The forests of Konoha were dense as always, or for about as much as someone like Kei Iriye knows. It was strange at first, to move to a forest thick like this, especially for someone that had spent so much of their short life living around sand and stone primarily. It definitely took some getting used to, especially when it came to traveling. Traveling was hell, with many a situation where he had found himself faceplanting the hard bark of many a tree. After multiple bruises and few broken noses later however he had soon found himself used to this just like how he was used to crossing buildings and sand dunes in what used to be Sunagakure.

'Old Sungakure..' He thought to himself as he was perched upon one particularly thick tree branch, his legs dangling off each side as he had his hands out before him, both palms hovering over a still body of a small bird; a swallow of some kind. He was still trying to get the different kinds of wildlife down for this type of environment now that he lived there, but he must admit it was extremely difficult. Unlike his old home there was so much more in general, like a thriving cesspool of varying genes mingling together to spawn even more.

He was working on this injured bird, a small one that seemed to have gotten injured on its first flight from the nest. It was good practice for his medical abilities, especially considering it gives it another chance to try again, and if it fails he can just hop on down and try again. It may be messing with nature and playing God, but hey, at least in the end it'll fly, and he's not touching it at all either, so the parents shouldn't have any issue with not recognizing it. Still though, as his blue eyes softly peered towards this defenseless little thing, this fragile being left to suffer its failure, he could still hear the chaos that was once around him.

He could almost see his sick mother trapped in the rubble, their neighbors refusing to help out of a mixture of trying to survive themselves and another mix of knowing what they had and being too scared to catch it themselves. This unknown disease which had lost its infectious ability within Kei himself thanks to his threads still remained very much active in his mother, and it was because of that and the selfishness of man that he was left there, knee deep in rubble, trying to heal her like a broken bird, blindly believing in the idea that one day she mat fly again.

His stare gradually transitioned as he felt a mixture of emotions welling within him. The sounds of panic around him, the tears in her eyes, the ever so failing vitals and her own life draining from her eyes were all things that he can still recall freshly within his mind, haunting harrowing visions that plagued him very much so. And yet, the weak chirp of the bird can be heard, and all it took was that to shake him out of his trance and back into reality. That was the past, and he needed to focus on the now. Right now he was hoping to get this done and over with, to use this medical care to pass the time for the meeting of a squad.

He recently became a shinobi of Konohagakure; as symbolized by the headband handing from his neck which held the symbol of the leaf, and a battered, useless one dangling from the waistband of his black pants which symbolized that of the Sand, with a long scratch through the logo, showing his cut ties with the village. Recently he had learned that a meeting was to be held here in this location at noon, and so for him; someone that wished to see how exactly a squad would work out, he would arrive early enough to get a feel for the environment.

Soon enough the weak chirps became more frequent, and soon enough this small bird was on its feel. "There you go, little guy. A second chance." He spoke softly as he watched it flutter its wings, lightly hopping to the edge of the branch, where it dropped once more, though this time soaring through the air shortly afterwards, finally learning how to fly correctly, with his eyes trained on it and a small smile appearing on his face. He couldn't help feel a small tinge of pride in himself as he would reach behind him, pulling back on his tattered short-sleeved black coat. With it donned, the black-haired male would switch seating positions so both feet dangled off the same side, where he would lean back, allowing his body to dangle upside down by his legs.

He couldn't help but wonder who his teammates would be, and if they would be pleasant. If so, he can actually find himself looking forward to meeting them.

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Spoiler:

A boy is seen kneeling on both knees before his two parents, his form firm without compromise. It was as if he was a statue, his parents six feet away keep such stillness too; they look upon the letter which will now dictate the future of their son. Kane, although still and just, his heart races upon hearing the verdict he will receive from his parents, even though it had already been decided. His parents knew this day would come, Kane now being pulled from his family; this was made certain the day Kane join the shinobi academy. Time seemed to slow, Kane could hear the birds clearly, the people wondering outside, the hustle of traffic and commerce.  Such commodities were so, for those living in the market district of the village. However, his mind was now tuned back into the still silent room, upon hearing his father clear his throat. His mother looks towards, her son, her eyes carrying more worry, contrary to her husband, whose eyes carry that of conviction? The scroll which he had now read was now retracted.

“Kane, do you wish continue this path, the path of a shinobi? Or do wish to honor your family by assisting the family business.”

Kane raises his head slowly, now looking towards his father, while not giving him direct eye contact.

“Yes, father. I do, but I do understand if I am not permitted, it would be an honor to carry on as usual, and to aid the family sword bu-“, his words were cut short by his mother. Kane’s head now returned to its previous position.

“That’s enough, my son”, her stern gaze now shifts her now sly husband. They both knew how this would carry out, how Kane would eventually talk himself out of pursuing his goals. Kane would never seek to dishonor his father, which she knew. But what she also knew, was the fact that that, Kane’s father purposely asked that question in that sort of way because he knew, Kane would throw out his own ambitions just to please them.

