Hime Yuki

It hadn't been long at all in the stadium before Hime found herself being spoken to by a ginger girl with an odd accent and her cousin, going by the other girl's similarly accented speech. Even Kurin was adding himself to this conversation by trying to tell off the ginger girl. The sudden arrival of people to talk to brought an almost literal sparkle to Hime's eyes, she had no idea who these two were, aside from their names, but that didn't stop her from giving a quick bow of her head. "Oh, it's great to meet you both! I'm Hime Yuki, the shiniest snowflake in all of Konoha, I assure you! Hey, I should hug you both to say hello, can I?"

As she was talking the updraft caused by Shizuka's arrival disturbed her clothing and hair and showing a bit more than most would like to display in public... _{they were as white as snow}. Though she barely noticed it all that much aside from having to brush some hair from her face and patting herself down a little to brush off the dust blown up from the stadium's floor, she didn't even huff in complaint!

After this she turned her beaming smile to Kurin and chimed, still listening to the two cousins in case they let her hug them. "Don't worry about it, Ku-Ku, it's just one drink! And who knows, maybe it's how Rumi does her kunoichi stuff?" It wasn't the first time she'd called Kurin "Ku-Ku" before, but it wasn't used commonly enough that he'd be used to it, it was more of a nickname for him that was used when Hime felt like it. In tandem with her words, she puffed her chest out at him with pride and reached out to pat Kurin on the shoulder.
"I bet you didn't think of that, huh? Well don't worry Ku-Ku, that's why I'm here to do the thinking for you! There's no harm in letting Rumi finish it anyway, especially if she likes it, right?"

---

Those words were just like scratching the itch on Usagi's mind, proving that she was indeed right. She and Sakana were completely different shinobi, completely different people. Her expression remained stern, which was uncommon for Usagi who was usually smiling or at least had a soft expression latched into her face. Usagi remained quiet, simply looking forward while she tried to process his words and understand the true meaning behind them: What Sakana went through? What shaped his view of the world? There was both curiosities and worry in the questions plaguing her mind. She worried that one day, his pragmatic and practical views may lead him to a dark path. One that there is no turning back.

What could Usai say, though? The young woman couldn't find words to reply with, she was certain that a misplaced word or a miss interpretation from Sakana could potentially lead to a discussion she didn't feel particularly inclined to partake. There was a silence between the two - and the conversation seemed as it was over. Usagi expected Sakana to disappear in the crowd in a moment but instead, the boy broke the silence with a question. Assimilating bad days with people like him or Usagi herself. She was slightly thrown back, trying to understand the intent of his question. Was he conflicting with her on purpose? Or was that just some petty chatter? Meaningless words exchanged between them?

No, meaningless was hardly something Usagi could use with Sakana. He was... special. Somehow. Her gaze moved over to meet his, analyzing the boy - especially those eyes. “Are they? They might as well be. Though, what are people like you or me?” That was mostly rhetoric, to see if Sakana held the same views as Usagi, which was unlikely. After a pause, he finally stated that maybe today wasn't a good neither a bad day - it was simply a day. Usagi seemed content with that. “That's agreeable. A day is just a day, no matter what.” Shrugging, Usagi asked, “Sakana, what motivates you? What do you want?” There was a lot of ways he could answer that and that was exactly why Usagi asked.

That morning the rays of the sun seemed to exclusively fall upon Kaba's slumbering body. He laid in bed, seemingly unaware of the importance of his day. While Konoha was awake, Kaba was asleep. And then suddenly, as if it were planned, he shot up from the bed and fixated his gaze upon the entrance to his room. Kaba stood there, impatiently waiting for his eyes to focus. Even before they could, he quickly muttered 'shit' under his breath. Not because he overslept on the most of important day of his life so far - but because that man stood between Kaba and the door. That man happened to be the head of the Joukaku clan, and Kaba's only living blood relative, Yagura Joukaku. Ironically, Yagura was also the only individual Kaba could not be civil with. The history between the two had been rocky to say the least. Yagura was in intimidating man, even towering over Kaba, who wasn't short by any means. Despite Yagura's old age, his body was toned as if he were still in his prime. This was the man that Kaba had to surpass, and this is also the man that Kaba loathes.

"Spare me the lecture old man, not today." Kaba darted towards the pile of clothes and other items he had piled on the floor. He was far from organized and asking for him to keep a clean room was more difficult than pulling teeth. Yagura peered as his grandson, who couldn't have been further from his polar opposite, scrambled to get his things together. "I will say this once, bring shame to our namesake today, and your claim as the head once I'm gone will vanish. I will not stand for-" Kaba sighed loudly, interrupting Yagura to predict his words. "I will not stand for incompetence or weakness...Yeah yeah, just leave please. Your presence is distracting..." Yagura grumbled and began to make his leave. "Just know that if I beat you to the exams, I will embarass you in front of everyone. Do not test me, boy!" Kaba sneered at his grandfather and continued what he was doing while cursing Yagura's name.

Moments later, birds scattered from rooftops as Kaba sprinted throughout Konoha, making his way to the site of the exams. He couldn't help from thinking that there was something important he forgot, but he had no time to stop and circle back. As he leaped and darted towards his destination, Kaba clenched his fists. I'll make him eat his words a millions times over... Kaba wholeheartedly resented his grandfather and to the blind eye, he was ungrateful for doing so. Yagura had accepted the burden of raising Kaba when he parents passed. He gave Kaba shelter and also made sure he never went without a meal. Yagura had also been responsible for a majority of Kaba's training. His feelings towards his grandfather still confused him. It's not as if the abuse he had suffered under Yagura's hand could be offset by the seemingly kind gestures he also performed.

As his destination cleared, Kaba attempted to clear his mind. He was unsure of what today would bring, but he wanted to use this platform to escape the shadows of Konoha. Today, Kaba was sure that everyone would be put on notice that he was special. As he entered the venue, Kaba quickly noticed that a crowd had already started to form. He was surely one of the last participating shinobi to appear. He glanced around and saw many familiar faces, including that of the Hokage himself. This was not the first time Kaba was in the Hokage's presence, but seeing such a powerful figure was automatically motivating. Not wanting to draw attention to himself yet, he slipped towards the back of the crowd and awaited words from the Hokage.

---

So much input. Oh boy, was this beer just a godsend to null the pain of having to actually give a darn about most people here. Lil' Hime had at least left an impression of sorts. Whether it was a good one or not was questionable. One could never know with this lass' temper. Though her expression did seem to be more giddy and annoyed.

"Ey' cuz, tryin' to make mah ass itch by stealing mah spotlight?"

