal and the strong tea that came with it. After washing her dishes, she went back into her room and put on her jacket, slipping several rolls into an inside pocket. She then turned to the sword rack and took down the twin blades that comprised Kiba, looking over the blades.

Good morning, you two... I hope you're looking forward to genin training as much as I am. After all, you're going to be the partners I keep closest to me.

She tucked the blades into her waist sash behind her back, then took a deep breath before heading out the door, nodding to Shiemi as she left.

"Good luck, Tsuki-chan! Get out there and make me proud!"
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Rather than deal with the morning traffic, Shingetsu headed out behind her home and stepped into a small canal, melting into the water and following its path toward the academy, far more quickly than she could have walked. She hopped out of it and reformed on the edge just outside the main building, then headed inside without hesitation.

She found Classroom 14 without a hitch, and only paused for a moment at the door.

Here it is. This is where I meet the team I'll be dealing with for... well, who knows how long it could be? Nobody can tell what the future holds.

She took a breath and opened the door, striding confidently into the room where her new mentor and another teammate waited.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Shingetsu Hozuki, and I look forward to training with you."

Ozuko felt sweat drip down from his face as he attempted to do twenty five push ups while his body's gravity was several times greater than normal. His normally used their gravity powers to help train in developing body muscle and it also aided them in learning to focus on controlling their personal gravity while under physical stress. He was now on number twenty of the exorcise and his arms felt ready to give out under the increased weight, he refused to let his arms give out and kept on pushing himself until he reached number twenty five.

After that he made his gravity normal again and sat down to regain his breath. It was a tiring exorcise, but he had to do it. He needed to push himself as much as possible if his dream was become true. The path to being a great shinobi was full of challenges and competition, and Ozuko needed to be above the rest to win it. After checking the time he realized that it was around the time to meet his new sensei and start his first day with Squad 14.

"Better not be late, otherwise that won't be good first impressions" he said to himself as he got back up on his foot and rushed to get his ninja equipment. Once he had all that he would need for today Ozuko quickly ran in the direction of the meeting place. He couldn't believe that it was finally time for him to become part of a squad and go on dangerous missions. This was his chance to make something of himself and show the world what his clan was capable of.

"Remember Ozuko, our clans philosophy is that success is all down to hard work and pushing oneself to their limits and breaking through them. With an unbreakable will there is no limit to a shinobi's potential." Ozuko remembered his father's words before leaving to do some last minute training, and he repeated the philosophy of his clan in his head and felt his spirit rise. With each stride a smile started to appear on his face and his confidence was up really high.

"Look out world! Here comes Ozuko Matabi!" he shouted out loud and got several odd looks from passersby. Ozuko ignored them and kept on running towards the building where he would meet his teammates. Upon entering the building and finding classroom 14, he saw that he was the last to arrive. "Well this is a little embarrassing, better ignore it and just act like it didn't happen" he thought to himself and gave them a proud smile.

"Hello, my name is Ozuko Matabi, my admirers call my G and I'll be doing as much as I can to make this squad and myself the best in Konoha. I'm totally ready to kick some ass!" Ozuko said to his sensei and teammates with a grin. He may not have been using gravity release right now, but he felt lighter than air with the amount of confidence flowing through, a little too much confidence.

It was finally morning. As the sun rose up from its midnight slumber, rays of orange and yellow spread themselves across the Hidden Leaf. The lively early light grew brighter as time passed, shining over the newly blossomed sakura tree in the Koizumi training grounds. A gust of wind picked up, blowing the dirt surface up into dust.

Then, a loud 'clang' sounded, quickly fading into the morning silence.

“You’re doing well so far,” a low, hoarse voice said. “I’m sure in a few weeks time you’ll be able to perfect this technique. You learn fast, Asuka.”

The young girl that stood in front of the aged clan member raised her head, her thick black bangs sticking to her forehead. She stood up, wiping the sweat off with her left hand and clutching her white hilted sword in her right. Taking large gulps of air into her lungs, Asuka sheathed her sword, trying to restrain herself from looking like an exhausted old dog.

“Thank you, grandfather,” she replied, flattening out her clothes. “I’m sure this training will be of great value to me in the near future.”

The elderly man smiled, sheathing his sword also. “It will, Asuka, trsut me. But, with a technique as powerful as this, harsh training must come before it. After all, practise makes perfect.”

The young Koizumi nodded, the breeze blowing her sweat soaked hair. She straightened her posture, returning the man a gentle smile. Asuka knew that these intense weeks of training were going to pay off soon, and being able to see her grandparents satisfied with her efforts once she did continued to drive her forward.

“Of course, Grandfather, I will do my best. Once my training has been completed, I will be sure to show you the final result.”

~

Soon after she had washed and eaten, Asuka was out of the house, saying goodbye to her grandparents and slinging her shoulder bag over her shoulder. With her sword strapped to her back and her sharp amber eyes glaring with intensity, Asuka made her way across the dirt road to the Academy, the scroll that had been handed to her previously clutched in her hand.

Gazing at the blossoming sakura trees as she passed by, Asuka let out a small sigh. She was most definitely excited, but wasn’t as keen as to show her excitement for the entire world to see. Displaying such behaviour was something her clan opposed greatly; being polite and proper was just they way they did things. Even as much as forgetting to put an honorific at the end of someone’s name could earn you a scolding. Well, from those of the Koizumi clan anyways. Asuka, being one of them, was well known for ‘correcting’ people from their mistakes… It wasn’t just the pale skin and piercing eyes that scared people.

