The Mission:

---

A loud crash of thunder broke through the silence waking the young shinobi from his slumber, causing him to lift his head up from his desk to find some of the documents he had been looking over before he had fallen asleep stuck to his face. The drumming of rain on the rooftop had been so peaceful that it must have put him to sleep, looking over to his desk clock as he removed the various papers from his face to find that it was five in the morning the boy let out a heavy sigh. He had no idea that there was so much responsibility to this position, he quickly reorganized his papers as he let out a wide yawn. Raphael had recently become the youngest Special Jounin within Kumogakure no Sato, and he had been looking over the list of all the genin within the village hidden in the clouds all night. He was suppose to have chosen a team by now and yet he was still no closer to making a decision, and he only had until sunrise to make his decision or else the power would be taken from him and the decision made for him. His biggest obstacle was in fact his age, the fact that he was only fifteen made it more or less harder for him to get people to listen to him. Despite his rank most looked at him as just another kid like all the others, which in turn made him choosing a team even harder considering most of the Genin of the village were either close to his age or older. He needed to find Shinobi that would respect the fact that he had risen to his current rank, and not judge him by his age but at the same time he could not blame them for judging him so considering this would be the first time he had lead a team so his inexperience as a team leader would come into question. The young Shinobi let out another long sigh as he began rubbing his temples, all of these different factors in his decision was starting to make his brain hurt.

Raphael spread the different papers out across the desk so that he could look at all of them at once, his fingers traced across the different pages as he wondered if other shinobi had as much trouble as he was having when they first became charged with becoming a sensei. Looking out the window of his bedroom the boy saw a flash of lightning in the distance, Raphael knew despite the rain and clouds that the sun would be up soon and that his time was short. Of course he could just have a team assigned to him but he wanted to hand pick his students not have one thrust upon him, looking back over the different names on papers before him, Raphael picked up the first one and began reading the village's dossier on the Genin. He had not wanted to make a rushed decision but since he had fallen asleep he now had little option, sitting the first one face down he picked up the second dossier and continued the process until he had reviewed all of them before doing the same thing once more.

After another hour of looking over the different dossier the boy finally made his choice, Raphael leaned back in his chair with a wide smile on his face satisfied with his decision. Based on their dossier that the village provided these three would make an interesting team, placing his choices at the top of the pile Raphael put all the documents back into the folder and stood from his desk. Looking out the window to find that the rain was coming to a stop, Raphael picked up the folder along with the three letters he had written the night before, sticking the notes into his pocket the boy grabbed his coat from the rack after a quick check to make sure he had everything he needed the young Shinobi headed out the door. It was only sprinkling now and still the boy would pull the hood of his coat over his head, tucking the folder under his arm to prevent it from getting wet Raphael made his way up to the administration office. The sky began to lighten as the sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, Raphael walked with his normal regal presence around him but also with a sense of purpose about him. This long white coat matching his white pants, his sleeveless black shirt button all the way up so that even his neck was covered by his shirt, his item pouches on his belt as well as the windmill shuriken strapped to his back covered by his coat.

Raphael walked into the administration office and headed straight to the main desk, "Ah Raphael, good to see you again." Came the familiar voice of Vado from behind the desk, "I take it that you made your decision?" "Yes I have," Raphael replied as he sat the folder onto the desk and removed the top three dossiers from the file before handing them to the clerk. "I also need a favor, I need these delivered to them as soon as possible." The boy stated with a tone of authority in his voice as he pulled the letters from his pocket and handed them to Vado. After a quick nod from Vado to confirm his request the boy turned and head out the door for his final destination, the Battle Plateau. The notes would be short and to the point telling them all where to meet him, however he intentionally did not put his name in the note so that they would not know his identity so that he could better get a read on them before the cat was out of the bag so to speak. Once he reached the plateau the boy removed his coat folding it neatly before sitting it on one of the benches and walking over to the center of the plateau and sitting to await the arrival of his new Squad.

The Note:

---

1058

"Twenty Four!" Shinoko would shout out, her voice ringing through the fresh morning air. She was doing her morning exercise, currently doing her sword swing reps, which were essential for building up the muscle to swing her sword multiple times through-out the day. Or so at least that's what her grandmother kept telling her. The girl tended to be more partial to her father's training, mostly because he was lighter on her, and they got to take more breaks. Of course she knew her grandmother's training was necessary, but that didn't mean that she had to enjoy the pain. "Twenty Five!" She'd yell out, bringing her sword down as hard as she could in front of her. It was always around this number that her arms would begin to start really burning, but she knew she still had a bit to go, and wouldn't quit unless something important came up.

"Shinoko when you've finished-" she'd hear her dad say, coming from the garden side of the compound, but he was quickly cut off by a loud "Shinoko!" as her mother ran out from the house, and towards the training yard. Both Shinoko and her father turned her attention to her mother. "Yes mother?" She'd say, bringing her sword down once more, and mentally saying "26". Her mother would finish running up to her before saying "You've got a letter sweaty." Shinoko would only give her mother a puzzled look, before sheathing her sword and taking the letter from her hand. It wasn't often she actually got letters. Sure she had recently made genin, but she honestly wasn't expecting anything this soon. Shinoko would begin inspecting the letter as her father trotted up beside her saying "Oh, I bet I know what that is." He'd saying finally coming to a stop next to his wife.

Shinoko would pour over the envelop the letter came in for a moment, just trying to take in whatever information she could. Sure enough the letter was addressed directly to her, and there was even an official Kumogakure seal on the letter. After continuing to turn in her hand for a bit, her mother would give her a "Well... open it." before gesturing to the letter. Shinoko would look back down at the envelope, before turning it once more in hand, and slowly put her finger under the sealed crease and lightly tugged at the seal which held the letter inside the envelope. Once she had opened the envelope, she'd slowly take out of the small note. It was honestly much smaller than she'd expect it'd be, but still she read it aloud.  "You have been chosen as a member of the Takara Squad, report to the Battle Plateau by 9 o'clock in the morning to begin your evaluation." Her mother would jump a little bit with excitement, while her dad merely said "Any word on who it's from?" Shinoko would merely shake her head before saying "No, it's just signe as sensei."

---

After reading the letter, and taking the congratulations from her parents, and the warnings from her father, Shinoko had been quick to gather up her stuff. Thankfully for her, she had gathered all of her ninja tools and supplies from her own house and taken them to the compound so that she could spend her day training with her grandmother. As such, it didn't take long for her to gather up her stuff, and give her mother and father a hug before heading off to the Battle plateau.

The journey through the gates of Kumogakure and up to the battle plateau wouldn't take long, as the Hanabi compound was relatively close to the side of the village that the battle plateau was located on. Even still, it took her a little bit to get through the crowded morning streets, and towards the plateau.

After making her way up to the plateau, she'd spot the usual sparring matches going on and the crowds of people watching from a distance, and after a brief scan she'd spot someone. A boy about her age in the center of the plateau who looked to be waiting. Shinoko adjusted the balck ribbon in her hair, and the black band which held together her white ninja gi, as well as pulled her scarf up a bit so the headband on it was displayed more clearly. The girl had left her blue robe meant to serve as an added layer of clothing. With the sun coming out, she didn't think she'd really need it all too much.

Once the girl had finished fixing her clothing, she'd wander up the boy, and give a quick look around before saying. "Umm, excuse me, are you a member of squad takara? " She'd say before looking around once more. "If so, do you know where our sensei is?" She'd say, being completely obvious to the fact she was indeed talking to her sensei. "Or our other squad mate for that matter" She'd add before giving the boy time to respond, as she'd look around once more, surveying for people she'd expect to be a sensei, or someone that looked like they were a genin waiting for people.

---

WC: 895
Total WC: 895

You can use my signature image as a good reference for what Shinoko looks like at the moment~

As the rain relentlessly fell from the sky, each droplet meeting its destination just as the ones before had. The battering sound of the rain colliding with the ground was as equally presents as the flutters heard from the water returning to the pond outside of Fable’s home. Sometimes it felt as if the storm was the calm. Fable had just recently gotten inside before the storm came, though he wouldn’t have minded getting a little drenched. Storms were always a sign of something to come to the Raiu. Fable even read in one of the old fart’s books that if the clan, or one of its members, was going into battle it was often viewed as the gods smiling upon them. Though, Fable didn’t quite by into it, he could fight the feeling of peace a storm gave him. It was truly one of the very few moments he could peacefully drift into sleep, and that is exactly what he did. As he heard the roar of thunder and saw lightning through his eyelids, he pondered what was next to come, but drifted into sleep before he could put any real thought into it.

