[IC] Naruto : The Rise of The New Generations

[Aeris]

Tora Fumetsu - Amegakure

Tora wiped his sweaty forehead while exhaling a breath which he had been holding since Hoshi placed the kunai against his neck. Under pressure? I was... entirely sure you meant... under a death-threat... He mentally scolded the more experienced jounin, though on the outside, he just smiled and nodded as she said that their training was done- even saying that the chance for an actual spar would happen soon. The genin... wasn't sure of how he felt about that. A spar.. he'd get destroyed in the first few minutes, there was no chance he could ever take someone like the jounin commander. Their levels were outrageously different. Anyway, the boy watched as she began walking towards the door and quickly followed after the sensei.

Then, she mentioned about dispelling a genjutsu- and Tora quickly asked, poking a finger against the side of his head. "Uh, Hoshi... When everything was dark, I kept feeling something strange in here." For extra emphasis, he made a circle on his own head using his index finger, then clasped his hands behind him. "Does that happens whenever we get caught under a genjutsu? I swear I could feel as if there was something inside my head which shouldn't be there- messing around with my chakra's flow. It felt pretty bad, but the worse part was not being able to take it away. I'm glad you'll teach me how to do so." He grinned, shrugging his shoulders right after. A sensor-nin... Yeah, he truly had no capability to be one. Neither the desire; Tora wanted to become strong and while he knew the importance of sensor-nin, he was much more interested in being the one protecting them.

[Gerontis]

???

The closing on a plan!

---

Kumogakure

The man looked around. So far the place was peaceful. And why wouldn't it be? Kumogakure was thriving a bit again under the leadership of the Fifth Raikage. Unlike some of his predecessors, he was trying to make the Cloud prosper and not just trying to sit in the seat of the leader. The man nervously rubbed his chin before he went back to walk his round. Soon he would do what was required of him to execute the plan. It was very risky, but the rewards would be great.

---

Konohagakure

''No sign?'' She asked as the man shook his head. The pair were walking through the busy streets of Konohagakure. Ordinary merchants. ''I guess that we do need to figure something out. If we won't make the next step, then the others will kill us.'' It became for a bit quiet between the two. Then the man spoke. ''Listen, we will just try to follow the first plan we have. Else we can still do the back up plan.'' This caused the woman to shoot a glance in his direction and looked worried.

''Fine.''

---

Amegakure

''The location is merely unknown to most. After all, he has been quiet and peaceful for quite some time after its last action.'' A man said. The three men were sitting in a calm bar. With each a pint, they looked like normal patrons of the bar. Another man spoke up, scoffing before he spoke. ''Then it won't be a trouble to perform what we had planned.'' He said with a growing grin. Though it made the man who had first spoken to grin as well, the third man frowned after he had taken a sip of his pint. ''I doubt that. Keep in mind that it might not work like its planned. There are still many flaws.'' This caused the two others to nod as their grin faded away. Then the first man spoke up again.

''But its time to move out. We are running out of time.''

---

Kirigakure

The mist was annoying in the opinion of the man. He rubbed the back of his head as the boat slowly went to the island. It was one of the smaller islands where he and his group would meet another group. Coughing, he looked over his shoulder at the "package". Soon two of the subjects would be close to each other. Not the situation that eased many, but it was ordered from higher up. So they had to do it. ''How is subject six?'' The man asked on a hushed tone. It took few moments before an answer was given back.

''Stable.. For now.''

[Gerontis]

Hiron Hon
Konohagakure Jounin | Team 9

The question of Masami, if he wished to join his students was met with a light headshake. ''Sorry, but I need to head home. My wife won't like it if I will just stay long away without checking or coming by every once in a while.'' He told them. Hiron thought about Keiko and Aimi, but decided to not further continue on that matter. Looking at each of his students, he said something else. ''Also, I want each one of you to be ready tomorrow. We'll be doing a more harsher training to see what you're made off. For now, take the day off.'' Turning around, Hiron shoved both his hands down to the pockets of his pants as he already started to walk away. ''Till tomorrow.''

Walking down the streets to his home, Hiron had a calm expression on his face. Wondering if Keiko and Aimi were home, he also wondered about Kiyomi. The last one was likely busy with either a mission, training or some other duty. For a moment he saw the little girl with white hair, coming running home from the academy to tell about her day and adventures. Though he never had stop to love the more serious and level headed person that Kiyomi had become, Hiron was still fond of the days when she was a simple Academy student. Back then, it seemed that everything was more or less peaceful. Opening the door of his home, he sighed before he said, ''I am home.'' Closing the door behind him and taking out his sandals, he walked to the living room. The rest of the day would likely be spending time around his family before he would meet his students again.

[Maria 127]

Mia Inuzuka - Team 9

Mia listened and watched her team mates reaction to the news that she held back, Masami didn't look pleased, and she hid it well but Mia was very good a reading body language, and body language was a hard thing to control. Hmmm how can i solve this, before there becomes an issue of trust within the team? Thats when Masami offered everyone a cup of tea. Mia smiled, this was her chance to explain herself.

"i'm up for it then maybe i can explain to you guys why i held back a bit. "Oh and sparing is always fun." she said smiling.

[Little Alice]

Mika Hayashi
Kirigakure Jounin,
Team 14

''Annoying pest. Fuck. Off.''

The cold words of Mika were spoken as she glanced at Chou. The genin had approached her and had came too near to Mika's likening. It was highly unwise to approach a trained killer that distrusted you. The woman jumped, moving a bit away from Chou and something that was flickering in the light and was moving towards Chou's face. A kunai. The weapon was thrown before the jump to cut and warn Chou that Mika didn't like the fact the girl had approached her and tried to touch her, without any warning.

Landing on a branch, the woman briefly looked to the genin. Raising some killing intent, the jounin scoffed. ''If you want to touch somebody, you can go somewhere else. Fall back in line and do what was ordered. Else I will aim a second more and mark your forehead with a kunai.'' Mika coldly sneered. She found it strange that Chou had tried to touch her without any word or question. It felt out of line and that was why Mika had reacted as such. Further more, it was seriously starting to bother her that Chou was half listening to the orders. The fact Chou had pointed, thus ordered, the other two to kill somebody, was something that had been an annoyance to Mika.

In the opinion of Mika, Chou was getting really cocky and wanted nothing more to beat her up and teach her a lesson. To know her place. However, it wasn't the place nor the time. And if the Mizukage would learn that students were beaten and wounded because they were too cocky, that would mean trouble for Mika. Not something she wished to have either.

[Mr Nim]

Chou Minori

Just barely dodging the kunai sent by her sensei, Chou landed on a branch in a bit of a distance from Mika and listened. After hearing what the woman said coldly, she gave a cold glance back "I couldn't do what you ordered me, because that would mean I would be forced to drag Haruhi on the ground with difficutly, and thus, be left behind and be punished for it. I assumed Rai is stronger and would be capable of carrying her without any difficulty." She said, explaining with her cold tone why she hadn't tried to carry Haruhi.

"As for why I tried to touch you, it was for my Kekkei Genkai." She said and pointed at her eye, which was still black with the small white dot in the middle, but soon enough it changed back to normal "I require just a bit of chakra, which can be passed through touch, to be able to track people down up to a certain distance. This can allow me to do calculated moves and know exactly where is who, and if someone tries to trick me by disguising themselves, it will never work. Bad thing about my kekkei genkai is that it makes my sight more limited. Now you know what I know about my kekkei genkai, or as I like to call it, my damned eye." She said and then turned away before moving back in the direction of Rai and the unconcious Haruhi.

Landing on a branch near them, Chou watched and waited to see if he will need help carrying her, or will he do just fine on his own. What she knew, however, was that she hated her sensei even more now.

[Fieryfly]

Eiji Emiya

"Trees." Eiji replied only to Kuni. He didn't waste anymore time on the matter but urged both Shiro and Kuni to move. He was aware that the other new addition of his team would be waiting in the trainingsfacility. They had just taken a slight... detour. And it had proven something, or at least Eiji hoped it did. To him it showed that the team needed to learn how to listen properly.

But it was not the time for lectures now. They ran through the forest, no more explosions in their path. The red haired ninja knew there were no more because had created them himself. The air was still heavy, but being among the trees for a while made it seem lighter. When they would emerge from the forest the air would suddenly feel empty for a reason, as if the humidness inside had become sustainable. Eiji sniffed, but kept up the pace.

Soon Amekagure could be seen again, a differenec part from where they set off. New buildings stood silent in the light drizzle that had started. "We are going to train in there." Eiji said. "Our third teammember should be in there. You'll be the first whole team to check it out." Without giving Kuni time to reply he ran forward again until they stood before the building. The shinobi guarding the place nodded at him and let him pass without any difficulty. Within minutes they would find themselves observing Hoshi, Amegakure's Jounin Commander, training with his new Genin. He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and waited for them to finish or to notice him.

[Lesli]

Aiko Cho-Hon,
Konohagakure Jounin-sensei of Team 8

The main gate. The woman turned her head around to look at the genins of her team. They had listened and no trouble had arised. Actually, a bit of a shame she thought. Both of them had gone already through some stuff. Certainly Koike, who had even been in the fight within the Rice Capital that time ago. And both had seen the oppression of Shoji and fought in the rebellion. She took a decision. ''Alright, the mission was a success. Well done. Now, you're free to take the day off. Tomorrow I want each of present on a different field. I will leave the notes as like before.'' Aiko told them with a polite and friendly tone before she suddenly vanished.

Though she wasn't one to worry or to rush anything, she was heading towards her home. With the use of her speed and Silent Killing mastery, she was using both of them to getting avoid to be seen so that nobody could stop her for a talk. All she was interested in was to get home. And within a half a hour she managed to get home. Unlocking the door, the jounin didn't even put off her sandals. Closing the door behind her, she quickly walked towards the stairs and went to a room.

Seeing it was noon, it was like she had expected. They were taking their nap. Letting out sigh, she went to the bed that produced the sounds she found soothing. A little girl and boy were laying next to each other. Happy to see her children like that, Aiko felt suddenly tired. Turning around, she unzipped her flak jacket as she went downstairs again. Figiki Hon, the young man that watched over the children just came out of the kitchen and smiled. ''A tea please, Figiki-kun.'' Aiko said. The young man barely ever said anything, but was a person that could be trusted. Dropping herself on the couch, Aiko sighed again and then was pondering on what she could do. Maybe it was time she was going to take a day off herself?

[Lesli]

Meisa Ichi,
The Hokage assistant

Meisa wasn't present in the Hokage Office, but on top of the building. She held several documents in her hand as she looked over the village she dearly loved. The reason she wasn't at the side of Hisoka was because she had to take care of Team 4. They would head on another mission that was required for them to perform. As well, did she had a mission for Team 7. Realizing what she was going to tell them, there was little other choice they had. And it was better if she would do it than Hisoka for a time. He would need to attend to some more important things at the moment.

