[IC] Shinobi: The Ninja Way

[Asuu]

Konoha

Konohagakure no Sato...the epitome of a wonderful forest village. Large, sturdy mahogany trees surrounded the perimeter of the village's walls, hiding the bustling city amongst the beautiful shades of brown and ocra green. Birds freely twittered throughout the sky, arriving from Yukigakure due to migrational reasons, grouping along the trees and houses that dots throughout Konoha's interior and exterior. Merchants called out their wares languidly from beneath shaded carts, and happy, rambunctious children dashed through the streets, either chasing the resident 'Demon Cat' or playing 'Catch the Wooden Kunai', which was accompanied by a loud thunk and a curse as the kunai bounced off the heads of numerous unfortunate civilians.

---

Sandaime Hokage Ishida smiled calmly, turning his golden-eye stare from the window and onto the jounin group gathered inside of his office. His wizened, calm stare caused the slouchers to unwittingly straighten up their backs, and some even managed a clumsy salute. The Hokage nodded, before stepping up to a podium and opening his mouth.

"Now, about the new genin..."

---

Hiro stood right outside the door to Class 4-A, taking deep, calming breaths to relax both herself, and her throat, for the incoming speech. The petite Shinobi looked beautiful, as always, yet there was a saddened gaze in her crystal-blue eyes. She knew that it was going to come - she couldn't have done anything to stop it, nor did she want to...but this was always the worst time of the year. The day of graduation. She took one more breath, before sighing calmly and brushing a strand of platinum blonde hair from her eyes. "Let's do it..." she sighed, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her irises. It was a tear of both joy and sorrow, and she was annoyed and happy. Today was the day....Hiro adjusted her sun dress, rubbed her eyes once more, before entering through the large wooden door.

---

"...And that is why I am proud to greet you, not as my cute little graduates, but as fellow Shinobi!"

Polite applause followed the exclamation. Hiro waited for it to die down, before smiling and opening the file on her desk. Clearing her throat, she began speaking once more....

"Squad 1 is as followed: Renka Kagami, Ayaka Hyuuga, and Hibiki Wakana. The sensei is Daisuke Yama."

"Squad 2 is as followed: Kurai Nara, Rin Yamakage, Ryuto Okami, and the sensei is Touzoku Hasenji."

"Squad 3 is as followed: Aki Moruma, Nettaiya Helix, and Teru Naoki. The sensei is Kyouka Hasegawa."

"Squad 4...."

"Squad 5..."

Hiro smiled, giving the class another salute, before bowing and turning towards the door.

"Your senseis will be here shortly. Do me proud...and try not to destroy the room while I'm gone."

She made a ram seal, before suddenly exploding in a gust of leaves.

[Aeris]

Rin sat at her usual desk with her hands clasped together in front of her. The girl had been quiet the whole day... Or rather, the whole time in the academy. Very rarely she had spoken and today this wouldn't change; she was paying attention to Hiro-senpai and she was already feeling sad herself by simply looking at those saddened eyes their senpai had. But... This would happen, anyway. It's not as if the graduation was an unexpected thing; and while they were losing a senpai, today would be the day that everyone went from simple students to actual shinobi- even if the lowest rank, genin; and they'd gain a sensei. That was... the key to becoming better. It took a while for Hiro-senpai to say everything she actually had to say and now she was about to inform them their squads and their jounin.

While on the outside Rin was still the same quiet, nearly untalkable girl, on the inside everything was becoming chaotic. Her thoughts twisting into a plethora of ideas of whom she'd be teamed up for the rest of her time as genin, how better she'd eventually become, the training... Missions! Would there be any dangerous one? And then..

"Squad 2 is as followed: Kurai Nara, Rin Yamakage, Ryuto Okami, and the sensei is Touzoku Hasenji."