The storm didn’t last long, as they never truly did, and in the morning the sun had risen again. Drowsy was fast asleep as always, with his snoring being heard all throughout the house. The slight fragrance of meat being cooked slowly drifted in his chambers, and as his nose began to perk up, Drowsy began to rise. At first it was slight tossing and turning, then came the grumbling as he turned over facing the doorway with his eyes still closed. This was how the trap was always conducted, but this time Drowsy wouldn’t fall for it.

“Don’t you ever get tired of doing this. It’s kind of suck ya know.” He said to his old coot of a grandfather

“Ooohaha, the day I get tired of this is the day you wake up with me and we eat together. You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm.” He heard his grandfather retort.

With slight grumbling, Drowsy flopped his body on his stomach and swung his legs off the bed. As they touched the floor, he stood up while scratching his head. With a yawn, he left his room in only his boxers Togo into the kitchen. His grandfather seemed to just be finishing his breakfast. “There’s some leftover meat in the refrigerator. I’m off to the council, and oh, you got some mail this morning.” He said as he got up to put his dishes away in the sink. “Mail for me?” Drowsy thought in his head as he grandfather grabbed

His grandfather handed him an envelope that had seemed rather important. Drowsy ripped it open rather nonchalant and saw that he was chosen to be apart of a squad. “Hmmm.. says I’ve been chosen as a member of the Takara Squad and to report to the Battle Plateau. You know anything about this?” He said rather dry asking his grandfather. It wouldn’t surprise Drowsy if his grandfather made some calls to get his grandson into a squad in the village. It wouldn’t be the first or the last time something like that happened, but to Drowsy’s surprise his grandfather said “Not this time grandson. Oohaha, sounds like you’ll being called into the Shinobi world a little earlier than I expected.”

With that response, Drowsy’s face cracked a smirk that he was unable to hold back. “Heh, guess it’s time, show out.” He said under his breathe “Have a good time with the old farts gramps. I got some business to handle.” Drowsy said to his grandfather before going into his room to put on his clothes. He made sure to grab his forehead protector and tie it around his neck like he always did.

He choose to wear his black cargo shorts with cuts toward the bottoms of them. No shirt, as usual, with his black jika-tabis on his feet. He’d wrapped his legs up to his calf’s the night before, and began to wraps his arms as he got ready. He could hardly hold his excitement in, as he rushed the wrappings on his left arm and rushed out the door. The Battle Plateau wasn’t too far from the clan’s hideout and it didn’t take Drowsy too long to reach his destination.

He’d always loved the Battle Plateau, coming here was actually one of his favorite past times, but he breakthrough his urge to run and watch one of the few sparring matches going on. He slowly walked towards the center seeking to find a place to sit and watch the crowd for people who looked like they were searching for people, or even better, someone waiting. Although he didn’t quite get to the bench he was going for as he heard someone utter the word “Takara”, as his ears peered up, he smirked and walked toward a pair of people who looked like they could be apart of his squad. “Yo. You guys get a party invite too?” He said while waving his hand.

WC: 882

Kanamora sat patiently at a stall outside waiting. She was outside of a small store front with a window for serving the public. It had a little awning above it that hid its customers from sight with a little cloth drape. Hikosaburo's was written atop the awning so that any customers would know what they were getting into before they walked in. Kanamora knew that a hard day was ahead of her so she waited for the the chef to get to her. This might be the most she'd get to relax for a while now that she was finally on a squad.

"Takara squad," she let the name roll over on her tongue, sampling it. It had a good ring to it. "A jewel or treasure." Her outfit left more skin exposed than most other ninja's, but it was simple black shorts, black gloves, a black top, and her headband securely on her forehead. As she waited she fiddle with some of the iron sand she kept hidden under her clothes in gloves and lightly trailing beneath her spread out in the ambient environment. The iron sand pulled the menu closer to her, which was a mindless act as she already knew what she wanted. She halfheartedly glanced at it before sitting it back down. The small handful of sand found its way into her kunai pouch on the back of her belt. She'd glance once more at the note she'd received just a few moments ago while training before being interrupted.

"Hey! Kana, I take it you want the usual."

Kanamora looked up from the note, now attentively focused on the man in front of her. "You know it Mr. Hikosabura!"

"20 skewered pork gyoza coming up." The chef would return back to the depths of the kitchen and Kanamora would look back down at the note floating in front of her.

"You have been chosen as a member of the Takara Squad, report to the
Battle Plateau by 9 o'clock in the morning to begin your evaluation."

~Your Sensei

She had scanned over it enough times where she didn't need to read the actual text. it was a little less than she'd expected. "Come ready to kill. I have high expectations. Bring your A-game." For some reason she expected something a little more, fantastical. She thought there would be more to the note. Her hands ran through short stark white hair as she thought about the note a little more. eventually coming to the conclusion that she was wrong. She looked up from the note with a hopeful look. She came to this place not be cause it was the cheapest or most delicious, but because they had the greatest service. The dishes came out in the exact same amount of time every time you ordered. You could set a watch by it.

The note was stowed back into the kunai pouch, and the sand was compressed down and slithered back into the various pockets she kept them in within her clothes. As expected in seven and a half minutes the skewers were ready, Kana could see the boiled beauties were wonderfully crisp and firm on the outside, and still hot enough where they were probably still cooking on the inside. Kana left the appropriate amount of ryo on the window between the chef and his customers, and as always before she had time to thank him he was already starting on his next customer. As she exited the rain that pattered on the canvas that separated the street from the outdoor ordering area buffeted her and her skewer's creating a small amount of steam around them.

She held the four skewers between each knuckle slowly pulling a dumpling off of a skewer one at a time with her teeth. The weather wasn't optimal for her, so she wanted to make sure other factors where in her favor. She been feeling more or less fine today, and she hadn't felt any real strain in her chest. she stopped for a moment and inhaled. Odds were the other genin were going to be younger than her, she'd taken way too long to get to this point. Hopefully she would be lucky enough to have not have fallen too far behind. She stood contemplative in the rain for just a moment. Kanamora stood taller than most of the residents here, growing up she'd thought this would be a strength, but moments like it was apparent that it really was a weakness. All of the people around her with umbrellas made a veritable sea that cam over her neck.

Kanamora knelt down for a moment dipping beneath the sea of umbrellas before jumping to the rooftops. The Battle Plateau wasn't necessarily close, but it didn't take long for Kanamora to arrive. The skewers in her hand were still piping hot the steam continuing to roll of of them. She continued slowly eating them as she waited to find her new squad mates and Sensei. ninja were being approached by a third.

“Yo. You guys get a party invite too?” Kanamora would begin making her way towards the three of them.

"Yup." Kanamora reached back and pulled out the note she'd received. "Team Takara right." Kanamora would finish off another skewer of gyoza. Kana would swallow the still hot dumplings before an epiphany hit her. 'There are four of us, but aren't squads typically three genin and a jonin?' The thought occurred, but Kana thought it better to not embarrass herself. Odds were this was according to plan, so she'd go with the flow for now since the numbers added up. She'd start nibbling on the third skewer as she waited for clarity.

[WC= 997]

A small smile formed on the boy's face as his squad began to arrive at the Battle Plateau, though due to him sitting it would not be noticed by the others as they approached. Though they did not know each other he knew them from their dossier files he had read, he had chosen each of them specifically and he was interested in seeing how they worked with each other after being thrown into a situation. The first to arrive was Shinoko Hanabi, she was a Kenjutsu user, however she was learning Taijutsu which was something the Raphael believed he could help her with. Of course another reason she was chosen was because of her clan, but all of them had that reasoning behind them they were all from different clans all a mystery to the boy and therefore something of interest to him. Raphael held back a chuckle when she asked about the sensei of the squad, as expected she did not think him to be the sensei. Before the boy could reply to Shinoko's inquiry they were join by Fable Raiu, like Shinoko he was a Kenjutsu user however he was dabbling in Ninjutsu which was another one of Raphael proficient skills. The fact that both Fable and Shinoko were blade users as well as both having Raiton and Suiton Elements meant they could be a good team up if they can work together, like Shinoko, Fable showed no sign of thinking the young boy sitting on the ground was to be their sensei. Just seconds after Fable arrived they were joined by their final member, Kanamora Suru of the famous magnetic clan the Kansen-Suru. His choice for her being on the team was obvious, as he was curious to see a member of this clan in action and he might be to teach her a thing or two as well.

