Mission:

Harichimo would arrive back down to the floor where he left Sayuri.  He walked down the long hall in the university to the kitchen where he left Sayuri and would hold the door open. "Sayuri I would like for you to follow me please so you can pick out your living arrangement for the time being. Someone will come by later and get you some actually bedding and blankets as well as the kitchen staff will be coming around to make you something to eat. But first come and pick out your room." Harichimo would wait for her to exit the kitchen and lead her down the hall. They would reach large double doors that sat on opposite sides of a smaller door. Harichimo would point out the smaller door as they stopped at one of the double doors. "That smaller door right there leads to the rest rooms that are fully equipped with everything to help you relax when you aren't studying. And this door here will lead you to the bedrooms." Harichimo would give a hard push as the door revealed three more doors. Each of these doors was on a different wall and in this main room hung a brilliant chandelier with the oil fed torches now taking a flame. The flames lit up the central fountain seemed to mirror the chandeliers grandeur. Harichimo would lead Sayuri to the first door to reveal an arrangement of beds inside where students would normally stay but for now it would be all to herself.

"Here you go, you may have any bed you wish heck push all of them together if you so wish haha." Harichimo would chuckle to himself as he left Sayuri explore the new rooms. It was then that he heard the doors to the floor slam shut from the main hall. He would go out to see who was entering the floor and it was one of the instructors from the academy dressed in their normal attire. "Well good day sensei what brings you to the university more though the Akira Kazako floor?" The teacher would stop a few steps from Harichimo and bow before they spoke. "Good day to you as well Harichimo. What brings me here is that I have a class of students ready to take part in the graduation tradition and there is no one else in this village that seems willing to take the job I was wondering if you would be able to step up and show them the same stuff that you learned when you graduated." Harichimo was surprised by this news. The graduation tradition was always a fun time for all with the class taking on a higher ranking member of the village in what seemed like a one sided brawl and it was in the solo members favor without anyone knowing. Harichimo was always open to help and it suddenly struck him that it was a stroke of luck to start Sayuri in her trainging. "Well sure I would be more then glad to lend a hand sensei. Why don't you bring then genin to the normal location and I will have a friend a long to help me teach this lesson. Consider it getting two birds with one stone for me." Both would have a laugh as the instructor would bow and leave the floor as they had come through.

Harichimo would turn his attention back to Sayuri and whatever she was doing. "Hey Sayuri, looks like your training will start now do you feel ready to start walking?" Harichimo would ask as he adjusted his jacket.


604/604

Sayuri was very pleased that Harichimo had mentioned finding her a place to stay and food to eat. It was not something she had really considered in her list of worries, and she was very thankful that her new Sensei had. Were it not for the common sense of others she would probably have a much harder time navigating the world. Being left alone she was also left to wonder at where she might stay within Iwagakure. She hadn’t seen much of the Village so far, but it seemed nice enough even if it didn’t have very many trees. She would have to spend some time exploring, maybe there was plenty of wildlife, trees, shrubs and the like, she just hadn’t seen any of it yet. As she sat on her chair where Harichimo had left her, she was overcome with the urge to further explore the room she had been left in. So, not one to regularly practice self discipline, she would get up and look more closely at her surroundings. This room was large, far larger than the cabin she had spent so long in, and it looked as though this was just the place for eating. She wondered how many people usually were taught here. Or must have been taught here when Tsuyo was the Tsuchikage. She could imagine it had been quite a few based on how much space there was. In her musings and wandering about the room she didn’t notice Harichimo return until he spoke, which brought her tumbling back to the present with a start.