A small breeze picked up, blowing the pale pink petals into a gentle dance. Asuka’s lips curved up, walking a bit slower to examine this spectacular display. She’d always had a love for the spring. The cherry blossom trees were enthralling to watch, and Asuka was happy to know that her clan represented the beauty and grace of the spring season.

“Maybe I should go for a little walk once we’re done with introductions… Yes, that would be nice.”

Finally, Asuka arrived at the Academy. Although she took her time whilst travelling over to her destination, she was still on time. As she walked into the building, she saw the other soon-to-be shinobi gossiping in their groups and sharing scrolls with each other. Excited cheers and disappointed groans could be heard as they stared at their scrolls, complaining about the new squad formations. Even Asuka was a little worried too. Was she going to be in a squad with any of her friends? Or some random person from the back of the classroom? As long as she was put in with someone that she was acquainted with, Asuka wouldn’t be bothered in the least.

Asuka stood in front of the door, hesitating to open it for a moment. This was it. She was about to become a fully-fledged kunoichi. Tightening her hair tie and straightening her back, the Koizumi girl entered, gracefully entering the room. Asuka fixed her eyes on her new sensei, immediately noticing his current, unconscious position. The girl’s eyes narrowed a bit, sighing softly.

This is not the way a Jonin should be behaving… Well, sitting, more like. At least take your feet off the table… Just where on earth is your respect, hm?

The movement at the corner of the room alerted Mao's heightened senses to the presence of another even in his unconscious state. It was a moment before his eyes opened, lazy golden hues swiveling over towards the entryway to observe the newcomer. Unfortunately, as this was happening, the Jonin also involuntarily extended his legs, meaning to stretch them out, which caused the chair upon which he was seated to tilt ever more precariously backwards until the gravitic shift proved too much.

Mao took a light tumble, the chair collapsing backwards as his body rolled once to the right. It wasn't by any means harmful or life-threatening; merely, it was another display of his apparent laziness.

After righting himself the Jonin stood, hands pressed lightly against the fabric of his clothing to dislodge any new specks of dust or debris which might have been deposited by his latest action. For today Mao had chosen to dress rather casually. Instead of donning the usual combat pants, fatigue shirt, and flak jacket he'd instead opted for merely a pair of matching baggy black cotton pants and shirt with an unarmored utility vest over the top, definitely sub-standard apparel for combat situations.

"Well, sorry about that. You must be one of my genin right?"

When the elder ninja spoke it was in a calm, relaxed tone that seemed to convey a sort of lackadaisical air. "Well, it looks like none of the others have shown up so maybe we should just cancel your training for today?" Mao didn't even bother to look at the clock, an action which would have revealed immediately that Asuka was, in fact, rather early for this meeting and that the others would not be required to show up for some time still.

"Well what do you say miss. . ." Mao's eyes flickered back down to the scroll on the academy desk, doing a quick double-take to check the name. ". . . Koizumi?"

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Nagisa's head quickly turned, her hand pausing in its motion to bring her cigarette to her lips. Nagisa's blue eyes landed on a small boy with dark hair, who greeted her but immediately took a bigger interest in Lee. The ninneko visibly perked up as he was happy to be noticed, and Nagisa smirked, looking away and back out the window. Lee looked at the boy who came to kneel in front of him and tilted his head, one of his ears twitching for a moment.

"Hello there. Tao is it? I'm Lee." he would say to the small boy, hopping from his perch on the desk to go and give the boy a light sniff. A moment afterwards, he looked at Nagisa. "Aren't you going to say hello?" he asked her. She was looking their way, blowing her smoke out the window occasionally as to not fill the room with the scent.

"Well, it seemed you two were having a moment there and I didn't want to interrupt. My name's-" she started to introduce, but just then the door opened again and a tall girl stepped into the room. She was cute with long hair and tan skin, and all eyes were on her for a moment as she greeted everyone. She looked like a model with her height and of course Lee hand to prance over and look up at the girl and say hello first. He was such a sucker for girls.

"Nice to meet you Shingetsu," he started, going to her and rubbing up against her leg. This caused Nagisa to snicker quietly from across the room. To see the ninneko so happy about meeting the students was a once in a lifetime thing. There would never be a moment when he would be this cute. He was acting like a normal cat for a moment. Nagisa simply stayed quiet and allowed him to speak to them first. "My name's Lee." the ninneko said, his natural bored and monotonous tone of voice not being able to mask his excitement. Nagisa had a feeling he was a moment from pawing at the girl's leg in an attempt to get picked up, but he hadn't yet. If he did, she would have probably exploded into a pile of feels anyway. She tapped her cigarette against the windowsill, letting the ash fall off and blow away in the wind as she listened to the exchange of greeting.

The small cat hopped up on a desk so that he was at a higher level to them, just as the door was pulled open again. This time, another boy came in, not too tall but with some visible muscle strength to him, and he excitedly introduced himself as Ozuko while saying he was ready to kick some ass. Nagisa smiled at this, loving the confidence and energy he seemed to bring to the room. She knew the others would be feeling it, getting excited to take this next step in their lives. It made her think back to when her and Lee were assigned to their first team. The emotions she started feeling actually compelled her to finally step in and say something. She pushed herself away from the wall and took a few strides across the room to push the three students together into a big hug. She held them there, awkwardly for a moment, before releasing them and taking a step back and crossing her arms across her chest.

