The notice had been posted around five o'clock in the morning not only at the mission board but at various locations throughout the village: she figured twelve hours should be more than adequate for any self respecting ninja to plan accordingly and arrive on time. The decision had been made by Amaya on a whim simply because she was looking to fill some spare time by furthering the education, skills, and abilities of the Genin within Konoha. Things had been lax, squads nearly nonexistent, for far too long. In Amaya's personal opinion it was time to get the village back on its toes and to do that the village needed a strong foundation: that meant starting with the Genin and building up from there.

Training field eight would work perfectly for what she wanted to do. It was spacious, and rather plain compared to the rest. A large clearing sans a old tree stump in the center surrounded by the usual trees filled with all manner of animals and insects native to Konoha. Nothing overly dangerous, and nothing that a Genin shouldn't be able to handle were they to encounter it. To the east was a small lake that was no more than fifty meters across by 80 meters long. It was fed by a stream from the nearby river and emptied of into an underground spring allowing for the water to remain constantly fresh and clean.

The female Jounin was located sitting indian style in the middle of the clearing on the tree stump. For today she was wearing a long sleeved black shirt with the typical green Jounin vest over top of this. Black pants and open toed shinobi sandals completed her outfit with her village hitai-ate hanging loosely around her neck. Her white long hair was pulled back in a ponytail leaving only her bangs and a few stray strands of hair to frame her face. Naturally red colored eyes were hidden behind neon yellow sunglasses. Her weapons pouch was located at her right thigh for ease of access. Around her left forearm was a white bandage with the universal sign for "Medic" on it: a mark of who she was for those seeking medical assistance.

Amaya had a book in front of her resting on her legs, and her head was tilted down as if she were reading it though it would be hard for anyone to tell given the sunglasses on her face. Every so often she would use her righ hand to flip to a fresh page in her book. She was relaxed, and simply waiting to see if anyone happened to show up. There was yet another fifteen minutes to go, but Amaya had been in the clearing for well over an hour having wanted to scope the place out very well before everyone arrived - if anyone happened to do so. She had a test planned out for those who did and couldn't help but wonder if anyone would pass...

Word Count: 555

The notice had sparked Utano's interest greatly. She was hoping to get into shape and hone her skills as a shinobi, and what better way to do so than to join up in a traditional squad. A squad being lead by an Uchiha, at that. She had written down the details of the advertisement onto a notepad, copying it down from the board outside of the library. Field eight, 5:00 pm.

She packed up her belongings and geared up, headband dawned, standard Genin attire of a green Konoha jacket with cargo shorts and plenty of pocket space for her Kunai and Senbon. She was particularly excited about the thrill of a test. It was a rarity that she became excited or enthralled with things, but she wasn't going to deny herself the pleasure when it arrived. She was, after all, human.

She walked carefully across the field, remaining observant of her surroundings. Had there not been trees dotted around she would have been more concerned, as she needed the shadows. Upon a stump, in the center of these trees on training field eight sat who Utano assumed to be Amaya Uchiha. Her potential sensei. Utano's excitement rose a bit as she noticed the woman reading a book. This placed a grin upon her face. Reading was such a passion of hers. The book she was reading was one which Utano had already read. She had so much to say, but kept herself calm and approached with a gentle smile.

She would bow out of respect very lightly, following with her introduction.

"Hello there. I hope that I am in the right spot. I am looking for an Amaya, about the ad you posted. I am Utano, of the Nara clan."

She didn't want to keep speaking in case she was in the wrong place by some stretch of the imagination. It wasn't likely to be so, but alas she would be better safe than sorry. She stood, hands behind her back and awaited a response. Studying the woman before her. Yellow sunglasses blocked her eyes, her attire was standard of Jounin.

There wasn't yet anyone else around, so it would be interesting to see how this would proceed.

WC: 369

reserved for social, type tomorrow

A large village was bound to have some sort of medical facility, right? A place with a doctor, or surgeon, or hell, even a nurse , or something. Someone with a degree in medicine that could help him. He was getting tired of running at this point; he had been at it since well before sunrise at this point; trying to make his way to Konohagakure no Sato to find a medic. His reason? He needed a potentially complicated medical procedure performed on him, one that would allow him to regain the user of his arms... or rather, transplant a new set onto his body.

In his mouth, the young man clutched the handle of what appeared to be a rather large briefcase. Housed within the case was an assortment of tools that would be needed to perform the transplant that he required; it had had taken the young man the better part of three long years to gather the necessary materials and tools for this occasion; another three years was spent instructing a blacksmith on how to properly forge the pieces framework and parts of the prosthetic. Fortunately for the young man, the blacksmith was a very kind man and did the work on this particular pet project in his spare time, and did not charge for it. In return, the young man worked for the elder male, running errands and the like during this time. When the complete project was presented, the young man nearly wept with joy; for the first time in years, there was a bit of happiness in his heart at the prospect of finally being able to have a set of arms once more.

In addition to the tools needed for this operation, the case housed the arms themselves; masterpieces in their own right in terms of material quality and craftsmanship. The limbs were crafted from a strange non-magnetic 'living metal' that, if the young man's knowledge of metallurgy was correct, would allow him as the user to be able to perceive sensations through the limb as if it were flesh and blood by connecting his chakra network through out the weapon, causing it to respond as if it were flesh and blood. Even with all of the seemingly miraculous technology that went into the creating the arms, within the palms of the arms were chakra canons that could be fired at will. While they were not particularly strong, they would serve properly if the young man needed a surprise weapon.

The unseen blade is the deadliest, was it not?

The trees flashed by as this male made his way through the forest, taking care to avoid the holes and exposed roots that were scattered here and there. Normally, he would have stuck to the roads and paths, but he had heard that the nearby stretch of highway had been recently coming under attack by bandits. Given he was sans limbs, the male decided that it was best to avoid confrontation until he was properly armed, no pun intended. And so, he was moving quickly, hoping to make it to Konohagakure no Sato before he passed out from exhaustion. in the distance, through the trees, he could see some sort of clearing. Perhaps this was where the walls of the village met the treeline? Only one way to find out!

Through the treeline he burst, racing into the clearing in time to see two people, both female, standing in it. Gold eyes blinked slowly, staring at them in confusion for a moment from five meters away. He must have been a sight to see at moment; hair wild and unkempt, his body covered in a torn and tattered cloak that was strapped closed at the top. He was breathing heavy from his running, he was clutching a briefcase by the handle. Opening his mouth, the briefcase would fall to the ground with a heavy thud. The young man flexed his jaw, a loud popping sound filling the air as he winced. With his gold eyes and attention turned to the two females, he would pose a question.

"Which way is Konohagakure no Sato?"

It was at that moment, he noticed the armband that the seated female bore, the one with the symbol for medic emblazoned on it.

Oh, thank the god. It must have been his lucky day for him to run into her; but judging from what she was doing, that was sitting under a tree and appearing to read a book, the young man assumed that it was her day off. He would not bother her any further than he had to; he only needed directions to the hospital.

777 WC

OOC Note:

Another page flip was the only sound the female gave though her attention was not on the book but on the female individual moving closer. When the female got as close as she wanted to she bowed, likely out of respect Amaya assumed, and then went on to introduce herself. Utano, of the Nara clan. Amaya knew a good bit about that clan, including the fact that the majority of them were said to be quick witted and the whole lot were super intelligent. If this female lived up to that then her and Amaya would likely get along famously: time would tell though.

The female had gone silent after her introduction which was yet another thing that Amaya happened to like: silence was golden. Amaya had never been able to stand people who talked insessintily: it was one thing if what you were saying was important, another if you were simply speaking to hear your own voice. So, another point scored for this first to arrive.

"Aye, I'm Amaya. Seems you're the first to show up... A Nara, eh? I've heard very good things about your clan and the people in it... Interesting fighting style too, using shadows. I was going to have some kind of test to be gone through, but considering you're the only one to show up so far that's not likely going to---" Amaya was cut off then as the arrival of a strange individual pulled her attention away. This male had been carrying a briefcase around in his mouth, something that likely would have seemed silly to anyone else, but which caused her inner medic to go to work assessing the way he looked and was behaving. Was this an injury he was suffering from? Why was he carrying that thing in the first place? And why was he asking where the village was? Amaya was quite glad she hadn't booby trapped the surrounding area like another sensei would have down in an effort to get to see where their new squad was at, or else this male might have run into some problems.

