As Ayameโs thumb traced the seal of her scrolls, so to did Shioriโs sword hand reach for her hilt. Her gestures were nowhere near as subtle, but when did Shiori ever give the notion that subtlety was in her wheelhouse? *Come onโฆ draw, damn Lowlander. I dare you.* Her internal dialogue ran hot, her temper a trait handed down from her mother, no doubt. While she was the same firebrand her mother was, she also held her fatherโs patience. Shiori may be looking for trouble, but sheโd never draw first.
The Half-Oni rose to her feet, blade gently sliding along its hilt as she prepped for the first blow. As Ayame analyzed Shiori, so too did she analyze her rival. Scrawny, light build, no doubt a ninjutsu user of some sort. Did this lowly Leaf upstart really think she could compete with her, the daughter of a Sannin? One good swing and sheโd be blown away in an earth-shattering kaboom. All she needed wasโฆ
Then, the tension was suddenly severed, cut down not by action on either geninโs part, but by the sudden arrival of their Jonin. Shioriโs grip on her hilt loosened and she laxed, letting herself fall back into the casual atmosphere the group had originally built.
As Miki verified Shioriโs story, the oni couldnt help but childishly stick her tongue out at the Uchiha. Sheโd sit quietly through Ayameโs introduction before drawing her blade with a full flourish before resting it on her shoulder. โAs I said earlier, you can call me Shiori. My specialty is bashing lowlander skulls and my goalโฆโ Shiori offered a moment of quiet contemplation. Her overly bombastic tone took a backseat for the briefest of moments. โIโm going to show the world my greatness,โ she said, forcing her outgoing tone back into her words. Still, her words hung with the fainted hint of sullen air.
BattleInfo
CHAKRA: 400/400 // STAMINA: 700/700 // SAKETON: 800/800 // BODY RANK: D // BLOODLINE: Clay Arts || Oni // CLASS: Bukijutsu || Bloodline Str: +2 // Spd: +0 // Agi: +0 // End: +2 TITLES: N/a || Profile
As the tension between Ayame and Shiori grew, Genma inched closer to the edge of his seat. His eyes, already wide with excitement, defied possibility and widened even further. Ayame was preparing to undo the seal on the scroll held in her hand, and Shiori was equally as prepared to unsheath her sword. By this point, he had leaned forward far enough that his rear end had left the bench and was hovering in the air above it. This was it, the moment Genma was looking forward to, the first exchange of blowsโฆ that was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a woman beside him, answering his prior question.
And that was that. The tension, though not entirely gone, had been cut away by the purple eyed interloper. He settled back onto the table with an audible thud, groaning in disappointment. โDamn, what a let down. You couldn't wait just a couple of minutes?โ He continued grumbling, mostly quietly, while Miki rattled off their names. He arched a curious brow as her eyes changed to a red hue with strange black patterns surrounding the pupils, but continued his musings of displeasure.
Once Shiori and Ayame had finished introducing themselves, Genma stopped his complaints. Wellโฆ. Mostly. โI'm Genma. You, are a buzzkill,โ he said, pointing a finger towards Miki. โI'm just here to have an excuse to be out of the house, and maybe have some fun while I'm at it.โ Although the other genin might not have picked up on the subtle shifts in his line of sight, Miki no doubt would have noticed that the entire time Genma was talking, he was nonobviously scanning Miki's form to spot any hints of valuable items or a coin purse that she had on her.
tab Somehow things had gone from bad to worse. First his debacle with the donut selection and now two of teammates were at each other's throats. He wasn't quite sure how the latter was his fault yet but somehow, he just knew that it was. 'Curse you, cinnamon sugar donut.' he silently swore beneath his breath, his fist clenched in frustration. Sensing this tension in their creator, Tomoru did their best to offer comfort in these trying times, gently placing their head and front paws in Kazuki's lap, but sadly, it was to little avail. Kazuki had already started spiraling in his mind and once that started, there was no stopping the whirlpool of thoughts dragging him down.