"That... never happened." she said, the lightest of blushes rising on her cheeks. "Anyway, I suppose it's time I introduce myself now that the ice has been officially broken. My name's Nagisa Hana. I'll be your sensei from this point on. You can call me Nagisa-sensei if you like, though I don't care for titles." She gestured to Lee, whose ears perked up. "That little guy there is Lee."

"I'm here to protect you from her." he started, causing Nagisa to glare at him. "If she touches you in an inappropriate way, be sure to-" he didn't get a chance to finish before she picked him up by the fur on the back of his neck. "You know how many people would pay me to eat you for dinner? Don't make me sell you to that lady across the street, damn cat." she said, the two glaring at each other for a moment before she turned her attention back to her students.

"Lee here is my companion. He goes where I go, so he's just as much your sensei as I am. Though the only thing he has to offer is a smart mouth and... oddly good life advice." she said, lowering the ninneko back onto a nearby desk, though upon hearing him mumble something, she turned and grabbed him again, throwing him out the open window before using her chakra to control the winds and slam it closed. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the three and gave them a long look. She wondered about their skills, looking at them kind of gave her an idea, but physical appearances weren't everything.

"I have a bit of a test for you." she would say, moving to toss her burned out smoke in the trash. "Can any of you," she started. "Recite to me the six most important shinobi rules? The ones you learned at the academy?" she asked, going back to stand before them. "We need to discuss those rules and how they'll play a part in the next few years of your life." she would say, pulling out her lighter as she waited patiently.

As the man tumbled to the floor, Asuka rubbed her forehead, clearly displeased at this man’s poor and unsophisticated behaviour. She had never seen any adult act in such a way before, and, as such, it angered her inside. Asuka had expected more from the man, especially since he was in fact a Jonin.

Is this… really my new sensei? Sleeping in the middle of the classroom like that… and then falling of the chair. Learn to sit properly on a chair, will you?

Asuka remained quiet for the first few minutes whilst the man tried to converse with her. Her eyes narrowed a little, examining her new sensei thoroughly as he spoke. Black cotton pants and a simple shirt under his utility vest… Not exactly the sort of clothes Asuka expected him to come in. The girl had expected him to dress up in the formal combat wear she saw most ninja above her rank wearing, but instead she was presented with this.

“Well, it looks like none of the others have shown up so maybe we should just cancel your training for today?”

She looked up at the ticking clock to her left, seeing that she was in fact earlier than the rest of her new teammates. The dark haired man didn’t bother to follow her gaze, staring at the scroll sprawled across the desk in front of him instead. Before she could speak up, the Jonin interrupted her, exchanging eye contact with Asuka.

“Well, what do you say miss… Koizumi?”

Finally, Asuka could let her voice loose. Before anything else, the Koizumi girl reluctantly bowed, closing her eyes and opening them once she raised her head again.

“Yes, my name is Asuka Koizumi… I-It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The man still waited for her to respond to her question. He didn’t seem like he was looking for a polite introduction when he had just asked his student a question, so her remained quiet and waited for an answer. Realising this, Asuka thought for a moment, thinking of a suitable, less hostile way to reply.

“I think you may have misinterpreted the situation here…” Asuka responded softly, staring up at the clock once again. “From what the clock says, it seems that I’m about five minutes earlier than everyone else.”

Asuka’s lips curved up slightly, as if she was smirking. She unravelled her fiery amber eyes, focusing on her soon-to-be sensei. “Also, I would appreciate it if you didn’t cancel today’s training… Don’t you think it would be impolite to not wait for the others?”

The sun rising above the trees of Kohonagakure was a beautiful right to see. It was still quiet in the village, it seemed like only the early birds were awake at this time. Soon it would start to heat up, once the sun fully made it above the tree-line, but for now the air still held a slight chill. There was one particular early bird who was enjoying the scene in front of him.

Perched on the roof of his house, a young man observed his village, his scarlet colored eyes scanned the surroundings. Seiji Onoda, for the briefest of moments, allowed himself to smile. Just the twitch of his lip muscles, a slight upward curve, for just a second. Then, it was gone. What was left on his face was a look of grim determination. Today's the day...

"Seiji? Come say goodbye to us before you leave!" A female voice rang out. "Tsk," The young Onoda stood to his full height, and gracefully jumped off his perch. His landing was nigh inaudible, a slight thump and a small cloud of dust kicked up into the air. After dusting off his pants Seiji sauntered into his home. Waiting inside for him were his parents, Sudo and Yanagi. Yanagi practically bounced over to her adopted son and wrapped him into a big bear hug. It was actually quite funny looking seeing as she was only around five feet tall, which meant that Seiji had around a full foot on her. He gazed at his father, who was also a quiet man. Sudo did not smile, he did not speak, but instead nodded his head. That was good enough for Seiji, he would make them proud, indubitably.

Yanagi reached a hand up and cupped her son's face. "You make me so proud, every day, no matter what happens I will always love you. Now go, make us even more proud!"

Seiji smiled once again, twice in one day! "I'll be home for dinner. Dad, are we training afterwards?" Sudo nodded once again.

