"Starting today you are Shinobi, the future of our village." The tall lanky man in front of the room said. Beside him on the table were twenty-seven identical forehead protectors sewn onto black strips of cloth; nearly all of the class had made it past the exams, and those that didn't were noticeably absent. The tall man spoke again, "I will call you up according to name, and you may leave after you receive your headband and go to the meeting location of your new team."
One by one they were called up. One small girl near the end of the line sat quietly with her hands folded neatly in her lap. She watched her classmates, well former classmates, as they were called up to receive their headbands before they bolted out of the classroom door. Two of them were going to be her teammates until they all moved up in rank, and possibly even beyond that. Her parents, both Shinobi, often told her that they still met up with their surviving teammates whenever possible. They said that the bond shared by a team was hard to break and any team becomes friends for life. There was something about having her teammates be friend for life that made the girl nervous. They wouldn't understand her, no one in the village save for Akaya Moriya.
"Koharu Wakahisa."
At the sound of her last name, the small girl stood up and walked towards the tall man. He held out one of the headbands to her. "Good job." He gave her a smile, which she returned albeit it was smaller. Once she was outside of her former classroom she made her way towards the room where her team was going to meet. Koharu walked slowly through the quiet halls with one hand rested lazily at her side and the other holding onto her headband tightly. Her parents would be proud of her. They always were; it was her adoptive father that never seemed to be proud of anything to Koharu did. It wasn't the best relationship that they had but her adoptive father Osamu wasn't a very expressive man and by some extension she was not a very expressive girl, and both adored swords and practiced together more times than Koharu had ever practiced with her real parents.
It took the girl a while to actually find the room. None of her teammates appeared to be in the room when she slid the door open. There was a tall man with long dark hair sitting at the desk. Her teammates should have been here before her, unless they all were called after her or something was wrong. "Where are the others?"
The dark haired man looked up with a kind smile. "No clue."
Koharu's eyes narrowed a little as she observed him. He didn't seem like a clone, she could see his shadow. "Either they're still finding their way here or you've split us into different rooms."
The man stood to his full height and approached Koharu. He placed a gentle hand on her head and ruffled her hair slightly. "You're too much like Osamu. Lighten up. Your teammates should be finding their way here any minute now. I did give them different room numbers, each with a clone of myself there that would lead them on a chase. Think of this as the first test."
"Why didn't one of them get the real you then, it would have been easier than having you stay in this room." Koharu wasn't in the mood for his antics. She wanted to go home and show her parents and Osamu.
The man gave a hearty laugh, tossing his head back as one hand rested over his abdomen. "Your name was the last to get called on our team and I had prior arrangements at a tea shop...so it was pretty easy to send a close instead." The man observed his new student. She was definitely quiet and he was a little curious about her. Osamu Wakahisa was a cruel teacher and yet this girl was average in her classes; nothing stood out about her beyond the fact that she had the Aisumāku. "I was looking through your files, along with those of your teammates. You're an average student..."
"Kenjutsu is something that our previous sensei glossed over."
"Ah! So Osamu taught you his sword skills?"
Koharu nodded. She was trying to find a place for her headband. She didn't want to wear it around her forehead because she didn't know if it would mess her hair up; the decorative pin wasn't exactly the most forgiving thing on the planet. Soon she had settled on her left arm.
"And they wouldn't let your bring anything with you?"
Minoru was grinning widely. He enjoyed getting to know his student; hopefully the others would arrive soon so he could get to know them a little bit better as well. Just on the outside of the door were two poof sounds. "Your teammates are here." He said before sliding the door open quickly.
"Hello! I am Minoru Kawaguchi, your sensei from here on out!"
To say that he was excited to see the other two was an understatement. From behind him, Koharu poked her head out of the door. She didn't have the worst team in the world, they were both people that she could work well with, plus it helped that Akaya was on her team as well.
"Now let's head off to the tea shop since everyone is here now!" Minoru practically bellowed before sliding his way past his students. In no time at all the man was gone.