“I, uh, of course. I was just looking around, I’m sure that whatever you pick is fine.” She spoke nervously as she followed after the man and tried to pay attention to his words. She was still nervous being around him, but more than that she was feeling squashed. She didn’t like being inside buildings in the first place, much less entirely underground. Keeping a step or so behind him as they walked through the halls she took note of the door that lead to the rest rooms. She was glad to see that she would be able to clean herself, it was very dusty here. As they entered through another door she would stop dead in her tracks, looking up at the beautiful piece of metal and glass that sparkled above their heads. The light was stunning and a small “Oh” escaped her lips as she gazed up at it. This entire place was ornate and elegant, though with what she knew of Tsuyo she should not have expected any less. As Harichimo pushed open another door that opened into a large room filled with beds she was taken aback. For the briefest of moments she was worried that there would be many other students that she would have to share this space with. Not that she had a problem with sharing anything, but the idea of having to meet yet more new people today was not filling her with joy. Quite the opposite. As he joked that she could push all the beds together she would breathe an audible sigh of relief. And with a sincere smile she would bound into the room as he left, a happy “Thank you Sensei” trailing after him.

She was disappointed that there were no windows in this room, it was going to be difficult to get used to not having a view of the sky, or fresh air. But she was intent on making the best of it, since she knew that what was being done for her here was more than generous. She knew that Harichimo was probably joking about her pushing all the beds together, but it did seem a rather good idea to her regardless. So she set about moving furniture around the room until she had one large and long bed. Probably long enough that a giant could sleep comfortably in it. The thought of a giant sleeping down here made her laugh out loud, anyone tall enough to sleep in her creation comfortably would not be able to get down here more than likely. In a fit of giggles she hopped up on the ‘bed’ and would jump and roll from end to end, causing quite the ruckus.  

"Hey Sayuri, looks like your training will start now do you feel ready to start walking?"

She would look up as Harichimo spoke, sometime in her frivolity he had reappeared in the room and she was now gasping for breath as she tried to get her giddiness under control.

“Start walking? Um. . . yes. Yes, I can.” Her words were sprinkled with laughter and she would hop off her ‘bed’ and straighten her skirt and jacket, trying to look presentable to her new teacher. She spoke happily to him and the barest hint of a mischievous grin on her face. “Lead the way, let’s go train something.”

827

Harichimo was happy to see the new pupil eager to begin her learning. She seemed to have a built in drive to tackle the tasks she had laid before him. He looked inside the room and saw she had wasted no time in making herself comfortable and all he could do was shake his head as he had offered and smile. He would motion for her to follow him and soon the pair would walk down the same hallway again as the statues seemed to watch them leave. Harichimo had never been to this floor and its grandeur was still holding him in its grasp. When the two would reach the top of the stairs and onto the main floor of the university he could see the kitchen staff making their way down towards the door.

Harichimo would wave to them as they came closer and greeted the two. One head chef would speak up for the group. "Ah Mr.Kazako it is great to see you here at the academy. We are so glad to see the floor being used again. Would you and your guest be requesting anything special for tonight's meal? We will try our hardest to make you something up to your tastes." Harichimo would bow to the group as he spoke back. Honestly he had never thought the kitchen staff would have been that ready to return to work. Even more so what he would actually want to eat tonight. Ramen had become a staple to his since he took to living alone and laying low. "If i had to request anything I could really go for some yakiniku. With as much extra sauce as you can spare from the making with possible some onigiri on the side. And what about you Sayuri these chefs will make whatever your stomach could possibly be hungry for." Harichimo would let her place her wants to the chefs as he seemed to drift away with the thought of actual high quality meat and tangy sauce in place of bland store bought ramen in his gullet tonight. When Sayuri would complete her order Harichimo would bow to them once more before saying farewell. "Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to come back to work and we will be sure to send our highest complements once we return from this small errand."



The kitchen staff would pass them and head down the flight of stairs and the pair would continue on their way out of the university. Harichimo would look out over the steps and out into the horizon of the village sky line. By the time they complete this task it would be just getting dark. "Alright Sayuri the place we are going is going to be off in that direction near the other side of the village just a short brisk walk stay close and admire the surroundings if you wish." Harichimo would take a decent pace through the village and keep looking behind him to make sure Sayuri wasn't to enthralled with anything she might see in the shop fronts. The distance was short but it ran right through the market district with neon signs starting to advertise in the slowly waning day light. It would be a couple of minutes before the duo would reach their intended location, Koudo Sutajiamu. Harichimo would stop for a second and let Sayuri marvel at the entrance to this more cave like looking location with green crystals lining the walls.