She heard her name between the two names of other students; her eyes naturally scanning the classroom for the mentioned names. Kurai Nara. He was... pretty good, having someone such as himself on her team made her feel less tense about the 'dangerous missions subject'. Rin knew this because she had not only known him for the whole academy's duration, but she had trained with him... And done the same with Ryuto Õkami. If she could remember well... He wasn't the brightest prodigy out there, but certainly not bad, either. She didn't knew a lot about him apart from the fact that he wasn't skilled in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, but made up by taking his taijutsu to another level. He was hardworking, and Rin could admire him for that and be happy with the fact that she'd be fighting alongside him for a while. She was glad that she had been paired with those two, since they were the closest thing to 'friends' she had. Naturally, Rin wasn't the kind of person who made too many friends.

Touzoku... Hasenji. This name wasn't completely unknown, but their sensei was the figure which Rin knew the least about. The genin smiled, leaning a bit against her chair. It was impossible to keep herself from imagining all the things which would happen now that she had finally graduated from the academy...

[Gokiburi7]

Nettaiya Helix
Ninja Academy - Class 4A

Nettaiya tapped one hand idly as the class waited, their uncertainty taking the form of a sustained low chatter. If one cast their eyes across the classroom, it wouldn't be hard to find the drastically varying points of the emotional spectrum - those students who looked terrified and those who merely looked bored.

Nettaiya was one of the latter, for he had nothing to fear; his squad was already decided...

At some stage that week, an older ninja had told Nettaiya about an academy secret - that the squads were decided, not beforehand, but based on who you sat next to during the reading. Naturally, Nettaiya had believed the rumour without so much as a hint of afterthought - thus he had opted to sit at the back of the class, next to his haphazard friends; two underachievers, who had only made it to this stage by the skin of their teeth.

Nettaiya grinned slightly, glancing over the other students, a feeling of faux pity coursing through him. The poor kids... destined to hang with strangers for the rest of their training...

At last Hiro entered, the headmaster that Nettaiya hated to love. She had never been unkind to him, even despite his occasional rule-breaking - all of Nettaiya's transgressions had been met with a kindly tone and eventual forgiveness. As such, he respected the woman - though it pained him to admit it.

After a brief introduction, Hiro read out the squad names whilst Nettaiya listened with bated breath.

"Squad 3 is as followed: Aki Moruma, Nettaiya Helix, and Teru Naoki. The sensei is Kyouka Hasegawa."

"What?!"

Nettaiya couldn't help letting out a short cry of shock, a sound that turned a few disgruntled heads. Hiro continued to read, whilst Nettaiya sunk in his seat, a pained future flashing before his hidden eyes. The rumour had been false.. after he'd put so much faith into it..

Nettaiya glanced about the classroom hurriedly, trying to pin faces to the names of his squad-mates, though it was to no avail. He simply had no idea who Aki and Teru were - despite all the years that they had shared in the academy. He'd never even bothered to learn their names.

Strangers... he'd been paired with strangers...

Nettaiya placed a single shaking hand over his face as the headmaster departed, resigning himself to listening, as the classroom came to life with sudden motion.

Students moving to talk to their teammates. Like it or not, he'd have to put up with whoever approached him. Either that....

Or he'd have to leave the academy.

[Raineh Daze]

Before the announcement, Ayaka had been sitting, drumming a pattern on the desk and doing her best not to let her boredom at the proceedings show. Every now and then, she'd glance to the side, where a blind ninja sat, before going back to looking at the front of the room and waiting for them to get to the important part: would she be paired with Wakana?

Finally, the teacher got to reading the teams out.

The loudest noise following the first announcement was Ayaka's joyous cheer, and the tall Hyuuga leapt to her feet and set about gathering the rest of her new team as soon as possible--or at least all getting to the same spot. Step one was as straightforward as you could get: outright sweep Wakana from her seat, spinning her around, and then tucking the smaller girl under one arm and vaulting the desk to get to the pink-haired girl the two of them had been paired with.

Wakana, sadly, was still being carried.

[Yog Sothoth]

Aki stood amongst the other students at the academy, listening to their teacher give her speech. He was excited to know which team he would put on and more importantly, who would be his teammates. Whoever they were he hoped that they were at least good enough to give a challenge in training. His clan had taught him to go for the strongest opponents that he could find. The Moruma clan believed that only facing the best of the best would prove a true shinobi of his greatness, and Aki believed this without question. He listened carefully as the women said out the names of the genin who would be apart of the teams.