A rough giggle with a wide, perverse grin. These words, while somewhat easy to ridicule with the heavy, bumpkin accent, would usually be attributed to individuals on a straight line to a pounding. Yet it appeared as though the fraternity shared between the cousins allowed for privileged jabs between one another, or at least in Rumia's case, allow very subjective things slip by just for Kyoka.

"But ah must say, this here lass su- ..."

And then, a blast of air prompted from what seemed to be one of the more extroverted go-getters from Konoha. This distraction would earn the stink-eye from the Iwa trash. And then followed by a very shameless flipping off as her gaze reverted back toward the ice bimbo. The gesture remained for a solid three more seconds, just to be sure no one missed it. Hime had caught her attention again, with this attempt at a hug, prompting another obnoxiously loud laugh.

"Ay'! Hugs? Now that just dills mah pickles now."

Though as she'd reach around Hime's neck to get one side for her, and Kyoka the other, buzzkill Kurin had to chime in. He got the attention of the others alright, however attention deficit almost defined out delinquent friend. A few words from Mr. Class President were taken in, though he could notice she had been focusing on searching for something in her pockets while her bottle remained in her hand. Not very practical, and it'd take until her entourage fully supported her nefarious habit that she'd suddenly just present the resident Yamato the beer bottle.

"Hold this fer me a sec."

She'd let the bottle drop if Kurin would not actually grab it when presented. If left to shatter on the ground, well, Rumia would not bother to react until her current task was finished. With a free hand, she could whip out what seemed to be a camera! Naruto had a laptop so who cares. Anyway, she was in formation to take a 'selfie' on Hime's right, while Kyoka would be invited to join this 'semi-circle' and do whatever duckface she found seductive. The pose and gestures made this intention clear enough to her cousin at least.

A couples of flashes later, and selfie-time had reached its end. Camera tossed at the direction of Kyoka for her to tinker with it, Rumia would extend her hand back at the general direction of Kurin, expecting her beverage back. If it had crashed down and made a mess, the lass would raise a brow upon peering downwards. If not, he'd be treated to a halfhearted smile with a slightly disinterested look.

"Much obliged, boi."

"So, if I buy the chicken... Then I get the noodles half price, right?"
"Look, miss, for the last time, it's buy any item, and you get half price on a second cheaper item."
"But what if I only want the chicken?"
"Full Price."
"Well what if I only want the noodles."
"Full Price."
"But you said the noodles where half off."
"Kid, you'd making me sad. If I give you the noodles half off, will you promise to stop asking this every time I offer this promotion?"
"Deal."
"Of course you do. You'll do this again a year from now..."
"Like always Greasy Shiro!"

Bumu Aka, though nobody really brought up the last name, was quite pleased with his noodles. The fox boy slurping down thick broth-y noodles, letting them smack his nose when he pulled back. Sitting on top of the Konoha watertower, she looked down from the village from above. Sluuuuuurp... SLUUUUURP! THWACK! Simple as that. In the distance Bumu could make out the gathering of ninja, and if he still had her fox ears he'd have perked them up in curiosity. Either way, his ears did twitch. Hmmm, wonder what's that.
"You gonna go down there?" A pleasant voice inquired, sitting next to Bumu.
"What's going on, mother?" Bumu replied, glancing to her side. There, was a beautiful golden fox, lovely to the eyes and graceful on all fours. "I mean, it's not that important right."
"Weird, I thought you where invited to participate in the exams to earn the title of Jounin."
"WAIT! That's today!?" Bumu had to cover his nose to stop noodle juices from spraying out. "I thought that was tomorrow! Oh Chicken Feathers!" Swearing to herself and at least three seperate deities, he jumped down from the watertower. An explosive tag fluttered past mother fox's snout, and she blew it away.
"What a scatterbrain."

Bumu reached the exams in record time, only destroying a fruit cart on the way over. Not her fault it was a terrible trampoline. Either way, the explosives expert ninja landed at the back of the crowd, scattering explosive tags as he landed. "Oops! Sorry!" He shouted, jumping around and snatching the brightly marked tags and stuffing them back into her coat. "Really sorry, but I haven't lit them yet!" He shouted, pushing aside a iwa shinobi was was trying to get a good look at the brightly colored explosive. A ninja shoved her back, bouncing the fox off a wall. Another poof as she lost her grip on the tags, one igniting suddenly. Snatching it up quickly, Bumu snuffed the flames out quickly.
"Watch where you're going, idiot." One shinobi scowled, frowning and adjusting her headband. She was taller than Bumu, clearly used to pulling her weight. "Now, apologize for being a clutz."
"Sorry! Take this as an apology present!" Bumu said, taking a step back and place a kunai into the ninja's hand. "There, that'll make things good, right?" Bumu asked, giving his best puppy dog eyes.
"Fine, but I better not see you during the exams. Or you're dead, mutt."
"Gotcha, gotcha." Bumu muttered, felling a little clipped by the whole event.

Sighing softly, Bumu took out her tags, counting them quickly. "50... 51... 52.. 5- Wait..." He was missing one. His eyes drifted over the crowd, nose sniffing the air. Wait... There it was, the smell of gunpowder! THERE! Right under... Kaba Joukaku's shoe. Bumu didn't really know the barrier ninja, besides the odd moment the teams got shuffled up to work on their differences. BUT, at least there wasn't any animosity.
"Buddy, pal! Kaba! Please lift your foot before you explode into gooey bits of blood and guts." Bumu whispered softly, moving in closer to the black ninja. "And don't scream, that's rude."

======================================================================



Eesh, Iwa Delinquents... The senju shinobi couldn't help but sigh, because while the leaf was on good terms with Iwa, it felt... Weird at times. Especially considering how utterly lax the rock village was in terms of who could become a ninja. Especially somebody who seemed to drink beer like a pro. Is there no self respect? Putting ones best foot forward?
"She should save it for the arena then." Kurin muttered, looking at Hime. The ice ninja was nice, but he couldn't help but wonder if she ever really understood what was going on around her. Especially regarding how utterly flirtaious the drunken girl was getting. "Look, thi-" He began to go off on a lecture, only to stop. Another girl, blonde haired approached him. Rumia and Kyoka, huh? Well, they defiantly looked like an odd pair, so he could buy them being cousins. "Look, miss, in all due respect, you and your cousin should not be drinking before an exam. It's not proper." He sighed, pulling his arm away from Kyoka's grip. She was cute, but unfortunately for the blonde girl, he was rather business first. "Maybe after the exams though." He smiled softly. "I'll take you to a fine ramen store for victory noodles." It seemed to improper to offer otherwise.