"This place is Koudo Sutajiamu. It is a huge underground arena where fighters from all over the village come to show off their skills and fight for money. But today we are taking part in a sort of tradition among shinobi of the village. Do you feel ready to fight? There will be no killing I promise and this will be the first stepping stone to your training. Just stick close behind since these crystals don't entirely light the way to the arena." Harichimo would take the first steps in and invite Sayuri to follow him into the dark entrance.


689/1293

Seeing the smile on Harichimo’s face at her antics was encouraging. While she had no intention, probably, of being overtly mischievous; it was nice to know that some of her quirks were at least tolerated, perhaps even enjoyed. She would dutifully follow after the man with the beautiful coat. She considered, albeit briefly, that perhaps she should be paying closer attention to the man rather than the coat. But just as quick as the thought presented itself it vanished. As the passed the statues she looked a bit closer at them, and another equally bizarre thought entered her mind. And as impulsivity was her mainstay she didn’t bother filtering the thought as it promptly spilled out of her mouth.

“Do you think that when we come back that we could climb these statues? They look really fun to climb, and it would be a bit of a challenge for me since I’ve never climbed a statue before.”

She grinned as she spoke, imagining the fun that could be had at her suggestion. Probably some people might think it improper, but to her anything taller than herself was worth climbing. She wasn’t truly expecting an answer from Harichimo, and figured that when they returned she would just ask again anyway. Unless there was some important reason that the statues were not to be touched, she couldn’t see the harm in it.

Climbing the stairs she would attempt to hop up two at a time, full of energy at the thought of beginning her training. At the top of the grand staircase she stumbled in her efforts as she saw a group of people approaching them. She was suddenly anxious and would grip on to the wall, trying to keep Harichimo between her and the strangers. As one of the group greeted them however she was able to relax slightly as it became apparent that they were at least expected and Harichimo didn’t seem concerned at all.

"If I had to request anything I could really go for some yakiniku. With as much extra sauce as you can spare from the making with possible some onigiri on the side. And what about you Sayuri these chefs will make whatever your stomach could possibly be hungry for."

At the mention of food Sayuri’s worries would fade away, it had been a decent while since she’d eaten and the idea of anything she could be hungry for was enough to chase away her fear entirely. While she had spent much of her life not eating, or eating very little, over the past while she had grown accustomed to hearty and rich meals provided through Tsuyo. It had been unpleasant to shift back to practical foods and in smaller quantities during her trip from Konoha to here. Her eyes sparkling she would move forward a step and speak in a flurry of excitement.

“Anything? I, oh. I don’t know! I mean, I do know, but there’s so many things! Anything sweet really like maybe mochi, or dango!” Taking the social cue from Harichimo she added on, “And thank you so much!” before bowing quickly and skipping after her new Sensei out of the University and into the blessed out of doors. She was so incredibly relieved to be outside. She would lean her head back, arms outstretched and bask in the warmness of the sun. “I’m so glad that we get to go outside, I’m not overly fond of being inside since I haven’t spent much time indoors ever. Just since I was with you know who, really.” The words were spoken off handedly, as though they were no more than an opinion on the weather. During her time in Konoha she had become less concerned with how people might view her ‘homeless’ upbringing, and since she’d had to repeat the story so many times she had become adept at dropping facts with the emotion behind them.