""Squad 1 is as followed: Renka Kagami, Ayaka Hyuuga, and Hibiki Wakana. The sensei is Daisuke Yama." Not bad Aki, but he was a little disappointed that he didn't get to be on a team with a genin from the Hyuuga clan. Their Gentle Fist taijutsu style would have been an ideal opponent for his clan's Beast Fist style of taijutsu. Then there was the genin from the Hibiki clan, very interesting indeed. The clan of blind ninja were known for the ability to overcome their blindness thanks to their bloodline technique. What he found strange was her use of drumsticks for harnessing chakra, but she good at taijutsu if he recalled correctly. he didn't know much about the third genin Renka Kagami, but might learn more about her in the future. When Aki heard that Daisuke Yama was the team's mentor, Aki was envious, he'd heard that the jonin had great skill in taijutsu and had a very formidable bloodline technique.

He then heard the names of the genin who would be part of Squad 2 "Squad 2 is as followed: Kurai Nara, Rin Yamakage, Ryuto Okami, and the sensei is Touzoku Hasenji."

Aki didn't know much about most of them but he of course knew a lot about Ryuto Okami, the two of them were rivals. Aki was adiment that his clan's style of taijutsu was better than Ryuto's and they had been trying to show whose clan styles were better ever since they had started at the academy. Even though they would sometimes have heated arguments over who had the better fighting style, Aki deep down had hoped that they could have been on the same team.

Finally, the third squad was announced, "Squad 3 is as followed: Aki Moruma, Nettaiya Helix, and Teru Naoki. The sensei is Kyouka Hasegawa."

Aki gave a groan, he had been placed on a team with Nettaiya Helix. The boy was arrogant as all hell, and when he heard him burst out in reaction to the announcement, Aki rolled his eyes in annoyance. This was going to possibly be a tough road to go through on his journey as a shinobi. He was interested in having Teru Naoki on his team, the genin used a form of taijutsu very similar to the Inuzuka by using dogs as a way of combating their opponents. Aki was curious to see how his taijutsu would go up against Teru's. He didn't know too much about their sensei Kyouka Hasegawa, but what he did know was that she was a woman of many different personalities. Aki didn't mind, as long as she trained them well, she could be a sadist for all he cared.

Now that he knew who his teammates were, he walked over to Nettaiya and said, "Well it looks like we're together on the same team Nettaiya, I hope you can keep up."

[Rin]

Hibiki Wakana - Ninja Academy Class 4A, currently under Ayaka's arm

Immediately after the team assignments were announced, Wakana flinched as a loud noise erupted from beside her. As much as she liked Ayaka, did she really need to be so loud? The blind ninja had no time to protest, though, as she soon found her tiny body lifted into the air, spun around and then placed under the taller girl's arm as she bounded over to their new teammate.

"...Ayaka, that was too loud," she finally stated, her limbs dangling in a seemingly helpless fashion as she did so. "I know you're excited, but please don't do that so suddenly. It's hard to see our new partner when my ears are ringing like this..."

Her head perked up a little as she looked at Renka. Well, more tilted her head vaguely in her general direction, at least. Whilst the echoing of Ayaka's yell still rung in her ears, making everything seem rather blurry, she could still at least get some idea of where their teammate was.

"Yo," the blind ninja raised a hand in greeting, cheerfully waving at Renka with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Renka. I'm Wakana, of the Hibiki clan, and... Well, Ayaka can introduce herself."

[Makatsume Haru]

Renka Kagami, Meeting her new teammates.

Just after the ceremony started, Renka arrived. Being a tad bit late, she squirmed through her classmates and made it to her seat, where she sat and started attending to the speech of the headmaster, but every word seemed to last for an eternity. She was nodding off, unable to keep at bay her sleepiness. It was not until she heard her name that she suddenly jumped out of her seat and scanned the area for her teammates. The thing was... Who exactly were her teammates? She didn't quite heard it and asking the headmaster to repeat herself was a no-no.