"Village is that way...", Amaya said with a jerk of her thumb in the direction of the village itself. "Maybe I can help, though.. Whatcha need?" Amaya remained ever seated on the tree stump, but she was leaning forward in curiosity clearly interested in what this strange individual wanted while her mind came up with all sorts of ideas of what could have been in that heavy sounding briefcase.

Word Count: 478 | 1,033

OOC:

Shihai was training herself with basic combat simulation in the Konoha training ground number 4 for the day with the combat summon provided by the village. There were a few other new students there and for the most part the training was going along ok, they managed to learn something so that was good. However, around about 4 pm in the afternoon there was an accident in the training field, one of the students has missed the target entirely, and the surrounding tree was caught by fire and was spreading. With the help of the training ground maintenance staff and the Suiton users that were in the field, they managed to put off the fire successfully. And the Futon user helped clear up the smoke.

All seems to be well again, as the presenting medical Ninjas looking over the people on the scene, checking for injuries, the situation seems to be under controlled. Shihai's element was lightning and fire so she's unable to help with putting out fire or checking up the patients, but she helped with cleaning up the burning woods. As the field maintenance staff announced that they would need some time tending to the ground and fixing the fence and burned down maintenance. Training group number 4 will be unable to be used for the time being, and that they estimated that for a full repair it would take about a day at least.

Nodding in understanding, Shihai gathered up her random items and put them into her bag, she was glad that she was able to get some training done today, but feels like she could have used more. Especially the elemental training of the last part, that part had been insightful, since she hasn't really seen too many people fighting with elements yet. But now that training ground number 4 is out of commission for the moment, and she didn't want to go home quite just yet, she moved to the next training ground number 5.

Even though the numbers are right next to each other, each of the training ground are actually somewhat big and putting up quite the distance between each of the training ground. Whatever happened on the next ground over wouldn't have necessarily catch the attention of whoever was over here.

Stopping in the field, Shihai noticed that there were already three other people there. She recognized one of them as Utano, whom she has met once before by the lake. She seems to be to speaking to another older Ninja, Shihai blinks that the older Ninja, there was something about her that makes her feel like she saw that person somewhere before. But if Shihai has met her before personally she would have remembered it, so they haven't met, and yet she knows this person and even the name was on top of her tongue. Shihai thought that then she must have read about her somewhere, the long white hair Ninja must have done something but her mind was drawing blanks.

Asking herself whether she should approach them, but she didn't want to interrupt them in their conversation, that was when another person coming over to the group in front. Something appears to be off with his arm but march on nevertheless towards the two girls underneath the tree.

It would be unusual for a group of three to randomly gathered up and meet up somewhere, so she concluded that they must have meet up as a group to do something together, maybe it was for a mission (group mission? Debriefing? Review?), or maybe it was for squad training, or maybe someone was just looking to sell something.

Nodding to herself, if it was serious business she didn't want to interrupt them, but the curiosity was getting ahead of her so she approach the group a little to be within earshot, she wonders what this was all about.

Utano was pleased with the way Amaya responded. She took interest in the Nara clan and the abilities they held. A show of interest was a good first meeting. Everything was without incident. Utano stood as Amaya trailed off her last sentence regarding a test. Immediately attention was drawn to a young man with a briefcase hanging from his mouth.   She raised an eyebrow yet didn't speak, leaving it to Amaya, who also seemed a little caught off guard by the odd man. His briefcase dropped to the ground so that he could speak, and he asked for directions to the village.

An armless man, coming from out of the woods, heading toward Konoha. This was all very strange and Utano tensed up appropriately.  Briefcases, or really any sort of package with unknown contents being delivered directly to a village, a village which the carrier doesn't know the location of.. That was off.  That raised red flags in Utano's mind.  She imagined herself in the future. A masked shinobi, perched on the treeline watching the strange man, and at this point she would have taken him in for questioning. It was simply too weird.  

However, Utano was a young Genin. She wasn't there yet. And that would've been a massive overstepping of her boundaries next to her possible sensei.

She refrained from being too direct and instead peeled information gently and without cause for a fuss.  "Oh wow, are you hurt, stranger? Would you like a ha...err assistance with that heavy parcel?" She stopped just short of a simultaneous pun and offensive remark. She had to be more careful with her wording. She went silent waiting for the reply, as usual.

Her eyes flickered to Amaya and she revealed concern with her gaze.  Across the way, Utano had noticed just within earshot, a familiar face was just to the side of them. What the hell was Shihai doing here? Utano had a tendency to overthink things. Anyone else may have thought nothing odd, or maybe even that this was a comical situation. Utano instead was tense.   Chemical weapons, explosives, forbidden scrolls. Anything could be within that damned suitcase. She stared at it and spaced out entirely. What could it have held?

WC: 741

The young man straightened up, his back releasing loud popping sounds as the bones reset themselves. A glorious feeling of pleasure radiated from his spine; for hours the youn man had been bent over and running, holding the weight of the case up with only the strength of his jaw. He had been running since before the sun came up at seven ante meridiem, and here now, it was pushing to almost five post meridiem, or as he was more used to, seven hundred and seventeen hundred hours respectively.

"Village is that way..." A jerk of the female's hand would indicate the direction of the village; if the male had simply keep running in the same direction, he would have came to the village in due time. The male nodded at this information; it was what he needed, and he would keep moving on. As it was, he was appearing to interrupt this female on her day off, and he would take up no more of her time than he needed.

"Thank you, ma'am." In a quick motion , the male kneeled over again, and was about to grab up the case when he heard the elder female speak, followed by the younger one.

"Maybe I can help, though.. Whatcha need?"

"Oh wow, are you hurt, stranger? Would you like a ha...err assistance with that heavy parcel?"

Those gold eyes flickered over the to the younger female at her question, an expression of extreme anger crossing his features; he was so far done with hearing all of the "Do you need a hand" jokes and all manner of variations them. Perhaps, once his transplant was completed, he would seek out this female, and 'give her a hand' in kind, testing out his chakra cannons on her flesh.

Turning his attention back to the elder, he offered her a smile. "I do not wish to impose upon you, ma'am. I assume by the band on your arm that you are a medic, and given the circumstances, it also seems to be your day off. However, since you did inquire, I shall tell you." The young had waited six long years for this moment, and despite how much he wanted to get this procedure over with, he was fine with waiting a few more minutes.

With a gentle nudge of the case upon the ground for emphasis, he began to speak, ignoring the fact that a new person was approaching the scene. "My wounds have long since healed, but I have come to Konohagakure no Sato to request medical aid. I require a surgeon to install a set of prosthetic arms for me that are housed with this case." He paused for a moment, nodding to to the female. "Thank you for your information as to the direction of the village. I shall be on my way."

474 | 1251

The last few hours had been rather tiring shift at the hospital for the genin named Ginza. He'd been working tirelessly with the others since nearly four thirty that morning without many breaks at all. There was something about this precise day, that people had just had injury after injury that landed them in the emergency room. To make matters worse, his sensei one of the foremost medical shinobi of the village, had taken the day off. Not that he minded really, there were things to be done outside of the hospital commonly. Still, when the day was finally winding down for him when he was to be replaced by someone else, he was grateful as he headed to the locker room that was provided to the staff of the hospital, and he found himself leaning his forehead against the cool metal of his locker with a sigh for a moment.

"Oi, Ginza!"  The blond flinched, pulled out of his stupor against his locker, when he heard the loud voice call out for him with clattering footsteps against the hard linoleum that meant that someone was approaching the locker room, specifically looking for him. The blond really didn't feel like dealing with someone else right now, and he groaned inwardly. But never the less, Ginza  jerked upright when the door clicked open, turning his head to see one of his coworkers burst into the room halfway out of breath. "Oh good... I caught you before you left." The coworker breathed looking relieved even in his attempt to catch his breath, flinging out a hand in Ginza's direction with a folded piece of parchment.

Eyebrow raised, Ginza finished putting his work things away in his locker before moving towards his coworker and taking the parchment with a raised eyebrow, giving a simple question in reply.  "What is it?"

"Amaya-sensei left this letter for you earlier. I'm sorry, I forgot to give it to you before because we were so swamped!" The coworker murmured breathlessly, and Ginza gave a small nod as he unfolded the parchment to read the note that his sensei had written him, telling him to meet her in an attempt to see his prospective squad mates.  He blanched at the time written on the note, then glance over to the clock in the room. Of course his coworker had forgotten to give it to him until now. Now he'd have no time at all to get there in time. He huffed and brushed past his coworker with a briefly muttered thank you before bursting into a sprint, shoving the note into one of the pockets on his belt.