Seiji made sure he had everything he needed before leaving, the least thing he needed was to show up as a new genin and not be prepared. Once out of the Onoda compound, Seiji's face became an impassive mask. This was it, now was the time to be serious. Now was the time to show people who he was, who he could be. Now was the time to be strong.

Absorbed in his thoughts, Seiji almost didn't even see the messenger ninja. After the ninja left he read the scroll. It read-

All of your hard work and struggles have paid off. I'm so proud of how far you've come, but now it's time to see how much farther you can take yourself. You've been assigned to Squad 13 and will meet your Sensei and new teammates in the Academy classroom corresponding to the Squad number you've been assigned. I hope I can count on you to excel and do your best. The village needs you.

Best of Luck,

Tsunade

After reading the message, Seiji headed towards the Academy, it would be the last day he would have to go there. Damn, time sure did fly. While walking Seiji pondered what his future would hold. He hadn't talked to Daichi or Nori but from watching them perform in the Academy he guessed they would be manageable. Hopefully they didn't drag him down, but he wouldn't put it past them. As for their sensei, well that was a mystery until he or she showed up. It seems that he was the first to arrive. Seiji grabbed a chair and sprawled himself out in it, now all he had to do was wait...

The sound of birds chirping, squirrels scurrying, and leaves rustling moved through the otherwise peaceful Uchiha compound, along with the sounds of different men and women stirring awake within their comfortable beds, ready for yet another morning in the prosperous Hidden Leaf Village. However, a different sound, coming from the backyard of the Head Family's personal abode, was quite a different commotion. It was the steady, fast-paced sound of wooden being splintered and hit, along with the occasional high-pitched giggles of a young girl.

A young man, tall and leanly muscular - evident by his distinct lack of shirt, stood on the top of a wooden post, his lightly scarred hands held out in front of him. His hair was rather soft-looking and spiky, being a deep raven-black in color. His eyes were the most distinct portion of his face, with the irises being pure, crimson red, and the left one having one black tomoe rotating swiftly, and the right one having two black tomoe rotating at the exact same speed as the left one, creating an intimidating, yet oddly mesmerizing scene. A respectable distance away from the boy, beside a large oak tree, was a little girl with long, silky black hair, pale skin reminiscent to the young man, and dark black eyes. She was smiling slightly as she slammed a small fist into the side of a sleek steel machine, which hummed quietly for a second, before spitting out five thick wooden logs at high-speeds, the logs being mere blurs. They were sent forward at a speed that would have already slammed into any other shinobi. As it was, this young man wasn't just any shinobi.

His body reacted instantly, each movement a blur of motion. His left fist, crackling blue with electricity, slammed into the first log right at the tip, causing it to explode instantly in wooden splinters due to the high-speed and the force it slammed into his chakra-coated hand with. As splints flew all around him, the young man's body was already in motion, turning slightly to the right as his left leg extended sharply, slamming into the second log and sending it careening away. Completing the chain reaction of moves, the young man twisted to his left and slammed his right elbow into the third log, sending it blasting into the ground, before smoothly and swiftly transitioning into a one-handed handstand, both of his legs catching the fourth log between them, whilst the young man then flipped back onto his feet, log still balancing between his legs, and threw a kunai with a low-powered exploding tag at the fifth and final log, which was already about to hit the concrete walls behind him. The kunai pinned the log to the wall, and the low-powered explosion tag ignited, blowing the log into chunks of wood, but leaving the wall with only scorch marks.

With a breath of heavy air, the Genin turned around, glancing over at his sister. Only a couple seconds had passed since she had turned on the machine. "How was that?" Daichi asked, feeling his lips twitch slightly as Amaya threw a chunk of wood at him. Without even glancing at the surprisingly fast-moving object, Dai swatted it out the way, Sharingan eyes still staring at the ten year old girl.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You don't have to act so cool about it! I bet I can do that once I get my Cheating Eyes!" Her pout turned into a teasing grin at the end of her sentence. Daichi rose an eyebrow, his stoic lips pulling down slightly into a frown.

"You'd better not call it that in front of Tou-Sama." He warned, dropping down from the log he had been balancing on, and bending down to grab his long-sleeved shirt and the letter Messenger-san had delivered five minutes ago.

The slightly concerned brother received a raspberry in return. "Yeah, yeah! Go meet your team, Dai-baka, or you'll be late."

"Hn." Daichi finally allowed the small smirk to form on his lips, turning around and nimbly leaping up the tall concrete wall that blocked their training grounds from other Uchiha eyes. He stood, about to drop down the other side. His head turned, and Amaya was, once again, treated to crimson and black irises staring into her soul. Her fingers stopped just as she was about to click the log machine's button.

"Don't even think about it." He finally broke his stoicness to give her a full smirk - surprise surprise! - before dropping down and making his way to the academy.

With another pout and huff, Amaya sat down beneath the tree once again, taking a kunai out of the tree's bark. "Stupid idiot." She grumbled as she threw the kunai at the wall, causing it to stick into the concrete.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daichi knew of his teammates- Seiji, a guy who seemed to not even trust himself, and Nori, a surprisingly nice Inuzuka. The two, he knew, had a sort of...'wild' vibe to them, both having pretty animalistic fighting styles, but even then, he knew nothing personally of them. As long as they did not attempt to hinder his growth, they would be decent teammates - both boys were decent fighters, after all. Finished with his thoughts, Daichi opened the door to the classroom, sharp black eyes immediately taking in the form of Seiji. The red-haired boy was sprawled in a chair, looking quite unimpressed with the current events. Understandable really, especially since their sensei was supposed to already be there.