For a moment, Meisa was wondering if Sakamato was doing alright. She knew how he could be, but she had made sure that Mayumi was fine. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she wanted to head home and see that little girl growing up. It was always fun to see her discovering new things, learning from her mistakes and giving answers to questions that somehow always cracked up the mood of people. Leaning forward on the railing, she sighed, not minding to wait while the pleasant weather was present.

[Roran Hawkins]

Kensuke Nimatsu & Ezuri Hyuuga
Team 7

Sheathing his blade again he peered around, and looked at the clone approaching him. He hesitated in cutting it in half, for it might just be the real genin himself, but when it dispersed the real Ezuri suddenly jumped towards him, or so it seemed, ready to duel him. "Duel me? That isn't the purpose of this excercise. That tree over there is about 20 meters too tall however, and is in a dire need of being cut down." He said, looking at the genin. In the meantime, a shadow clone of himself was hiding in the branches of the tree, ready to intercept any attacks, should this be a distraction. And boy, he did hope it was one, because this was completely the opposite of what he wanted to see.

Ezuri was ready to fight his sensei, his muscles tensioned. He knew the jounin were no pushovers like his classmates, he found that out during his fight against Kiyomi-san last week. He made the fault to take the initiative in the fight against her without first analyzing what she was capable of. He knew he had a better chance to hit his assilant if he was on the defending side, at least, when they were more skilled them himself. "The tree is too big to topple by simple ninjutsu, it can't be the real task" he quickly threw a glance at the tree again. His byakugan didn't fail to notice the shadow clone hiding in the treetops when he was examing the tree. "Fight me Kensuke-Sensei and I'll show you what I'm capable of" said Ezuri with an overwhelming amount of confidence.

"But that isn't the exercise, Ezuri. This tree is perfectly destroyable. It isn't as humongously thick as those around Konoha. It's just an old Oak tree." He replied, remaining in a battle stance, ready to defend his life and that of the tree. The boy in front of him disappointed him, but that couldn't be helped. The goal was cutting down the tree, but instead he was challenging him to a duel. Should he have been an enemy nin, the young Hyuga'd be long dead. He just didn't seem to grasp what this excercise was all about. Then again, it was the goal to teach them that, but he had had an idle hope somewhere that they'd know already.

The young boy didn't bet all his money on one horse, he had positioned himself so that his sensei stood between him and the tree, should his attack miss, he would at least strike the tree. Flicking his eyes up and down to also keep an eye on Nimatsu's shadow clone he thought up a battle plan. Once he knew what he would do he readied himself. He waited for just a moment before acting as his sensei didnt seem to want to make the fist move. Ezuri pretended do dash forward but jumped a few meters back and drew a kunai in a split second which he immediately hurled at the shadow clone. At almost the same time he took a shot at his sensei, who stood in front of the tree, with the eight trigrams air palm jutsu. He followed his attack at high speed, running towards his target.

At least he had some tactical insight and some speed to back up his tragical warrior disorder. However, the clone easily parried the kunai with his katana, and Kensuke himself countered the air burst with his own falcon wing. He used quite abit of chakra in it, so after overpowering the Hyuga boy's move, it'd continue going straight at him with enough force to knock a grown man off his feet. His clone threw a spread of several shuriken in the meantime to make dodging even harder, while also keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings of the tree. Kensuke himself prepared to defend the tree once more should Ezuri break through his barrage of attacks.

Of course his attacks didnt work, would he never learn? Ezuri found himselfbeing in quite a nasty position. The burst of air conjured by Kensuke flew right at him and the shuriken coming from above made clear that the shadow clone was still up as well. Dodging seemed impossible, there was only one way out "Hakkesho Kaiten!" Ezuri stopped in his tracks and come to a standstill sliding. He spun around at high speed releasing chakra from every tenkensho in his body. he didnt mastered the technique fully so the defensive power was not optimal but it should be able to stop the attacks Nimatsu threw at him.

He stopped spinning as soon as the shuriken were deflected and the air burst from the falcon wing passed harmlessly. Ezuri threw some kunai at the shadow clone. (he could easily pinpoint its position due to his byakugan) "Shuriken mizu bunshin no jutsu!" The kunai multiplied by three, the clone would have a really hard time dodging this, if it was able. Ezuri focussed at Kensuke again, and on the tree behind him. He needed to get past his sensei and he figured it would be the easiest if the man came to him. Ezuri took on a defensive stance and waited for his sensei to act.

The clone noticed the incoming danger and charged his blade with chakra, firing yet another falcon wing attack directed at the kunai, which made some of them stop mid-air, but even sent several back towards the Hyuuga boy. Kensuke in the meantime just stood idle, protecting the tree. To signify he was having too much free time, he even went as far as to yawn.

Ezuri was baffled by the clones power, he never saw a clone able to withstand an attack like he just launched. and to top it off his sensei was just provoking him. anger welled up in Ezuri, he quickly took a one of his last kunai out and blocked the incoming ones with it. the chakra reserve of the young boy was nothing special, if he were to cut the tree he would need his shotei and sixteen palms jutsu. Using a little chakra he conjured up two water clones and sent them into the tree to deal with the shadow clone so he himself could deal with his sensei "show me some taijutsu Kensuke-sensei, I've heard you are one of the best around when it comes to that" now that wasn't entirely true but he hoped his sensei would come at him so he would have a chance to strike at him AND the tree.

The shadow clone leaped out of the tree and engaged both water clones at the same time, before they could reach the tree. It wouldn't last long, but at least it'd buy him enough time to deal with Ezuri attacking him. Kensuke in the meantime gave the Hyuuga boy a skeptical look as he summoned another shadow clone. "Well, come and try me." He said, hands in his pockets, awaiting any attacks from Ezuri. He refused to attack his students if they didn't even bother to attack the tree. After all, he didn't want to maim them or anything. Glancing at the lifeless body of the other teammate he corrected himself. Not maim them too badly. The two shadow clones he summoned joined the combat against Ezuri's water clones and quickly turned the tide. It was amusing that he said that he was renowned for his taijutsu. He was pretty surprisingly good at it, as it complemented his kenjutsu, the skill he was known for.

Ezuri's eyebrow started to twitch. It was something that happened occasionally when he was nervous or angry and right now, he was both. He looked at the two shadow clones and the puddle of water at their feet. his sensei behind them "How can I even try to hit the damn tree if I cant even reach it"[b] mumbled the boy. He could never do this on his own. That made him think of his teammates, the little girl who laid unconcious at the foot of the hill and the Inuzuka girl, who never showed up. Ezuri worked up quite rage [b]"This is SO unfair!" he shouted out. Unthoughtful, leaving his defense open and let his anger fuel his attack, closing the distance between him and the shadow clones he waited till the last minute to throw a kunai at them, they could impossibly dodge or block them because it was at such a close range and high velocity. He planned to continue in a straight line to his sensei and jump in the air to use a shotei attack. He would come down roaring on top of his sensei should he not be interrupted.

The boy was pitiful. He was cursed with the same warrior-syndrome as most genin had, but in this case it was pretty bad. He let his anger influence him way too much and went for an all-out charge against his two clones, throwing two kunai at them as he charged from a very close range. However, he underestimated his attacks, as the kunai he had thrown from so close were still parried by both clones. They were clones of a kenjutsu master, and as such were used to blocking lightning fast melee attacks. A close range kunai throw was nothing more than a fast stabbing attack, and as a result quickly countered. As he attempted to charge past both clones, they stuck out their legs, attempting to make him trip him quite comically should he not dodge, which Kensuke deemed nigh impossible due to his anger.

Ezuri was surprised the clones parried his attack and cursed from the inside. his anger made him blind for the legs the clones stuck out to make him trip. He fell for the childish trick and almost fell flat on his face but he managed to stay on his feet and resumed his assault hoping he would be faster than the shadow clones if they chose to persue him.

Kensuke stepped forwards quickly while unsteahing his blade for an upwards diagonal slice charged with a falcon wing attack, enough to blast him a few meters back, while his clones ran after him. Due to the stumbling act he'd have next to no chance of blocking his sudden attack, and should he somehow take it without being blasted backwards, his sudden move forwards would make sure any attacks would have to be done hastily, and inefficiently.

With a high jump and even higher hopes Ezuri thought his chance of hitting his sensei was 100%. Kensuke proved him wrong as the man shot another falcon wing attack at him. Ezuri got hit mid-air and was blasted backwards even over the clones who tried to catch up with him. The young boy landed hard on his back, all air was pressed out of his lungs, he gasped and got up slowly. "If the man is so fond of his falcon wing why wouldnt he just..." that is when he came to a sudden realisation. he was doing this all wrong from the beginning! Ezuri thought up a plan on how he could position himself between the tree and his sensei and then let Kensuke use his falcon wing. Ezuri ran back to the bushes where he conjured his 20 water clones earlier to replenish some chakra and buy himself some time to think.

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, he let the boy run. Both clones climbed in the tree and took a branch to nap on while Kensuke himself sat down, and grabbed a book out of one of his pockets. "Sojutsu in the Warring States period" It was a very interesting subject about the century long tradition of non-shinobi and their use of spears during the period of warring clans that lasted from about 50 years after the Sage's death up untill some 60 years ago, when the Shinobi nations were created. He was surprised b the boy's sudden change of mood and tactics, and simply awaited him now. His eyes scanned the paper while his ears, nose and acute sort of sixth sense, a feeling he had developped together with his killing intent sensing ability that had saved him from an ambush more than once, did the same. "I'm altering the time frame of the exercise. If the tree isn't cut at 10:00 you fail the test." He added casually, knowing that he'd only have at best 30 minutes left. Perhaps that'd spur him into action.

Ezuri grumbled at the remark of his sensei what was just barely audible from this distance. He now knew what he needed to do. He conjured as many water clones as his chakra reserve allowed and sent them around around but in a bigger arc, it would take them some longer but also made them harder to notice. Ezuri observed with his byakugan and think up a tactic. As soon as he knew what he was going to do he came out of hiding, four water clones at his side and casually walked up to the tree. Another five water clones came from the right, five from the left, and the last five from behind. Kensuke could probably not tell which one was the real Ezuri and he took andvantage of that. He and his clones fanned out, zizagging to distract Kensuke and his clones from divergent movement. Kunai from every direction flew at Kensuke and the tree, aimed at the shadow clones while Ezuri and his clones kept circling around tree.

Noticing the clones behind of him and infront of him he put the book away again to take a look at them, as he seemed to make a large move right now. Some 19 water clones, a very impressive number for a mere genin. He was curious if he could match his talent for jutsu and taijutsu as a Hyuga with his tactical insight. Perhaps he'd even come close to the tree now. Considering the large amount of clones summoned he knew each one had a minimal amount of chakra to be able to overwhelm him, something that had been tried on him before. Something that never quite worked up untill now, and he was curious to see how his student would begin this fight.