Walking after Harichimo as he bid her stay close turned out to be problematic. He was so much taller than she was, it necessitated her having to practically run to keep up with him. She had also grown used to this phenomenon however and decided to make a game out of it. She would full on sprint a bit ahead of where she thought Harichimo was headed, climbing and vaulting over anything in her way. Along the straightforward paths and roads however there wasn’t much in the way, so she had to work extra hard to make sure that there were obstructions. Once he had caught up with her she would wait a bit and repeat the entire process, awarding herself ‘points’ for successfully navigating the difficult path she had set for herself. It was quite enjoyable and reminded her somewhat of her time spent in the forests of Konoha and Kumo. Although this time around she was not alone, and was not worried about being found. There were as usual signs everywhere, and she couldn’t read a thing, but what she could do was look at all of the marvelous things available in the Iwagakure market place. And oh what wonderful things there were to see. There were shops with clothing, and weapons, food and household goods. And all of it she had never seen before. Her progress would slow dramatically while in the market and she was pleased that Harichimo would occasionally look behind to ensure she was still following. There was one shop in particular that had bit of jewelry displayed and she couldn’t help but to stop and admire them. Shiny sparkling bits of gold and silver, with stones that gleamed in all the colours of the rainbow. “The village of rocks indeed.” She murmured as she marveled at the objects. She couldn’t imagine what all these things would necessarily be good for, but they were undeniably beautiful and she found herself getting choked up as her emotions ran high. It also sparked a memory and she would chase after Harichimo again, talking breathlessly as she caught up to him.

“I brought a bag of rocks. For the Tsuchikage. As a present. Sorry. . . uh, that doesn’t sound right. Let me start again. I thought it would be good for me to bring a gift for the Tsuchikage, and so on my travels I collected the most beautiful rocks that I could find. I’d like to give them to him, do you think we could?”

If anyone would know what to do, she assumed it would be Harichimo. Since he had been here his whole life, or as far as she knew he had. Without standing to wait for his reply she would follow along, expecting that he would answer her in due time. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the entrance to a cave. But not just any cave. She’d slept in caves before, and these were nothing like the ones she had spent time in. The green coloured crystals that lined the walls were more beautiful by far than the jewels she had just been enthralled by. The way they glowed softly was exquisite, and she would breathe out softly as she walked up and attempted to lay her hands on the viridian stones.

“This is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Can I. . . uh, touch them? Is it dangerous?” She would wait for a reply before pressing her small hands against the cool crystal. Unless he said they were dangerous, in which case she would stare longingly at them as he told her of their upcoming mission. It all seemed a bit strange to her, fighting for money. And she was glad that that is not what they were doing there. She was just as glad to hear that there would be no killing.

As he moved in to the entrance she would reach out and grab onto the gold and black coat. He had said to keep close IIand that it would be dark. And since she did not know here way around nor could she see in the dark she thought this was the best way to handle it. “Thank you for including me in a village tradition. I hope you don’t mind that I stay this close, I don’t want to get lost in here. And. . . oh. If we’re not fighting for money, which I’m very thankful we’re not, what are we doing?”

1426/2253

Harichimo would chuckle to himself as she seemed to be very fixated on the crystals that lit the entrance. They were just crystals that absorbed the light of day and seemed to shine just as bright when the dark of night set in. She would ask about possibly touching them which he would reply. "Of course they are perfectly safe. Some have been even known to give off a small amount of warmth along with their bright lights." Once he saw she had her fill he would tun into the entrance and feel his coat have a little resistance as she had softly gripped it to keep in touch with him as he would lead her down the dark tunnel. "Of course it would be bad to lose you in the dark tunnels in just your first day under my watch. As for what we are doing you will see when we reach the main stage." Harichimo would lead her down the main entrance. The crystals gave off a green glow and would give him enough light to walk through guide Sayuri. They would walk for a short distance then Harichimo would turn to the left side of the tunnel where some stairs had been carved going down deeper into the cave. "Take this part slow since these steps are just carved stone they may be slippery still from events held earlier." Harichimo had confidence with his boots being able to grip the smooth stone but he would still take it step by step and listen to make sure Sayuri had cleared the last step before moving forward.