Giving the boy a nod of acknowledgement, Daichi sat at a desk nearby, leaning back in his seat and looking up at the ceiling. This time could have been occupied being all friendly and chatting up Seiji, but Daichi had absolutely no plans on kissing up to anyone. Respect was earned, not given, and he certainly wasn't going to try and impress anyone.

Taibushi was leisurely strolling through Konaha, enjoying the trees the fresh air, the sun. All of it was just so nice, and to top off such a wonderful morning, he was wearing and leaf forehead protector. He reached up and lightly touched it, eyes still fixed on the few clouds above. It may have taken three attempts, but that didn't matter to him. It just meant he had tried three times harder than others, and while some may look down on his failures, he took hold of his eventual success with pride. This was it, he had made it and graduated the academy, and was on his journey of being a shinobi. Or was he? the thought that even after his graduation, he had still not received word or order of what squad he was being assigned to was slightly worrisome to him. He really didn't know if anyone else had received theirs yet or not, he didn't have anyone who was a friend really, and he tried to avoid others if he could.

Taibushi was stopped abruptly by a sudden puff of smoke that dissipated to reveal a messenger. "Taibushi Modobo?" He asked, eyeing the the short frail boy before him. Taibushi simply nodded, not desiring to speak, if fact he wasn't sure he would be able to form words even if he tried. The messanger held out a scroll for him, hanging off of it was a tag that bore his name, and it had the seal of the Hokage on the outside of the scroll. Taibushi smiled and took it from the man, who without another word disappeared in another puff of smoke. Eager, he opened it and quickly read it. Short, sweet, and to the point, the Scroll informed him of what squad he would be serving in, and a time and place to meet with the rest of his squad for the first time. He frowned slightly, "Back to the academy huh? Well hopefully it's the last time. I've had enough of that place to last me a lifetime." He noticed the time was merely a half hour away, "What! Is everything going to be so last minute, or was I simply last to receive my message!?" Still grumbly to himself quickly he took off for the academy.

Huffing and puffing slightly, Taibushi noticed the clock while walking to the classroom. "Three minutes to spare," he thought to himself as he rounded the corner into the room. Unfortunately, it would seem their was someone currently standing in the doorway, someone who he walked straight into. The first thought to enter his mind was who it could have possibly been, the second being that that were both taller than him and more solid, the third being that his lack of taijutsu ability was surely about to bite him in the ass, finally, that whomever he had walked into...... smelled nice? He fell back on his butt looking up at the figure who surly mustn't have been budged by it much at all, and was greeted with the sight of a white kimono and long black hair drawn back into a ponytail. Of coarse, not only was he about to get beaten, but beaten by a girl, a cute girl, but a girl nonetheless. Quickly raising his hands in front of him, he began apologizing, "I'm sooooooo terribly sorry about that, I hadn't seen you there, and was in a hurry. It was my fault, really, I do apologize......." He trailed off awaiting her reaction, but also amazed he had actually just spoken to a complete stranger, no stuttering, no awkwardness (Well, not in his speech at least).

"Hm..." Tao crossed his arms as he looked to his sensei and listened carefully to her words. "I actually know them, but..." The boy breathed out, shaking his head slightly. "I don't agree with all of them. Sure, I believe they are very logical and reasonable within their own sense, but anything taking to an extreme extent is taking it too far." Nodding softly, Tao continued with raising his index finger as he spoke. "Many of the greatest ninja we've come to respect whole heartedly forsake some of the Shinobi Rules and we see them as heroes, simply because they did something our inner moral strives for." He lowered his hand again and thought it over for a second, but manage to recite the rules within his mind before continuing. "The first rule is to always put the mission first. This finds it's roots in pure professionalism and sometimes the mission is so important that personal emotions pale in comparison...however! This rule indicates that surroundings factors are completely irrelevant. I will tell you all right now, and in all due respect sensei, you may discard me from your team if you disagree..." The boy took a deep breath before he spoke his mind. "My comrades lives come first to me, then the mission. If you need to hear a 'purely professional' reason for this, it's because without my comrades help, the success of the mission diminishes greatly. That and the saying 'Ninja who leave their friends to die are worse than trash', I agree." He nodded.

"The second rule, we're never to show our tears. That's a nice thought, really. Acting cold and never showing your emotions will seriously put your opponent off, especially if they depend on reading your body language. However, no matter how much we try to deny it, we're still human. Ive noticed how ninja constantly struggle against that principle, but in the end, our biology always wins." Tao crossed his arms and sighed softly. "My clan always teaches that you should harness your emotions and use them to strengthen your resolve. Sadness is the most powerful emotion there is, accompanied by love and hatred which both go hand in hand with it. There is no flame as devastating as a furious one and no flame as fluid as a harmonic one. All in all, I believe that this shinobi rule is good purely on a physical level, don't show your opponents any body language they can use against you but on a deeper level, I can't entirely agree with it."

Smiling softly now, Tao rubbed his chin and continued onward towards the third rule. "The hidden meanings within the hidden meanings, this is the one rule I fully agree with. You should always analyse everything to the best of your extent. This doesn't mean that you need to figure out the whole problem, but only part of it. We're a team, right? We're four minds working together. One mind won't be able to figure everything out on its own, however like clockwork, all minds put together will get things done! Yup, the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings is the exact way you should look at the shinobi rules and judge them thusly."