So, she simply just sit down again. She figured that panicking now wouldn't do her any good, and that most probably her teammates would find her instead. So, she saw as everyone else stand up and starting greeting their teammates. It would have been nice to also do so herself, but she was at a loss. And finally, after sometime waiting for anyone to approach her, the gigantic Hyuuga girl was carrying around the Wakan girl. The blind girl then went on and greeted Renka, saying that her partner could introduce herself. After a minute or two of looking at the girl dumbfounded, she finally stood up and bowed deeply to greet the two girls. "Nice to meet you too! I am Renka, of the Kagami clan. And don't worry, I know about Ayaka-chan and about you too, Hibiki-chan. I hope we get along!" She said in a cheerful, but really sluggish way.

Even though she didn't really got to talk a lot with them, she did know about the two. Both of them were from really big clans, unlike hers. She tilted her head slightly. "So, um, who will be our sensei? I didn't quite hear that." She hope the sensei would be someone powerful who could teach her many things. Her team was all female, at least in the genins. She was a bit let down, though, that not even one boy was put in her squad. She heard her mother got to know her father because they were in the same squad. But at least she could develop such a friendly relationship as Ayaka and Hibiki.

[DaDrummer676]

Kohonagakure: Class 4-A

Ryuto Okami's foot tapped a fast beat on the floor below him. His excitement was very pronounced, seeing as he had a huge grin on his face. Today was the day, he was finally going to become a genin. All his hard work, blood, sweat, and tears was finally going to pay off. They said he could't do it, it was practically unheard of. A Taijutsu prodigy that had no skill with ninjutsu or genjutsu whatsoever. If people didn't like it, then he would just beat his ideas into them. He wondered who was going to be in his squad, would he like them? Hate them?

The young male's attention was soon drawn to the beautiful Miss Hiro. She was there to announce the squads and their sensei. Ryuto listened intently. He was jealous of the first squad, not only didi they have the tall ass Hyuga, but they also had Daisuke as their mentor. He hoped one day to fight that man and win. It was going to happen! Ryu perked up when he heard that he would be with Kurai and Rin. Boy, was he lucky! He was in a squad with his friend Kurai. He had sparred with Rin a few times, she seemed nice enough, although a little bit shy. Ryuto shot out of his seat and moved over to Kurai, he pushed his excitement down. Kurai wasn't one to get overwhelmed by his emotions, so neither would the Okami. Ryuto was also delighted to heard that the bastard Aki was stuck with the arrogant Nettaiya. Ryuto shifted his focus back to Kurai. "Looks like us and Rin are going to be working together. Do you know anything about our sensei? I haven't heard about her before, is she a new sensei?" Ryu was curious, he wondered what she would be like. Hopefully they would get along, or else he was going to be in Hell. Okami waited for Rin to come over and for their sensei to show up.

Ryu remembered something, "Hey Kurai. I finished my new seal, it has a huge shield in it. I can't wait to test it in battle, I don't even know if it's going to work though. If it does then it's going to really help me though. There one attacks that even I can't dodge." He lifted his hoodie to reveal the seal on his right forearm. It had taken him a weak to make this, and the tattoo process hurt quite badly. Though, the pay-off was great. He was proud of his Fūinjutsu, he already had five seals created. Was even he was more proud of was his Taijutsu. He was sen confined that he would be able to duke it out with that Hyuga. Although, he might have to chop off her legs though, she was wayyyy too tall. With his luck he would uppercut her and get a fist full of breast. Not a very effective technique. But, Ryu digresses. Ryuto sat down next to Kurai, and watched all the other groups begin to talk amongst themselves. There was so much ahead, so many things to do, his journey was only just beginning.

[Asuu]

Kohonagakure Academy: Class 4-A

Kurai's sharp, half-lidded black eyes moved swiftly through the room in a vain effort to busy himself. Although the emotionally-distant boy was able to keep a firm grip on his emotions - anger, frustration, and anticipation in particular - he couldn't help but feel a tiny sliver of excitement worm itself into his heart. "Of course she makes us wait..." he whispered quietly to himself, turning his head to the side and leaning backwards. His feet, clad in soft leather sandals, rested casually on his wooden desk as the Nara laid backwards in typical Nara fashion, though if one looked closely, you could see his closed eyelids occasionally twitch, as if he was carefully looking through the slits of his eyelids instead of sleeping, which he usually did in these cases.