The kunai flying around his ears wasn't as much of a problem, since his clones dropped from the tree and started deflecting any kunai that would hit them or eachother's backs. The fanning movement of all clones trying to distract him, with Ezuri somewhere in there, was a nice plan, if not for his dojutsu. In any case, he and all of his clones did a horizontal falcon blade attack towards the approaching horde with quite few chakra, most certainly enough to eradicate any clone, but not enough to outright kill Ezuri, should he be hit. The clones circling around the tree were easy targets in any case, and should Ezuri try anything, he had at least a dozen more tricks up his sleeve.

Ezuri and his clones foresaw the attack of their sensei. of course he was going to use the falcon, blade, that was the plan. but he used it outward, not inward. Some clones ducked, some jumped and some just weren't fast enough. about half his clones did not make it and splashed out into little puddles. Ezuri cursed form the inside. He had to step it up. He attacked each of the shadow clones with four waterclones. throwing kunai to buy time, time that was needed to close the distance. surely four of him should have the edge in taijutsu against one of him.

Ezuri and his remaining two waterclones went after the real Kensuke, or rather tried to place themselves between the tree and their sensei. If he suceeded in that he would have his clones hammer away at the tree while he would keep his sensie busy, or at least have him use the falcon blade. Ezuri hoped his plan would work out.

His pupil's mastery over the water clone jutsu was admirable, considering half of them dodge his lightning fast attack, but the quantity of clones heavily diminished the quality of them, and his clones, armed with their katana, could easily hold their own against the four weaker water clones sent at each of them. However, three versions of Ezuri charged straight at him, and he fired a falcon wave technique at them as they charged in. The wide Horizontal gust of air would be more than enough to knock down a grown-up man, and because of the widthness of the move, nigh impossible to dodge in the same way as he had done before. And should he come close somehow, he'd learn him not to underestimate a shinobi who had been considered one of Konoha's best at close combat fighting eversince he was 17.

Ezuri saw the attack coming, it was the signature move of his sensei and because of his byakugan he could react lightning fast ot the moves of his opponent. He made a sliding. his clones however were not so lucky and were hit. behind him Ezuri heard the poofing of some clones that fought Kensuke's shadow clones. two clones, one of each group split off the group and started jamming away at the three, but before they close enough some kunai from the shadow clones found them as they finished off the other water clones. Ezuri breathed heavily, this was going nowhere. "Kensuke... sensei... watashi- watashiha mitomeru (I concede)" Ezuri realized he could not defeat his sensei nor cut down the three and his plan to dodge a falcon wing that would hit the tree failed as well. he did everyhting he could. the young boy dropped to his knees, doing his best not faint of exhaustion and excessive chakra usage.

Ready to deliver a final blow to 'discourage' his perky opponent, he stopped the sword halfwayhis attack, and let the chakra from the sword dissipate as it accutely stopped right before Ezuri's face. "Very well." He said, sheating his blade and dismissing his shadow clones. He stood back upright and waited untill his student would stand up again, noticing how the other genin was being dragged away by concerned bystanders. He knew she wasn't dead, and she failed the test horribly. None of his concerns. Despite being a friendly person, or rather because he was a friendly person, he was very strict concrning his students. He wanted to train them to become good, well enough to not die in a real situation where they would be clearly outmatched. The perk that has made Team 4 under his command such an asset to Konoha.

"Stand up Ezuri. Despite being on your own, you did considerably well for a mere genin, straight out of the academy. Your mastery of the water clone jutsu for a Hyuga is astonishing, but nothing to be proud of yet. In any case, you passed my test. That poor excuse of a shinobi over there didn't." He told the panting genin in front of him, who was clearly at his limits. However, he was still young, and would be quickly able to fight again.

"Take some rest for today. We'll meet here again tomorrow."

---

The next day Kensuke rolled his shoulders as to get rid of the last stiffness in them. He had slept pretty bad and the overal clumsy stiffness was still present in his shoulders. Luckily he wouldn't have to do much excersice today. His students on the other hand... In any case, he had heard that the Inuzuke student he had initially failedfor absence had been excused by the academy due to medical reasons or something like that, and that she'd be present today. Team 2 would be joining them too today. He was curious to meet this Hayate Hyuzu from which he had heard so much from Kiyomi... Nevermind having done a small training with him in the past. It would be interesting for sure, as he had a metal-manipulating kekkei genkai.

The soft winter breeze failed to chill him as spring was on the horizon. He never fancied the winter anyways. Regardless, waiting at trainingfield 13 once more for his students Ezuri Hyuga, Hayate Hyuzu and Shisen Inuzuka, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and enjoyed the cold morning breeze. "Which one of them will be late..." He muttered to himself, thinking that actually he should wonder which one of the students would actually be on time instead. 9'a clock at training field 13. The note he had delivered should have been clear enough. Problem would most likely be that they'd read it only after waking up, way too late. But maybe he was just imagining things. He had no right to judge them yet, as so far, he hadn't really gotten a decent expression from them.

What took them so long?

[ChromeHound]

Hayate Hyūzu
Konoha - Team 2

Early mornings had become a routine while training under Kiyomi, and Hayate found himself awake by just after five in the morning. After rolling out of bed and dressing, Hayate started his morning with a run around Azumi, taking in the crisp air and enjoying the peace and quiet. When he had finished his run, Hayate did some brief exercises and then took a shower. Changing into fresh clothes, he read the note he had received from Kensuke Nimatsu. Putting the note down, he realized that he still had a couple of hours before he would have to meet with his new temporary team. Throwing his jacket on, Hayate exited his room and headed towards the attached tea house. Sitting down inside, he ordered a tea and then sat, staring through the windows towards the beautiful gardens. Once his tea arrived he sipped at it, enjoying the taste, and the warmth.

Hayate stayed in the tea house until the time when he had to leave. He had watched the sunrise while sipping his second cup of tea, but now it was time for him to move out. Paying the server, Hayate left the tea house and began walking towards the training fields. When he finally arrived he saw that Kensuke was the only one there. It was still a little before nine, and so Hayate thought that the others would probably be on their way. Approaching Kensuke, Hayate smiled and raised a hand in greeting. "Good morning Kensuke-sensei! It is good to see you again." A part of him wondered if Kensuke would even remember him. It had been quite some time since they had trained together

[Roran Hawkins]

Kensuke Nimatsu
Konoha Team 7

Turning around to see the origin of the sound, a smile broke through on his face. The boy had grown. "Ah, Hayate. You're here early, which is nice. In any case, Kiyomi's too busy doing her job as a Hokage's assistant today, so you'll be tagging along my squad for today. We have a mission today, and an interesting one at that.But, I'll wait with the briefin untill everyone's here. I'm not briefing it anyways, so we'll have to wait regardless." He greeted the boy. Yes, he seemed definately taller than the last time he had met him. However, he still was quite small compared to himself. Who wasn't actually? Few reached up to his height, and one of those was Zakito, who hardly ever did anything but tree-napping anymore.

[Little Alice]

Learning the Boring Stuff
Hisoka Uchiha and Kiyomi Hon-Sato

A collab between Fieryfly and Little Alice

Summary :

Kiyomi heading towards the Hokage Office and spending the day to work with Hisoka.

Work?

When the knock on the door came Hisoka didn't look up from the paper before him. With a certain grace he finished his signature while calling: "Come in." to the door before him. He placed the paper to his right where a considerable amount of sheets had formed a considerable tall tower. "Please sit down." He said before Kiyomi had good and well entered the room. He gestured to his right.

Walking into the Hokage Office, Kiyomi bowed before she moved to the right of Hisoka. Eying the paperwork, she decided to report in first. ''The mission was a success. I have seen some promising work from the genin, Hayate. Leo Hasewaga sadly wasn't there to help to subdue the animal, but both are now ordered to meet up with Team Nimatsu.'' Kiyomi's green eyes glanced to the paperwork. She had a bad feeling about it. ''But is there something you wish from me, Lord Hokage-sama?'' Kiyomi asked.

The Hokage added another paper to the pile before looking up and nodding. "Good work. I'm sure Kensuke will be delighted with some more people to drill into the art of swordmanship." He said in a slightly joking way. He leaned back in his chair and observed his apprentice. "Yes." He replied simply to her question. "You are aware that your duties to your team are only a small part of your duties as Hokage Apprentice. The other part is way less glamorous, but is something you will have to deal with. These duties will take up the rest of your day. I take it that that is not a problem." Before Lilia could answer Hisoka continued talking and placed his hand on the pile of paper.. "These here are mission reports. You know them, of course. You fill them out yourself. 3 months worth of missions that need to be reviewed and filed according to type of mission and the name of the shinobi. As Hokage I need to be aware what my subordinates are doing and check if nothing is going wrong. So we are going to read these and file them correctly."

At first Kiyomi felt the need to sigh, but she didn't. Understanding that this was required of her, she simply nodded. ''I will do my best, Hokage-sama.'' Kiyomi said as she looked at the pile of paper work. It would likely take the whole day. If not three! It was something that she already disliked, but the importance was outweighted the boredom and dislike she already harbored for the paperwork. ''Ready when you are, Hisoka-sama.'' Kiyomi said, already trying to pay attention to what report they would first read together.

Hisoka shove the pile towards Kiyomi as he took out another package from his drawer. "Go ahead. You'll read by yourself. If you think you see anything that is strange, speak up." He gave her a look. "Understand thus that I am trusting you here with this reading. I will not read those myself. It is up to your judgement. Your decisions on what to notice and what to skip can make a huge difference. So read carefully."

Nodding, she searched for a chair and then moved it to the desk to sit down next to Hisoka. The pressure that was placed on her shoulders was something that bothered her at first. She didn't want to make any mistake, but Hisoka wouldn't let her do this if he had no trust or faith in her. Picking the first report, she began to read. It was about a team that had helped to rebuild a fence. A team of starting genins. That was a fairly easy one. That was thus a D ranked mission. Nothing strange. Still Kiyomi read what was reported. One of the students had actually broken a part of the fence, which made Kiyomi almost giggle. But knowing she had to be serious, she filled it in as a D ranked mission and filled that it was a success. Turning to Hisoka, she presented him the paper. ''Like this, Hisoka-sama?'' Kiyomi asked.

Hisoka shot a brief glance over the paper. "Seems about right. For now you can sort them in piles according to mission rank. Later we will put them away in the right folders according to the shinobi's name." He handed the paper back to her before returning to his own. Kiyomi smiled as she nodded again and focused on her task. For a half hour, it went quite well. Mostly C ranked missions and no abherent or weird things. Sometimes Kiyomi had the urge to read something out loud that she found funny or interesting, but she knew that it would waste Hisoka's time. He wasn't here with her to discuss something or make fun. It was something serious.