tab While watching tensions rise between Ayame and Shiori had Kazuki drowning in anxiety, it didn't seem to bother their remaining teammate, Genma. In fact, the boy appeared to be having a good time with it, as if he were watching a show. As Genma leaned in to get Kazuki's take on the matter, the poor Inuzuka could do little more than let out a nervous chuckle, Though the look on his face made it clear how much distress he was in. With neither of the girls showing any sign of backing down and Genma all but taking bets at this point, did that mean that it was up to Kazuki to step in and put a stop to all this? It'd be a cold day in hell before that ever happened. He was already naturally intimidated by Ayame and Shiori when they weren't bearing their fangs. Fat chance he'd get between them when they ready to fight. But surely someone had to do something, right? Thankfully, before Kazuki could completely implode, that someone arrived.
tab"Neither of them... I would hope."
tab Hearing a voice come out of nowhere, Kazuki let out a yelp as he jumped to the side. It seemed his normally keen senses were failing him this day, as this was the second person to catch him completely off guard with their arrival. 'Man, I gotta get out of my own head.' he thought with a sigh. Still, even if she had nearly given him a heart attack, the purple-haired woman was a welcomed sight. He couldn't say for certain, but she had an authoritative presence to her and was quick to step in to diffuse the infighting. This allowed Kazuki to breath a sigh of relief, releasing some of the tension in his body as his shoulders relaxed.
tab After the woman introduced herself as their sensei, Miki Shiratori, and explained that she had been placed in charge of their group by the Hokage, it seemed it was their turns to introduce themselves in return. Unsurprisingly, Ayame was the first to step up to the plate, showing no hesitation in sharing a bit about herself with the group. What was surprising was when she mentioned that her favorite food were a particular cinnamon pastry sold in the marketplace. 'Wait. But I thought- Then why did she- Huh?' he tried to piece together this new information with her actions from earlier but was left completely confounded. Had he misread the situation?
tab Following Ayame's introduction, his other two teammates kept theirs relatively brief. Shiori's was aggressive and wasn't at all shy about alluding to violence, something that he could attest to firsthand. Genma on the other hand, was completely laidback and nonchalant with his introduction. He even casually tossed a slight against their sensei, something Kazuki would never be bold enough to do. Speaking of which, with all the other introductions out of the way, that just left him, last in line as usual. Scooping up Tomoru with one arm and holding his partner to his chest, Kazuki quickly jumped up onto his feet, standing rigidly at attention. "Ka-Kazuki Inuzuka and I uhhh....." he stammered out, though his voice trailed off when it came time to say more about himself. Honestly, he wasn't really sure what to share with the group. He didn't consider himself a particularly interesting person and he didn't want to bore anyone with meaningless facts about himself. "Well I uh ... I just hope I don't get in anyone else's way so I'll do my best not to hold any of you back." he said meekly, slowly lowering his head as he felt his anxiety setting back in.
tab Thankfully, a small yip from Tomoru was enough to pull Kazuki back to his senses. "Oh! Right. And this is Tomoru." he said, Tomoru once again letting out a yip in recognition.
The woman wouldn't say anything as both Shiori and Ayame got out their final quips to each other. It was better than the alternative of going to blows she supposed. She'd pay attention intently to each of the genin as they introduced themselves. " I don't believe I've ever been to that food cart, I'd like to try that someday." Miki smiled at Ayame's suggestion of a mini cinnabon, coming to the realization she hadn't stopped for lunch at that moment.
"Bashing skulls and taking names. I like it." Miki would say after Shiori had officially introduced herself. "Buzzkill? A fight between two genin is hardly anything. If anything it's embarrassing that's what you find entertaining Genma. Your aspirations should be higher. Being a shinobi isn't always games, but the things you'll see will amaze you. That fight would be a speck of nothing in my experience." Although Genma's intentions for being a shinobi weren't... necesarrily the norm, Miki wanted to encourage him to an extent. Of course he would have to face the horrible realities of being a shinobi one day or another...
While she noticed his eyes moving without looking her in the eye, she didn't make a comment on it. Should he decide to do something, he'd learn quickly what a mistake that would be. Without much more to be said, her attention turned to the last of the genin to introduce themselves, Kazuki. "I think you're being modest. I can see there's more bite to that bark than you let on. Huh Tomoru?!" Miki would suddenly get excited at the end of her speech before putting a hand out for the dog to sniff. If Tomoru seemed approving she'd even go in for a pet and perhaps a belly rub.