And yet, it seemed everybody was gathering. Even Shizuka of all people showed up. Caught up in his breakfast apparently. Konoha's resident class president couldn't help but sigh, clapping his hands together. From the ground sprouted a bin, perfectly in size and shape for a trashcan. The strudel got a well deserved funeral, as the first thing to be dumped into it.
"Shizuka, please calm down in front of guests from Iwagakure." He sighed loudly, hands on his hips. "This is Rumia and Kyoka, they're shinobi from the earth village. And that's Hime..." He said, gesturing to the village airhead. "I know you're light headed, but please... Try to re-"

In a flash though, he saw Rumia begin to dig around. His hand reached out, and caught the bottle right out of the air as it fell dangerously close to the ground. Eesh, now he could add littering to the amount of things she was doing all wrong... Guess he couldn't change her mind though. Those Iwa ninjas had to find their own paths in life.
"Well, I guess we should focus on the exams then." He sighed, barely shaken by this whole ordeal. So, tossing the bottle into a trashcan, he turned his attention to the cousin.
"But, I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Kurin." He said, bowing to Kyoka. "It'll be a pleasure fighting alongside, or against you in future days."

The Sun Rise was always beautiful to Koibito. His favorite part was when you could see the horizon separated into light and darkness. Almost clearly painting a line at where the edge of the Earth lied. It was one of the few things he still enjoyed in this world.

Koibito had been up already for several hours. At first the shine of the Moon keeping him company, but even he had to leave for the Morning. The birds chirping to wake the Sun for his shift. Their on the roof of his home, the Uchiha sat with a match in his hand and a hand rolled cigarette in his mouth. With a snap of his fingers, the Match was lit. Lighting his Cigarette with it and then moving it to the First note he had received.

Hello, Koibito. Few have paid great attention to you ever since the grisly events that occurred to your family nearly two years ago. With many of us in agreement, we have given you this gift of opportunity. You and possibly a few others will be representing the Uchiha Clan in the upcoming Jonin Exam. We are sure you will continue to bring Honor to the Uchiha. Good luck.

The letter burned fast. The remains being blown into the wind as it disintegrated in Koibito's hand. Their was also a second letter. The official one that the Hokage had sent to the lucky few. It gave him clear instructions where to go and would begin in a few hours. With a sigh, Koibito stretched his arms and began to head back inside. Getting ready to arrive at the Exam Stadium.

---

Koibito seemed to arrive a little later compared to Everyone else. Certainly not late, but definitely not early. He saw a few familiar faces here and there, but a lot of unfamiliar faces were not natives of the Leaf. From their Forehead Protector they seemed to have hailed from Iwagakure. Koibito was indifferent to the Village and its Shinobi, but it was certainly was a surprise to see them. For now he didn't give them any special attention. Koibito moving into the crowd of people offering friendly greetings to familiar faces before the Hokage would deliver his usual motivating Pre-Exam speech.

In the corner of his eye he saw a Familiar friend. It had been awhile since they last seen each other, but he was happy to see a actual Friend here. Coming from behind he greeted him.
Long time no see man. Koibito said, lightly hitting Date on his shoulder. "Hows your family doing? Especially your Mo-"

Koibito stopped himself short with a sigh. He had heard what happened to his Mother and while it wasn't a secret, it probably was a little to sensitive of a topic to talk about. Especially after not seeing his good friend in a long while.

---

Renji had been standing amongst the others, unnoticed, for some time now. Long enough to roll his eyes at the spectacle his fellow shinobi, Rumia, was making of herself in front of the others. Nothing out of the ordinary, it seemed however, according to the things he'd heard back home in the Hidden Stone. 'Home...' He thought to himself. A Freudian slip, betraying his true wishes of secretly wanting to return to Shinkai Shūdōin - his true home. The last place where he felt he knew exactly who he was and what he was supposed to be doing. The only place where he felt his life held any real meaning. During his ten-year struggle to become the Kesshōken, Renji was driven solely by purpose. Now that he'd attained the mantle and was left to serve Iwagakure alone as a glorified retrieval dog, that strong sense of purpose had slowly been slipping away from him.

Life as a Hunter-nin was a lonely one, especially so for Renji. Due to the Kurogama Clan's agreement with the Tsuchikage, Renji was often sent out on missions alone in order to maintain secrecy. This was partly the reason why anyone at the Exam Stadium, his own countrymen included, had yet to notice him. Renji was good at blending into his surroundings, as any ninja should be. But when the past eighteen years of your life has been nothing but cloaks and daggers, you tend to perfect some skills to the point where you hardly even notice yourself doing them. Despite this however, the more likely reason was that, by and large, Renji remained rather unknown to his Iwagakure peers. His face wouldn't have been one easily recognised simply because he spent most of his time behind an ANBU mask. This exam was one of the few times he'd been allowed to remove it.

As he stood, leaned against a wooden post, Renji pulled over the large hood of his sleeveless jacket that bore his toned arms. The sudden thought of his mask reminding him that his face was currently on show. An uncomfortable feeling to say the least, especially when he'd been tasked with wearing it at all times whilst out in public. Why the Tsuchikage had allowed for him to remove it during the exam was as much a mystery to him than to any one of his ANBU handlers. He'd even allowed him a change from his usual attire, the sleeveless jacket with the accompanying baggy pants that tapered in at the calves being a far cry from his ANBU uniform. Maybe the Tsuchikage had a new purpose for the Kesshōken? One that he was not yet ready to reveal, even to Renji. Or maybe turning up fully adorned in ANBU attire would raise just as many eyebrows as it would questions?

Whatever the reason, it had allowed Renji to relax a little before coming here. The outfit he currently wore was styled in the fashion of his monastery garbs, though his original garments had long since perished due to simple wear and tear. They reminded him of home, his real home. His mind drifted back to the day he'd left the monastery, having just defeated Gibari and Talia in a three-way fight for the honour of becoming the Kesshōken - The Crystal Fist. The name itself made it seem as if there was only ever one master of the Shōton Kekkei Genkai but Renji knew this not to be true. Talia was still alive, he'd made sure of it. Renji's elbow strike that she'd taken to the head had not, in fact, hit her square upon the temple - a move that would have instantly killed her, as he'd been trained to do. Instead he'd placed it higher, merely grazing the left side of the frontal lobe in order to knock her out cold.