Ginza had no doubt that Amaya had given his coworker the note at a reasonable time, so the reasoning that his coworker would give him the note at only five till the time he was to be at the training field was absolutely ludicrous. He'd remember that his coworker was scatterbrained, and would know better than to request that his coworker work on time sensitive materials from now on. He may not talk much, but he certainly kept stock of things that people did around him, and it shaped his opinion of them. And his opinion of his coworker had now tanked. Amaya would probably not be very pleased with him being late, in spite of the circumstances, so sprint he did.

He only slowed when he neared training field eight, smoothing down his clothes to make sure that he looked relatively presentable. He was sure he'd missed a few things. Perhaps a splatter of blood on his cheek from one of the patients he'd treated during the day splattered on his forehead, marring his gold tattoos on his forehead. Still, there hadn't been much time to check himself over, so here he was walking towards the group of people in front of the woman that he'd gotten to know at least relatively well during the past four years that he'd been back in Konohagakure.

With a sigh he moved over to Amaya, slipping into a position behind her and slightly to the side, looking over the others before leaning forwards to her ear. "My apologies for being late, Amaya-sensei. I received your message later than intended." he spoke quietly, there was no reason for the others to hear what he said, before straightening and looking over the others again, his brow creasing at the specific appearance of the other blond man who looked injured and seemed to be someone that his sensei could help particularly.

WC: 769

OOC Note:

Her red gaze darted over to the side to the new arrival who seemed to be keeping her distance; though her glance would have been perfectly hidden behind her neon yellow sunglasses. She had little to no idea who this female was, or why they were remaining so far away: was she interested in joining Amaya's squad and was perhaps shy, or had she simply been using the training ground and stumbled across them? She would find out those answers later on.

For now her gaze moved to Utano and then to the male. Amaya inwardly flinched at Utano's question while on the outside remaining completely calm, relaxed, and showing no sign of the inner emotions swirling within her: she was a Jounin after all so she couldn't just lose her head or wear her emotions on her sleeves like others could. Still, she had a feeling the question might end up insulting the male more than making him happy - people who had some form of a handicap never seemed to take too kindly to being offered help like that. Still he didn't say anything about it and seemed to turn his attention back onto Amaya after a glance at Utano that spoke more volumes then Amaya wanted to admit in that moment.

At his assumption to her being a medic she would nod her head yes, indicating that that was true. She was going to respond that it wasn't in fact her day off but kept silent as he continued on with his explanation of things. From what the male said he was in need of a surgeon due to needing a transplant and that he had wounds that had long since healed over the years. He wanted a transplant of some prosthetic arms which wasn't something Amaya was a stranger to doing. Amaya thought back to the only other high ranked medic she knew, a medic she knew was busy with other duties. "Well, you happen to be in luck: today isn't my day off, and I happen to be one of the best medics and surgeons in this village - the other of whom is quite busy right now."

She nodded then toward Utano. "I was in the middle of trying to get a squad together: I sent out an announcement to see who all was interested. If you don't mind waiting we can start working on taking care of your request fairly shortly... you could even join in if you're in the neighborhood looking for a squad to join." It was as much as an invitation that she would give. The fact that the guy had survived the past six years without fully functioning arms meant he had to have some kind of skill, or at least some kind of fortitude: it was something Amaya was interested in learning more about if nothing else. So, what better chance than to get him on her squad?

Amaya's train of thought was suddenly disrupted at that moment by the arrival of the single squad member she had actually claimed previously to this: Ginza. Out of breath and with the obvious smell of the hospital around him - there was no getting rid of that smell after a decent shift - it didn't take Amaya long to guess as to the reason he was late. She personally didn't mind the hospital smell - it wasn't bad per say just simply unique and something that clung to the hair and clothes in ways not other things could - nor the fact that he was late given she already knew the reasoning behind it. It had been likely a busy day, and chances were her letter had not been delivered on time due to the delays. No big deal, no issues. Instead, rather playfully, she simply reached into her pocket and pulled out a sticky note which she wrote "This is Mine" on and stuck it to Ginza's arm with a grin. Oh yes, Amaya could be quite playful - and a bit territorial over her people. It would also show easily enough to Ginza that she wasn't angry with him in the slightest. "No worries, Ginza. I suspect it was a busy day at the hospital.", she would respond softly before adding in a slightly louder tone. "You haven't missed much, we were about to get started when this individual came inquiring for directions as well as a surgeon. So, I've also offered him a chance at our newly forming squad if he's interested..." A brief explanation that wouldn't hold things up too badly.

Wordcount: 844 | 1,877

At the mention of the band Shihai turns to look at the older female's clothing and indeed, she was wearing the type of cross band that Shihai saw other medical Ninja wears before, that means that she was some kind of medical Ninja? That thought was confirmed later on when the Ninja in question introduced herself as one of the best surgeons in the village. Shihai blinks at that and mentally runs the list of the name of all of the then living well known surgeons in the village in her own head, unfortunately quite a few names came up so she was still not entirely sure who this older Ninja was. But some new information did came out of that conversation, namely that there might be a field medical transport going on shortly, but more importantly, apparently she was in the process of putting in together a squad.

Shihai blinks at that, apparently she has stumble across something major! A turning point, no...a turning of a new leaf if you will.

Raising her right hand up as a fist, Shihai imagine that she heard back ground music of "The End of All, Shigure version" starting to play in the background and also she imagined spot light shining upon the stage (what stage). The forming of the very first Konoha squad since a very long time and she was here too, abet she was standing at the sideline watching as this historical moment unfold right in front of her very own eyes. But maybe it was time for her to introduce herself, I mean after all, otherwise that's kind of stalkerish and she tries to avoid criminal activities if she could, there's a time and a place for stealth missions and the time is not now.

Shihai moves forward and was about to introduce herself when another guy came over and stopped besides the older female Ninja, and this time, having already been put on notice of the cross band, Shihai recognized him as yet another medical Nin. Ok...so we have two medical Nins on the field right now. Shihai turns to look at the guy who was asking for a transplant...I mean, at this point he should definitely go for it...?

....

wait a minute....!

Shihai narrowed her eyes at the guy who has just come over, and she realized that she recognized him from somewhere before...? But memories are pretty fuzzy right now, from somewhere before...she think his name started with G...Gin...Gina? Gina? Right! Yes! Of course! It was Gina from the other group gathering! How could she have forgot, they hosted some kind of competition but she never find out about the grand reveal and find out who the big winner was, still it was nice to see another familiar face.

Alright....! Time to introduce myself...! No more hiding at the side. Shihai nodded to herself and comes forward.

And that was when the older Ninja mentioned the name Ginza and Shihai palmed her hand against for forehead. Of course, why did I think that it was Gina in the first place, thank goodness that I haven't use that name in a greeting yet....

"Excuse me!!! Sorry for the intrusion! I heard that you guys are looking to form a squad of some kind?" Shihai says to the group. "My name is Shihai Kimura, and I am a newly admitted Genin, although I am too new for a squad right now, I would like to help with anything that I can. If this is another one of those pass a test to get admitted thingy, I can help with keep scores and timing and such? Maybe helping out with setting up the stage?" Shihai asked out.

WC: 618

The group of gathered Shinobi grew quite rapidly as another man arrived, and Shihai decided to step forth and get mixed into the fray. Of course, at this point Utano was still a bit sketched out by the brief case. She decided to just disregard it and pay attention to the newly unwinding situation which had been placed before her. Large gatherings of folk always seemed to be a hassle for Utano. She preferred smaller, more contained interactions. Particularly ones that made sense.

She took in the words of the armless shinobi, who cast her a dirty look in light of her comment regarding arms which has been accidental. She gave him a similar glance in return, to verify that she wasn't taking any nonsense. He elaborated to Amaya what exactly he was aiming to accomplish here. Within the case were apparently a pair of prosthetic arms. This would make sense given the situation. This eased Utano's mind greatly.

After finishing his explanation he appeared to want nothing more to do here and seemed to be attempting to get away quickly. He thanked Amaya once again and stated that he would be on his way.

At this point Utano's focus rested more intently on the other blonde boy who had somehow slithered into the scene while Utano remained entranced by the brief case earlier. He whispered to Amaya before stepping away. This was odd to Utano. She had been calm and polite, and had arrived earlier, yes. Those are good first impressions for certain. There was no doubt, though, that this man knew Amaya personally. No new student looking for a squad would've done that in their right mind. She would be keeping an eye on this one.