Kane’s father, taking note of his spouse’s look, places the scroll down in front of him. He knew he couldn’t do a thing about it, to have his own son not attended his first team’s meeting, would be a great dishonor among himself, his family, and the Arashi clan. In truth, he cared for his son, and thus took his spouse’s side. “It is time for you to go, my son. Do not dishonor us, by being late, or being late to your team meeting”, he bows his head down.

Kane smirked, now happy at the fact that he gained his parents approval. “Thank, mother and father, I will not forget this." He stands up, tall with respect. He bows towards them, before leaving the room, only to go to his own room. The first thing he wondered, was how his team going to be? “I wonder what type of team I’m going to be on. I can wait to meet them! We’ll get to go on missions, and train. Maybe my dad could come watch me when I take the chuunin exams. That’s if he’s free…, my mom could come. What should I wear, hmm…”, Kane’s rambling went on for a while. However, at the same time, he put on the appropriate clothes and afterwards, set off to the meeting location, since he already read the letter before handing it to his father.

He emerges from his house, wearing his official shinobi leaf headband, a black short sleeved shirt with the Arashi symbol stitched to his right sleeve, navy blue long shinobi pants, white tape wrapped around his ankles, and navy blue shinobi sandals.  He sets off to the forest, only to now glide along the high, yet very sturdy branches. With each step, his heart raced even more with excitement, upon reaching his destination. Finally, he reaches, and upon doing so, halts his advancement. His branch was about eight feet behind from one being occupied by another individual, who was hanging by his legs. As usual, he begins to run on. “Is this my new teammate? I wonder why he is doing that. Oh No! I hope I wasn’t late!”, he now places his both his arms at his sides, feeling ashamed at what he had done. To make someone waste their time, was truly dishonorable.

“I’m truly sorry for making you wait, my name is, Kane, Kane Haya. I am here for the team meeting.”, he said, now bowing towards him. his voice was light, now wondering if he would be forgiven.

The lush, dense forest of the Land of Fire still gave Nayoko Hattori a strong sense of peace as he made his way through it toward the pre-determined destination. He had been home briefly before turning back to the Land of Water, and then eventually to the Land of Wind for his missions for his village, as well as his own personal growth. The journeys had been fruitful to be sure, but Konohagakure no Sato was his home, and the jounin was just happy to have returned to it after such a long time away. Protecting his village from the monsters that had destroyed Sunagakure no Sato and raising the next generation of shinobi had now become his priority. And as he wander between the trees of the forest and heard the birds sings over the sounds of a stream slowly running nearby, the ANBU captain was reminded of just why he needed to protect this place. The peace that he felt here was unlike anything he experienced anyone else on his travels around the ninja world. Maybe he would find it again somewhere in the world, but for now, he had not. He tried to push the nostalgia form his mind as he saw the location of the sun in the sky above the treeline. He was slightly late for a meeting he was expected to attend in the woods, and it was not a meeting he could afford to miss.

Nayoko Hattori was taking on a squad of genin. When he had found out about the possible position, the Hattori had been hesitant. He had never been part of an official squad himself, and he felt that working with many different ninja of his rank had been a blessing in disguise when he was that age. But the more he had thought on it, the more the jounin realized the importance of teaching the new genin how to work as a team. He had to learn from experience, and that experience had come in the form of pain multiple times. If he could spare the next generation from needing that experience, then this would be a good choice. Plus, Nayoko had always dreamed of leading a squad some day. It seemed that day was fast approaching and when he had accepted the position, he could not wait to get the word out to his new students. The paperwork was not officially completed quite yet, but it was only a matter of time. So, Nayoko had set up the meeting in the woods for their first training session as a squad. The tree young ninja were supposed to be there by the time he arrived, so he hoped that he had given directions that were good enough. Even if he hadn’t any ninja worth their salt would be able to find the spot. As he approached where he knew the clearing was, the Hattori heard a young man apologizing to someone about making them late. Little did he knew that his teacher was just a little bit on the late side himself.

The ANBU captain did not waste any time. Without hesitation, Nayoko stepped around the tree on the edge of the clearing and into it so that his students could see him. Much to his disappointment, there were only two people waiting for him in the designated area of the forest. Whether the remaining person had gotten lost or if they just had not shown up was not a problem that Nayoko had time to solve. Instead, the jounin lowered his hood and took a look at the ninja who had bothered to show up. The first boy that he noticed was upside down, handing from a tree but dressed like he was ready to train. He was thin, but looked athletic enough to be a young shinobi. What stuck out about him though, were the artificial looking pieces of his body that looked like that were stitched to the rest of his body. It looked unnatural and was probably a result of the story that was told by the damage headband Nayoko could see on his belt. Perhaps this boy had been injured in the fires that had destroyed Sunagakure no Sato. Regardless of his story, he was here on time, and for that Nayoko was grateful. The other boy was a smil, olive skinned boy with a pony tail. His eyes were a striking purple, though when the sun caught them through the trees they seemed to turn green. He looked as though he had just been running which allowed Nayoko to surmise that he had been the one apologizing a moment earlier. The jounin stood there in silence for but a moment longer as he sized up his new students, wondering where the last one was. Finally, Nayoko spoke.