Now that everyone had arrived Raphael assumed he might as well get the ball rolling and answer the lingering questions that hung in the air, "Ah, well I am glad to see that you have all made it." The boy stated as he stood up from his seat on the ground, "I suppose we should get started. My name is Raphael Kozai, I am a Special Jounin of the village and have chosen the three of you as my subordinates. You may call me Kozai-Sensei," the boy would pause at this point to gauge the groups reaction to the news that someone as young as them was of Special Jounin rank and therefore by the ranking of the village considered to be their superior as well as sensei. After a few seconds he would continue, "I thought we would start with getting to know each other, likes/ dislikes, your goals in life, and whatever else you would like to share about yourself. You are not obligated to tell anyone anything that you do not wish to share, but seeing as you will be working along side each other from this point on I think you should know the person fighting next to you. I will go ahead and start the process, as I said my name is Raphael Kozai, I believe hard work makes the shinobi and I believe I have proven that thus far by rising in the ranks in just under a year and I plan to continue my growth as well as help you all with yours. I am not a fan of slackers, and those of you that try to slack from your duty will answer to me." At this point the boys glare would flash with seriousness on his face as well as the seriousness in his tone of voice, before it quickly changed to a smile as he continued. "However I enjoy relaxing as much as the next person, I enjoy reading a good book as much as I enjoy a good workout during my free time I am doing one or the other. I love apples and more than anything else I do not like chocolate of any sort." He ended with something light to show them that they do not have to talk solely about their Ninja career, and could talk about anything they wished. After he finished he would wait for the others to say what it was that they wished to share about themselves before they got started on the reason he had called them all here.

---

1802

Blinking after she asked her question, Shinoko awaited a response from the blonde haired boy. It appeared the boy was about to speak up to answer her question, before he was cut off. A deeper voice popped up from behind Shinoko muttering the words. "Yo. You guys get a party invite too?" Shinoko would turn around to see a larger black man, or at least larger than she or the other boy appeared to be. Though she could have been wrong, as she hadn't really the blonde haired boy stand up yet. Either, it was clear that this new arrival would round out their squad. With his introduction Shinoko at least believed him to be another genin, though he certainly could have been higher rank with his age, and size, looking a few years older than Shinoko and certainly much bigger. The one thing that caught her off guard however was the man's lack of a shirt. She he didn't technically need one. But it still seemed off to Shinoko for someone to expose their chest like that. Regardless, they had their squad, now it was merely a matter of time before the sensei showed up. Or at least Shinoko thought, as a girl who looked somewhat comparable to her, except maybe a little older, walked up saying. "Yup." Pulling out a note that looked almost identical to the one Shinoko was carrying herself. "Team Takara right." Shinoko's face at this point clearly expressed a hint of confusion as she looked between the three people before her, and did her best to attempt to figure out which among them was actually their squad leader. Or maybe she had simply guessed wrong, and the boy before her hadn't been a member of the three's squad in the slighest and their real sensei would show in a moment wondering what the three of them were doing around a boy who had nothing to do with this. However, once again, before Shinoko could say anything or act someone else did.

"Ah, well I am glad to see that you have all made it." The words rang out from the blonde haired boy that sat before her. All but confirming her suspicion that one of them was indeed the sensei, and seeming as the blonde haired boy addressed them as though he had been expecting each of them, Shinoko could only assume it was him. Fulling her face with surprise instead of confusion at this point. Though she really shouldn't be as surprised as she was. It's not that uncommon for young shinobi to especially gifted int he shinobi world, and rise through the ranks faster than might be expected, and it was really a testiment to the Shinobi's skill rather than anything to be looked down upon, as despite being such a young age, the kage has decided that beyond a reasonable doubt they desire to be where they are. "I suppose we should get started. My name is Raphael Kozai, I am a Special Jounin of the village and have chosen the three of you as my subordinates. You may call me Kozai-Sensei," As Kozai-Sensei would say this, the surprise on Shinoko's face would fade, and she'd simply nod. She was glad she'd at least been able to puzzle it together before having to be told outright. Although not by much. She'd still needed to be told quiet a bit before she could puzzle it all together. But hey, at least she was getting somewhere with it. Either way, it was still quiet impressive that someone who looked to be about her age had gotten all the up to Special Jounin. And, in the short time of a year at that. Where as she' barely even started her ninja training yet, the man before her had been on several missions, and encountered several dangers. He had already achieved the rank her father made it up too before he retired and all in under a year. It was quiet impressive to say the least, and something that'd earn him respect from her.

After the brief pause that had given Shinoko enough time to think over the situation a little bit, Kozai-Sensei would continue on, going on to describe what he meant by "getting started" "I thought we would start with getting to know each other, likes/ dislikes, your goals in life, and whatever else you would like to share about yourself." Okay, so he wanted to give simple introductions, Shinoko could handle that. She was sure that there would be more to add to it later, but for the time being this was certainly easy enough to handle. "You are not obligated to tell anyone anything that you do not wish to share, but seeing as you will be working along side each other from this point on I think you should know the person fighting next to you." Thinking about it for a moment, there really wasn't anything that Shinoko was worried about telling anyone in the group. What did she have to hide? Though it was curious that Kozai-Sensei would bring it up. He'd obviously know quiet about each of them already. Shinoko knew that Kumogakure kept files on all of the Shinobi within it's ranks, and several out of their ranks. Keeping things like personal details, backgrounds and abilities. So Shinoko was pretty certain that Kozai-Sensei would know quite a bit about her and the squad already, outside of personality quirks that is, which leads her to the question. Why bring up that statement? Was there something someone in the squad would want to hide? Or was he just being cautious and sensitive to the squad, and giving the statement for mere courtesy. "I will go ahead and start the process" Shinoko would almost let out a sigh of relief at this statement. She hated going first in these kinds of things. She never knew what to tell about herself or what others wanted to her. It wasn't a bit deal, but she was at least glad Kozai-Sensei was taking the lead. "As I said my name is Raphael Kozai, I believe hard work makes the shinobi and I believe I have proven that thus far by rising in the ranks in just under a year and I plan to continue my growth as well as help you all with yours." Shinoko would give a small nod at this statement. It was a statement she could agree too. Hard work was certainly a quality that made shinobi. Though she had to believe some part of was due to the young special jounin's natural born talent. Even if that talent was the ability to work exceptionally hard, there was still a level of gift to it, she was certain he couldn't deny. That said, she was innately curious as to the sort of help he intended to provide. She was obviously no prodigy, but she'd love to ascend the ranks as he did, and prove herself strong. If was going to push them as hard as he pushed himself, she was sure that while she might not be able to replicate the success he had, she would at least see rapid improvement herself. "I am not a fan of slackers, and those of you that try to slack from your duty will answer to me." Once again Shinoko would give a small nod. Another statement she could agree too. If he was as hardworking as his title, and acolytes would seem, then it'd make sense that he wouldn't tolerate others slacking off very much. Which, if Shinoko was being honest, both scared her and excited her. While she wasn't the biggest fan of working out, there was a small part of her that loved it when her grandma would push her to the point of exhaustion, and she definitely loves seeing improvement when it comes to her own strength. Though she was a bit terrified of the prospect that maybe this boy before her, would push her harder than her grandmother had ever pushed her, and what that would entail, and there was a seriousness in his eyes as he said such, that gave Shinoko the impression she might be in for the roughest couple of months she'd ever experienced. Excitement and fear."However I enjoy relaxing as much as the next person, I enjoy reading a good book as much as I enjoy a good workout during my free time I am doing one or the other. I love apples and more than anything else I do not like chocolate of any sort." He would say, ending on a bit of a softer note. She found it a bit weird that he didn't like chocolate, as even people who get sick from eating sweet things like Shinoko, enjoy a small bit of chocolate every now and again. Though she would hazard a guess that maybe if her stomach didn't like chocolate a little more, than she might just avoid it entirely.