Amaya did something odd to this new arrival, slapping a note onto him which read "This Is Mine". Was this what comradely and playful behavior looked like between friends? It was oddly inefficient and seemed a bit of a time waster. To each their own, though. Utano listened carefully as Utano caught the blonde man up on all of the happenings and where things currently stood.

Shihai decided to then enter the picture rather than standing what was so obviously right within earshot of the group. She dove straight in for the "teachers pet" award, offering to help with the possible tests, keep score, or anything else that needed doing. Utano just looked on, expressionless. With everyone gathered now, it was hard to tell just what might have happened at that point, but Utano had no reason to disrupt the peace or create further discussion.

WC: 1174

"Well, you happen to be in luck: today is not my day off, and I happen to be one of the best medics and surgeons in this village - the other of whom is quite busy right now."

Well now, that was indeed stroke of luck. He had stumbled across one of the best medics in the village, and it was not indeed her day off? Well then, then perhaps he could ask her if there was anyway for him to schedule the surgery through her? He did not expect to have the surgery today, but knowing that he knew one of the best medics in the village certainly did not hurt. Perhaps it would be best if he waited around until she was finished here?

"I was in the middle of trying to get a squad together: I sent out an announcement to see who all was interested. If you do not mind waiting we can start working on taking care of your request fairly shortly... you could even join in if you're in the neighborhood looking for a squad to join."

Oh, so she would perform the surgery for him? This was turning out to be a most fortunate day indeed. But there were still things he did not know, but given the generosity of this female, he was sure she would not mind answering. "If you do not mind, could you please escort me to the hospital -- when we are done here, of course. I have a few questions that are puzzling me that I would like to ask you." A simple request, one that the young man hoped that this female would honor. For now, he would simply sit back and wait and see what became of this encounter. "As for your offer to join your... 'squad' I'm afraid I do not know much of the ways of ninja... " An honest truth; he knew nothing of them, save for what he'd picked up in the last six years of being in this world, and even then, that was barely anything. His training of a different kind -- formal military, not the shinobi arts. "To be honest, you shinobi scare the living shit out of me..." With that, the male fell silent. He had had his share of run ins with various shinobi over the years, not all of them going as pleasant as this one was.

Stepping around the case, he would sit down upon it, attempting to wait out the time it would take for this female to finish here. He paid close attention to the course of events, however. If he remembered anything of his training from his word, it was that information was key to success. If these people were going to willingly put together a squad in front of him, who was he to disregard that information? Anything he could learn would be valuable to him.

The young male paid no attention the blonde female whom had made the remark about his arms when she shot him a nasty look; if she was still feeling some kind of way once his transplant was done, she was free to get the brakes beaten off her then. Until then, he had no time for children with attitudes; though his eye did catch sigh of yet another new person to enter the scene. A blond male, who even from this distance, the male still could see flecks of blood on his skin and clothing.

"My apologies for being late, Amaya sensei. I received your message later than intended."

Sensei... why did that word sound familiar -- wait. Sensei meant 'teacher', did it not? Yes, that is what it was called in this era of history! So, this new guy was a student of the elder female? Judging by what he said, the elder female had asked him to meet her here in this location. Perhaps he was already a part of this female's own squad, or was his role in comparison to hers strictly confined to the hospital? Was he a nurse, or an assistant to her?

"No worries, Ginza. I suspect it was a busy day at the hospital. You have not missed much, we were about to get started when this individual came inquiring for directions as well as a surgeon. So, I have also offered him a chance at our newly forming squad if he is interested..."

Ryoka merely tilted his head upwards, a universal [at least, he hoped it was universal in this time frame] sign for 'Whats up' at the mentioning of him. If this 'Ginza' person would look upon him, it would be fairly obvious as to why he did not wave or offer to shake hands he was sure was customary in this village. So, it would seem that this Ginza person was not her assistant, but already a part of her squad. That much should have been obvious given the note that the elder female stuck to the male's shirt: a note that read 'This is Mine".

Ryoka almost chuckled.

It was then that that the third female, the black haired one, began to speak. It would seem that she had finally decided to join the conversation instead of standing on the side lines, staring at everyone. As she began to speak, Ryoka's gold eyes shifted in her direction, curious as to what she had to say.

"Excuse me!!! Sorry for the intrusion! I heard that you guys are looking to form a squad of some kind? My name is Shihai Kimura, and I am a newly admitted Genin, although I am too new for a squad right now, I would like to help with anything that I can. If this is another one of those pass a test to get admitted thingy, I can help with keep scores and timing and such? Maybe helping out with setting up the stage?"

Another shinobi? Was everyone in this place a ninja? Oh deities, it would seem that everyone in this village was a shinobi. In that small town where the young have been living for the past five and a half years, he had only come across a handful of shinobi, and those were the people simply stationed there for the 'protection' of the townsfolk. But at least these ones did not seem so bad; they were not extorting the townsfolk for money, or crashing their businesses when in foul moods; or, Ryoka had simply caught these ninja on a day where they did not feel like doing such? Ryoka said nothing for the moment, simply opting to yawn as he awaited to see what would happen.

Would anything interesting happen, deity forbid someone making him being happy for once.

1127 | 2378

Ginza watched as Amaya reached into her pocket and pulled out a sticky note, lifting one eyebrow slightly in a perplexed expression, unsure what the slightly younger woman had in store for him as she placed it on his sleeve. Though, as he looked down and shifted his sleeve slightly so that he could read it he relaxed, and his lips actually quirked upwards and into a small amused smile, inwardly laughing although he didn't display it for the others around them. It was only for a moment that this smile would be on his face before being replaced by an impassive look, but he knew that little show of emotion would be enough to let Amaya know that he got a kick out of the little show of possession. The only other display that would show that he thought fondly of the little note was how he lifted his opposite hand to grace the edge of the sticky note for a moment before letting his hand fall back down to his side.

Hand once again nearly hidden by his sleeves that his finger tips barely peeked out of, he gave a small nod of confirmation. It had certainly been a very busy day, so he was glad that she was being understanding about why he had been late. Intriqued by her further words, his gaze turned to look at the others in more detail now that he wasn't quite in a rush.  There seemed to certainly be some tension between the two other blonds whom he'd never seen before, and it was very visible with the way that they were glaring at each other. The third was a girl that he remembered seeing vaguely during the test with Kenta. Observing. She was interesting. Always seeming to be in the right place at the right time, although never really willing to truly participate in the tests that were going on.

As the dark haired girl bustled over and began speaking, Ginza raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Amaya with a knowing look. He doubted if Amaya would enjoy the sudden intrusion of someone who wanted to help with a "...pass a test to be admitted thingy." However, true to his nature, he didn't say anything to the girl, simply studying her from his place slightly behind Amaya. A Kimura. If Shihai's last name was true to the Katon Dōjutsu clan, that made her of the same clan as one Kimura, Takao a past Hokage. But there was always the possibility of it being a regular last name in this day and age. Interesting, he'd have to keep his eyes on her to see what her abilities were.

But soon his attention was turning back to the other blonds that had joined them. The tension in the air between them was a little ridiculous, and he had to wonder what on earth was going on between them if these to were to be his team mates he certainly was going to have a lot of work cut out for him to keep them from going at each other's throats. He could already tell that right now unless they reconciled whatever this was. He gave a glance at Amaya, inwardly giving her a hapless look, hoping that she would be able to feel it through his impassive gaze before looking back up at the male blond who looked to be only an inch or so shorter than him. Finally, someone who could keep up with him height wise.

But his reply was... unfortunate. Shinobi scared the living shit out of him? That was truly unfortunate, and inwardly Ginza laughed slightly. He'd never met someone who was so honest about being scared of shinobi. However, this man seemed like someone that was more than a little experienced with battle, especially with injuries like the ones that he was sporting. Perhaps if he wasn't a shinobi now, he would grow to be one withing the village of Konohagakure depending on how long he would be staying. Had he already been a soldier? He certainly would be someone who would be interesting to see developing, whether he joined his and Amaya's squad or not.

So, it appeared that only one of the three others had received a note from Amaya and had chosen to join them, the blond girl, but the other two would certainly make for an interesting series of events. He had to wonder though if anyone else who had received the note would turn up late. It would be a shame that they were late, but perhaps adding someone else into the mix would add to the interesting group of three before Amaya and himself. Once again, his gaze wandered back down to look at his sensei before lifting one hand to brush back his golden hair behind his ear to keep the wind that blew through the training field from whipping it into his eyes.