Nice. Thinking time... Kurai thought to himself, opening one eye, only to close it immediately due to the long locks of black hair that obscured, and scratched his pupils. A half-hearted sigh escaped his mouth, pushing the silky hair to the side, and exposing his eyesight back to the world. Back on topic...who would be the prime candidates for my team? Hm... His eyes opened slowly, and he gave another quick examination through the room. There was an abnormally tall Hyuuga girl. Kurai personally wasn't attracted to girls taller than him, but to each their own. Her clan's fighting style wouldn't support him as well. They were more offensive then tanky, although her eyesight would be great for ranged attacks. Think about using a crossbow from miles away.

Talk about effective.

There was a smaller, much smaller female - blind, if he remembered correct - sitting beside the taller Hyuuga. She used drumsticks as her choice of weapon as well. Effective, but seemingly loud and abrasive. He couldn't see her being on his team, for obvious reasons. His eyes turned to his right. Another male, this one with a slightly animalistic aura about him. Hm....most-likely not. Another one of those 'hoo-rah' taijutsu users, most likely. Kurai glanced to his left, and for once his naturally frowning lips tilted upwards into a half smirk. Rin. She was a tad easier to work with. He remembered her, mostly due to when they would train in the same fields occasionally, and because of their similar Academic prowess, in both the practical and book work. He gave a small nod. There was a 98.8 percent that she would be his female partner. Ryuto was the last choice he could think of, and Kurai was okay with him as well. His sealing work would be useful for the whole squad, and his taijutsu wasn't a joke. Personally, Kurai found pure taijutsu a tad idiotic, but some people made it work.

The teen glanced up once he heard the sound of a door open. Hiro-sensei gave him a smile, before taking her place at the podium near her desk. Kurai sat up straighter, resting a palm against his face once she began her speech...

---

"Squad 2 is as followed: Kurai Nara, Rin Yamakage, Ryuto Okami, and the sensei is Touzoku Hasenji."

The normal look of aloofness and apathy only warped for a second, showing a look of satisfaction, before regaining it's potency. "Called it." he muttered, straightening from his sleeping position and twitching his wrist expertly. In a silent flash of steel, his Tanto was clenched in gloved hands, tied by the hilt with ninja-wire for emergency sheathing reasons, and for offensive techniques. Kurai twirled it between his fingers, admiring it's impressive length, sharpness, and lightness. There was a carving inscribed into the blade. That of a bat. Something Kurai believed represented him pretty well. He stared at his reflection, channeling a bit of Raiton and Shadow chakra into the hilt, which transferred into the blade, making a transparent hue of electricty arch off of the blade, while shadows rippled around the edges.

"So, it's time..." he muttered, a smirk appearing on his face. He clenched his hand, and the Tanto was suddenly surrounded in shadowy chains, which dragged the blade back into it's sheathed position in the boy's sleeve. Kurai glanced up at the appearance of one of his teammates, Ryuto, approached his desk.

"Looks like us and Rin are going to be working together. Do you know anything about our sensei? I haven't heard about her before, is she a new sensei?"

Kurai sat up, giving the boy his usual lazy stare. "I believe so." he replied, knowing that the boy was about to say something else right after his first sentence. Right....about....now. "Hey Kurai. I finished my new seal, it has a huge shield in it. I can't wait to test it in battle, I don't even know if it's going to work though. If it does then it's going to really help me though. There one attacks that even I can't dodge." He then proceeded to show the seal, something Kurai could sparcely understand due to him studying the Art once or twice in the library.

"Hm...interesting. It should prove useful for blocking most attacks." he said, standing up to his full height and stretching his lean body languidly. After a small yawn, which was muffled by his scarf, Kurai stuffed his hands in his pockets, retaining his usual slouched, aloof posture. "Oi, Rin." he quietly greeted the girl who sat a seat away from him. He leaned back against the wall, looking at the door.

"Do you know anything of our new sensei?"

[Raineh Daze]

"Hyuuga Ayaka!" the tall girl said enthusiastically, not putting her load down but instead pulling her upright, so that Wakana was simply lifted off the ground rather than being lugged around like a sack of potatoes, "Though... I'm sure it's obvious given the eyes."