Either way, his introduction had finished up. Shinoko would look to the other two for a brief moment, before chirping up. "I'll go next I guess" Shinoko would say standing up. Not realizing when she had sat down on the bench. She'd guess that it was some point during Kozai-Sensei's introduction, though she really couldn't put a finger on when. Either way she was standing now. Shinoko would walk out briefly to get into a position where she could face all of her squad to look at each of them as she'd give her introduction. Standing before them she'd give a slight cough before beginning, as to not only clear her throat, but to grab the attention of any of her squad mates who might not be paying attention. She wanted to take this somewhat seriously, as Kozai-Sensei had stated that they should know a bit each other if they were going to work as a cohesive unit. Not that she was going to really bug someone if they didn't want to listen. She much silently, and internally judge them, but she definitely wouldn't make a deal out of it. It really wasn't her place to assert herself if one of the squad members didn't want to be a part of the team. Either way, she'd start her introduction  after clearing her throat. "As for me, I'm Hanabi, Shinoko. You can really call me anything, I won't mind too much." She'd say pausing. Unless of course that something was intentionally mean or insulting, then she probably wouldn't stand it, but she wasn't going to make a point of that now. "As I'm sure it pretty obvious, I'm a genin. However, more importantly for team coordination, I specialize in close quarters Kenjutsu, and Taijutsu, as well as have an affinity for Raiton." She'd say giving another pause, giving her teammates time to let her digest the information she had given them. She knew it wasn't something that Kozai-Sensei had done, but she felt if this was meant to be about working as a cohesive unit, then it would be something they should know off of the bat. After a moment, she'd continue. "As for what I enjoy... I really enjoy learning new things, specifically martial techniques, whether it be Taijutsu or Ninjutsu, learning different ways to maneuver yourself, or strike is always fun." She'd say giving a brief pause once more to give people a little bit of time to process, before saying "As for my goals, I really just want to be come strong enough to protect my family." She' say with something akin to pride or confidence, but it wasn't really either. "Anyways that's enough about me, if you guys have any questions, i'm pretty open to answering them, but I think I'll let someone else talk for the moment." She'd say before going over and sitting back down.

Shinoko would wait patiently for her next squad-mate to introduce themselves. She'd do her best to take in the details of what her squad mates would say, and she'd actively be listening. She obviously wouldn't interrupt them, but She'd at least look like she was interested in what they had to say. And once that was all done and over with, she'd turn her attention to Kozai-Sensei wondering what they'd do next.

---

WC: 2124
Total WC: 3018

“Yup.” Fable heard after he’d posed his question to the group that had assembled. He looked over to see yet another newcomer walking towards the group. She had just finished eating the what seemed to be gyoza. Which shocked Fable, as he remembered in that moment that he’d forgotten to eat this morning. With a sudden wave of sadness he bowed his head a bit as he prepared himself for the worst, not being able to eat until dinner.

As he held his head down in disbelief, he begin to think, “One, two, three, and with me that makes four. So who the hell is..” though he didn’t get to finish his thought. The young man who looked as though to be around Fable’s age stood up and introduced himself as the group’s sensei, the culprit behind the letters. This certainly peaked Fable’s interest in more ways than one. For one, his sensei was around his age, but claimed to be a special Jōnin in rank, meaning that he had to be quite skilled. He wondered what kind of skills he’d honed over the years, what he’d witnessed in the Shinobi world, and how it changed him.

He peered over to what seemed to be his new squad members as Kozai spoke. Fable couldn’t quite read them yet, but he figured that he’d eventually be able to peer into their minds. Just before he could put anymore thought into them, Kozai spoke again about the group introducing theirselves. Fable sat down on the ground and put his hands behind him, holding himself up, sitting with his legs crossed as he listened to the other’s speak. Kozai spoke of hard work making the Shinobi, which rubbed Fable the wrong way, though how else would one expect someone as lazy as Fable to react. Fable saw hard work as his worst enemy, and equally a necessary evil. He understand the meaning behind Kozai’s words, and oddly enough they reminded him of his grandfather’s words and how he’d always nag Fable about training.

After Kozai was done with his introduction, Hanabi, Shinoko, as she’d introduced herself as, went next. She seemed a bit shy to Fable, though he understood a bit how she felt. Fable was quite a shy child himself when his mother was still alive. Nevertheless, she stated that she specialized in kenjutsu and Taijutsu with a Ration nature release. This peaked Fable’s interest, another kenjutsu user on the same squad as him, with a Raiton affinity. The odds of their being another ration affinity genin in Kumogakure was quiet high, though the kenjutsu speavilty is was drew Fable’s ears and eyes. Coupling that with a taijutsu focus, and it seemed as if Shinoko would completely outclass even Fable in a close quarters duels, though Fable was never one to count himself out of a fight.

Fable appreciated Shinoko’s honesty and courage to go first, even though everyone here were, in the best circumstance, loose strangers. As she continued with her introduction Fable began to smirk a bit, seemed rather determined yet unsure of her path. As he mentally sighed, he chuckled a bit. He didn’t initially think of being too honest with the team with his introduction, but hearing Shinoko’s words and believing her to be earnest change his mind. “Fair is fair.” He thought in his head. He would always honor valor in any form.


“Guess it’s my go, huh?” He said to the group after Shinoko had finished up, and as he leapt onto his feet by using his arms to propel him off the ground. He began to dust his shorts as he started his introduction.

“Well, I’m not too good at these things, but my name’s Raiu, Fable. You could say I also dabble a bit in kenjutsu. I also have a Raiton chakra nature, though I’m not too good at ninjutsu. As for likes and dislikes, I love to sleep and take things easy when I can. I don’t have many things that I dislike really, though I guess hot days could go on the list. And as far as goals, suppose being a Sanin would be enough for me. Anyways, that’s about all for me.”

His introduction would be short and sweet, enough to crack the door open, but nothing that would expose Fable to any danger. He was a Shinobi after all and too much trust would equate to his downfall. Fable would go back to his seat in the ground, he felt most comfortable there, close to the group but never too close.

It was a simple thing to recognize on the shirtless genin's face as it was not an unusual sight to see on those who weren't necesarilly in Lord Miyamoto's graces. The slightly tormented glance of an empty stomach that lingered slightly longer than the rest on a meal. As Drowsy looked at Kana's food she had pretended not to notice and focus on the special jonin in front of her. It wasn't until his head drooped slightly that Kanamora's attention went back to the ninja who'd allegedly gathered them all here. She was listening closely to see if she could find anything in his voice that implied that maybe there was more to him than he was letting on. Despite her best efforts though eventually her mind would wander slightly as it didn't perceive additional layers in the tokubetsu jonin's words. Her empty hand slowly moved to her top button as she checked to make sure that it was tightly clasped shut, though her arms and legs were relatively exposed the shirt she wore was closed all the way to her neck.

She knew that she had progressed too far to simply let an opportunity like this slip up. It was this knowledge that caused her to brow to moisten. There were many more people that deserved to be on this team than her. She couldn't fathom why she was placed on this team, or what she'd done to be lucky enough to get this spot. She started following again as he'd introduced himself as was immediately relieved by the hope that maybe it would be okay that she had no prodigal traits since she was a hard worker. Though by the sounds of it he was a genius, especially if he rose to his current rank in just the short span of a year. The other two's introductions were slightly different: they were shorter, more to the point, and there was less for Kana to read into. That being said they did provide some insight into why she'd been placed on this squad.