After sometime, Miki would pull her attention away from Tomoru and face toward all of the genin. "Well, it sounds like we've set out goals high and you all seem to need to get some... energy out. Fortunately for this lot, I already have a mission that's perfect for a group like you guys. We can consider it your first test even. You see I've been having an issue at my home with bugs... I could of course take care of them myself, but it'd be more fun for you to help." The woman didn't let off much more about the mission quite yet. It would be a good discussion point as they walked to their destination. "So whaddya think? Not that any of you really truely get a choice."
The Seer of Ruin Rank:Genin ็ฃๆฐ | Classes:Scholar | Bloodline ๅ | Body Rank:D ๅ | Elements:Fire,Water
Ayame could feel her shoulderโs loosening as she watched Miki conduct herโฆ interviews? She wasnโt sure what to call them. But the Jonin gave off a calming air that made the tension from just moments ago seemingly fade away. Miki didnโt seemโฆ jaded and hardened by battle, like the girlโs father was. The red head tilted her head as she pondered that for a moment. But only for a moment. Ayame's face lit up like a beacon at the mention of a mission. Finally! Something she could prove herself with. A tangible, trackable mission to be added to her catalog.
โYes, of course, sensei.โ Ayame replied, stars in her eyes as she held up a fist filled with determination. โWhatever the mission is, we shall carry it out without any iss-โ Bugs. Ayame stopped dead in her tracks. Her face fell as the realization finally dawned on her. Her body went cold as her arm fell limply in front of her. And why did she suddenly feel a crawling sensation down her spine? Ayame shivered and shook her head, her red locks swishing her brow and (mostly) hiding her expression of disgust. โBugs! Sure, that wonโt be an issue at all!โ She did her best to keep up the bravado sheโd created moments ago. Ayame did her best to ignore just how hollow it sounded, even to her. โWh-what do we need to do?โ
Shiori couldn't help but snort, a subtle yet amused sound escaping her as she caught the barest hints of Ayame's discomfort with the subject of their mission. With a playful and teasing tone, she prodded, "What's the matter? Not afraid of a few bugs, are you?" The mischievous glint in her eyes danced with amusement, and her toothy grin widened, revealing a playful spark.
Adding a touch of playfulness to her teasing, Shiori delivered a jesterly nudge of her elbow, gently rousing her uneasy comrade. "I think they're pretty neat. Especially the ones with lots of legs," she mused, accompanying her words with a whimsical wriggle of her fingers at Ayame.
BattleInfo
CHAKRA: 400/400 // STAMINA: 700/700 // SAKETON: 800/800 // BODY RANK: D // BLOODLINE: Clay Arts || Oni // CLASS: Bukijutsu || Bloodline Str: +2 // Spd: +0 // Agi: +0 // End: +2 TITLES: N/a || Profile
As Genma scanned Mikiโs form for anything of value he could try to swipe, he realized that she made no effort to dissuade his prying eyes. She had to be a shinobi of some skill to be assigned to lead a squad, he thought, so allowing him to continue his subtle scanning was enough of a deterrent on its own. Her pointed remarks regarding his choice of โentertainmentโ brought a blush to his cheeks. Embarrassed not by his desire to watch his squad-mates duke it out, but by this new authority figureโs public call of attention to it. He had a noted history of defiance in the face of authority, and his first impression of Miki was that he wouldnโt like her much either. He crossed his arms and looked away from her, tossing his head to the side with a vexed tongue click.
The mention of a mission earned a raised eyebrow, but not an open acknowledgement. He listened to the details, and his perked brow lowered with each syllable.