By the time she'd have come around, Renji would have already been named the victor and sent on his pilgrimage to Iwagakure. He'd made a vow that day to go back, if he ever could, to fight her again. But after living as a slave to the Hidden Stone for the past eight years, a mere pawn in the game that was the Kurogama Clan's agreement with the Tsuchikage, Renji had changed his vow. Rather than fight her, he would go back in order to free her. The idea of it was ludicrous at the time but every passing day filled him with even more resolve. Before then, however, he had to improve himself. To improve upon the weakened version of the Kesshōken that the monastery had been churning out for the Iwagakure to keep on a leash. He needed to become stronger. And the next obstacle he needed to pass in order to achieve that strength was upon him - The Jōnin Exam.

---

Sakana ignored Usagi's question about who people like them were - the answer was too obvious, and he never believed they were similar at all. In fact, for all their similarities, they seemed to be miles apart to the trained eye, someone who actually listened rather than assumed as was so often part of the shinobi way. Her last question, similarly, went unanswered, but this time it was because the man they were all waiting for had spoken up. His description of the event was, as expected, not wholly descriptive of what they'd actually be doing. It could be a puzzle or it could be combat. As far as Sakana was concerned the options were wide open. The hokage also spoke of teams, which was somewhat more interesting. One quick glance around indicated, to Sakana, that there was not any specific team he wanted to be a part of. When the hokage had finally finished, Sakana seemed not to have moved his eyes at all, simply staring ahead still. Only then did he answer her question.

“My motivation?...” he slowly started. “... I want to see where fate takes me. What the Sage determined for me at birth. I want to claim my birthright, whatever it may be.” It was in that moment that he moved, turning his body sideways towards Usagi. “We should go for the fire affinity. Regardless of your allegiance, the fire affinity resembles Konohagakures' Will of Fire.” It was fate, he thought. It must've been the affinity of fire. For some reason he felt drawn to it, despite an eerie feeling that the affinity of fire might just be the hardest one to retrieve, for him personally at any rate. He took a single step to move towards the area where he intended to wait to see if others were interested in joining them, but then stopped. “We should try and take another scroll so we finish with two scrolls. Fire first.. and if we have time, a second scroll.” He was operating entirely under the assumption that she would stick with him, but perhaps that was fate too. However, the plan of taking a scroll was smart - even if it was somewhat mean to the other teams. Minimizing the competition early on by secluding two teams, rather than just one team, would maximize their chances of winning even more.

It seemed like Sakana was willing to go over the backs of others if he needed to - or, more like, if he felt like it. Sometimes it'd almost feel like he was operating entirely on instinct.

He shot the woman a curious glance, before stating rather abruptly and straight-forwardly so, “unless you intended to not join a team and join the knuckle-head idiots that are skipping the first part of the test.” It was now that his somewhat rude personality came forwards, as he had no problem with swearing or cussing to get his points across. Why waste time coming up with friendly ways to say 'idiot' if you could just say idiot. Before she could answer he already moved on, secluding himself while waiting for any other potential candidates that wanted to enter the team. Rather than wait for the rest of the team and vote on the affinity, he had made up his mind already, and after producing a pen from his pocket, he wrote the kanji for fire on the scroll in his hands, before putting the pen away and closing the scroll again. There was no going back now. Not that he'd want to.

Date had been silently taking note of the faces from both the Iwa and Konoha. He liked to size up the competition plus it never hurt to keep potential enemies close. He took note of the drunk kunoichi talking to the illustrious "Golden Boy" of the Senju clan. He could also note the shadows in the back ground patiently waiting like hunters (or prey) for the Hokage to deal them their fate. Date however was not that happy to be here, there was a cold hospital room calling his name, he often wondered why he did not just become a medic. Then he could at least help his mom or try too, but unfortunately, Date had to live up to the expectations of a man with the biggest ego ever.

More and more people started to flood into the Stadium, and even more "friends" from his class showed up. There numbers grew and Date could only wonder how the Hokage planned to make all this work, to Date it just seemed like a bunch of worms in a squished can with less and less space by the minuet (some bigger than others). While he made was talking to some unknown face, an old friend came up to see him. Koibito Uchiha, he was a former team member and fellow clansmen. Date kind of fell off with him after he left he compound with his mom, but they did not fall out just grew apart with the lack of communication. So when Koibito greeted Date, he smiled back at him, a genuine smile that he saved for family (his mom) and friends.

"Hey Koibito, I have been well, what about yourself?" Date said completely dismissing the almost comment about his mom and still smiling. As he waited for a response the Hokage began to explain the exam they would undertake. The fist part seemed simple enough, find a team and steal find a scroll, and Date could see a potential first teammate right in front of him.

"What do you say, wanna team up for old times sake?"

Kaba stood, waiting impatiently while conducting some light stretching. He had been in much tenser situations, but the anticipation for the exam to begin made him jittery. He decided to scan around to scout possible allies, and possible enemies. Kaba wasn't well known just yet,
but he had a keen eye for remembering faces and names. He could easily identify a large majority of the shinobi from Konoha. The other villages? Not so much.

As his eyes wandered there was a sudden commotion that drew his attention. However, Kaba could not locate the source due to the blanket of noise that filled the stadium due to the sheer volume of both spectators and participants. As Kaba began slightly pacing in the area he was in his ears quickly perked up from the sound of his name. He turned to see Bumu Aka. Kaba knew of Bumu, but not much about the fox ninja. Initially, Kaba's twisted face signaled extreme confusion. As his brain finally registered what Bumu was attempting to communicate, his eyes almost popped from their sockets. "WHAT THE F-" Swiftly, Kaba lifted his foot and swiped the tag. In the blink of an eye the tag was suspended about two feet in the air, surrounded by a small, sphere-shaped barrier. Only a moment later did the tag explode whilst trapped, muffling the sound of the explosion so as not to bring attention. The barrier shattered like glass, causing shards of chakra to fall from above. However, these shard disappeared before even reaching the earth, while the smoke cause from the explosion dissipated into the air. Immediately thereafter, Kaba quickly shifted his gaze towards the culprit, his eyes almost crazed.

"YOU.....!

As he made his way towards the fox, he was interrupted by the Hokage. Kaba briskly shifted his attention towards the leader of Konoha. As the Hokage spoke, a scroll appeared in Kaba's right hand. While continuing to listen, he opened the scroll to further examine it, slightly curious as to how the neat little trick was performed. Once the speech and explanation of the first portion of the exams were over, Kaba sneered. He turned to Bumu once again with a smirk one could only describe as dastardly. Kaba further approached Bumu, and placed his hand on the shoulder of the fox with a slight grip. Kaba peered into Bumu's eyes for just a second. Before today he hadn't interacted with the fox-nin but he knew that Bumu might be useful. Kaba wasn't even sure to address Bumu as 'him' or 'her'.