Finally, onto the fourth. "So, a ninja must always follow their commander's instructions. This is wrong on so many levels. I'm not a puppet, if that's what's being sought after, there is an entire combat technique that utilises them. I'm a person, and I will never follow orders blindly. No offence to you sensei, but if my commander makes incompetent decisions, I will not let other people suffer because I am obligated to follow a fool's sense of justice. I will however always do what's right and that's putting my life on the line for my friends, and the success of our mission."

Taking a deep breath, Tao prepared for the next rule, almost done with the rant. "So, a ninja must always be prepared before it's too late. Yup, makes sense. Nothing to complain over here, apart from the fact that you'll often need to improvise but that's a given. Good rule, good rule." The boy nodded twice.

"Phew, finally the last one! Alright, a ninja must never show any weakness. I guess this would go hand in hand with never showing any tears. Stifling your emotions and shielding your weaknesses are however kinda' different. We will always try our best not to show any weakness, something our team is essential for. However, some weaknesses are quite obvious. I mean, I control fire so water is obviously my weakness." The boy would laugh slightly. "But I get it, don't let the enemy get the jump on you is essentially what this rule says and that makes sense." Finally done with all of them, Tao took a deep, relaxed breath and looked back to his sensei. "Alright! So, that's my take on everything. Hehe...the academy instructors hated me, I hope you won't as well, sensei!" The wide smile on his lips as he spoke indicated his pride, but also a large sense of confidence. Tao had obviously thought his views through in one way or the other and immediately came out defiant on the other end. He had no clue how his sensei would react to this, but he halfway expected her to drop him off the team. However, Tao was ready for that. He wanted her to know what she was getting, all that she was getting. If these people would fight to protect each others' lives, that meant that they needed to know each other through and through.

"Come on Mame this is not funny!" Nori bent down to his dog, attempting to grab the scroll that was now lodged in his mouth. Mame dodged the hand of Nori and ran under the legs of his owner, running for a few more meters before turning around and dropping the scroll to the ground. Barking a couple times, Mame nudged the scroll with his nose, causing the scroll to roll a few inches. "Mame, please... if you were to ever listen to me do it now. I need that scroll, it is very important that you stop and give it to me." Mame stared back at Nori, and took the scroll back in mouth before walking over to his owner.

"Thank you! For once you listen to me!" Nori bent down to grab the scroll and pet his dog, Nori was not surprised one bit when Mame attempted to flee another time. The dog started to back peddle away from Nori, before turning around and starting to run a little bit more. Nori was expecting his dog to betray him and dove after him, catching him by the sides of his body. Nori stood up with Mame in his hands, and put the dog up so they were looking face to face. "Drop the scroll now please. There is nothing more you can do." Nori held Mame in one hand, while he stuck his free hand under the scroll in the dogs mouth. "Mame come on. I really need this scroll and I can't have you tearing it up with those teeth of yours." The dog stared back at Nori for a couple seconds before dropping the scroll so it landed in Nori's hand. "Thank you Mame, now was it that hard to listen?" Nori bent down and let Mame go before petting his dog on the head for a bit. Nori then stood all the way back up and opened the scroll, reading what it had to say.

All of your hard work and struggles have paid off. I'm so proud of how far you've come, but now it's time to see how much farther you can take yourself. You've been assigned to Squad 13 and will meet your Sensei and new teammates in the Academy classroom corresponding to the Squad number you've been assigned. I hope I can count on you to excel and do your best. The village needs you.

Best of Luck,

Tsunade



Nori had made his way to the academy, walking around the very familiar building attempting to find the room that held his future teammates and sensei. 'Eleven.... Twelve.... Ah, Thirteen.' Nori was counting the room numbers in his head, making sure he had the right room number, Nori looked down to his scroll and read it over again. "Yeah... Thirteen alright, that's the correct number." Nori put the scroll back in his pocket, before bending down to look Mame in the eyes. "You have to listen to me on this one, please be on your best behavior. None of the barking loudly to annoy people, no biting people on the ankles, and especially no going bathroom while indoors. Can you listen to me on that?" Mame stared back at his owner, tail wagging back and forth while giving him a bark. Nori gave him a simple grin and pat on the head before opening the door and seeing his two fellow teammates already sitting down at desks.

The first one that Nori noticed was Seiji Onoda, a student who had all sorts of animal jutsus at his disposal just like Nori. The word around the academy was Seiji was a tough person that did not take crap from anybody. Nori had never spoke to him, so he wouldn't know off first hand experience, but what Nori knew off first hand experience was that Seiji was a very excellent fighter.

The other student that was in the class was Daichi Uchiha, a student that beared the famous Uchiha name was sure to be a reliable ally but not only did he have the name, the word around the academy was that he was the heir of the family. Nori knew that since he was a Uchiha he would be taught the jutsus of the family, very formidable techniques that made Nori relieved he was on his team and not his enemy.

Nori looked at both of the students before giving them a small smile, then looking to the front of the room. "Sensei not here yet or what?" Nori bent down and grabbed Mame off the ground and walked over to a empty desk not too far from the other two. Nori set Mame on the table of the desk before sitting down on the seat and looking back to the students.

“From what the clock says, it seems that I’m about five minutes earlier than everyone else.”