Eventually they would reach the bottom of the steps and be greeted by a huge hole that shined a brighter green light then the crystals they were following. Harichimo would lead her forward until they reached the grand stage. A large flat arena ground with stands carved into the walls of the open area. The green crystals above shined much brighter and were huge in comparison to those that lit the way they walked in. He would look around and see the instructor herding the genin together along the wall on their right. Harichimo would turn to Sayuri. "Alright if you want to walk next to me, we are going over to that class over there and I will explain what we are doing to everyone at the same time. Sound Good?" Harichimo would let her answer as he stepped forward and walked towards the class which would stand in awe at the sight of a Monolith walking to greet them. Harichimo would stop a few feet in front of the class and bow to the instructor as they would walk up a set of steps and into the stands taking a seat.

"Welcome everybody to your final test as I would call it. Everyone to enter the shinobi ranks has come here and gone through what you all are about to take part in. Today you are being challenged by me Harichimo Kazako and my assistant you will please refer to as Sayuri-sensei for this exercise. Today is the graduation initiation. You and your classmates will try your best to subdue us and if you succeed then your teacher will have a big reward planned for you all. But be warned we will not entirely hold back either and do everything in our power to not be captured or inhibited. You are allowed to only use the kunai that your instructor has given you. Now we will go to the other side of the floor and get ready ourselves and when we give the signal your instructor will throw a kunai at the crystal above and when the chime is heard the challenge will begin. Understood?" The genin would all shout back in excitement at the temptation of a possible reward in what seemed liek the most one sided battle of their lives. But little did they understand what the graduation initiation was all about. Genin being handed their first defeat in a controlled environment rather then the battle field was a good way to put ego and lone wolves in check. Harichimo would lead Sayuri to the other side of the room and instruct her along the way.

"Well Sayuri you mentioned you wanted to learn how to fight without killing. This exercise here is nothing to be intimidated by. They will have weapons and try everything they can to stop us but the only rule for us is that we cannot hurt them to badly. Enough to make them stay on the ground and not want to get back up and chase us is what we are looking for, does that make sense? They will have their weapons and think that they have every advantage but I am sure with your practice you should be able to hit the in the stomach with your hilt or the back of your blade should be enough. Or if you have some jutsu at your disposal that can incapacitate, sorry I mean make it so that they are not willing to continue to fight us and give up but be able to walk off the battefield. There are enough enemies that we can take ten each and it should be no problem for us. If you need help with ones you are fighting then speak up and I can leap the battlefield to help. I trust you can follow these instructions and then if you do this job good enough we have hot food and sweets waiting for us back at the university sound good?" Harichimo would look to Sayrui and make sure she understood what he was trying to convey to her as he would take off the Monolith robe and fold it nicely against the wall.

967/2260

Sayuri crept along as carefully as she could, slightly behind and to the side of Harichimo as they made their way in towards the waiting arena. Her small hand gripped gently against the smooth fabric of Harichimo’s coat, as she idly imagined what it must have taken to make steps out of the rock. It did end up very dark as he had said, not quite completely, but close enough that she was glad for her decision to hang on to Harichimo. This place would probably be easy to get lost in, it’s a good thing I don’t have to go in here by myself. Another quick gasp of awe escaped her lips as they passed from the darkness into the main arena area. Crystals such as those that lined the entrance were here as well, but these were far more spectacular. She stood for a time staring up at them before she registered that Harichimo had spoken to her. She was entranced by the grandeur of the place, the bright green light giving everything and everyone a slightly unearthly feel. It was absolutely breathtaking, she was quickly taking a strong liking to this village of rocks. She had thought that missing the forest would be unbearable, but the earth had its charms as well it seemed. Pulling herself out of her reverie she answered quietly. “Yes, that sounds good. I’m looking forward to eating later. I’m sorry, I just. . . this place. It’s amazing.”

There were many young faces looking at them as they approached. A few of them looked with quizzical interest at her, but only briefly. It was apparent that they were all staring at the man beside her; Harichimo Kazako. Their awe at the approaching Monolith was infectious and she found herself looking at him with new eyes. It was one thing for her to know of his achievements and hear the esteemed praise given to him by Tsuyo, but it was quite another to see the near reverence that these young people had for him. She counted herself all the luckier for her good fortune in having him as a teacher, if this was the sort of man he was; able to inspire merely by walking into a room.