WC: 769 + 836 = 1605

.oO(My apologies for the wait. Work has me swamped right now. Won't be back around until Sunday after this.)

"Oh god, please strike me dead right now and end my misery...", Amaya found herself thinking as the female, Shihai, came up and began to introduce herself in a way that made Amaya think she likely had had way too much sugar in way too little a span of time. She was all for people being helpful and offering assistance but.. no. No, this was a little too teacher's pet like for her and that was a pet peeve and a no-no in her book. It was one thing to earn the recognition of someone because you worked hard and proved your worth, it was another to do it in a manner like this: she had had to deal with situations like this in her own youth and it had irritated her greatly. Then again, perhaps Amaya was being too harsh and judgmental: either way, it was not going to happen. "I appreciate your offer, Miss Kimura, but I'll have to decline. The type of test I plan on administrating is something I myself have to set up. I'll have to ask that you vacate the area; the less people around the easier the test will be." It was about as nice a way for Amaya to shoo someone away as she was going to get - it wasn't a flat out screw off which anyone else likely would have got in this position. Amaya was at least trying to be nice.

Now that that situation was handled she returned her focus onto both Utano and Ryoka who was speaking again - noticing that there was a lot of glaring going on between the pair of them. Amaya wasn't going to say anything to them at this point though: they both looked old enough to solve whatever issue the pair seemed to have with each other without her. Were it to escalate and become something more? Then she would step in. For now though she was going to treat them like the adults (teenagers?) they seemed to be.

Ryoka inquired as to if she would escort him to the hospital when they were done here due to him having a few more questions he needed answered to which Amaya inclined her head in a nod of yes "Sure, that'd be perfectly fine with me.". She had no problem with that at all - especially since she was going to have some questions for him too before she preformed any surgery on him at all. Normally she had an entire sheet of questions she expected her would be patient to answer but given he lacked arms she would just have to go through it all verbally. It didn't bother her in the slightest; she was not the type to get annoyed or angry with someone with an obvious handicap they can't control. "You're also more than welcome to stick around if you'd like... I understand you have somewhat of an issue with shinobi, but perhaps I can change your mind about that. Not all of us are the same after all... Up to you though.", she wouldn't force him to stay if he didn't want to stick around, but perhaps he could get the chance to learn a few new things. Which reminded her, if was in fact time to get this test underway.

Amaya stood up in one lithe step and jumped off of the tree stump she had been seated upon. "So, I'm assuming you're the only ones interested in being here, thus we might as well get started. I do intend on running a test, one I need to go set up, however before we get started let me say a few more things... This young gentleman behind me is Ginza, he is already a member of my squad. This of course means there are only two slots open. To be able to fill up one of those slots you will have to pass my test. I'm going to get things set up, you are to wait here until I return.." Amaya would pause long enough to make sure no one had anything to say before turning and heading off into the treelines; disappearing from sight fairly easily as the trees and growth swallowed her up. Amaya kept going, using her naturally fast speed to make sure no one could follow her. She moved quite a distance away, meeting up with an individual whom would be helping her with this task....

Wordcount: 766 | 2,643

Shihai blinks rapidly at what was happening right now, which unfortunately was not that much at the moment.  Out of the four people who are currently standing around in the Konoha training field number 5, most that anyone has done was standing around and looking at each other cautiously, probably having their own secret scheme and internally valuating the situation on their own right about now.  With the exception of the occasional exchange of words and not so much as a greeting. Everyone seems to be proceeding with extra bit of caution and seems to be determined to not share any kind of information easily, not even their own names. Shihai nodded in half understanding, hesitantly, maybe...maybe though...this is what being a Ninja was all about? Information should not be freely handed out but it should be gathered secretly with each of the Ninja's own skills?

BUT....how are they going to work as a team if they wouldn't even trust each other enough to share a name or have a conversation?! Shihai turns to look around the people at the scene. Utano, the blonde hair girl, who was holding up a pretty good neutral poker face, and with all of the indifference to the world, seemingly not impressed; with if not slightly guarded expression about her aiming towards the mysterious blonde hair guy. The latter seems to not take an interest in anything except for the transplant, and he was speaking only to Amaya, and apparently he was not here for the squad, and that he was scared of Ninja? Shihai winced silently to herself at that, she could only imagine the difficulty that he will face in the future, consider Konoha is a hidden Ninja village and is the residence to....Kami knows how many Ninjas we have, ( and how did he managed to get into the Hidden Village anyway and did he not know what he was getting into before entering?) In all honesty it was kind of understandable though, the needs of arm transplants does take precedent than anything else that was going on currently still. What was more worrying to her though is that Ginza seems to be very possessive of Amaya. And for the sake of balance and team spirit, I hoped that Amaya would not be blatantly showing favor towards one or another. It was good that they have a common goal, but for a team of any kind to work out, there should probably be more interaction between the teammates themselves. It had looked like to become a proper team, this squad has some more work ahead of them, but luckily there are still a lot of time, it wasn't like Konoha was in war with anyone and there's no time pressure for them to get their acts together right away. Building a team might take years? Not that she would know anything about it, since she was not in a team of her own.

Sighing, Shihai nodded in respond to Amaya's response. Yeap, that was what she would have thought too, but it never hurt to ask. If this was truly a test of some kind of admit more people into the squad, it might be best to not have an outsider getting into the fix and potentially learning more information about what each and everyone of them can do, even though technically they are from the same village and on the same side and that Shihai was just a new Genin. Precaution is always welcomed in the Ninja world, although she was just a Genin. Still Shihai wonders about that the test is actually about, she might ask the actual members of the team later on, curiosity is curiosity.

Shihai turns to look at the mysterious wanderer looking blonde guy. "Well....that is unfortunate. Sure we are all Ninjas, but we are not all that bad, hang around long enough and you might find us not so scary, and some could be quite silly...If you change your mind though, I think Konoha would be glad to have another addition to the village, and I'm sure that this squad personally could use another team member."

Shihai bows to hims lightly as acknowledgement, she then turns towards the team. "Well, I'm off then, I wish you all good luck with the test and hoped that you all get in, I'm sure Amaya is a good teacher. Utano, Ginza, I hope to see the two of you again someday and maybe we could hang out then. Well, see you guys later then." Shihai waves towards the team and turns to disappeared into the forest.

[Shihai Exit]

Total WC: 2034

(OOC: guys look at my side bar, my ryo...!!! ToT)

"I appreciate your offer, Miss Kimura, but I will have to decline. The type of test I plan on administrating is something I myself have to set up. I'll have to ask that you vacate the area; the less people around the easier the test will be."

Get fucking wrecked, kid. It was a though process that Ryoka could understand; if you were not there to participate, then you were just going to be in the way. This Amaya person was a Sensei, a teacher for a reason; she more than likely did not need any help, plus that Ginza guy was already on her squad as it was, so there was even less of a chance that this Amaya person needed help from anyone else. For the moment, Ryoka kept his peace. This might be interesting in the long run, if things remained the same. How would this Shihai Kimura persona take this news?

"Well....that is unfortunate. Sure we are all Ninjas, but we are not all that bad, hang around long enough and you might find us not so scary, and some could be quite silly...If you change your mind though, I think Konoha would be glad to have another addition to the village, and I am sure that this squad personally could use another team member."

Or.. you could just comment on something that you had no idea as to why someone felt a certain way, nor any reason to comment in the first place. The young man's left eye twitched slightly; it seem that several of these Hidden Leaf Village ninja were campaigning hard to be lit up like fire human crackers, and they all were about to be elected as soon as his transplants were done. For now, the young man said nothing in response to this persona since they were leaving the area, save for rolling his eyes and resisting the urge to move over to her, draw back his foot and kick her teeth in when she bowed to him.

"Well, I am off then, I wish you all good luck with the test and hoped that you all get in, I am sure Amaya is a good teacher. Utano, Ginza, I hope to see the two of you again someday and maybe we could hang out then. Well, see you guys later then."

BYE FELICIA!

With a sigh, the male continued to sit on top of the briefcase that held his arms. With one person down, it would leave himself, the Sensei Amaya, her student Ginza, and the last girl, the one with the big mouth, Utano. A yawn was building up inside of him when he noticed that the Sensei Amaya was speaking to him. His attention snapped back in an instant to the situation at hand


"Sure, that would be perfectly fine with me. You are also more than welcome to stick around if you would like... I understand you have somewhat of an issue with shinobi, but perhaps I can change your mind about that. Not all of us are the same after all... Up to you though."