Then she read something strange. ''Since when is it a mission to capture a shinobi from a country that isn't on hostile ground with us?'' Kiyomi slowly asked as she continued to read. An ANBU team was set to reinforce the border patrols, but a secondary mission was added for one member. To see if it was possible to capture a shinobi of the Wind country.

Frowning the Hokage lowered his own page and rubbed his eyes, trying to think which mission that could be. He had given so many lately. Had there been one like that? "Who's team is it from?" He asked Kiyomi. "Who did they capture?" The question was directly answered as Kiyomi didn't even need to look at the paper. ''An ANBU Team, under leadership of Harumi Uchiha. Capturing a shinobi from Sunagakure.'' Kiyomi glanced back at the paper. She was thinking why Hisoka had given such a mission. To be aware what the Sand was doing? To get some intel on something else? What was the aim to order such a mission? Already, Kiyomi could decipher that if the mission had gone wrong that it would had have some serious consquences. It was a heavy transaggression from Konohagakure to commit such an action. Aware of the relation that was between Konohagakure and Sunagakure, Kiyomi still hoped he would answer her question.

Harumi. Again Hisoka paused a second at that name. He should really... have a talk with her. A sigh escaped his lips. "Since when do we order missions like that? Since ever. We are a big country with many enemies who will not blink when doing the same thing. I cannot be unaware of what is going on behind our borders which is why I send Harumi to check it out for me. You have a problem with that?" He asked the girl before him, genuinely interested in the answer.

''No, I understand the reasons.'' Kiyomi said back without even needing to think about it. She glanced at the paper. ''I have been thinking after the talk you and Mata-sama had. Sometimes you will need to do something that people might condemn to be low and dirty. But we, shinobi, shouldn't have honor that high, should we?'' Kiyomi asked, thought it wasn't a really serious question. She was well aware that honor was very nice, but it could get you killed. Certainly in this field of work. ''I would suspect sending spies in order to harvest intel about the other villages and try to remain aware of what they are doing in such a manner. But I can see the advantages of this manner as well.'' A smirk crept on her lips as she shot a glance in his direction. ''The only problem I have is that if its ever found out that people will somehow complain about it. It seems many keep forgetting that shinobi don't fight on fair terms, do they now?'' She said as she wanted to mark the patrol mission as a B ranked, while pondering on the capturing part. That was either A ranked, but due the risks and the consquences, she considered it rather S ranked.

"Someone once said to me that while samurai gladly throw their lives on the line for what they believe in and uphold their honor all the time, shinobi do even more for their country or lord. They throw away their honor in favor of the cause. They strip themselves of their pride and hide in the shadows while the samurai fight and die with glory. We are not out to seek fame or acknowlidgement. People indeed seem to forget that. And if they want to complain, let them. People will always find something to complain about. The world is never perfect for anyone." HIsoka spoke. There lay no fame in killing someone as a ninja, he had realised that long ago. And he had thrown out the notions about honor and pride too, a long time ago. That was what leaving one's village meant.

''I know.'' She said, before writting and placing the paper where it should be. Kiyomi continued as she didn't find anything interesting or that was standing out. While she read and marked the reports, she forgot the time and after finishing a report, she decided to quickly glance outside. Not sure how late it was, she was very sure that the sun hadn't been that low. While the pile had shrunken quite, there was still a lot that needed to be done. Thinking, Kiyomi snapped her fingers as she proposed something. ''May I make two shadow clones to speed up the process? That way it will go faster as two can read and mark the reports and documents and one organize it!'' Kiyomi suggested.

"Sure." Hisoka replied. He shove his chair back and got up, stretching his back and cracking his neck. He paced back and forth a couple of times before halting before the window and looking out over the city. He rubbed his eyes again, feeling a headache coming up. "How is your training coming along?" He asked suddenly without turning back to the working girl.

Kiyomi heard the question as she had made two shadow clones. With a shadow clone, she went through the papers, read them and then marked them. The other shadow clone organized the piles as Hisoka had said he wished to do afterwards. But the question caught the attention of the orginal Kiyomi who briefly looked up. Her green eyes looked around the Office. ''I am making some progress. The Blue Fire is something I am starting to become better at. Same as sharing some of Mata-sama's chakra. I learned that its almost a second nature of the Bijuu to share their chakra. However,'' Kiyomi paused as she seemed to be a bit disappointed about the next point she would bring up. ''Even while my body is capable of holding the massive chakra amount, I can't fully control Mata-sama's chakra alone. I.. can summon outside of me, but the fact is that it won't be the full deal. Its actually similiar to a shadow clone. Not as strong as he could be.'' Kiyomi finished, but she wanted to say something else at the end. Instead of strong, she wished to say 'free', but she knew better. Hisoka wouldn't like to hear that she desired to give Matatabi more freedom while she was part of Konohagakure.

"I see. You'll have to show me during our next training session. Also I don't want you to try and use the full strength of the Bijuu on your own, or within the city. I understand that your bond with the beast is good, I have experienced it, but we don't know the consequenses might... things escalate." Hisoka turned back to Kiyomi and looked with mild interest how the Shadow clones were running around. Even with those to help her Kiyomi would be stuck with this task for a while. It was a lot of work. He opened his mouth to ask another question when an ANBU appeared in the room, kneeled with his head down. Hisoka frowned. The masked head of the ninja turned to Kiyomi for a moment as if he was waiting for the girl to leave, but the Hokage mentioned that he should go ahead.

"Lord Hokage, we have received a message that bandits have been raiding a village near the border with the land of Lightning. They ask for assistance."

Hisoka shot a look to Kiyomi, his eyes serious. "Go ahead," he said to her, "What would you do?"

That Hisoka wished to see what she could do already with the Blue Fire made her only smile. His interest in it was something she felt proud off. After all, it was the Hokage that took an interest in what she was trying to develop. Or developing from Matatabi's chakra. When an ANBU appeared, Kiyomi glanced at the man and felt the need to leave. Only to notice that Hisoka asked what she would do. Thinking about what she knew, Kiyomi knew that there was some kind of good relation between Kumogakure and Konohagakure. The two had aided each other in the past wars and conflicts. ''Depends. If the village is under our mantle, we need to act right away. If its not the case, I would be less inclined to help. I can recall we have some good bonds with the Land of Lightning, but to rush to their side is a bit too much. We're aren't allied at the moment.'' Kiyomi said. Thinking further, she then formed her answer.

''I would assemble a group of around some chuunins and only be led by a jounin. If it are only bandits, then a group of ten chuunins would be more than enough to clear them out and restore the peace. Maybe even help to repair the damage and such.'' Kiyomi said. ''We have the manpower to spare, so it could be something that would benefit the relation between the Fire and Lightning country. Maybe something that can be used to in a meeting or when discussing a treaty with the people of the Lightning country?''

The ANBU had barely looked at the little girl as she spoke. His mask remained pointed at the Hokage. He had the final say in things after all and the ANBU wasn't inclined to listen to anyone else's orders. Hisoka, however, nodded slowly at Kiyomi's words before turning to the ANBU. "Any report of how many?" He asked.

"An average amount. About 15." The ANBU replied curtly.

Hisoka was silent for a moment, thinking, staring to the shadows in the room. "We'll dispatch a team of 10 Chuunin then, as suggested. They are to drive the bandits away and help with repairs in the city. The protection of the people of the village will have main priority. Please inform my assistant of my words."

Without more words the ANBU nodded and disappeared in a flash. Hisoka said down on his chair again. "And now back to paperwork." He said to Kiyomi with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

At first she wasn't sure if her answer had been one that Hisoka found pleasing or approved off. But when he ordered that a team of ten chuunin had to be dispatched, she felt no worry about it. Wïth the ANBU disappearing in a flash and Hisoka saying that she should go back to the paperwork, Kiyomi nodded. Together with her two shadow clones, she continued her work. But a question still lingered in her mind. And after fifteen minutes, she couldn't hold it anymore. Glancing in the direction of Hisoka, Kyiomi decided to ask the question. ''What did you think of my response?'' She asked.

"Quick." Hisoka replied, seemingly not very surprised by the question. "You judged the amount of Chuunin and their jobs before you asked the ANBU how many enemies there were. We might have a lot of manpower, but we don't want to waste it." His tone wasn't accusing. "There is nothing wrong with questioning the man who comes to tell you something. You can't know everything that is going on and you can't for a decision based on things you don't know. So don't forget to question." He looked up from his own work after a moment of silence. "How does it feel to be the one not going out there?" He asked.

''A bit weird.'' Kiyomi seemed to focus on her work as she gave the short reply. She sighed and flashed a smile in his direction. ''I am so used to being in the field. The one that is there to help others. But I already noticed with leading the Guardians, that a leader isn't always in the field. A leader should be the one that takes the decisions. If I would head there myself, it would mean somebody else would lead in my place.'' Kiyomi said, turning her head back to look at the document she was holding. ''I think that will be kind of hard for me. To stay here while others risk their lives, because I ordered them..'' Kiyomi continued to read the document and rated it as a B ranked mission. It was about escorting a wealthy merchant that was afraid of getting robbed. The money he had paid for to be escorted by shinobi was something Kiyomi found a bit too much, but she wouldn't complain. After all, it already had happened and the mission had been a success.

"If you have faith in their capabilities then there is nothing to worry about." Hisoka said. "As leader you put as much trust in your subordinates as they put in you." He filed something S and put it away in one of the drawers near him. He was going to have to remember that one. "But yes it is hard sometimes."

''Its even harder, because Gramps Jin-Jin told me that the Hokage is like the shield. I realize that it won't be literally, but if one would be a shield, it mean to protect something. Thus being there to actually protect a person.'' Kiyomi said. She briefly glanced out of the window that provided a view over Konohagakure. ''Its a bit hard to believe that one can be a shield while staying here.'' Kiyomi said, thinking back to the lessons and teachings of Jinkama. It made all sense, but at times like this she was wondering if she fully understood the meaning of his lessons.

"One can protect a person in many ways." Hisoka said. "By sending out the right people you can often accomplish more then by going out yourself and thus you protect more then what you could have done on your own. No one said that being a shield was fun and easy."

''I know and never imagined it would be easy nor fun.'' Kiyomi replied. She started to focus again on the report, but kept something in mind. She had taken a decision too fast without asking about the details of the situation or what the intel was regarding the situation. Making a mental note that she should try to do that more often, Kiyomi marked something C ranked. A team of genin helping to guard a village. After giving it to the shadow clone who organized the papers, Kiyomi took a new one from the pile.

[Little Alice]

Mika Hayashi
Kirigakure Jounin,
Team 14.