“Good morning,” the sage said quietly to the two students that were in the clearing before him. “My name is Nayoko Hattori, and I’m the jounin that was put in charge of this squad.” He paused for a moment to listen to the trees around him once again, hoping to hear someone approaching, but to no avail. “I was hoping that all three members of this new squad would be present by now, but it looks like only the two of you are on time. It’s a shame really; I’ll have to change up what I had planned.” Nayoko then removed his cloak and hung it over a nearby tree branch before leaving up against the trunk of a large tree at the edge of the clearing. “Why don’t the two of you introduce yourselves to me so that I can figure out who is who. Tell me your name and any specialties you might have when it comes to jutsu or elemental affinities. All of this will be useful information once training really begins.”

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Kei would hoist himself back up onto this branch via forcing his upper body forwards, effectively swinging himself back on top of it in a sitting position. Other than the slight disorientation from blood rushing to his head it was a pretty alright time spent waiting, but now that he has someone to focus on the time came to see who this person is, and whether or not they’re his new squad mate. He was eager to finally get this show on the road.

The person standing around eight feet away was none other than another male; whom of which wore a black shirt with some sort of symbol on his right arm. Kei couldn’t recognize this insignia, as he wasn’t all too familiar with the clans of Konohagakure just yet. The only ones he knows of are the obvious ones; Senju, Sarutobi, Aburame, the like. None of their markings matched this one, however, meaning he can’t really gain much out of anything his ally wears in regards to possible abilities. He also wore a pair of shinobi pants that were navy blue in color, with matching sandals to boot. He seemed more equipped as a standard shinobi than Kei himself. He just elected to wear black pants with black shoes to match his black tattered coat and white shirt. The stark contrast between the fashion that only an edgelord could love and the fashion of a possible stickler for the rules.

“Uh.. Hi.” He would blurt out as his face went blank from seeing his comrade with both arms at his sides. He listened to the apology in regards to making him wait. This person was named Kane Haya, and he was most definitely Kei’s squad mate. He was all the more confused, however, as he knows for a fact that he never heard of any Haya clan. Could this person be clanless like Kei himself? That would be extremely interesting to him, and made him curious about if this Kane had received certain modifications as well that made him keep up. There is always time for questions later, however.

“Don’t mention it. The name’s Kei Iriye.” He couldn’t help but rub the back of his neck when he saw his new squad mate bow to him. This was definitely awkward, even by his standards. He had stopped himself at the last second before he complimented the eye color of this other boy, almost losing himself in them for a second before figuratively shaking himself back to reality. Crap, he didn’t know what to say now. He didn’t exactly bring flash cards to help him break this ice. What do people from here even like?! Should he ask about trees? Thank the sage that what would slowly dissolve into a period of awkward silence wouldn’t go too long before the arrival of another had alerted him, though to his ignorance he wouldn’t have realized that this individual was already here, watching them. No, this would be the first time he actually realized the presence of this individual.

This individual looked older than them, and greeted them as well as Nayoko Hattori; a Jounin and their squad leader. It seems they’re starting without the third member being here and that Nayoko also was more than likely disappointed in this as well considering his noting of it. Apparently the loss of the third would make him change what he had planned, which Kei must admit was a bit of a bummer for himself as well, since it implied that his plan was going to be something challenging enough to require the three of them. Still though, he decided to wait until later to actually be butthurt about this, as for now with the removal of his cloak their sensei wanted them to introduce themselves, giving their names and specialties and elemental affinities.

Kei looked over towards Kane for a few moments. He really didn’t wish to actually be the one to start this, but he guessed he had no actual choice now. He certainly wasn’t about to wait any longer. “I’m Key Iriye, I specialize in Medical Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, along with Katon.” He blinked as his blue eyes scanned from Kane to their sensei. Old habits may die a little too hard, as he felt he needed to keep some things to himself, just in case. “I don’t have much else. I’m made of threads and can extend my body outwards around seven meters.” For a small demonstration, he would reach out towards the removed cloak with his left hand, the arm separating at the elbow, where it would extend outwards until it reached the cloak. This wasn’t really anywhere close to seven meters, but it was still long enough to show that in between his forearm and bicep is a thick bundle of black threads. After making his attempt to grab the cloak for a second before releasing his hold, he would retract his arm, where it would come back to normal.

“Other than that I don’t really have much to say. What about you?” He was curious about Kane and Noyoko. It was obvious why, as they were his squad mate and sensei. Chances are they both have interesting quirks like himself. He shot a look over to Kane though, his half-lidded eyes zeroing in on his newfound acquaintance.

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