"The exams haven't even officially started and you almost caused me a fatal injury - You owe me, and I intend to cash in. How about you team up with me? I need a personal shield." Kaba then smiled at Bumu and continued on, not even giving the fox a chance to respond. "Perfect, then it's settled, you'll be with me." He then looked back towards the scrolls that had appeared before the Hokage. "What do you say about lightning?" he uttered in a sarcastically cheerful tone.

Ai listened carefully to the Hokage's remarks. It was odd seeing the man upclose like this. She'd seen the Tsuchikage before, sure, but there was just something weird about standing before someone so powerful. It was a new day. Listening to her two options, Ai's mind was made up instantly. It'd be fun to see what sort of challenges the scrolls had than fighting a jonin. Only someone extremely arrogant would chose that path, and it would make the path harder. That, and honestly she was just curious what the scroll challenged looked like.

While others were still taking it in, Ai turned to find her teammates, who would they be? The closest Iwa ninjas would do. She could trust them, and that just meant she had to have them trust her. She saw a man wrapped in bandages she vaguely recognized from the village, and another in a fancy robe. She didn't know either of their abilities. As for the fourth member? Ai didn't even have to turn to see her. She didn't even know where she was. She just had trust she would come.

"Hey, you two, want a team with me? I'm sorry I can't remember your names. I'm Ai Kabe. If you're fine with me, I can tell you my abilities on the way there. I'm hoping it'll be fun to see all your abilities. And even better to work around them. It's not so much what you have as much as how you use it.

As far as what scroll to chose, I say lightning. The test is to see if we're ready to be jonin, and lightning will probably end quickly one way or another. [size=1]And is the flashiest probably... [/size] I'd rather not do fire if possible...Wouldn't be as fun for me.

Oh, and I think I know who our fourth is. So, nice to meet you, friends."

Ai, the social butterfly, wasted no time in trying to get everything started and make new friends as quickly as possible. She wanted to see this test to its fullest. Most people might be intimidated by how important this test was. Or motivated to try and pass it with as much efficiency as possible. Ai honestly was just having fun.

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Quiet, she had more or less followed her younger sister in, trailing a ways behind, taking everything in. She decided that she liked Konoha, or at least how it looked, though she didn't like the noisiness very much. Oh well, that would pass...hopefully. As the Hokage made himself known, welcoming them before he explained the test, Ayame smiled a bit. She was glad it was a team exercise, she was better at those than fighting people, though she wouldn't blame anyone who did want to just fight to get by. As people started flocking together a small frown crossed her face, that was until she heard her sister.

A small smile coming to her face, Ayame walked over to where Ai was more or less recruiting some other Iwagakure shinobi. She waved as she came into sight, "Greetings. I know we haven't really interacted much, but my name's Kouken, Ayame. I'm the fourth Ai is referring too." Her tone was very proper, her words enunciated clearly, her posture perfect. To anyone who paid attention, it was fairly obvious that she'd been groomed for something even if they didn't know exactly what.

Bowing to the two that weren't her sister, she said, "I hope we can get along." Raising her head she smiled gently, her purple eyes glittering slightly in the light.

---

---

Having entered hidden amongst the crowd of chuunin, a hooded figure lurked at the edges of the stadium's seats, watching over the events that were transpiring. He went largely ignored, people avoiding where he stood naturally and oddly not taking any real notice of his garb. As the Hokage announced the nature of the first exam, the figure turned his head and spat. The offensive projectile struck someone else in the back of the neck and they turned, putting a hand to the spot. Instantly disgust and then anger washed over their features. They approached the shrouded individual, already yelling at them—though their voice was lost in the throng of them. No one else took notice.

“Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing!? You spat on me, that's disgusting. I ought to beat your face in. In fact, we're abstaining from the retrieval test. It's stupid anyways. You and I, we're going to fight, and I'm gonna beat you into the ground.”

The figure's hood shifted as he looked down at the would-be jounin. “I'm not sure what's more dull, this test, your Hokage, or you,” a voice replied from within the dark folds of the hood. The to-be Jounin narrowed his eyes and crossed the rest of the distance, a hand coming up onto the figure's collar.

Hoisting him into the air with one arm, a look of anger on his face, he spat pure venom at the stranger. “Who the fuck do you think you are?! That's the man who allowed all of us to live in a peaceful world! That's the man who made all of us possible. Who made this possible! How FUCKING DARE YOU!!” The shinobi brought his hand back as if to punch the strange, silent figure, but instead manifested flames in that hand. Striking forwards he attempted to hit what had become his adversary.

The figure's response was swift. Both hands came up, one grabbing at the idiot's wrist, the other knocking the oncoming hand aside, sending the fireball into the air where it fizzled out.

Immediately there was the sound of shifting earth and cracking ice. In the next moment the would-be jounin found both his arms and shoulders entirely encased in what appeared to be crystal. He dropped the figure, who promptly walked past the idiot and then struck him in the back of the neck hard. Unable to stop himself from falling, the moron hit the ground, and the impact knocked him out cold.

It appeared the exams already had one failure...and no one had even noticed yet. Then again....

Turning back, the figure smiled within his hood, as two lights burned within...eyes, as if lit from within.

Walking back to the fool, he pinched a series of pressure points and rolled him over. In moments he was conscious again, with an ominous stranger looming over him. “You know what, I was just going to watch, but I think I'll call your little threat. We'll fight again soon enough. The difference will be that I won't be holding back.” The figure pulled away and walked off, melting into the crowd.

The would-be jounin, Deki Kabushiki was speechless, slightly bleeding from a gash on his forehead. He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into...unfortunately, he would soon find out that he was indeed quite over his head. It was unfortunate that he was too stupid to back out now.

Kaito had stood leaned against the wall keeping quietly to himself through a majority of the dealings in the morning. He quietly smirked as he watched the chaos unfold. This, right here, was exactly why he'd left the leaf, and yet, it was hilarious that here he was. Not that he'd expected anything different, he was an honored guest from the Hidden Rain. That, and he was so confident in his skills he wouldn't have cared if they tried to net him for his little act of disloyalty of joining another village. He almost wondered how his folks were.

Well, with the Hokage's little speech, it looked like it was time to chose. Not that was a choice. Why would someone as skilled as Kaito stoop to teamwork over a little scroll when there was a much faster option of beating an enemy ninja to the ground and calling it a day. Most ninja were weak to his style, it was an easy choice.