The Hyuuga heiress stood around for a few seconds, watching the teams coalesce and thinking about her knowledge of jounin--a bit better than you'd expect of most genin, since the information the clan as a whole received from its standing filtered down to her in bits and pieces. Yama, Yama... he was that guy bigger than she was! She'd met him once, for some sort of taijutsu thing, and even though that was a few years back... Ayaka was certain that he was still bigger than her.

"I'm not sure why we're introducing ourselves after so long in the same class," the white-eyed girl wondered, continuing to hold her blind friend close to her body, "It seems redundant."

Not what she'd meant to say. So easily sidetracked...

"Oh, and, uh... I think we must be a taijutsu specialised team?"

[Aeris]

Kohonagakure Academy: Class 4-A

Rin heard her name being mentioned more than once; obviously by her teammates. First by Ryuto, who she overheard saying that they'd be working together, so she just absently minded glanced at the boy. Her eyes then felt on her other teammate, who had just stood himself up, stretching his body right after... Then he apparently yawned, or at least the act looked like that. Finally, he called out her name, directly;

"Oi, Rin,"

Even his voice sounded lazy, which would bring Rin a giggle if they weren't watching her. Looking over at Kurai's direction as he questioned if she knew about their sensei, she slowly stood herself up, moving a bit closer- since she was fairly certain they wouldn't hear her from that distance. She first stopped by Ryuto, bowing her head to respectfully greet him, then she moved slightly closer to Kurai, stopping where she could look at both Kurai and Ryuto at the same time. She exhaled a soft sigh of disappointment, shaking her head slowly.

"I don't know." The said, shortly and simply, before falling back into silence again. Her lips parted, as if she was going to say something, but... She decided against it. Rin deeply wanted to be more.. active, interact with her teammates. She glanced around the classroom, seeing other teams getting along and conversating with one another, but when it came to her. Hmpf. It's not like that would be a problem, anyway; to her, her teammates would eventually manage to understand her, even if she didn't need to say anything. That's the kind of synergy she wished to build with both Kurai and Ryuto.

[Gokiburi7]

"You hope I can keep up?!" Nettaiya snapped in response, "look who's talking! What are you, like... nine?"

Nettaiya sighed, turning away from Aki to face the front. Around the two, classmates were celebrating; comparing skills, styles and their clashing personalities. Silence fell between Aki and Nettaiya momentarily, an awkward silence that clearly demonstrated the boys' relationship. They had nothing in common, not even fond memories of sharing time in the academy. At last, Nettaiya spoke, a hint of acceptance lacing his voice.

"So, which one are you then? Aki or Teru?"

It would do no good to simply lament his fate - Nettaiya would have to try his hardest to make the best out of the situation.

[PhoenixEye9]

Teru sat and listened, "Squad 3 is as followed: Aki Moruma, Nettaiya Helix, and Teru Naoki. The sensei is Kyouka Hasegawa.",

"Well then,  a show-offy prick, and an arrogant asshole, this is the greatest day ever," Teru thought to himself, "Might as well go talk to the team." He said getting up walking over to the team before realizing the commotion everyone was making about teams. "God bless, people calm down!" Teru yelled though he didn't even know if anyone heard, so he just kept walking to his team that seemed to be gathering in the back.

As he got there he heard Nettaiya ask, "So, which one are you then? Aki or Teru?" , Teru was a little aggravated at that, "Well whose the one who fights with a dog, and which one obviously does not have a dog?" his voice was in full smart ass mode at this point.

---

Makoto

Makoto sat in Teru's jacket and listened. W hen Squad 3 was announced he reacted before Teru, he didn't mind people's personalities as long as they loved him. He began wiggling trying to get Teru to move until he finally did. Once they got to the team, Makoto barked happily as a greeting to the team.

[Yog Sothoth]

Aki was about to respond in a rather snide way when Teru came up to them and answered Nettaiya's question in a smart ass way. This made Aki annoyed, it looked like they would have a very hard time trying to develop teamwork.