Mika frowned. So that was what her student wanted? That could be troublesome. Mika suddenly found her earlier opinion regarding Chou to be even less. The fact the girl had tried to do something like that made her find it disappointing the kunai hadn't cut or caused any kind of pain. Mika however knew that it wasn't something that wasn't having a high priority. Only that she would keep Chou at least some distance so that the girl couldn't touch her and activate that weird ability. Damn genins these days.

After several hours, as they hadn't been that far away, the team managed to come back in Kirigakure. Haruhi was still knocked out cold, but with Chou and Rai carrying Haruhi, it went faster than expected. Once back, Mika turned around and spoke up to her genins. ''The mission was a success in overal meaning. I still am not content with each one of you. Certainly not with the one that can't hear me right now. I will make sure she will arrive at home. You have two days off. Make use of that to prepare for the next mission. It won't be as easy as it was today.'' Mika ordered them as she waited till they would drop Haruhi and went their own way.

Her gaze was locked on Chou however to make it clear she didn't want the girl anywhere near her. The thought that the girl had an ability to track people down was something she found annoying and that could become a bother later. Just like how she had to carry Haruhi back to her home. Something she did without complaining however once the other two genins were away.

[Shadowcatcher]

A knock on the door made Mai Hanako-Suzumori stop what she was doing. Cleaning was all it was, and she was pleased to find a valid reason to stop. Upon opening the door, she saw a jounin woman carrying a fainted Haruhi. Worried, she retrieved her daughter from the woman and noticed a bit of blood on her hands and clothes.

"What happened to her?" she asked her. This woman was likely the sensei of her girl.

"Life." was the simple, calm response the konuichi gave. With a nod, she turned and left. Mai closed the doors and went to lay Haruhi on her bed before running a very hot bath.

---

Haruhi's eyes peeled open and she looked around. She was hyper aware of where she was. She was no longer outside surrounded by death, but she was in her room. She sat up fast, gasping and looking around.

Frantically stripping off her bloodied clothes, Haruhi inspected her body for and wounds or such. Minus a couple of bruises. she was intact. With a sigh, she grabbed a towel and walked to her door. She spotted something on her floor and went to pick it up. It was a note from her sensei. She was telling Haruhi to meet her tomorrow for a training and she sighed, putting it on her bed.

She made her way to the bathroom and saw a bath was already run for her. Wasting no time stepping in, she relaxed and tried not to think about her day today.

"That was horrible....so horrible." she muttered, slipping her head under the soapy water.

[Shadowcatcher]

Haruhi Suzumori and Mika Hayashi
Kirigakure Genin and Jounin of Team 14
A Collaboration between Shadowcatcher and Little Alice
Place : Kirigakure
Time : After the First team mission of Team 14
Characters : Mika and Haruhi
Plot : Mika training Haruhi in a private training session, though she hasn't given the reason for that. The first step of the bonding between Mika and Haruhi.

Haru/Mika Training 1

~The next day~

Standing on the damp grass, Mika had her arms crossed out front of her chest. It was still early as the sun hadn't revealed itself yet in the sky. Or maybe it was blocked by the clouds? Not that it mattered to the woman. The reason she was there was simply because she was waiting for one of her students to arrive. The eyes of Mika slightly narrowed as she thought about the girl. Hopefully she wouldn't be late as Mika was sure she had given the time and place without any faults. And if she would come too late, then Mika had something for her.

Haruhi looked around her, not sure exactly where she was. She bit her lip nervously, knowing her sensei would have something bad waiting for her if she was late. She reached into her jacket pocket and took out the note she had been given, reading it over one more time. She was supposed to meet somewhere close. Oh wait, maybe im not lost afterall. Sure enough, she spotted her sensei a few yards away, her hand on her hip, waiting impatiently for her. Upon seeing her, Haruhi sped up to a jog and approached. "Hi sensei. Sorry...am I late?"Mika already had heard footsteps nearing the field. And seemed her thoughts were right. It was her student, Haruhi. With a rather displeased look, Mika knew Haruhi wasn't too late. She was perfectly on time. The lips of the woman curled down before she spoke. ''You're late. Ten push ups. Within ten seconds.'' Mika suddenly ordered with her usual cold voice as she kept looking with a displeased look in the direction of the younger girl. Haruhi's eyes widened slightly. She couldn't even do five in ten seconds but she went down on her belly and did as many as she could in the time allowed. She knew her sensei would be displeased, but maybe she would just tell her to do something else.

She was right. She barely did five in those ten seconds.

''Are you joking me? Twenty more.'' Mika suddenly said as she noticed that Haruhi wasn't even close to ten push ups and the ten seconds were already over. Walking towards her student, Mika suddenly lifted up her left foot and placed it on the back of Haruhi. She then scoffed. ''That is seven... Come on, you wanted to be a shinobi and not a loser, right? Still at seven.'' Mika continued on her cold tone. The weight wasn't that heavy as Mika could, but she wouldn't make it easy for the young girl. Haruhi's tiny arms shook with the effort of pushing her body, along with the extra weight up off the ground. She wanted to tell her sensei to stop and loosen up a bit...all this for just being late? But she didn't. She kept her mouth shut and focused on raising her arms up and down. C'mon Haru, you can do this. You're not weak... She told herself as she forced her wobbly arms to raise her body up again. What number was that...ten?

''Pitiful. With a fast and soft kick, Mika tried to get Haruhi on her side or back. Glaring at the young girl, Mika scoffed again. ''A shinobi never lets another put a feet on their back and act like a little scarred creature. Get on your feet or else I will make you get on them.'' Mika sneered, clearly annoyed by the fact her student couldn't perform the push ups. Haruhi stood up and wiped her hands on her jacket, trying to do something to hide her still shaking hands. "I'm not truely a shinobi yet sensei." She said rather sadly. Just because I cant do stupid push ups does not mean your better than me! She yelled in her head. She kept her head down, realizing that last thought was so stupid and childish. Of course that meant she was better than her...the fact that her sensei could do push ups and she could not...that was only ONE reason she was better. She sighed and looked at her sensei. Ready for the next task.

''You are. You carry the headband of the Mist, meaning you're a shinobi.'' Mika replied. Haruhi reached up and touched her headband hanging loosely around her neck, having completely forgotten it was there. ''That is right. Or do you want to go back to the Academy? Just say the word. I will personally kick your ass back if you would want that. Well?'' The woman asked on an even colder tone as she looked down on the girl.

"N..No! I can't go back there." She shook her head furiously. "I want to learn everything I can about the real world. I cant do that sitting behind a desk. ....I need you to teach me. I'll do whatever you say. she said quietly.

For the first time this training, Mika's look became less disappointing. It was very brief, before it turned back into a cold look. But for a second it almost looked like she was content with what Haruhi had said. ''First lesson then. The world is a cold and ruthless place. If you're weak, than you're nothing. You will get nothing and will become nothing.'' Mika told Haruhi. She scoffed as she then made a nod with her head to the left. ''Five laps around this field. Now.''
Haruhi's shoulders slumped in relif for just a moment before she nodded and slowly jogged off. If there was one thing she knew how to do it was running. She stretched her shoulders and paused to stretch her legs before starting her laps. As she ran, she heard her heart pumping in her head. This heart that the doctor's told her mother would likely give out before she even graduated from the Academy. This heart that still beats no matter how hard Haruhi pushes herself past her limits. This was the heart that would allow her to keep going. People told her she couldn't do what everyone else could do because of this heart. Here she was, running nearly as fast as she could and this heart was unwavering. Strong and consistent. That was exactly what Haruhi wanted to be. Why in the world did I say I wasent a shinobi? Sure...sometimes I might not feel like it but I am. I know I can do this. Four laps down and one to go.

Following the girl with her cold gaze, Mika was paying attention to how the girl moved. How fast and in what kind of manner she looked. It were all factors that would be needed on how to properly train the genin. In her head, Mika was already forming the training together she would give the girl. It wasn't a nice training, but would that be strange? Nice was a strange term in Team 14 so far and it would likely be that for a long time. When Haruhi was close of ending her last lap, Mika's right hand went to her kunai holster. In a single and fluid movement, the woman pulled out a kunai and threw it towards Haruhi. It was aimed to graze the girl, simply to test if she remembered the first lesson Mika had given her, during their meeting.

It was her final lap and Haruhi didn't allow her thoughts to take over during this last stretch. It was from the corner of her eye she saw something move unnaturally fast. It was coming straight towards her so she reached for the wepon holster on her left leg, and quickly pulled out a kunai. She could tell it was aimed a bit lower, so if she attempted to duck, it could hit her in a lethal place. Instead she skidded to a halt and with a loud clang, just barely deflected the flying item, and it fell to the grass two feet away from her. As she stood there breathing heavily, she looked at the object. It was a kunai. Raising slowly her right eyebrow, Maki had noticed Haruhi had deflected the kunai. But she said nothing about it. No compliment, no advise how to deflect the weapon better. The only change was the raising eyebrow. ''We're going to practice your aim.'' Mika suddenly said. Pulling out a kunai, she continued. ''You're going to throw a kunai at me. For every time you don't manage to graze or hit me, you will be forced to do ten push ups. From that distance.'' Maki ordered, though it seemed she didn't prepare herself by taking a defensive stance.

Haru scratched her head. "You really want me to try to hit you?" she asked as she picked up the kunai that stuck out of the ground. With a frown she held the kunai tightly in her hand and took aim at her sensei. She halfheartedly threw it at her, not wanting to miss or hit really. ''Wrong question.'' Mika mumbled. With the kunai coming her way, Maki simply grabbed it out of the air before throwing it back. In a second the kunai would come back in a faster speed and this time aimed at the right side of Haruhi's face. ''I ordered you to throw a kunai at me. Not to roll it. Are you deaf? Cause last time I was sure you weren't.'' Mika sneered. Haruhi dodged the next one her sensei threw. "I know what you said. I dont want to hurt you though." She reached into her pouch again, pulling out her second kunai. She hesitated then, not sure wether to follow orders or not.

''And who says I won't hurt you. You're a shinobi.'' Mika replied with a cold voice. Before the girl had thrown a kunai, one was heading her way again. ''Hurting people. Killing them. Deceiving them. Its part of a kunoichi's life. If you're weak, then you're nothing.'' Mika told her. This time the kunai was aimed at a more lower part, the mid section of the girl. This one came at her faster and it barely missed its mark. Haruhi shook her head angrily, not wanting to believe her sensei's words. "What about protecting people, making the world a safer place for everyone!? You think I can just accept the idea that all I can do with my life is hurt those who care about me, or even innocent people?" She picked up a kunai that landed near her and took aim, throwing it as hard as she could. "I won't accept that! And I am not weak!!" she yelled angrily as she let it go.