Unfolding his arms, Kaito walked forward, watching a little scene of a punk spitting on someone, and immediately messing with them. Kaito walked passed it like it was an every day show.

He did whisper in the other hooded man's ear however.

"My, my, dropping such valuable info. It's almost like you want to be at a disadvantage."

And he kept walking, straight up to the Hokage and his comrades.

"I have my answer, I'm not what you might call 'a team player'. More like, underappreciated genius. I'll take the fighting round, how hard could it be? Just don't expect much of a show. Well then, thank you for your hard work."

With that, Kaito returned to the crowd, seeing if he could see the other biggest jerk in the crowd with a hood on. His interest was piqued.

---

Yogensha Kaguya. For once, she was on the visitors list. She was an unequal among peers - not in ability or capability, but in respect. For a shinobi of her level, this would be insufferable to most, but lady Kaguya was not one like most. Her gentle, calm nature shone through even as she entered the stadium, moving herself with such grace that was typically reserved only for the daughters and sisters of the daimyo - princesses. Women that traced their bloodline back to ancient warlord that, before the arrival of ninjutsu as a tool of warfare, ruled the lands in which the clans wandered. It was a far cry from Yogensha, who unbeknownst to her peers, traced her lineage to a wandering clan of blood-crazed fools who got dispersed into all corners of the known world. Hardly the embodiment of grace. Yet there she was.

She pushed through the doors and joined the crowd - though, it would've been tremendously surprising if anyone actually knew her, apart the few Amegakure students that were partaking. As the hokage wrapped up his speech, Yogensha would lift the edges of her kimono slightly and walk off again through a side door that clearly marked 'Observation Rooms.' Here she had expected to find other kage's, but it seemed she was 'the first' despite not being a true kage. That privilege was put away only for those leaders that were lucky enough to inherit vast swaths of land and a large army. Amegakure was - by comparison - not even a speck on the map of these people, and luckily that also meant that Amegakure was not unlucky enough to be target of an invasion. That fight would've been over in a day, even if Amegakure's shinobi were capable. The odds just didn't stack up.

Gracefully she moved one hand to her stomach, holding it there as she placed the other behind her back, the edges of her kimono dropping down and draping onto the floor again as she moved closer to the window, where several large screens were mounted. Each would soon feature a camera that would allow them to see the progress of each team. And, later on, the fights. “Remarkable...” she noted, bringing her hand forward and touching the cold glass of one of the screens. “... that Konohagakure would use such outdated screens.” Her eyes moved to the sides, though her head didn't move to look towards the figure that had approached behind her. Somehow she had detected that this person wasn't a threat, so she merely lowered her hand and turned around, the kimono moving with her gracefully as if it were a large cloak.

“Miss Kaguya-san,” the figure said, holding out a plate of refreshments for her, “a drink? The tournament is set to start soon, but the students are still dividing into teams momentarily. For now, please sit back and relax.”

“You can call me Yogensha,” she was quick to note, raising her arm into the air slightly to force the sleeve of the kimono to drop slightly, before holding it back with her other hand while she reached for a drink. It seemed as if every action she made was planned out - holding back the sleeve would lessen the chances of her knocking the plate over with her sleeve. It seemed... minimal and trivial to think about, but for a woman like Yogensha, who was at complete peace mentally, it was only natural to think of the small things. “Thank you kindly,” she said politely as she retrieved a drink and pulled back her hand. Her eyes went over the young shinobi's face - she anticipated that he was either a genin sent here to orchestrate the smaller, menial tasks, or perhaps just a civilian. But looks were deceiving, she knew. In fact, even she herself looked more like a civilian - her kunai and shuriken were hidden under her kimono, in some straps that went around both of her legs. It was hard to see through the piece of clothing, but they were certainly there. “And you would be...?” she then inquired as politely as she could.

“Katso Omawari. I'm a genin from Konoha, so rest assured, you're in good hands.”

“Hm, I'm sure I am. Thank you Katso. I'll go back to waiting for the tournament to start.” She stifled a smile as the boy walked away, as he seemed to be a bit cocky - though, what genin wasn't cocky at their age? As she turned back to the screen, she raised the drink to her mouth and suspiciously sipped from it. You wouldn't tell from her face - she didn't move a muscle - but the taste was awful, and so she lowered the glass again and placed it on the nearby table. It seemed Konohagakure had a different idea about what a good drink tasted like.

Long time no see Konoha. Well, not really see. See, the real Jaakuna was dealing with his issues, but on the flip side there was his clones. This one in particular will be called Jaakuna, simply because why not. A simple disguise, a fox mask, somewhat formal arrangements in clothing, and a beard. Real life Jaakuna never grew a beard, so the clone transformed one on. He didn't even look like the sage at first glance, and by now those who really knew him where either A) dead, or B) unlikely to suspect he was a live. So began Operation: Grey Fox.

The clone didn't find it too hard to find the gathering point. First off because it was always obvious, and secondly, or maybe even thirdly, it was at the best place to view the challenges. The clone approached the door guard, all smiles and nodding. "Hello there." He said, adding a little wave for emphasis. The odd quirks he just couldn't shake.
"Do I know you?" The guard asked, adjusting his headband.
"Oh, I'm Tatsu Aka. Son of the honorable Jaakuna Aka." He lied. Using his own son as a disguise, how low. But, he doubted Tatsu was well known appearance-wise, as that son had given up on the ninja life long before Jaakuna met his death. Probably a shop keeper.
"Ah, of course, Mr. Aka!" the guard smiled. "I see you grew a beard. I heard you and your mother where away due to some disturbance at your father's grave."
"Oh, nothing serious. Turns out it was just a lightning storm." Jaakuna laughed, keeping up his lie. "But, I was hoping to view the games with the Hokage. He and my father got along rather well at one point, and I feel he'd be put at ease knowing the incident at the gravesite was nothing to worry about."
"Of course, I'll let him know, but he's giving the speech right now." The guard smiled and nodded, before opening the door wide. Jaakuna gave him a bow, and stepped into the room. Plopping down onto one of the elaborate seats with a sigh.

And then he paused, realizing that he wasn't alone. His gaze drifted to his right, looking over to that strange lady. She looked rather lovely, remind him almost distinctly of his fourth wife. But, he knew from a glance who she was. A kaguya. The forehead marks alone where a dead give away to shinobi who had fought in the last war.
"Ah, hello there." He smiled, bowing a little more than usual. "See, it's not the wine you want, but the fruit." He said, gesturing to the table before them. This gesture specifically resting on a bowl of strawberries. Plucking one from the bowl, he tossed it right into his mouth. He paused to chew, juices filling his mouth, and then swallowed it down. Leafy stem and all. "Hmmm, better than I remember."