-There are no military tactics for those of great strength-

Though maybe it was not the original meaning of the text, the way this text resonated with Kanamora it meant that some people will grow above tactic, tricks, and ploys and it seemed those were her teammates. One actively pursuing it, the close combat specialist, and one born with it the ninja from the enviable Raiu clan also a close combat specialist it seemed. Kana quietly cleared her throat before tossing the last, untouched skewer to the Fable, who'd eyed them hungrily earlier. Her voice was upbeat and a little peppy. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances Kozai-Sensei, Ms. Shinoko Hanabi, Mr. Fable Raiu. I'm Kanamora. I absolutely adore puppets, and though I am terrible with the puppet technique most of my jutsu are based off of its foundations. I imitate its principles with my advanced element. I enjoy sweets, meat, spicy foods, sour things, salty dishes, and even the bitter veggies and taking naps after eating such foods. Also I love Akana. I can't think of any of my dislikes at this moment except maybe feeling like I'm wasting other people's time. My goal is simple really, there are lots of ninja with cool and powerful abilities. I just want to show that my clan is worth mentioning in the same breath as them. I guess the role I'm supposed to serve on this squad is..." Kana tapped a finger to her chin and scrunched up her face like she was trying to lower the plateau they all stood on with will alone. Through puckered lips she stated her opinion.

"Long range support. That is if both Mr. Fable and Ms. Shinoko are close range martial artists. While I can hold my own in close range, my abilities are most effective when I am not in close range, so that I can clan line up my opponents for precise attacks. Thaaat being said my chakra pool has been estimated to be about 2/3 of the size of other genin, on average at least with some genin easily doubling my maximum chakra, so I typically take a more defensive position. I imagine that this makes me a good alternate to support the two of you, probably. I apologize that you two were unlucky enough to be paired with me." All she could do was perfect her techniques so other Jiton users could shine. She jut knew that she couldn't chase after strength like her squad mates. Kanamora took the three now empty skewers, cleaned from her ravenous appetite, and pinned her hair back with them. Kana didn't really want to share anything about her last trip to the hospital, the scar it left under her shirt, or the specifics of her jutsu. Maybe she'd actually said too much. No one else had really spoken about themselves to such an extent.

[WC= 852/1849]

The young squad leader listened intently to the others as they introduced themselves, some were short and still others revealed more than even they might have been aware of. He had hoped to learn more about his team and their clans from their introductions, however with the exception of Kanamora they did not talk much about themselves and none of them really talked about their clan. Except for Kana's mention of wishing that her clan would one day be mentioned in the same breath as the more renowned clans, a goal that Raphael himself could relate to as he wished for the same for his clan which was one of the reasons he had been working so hard this past year. The boy was happy to see Kanamora share her food with Fable, whose hungry was written all over his face as he had eyed her gyoza, this meant that at least they all might get along to some degree. Raphael hoped that it would quell the boy's hunger, as a distraction during this next part would be a hindrance not only to the boy himself but for the entire squad as they would need to work together to complete their next task. He was mildly surprised with the fact that Kanamora had all but deduced as to why she was a part of this squad, with her two teammates being closecombat combatants her skills with range would play a crucial role in not only their ranged dealings but also the teams defense as a whole. With the last of the introductions out of the way, the young special jounin would clear his throat. "Alright, now that everyone now knows everybody how about we get to the real reason we are all here," Raphael stated as he reached into one of the pouches on the back of his belt, bring his hand closed around something back out in front of himself before opening his fist to allow three small bells to dangle from strings which he still had a hold of. "These bells represent your future," Raphael would pause as he looked into the eyes of each of his subordinates letting the seriousness of his voice sink in before he continued talking, "as you can see there are three of them, this means that each of you have to claim one of them. However if you do not claim one before the sun is set, then your time as a shinobi of the cloud will come to an end, you will immediately be stripped of your genin title and returned to the academy for further training." Raphael paused yet again allowing his words to sink in, his tone was that of no emotion and would show no signs of him possibly deceiving his team, the fact was that the young special jounin was speaking the truth if one of his squad members failed to obtain a bell from him then he would not allow them onto his squad. Of course the part about sending them back to the academy was a fib, however the genin did not need to know that, his goal here was to get them to work together because if they tried to attack him on their own they would all fail no matter how skilled they were, however they would have to choose to work together for themselves as the special jounin would make no indication for them to do so.

Raphael felt that they had all the information that they needed and tied the bells to different locations on his belt, one to the right side and the other two on the left, one towards the front and the other towards the back. With that done Raphael would take up a spot between five to ten meters away from the gathered group, before turning to face his team. "All you have to do is take a bell from my belt and you pass simple as that." With that said Raphael readied himself for the genin's assault, though he doubted that he would need it as a precaution the young shinobi caught sight of his coat that was on the nearby bush and prepared a small amount of chakra should he need it. Raphael's next step was to turn his back on the Genin while he flowed a small amount of chakra into the air around him, to the boy not seeing his opponent would not really be a disadvantage, however he wanted the genin to believe that they started with a slight advantage at the very least. The chakra the boy let out into the air would not be anything that the young Genin's would be able to notice, but it would give him all he needed to stop them from reaching the bells that he held.

---

2609

Chakra 245/260:

“Guess it’s my go, huh?” Shinoko heard the man's voice say not but mere moments after she finished up. She had just barely the time to sit down, though she was at least happy that someone was so quickly willing to step up after she had finished. That would that mean most of this would go smoothly, and no one would have to be forced to stand up and speak. Not that Shinoko was really expecting that to happen here. These people needed to know each other, and were going to be around each other for awhile. At least as far as Shinoko was concerned they should be pretty open about introducing themselves to one another, and getting to learn about the others. It wouldn't be like we would be going anywhere. “Well, I’m not too good at these things, but my name’s Raiu, Fable." A Raiu! Shinoko had heard about this clan, as it's not exactly like they were a small clan within Kumogakure. She couldn't really remember what they're clan did, but she had heard they had some sort of special ability, which made them a bit more famous within the land of lightning. Beyond that, the man's name was Fable. It was certainly an interesting name, but one that Shinoko could at least say she found interesting.  "You could say I also dabble a bit in kenjutsu. I also have a Raiton chakra nature, though I’m not too good at ninjutsu." Shinoko would perk up a bit at this, and noticeable excitement would spread a crossed her face. Her was like her. Almost a bit too similar, but honestly it meant that they could probably train together really well. They both had an affinity for Raiton, and neither one of them was particularly good at ninjutsu. Though Shinoko wasn't sure if this was him being shy and humble, or if he was actually like her in that he couldn't really use ninjutsu. Either way, what they did have in common was quiet a bit, and Shinoko could easily see herself training with Fable a few times at least. If only to see how skilled he was at kenjutsu and the differing techniques he would use in comparison to her. "As for likes and dislikes, I love to sleep and take things easy when I can. I don’t have many things that I dislike really, though I guess hot days could go on the list."Shinoko hadn't really touched on her likes and dislikes all that much, but it was still interesting information to learn, to say the least. "And as far as goals, suppose being a Sanin would be enough for me. Anyways, that’s about all for me.”   This was also cool to learn about! he had similar ambitions as Shinoko then. Though maybe his were a bit more straight forward and focused.