"Welcome everybody to your final test as I would call it. Everyone to enter the shinobi ranks has come here and gone through what you all are about to take part in. Today you are being challenged by me Harichimo Kazako and my assistant you will please refer to as Sayuri-sensei for this exercise. Today is the graduation initiation. You and your classmates will try your best to subdue us and if you succeed then your teacher will have a big reward planned for you all. But be warned we will not entirely hold back either and do everything in our power to not be captured or inhibited. You are allowed to only use the kunai that your instructor has given you. Now we will go to the other side of the floor and get ready ourselves and when we give the signal your instructor will throw a kunai at the crystal above and when the chime is heard the challenge will begin. Understood?"

She was surprised by this turn of events as Harichimo explained what they were doing in the arena. She couldn’t count how many students there were, but there was definitely more of the students then there were of her and Harichimo. She watched as they spoke excitedly amongst themselves, cheering and hollering their anticipation of what was sure to be an easy win for them. She had seen odds like this before however, when she was in the market in Konoha with Shiro. There had been many more bandits than her or Shiro at that time as well, and Shiro had surprisingly and near single handedly dispatched all of them. So perhaps this is the same then. It would make sense since Harichimo is a teacher after all. A shudder would make its way down her spine at the thought of that fateful day, the day she had nearly killed a man. If Shiro hadn’t have stopped her, likely she would have the bandit leaders blood on her hands now. Attempting to keep her emotions in check she would force a smile on to her face as she was lead across to the other side of the room.

Her smile became more genuine as she listened to Harichimo explain what was actually happening. These were young and inexperienced genin, not exactly a threat to either of them. At least certainly not a threat to her Sensei, she had never been to the Academy and so there were likely things these students knew that she didn’t. But she had never been one to back down from a fight and would nod her head in agreement with Harichimo’s words. As he mentioned her tanto though a look of worry would shadow her face, her hand flying to the spot where it was firmly belted to her hip. It was there. But she hadn’t checked for it, not until now. She always checked for it, but not since. . . since when? She found she could not quite remember and decided that it must have slipped her mind since there were so many new things bombarding her senses.

Watching as Harichimo removed his coat, presumably to make ready for the upcoming combat she would follow suit. Taking off her own coat she would fold it up and place it to the side, then unbutton the sleeves of her blouse and roll them up so they were at her elbows, the lace no longer in the way of her hands. She wished desperately that she’d had the foresight to change into more suitable clothing, but a short skirt and a blouse would have to do. She spoke in a hushed tone as she removed her hair from it’s braid. “I’m sorry that I’m not better dressed, I don’t know what I was thinking. I really wasn’t expecting to fight, how many did you say? Twenty people today. I can use the kashira of my tanto, or some jutsu. I know some that might help us without necessarily hurting the students. You do see they have weapons though right? I mean, uh, of course you do. I just mean, are they allowed to hurt us badly? Do I have to be worried about getting killed? Probably not, that’s silly, it wouldn’t be much of a ceremony if people died would it?” She stood waiting for an answer to her multitude of questions, and would retie her long white hair back into a braid, trying to make sure that as little of it as possible was available for grabbing.

1148/3401

Harichimo was glad to see Sayuri was willing to help with little to no question. He listened as she confirmed his instructions and voiced her worries. He would just smile to try and appease her sense of urgency. "You won't have to worry about getting hurt to badly. The students are just given basic kunai that will leave nothing more then minor cuts that can be healed up quickly even by inexperienced medical users. Just make sure you are satisfied with your preparations and we will begin the fight. I will try and herd the ten on the left of us if you think you can handle the ten on the right. If you feel overwhelmed just shout." Harichimo would pull on the bandages that wrapped his hands once more once he finished talking and would raise a hand towards the instructor. The instructor would stand up and fling a kunai towards the central crystal in the ceiling. Once the kunai left their hand, time seemed to slow for Harichimo. It had been years since his time as a genin and when he had taken part in the same initiation. He had been a head strong student and fought till he had to be held down to accept defeat. And today was now his chance to help these genin experience their first taste of defeat.