BOOM! Glassy shards zipped over Bumu's head as she ducked, feeling it brush her hair before vanishing. Normally the fox would run as soon as anybody showed hostility, but as he was about to jump away, running from Kaba, she slipped on a puddle, and hit the ground. Having to listen to the hokage's speech from the floor as he tried to wipe out his clothing. Eesh, what boozo spilled beer onto the ground!? Wrinkling his snout, he stood up, just in time for his near first kill of the day to catch up. Only to be immediatly roped into being on Kaba's team. If not for the fact that she had almost gotten him killed, she'd have protested more.

"No lightning." Bumu said, hands on his hips. "You want red chunky sauce? That's how you get pasta sauce. I'm an explosive expert, and lightning sets off my bombs like you would not believe." Bumu explained, never meeting Kaba's eyes. Since Bumu seemed to always be squinting. "And... I may or may not know a third for our team. I just hope they ate breakfast."



"Alright, so... Shizuka..." Kurin was mostly all frowns. He'd pretty much ditched the red necks and their obsession with Hime, since he had over all things an obligation to find the best team to work with. Not because he aimed to win, but because Kurin tended to play defensively, and needed a strong offense that could work around his techniques. And he knew who Shizuka was as a person, and the Iwa team tended to not inspire that much confidence.

Kurin stood in front of Shizuka, having made his way over to him as soon as team shuffling had begun. "You and I should form a team. With my wood techniques, and your wind techniques, we'll be able to control the enviorment in a way that'll make the upcoming challenge an easy win." Kurin kept it simple, mostly because he knew Shizuka liked it easy, and like a spring breeze was easily distracted. "So, what do you say? Team? We'll easily find a third and fourth.

---

---

Hikaru had to use most of his willpower to avoid completely breaking his mysterious character - already pretty messed up by the fact that in despite of wearing his bandages in the usual purposefully lazy way and trying to maintain his eyes, the only visible part of his face, serious, the basket full of buns he carried in his left arm didn't exactly complement his attire - and start openly laughing as Trash Rumia openly ridiculed one of the candidates from Konoha by making him hold her freaking bottle of booze for her while she took a picture of herself with a nearby girl dressed in what Hikaru could only call as a dangerous outfit. No need to say that he felt even more compelled to laugh his ass off as the second hillbilly of the group - A girl named Kyola, unsurprisingly Rumia's cousin - joined the shitfest by trying to openly seduce the poor guy, managing to make the grin hidden under the bandage that covered Hikaru's face get even wider.

Before he could fail to restrain his urges and ultimately laugh, the salvation came in the form of the Hokage's announcement, that instantly caused most of the chūnins to quickly get desperate over the need of getting a team - something that Hikaru was fairly indifferent about, since for all he knew evdn if he didn't manage to find one, he could as well take the individual exams and blow away some random idiot to directly pass to the second stage of the exam.

In the end, though, he didn't even need to do so, as a girl from his village approached him and the other shady individual from their group - for he, much like Hikaru and his bandages, managed to stood up as quite the dangerous fellow - and not only shamelessly asked them to join right after admitting not knowing their name but directly announced which scroll she planned to take, the kind of straightforward act that Hikaru deeply appreciated in someone, for it saved him the need to guess their true intent.

"Since you asked so openly, I may as well join your team." He said in a surprisingly easygoing way, contradicting the somehow menacing appearance as he easily accepted the girls offer, using the small span of time provided by his answer to nod to the newcomer named Ayame, visibly acknowledging her presence and letting her introduce herself before continuing his own introduction. "I'm Hikaru, no fancy clan name in despite of being a Kekkei Genkai user." The man said in a half-joking way, purposefully making his introduction less serious. After all, he was somehow known due to his time in the explosion corps, and passing by the impression of being a lunatic, explosion addicted maniac wasn't exactly good for the team's moral. "As for the scroll, I'd prefer to take anything but lightning. It kinda makes it harder to explode things." He ended with a shrug, seemingly giving away a big part of his abilities without even thinking twice before.

---

---

Kamui was deeply bothered by such a waste of time. He was already pretty unsatisfied by how his elders seldomly decided to push him into such a bothersome thing such as the Jonin Exams, thing that they managed to do through the use of the most well known tatic in the book: Bribery - they made a vow saying that if he managed to pass, they'd stop bothering him definitively - but even after he was forced to partake in such a bothersome thing, he received get another bothersome new to make his hardly enjoyable day even worse: The exam was supposed to be taken either in teams formed by themselves or individual competitions and passing directly to the second phase of the exam.

While this would normally be quite the fair method to organize a competition, giving the lone wolfs the option to partake by themselves and letting people familiar to eachother make their teams while taking in account both, personal affinity and efficiency, in account, it was also specially frustrating for Kamui, who wasn't specially familiar with anyone in the village - more like not even averagely familiar, since the recently transferred boy wasn't really the kind of person who actively appreciated social interaction - and definitely didn't like the perspective of doing all the hard work by himself, for that would be a major break of his personal philosophy of always taking the easier way.

In the end, he decided for the easiest method he could think off: Tagging with someone near him who still hadn't a full team simply by standing near them. With such a shabby method - hardly fitting his supposedly above average intelligence - in mind, Kamui immediately proceeded to find his target - Uragiri Sakana. "Why him instead of any other incomplete group?" Some may ask... Well, Kamui himself had some troubles in defining that. It could be because he liked his attitude - being the first one to move to claim a scroll, without even trying to measure his opponents - how he decisively announced his utter belief in fate to the girl who was probably going to be his team mate - though it most certainly wasn't supposed to be eavesdroped by someone else - or even something as plain as the fact that Uragiri was conveniently closer to Kamui than the rest of the team leaders, but that wasn't the point, for the reasons behind the fact that Kamui decided to go for him where naught but an insignificant background info.

He quickly made his way to the younger Chūnin as soon aa he finished deciding their - for he already considered himself as being in the team - scroll, directly blocking his way to announce his desire to join his team in a way that could only be called as preposterous by anyone who didn't know how stingy Kamui was with his words - although it was actually a personal record for him, since he'd normally restrain himself to at most 4 words. "Name's Kamui Uzumaki, I'm joining you."