"Look, it's clear that we don't like each other but if we are going to be a proper squad and not get killed on our first mission then we need to try and get along" Aki told them. On the inside, Aki was laughing at the idea of them even trying to work as a team, it was clear that his two teammates had very big egos. Aki then noticed the boy's dog Makoto peek his head out of Teru's jacket and he couldn't help but smile. His clan had a special connection with animals and they seemed to know what an animal wanted and what type of moods they were in. He took a piece of beef from his pocket and held it out for the dog to take it and eat it.

"Here's a nice little snack for you boy" Aki said to Makoto, he didn't ask if it was okay to feed Teru's dog since it was easy to assume that any dog would like a bit of beef.

[Innue]

Hasenji, Touzoku - Graduation Ceremony, Room 4-A

Touzoku's arrival was swift after the departure of Hiro. Stepping into the room, she quickly drew the attention with a strong, confident voice.

"Squad 2, please report outside immediately."

There was little else for her to say. Touzoku had to test her new charges, not only to assess their skills and strengths, but more importantly to ensure compatibility with her as their sensei. She had read through the files on the three gennin well in advance, so she knew their reported skills and abilities quite thoroughly. But a person was more than what was written about them and of all people in this world, Touzoku was a person truly capable of understanding another - it was her skill. Of course, their would be judgments going both ways.

Her charges would find her out in the training fields behind the Academy, near the edge of the forest. One arm wrapped around her waist, the other at her side, she stood casually awaiting their arrival, when the true entertainment would begin. She smiled, the thoughts of her plans running through her mind. She wondered how the young shinobi would deal with not only her test, but with the choice they would have at the end. Only those that made the correct choice would be able to qualify as her students. There was no wavering on this policy for her.

[Gokiburi7]

"Ech," Nettaiya spat, "a dog... Keep that thing away from me; I hate dogs! Sniffing around the place... acting like they're somehow better than us!"

Nettaiya calmed himself watching his teammates subtly, his dark-glasses hiding an observational gaze. No matter how hard he tried, Nettaiya couldn't remember a thing about the two - there were faded memories flittering beneath the surface, though nothing potent enough to pierce through.

It was a given, that the three would have conversed at some stage over the years, however loosely, but not even a fragment of that dialogue sprang to mind.

In short... It was perfect.

"I have some good news for you guys," Nettaiya announced, "we're not like the other squads. The other teams are cheap, happy groups who will get along and work well together.

We have something a little bit more powerful here. There isn't a single bond between the three of us, yet friction is capable of making bonds of its own. If we can play it right, then this little triangle of mutual dislike... will have a clear edge over everyone else."

Nettaiya gestured to the trio of girls momentarily.

"Take the girls for example... they'll be a happy little team, bouncing their abilities off of each other until said abilities grow dull. When you have teammates ready to defend you, why bother honing your own powers fully?"

Nettaiya shrugged in finality, leaning back across his chair.

"I guess that it's kind of lucky that I got saddled with two jerks like you... we're going to be the most aggressive - and therefore strongest - team in this village, trust me!"

[Rin]

Wakana - Ninja Academy Class 4A, with Ayaka and Renka

Well, it was nice to be the right way up again, at least. Wakana would've prefered it if her feet were on the ground again, but there was really no point in trying to fight Ayaka. She meant no harm, after all, and... It was rather nice to have someone give you so much attention, really.

Having been righted, she took a moment to look over Renka. Well, "look" wasn't exactly the right word for it, really. As the ringing in her ears from before had finally cleared out, she was able to use the sound of the three talking together to get a better grasp of her new teammate's physical makeup. Renka seemed rather short, although she was the youngest of the three... Even though she was still taller than Wakana herself. Not that this was something she worried about; after all, size didn't really mean much, and Ayaka seemed to like her shortness... But that was beside the point. Renka's build was rather slight, too; she had known the girl to practice taijutsu, but it seemed like she was included in the team to complement the other two in ways a full-on taijutsu specialist could not. What was it she focused on, again? Wakana had vague recollections of something about water, but now that she thought about it she'd never really seen much of her in action before.

..."Seen" being a relative term.