''Protecting people? Against whom? And for what?'' Mika asked back in sarcastic tone. The kunai that Haruhi had thrown was fast and properly aimed this time. Mika narrowed her eyes as she managed to deflect the kunai and then laughed. Not a laugh of joy or excitment. She was laughing at Haruhi. ''You state you're not weak, but you're not able to throw a kunai properly. Aim and then throw.'' She sneered the last part, spinning her own kunai in her left hand.
Haru glared at her sensei. Her words had hurt her more than she could know. She didn't understand how someone could devote her lives to "hurting...killing..". Is this what she was really doing? Was she digging herself into a hole she wouldn't be able to climb out of. ...Was her Father this kind of shinobi? She didn't want to believe it, but the words of her sensei were so compelling she almost did.

"Maybe in your time, that was all it was about. For me, being a shinobi is more than what you say it is. I do not doubt there will be times where I need to kill for the greater good. But I don't think that this is one of those times. She picked the last kunai that laid next to her on the ground and held it out. "I understand why I need to practice my aim. If I had someone who I needed to protect and I cant throw a kunai at my target, then everything I would have worked for would be in vain. She stopped speaking for a moment and took aim on her sensei. "Your job is to teach me to be better. So stop trying to make me change my mind. With that she switfly threw the kunai at her teacher, wondering if it would hit its mark.

It wouldn't. Simply stepping to the left, Mika picked the kunai without a flaw out of the air and returned it to Haruhi. It was followed by her sarcastic words. ''And if that target is somebody that you want to protect? You're naive and misguided.'' Maki told Haruhi with a frown. ''What will you do when you learn your best friend is your enemy? What will you do when your own mother tries to slice your throat during the night? Well? Any wise words to that?'' This time she wasent fast enough to dodge it. It scratched her left arm right above her elbow. Wincing, she looked at her sensei with tear filled eyes. "AlI can do is hope that someone who I have given my trust would do nothing to break it. She paused. "And if they did...I would believe that it was for a damn good reason."

''Cause they would do it for their own gain.'' Mika replied, again in the same usual cold tone. The woman threw the kunai she held in her hands again at Haruhi. ''You think that everybody would help you once you managed to get their trust? You think that people will never hurt you cause they love you? You've a lot to learn, Haruhi.'' The woman told her. Looking with her cold look in the genin's direction, Mika clenched her right fist as she watched how the kunai soared in the air towards Haruhi. This time, she was too busy listening to her teacher's words to notice when she had sent another kunai. This one hit Haruhi on the shoulder and she cried out again. Clutching her shoulder with one hand she glanced up at her sensei. "You have alot to teach me then." She said simply, defeated. Haruhi felt like such a child, standing there feeling nearly broken. She picked up the kunai and put it in her pouch. She wanted to move on from this exercise. She didnt want to keep being told that everything she thought about being a shinobi was all wrong...she slowly felt her innocence slipping away from her. So, she decided to change the subject. "How many push up do I owe you then? I wasent keeping count."

Seeing the kunai hit the student, Mika scoffed. ''You don't ask when you're able and you ask me how many when you're just hit. Bandage that wound first up and then six laps around the field.'' Mika ordered her. Meanwhile, she kept looking at Haruhi with the same cold look. The eyes of the woman briefly glanced at the spot the kunai had hit the girl and she wondered about something.

Haruhi reached into the pouch behind her and pulled out her roll of bandages. She was happy she didn't wear her jacket during this exercise or else it would have been ripped up. She didnt know how to sew really well. Sitting on the cool grass she loosely wrapped the bandage around her shoulder so she could still have some good range of motion with her arm, and tore the rest off with her teeth. She didn't bother to see if her sensei was watching. She was always watching. With that same cold gaze she always had. Haru began to get the feeling her sensei really hated her. She'd never been hated by anyone... With a sigh she stood and wiped at her eyes. They were wet with some tears she had refused to let fall and went to start her laps.

Watching how the girl bandaging her wound before going to start on her laps, Mika's thoughts continued. She had already something in mind after Haruhi would be done with her laps. Still, the cold gaze of the Kirigakure Jounin didn't changed. ''Faster or else you will find more kunai in your shoulder.'' Mika ordered, clearly displeased by the speed of her student.

Haru heard her teachers orders and sped up. She didnt allow herself to let her mind wander this time. She just focused on the sound of her feet hitting the ground. As she got into a good pace she slowly started to speed up gradually, taking comfort in the steady beat of her heart.

With Haruhi speeding up, Mika took out what seemed to be a small scroll. It was taken out of her pouch and she laid it on the ground. There were all kinds of black markings on the scroll, most likely a summoning scroll. Placing her right hand at the scroll, she formed the Seal of Confrontation with her left. A small smoke poofed up, before revealing a small book. ''Get over here, Haruhi.'' Mika said as she rose up, holding the small book with her left hand.

She barely heard her sensei call her over her heavy breathing. She slowed down and jogged over to her, resisting the urge to lean over and wheeze with her hands on her kees. "Yes sensei?" She said breathlessly. Slowly Mika stretched out her left arm and held the book in the direction of Haruhi. ''I take it that they taught you at the Academy what the Bingo Book is? Or do you want me to 'teach' you that?'' Maki asked, with raising her right eyebrow.Haruhi shook her head. "I dont believe i'm familiar with that book. Maybe it was discussed on a day I missed." she said, trying to put it in a way that didn't make her seem like an even bigger idiot.

''Go to page fifty. And read what is there.'' Mika ordered her. She waited patiently while she would see the possible reaction of Haruhi's face.

Haru's face showed an expression of confusion. She didn't understand why there was a price on her sensei's head. "...Why have you shown me this?" she asked, trying not to sound as shaken as she was.

''You told me you want to protect somebody? Let me tell you this.'' Mika slowly leaned forward, her eyes that stared with the same cold look as always right into Haruhi's. ''Let's say that you will make a friend. You two like each other. But what if that is his face in the book. What if he had done something that made him a criminal. Would you hunt him down or protect him?'' Mika asked. After a moment of thought Haruhi spoke her answer. "I think...I cannot say either way. My heart is saying that I should protect him at all costs if he was truely my friend, but...when I think about it...what if he murdered my Mother? I dont think I would be able to forgive him for that." She looked down sadly.

''The world is cruel and unforgiven. The day you're happy can mean you don't have to worry about tomorrow. But always keep in mind that the past is looking over your shoulder. Every choice has a consquence.'' Mika said, on a calm tone. Sighing, she nodded at the book. ''Keep that as a reminder. Many names are in there and many more have been erased out of it. Some are regarded as criminals, but think not of them as them being simply murderes and thieves. They all are shinobi. And now you're one of them.'' Mika finished, crossing her arms out front of her chest. Haruhi looked at her sensei for a moment longer and nodded, placing the book in her hip pouch with her whip. "I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Hayashi sensei." Her expression of gratitude seemed weird in this moment, but it is truely how she felt. In a way, she though of this as valuable information, a lesson that you simply cant learn from anyone else. Haruhi also assumed her sensei hadent told her other teammates about this so she felt like she was given a piece of her teacher no one else got to have. Before she could stop herself, she smiled.

''There is little to thank me. You're the weakest link in the team Haruhi.'' Mika told her, her cold tone returning back. Scoffing, Mika shook her head. ''That book is a reminder of today's lesson. The world isn't a place of love and freedom. It's cruel and ruthless. Make a mistake and you will pay for it, for the rest of your life. Did I made myself clear with that?'' Maki asked, looking down at the girl.

"Yes sensei." she said simply, bowing slightly to her. She even went a step farther and showed her the same respect she would show her Father or Mother, by placing her right fist in her left hand as she bowed. It stayed quiet as Mika watched the girl made a bow of respect for her, placing her fist in her left hand as well. Turning around, with her back to Haruhi, Mika began to talk again. ''We're going to continue to train your aim.'' She spoke. Looking at her left, she noticed a tree. Making a line in the grass, with a kunai, Mika then went towards the tree. Carving several circles in the tree, around her own size, Mika glanced at her student. ''Try to hit the bulls eye. Every time you miss, you need to do three sit ups.'' She ordered the girl.

Haruhi absently felt her belly, poking gently and noticing there was very little muscle there. If she had to do sit ups, it was going to hurt like hell when she was done. Standing at the line her teacher drew, she took out three shuriken and paused to aim. She wondered why she was so bad at this all of a sudden. In school, she was excellent at target practice, for some reason now she was slacking a bit. Well, in the eyes of her sensei, maybe more than that. She breathed in deeply, then exhaled and threw the shuriken at the tree.

Watching the shuriken, they hadn't hit the bulls eye. ''Take a breath in before you throw them. Breath out just when you throw them. It will help to balance you when you aim.'' Mika told her, still watching how she would try to hit the mark. With a nod she pulled out three more shuriken. She took her stance, aimed and breathed in. A moments pause and then she moved her arm fast, breathing out once she no longer felt the cold metal against her fingertips.

A thud was sounded. Maki's right eyebrow slowly raised. ''Hhmmmm.'' She watched the shuriken that had impaled the wood of the tree. It was very close to the bull's eye. ''See. At least something you seem to be able of. If you weren't slacking on other things, then that would be good.'' Mika told her, returning her gaze at her student with the usual look in her eyes. Haruhi stood straight and smiled slightly. That was almost praise. She nodded and jogged over to the tree to get the shuriken. "Let me keep practicing." She pulled all six out of the wood and put them in her leg pouch.

''I wasn't planning on letting you do anything else.'' Was the sarcastic sounding answer of Mika. She calmly watched the girl as she would try to keep aiming at the bulls eye. Mika wondered if her student would be able to hit the mark, but the look on her face already told that she wasn't expecting it. As Haru took her place behind the line, she silently cursed herself for not looking to see where the previous ones had landed. Then she could have adjusted her aim accordingly. With a shrug she repositioned herself and repeated her prior movements. Using her breathing as a guide.

''Throw three more. Then have a little rest. Don't want to have you unable to train tomorrow again with your shoulder being like that.'' Mika ordered Haruhi. It wasn't corcern, but simply logic. If Haruhi would stay being pressed on to the limit with a fresh wound at her shoulder, it would mean she would be needing a long rest before able to go on a training or a mission. Something Mika didn't want as that would mean she could be held responisble.Haru nodded and took out three more shuriken, taking aim and breathing deeply. Her shoulder was bothering her a bit so her consentration was starting to waiver. She threw the shuriken at the tree as she breathed out.