It would seem like everyone here wanted to change his mind towards Shinobi today. Yes, he did not like Shinobi, and not without good reason. He could understand why these people would want him to like Shinobi -- they were shinobi themselves. If memory served correctly, Shinobi could not just enter a neighboring minor village on a mission without permission, otherwise, the reputation of thier Hidden Village would decline in some sort of way. They had to be liked in order to get work. While Ryoka did not like Shinobi, he judged whether he liked a person or not based on how they acted, not by thier job. Everyone had a reason for what they did, and why they chose thier profession -- they had thier reasons, like he had his.

In response to the comment, Ryoka simply nodded to Amaya. "I have nothing else to do, nor anywhere else to be. My only reason for being in the Hidden Leaf Village is to have this medical procedure performed. I shall await for you to be finished right here, since you offered, however." It was true; his only reason for being here was the transplant. He knew no one in this village, and had no where else to go even after it was done, so he might as well stay right where he was and remain bored until he got his transplant done. Who knew; if the test was interesting enough, he might even join in if he could.

Amaya stood up in one lithe step and jumped off of the tree stump she had been seated upon. It was at that point that Ryoka took note of her appearance. This person was a teacher and wearing this outfit? Huh. It would appear that the Village Hidden in the Leaves was very lax on thier dress code for thier shinobi. "So, I am assuming that you are the only ones interested in being here, thus we might as well get started. I do intend on running a test, one I need to go set up, however before we get started let me say a few more things... This young gentleman behind me is Ginza, he is already a member of my squad. This of course means there are only two slots open. To be able to fill up one of those slots you will have to pass my test. I'm going to get things set up, you are to wait here until I return.."

So, there was only two slots in the squad? Well then, it would seem that this Utano persona was guaranteed a slot, provided they did not fucking fail the test in a spectacular fashion. How funny would it be if she did fail, though? It was a hilarious image to picture; a test for a position for which you were the only applicant, and somehow you still managed to fail.

But what would be even more hilarious was someone who did not want the position, someone who did not have anywhere near the same credentials as you coming by and passing the test with no problem, and taking the position while you yourself was rejected.

Now that was divine comedy.

1052 | 3430

If looks could kill, well, there would be a blood bath with this armless, no-good wandering piece of... Utano stopped her thought train. The young Nara girl meditated,  and brought herself to a peaceful consensus.  As she focused in and skillfully washed away all of her thoughts she recovered her composure and all of her irritation with that individual melted away. She felt nothing. Life was nothing. Peace. Calm.

She finally began to exist within that moment with everyone else and as Shihai did her standard chatty thing that she had done once before, and before you knew it, she was walking away from the situation. This time it was a bit more warranted considering Amaya had basically just shut her down. It was actually a rather savage, but gentle shutdown. She needed no assistance with setting up a test for Genin. She was a high ranking shinobi. Whatever it was she had planned at the end of the day, it would be easily set up and administered by her.

Shihai would disappear off, likely disheartened  Utano was patient and quiet. She watched carefully as Amaya slipped off into the woods. What would she do? Where was she going?  She stared around in silence at everyone, not having much to say, or any desire to really speak in particular. Things were quiet and uneventful at this time. Only the chirps of birds would break the silence.  

Her competitor for the position was the no armed cripple man. She grinned as an image flashed through her mind of him fighting like an overgrown chicken with no talons.

WC: 1440

Ginza watched quietly as Amaya turned away the female who had approached offering to help Amaya host the test. Perhaps it would have been interesting to see how she would have helped to see her abilities. This girl seemed much too outgoing for her own good. It could be dangerous for her if she continued to approach high ranking shinobi like this without knowing their true intentions. This seemed to be the second time that she had in his presence. Sure, she must have observed a bit, but if she  His eyes narrowed as he watched her depart  after making a comment to the man that would need Amaya's medical attention once they were finished here. As for 'hanging out' well, he didn't really do such things with others, though it would be interesting to see her abilities perhaps. So far he didn't know much about her because of her sporadic appearances and that kind of bothered him. He looked after her for a moment before allowing his golden gaze to drift back to Amaya and Ryoka as they talked.

Ginza shifted his stance, folding his arms behind his back as he nodded at Amaya's words to the man. It would definitely be interesting to see if the other stayed her with them at the village. He himself was intrigued by the man, and he had no doubt that if the man trained hard that even he could become a shinobi of prowess even if he currently seemed to be adverse to the idea of it now. The girl seemed to be calmer now. A true shinobi to shut down irritation and emotion then. Possibly rivalling himself, remaining quiet, though that impassive calmness was marred as she gave an eery grin that seemed to be derived at the  news that she was to likely compete against the man who had no arms. Perhaps he'd given her too much credit. Perhaps not quite used to schooling her emotions then if she allowed them to brightly show on her face like that.

As Amaya jumped up and began to move away from them he gave Utano and Ryoka a small nod in greeting as he was introduced to them by her. Soon Amaya was out of site and he turned his gaze back to the two in front of him, sizing them up considerably now. It would be interesting to see how either of them proceeded with Amaya's test. Ryoka had the appearance of being adjusted to battle, but would he be adjusted to the intelligence gathering that would be required to pass Amaya's test? As for the blond girl, shinobi or not... would she pass the test? The two certainly would make an interesting pair on a squad with him. They'd have to work out whatever it was that was causing the glaring between them. Neither he or Amaya would likely put up with two squad mates openly fighting.

Calmly he moved to sit on the very stump that Amaya had been sitting on while they waited, not really having a reason to speak to the pair otherwise unless they approached him. Amaya had told the two to wait, and he'd wait with them.

WC: 1605 + 542 = 2147

A response had been given from Shihai before Amaya disappeared within the treeline to start setting things up but it wasn't enough to cause her to pause and listen. She wasn't trying to be rude, she simply wanted to get things started. Plus, she didn't want to leave Ginza to deal with two people who clearly had a great deal of issues with each other - even if it seemed as if those two people had just met.

There were two tests that were about to happen: a real one, and a false one in disguise as the real thing. Passing the false test would not guarantee anyone a spot on her team, but passing the real test certainly would. Amaya cared little about brawn, but she did care about brains and observation. She knew from personal experience that even the weakest individual could bring a mountain of benefit to a team if they made up for their weakness with brains. Amaya had been that individual so long ago when she had been sick and frail as a Genin - it was why she had risen through the ranks so quickly and become Kenta Inuzuka's, one of the previous Hokage's, personal medic.

Amaya stared at what was quickly becoming a nearly perfect replica of herself, as the transformation of her helper completed itself. Amaya had instructed beforehand specific differences she had wanted - a necessary given since this individual was a Special Jounin and thus good at his - now her - job: had she not suggested the changes then she would have ended up with a perfect replica of herself which would have defeated the purpose of this Genin based test. The obvious differences would be subtle but hard to miss for anyone who was even halfway observant: this clone Amaya's weapon pouch was on the left leg where the real Amaya had worn hers on the right, the clone's sunglasses were several shades of a darker yellow than the real Amaya's, and while the real Amaya used her right hand dominantly the clone used its left. Subtle, but the differences were there. Otherwise they were identical twins in all ways, shapes, and forms.

"When you go back into the clearing tell them that there is someone they must find in the woods. Give them the following details and send them on their way: approximately twelve years of age, pale skin, blond hair, green eyes, wearing a gray tunic and blue pants, barefoot. Explain that this is a mock trial for a mission to come..."

"When they find the individual?", her clone asked in a voice perfectly similar to her own.

"Nothing, the test ends there. I'll be watching, and I will reveal myself. Finding the boy is not the test... the real one is what I'll be watching for. They can do the false mission solo or in teams, it matters little to me..." Her clone bowed and then followed the same path Amaya had made back to the clearing. The real Amaya meanwhile kept her distance, but found a perfectly hidden spot where she could observe while remaining completely undetected: this part was crucial.

The clone of Amaya stepped back into the clearing with a passive look upon her face. "Alright, I have had a boy, approximately twelve years old, pale skin, blond hair, and blue eyes hide within the forest for you to find. He is wearing a gray tunic, blue pants, and no shoes. Your task is to find him; this is a mock practice for a mission to come... You may work in teams, or solo, the choice is yours." The clone Amaya then went silent, leaning against a nearby tree at the edge of the clearing and simply watching the potential team to see what they would do - or if they would catch on to anything out of the ordinary. Absently this clone would raise its left hand to adjust the sunglasses upon its face into a more comfortable position upon her nose.