Shizuka Ichimi

---

Ninja’s poured in almost as if there was a bottleneck effect transpiring at the gates of the exam. One by one a new face Shizuka had never seen before entered, he never really cared to remember any of the faces of even ninja from his village, well that wasn’t from lack of trying, but rather out of sheer ignorance. Although it seemed like the Iwa ninja, who spoke funny as if there was something stuck in their nose, had an entourage as another girl entered the scene and spoke in the same way as the one who had been antagonizing the uptight Senju boy and the dumb leaf old lady. Whatever it was it seemed the two iwa ninja’s were antagonizing the two, but Shizuka was more focused on the pinnacle of all life which was the purity that lied in womens panties. The snow white glisten that emanated from under Hime’s dress sent a rush of euphoria into Shizuka’s ever perplexing mind.

However Shizuka seemed rather sad, no one had been paying him any attention nor did they seem to notice the death of his strudel who had by now been trampled with dust and dirt. Had he not made a grand enough entrance? No, that couldn’t have possibly been it he shot out a gust of wind that would sprawl out a normal human. Was he not loud enough in his introduction? No! He had made his presence known with a commanding introduction, he even stuck his hand out in greeting! Slowly the spark started to illuminate the light bulb in his head. More and more juice flooded his head until the light bulb shattered completing his thought process. Shizuka snapped in having discovered his epiphany. “That’s right I don’t have boobs!” he exclaimed. Although that was more than likely not the answer, they most likely ignored him dude to how easy people found him to be ignorable for how annoying and loud he was. Shizuka however, was none the wiser.

“Hmm maybe if I learn a jutsu that gives me boobs or makes me a girl, I think I know someone from the leaf that knows that ability. But the Senju is a boy, so maybe I need to learn how to keep a stick in my butt too.” Shizuka clearly talking to himself, but in an audible volume where anyone around him could hear. Rumia had made a rude gesture in the direction that was clearly meant for him. “Huh I wonder why she’s flipping off the Hokage?” Shizuka shrugged “Must be for the Hokage, Iwa Shinobi sure do have weird customs for different villages.” Just then Shizuka saw the miracle of life occur, a trash can had enveloped his poor strudel and sent it to a proper grave. Without realizing that Kurin had created said trash can, Shizuka without skipping a beat blew into his hands creating the sound reminiscent of a trumpet as he commemorated the honorable service his strudel had served in this cut throat ninja world.

Just then his service was interrupted by the weird senju boy for some reason as he began speaking in his direction while making eye contact. “Rum and Kika? Those are strange names. Iwa is a strange place I wonder why my mom wants me to meet her there. I don’t think I would learn much from them besides their funny voices.” Just then Kurin stopped talking and managed to catch a bottle Rum had dropped “Pretty clumsy eh?” again not knowing who he was addressing. However the Senju keep insisting on claiming Shizuka’s attention, now completely bored and forgetting what he was even doing decided to finally listen to Kurin. “Yes stick boy?!” Shizuka retorted respectfully seeing as Kurin seemed to follow that archetype, despite actually lacking respect. “Oooo a team! What do we need a team for? You want me to be on your team? I’ve never been on many teams they usually kick me out after I blow stuff up. Although I don’t know what you do, but I guess we can change the world.” Shizuka rambled as having completely ignored the Hokage’s message in his grief.

“Yeah team! Leave it to me stick man I’ll find suitable mates for us.” Shizuka patted the Senju’s head, before grabbing him and running on the air towards what he thought would be a suitable partner. Shizuka’s eyes narrowed in focus as he found his next ally despite whether they said no or not, it simply wasn’t an answer he would take, arrogance or stupidity was still left undecided. Even though Shizuka seemed stupid he was always very perceptive and scholarly, despite seeming fixated on his strudel and the ninja in front of him he could feel the air blowing around him as it carried information to him like any passing breeze. This Kunoichi seemed special and she had a special scent to her that made him feel at ease like his mother once did when he was a child. Running at blazing speed with Kurin in tow, Shizuka dashed in front of Kiku, cutting off her designated route.

Breaking immediately Shizuka made sure he was mere centimeters from Kiku’s face as he stared her down. “Why do you wear that mask? You have beautiful eyes, I haven’t seen ones that were so light.” Shizuka was rather abrasive, but he could never tell a lie. “I’m Shizuka and this is stick man. Please be on our team, we’re going to be the environment, right Sticky?” Shizuka turned to ask Kurin half wondering if he had survived their little road trip.
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@Pirouette@GlitchyBugger

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Oh shit, the goodie two shoes actually trash canned the bottle. A squint, followed by a growing desire to expulse her very rapid accumulation of frustration. Rumia did NOT appreciate this gesture, but for the sake of progress and the fact that the Hokage did an interesting, the hooligan would orient her attention to the authorities. For now. While the gist of it was comprehended, the details flew through her left ear and wormed itself out of the right almost instantly. Kyoka was to take note of the nuances and such.

And like that, interest in the booze and Kurin had completely vanished. Focus on the reason she even bothered to come to this dump resurfaced, albeit probably for only a short while. Shinrikyo's lack of discipline would be the wood user's salvation today.

"... Well golly me cuz. We gotta actually WORK fer our keep."

An amused chuckle, as she'd guide her attention to the scrolls in which the Kage had set the emphasis upon in his speech. Something about gathering them. Simple enough, for this ginger's simple mind. Her orange gaze would be particularly attracted to one of them, because there'd suddenly be a sixth one. Things needed to change, not always convenient to the IC, but the task was now for every team to choose a scroll and gather it. They could probably compete against another, but no point in making this job any harder. Mentions of the earth and lightning one were already made. Scratching those ones off the options.

"I reckon ... We go fer the special one."

In her pause, she'd point at the Yin-Yang, suddenly manifested, sixth scroll. Convenience. It'd serve as a means for the rest of the gang to acknowledge this interesting little factor.

"How'bout Hime comes with us, cuz? I ain't in the mood to fish out two new fresh faces. This cutie-pie will fit the gun. Won't she? One down, one to go~"

The trailer trash grinned at the direction of Hime, as her accent-coated suggestion was proposed to Kyoka. The tone made it seem almost rhetorical, and imposing. As if they didn't really have a choice in the matter, Rumia had made her choice, and saying no to someone like her didn't seem like the most brilliant of initiatives.

Arms crossed, her brown eyes would admire once more the inevitable prize at hand. The Hokage's call was quite disconcerting, given just how loud the guy was. But hey, that's how Rumia rolled too. That and, well, there was just a menacing aura surrounding his being, even if he seemed far too jolly to be a threat. Someone this primitive did have to rely on instinct more often than naught.

Now, they just had to find someone else to fill the squad. Perhaps a one of the fat kids left behind. One our menacing friend could pick on and serve as punching bag for team degenerate.