As Fable would sit down, Shinoko was definitely a bit more excited than she was before, not only by what she had just learned, but also to see how interesting her next teammate would be as well. She couldn't imagine that her other teammate would another Kenjutsu Raiton user as well, otherwise their squad might be really unbalanced. Although, they would be really good if you needed a squad of Raiton Kenjutsu user Shinoko supposed. However her thought process was cut off by the girl's "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances Kozai-Sensei, Ms. Shinoko Hanabi, Mr. Fable Raiu. I'm Kanamora. " Shinoko's head would tilt a bit. She addressed everyone so formally. She wasn't sure if that was just something she did, or if Shinoko had maybe messed up in being so casual. Though she hadn't really addressed anyone in her introduction. Had that been a mistake too? Whatever the case, Shinoko wanted to let the girl know that she really didn't need to address shinoko so formally. They were a squad. A team. Like it or not they were going to be comrades in arms, and hopefully friends. Shinoko didn't want her friends to have to address her so formally. Though she supposed if the girl wanted to Shinoko really wasn't going to stop her. "I absolutely adore puppets, and though I am terrible with the puppet technique most of my jutsu are based off of its foundations." Shinoko sort of cracked a smile at this,and was doing her best to not let out a little giggle. She knew that giggling here might get taken the wrong way. It was cute, or so she thought, That the girl liked puppets, not many people did. Many people, shinoko included found them a bit creepy, though Shinoko wasn't going to say anything like that. But despite her not being good with them, and people finding them creepy, the girl adored them. It was an interesting quirk, and one that Shinoko found cute. "I imitate its principles with my advanced element." Ooo! her other squadmate had interesting abilities as well. She couldn't remember the Raiu all that well but she was pretty sure it was an advanced element as well. Was shinoko the only one in this squad without some sort of advanced release? Sure her lightning could change color, and it was something that both her mother can grandmother could do, but she wasn't really sure that that was any sort of advanced release. Shinoko would look over to Kozai-Sensei. "does he also have some sort of Advanced release?" She'd wonder to herself.  "I enjoy sweets, meat, spicy foods, sour things, salty dishes, and even the bitter veggies and taking naps after eating such foods. Also I love Akana." "Akana?" Shinoko would think to herself. She really had no idea what that was. "I'll have to ask her" Shinoko would tell herself mentally. "I can't think of any of my dislikes at this moment except maybe feeling like I'm wasting other people's time. My goal is simple really, there are lots of ninja with cool and powerful abilities. I just want to show that my clan is worth mentioning in the same breath as them. I guess the role I'm supposed to serve on this squad is..." The girl would pause for a moment. "Long range support. That is if both Mr. Fable and Ms. Shinoko are close range martial artists. While I can hold my own in close range, my abilities are most effective when I am not in close range, so that I can clan line up my opponents for precise attacks. Thaaat being said my chakra pool has been estimated to be about 2/3 of the size of other genin, on average at least with some genin easily doubling my maximum chakra, so I typically take a more defensive position. I imagine that this makes me a good alternate to support the two of you, probably." Shinoko would give a nod to the girl. She was smart, or at least that's what Shinoko was thinking. At least she already displayed more tactical sense then Shinoko figure'd she had. She was more of the charge her opponent head-on and see if she could overwhelm them type. Though that's probably why she more suited to the close range fighting. It was the girls next sentence however that caught Shinoko off guard. "I apologize that you two were unlucky enough to be paired with me." Shinoko's heart would sink a little bit. Was she that unsure of herself? Shinoko's head had tilted in confusion at first, but then she gave the girl an eye smile and say before Kozai-sensei could speak up. "I'm glad we got placed on the same team Kana." in an attempt to reassure the girl. She didn't really mean to shorten her name as it more just kind of slipped. She wasn't really sure if she'd take that all that well, as the girl seemed to prefer using formal names, and Shinoko might have just offended her by shortening her name, but it was a bit too late at this point. At least not without making it more awkward.

It wouldn't be long after Kana would finish giving her introduction that Kozai-Sensei would stand back up and adress the squad once more. "Alright, now that everyone now knows everybody how about we get to the real reason we are all here," Shinoko would sit up straight up at that. "Ah, so we were just brought here to have a meet and greet and get to know our squad" Shinoko would think to herself. Kozai-Sensei with that sentence alone had her full attention. To even further make sure he had everyone's attention Kozai-Sensei went further, as he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out what looked to be three bells. "These bells represent your future," Shinoko's general stature of being upbeat, and almost child-like energy would shift. Her expression would change to one of a bit more serious. This sort of change would only deepen as the seriousness in in Kozai-Sensei's voice and how he looked at each of them to more sure they knew he wasn't joking around. The time for games had come to an end. "as you can see there are three of them, this means that each of you have to claim one of them. However if you do not claim one before the sun is set, then your time as a shinobi of the cloud will come to an end, you will immediately be stripped of your genin title and returned to the academy for further training." Shinoko's left hand would reach down to grab her sheathe as she used her right hand to push herself up. Any sort of excitement she had previously had, was now either gone or fully hidden, by the mask of seriousness she wore. She knew that she could pass the academy exams again if she was sent back, but this wasn't about that. She wouldn't let her pride and hard work be tarnished here. In fact, she knew that if she failed here, she'd likely never even make it as a shinobi. This was just another test before she'd become a true shinobi.

As Kozai-Sensei would take his steps away from Shinoko would already be standing. In fact she'd moved up a little bit to where he was standing not but a few moments ago when he'd addressed them. She didn't take lightly to having her title as a shinobi or her pride challenged like this. She was going to do everything she possibly could in order to get that bell, even if meant she'd been here till sundown she'd get a bell. Unfortunately the girl's lack of experience and her lack of tactical awareness meant she wasn't thinking this through this clearly. "All you have to do is take a bell from my belt and you pass simple as that." If she'd taken but a moment, she'd probably figure out that she'd need her squad mates in order to take on this endeavor, but in her inexperience, she wasn't even thinking about that. As his eyes looked towards his Jacket, Shinoko was already getting herself prepared. Reaching into her back pouch and pulling out a two Kunai. She knew how she wanted to approach this, and she wasn't going to leave room for mistakes, because despite her poor tactical sense, she had excellent battle sense, and knew that if they even wanted a single bell, all of them were going to have to go all-out. They didn't have the talent, skill, or power to hold back against this opponent. This battle had already begun.

Is was then, the second mistake of this battle would be made, Not by Shinoko this time, but by her own Sensei. The second he took his eyes away from his squad and begun to turn, Shinoko was making moves. In the very instant he began to turn around, Shinoko would throw a Kunai directly at him, aiming towards his left shoulder. It wasn't really meant to accomplish anything but force him to move. Immediately after the throw, and while Kozai-Sensei was turning around, Shinoko would begin to run. She'd then throw the second kunai only mere moments after the first. This time aiming for a leg, particularly the back of the knee. Shinoko had only been five meters away from her sensei. By the time Raphael's Sensory would come on line, Shinoko's first kunai would be mere inches from his back, with her second kunai and herself on the way. The difference however, being Shinoko's reach was much greater, and it would only be another second before she was in range, and once she was, with her right hand already on her Sword's handle she'd scream out "RAIKOKEN!" As a burst of red lightning would shoot out of her sheathe and around her sword, as her sword burst out from it's sheathe in a sort of upper-cut, aiming to cut the belt straight off of her Sensei. But she wasn't naive enough to believe that she could do this without harming her Sensei, and as such if he stood still, She'd likely cut several inches into her sensei's backside as well as cut the belt, though that was unlikely, but she wanted to have enough depth there in case he dodge forwards. She wasn't here to play games.

---

WC: 2308
Total WC: 5326

Chakra: 130/150:

As Fable would sit down from his introduction, he felt the eyes shift from him to the last of the genin to introduce themselves. He wondered as to what kind of kunoichi  she was, though he knew he would have to wait long. As she was about to talk, she cleared her throat then tossed Fable one of his favorite things in the world: free food. As he saw it soaring through the air, gracefully gliding and spreading its wonderful scent, he felt a sense of joy that filled him to the brim. With a chuckle, he said “heh, guess my stomach wasn’t as quite as I thought, thank you.” This made Fable feel a bit closer to his squad members at least, as they both showed signs of being earnest people. Fable would listen closely as the next introduction would be the last.

Kanamora spoke with a purpose, while being rather formal to the group. As Fable finished the skewer, he intently listened to her introduction. She was a kunoichi who held an advanced element, that mimicked the properties of the puppet jutsu that she loved. More importantly though, it seemed she had a love for food that rivaled Fable’s own. It seemed she had a dislike of wasted time, which made Fable wonder what she valued outside of food, though he got a peer into what that was exactly, her clan. It seemed to Fable that she held her clan to a high degree and wanted to bring its skills to the forefront of the world. Fable could resonate a bit with her drive to bring her clan to prominence, though Fable didn’t quite care as much for his clan, only his grandfather’s legacy mattered to him. But as Kanamora continued, she started to break down what she believed to be the squads roles in combat. Believing that since both Fable and Shinoko were kenjutsu specialist, that she would be the long range support. Fable thought it was a very rational thought process with what had been presented in their introductions, though that didn’t necessarily mean that he agreed with it. Though he used kenjutsu, Fable enjoyed battle ranging anywhere from close to mid range. His elements of raiton, suiton, and ranton allowed for this to be a possibility. This made Fable wonder if he should’ve told more about himself though he figured they wouldn’t be having any battles too soon, there would surely be time to talk afterwards. As Kanamora came to the closing section of her introduction, she said something quite interesting. She said "I apologize that you two were unlucky enough to be paired with me."