Mao's head canted towards the ticking clock on the backwall, glazed golden eyes idling upon it for a few moments before formulating his response. "So you are. . ." The elder ninja didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as, mid-utterance, a third figure entered the academy classroom in a startling way.

Taibushi made his appearance in the classroom in something of a tumble, bumping into his new squad mate Asuka along the way. For his part Mao did nothing and merely observed the spectacle, the edges of his lips pulling upwards as he chuckled. A perfectionist and an oaf along with their lazy mentor, his squad was shaping up to be even more of a success than he'd originally imagined.

Mao waited for his two genin to disentangle themselves before continuing, this time swiveling around the back side of the sensei's desk that seemed to dominate the middle-section of the classroom, taking a seat before once again kicking the furniture back on two legs. "Well, at least two of you are here so we might as well begin. When the straggler comes I'll just have you two fill him in, explaining a second time would take too much effort."

"As you've no doubt deduced I'm to be your new instructor. My name is Mao of the Kagami clan and I'm quite pleased to meet both of you. Before becoming your instructor I served as part of an interrogation squad." The Jonin paused momentarily to reach his hand around for the underside of one of the utility vests' pockets. With a flick of his nimble finger the pocket's flap was opened and a trio of small lollipops were produced. "I figured we might as well start off on the right foot, candy?" He offered one to each of his new trainees, continuing regardless of whether or not they accepted the token.

"Well then, now that you know a little about me lets hear what you have to say about yourselves. Why did you decide to join the academy? What was your inspiration for becoming a ninja?" There was a pause. "Actually, that might take too much time. . ."

Internally thankful that he didn't have to wait long for his teammates to show up, two boys that looked around his age soon arrived. Due to his outwardly impatient nature, he was sort of ticked that their sensei was running late. This wasn't the time to be dicking around, this was serious. It was straight up disrespectful to be late to these sort of things. The other squads were probably kicking things off, ready to start training. While squad 13 was just meeting each other, and their teacher hadn't even shown up yet.

Daichi came in first, Seiji's scarlet eyes flicked over to him, his gaze almost analytical. Uchiha Daichi, wasn't he the heir of the clan? Hopefully he wasn't some pretentious snob who thought he was better than everyone else. Although Seiji admitted that they did have some similarities. He could see that Daichi had the same ambitious glint in his eyes, the same determination set in his jaw. The Onoda boy could respect that, hopefully he lived up to the Uchiha standard of power. With those fancy eyes of his, he couldn't be that bad could he?

Based off of what Seiji observed in the Academy Daichi was probably closest to him in strength. This wasn't him being cocky, this was him being honest. The only other concern was that guy who stupidly calls himself G, the one with the Gravity Kekkei Genkai. He would have been more of a concern if he wasn't so annoying. Seiji made up his mind, Daichi was okay, he could deal with being on the same team as him. So when the Uchiha lifted his chin Seiji reciprocated the gesture, he even thought about starting a conversation, but came up with nothing relevant to say. So he stayed quiet and enjoyed the silence.

Squad 13's third teammate came in shortly after Daichi, the Inuzaka boy, damn, what was his name? Seiji couldn't recall, only thing he knew about the guy was that he had an annoying ass dog. Seiji also remembered that he used canine base jutsu with that annoying ass dog, so their jutsu were close in nature. "Sensei not here yet or what?" the Inuzaka asked.

Seiji smirked and spread his arms wide and replied sarcastically, "No shit." He paused, then continued. "What's your name anyways?"

When Tao spoke up first, Nagisa and Lee stayed quiet, listening respectfully to the boys thoughts. Though she was just expecting him to recite them out, the fact that he gave his own personal opinions on them actually would help her talk about them more. There were some things she agreed with, some she disagreed... and in the end she just smiled. Though he was confident in his views and spoke about the teachings of his clan, Nagisa found his naivete very refreshing. She had a lot to say about his responses, though she'd keep her thoughts brief.

"Heh. I remember when I was your age, I felt the same way about those rules as you do. Though, I suppose my first piece of advice for you as your sensei is," she paused, taking a deep breath before she continued. "Be open to change. Keep an open mind and an open heart, no matter what your personal morals may be. Of course, this applies to more than just the rules." She told the three as a whole. Nagisa stepped around the teacher's desk and pulled out the chair, turning it and sitting down with her legs on either side, she rested one of her elbows on the back of the seat.

"Alright twerps. Listen up cause I don't want to repeat myself. I already don't like giving lectures..." she sighed and continued. "My job is not to tell you what you learned in the Academy was right or wrong. My job is to take what you learned and apply it to real life. I will tell you, that I'm not one to follow rules always perfectly. Part of being a shinobi is being able to adapt to situations. When it's life or death... the last thing you think about is whether or not you're following the rules. This line of work is all about survival. As people, we make mistakes, though the worst mistake you can make is putting yourself in a position where you may not live to try again."

Pushing her bangs back away from her face, Nagisa would place the cigarette between her teeth and inhale a small breath, looking directly at Tao and locking eyes with him for a long moment. "A shinobi must always follow their commanders instructions. Personally I don't care how any of you feel about this one, because this rule is one that I will not budge on. It's not about trying to control you, or being a puppet. It's about experience. The reason I'm the one in charge is because I am a capable leader... despite all appearances." she said with a shrug. "If you were capable of making the right call, then you would be the commander. You would be the one in charge. But you're not. I am, so I will need you three to trust that I know what I'm doing, and when I give you orders, that I do so with everyone's best interest at heart. That said, if at any point in time you three feel you have a problem with my orders, you can say so and we'll talk about it." she frowned and scratched her cheek, wondering if she would really always have to talk so much. She wasn't used to it.