The last shuriken was just an inch away from the mark. It seemed she picked it up at a good rate. But Mika wouldn't say that. Waiting till Haruhi was done and would likely rest, Mika would wait for five minutes. She kept an eye out on her student, to see what she would do. During their introduction, Haruhi had tried to contact with Chou. But unlike her, the other two genins were what Mika and some others would call 'the suitable genins'. They reminded her of many she knew and had met in her old training days. But this kid was different. ''You have three more minutes before we'll do the last part of today.'' Mika would say, looking around the field.Three minutes for a break seemed rather pointless so she simply walked up to the tree and pulled the shuriken out of the wood, planning to continue practicing. Planning being the operative word considering the jerk from pulling the shuriken out sent a sharp pain right through Haruhi's shoulder and arm. She let out a small hiss of pain then cursed herself for showing a sign of weakness. Pull yourself together Haruhi. This is nothing compared to what you could possibly face in the future so SUCK IT UP. She yelled at herself in her head, rasing her left arm to stretch it a bit.

A hand grabbed the wrist of the arm suddenly. She had made no sound when she had moved. No sound that would've alarmed Haruhi, that Mika had came closer. A testimony of her mastery over Silent Killing. ''I told you to sit down and catch a breath. It wasn't a choice.'' Mika held a firm grip on the wrist before releasing it. ''So take a little break before we continue.'' She ordered. Haru was a bit surprised at this, and she looked at her sensei for a moment before nodding and pulling her arm free. After placing her shuriken in her leg pouch she simply say down on the ground where she was. After a moments pause she laid down on her back and sighed as she relaxed her body.

With her student now taking time to sit down and breath more easily, Mika looked briefly at the tree. The tree where she had thrown the shuriken. ''I have read in your profile you have the affinity for Lightning Release.'' Mika began, still looking at the tree. ''Lightning Release is one of the releases that can enhance a weapon, to make it more lethal. The heat and super vibrations of that nature makes it thus able for a weapon to even slash and pierce through stone, metal and such thick material. Are you still paying attention?'' Mika asked, slowly looking back at Haruhi. She was laying there with her eyes closed, yes she was paying attention but she shook her head side to side. "I still have about forty five seconds for my break and I intend to take full advantage of it." She said, not trying to be defiant, but simply stating matter-of-factly. After her time was up she opened her eyes, not remembering when she had closed them, and stood up to look at her sensei. "I've never used my Lightning Release for anything other than my Ninjutsu. I'm not sure I would know how to use it along with my wepons." She brought her finger to her lip in thought. Maybe if I figure out how to use my Lightning Release better, I could use it with my whip when i'm in battle.

Frowning when her student told she had still forty five seconds, Mika said nothing. When Haruhi brought up she wasn't sure how to use it with her weapons, Mika scoffed. Clearly annoyed. ''I wasn't expecting you to be suddenly to be able. I know what you can do. You profile has showed me enough about that.'' She told Haruhi, though it was unsure if it was just Mika saying a fact or being disappointed. Pulling out a kunai, Mika spinned the weapon around. ''I am going to see if I can teach you what is called chakra flow. I'm not really an expert on imbueing my chakra in weapons as well, but its like pouring it in your weapon. And then.'' Without looking at the tree, Mika threw the kunai. After the thud, making clear the weapon had impaled itself in the wood, Mika spoke again. ''You strike. The chakra and effects varies among the uses and often techniques. Got that part?'' Mika asked, before glancing at the tree. Right in the mark. Haruhi's eyes widened as her sensei's kunai hit the bullseye right on the mark. She hadent even looked for crying out loud! ...But that wasent the point. "I understand, but how can I transfer my own chakra to an object thats not even alive?" This concept was new to Haruhi, the idea of "Chakra Flow." It seemed rather interesting. She had learned in the Academy about the chakra Gates and how everything is connected, all that good stuff. But moving your own chakra to an inanimate object like a weapon, how could anyone have enough concentration to hold out that kind of technique? Shinobi didn't have an unlimited amout of Chakra afterall.

''Creating a coat around it. Your nature isn't about infusing it simply. Its the outside that matters. You wrap the coat of lightning around the weapon and then its very simple.'' Mika said on her usual tone. ''The coating is what makes the weapon deadlier. The weapon is simply the conductor. In other words, your weapon extends the deadly chakra coating as you can throw it or use a weapon to extend the reach of the coating, through the use of a weapon or technique. I've seen some nin do that.'' Mika explained. She waited, typically waiting to see if Haruhi was able to keep the pace of the theory Mika was telling her. And she did begin to understand everything her sensei was saying. Just like how she sends her Lightning through the ground to her target, she could theoretically send her Lightning through her wepon. Maybe it would be the same way. "When can i try it? she asked, a little impatient.

''When you put your back to it. But in theory, you need to have a good chakra control. The better your chakra control is, the easier you can use your chakra to form the coating.'' Maki answered. Thinking about something, she pointed at the tree. ''At the Academy they should have taught you how to channel your chakra to your hand and feet, to be able to walk on surfaces. Such as water and trees. I want you to hang upside down. With channeling chakra only to your feet. We'll time how long you can stand upside down.'' Maki told Haruhi, crossing her arms as she would watch Haruhi. Looking up at the tree, Haruhi started to feel a little nervous. She knew how to do it of course but she felt worried she wouldn't be able to stay up there for very long. She pushed some hair out of her face and started to focus on channeling her chakra to her feet. A few moments passed as she concentrated on redirecting her chakra before she jogged up to the tree, jumping slightly, and running up the trunk. She saw a branch that looked thick enough to support her weight and ran over to it and stayed in place, hanging upside down. She tried to ignore noticing all the things her mind was telling her to focus on. Her hair was going to get snagged in a branch, her shirt slipped down a bit and exposed her belly, she saw a bird nest a few feet above her. All of these things her mind was telling her to focus on were distracting her from focusing on keeping her chakra in her feet.

Mika waited. She had expected her student to complain or such. So far Haruhi was doing everything that was asked. Though Mika wondered how long that would last. A fool could even notice that Mika was pressing a lot of pressure on the young girl. Placing her hands on her hips, Mika whistled. ''Time is up. Come down.'' She ordered. She had been staying there for several minutes. Still looking with the usual cold eyes, Mika would wait until Haruhi would come down.

As she heard her sensei whistle to her she reached up and grabbed the branch with her hands and pulled herself up. She had a thought pass through her head in that moment. Why the hell is she whistling at me like im some kind of dog? She felt slightly annoyed by that but she didn't let it get to her. She could always just curse her out in her head. "Coming." she said instead of replying rudely, carefully jumping from branch to branch and climbing down. She landed on the grass with a light thud sound. "How did I do?" she asked, expecting a criticism she could use to improve next time.

''Average.'' Mika answered with a calm tone. She thought about something before continueing. ''I had expected that you would screw it up, like you tend to do with some other things. But you did average this time. Could be better.'' Mika finished before she would continue on the next. ''For now we will talk about the theory as I can't risk you to continue with your shoulder like that. So you now know about how Lightning release can enhance a weapon. You also know that there are various techniques that can do the trick. The question is, how much do you want to focus on obtaining such techniques and abilities?''' Mika asked. Haru felt content with just theory. In truth her shoulder was killing her, she was resisting the urge to go home and ask her mother to fix her all up like she would when she was in the Academy. From this point on however, Haruhi decided she would just figure out how to do it on her own. Her mind switched then and she though about the answer to her sensei's question. How much do I want to focus on obtaining these skills she's telling me about? If I'm going to set myself apart from everyone and be better than my Father, I need to know this. This could potentially be my greatest skill if I learn how to use it properly. She expected her sensei already knew her answer to her question but she answered aloud anyway. "It sounds to me like learning this skill could help me grow alot stronger....I want to learn how to do it. I will devote however much time and energy it requires." She said.

''Then you also need to become better with handling weapons as fighting in close ranged quarters. Something I can teach you. However,'' Mika paused as she raised her chin and looked even colder at Haruhi. ''If I hear one word about that you think about giving up or not giving it your all, I will make sure you'll regret that. If I arrange the needed tools and scrolls for the coming trainings, I want you to work like you've done never before. Clear?'' Mika asked. Haru hesitated for just a moment, not second guessing her decision, but letting the intensity of her teacher's words to sink in. "I will do everything I can and I can tell you that "giving up" is not even in my vocabulary. And I would expect nothing less than a hard time with you." she said lightly.

''Then I will arrange later on that I'll have the tools and required needs for your training. I also want that you're going to train your chakra control. Its something that is even for foolish genins. Sit down in a meditation sit.'' Mika ordered as she did the same, waiting for Haruhi to sit down in a meditation sit. She sat down across from her sensei in the correct form and waited, not sure if she should close her eyes and begin, or if she had something else to say.

''This is a chakra control training that usually more experienced people do to train their chakra control as well control over their element. It requires great focus and a clear mind.'' Mika explained on a cold tone to Haruhi. She then formed a handseal. It was the handseal : Dog. ''Each of the five chakra elements have two affliated handseals. Lightning has the Dog and Monkey handseal that are affliated with them. I want you to hold either one of them and try to clear your head.'' Mika instructed. Haru formed the Monkey handseal and held it. She looked at her hands for a moment then closed her eyes and tried to clear everything out. She ignored the light wind blowing her hair gently about, she ignored the sound it made as it pushed the grass away from its natural curve, ignored worrying about anything and just focused on her breathing. In through her nose, out through her mouth, over and over.

''Now, try to mould the chakra inside your body. Just like how you channelled some chakra to your feet, but try to keep it moving through your body.'' Mika instructed Haruhi. She kept close watch of Haruhi, because if the young girl would even lose a bit of attention or focus, she wouldn't like the results. ''If you don't stay calm and lose control over your chakra, you'll get a proper punishment for that.'' Was all that Mika said as a warning. She could remember the first time she had failed at it. The teacher had let her wring and moan in pain for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes her own chakra had felt like fire in her veins, like it was slowly burning away her organs and blood. Somehow for Haruhi the threat didn't freak her out, but it simply made her focus more. She felt her mind slipping inside herself, she started to feel the way her chakra was flowing, out from her core and all around her body it moved. It was as if it had a mind of its own. It simply moved about how it pleased. Then she understood what she needed to do. She needed to control her chakra and have it move the way SHE wanted it too. The Lightning nature of her chakra made it difficult. It was free flowing and jumpy in certain areas of her body like around her heart and in her hands. She decided to focus on these places first, but she wasent really sure on how to go about taming it.

''Stay focused.'' Mika ordered with her cold voice. She noticed some sparks. It meant that Haruhi was doing the right thing. At least the chakra was moulding, but now she would need to stay in control. ''Keep breathing and keep your head clear. The more focused you are, the better it will go.'' She kept saying, raising her right eyebrow.