Fable was quite confused with this statement, she seemed quite the interesting ninja to Fable. Maybe she was referencing her chakra pool, though Fable didn’t think that that was much a price to pay, though he also assumed her advanced element was the reason for this, which made Fable all the more interested in what it was exactly. "I'm glad we got placed on the same team Kana." Shinoko would say as Kanamora finished her statement, forcing a smirk on Fable’s face as he felt that this squad would turned out quite alright.

When Kanamora finished their sensei began to speak again, though this time the tone and his body language shifted. He was quite serious in his words, saying that the squad’s task would be to steal a bell from him. This would strike a change in Fable, his eyes would narrow as his body language would grow more relaxed, emitting a calming aura. He would slowly breathe out trying to calm himself down a bit, but his emotions would get the best of him for a bit as his jaw trembled a bit after breathing out. Head to head combat was Fable’s favorite pastime, luckily it seemed as if he’d gotten it from his grandfather as he always accepted any sort of fight from his grandson, always getting the better of the child. Fable didn’t quite care for what the penalty was for not getting a bell for he would capture them all, and regardless if he was sent back to the academy or not, he would still scratch and claw his way to the top of the shinobi world.

As Kozai finished, he would begin to turn his back to the squad of genin, quite the bold challenge, and if Fable was a bit more impatient he would’ve charged in. He thought the best course of action would be to create a plan with his newly formed squad members and try to take down their teacher. As he began to turn to his squad member’s Shinoko would take off, throwing two kunai directly at him, one aimed for his left shoulder and another one followed by her. “Welp guess I’ll lend you a hand.” Fable would mumble as he lifted both of his hands, with his index and middle fingers out, together and his thumb in an upwards position. “Lightning Release: Shock Bullets.” He would say as he focused raiton chakra in both fingertips of his hands, holding seven rounds in his left hand and 8 in his right, and let off seven rounds from each hand on either side of Shinoko as she attacked Kozai with her own jutsu.

Fable was however quite amazed at Shinoko’s swift movements and technique. He had never seen a jutsu that had red lightning, though he merely put his questions in the back burner and began to enjoy the battle.

Wc: 939
Total Wc: 2609

Chakra 140/150:

"If you do not claim one before the sun is set, then your time as a shinobi of the cloud will come to an end, you will immediately be stripped of your genin title and returned to the academy for further training." Kana couldn't help but feel frustrated at the words of her new sensei. She'd worked really hard just to get this hard. There was no way that she could ever hope to come close to the skill of someone who had achieved Special Jonin. Kanamora took a half step back hesitantly as she considered the daunting task of fighting someone so far out of her league. As her sensei began walking away the worries in her head increased and she found herself regretting coming today, since it simply wasn't worth taking a step back out of ninja-hood The amount of chakra he must have and the finesse of his techniques would leave her in the dust.  She'd not even mastered her own jutsu... instead of completing that thought though she was distracted by Shinoko. It was like a genjutsu that had been placed over her had been dispelled and her eyes were opened.

"I'm glad we're on the same team, Kana." She had heard the words when they were spoken, but they took time to sink in. As her new sensei turned her back to the group, Kanamora clenched gloved fists tightly. The act focused her attention as the joints in her hand cracked and popped, and the material of the cloth audibly gripped and rubbed against itself. All Kanamora had to do was grab a single one of those bells on his belt. She didn't believe for a second she could do it, that was probably why he gave them so much time. As Shinoko dashed forward they'd see the only chance they'd get. If she wanted to secure a spot on this team, she was probably seeing the only chance she'd get. One of three bells, that was all she needed, she could look for an opening to get one bell for herself, sure. That's not why she became a ninja. The genin saw lightning begin to spark across the Raiu's fingers and went through a string of hands seal to perform a jutsu of her own before a shroud of iron sand would pour from her hip holster and  other pockets inside of her clothing whirling around her until they obscured her.

"Surface Tension." In conjunction with the Doton jutsu she cast, she poured chakra into the cubic meter of iron sand that she pulled from her hip holster, and it held a wireless radio that it'd taken out. The hip holster was simple and strapped to her thigh with some cloth wraps. It held everything that wasn't a kunai or shuriken that Kanamora kept on her person.

Kanamora would sink into the ground and the cloud of iron sand would almost completely disappear. A small amount shaped like a glove would float over to Fable holding the wireless radio, harmlessly dispersing into iron sand after a few moments whether or not he grabbed it. Kana, while holding her breath after having sunk beneath the stone of the area, was following the footsteps that were running towards her sensei while the fake glove above the ground would eventually disperse as soon as she moved out of range of it. As she swam through the ground, the genin would form a bow in her hands from the iron sands and pull an arrow out of her holster. She would predatorily circle around behind her sensei one meter back waiting for either one the sets of feet to disappear at which time she would peak out of the ground.

[WC= 637/ 2496]

Chakra used 95/110:

Passives:

Raphael was pleasantly surprised by Shinoko's quickness to act, he had to appreciate the initiative that the girl took even if he wished she had coordinated with her teammates first. Though the other two did move quickly to follow suit, their timing was delayed due to having to respond to visual cues of the others rather than a formulated plan. Had they actually worked together there would of been better timing in their assault and would of further lessened his options of actions that he could take, however he doubted very serious that the girl had even considered the thought of working as a team before charging in head first. The boy remembered what it was to be a genin, everyone wanting to show that they had what it takes, everyone trying to outshine the person next too them. Raphael had been the exact same way a year ago, it was how he had been able to rise through the ranks so quickly, but it wasn't until he learned how to work as a team with someone that he realized it's never just about yourself it's about those that fight with you. This was a lesson that his Sensei had taught him and it was exactly what he planned to pass on to these genin, but first he would have to show them the error of their actions. Though it was mostly the actions of Shinoko that caused the delay of the other two's reaction to the attack, all of them would pay the price, still had Shinoko been just a little bit faster her single headstrong attack might of actually worked.

Raphael's movements were fast and had a sense of fluidity to them that would make it look as if it was nothing special, simultaneously while ducking slightly and rolling his left shoulder forward to dodge the first projectile the boy created a gyro of spinning chakra around his core. In the same swift motion the boy would spin to his right dodging both the Kunai aimed for his left leg as well as Shinoko's uppercut technique with her blade, a smile on his face as the blade passed by in front of him before quickly dropping to the ground and balancing his weight on the palm of his hand and performing a sweeping kick to the back of Shinoko's legs from her right side to knock her off of her feet as Fable's bullets passed over his head. Continuing to spin on the palm of his hand the special jounin would release a blast of wind chakra from his foot at Fable, this blast of wind would create a silver tornado of wind chakra that would send the boy flying into the air followed by crashing into the ground if he did not dodge it. Pushing off the ground with his hand the boy would do a simple front flip, landing on his feet now in between where Shinoko and Fable now where. He had not sensed Kanamora since her brief movements during him dodging her teammates attacks, it could of been that she simply was not moving a quick look around revealed that she must have gone underground. Forming a single hand seal the young special jounin created a four meter tall cloud of debris in a four meter radius around him though it offered him not protection it would obscure his movements. Raphael hoped his brief display of speed would cause the group to realize that attacking blindly was a mistake and now with his cloud if they attacked blindly they would run the risk of it striking their teammate that stood on the other side of the cloud. Once the cloud had been created the boy pulled out four of his Kaminari Steel Shuriken and launching two at Shinoko and two at Fable, using his wind sense to pinpoint their location. Readying himself for anything that might come at him the boy would call out, "You are going to have to do better then that, if you kept that up then I'm afraid you will be back in the academy tomorrow. Surely you can do better then that, come now show me what you really got." Taunting them was just a way for the boy to judge just how prideful the genins actual were, to get under their skin and see how they react. The whole time the boy had a wide grin on his face as he was excited to see what would happen next. If they could put aside their pride and work together then there might actually be a chance for them to gain the upper hand but if they could not then they would just fail once again. Raphael still could not sense Kanamora, causing the boy to keep his eyes on the ground just in case she popped up close to him.