"He seems a bit excited." Koharu commented quietly as she looked at her two teammates, "And he never said which tea shop."
@Arista
One by one they were called up. One small girl near the end of the line sat quietly with her hands folded neatly in her lap. She watched her classmates, well former classmates, as they were called up to receive their headbands before they bolted out of the classroom door. Two of them were going to be her teammates until they all moved up in rank, and possibly even beyond that. Her parents, both Shinobi, often told her that they still met up with their surviving teammates whenever possible. They said that the bond shared by a team was hard to break and any team becomes friends for life. There was something about having her teammates be friend for life that made the girl nervous. They wouldn't understand her, no one in the village save for Akaya Moriya.
"Koharu Wakahisa."
At the sound of her last name, the small girl stood up and walked towards the tall man. He held out one of the headbands to her. "Good job." He gave her a smile, which she returned albeit it was smaller. Once she was outside of her former classroom she made her way towards the room where her team was going to meet. Koharu walked slowly through the quiet halls with one hand rested lazily at her side and the other holding onto her headband tightly. Her parents would be proud of her. They always were; it was her adoptive father that never seemed to be proud of anything to Koharu did. It wasn't the best relationship that they had but her adoptive father Osamu wasn't a very expressive man and by some extension she was not a very expressive girl, and both adored swords and practiced together more times than Koharu had ever practiced with her real parents.
It took the girl a while to actually find the room. None of her teammates appeared to be in the room when she slid the door open. There was a tall man with long dark hair sitting at the desk. Her teammates should have been here before her, unless they all were called after her or something was wrong. "Where are the others?"
The dark haired man looked up with a kind smile. "No clue."
Koharu's eyes narrowed a little as she observed him. He didn't seem like a clone, she could see his shadow. "Either they're still finding their way here or you've split us into different rooms."
The man stood to his full height and approached Koharu. He placed a gentle hand on her head and ruffled her hair slightly. "You're too much like Osamu. Lighten up. Your teammates should be finding their way here any minute now. I did give them different room numbers, each with a clone of myself there that would lead them on a chase. Think of this as the first test."
"Why didn't one of them get the real you then, it would have been easier than having you stay in this room." Koharu wasn't in the mood for his antics. She wanted to go home and show her parents and Osamu.
The man gave a hearty laugh, tossing his head back as one hand rested over his abdomen. "Your name was the last to get called on our team and I had prior arrangements at a tea shop...so it was pretty easy to send a close instead." The man observed his new student. She was definitely quiet and he was a little curious about her. Osamu Wakahisa was a cruel teacher and yet this girl was average in her classes; nothing stood out about her beyond the fact that she had the Aisumāku. "I was looking through your files, along with those of your teammates. You're an average student..."
"Kenjutsu is something that our previous sensei glossed over."
"Ah! So Osamu taught you his sword skills?"
Koharu nodded. She was trying to find a place for her headband. She didn't want to wear it around her forehead because she didn't know if it would mess her hair up; the decorative pin wasn't exactly the most forgiving thing on the planet. Soon she had settled on her left arm.
"And they wouldn't let your bring anything with you?"
Minoru was grinning widely. He enjoyed getting to know his student; hopefully the others would arrive soon so he could get to know them a little bit better as well. Just on the outside of the door were two poof sounds. "Your teammates are here." He said before sliding the door open quickly.
"Hello! I am Minoru Kawaguchi, your sensei from here on out!"
To say that he was excited to see the other two was an understatement. From behind him, Koharu poked her head out of the door. She didn't have the worst team in the world, they were both people that she could work well with, plus it helped that Akaya was on her team as well.
"Now let's head off to the tea shop since everyone is here now!" Minoru practically bellowed before sliding his way past his students. In no time at all the man was gone.
"He seems a bit excited." Koharu commented quietly as she looked at her two teammates, "And he never said which tea shop."
@Arista