"It's polite, Ayaka," she finally replied, a pleasant smile breaking across her face. "I am sure we will get along just fine, Renka. I look forward to training with you." Renka was her teammate now. Of course they were going to train together, even if she had to drag her out every morning to do so (and she would). And since they were going to be training together as equals, she saw no reason to use honourifics. Wakana was strange that way.

"Our sensei is Daisuke Yama," she stated matter-of-factly. Someone like her couldn't have missed it even if she wasn't aware of the name before. They'd never met, but for a taijutsu specialist she couldn't have asked for a better sensei. "I believe you may be right, Ayaka. I just hope Renka here can keep up with us!" And with that, she let out a hearty laugh. It seemed like her time as a genin would be most interesting...

[The Traveler of Realms]

Yama, Daisuke- Outside of classroom 4a.

Daisuke leaned casually against the wall beside the door to the classroom, listening to the various sounds that the announcement of the teams caused. Laughter, shouting, cries of outrage, the occasional groan, it all brought a nostalgic smile to the giants face. It had been many years since he was a genin, but he remembered all too well the intense emotions that his class experienced. His smile slowly turned downwards as he once again began questioning his resolve. The Hokage had been trying to get Daisuke to teach a group of genin for the past couple of years, and this year the old man finally convinced him. Now though, with his students just a door away he couldn't help but worry that he would be a failure as a sensei. Tightening his jaw, Daisuke shook the those thoughts away, reminding himself that the Hokage wouldn't have asked him if he didn't think Daisuke was capable of it.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his mind to his genin instead. The two taijutsu specialists were his choice, in fact they were the only reason he agreed. Both of their clans were as well known for their taijutsu as his had been when it was still around. The third girl had been the Hokage recommendation to make the team more rounded, and so Daisuke took her as well, trusting the old man's judgement. Which he should be doing right now.

Pushing himself off of the wall he turns towards the door. A slight chuckle parts his lips as he pulls his shoulders towards his chest, and ducks his head to get through the doorway. Straightening up he walks to the center of the room, before sliding his gaze around the room. Finding his team together, he raises a hand, pointing at them. "Squad One, you are with me. We are meeting at Training Ground 22. See you there." His deep voice boomed through the classroom, before he walked out of the room, away making his way to the meeting spot.

[Raineh Daze]

Ayaka, Classroom 4A, with Wakana and Renka

The Hyuuga finally decided to do the kind thing and put Wakana back on the floor... which meant that, if she hadn't been paying enough attention to her fellow classmates, Renka would be able to see perfectly clearly just how huge the height difference between the two girls was. It was a fair estimate that Wakana was two thirds of the taller girl's height.

"Right, we've got a goal, meet you there!" she said, once again vaulting desks rather than walking like any sane person would do. If the jounin was walking, it was quite probable that the student would get to the right area before him.

Ayaka had only two speeds: running, and motionless.

[Makatsume Haru]

Renka Kagami, with Wakana and Ayaka

So, their sensei was Yama Daisuke, she had heard some things about him, but to be honest, she didn't quite knew who he was, just that he was a taijutsu based ninja. She really was put in a team full of taijutsu users, should she start training and honing her taijutsu to keep up with them? The thought crossed her mind. She stayed in her own little world until a deep voice called and said that the squad one should met him at the Training Ground 22. She straightened out and said in a stiff voice. "Y-yes! We'll be there!" Needless to say, she was nervous. She thought she should treat her teacher with the utmost respect, so he could help her become a great ninja.

However, formal or stiff as she was, her pace was really no match for the pace others had. The teacher was long gone even after she said that, and one of her teammates, the gigantic Ayaka, was already making her way through the desks to get to the specified location, and she seemed to be in a hurry to get there. Renka started fidgeting, unsure of how to ask her other teammate what she wanted to ask, where was the Training Ground 22, anyway? She thought that it may seem idiotic for someone assisting the school not to know even that. So, to avoid the embarrassment of asking such a thing which should be common knowledge for ninjas in the school, she dashed off after Ayaka, who seemed to know where she was going. She was trying to keep up with her pace and trying not to be left behind, but as Ayaka sprinted, Renka was left behind a little and needed to run to catch up again, and then she was left behind again, and she needed to run again, and so on, she would repeat such a thing until they reached the training grounds.