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3431

Chakra 205/245:

"Never again." The words echoed in her head repeatedly as she attempted to steel herself. She had trained long and hard for this moment, and she was going to make sure with her own hands that it would bear fruit. The sand by Fable would lower to the ground and move along it's surface closing in on Kozai-sensei. Her skill with her sand, unmastered or not, was all she had to rely on against her new sensei. Kana held a high degree of confidence that she was a unique oddity when it came to the Kansen-Suru jutsu, at least she hoped so. Would that be enough to take on this ninja in front of him, with the confidence he had about facing them there was no telling just how strong he actually was. The glove would crawl along the ground, before slowly dispersing into minute particles moving through the grass towards sensei.

Kanamora's original plan was to support because she worried about her team mates. Though it was probably the case that they were more adept at protecting themselves than Kanamora was. The genin watched as she got closer to her sensei's presence and his body weight barely shifted as he acted, his bodily control seemed simply amazing. She swam silently through the dark earth. The battle plateau filled her ears with the sound pulsing water or maybe it was the other way around, more inexperience talking. Kanamora clenched her teeth and pumped more chakra through her sands in preparation for a defense to the impending retaliation that her new sensei would implement. She hoped her particle shield could protect her from his assault, and that he'd only be using tai or bukijutsu against them.

Kanamora floated up towards the surface of the Battle Plateau, belly up like one would float towards the surface of a lake from the bottom. As her face broke the surface she would deeply inhale attempting to emerge within a meter of her sensei opposite from fable, and she would snap up at her hips and reach for the bells on the belt. Mid reach she would substitute with her iron sand and from the opposite side she would attempt to snatch her future from his belt. "I got you now Kozai-Sensei!"

-15 chakra for substitution and particle shield
+ 384 WC

Raphael saw Kana the moment she had surfaced, he was impressed with how quickly she went for the bell. Pulling a Kunai from a pouch on his chest, the boy moved to stab the Kunai through the girl's arm only to be met by the girl subsituting with black sand. He felt her movement on the other side of him before he heard her voice, but he was prepared for an event such as this. Using a substitution of his own the young special jounin switched places with his coat he had left on the bench before his squad had shown up, just as the girl was about to wrap her hand around one of the bells her hand was met with nothing but the fabric of his cloak. As the dust settled on his wind storm technique the young special jounin's squad would find their sensei sitting on the bench where his cloak once was with his head in a notebook as if he was reading. After a moment without any movement from his squad the boy would look up from his notebook to find Shinoko and Fable laid out on the ground, and Kana still with his coat in her hand. As he looked at the two on the ground the boy considered if he might have been to hard on his Genin's, perhaps he should of pulled his punches a little better either way from the looks of things they were in no condition to continue nor were they prepared to work together.

"Well I would think you guys could of handled more than that, at least that was what I had gathered from your case files." The boy would pause as he closed his notebook and stood, placing his notebook into his belt as he walked over to where the three were. "Perhaps you are not ready for the challenges of the shinobi world and way of life, while you may hold the rank of genin it is clear to me that non of you are ready for this life." The boy would stop talking as he reached where Kana was with his cloak, taking it from her hand the boy would throw it on before he looked at Kana once more. "You were by far the closest to achieving the task that was set before you, you show great promise as a shinobi and I look forward to seeing your progression within our ranks." With that said the young boy would turn and head towards the exit of the battle plateau. Despite the disappointment he felt towards Shinoko and Fable for what seemed to the boy as them just giving up unable to handle the challenge they were given, the boy did hold one last piece of information. "If any of you truly wish for this life you are more than welcome to seek me out and I will help you however I can. However if today was the extent of your abilities as a shinobi, then I would highly suggest you seek a change in careers." The boy would disappear from the plateau in a flicker kicking up dirt and dust as he departed, leaving the three genin on the plateau to their own thoughts.

Back in his apartment the boy assessed the events of the day. While he still thought he might have been too hard on the Genin's, he still could not help but fill disappointment in their apparent surrender to the task they were given. "Maybe the life of a sensei is just not for me," the boy said aloud as he laid back onto his bed. Letting his thoughts wash away as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

{Exit Thread}

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4053

Training A-Rank Jutsu Divine Protective Wind: -2000
Training A-Rank Jutsu Great Vacuum Sphere: -2000
53 words discarded.

Training Cost: 500 Ryo

Kanamora was impressed with herself her plan had bore fruit for sure. She appeared behind Kozai-sensei with her sand on his opposite side. Just using herself as a measure there was no way he could avoid having the bell being captured by her. Her confidence was sharpened back into focus as the glint of a kunai in Kozai-sensei's hand casually plummeted towards her. Her eyes widened subconsciously as her brain tried to take in more information. He was so fast, there was simply no way to do this. As the kunai approached her arm her iron sand had time to block the kunai before Kanamora realized she needed to substitute before he activated a chakra flow technique and over came her own. Black sand replaced her spot in the path of his kunai, still in the shape of Kanamora's torso, the arm of the substitution was cleaved through. Kanamora's focus switched to the sand hidden on her person as she came from the other side of the Kozai-nin she was going to use it to extend her reach. The rain pierced through the Kanamora shaped cloud of sand like hundreds of bullet holes. Kana passively kept her sand from floating too far away from her in the torrent of water that cascaded off of the sides of the plateau.

The rain continued to press the ground on the plateau, and finally at what Kana expected to be the climax of the battle it had reached its peak as well. Each drop pounded the surface of the building one after the other rhythmically smoothing out the edges as they've done since the battle plateau was erected. Decades of wear having etched pathways into the ground for the rain to follow, Kanamora's foot landing in one such stream. Her fingers stretched out to her future, iron sand stretched off of her finger to the bell less than an inch away. Time slowed as the iron sand began to whirl forming a small vortex around closing in on the bell with Kanamora's hand almost grasping it. Kanamora remembered days like this, days where with the rain coming down with no end in sight. When she just grabbed the bell just in front of her, all of that would be justified: her effort justified, the time we spent justified, the surgery justified, and her weaknesses all justified. Her hand closed in on the bell and the edge's of her mouth curled up into a smile, that was dispelled as the bell and her sensei were replaced with a wet cloak, the bell she thought she had just being an afterimage.

Her momentum continued forward as the wet cloak rippled against face as she began to plummet her opposite hand planted on the ground as she slid a meter with the cloak still in her hand. Where had the cloak been before this, a simple question Kana tried to answer as her eyes scanned the plateau before her eyes landed on a disappointed jonin on a bench... reading.
"Well I would think you guys could of handled more than that, at least that was what I had gathered from your case files. Perhaps you are not ready for the challenges of the shinobi world and way of life. While you may hold the rank of genin, it is clear to me that none of you are ready for this life." Kanamora's heart sank. This was it for her she'd completely failed her last sensei and this one as well. She could feel her eyes well as she knelt on the ground the rain causing her hair to cling to her face as its weight was heavy with the weight of the water. Her sesnei, well the Kozai who could've been her sensei stopped in front of her reaching down for his cloak.

The cloak was heavy, not just with water, but the shame that Kanamora felt sapped her strength. With hesitance she relinquished his cloak. Kana was grateful for the rain, hid hid her shame and embarrassment as it showered down on them with an uncaring consistency. "You were by far the closest to achieving the task that was set before you," As the words came out of his mouth Kana looked up with hope filling her eyes. He'd offered her compassion by acknowledging her effort, even if it wasn't enough. "You show great promise as a shinobi and I look forward to seeing your progression within our ranks." Kanamora wasn't good enough this time, but next time she wouldn't fail.  She'd start over from zero and relearn the basics refining herself until she was a more perfect version of herself. "If any of you truly wish for this life you are more than welcome to seek me out and I will help you however I can. However if today was the extent of your abilities as a shinobi, then I would highly suggest you seek a change in careers."  Kanamora would yell as she wiped tears from her eyes with her forearm. "We won't disappoint next time." Her sensei would vanish leaving a a brief hole in the rain as he vanished from the space in front of her.

EXIT THREAD

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[WC = 868/3748]
Unlearning Fuinjutsu and learning Chakra Flow [-1500 WC]
Learning Odachi and Giant War Fans [Tessen] [-2000 WC | -300 Ryo]