โSooooooโฆ.โ Genma started, his tone hanging on the edge of annoyance. โYou want us to play exterminator? Do we at least have the option to keep some?โ At the very least, if he could snag a few of the critters from the squad leader's house, he could train them toโฆ.. work. He would be unstoppable at that point. No pocket too secure, no purse too buttoned. Oh the riches he would possess. A glean in his eyes accompanied the mischievous grin tucking at the edges of his lips. While Shiori poked fun at Ayame's apparent discomfort at the idea, Genma spiraled into machiavellian schemes. โThe more legs the better!โ
tab While Tomoru was all too happy to accept Miki's affirmation, nuzzling his wooden nose into the jonin's extended hand, Kazuki was taken aback by her kind words. The best reception he'd ever received from any instructor had been aloof indifference so to have her speak to him with such positivity was unfamiliar, to say the least. This could only mean one thing ........ Somehow, he'd managed to trick her into thinking he was far more capable than he actually was. And after he'd tried so hard to give an accurate representation of himself with his introduction, he felt horrible for deceiving her in this way. 'Ah man. Now she's going to be even more disappointed when she actually sees me in action.' he thought, a sinking feeling taking root in his stomach.
tab Despite the small existential crisis he was silently experiencing, Kazuki managed to keep his focus on Miki's words, listening intently as she explained their squad's first mission. It didn't seem like it would be anything too out of the ordinary for genin to take on. Just some simple extermination work. It was also reassuring to hear Miki explain that it was a job she could handle on her own with ease, so even if Kazuki did manage to horribly screw things up, she'd be able to clean up whatever mess he caused. The rest of his squad also demonstrated a degree of confidence in their own abilities, Shiori and Genma even seeming to demonstrate an interest in insects, a bit to Kazuki's surprise. "I think beetles are pretty cool, especially the ones with horns." Kazuki earnestly chimed in with hopes of better relating to his teammates, not realizing that they were just poking fun at Ayame.
The Seer of Ruin Rank:Genin ็ฃๆฐ | Classes:Scholar | Bloodline ๅ | Body Rank:D ๅ | Elements:Fire,Water
Ayame could feel her eyebrow twitch at Shioriโs antagonizing, but the color began to return to her face as her annoyance replaced her feeling of disgust. โI like your guts!โ The booming voice of Isshin Inuhara brought the girlโs attention back to her sensei. The Jonin grinned at the quartet, his arms crossed over his double barrel chest, and watching them with a glint in her eye. โIf you think these beasties are something you can wrangle up and take care of, then by all means go for it!โ As he spoke, the ground beneath the five of them began to quake, shaking leaves from nearby trees. Isshin, however, didnโt seem to care. โBut extermination isnโt exactly what I had in mind. Come! Andy! Frank!โ
At the manโs call, the ground behind him erupted into dirt and dust and shrapnel, knocking Ayame onto her butt. The Uchiha waved the dust from her eyes and she rose to her feet, coughing enough to make her eyes water. As the cloud began to settle, Ayame couldnโt believe what she was seeing! Two beetles, each as large as a small house, were now standing behind Isshin. They looked at the children, their mandibles clicking loudly, as Ayame could make out her reflection in their massive eyes. โChildren, Iโd like you to meet Andy and Frank. I raised these two from when they were just little tiny grubs.โ Isshinโs words overflowed with pride in his pets, like a father talking about his children. As Ayame pulled herself together, she noticed something. Hanging from each mandible from either insect was a red ribbon and on each ribbon was a half medallion. โAh, I see youโve all noticed the accessories I gave them.โ The man continued.
โYour job for today! Wrangle Andy and Frank up and grab both halves of the medallion from them and bring them back to me! Donโt worry about finding both of them: Any and Frank like to stick together no matter what.โ The Jonin began. โOn top of that, you can only use the gear you brought with you! No going back home to stock up on supplies!โ The smile faded from the manโs face as it was replaced by a scowl, a look of seriousness that Ayame could tell meant things were getting heavy, even in her short time of knowing the ninja. โIf I catch any of you breaking this rule, you will all fail. If you do not bring the medallion to me by the end of the day, you will all fail. And I will see to it that the Hokage strips you of your candidacy to reapply for the Academy. We are in a war right now, and we canโt afford to have shinobi that canโt follow orders. Am I understood?โ
Isshin let his words hang on the air, allowing the weight of them to gradually settle onto the group of Genin. A gust of wind blew through the group, kicking up leaves from the ground as it went past. โGood! Now that we understand each other! Begin!โ Isshin clapped his hands together and immediately Andy and Frank burrowed back underground, moving with immense speed despite their size.