The real Amaya watched, curious as to what would happen. While the false test mattered little to her she was still quite curious - if they did it at all - how it would turn out. Would Ryoka join in? Would he and Utano be able to put aside the clear animosity that the pair seemed to have for each other? Or would it be every man for themselves? She knew Ginza would likely catch on to her little game quickly enough if not have already guessed what was going on, perhaps even play along, but the other two... she was curious as to what they would do and how they would react. Would they see the test within the test? Or would they follow orders blindly and go on to search for the twelve year old male she had described? He truly was hidden out in the woods somewhere, likely still reading a comic book where Amaya had left him in the first place, but finding him wasn't what she truly wanted..

Time would tell who got this right, if anyone did..

Wordcount: 852 | 3,495

Utano raised an eyebrow as Amaya came back out of the woods. It wasn't even a matter of seconds before Utano noticed something just a tad off. Utano was a rather observant individual but admittedly she could not pin-point exactly what was different. She wasn't even totally sure that perhaps she was just being completely silly, which she ultimately took down as the resolution and paid attention to the squad leader and her words. Whatever sort of test or task that was to be placed before them, Utano would be able to complete it. Of this fact, Utano was fairly certain.  

Amaya spoke, "Alright, I have had a boy, approximately twelve years old, pale skin, blond hair, and blue eyes hide within the forest for you to find. He is wearing a gray tunic, blue pants, and no shoes. Your task is to find him; this is a mock practice for a mission to come... You may work in teams, or solo, the choice is yours."  Teams would be the best route, and Utano was putting the mission objective above any personal feelings. She would take the lead, being that she trusted her own judgment more than that of anyone around her, not because anyone in particular was untrustworthy, but because Utano was Utano.  

"The objective is rather straightforward. I am more than happy to work with anyone who desires it. My name is Utano, for those of you whom I haven't already introduced myself to. I don't care which of you want to work together or don't, but just know we will achieve our goals with more haste if we do. I would recommend that we search in a line, spread fairly evenly out, but within line of sight of one another."

Utano concluded her little speech and began to briskly walk over toward Amaya, staring closely at her as she walked passed, entering the forest and looking around carefully, her mind still had that small doubtful spot which worried a tinge about the differences she had felt. She wasn't going to open her mouth, however, for she wouldn't wish to offend or be horribly incorrect.

WC:1,798

An almost bored expression crossed onto his face as  the Amaya Sensei turn to walk away, but quickly turned to something different as his head tipped to the side. There was something about the way she moved as she walked that was almost... hypnotizing in a way, despite his earlier notations of her way of dressing.  The male had never been taught that it was impolite to stare -- actually, quite the opposite; he had been taught to stare. Information was a precious thing, and  a blink or glance in a different direction can and would cost vital intelligence.

When she was gone, and fully out of sight, the bored expression returned to the young male's face; gold and black eyes looked about the area as the mind idly wondered as to how this place came to be. From what he learned from the blacksmith that fashioned his arms, The Village Hidden in the Leaves was founded several hundred years ago in an effort to curb the feuding of several large warring clans in the region. The village had lasted well through out the years, despite being completely destroyed twice within a ten year time span. It would seem that these people were a hardy lot, and home to kind, generous people despite thier hardships.  Judging by actions today, it would seem that some people missed that memo.

His attention would perk back up as 'Amaya' came back through the bushes. "Alright, I have had a boy, approximately twelve years old, pale skin, blond hair, and blue eyes hide within the forest for you to find. He is wearing a gray tunic, blue pants, and no shoes. Your task is to find him; this is a mock practice for a mission to come... You may work in teams, or solo, the choice is yours."

Gold and black eyes narrowed at Amaya, starring unblinkingly. Something about her seemed... off. For the moment, Ryoka said nothing on the subject. He was wondering if he even wanted to take the test for the shits and giggles.

"The objective is rather straightforward. I am more than happy to work with anyone who desires it. My name is Utano, for those of you whom I haven't already introduced myself to. I don't care which of you want to work together or don't, but just know we will achieve our goals with more haste if we do. I would recommend that we search in a line, spread fairly evenly out, but within line of sight of one another."

Yea, frick no. The young male had no words, nor time for this Utano chick, especially after her comment and her dirty looks towards him. Did she honestly expect him not to be angry with her over what she said? Did she expect him to just blow it off? Nah, that was not how you conducted yourself as a person, never mind that she was a shinobi If this was how the ninja of the village hidden in the leaves conducted themselves, then Ryoka wanted nothing to do with this village once his transplants was done. frick em. If she wanted to go gallivanting off into the woods to search for this kid, more power to her. For the moment, Ryoka adjusted his position on the case, and went back to staring quietly at Amaya As Utano walked away. It would take him a few seconds before it clicked; there were changes in her state of dress.  Her glasses seemed darker in a way; did she change them? Why? Also, when she walked away, her leg pouch was on the other leg, her right one.  Now, it was worn on her left leg. Why did she change it?  And now that he thought about, it seemed that she seemed to favor using her left hand now as opposed to her right one, but that could easily be disguised as being ambidextrous.

Another thought occurred to him; perhaps... perhaps this was the test? Perhaps finding the child was not the real objective here, but rather this? The young man new that ninja were adept at using subterfuge and deception to achieve thier goals; perhaps the point of this was to tell when they were being misled? A execution of brains, rather than power. A simple mission to find a lost child was easy enough; tracking. But to spot the minor details, the one thread that would unravel the entire plot. This had to be a mind game, not in the sense of illusions, but rather being perceptive enough to call a buff.

Well then, he had unlimited minutes, plus free nights and weekends, so to speak.

The young male said nothing for a moment, waiting until he was sure that the Utano chick was well out of sight and hearing range. If Amaya wanted to play games like this, then two could play as well.  Keeping those gold and black eyes trained on the female before him, he spoke up in a clear voice to her.

"Hey, Amaya? Do you remember to where I was supposed to deliver this case? Im afraid you never gave me the address to the administration building. I'm really on a tight schedule right now, and I can't really wait."

A simple enough ploy; he was slowly coming to the conclusion that this was not really Amaya; but rather some kind of body double; ninjas were able to use that, correct? Either way, if his assumption was correct and this was not the real Amaya, they would more than likely not have any idea of what was actually going on. The request for directions to the Administration building was an outright lie, but if this was truly Amaya, she would know he really needed to go to the Hospital rather than the Admin complex. But, should his assumption be incorrect and this was truly Amaya, then no harm no foul. He really had nothing to lose by attempting this test of hers, so no matter. He was not a shinobi, after all.

1008 | 4438

Ginza watched the place where Amaya had disappeared into the tree line for a few moments before settling back on the stump, leaning back on one arm while the other reached into a pouch on his belt with his other and pulled out one of the many books that he had at his disposal. This one happened to be about taijutsu techniques. It was a particularly dry information text, but the information that it fed him was interesting at the very least, and he would be putting it to good use when he was to train his abilities more. He gave the two others one last glance before flipping through the pages to the one that he was on and reading a few paragraphs before Amaya was back in the area with them.

Or rather... not-so-Amaya.  There were definitely differences between the Amaya that he was used to and this one standing in front of them. After four years of being around the woman he knew how she operated and the woman in front of him was certainly not the same woman that had been with them only a few moments before in training field eight, though one could be easily fooled by the notion that she was the same individual because of their similarities. But there were subtle differences.For one Amaya was right handed not left handed, so the weapon pouch on her leg was definitely in the wrong place and the yellow of her glasses that she normally wore and he had had plenty of time seeing up close and personal was certainly odd. A clone then?

Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the not-so-Amaya as she began to explain the test to the others who would be participating in it before snapping the book closed and placing it back into it's proper pouch on his belt. A test to find a boy in the forest? When the woman in front of them was clearly not Amaya? That meant that the test described to the others was very likely a farse. The test would certainly end here in this very field, not amongst the trees that would very likely not hold a twelve year old boy wearing a gray tunic, blue pants, and no shoes. If it did, and this was a two part test, Ginza would be rather surprised about that.

The girl, Utano, after listening to Amaya walked straight ahead and into the forest, and Ginza couldn't help but feel a little disappointment at that. Still. perhaps it would be better if he played along. He watched after the girl for a few moments before turning his gaze to the other blond boy, finding that he was staying put before speaking with a question of his own. Now that was interesting. He had been considering going after the girl, but Ginza leaned back on his hands, preferring to watch this boy interact with Amaya than chase the girl who had entered the forest on what he assumed to be a wild goose chase. His gaze turned from the boy back to the not-so-Amaya with one eyebrow raised in expectation.