Haruhi heard her teachers words and stayed focused. She spoke in her head as if speaking ot the chakra itself. I need to control how you move. I need you to be ready for me whenever I want to use you. If we work together, we can become stronger and do things that only great shinobi can do. ...So, I need you to listen to me. She slowly guided her chakra smoothly about her body. Starting with her hands she used her mind and drew paths from her core to her hands. The sparks immediately subsided and turned into smooth waves of energy. She felt a tingling there for a moment as she continued to repeat this pattern. She moved to her heart then. The chakra there was a swirling mass of energy that had no structure and just shot off to different parts of her body, as if it was just another core. She used the same techique as before, using her mind to slowly guide the mass of energy in a slow and continuous circle.

Seemed that she was getting the hang of it. Normally, genins screwed up eventually at this time. It was a training that was used for low ranked Chuunin and higher. To see Haruhi being able to subdue her chakra and keep her calm was what one could call 'something'. Mika however said nothing. For five minutes, she just let Haruhi keep controlling the mouldng chakra. Deciding it was enough, Mika spoke to her student. ''Slowly let your chakra stop moulding around. Don't release the handsignal nor losing focus. If you still make an error, you will learn what pain is.'' Mika told Haruhi, wondering if her student would be capable to also end the moulding without any mistakes.

Haru slowly let her mind slip away and return back to the present outside world. Heeding her teachers warning, she started off slow, just with focusing on her breathing. She figured she could "retrace her thoughts" in a way, going out the same way she got in. As she became more aware of her surroundings, Haru resisted the urge to stop concentrating on just one thing at a time. She still felt odd, like she wasent fully out of it yet.

''Once you're calm and your chakra isn't moulding, slowly release the handsignal.'' Mika instructed as she wondered about something. The tone she spoke in was a rather calm one. Clearly Mika wasn't displeased with what her student had achieved. The cold look had turned into a more serious one as well. Haru allowed herself all the time she needed, not releasing the seal until she felt she was completely back. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, the sky was noticably darker. "How did I do? She asked immediately.

''Average.'' Mika answered with a calm tone. She placed her left hand on her knee as she then pointed to Haruhi with her right index finger. ''You did released some sparks and almost was this close,'' Mika made a gesture with her right hand to give an impression to Haruhi, that she had been close of screwing up. ''Of likely being in some intense pain. For quite some time.'' Mika responded. ''But think you have some questions?'' Mika asked, in a more or less sarcastic tone. The thought of being in pain was not a nice feeling to have, she was glad she didn't have to go through that. Haruhi looked at her sensei as she wondered in her head how to ask her question. "Does averyone have chakra like that?...Mine seemed like it had a mind of its own. Is that what happens when you dont get control over it?"

''It feels like that, but that is simple the sensation of it. Some speculate that chakra is what you truly feel and think. Some experienced sensor nin can even detect if you're lying or not. This is because when somebody lies, their chakra flow shows disruption signs.'' Mika explained. She placed her hands on her lap as she paused. ''There are some who managed to lie that well, that their chakra flow isn't showing that. But its something that backs up that theory. There are still some questions about chakra and such that aren't answered. Like, why does one clan or family have a chakra that enables them to do releases that is unique to them?'' It wasn't a question, as Mika looked to the right, pondering a bit about the question. Haru looked at her sensei. "What is it?" she asked, wondering what had just captivated her teachers mind.

''Nothing.'' Mika told back, falling again in her cold usual manner of talking. She turned her head and looked with the old cold look in Haruhi's direction. ''But that is the answer on your question. Any more questions regarding chakra?'' Mika asked, raising her right eyebrow again. Haruhi shook her head. "No...If I have any, then I'll ask." ...Her next question was regarding the time. Oh man...i'm so hungry. As if on que with her thoughts, her stomach growled loudly and she blushed out of embarassment.

''Think we're done for now. Take care of that shoulder and rest out. Next time we're going to train. And train more and harder. Go.'' Mika ordered Haruhi, waving a bit right hand as she was trying to shoo the littl girl away. The cold tone made it clear that the woman wasn't going to like it for a bit if Haruhi would stay longer than needed. So she complied and stood quickly, jogging over to the edge of the field to retrieve her jacket. After she picked it up, she put it on and stood there. She got an idea all of a sudden and hoped she wouldn't be crossing a line. "Sensei!" she called to her. "Would you like to get something to eat with me?"

The woman looked surprised. She had been surprised when Haruhi had tricked the whole team with the fake paper bomb tags. She had shown some talent after all, but the question just caused Mika's eyes to widen as she sat there. Silently for a moment. It took the woman a serious focus as she replied to Haruhi. ''No. Not today.'' Was all Mika could say in a serious voice. She eventually got back her serious look as she kept sitting, thought it was clear the question had confused Mika.

Haruhi wasent surprised at her teacher's response. She figured she would decline polietly, which she did. "Okay. Next time then." she said not really as a question but as a hopefull comment. She checked to make sure she had everything before walking towards the entrance of the field to leave. She smiled slightly as she felt she gained alot of new knowledge during their training together. She found herself already growing excited for their second mission.

Watching Haruhi walking away, Mika then slowly gained a confused look on her face. Slowly she brought her right hand up. It was clenched in a fist, but the woman slowly opened it. A bit of crimson liquid was seen on the palm of her hand. With a calmer look, Mika noticed the source. Back when Haruhi had thrown the kunai, at a better aim and force, Mika had deflected it. But while she had deflected the weapon, she noticed the light cut. A bit of blood was seen. Nothing serious at all. At least not physical. Clenching her hand slowly, Mika returned her gaze at the girl who was further away in the distance.

Just like....

[ChromeHound]

Shikaroku Nara
Konoha Genin - Team 9

As Hiron gave the briefing on their actions during the mission, Shikaroku simply nodded. He had known what his faults were, and though it was nice to hear that they had done well, Shikaroku knew that as a team, they still had far to go. He himself had noticed Mia holding back during the mission but, unlike Masami, Shikaroku wasn't upset by it. He thought he already knew what Mia's reasons were, and though her actions had proven to be slightly detrimental to the success of their mission, they had still pulled through. And so he held no grudge against Mia, nor any hard feelings. They would all have plenty of time to work together and strengthen their teamwork.

Shikaroku was excited for the prospect of working alongside a Hyuuga and an Inuzuka. They each had a particular set of strengths that would work well together. Coupled together with his shadow jutsu, Team 9 could be a formidable foe. He was brought back into the present by Masami's offering of tea. He was a little hesitant to accept the offer at first, still not one hundred percent certain how his migraines were going to fare after that mission. Shaking off his doubts, he decided that getting to know his new teammates was more important than hiding away for fear of pain.

"I too would be in for a cup of tea." He spoke quietly. Surprised at his own timidness. Looking between Mia and Masami, Shikaroku wondered where they would go for tea.

[ChromeHound]

Hayate Hyūzu
Konoha Genin - Team 2

It appeared that Kensuke remembered him after all. Hayate's smile grew slightly larger and he bowed his head slightly. "Well I consider it an honour to be joining your team, however briefly it may be for." Kensuke had mentioned that he would wait for the others to arrive before giving the briefing and so Hayate resigned himself to wait patiently for them.

Looking around the training fields, he briefly pondered what their mission would be like. Hopefully it would be a little more exciting than chasing cats or mending fences. Not that Hayate thought those types of mission beneath him, he simply hoped that this mission would bring him a challenge. Training under Kiyomi had a tendency to make him crave new challenges and that transferred into his desire for more interesting missions.

Deciding not to simply stand in silence until the other genin arrived, Hayate turned towards Kensuke grinning. "So, Kensuke-sensei, have you grown shorter since we last met? I could have sworn you were twice my size last time." His tone was lighthearted, attempting to fill the silence with a little friendly banter.

[Fieryfly]

Midori Sato

The Start of Something New

Midori was pretty pleased with herself. The girl, that was no longer that little, was currently standing before a quite run down looking building in the outskirts of Kumogakure. Even though it didn't look very fancy or worthy of praise with its grey walls and splatters of random paint, it was the ugly building that made Midori proud. Over the past few weeks she and Reyna had been working on it, it was their secret plan, their own place. Their base. Midori grinned as the word crossed her mind. A base sounded extremely exciting and that was exactly what it was. Totally exciting and it was good to have something like that again in her life.

Midori was aware of the fact that time had changed her though she hadn't exactly figure out yet if this change was good. Probably. Most likely. Lots of things had happened in the past 2 years. Awful things, painful things, but there were also good moments. Her thoughts went to her dad and to Kiyomi. Those were good things. Some problems had been solved, some others had been created. Maybe that was how things went. Maybe this project before her would raise new problems, but this time she wouldn't have to handle them alone. She would have Reyna to help her with them, and Deidara of course if he wanted, and all the other people that would come to this place. Because they would come.

The word had been send out to Genin and Chuunin of Kumogakure. Not through official means of course. Hopefully, Midori thought, the officials couldn't care less about what was going on. She really never wanted to see Asami again or, she corrected herself, at least not anytime soon. She patted herself on the shoulder for that thought. It was another thing she had learend during the years. She couldn't keep running away from things. She could avoid them for a while, but they would come back and she had learned to accept that. No, she hadn't send messages to people, she hadn't written letters. These things had gone from person to person by the way of the mouth, which fitted her just fine. People were talking about it, but only a select amount of people. Midori didn't want the place to be a public thing. it was for shinobi, it was for Genin and Chuunins. A place to hang out. A place to make friends. A place to be when a mission was done. A place to start things or end them.

A place to have fun.

Determined Midori placed her hands on her hips. This would be the start of a new chapter. This would be the start of something great. If only Gakuko was here to see it, then everything would be perfect. But Gakuko was gone and it was time for Midori to move on. She had Reyna now and Deidara and Raspberry-sensei and... She looked down to her feet where a little dog was playing with her shoelaces. "Let's go Pear." She said as she pulled the dog along towards the building. "Let's start something great."

[AlterNathan]

Ezuri Hyuuga

Ezuri woke up from the sun shining on his face. It was a nice morning, warm but with a cool breeze. Bird were chirping. Ezuri stretched his arms out and yawned widely. He shove the door open and shot a look at the sun clock, around eight. Walking back inside to change into his clothes he saw a note, he was supposed to meet Kensuke-sensei on the training field at nine? His muscles were still sore from yesterday! Ezuri put on his clothes and tippy-toed over the porch past Masami's room, Non sure if she was sleeping at home or over at Azumi, like she did most of the time, either way he would not want to wake het up.

Kensuke-sensei told him he would be teaming up with team two genin and meet with his teammate, an Inuzuka girl. Ezuri was quite good with animals, he hoped the ninken would be nice to him. Angry ninken were really dangerous. Ezuri took the roofs and made his way to the training field and saw Kensuke talking to another Genin. one last jump made him appear right next to the other genin. Ezuri hoped he didn't startle him. he grinned and scratched the back of his head "good morning Kensuke-sensei" and turned to the other genin, offering his hand to him "Hyuuga Ezuri, nice to meet you..."