"So the question is: should we, as comrades, put the mission before each other, or before the lives of innocent people? The answer is not really a clear yes or no, because we have no right to decide what a person's life is worth. All we can do is our best to be prepared. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement. It's always best to not show weakness because once one learns how to get to you, how to get under your skin, or exactly what to say to set you off, you're dead. If it gets to that, they know exactly how to control you." she paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Then again. If you're smart, you can use weakness to your advantage." she would say, standing to her feet and moving to pace around. Suddenly she was starting to feel passionate about it.

"Hell yeah, if you use your head, you can get the advantage in some situations. Make them think they've broken you, that they are in control, and then at the right moment, rip it all away from them!" she said, making a fist. "Be sharp. Take your time to think things through before you act. Learn to be five, ten, twenty steps ahead of your enemy. Strength and weaknesses aside, planning is key to any successful operation." she said. Another pause and Nagisa turned to the window and thrust it open, peering out and looking for Lee. When she found him, she pointed to the front entrance of the Academy and the ninneko nodded, prancing off in that direction, not looking particularly upset that she threw him out a few minutes prior.

When she turned back to her students, Nagisa was sporting a smile. "Alright, enough talk from me. You twerps are going to get to show me how well your minds work and how well you can work in a team of strangers." she told them, gesturing to the door. "Let's head out. Oh! But first, any questions?" she would ask.

"So you are…"

Before her sensei could finish, Asuka felt a small push against her back, making her eyes pop out a little from the shock. She stumbled a few steps forward, quickly regaining her balance before she turned around to check the culprit.

"Hm?"

"I'm sooooooo terribly sorry about that, I hadn't seen you there and I was in a hurry," a smaller boy apologized, waving his arms in front of his face in panic. "It was my fault, really, I do apologize…"

Asuka took a quick look at her supposedly new teammate before saying anything else. A head of straw blonde and eyes the colour of a frozen lake… To be frank, Asuka had never even seen this boy throughout her entire studying at the Academy. The fact that he was smaller than her did worry her a bit, though. Most boys would've shot past her by a long shot at this age, but seeing as she was a little bit above average for Konoha's height standards, the shock didn't last as long.

"Oh, no, it's fine. But, please try to look where you're going next time... Rushing things can lead to bad situations, and bad situations can lead to a lot of trouble... You're okay though, right?"

Asuka looked at the boy, concerned yet a little annoyed that he had literally crashed into her as he entered though the door. She wasn't going to let it get to her that badly though. He truly looked like he didn't mean any harm… Asuka just needed to viciously scold remind him to be a bit more organised at times like this. If there was one thing that ticked off Asuka the most, it was people being late to important meetings and such. It wasn't very professional, nor polite in the slightest.

"Well, at least the two of you are here so we might as well begin," their new teacher continued whilst kicking the furniture back with his two legs once again. "When the straggler comes I'll just have you two fill him in, explaining a second time would take too much effort."

I know he's a Jonin, but… Is he honestly going to continue acting like this in front of us? He's swinging on his chair again, and is asking us to fill the last person in on what's been going on so far instead of doing so himself. I can already tell that my first impressions on this man aren't exactly positive in any way. Goodness, at least act your age, whatever your name is!

Ironically, the man revealed his name soon after. Mao of the Kagami clan… Asuka was sure she had heard of this one before. She was knowledgeable about many clans across the continent, but the Kagami clan was something that had only crossed her mind just now. The name Mao also sounded familiar to her too. She had definitely heard of him, yes, but she didn't expect a ninja of such a high ranking to be this… well, laid back. He was even part of an interrogation squad long before he filled the role as their new sensei. It was only a matter of how this man managed to achieve such things. Well, to the young Koizumi anyways.

Interesting… Asuka thought, putting a hand to her chin in thought. A man of such a high ranking yet of such a carefree personality… not really what I would call a good mix at all.

"I figured we might as well start off on the right foot, candy?"

Although Asuka was craving something sweet right about now, she managed to resist. Unbeknownst to quite a lot of people, Asuka had a sweet tooth. Every time when she would tell her classmates to tone down on the junk food in their diet, she couldn't help but feel like a hypocrite inside. To be honest, actually, she was being one.

"No thank you, I'm fine." Asuka uttered in her usual tone of voice, deep and monotone. She looked towards the boy from the other class, waiting for his response instead.

"Well then, now that you know a little about me let's hear what you have to say about yourselves," Mao said, his arm still outstretched. "Why did you decide to join the Academy? What was your inspiration for becoming a ninja?"

"Well, I-"

"Actually, that might take too much time. . ."

Asuka's face dropped. Letting out a soft sigh, she tilted her head around to spot the last person arriving. What else was there to do anyways apart from listening to this so-called Jonin run his mouth? Asuka knew that respect was important, especially towards those older and higher than you, but as time passed and Asuka spent more and more time with this man, the girl just didn't find anything in Mao. First he comes in dressed like he was about to go down to the supermarket, then he falls off his chair the second he sees Asuka pass through the door. As many of her clan would say towards people like this, '-1 percent for effort'.

"Never mind…"