WC: 2147 + 532 = 2679

Amaya was perfectly hidden in her current location - the real Amaya anyway. She was downwind so that she couldn't be scented out, and perfectly still so that she didn't ruffle the thick foliage around herself that kept her person hidden well hidden. Thankfully, given the outfit she had chosen for that day - typical Jounin attire really - she blended in without having to really try. So no, there would have been no way to see her, hear her, or even scent her out; at least not by a Genin. Perfect for the trial or test that was going on right at that moment. It was a way for her to watch and listen without risking spoiling things before they could start. This little break would also give her a chance to think over everything that had happened, go over it all in her mind, and think about how she wanted to handle things if both individuals happened to 'win' or pass her test. Nothing had escaped Amaya's notice which had happened recently - including the animosity and obvious issues that Utano and Ryoka had seemed to have with each other. She didn't know if the two had history prior, and though she didn't want to ask she likely would end up having to. It also hadn't escaped her notice that it clearly bothered Ginza - he wouldn't want to deal with those kind of problems on a continuous basis and it wasn't exactly fair for him to have to since he was there first. No, something would have to be done if both passed. Plus, there was yet another little issue - the obvious slip up on what was clearly going to be some kind of handicap pun directed at Ryoka. Utano had stopped herself, but Amaya had still caught it, and it bothered Amaya greatly due to both personal reasons as well as the kind of work she did day in and day out. That too gave Amaya an aweful lot to have to think about.

She was close enough to see and hear clearly, her red colored gaze fixated on Utano first. Would the other female notice the differences and changes? Would she say something if she did. She seemed focused on the task of finding the child who was 'hiding'; even willing to take on a leadership role before taking off into the woods: probably either thinking that Ryoka would follow her, or not caring if he really did - she didn't know since she wasn't a mind reader. The little boy would be waiting of course and easily spotted and found given his attire would not allow him to blend in with the forest around him - plus, Amaya had put him in a very obvious location since finding the child was not the true test. Were the little boy to be found and approached he would simply look up from his comic book, of which he was engrossed in, and look to his would be savior with a frown on his face. "You've found me, which means you fail the test. Amaya told me to tell anyone who finds me 'Go home, you have failed the true test. You have failed to realize what was blatantly right in front of your face. I cannot use someone like you right now'. Tough luck, sorry." The kid would then return to his comic book, perfectly happy with where he was seated, and leaving anyone who had found him to find their own way home without a further comment.

The real Amaya meanwhile was fascinated by the fact that Ryoka hadn't blindly followed Utano into the forest - not that she really expected him to have done so anyway. But, she had expected to see him go his own way on the quest to find the boy. That, however, wasn't the case. No, he had remained behind and seemed to even be waiting for several moments before actually speaking - perhaps to make sure Utano was well on her way to completing her false task before he spoke? Sure enough, it was an assumption she came to easier, when he opened his  mouth and asked what was clearly and obvious question of deception. He inquired as to whether Amaya - the clone of hers that is - remembered where it was he was supposed to deliver the case he had. He went on to say that she had forgotten to give him the address to the administration building - that he was on a tight schedule and couldn't really wait much longer. The real Amaya cracked a grin, while the clone who had been looking off in the direction that Utano had gone slowly turned her (his) attention onto Ryoka. The clone opened its mouth to respond but a cackle rang out from the real Amaya before she emerged from her hidden location nearby - there really was no point to keep the charade up any longer. "Well, well... not even a properly trained ninja and already so observant. Excellent... simply excellent."

Amaya would glance over toward her clone who was quickly changing back into the male special jounin who she had asked for help. He too looked quite amused and pleased, giving Ryoka the kind of once over that spoke of him sizing him up like a possible opponent - not in a bad way, but in a rather respectful one, as if he found him as an equal rather than something lesser than him. Amaya simply grinned and then nodded her head in the direction that Utano had gone. "Do me a favor before you take off, Lee? Go find Utano if she hasn't found the boy yet and let her know she failed and can go home. Also, tell Yin he can go too. I already paid him, so he's been well compensated - don't let him tell you otherwise." The special jounin would bow to her and then take off down the same path Utano had taken - clearly off to make sure she knew what was going on before he too would then take off, that is if she hadn't reached the kid by then.

Amaya would wait until her helper was well out of earshot before focusing her attention onto Ryoka, her grin still in place. "Well, I must say I'm quite impressed. Not only did you catch on to what was going on - which proves you're very observant and intelligent, two traits I'm rather fond of in my squad members - but you were also coy enough to play along and play it slick with double checking you were right. Most people would have just blurted it out, whether they were right or wrong. Not many would have thought to double check in a not so obvious way. So, with that said, my offer still stands - if you're interested you are more than welcome to join my squad. I can get things squared away, get the administrative work handled so that it's completely legit. If anything, do it for the chance to get stronger, and earn some money on missions... there are some specific high paying ones you can only do under a sensei." Okay, so Amaya didn't exactly play fair when trying to get something - or someone - she wanted. But, it wasn't a lie. The best missions, the best paying missions, could only be done with a squad. Money tended to motivate people pretty easy, and when money didn't motivate people power normally did... she had just offered him both. Of course, he could still tell her to go screw herself or something, but she was hoping he would join up. She had a feeling that him and Ginza could end up working pretty well together. "Of course, if you don't want to you don't have to... and I'll still do your surgery regardless."

She would then focus her attention onto Ginza, smiling gently. "I suppose this problem sort of worked itself out anyway - I do not think Utano would have worked well with us given our professions and how we spend the majority of our time in and around the hospital. She seemed to have some kind of issue with those who were 'different' than her? Unless, of course... you two had some sort of previous meeting that went badly?", the last part of her question was of course directed toward Ryoka, and sure enough she turned her reddish gaze from Ginza and back to Ryoka as she pulled her neon yellow tinted sunglasses off of her face for the first time since everyone had arrived. Normally she wouldn't speak about one squad member with another, but she was curious to see if there was something that had happened prior between the two to cause them to seem to have so much dislike toward each other. She could understand why Ryoka had felt the way he had - he too had caught her obvious 'need a hand' comment she had almost completely uttered - but did Utano have a reason to already not like him? Either way she went silent, waiting for either Ginza or Ryoka to speak. She knew she would end up with the answer to her question soon enough - regardless, she didn't expect to see Utano back in the clearing again.

Amaya opened her mouth, prepared to add something that had just popped into her head at random when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. An individual, harrid in appearance, and with blood splotches on his clothing, was moving quickly in Amaya's immediate direction. He wore on his arm the same medical badge Amaya herself wore, and it caused her to frown: something was clearly wrong. "What's going on?", she would ask, while holding her hand up to the Genin present as a sign that it was - mostly - alright.

"Miss Amaya, there have been several called in wounded on a patrol. One is in critical condition, and the other two are nearing the same. We require your help."

Amaya nodded crisply, hiding the emotions that were flooding her insides: an icey coldness that was indication of her wanting to slaughter those who had harmed the people of Konoha, sadness that she was wise enough to know that the chances of the one in critical condition surviving was slim since they were coming to get her, and anger that she hadn't been there to stop it in the first place. "Go on ahead,tell them I'm coming. If I'm going to need to operate pull a team together and get them prepared." The blood covered medic bowed to her before taking off. Amaya, thinking quickly, looked toward Ginza and Ryoka. "Ginza, I'll catch up with you later.. Ryoka, stop by the hospital tomorrow and we'll get your surgery squared away - get lots of sleep and don't eat before you come." With those words said she was gone in a flash, moving as fast as possible toward the hospital - and praying the entire time she could do something about whatever attack had just happened. She did not want to lose someone else on the table... Konoha and their families wouldn't be able to handle such a loss.

Wordcount: 1,865 | 5,360


Total Words: 5,360
Endurance B0 -> B1: 5,360 - 700 = 4,660 (175 Ryo)
Endurance B1 -> B2: 4,660 - 800 = 3,860 (200 Ryo)
Endurance B2 -> B3: 3,860 - 900 = 2,960 (225 Ryo)
Strength B1 -> B2: 2,960 - 800 = 2,160 (200 Ryo)
Strength B2 -> B3: 2,160 - 900 = 1,260 (225 Ryo)
Reaction Time A1 -> A2: 1,260 - 1,150 = 100 (275 Ryo)
Remaining Words: 110
Total Ryo: 1,300