While he daydreamed the chime of metal against crystal would ring through the chamber and then a battle cry of genin as they rushed towards them. Harichimo would start a dead sprint nearly a blur compared to the speed the genin could move at. He decided he could split the herd down the middle from the start and draw his part away. When he was in range he would jump and easily clear the head of the middle genin. As he passed over he would reach down grabbing the head of the genin and slamming them into the floor of the arena just enough to give them a headache for a while. Once he landed a flurry of kunai stabs were coming for him. A quick turn and backwards roll would give him enough room to stand back up. He had all the speed to keep them at bay and needed to press his advantage to go in and out or even get in and land enough blows to take out a few before the others turned their blades his way. One genin took initiative and stepped to far forward leading with the kunai. Harichimo would reach out and grab them by the wrist with sharp tug. With the genin off balance he would grab their face and force them onto the ground with a solid thud. The lone wolves were all to enthused to make the first moves and leave themselves open to counter attacks.



Once the solo genin was down Harichimo would go into his muay thai stance and egg the others to attack him. Four of his eight remaining would surround him and attack him from all angles as a single unit. He had to give them props for actually working together but they did not respect the amount of speed he possessed. With a leap Harichimo would lift his feet to avoid the attack as two would collide with each other while the other two stopped dead in their tracks. He would land with grace and grab the two that had collided by the backs off their clothes and launch one at each other remaining two causing them to get the wind knocked out of them and become sprawled out in two piles. The remaining four seemed to finally realize how out matched they were and seemed to quiver holding out their kunai at him. It was time for Harichimo to bring this exercise of his to a close. Harichimo would crouch down and extend out his arms he was lining up to take them all down in one go. With a leap he was clearing the distance between them before they could even realize what was going on. Harichimo would turn is body to easily squeak through the small space between them since they apparently haven heard the concept of guarding your allies as well as yourself. And with all of his momentum the genin would be sent tumbling over for a couple feet before Harichimo could descend on top of them and temporarily knock the wind out of them all and leave them curled on the floor.



Harichimo would survey how easily he had dispatched of his herd of genin and would turn to make sure Sayuri was able to hold her own in all the confusion.


779/3039

Sayuri was relieved that the students were not going to be able to do lethal damage. Although she had a kunai as well, and she knew that she could do lethal damage with it. But she also trusted her new Sensei and so intentionally pushed the worry aside as she checked her weaponry again. On the left side of her belt was her grandfathers tanto, it’s sheath secured by bits of tied leather which she promptly undid so she could wield the weapon without fear of hurting the young Genin. And on her right thigh she had a pouch tied securely that contained her kunai and her senbon, she patted it briefly to reassure herself that it was there and then assumed a fighting stance. She would hold her sheathed tanto in her right hand, held slightly in front of her with the tip held just below eye level and stood waiting for the moment when she could attack. It had been quite some time since she had actually fought, and the last time her life had been on the line. This time however, knowing that she was relatively safe a grin would form on her delicate features as the group’s Sensei threw a kunai at the crystals in the center of the arena, and an angelic chime would sound.

Sayuri would have liked to bask in that sound, enjoy it as it inevitably stretched out across the whole arena, but she was never given the chance. Immediately after it sounded the Genin shouted and dashed in their direction. Harichimo made it to them first, his impressive speed making him little more than a blur as he ran past her and in to the middle of the group, effectively splitting them in half. She glanced briefly in his direction as he sprinted to the left, easily taking out some of them as he went. Her group, on the right, slowed only for a moment as he leapt through them all. Then with renewed vigor they charged straight for her, shouting their battle cries as they went. She assumed that she must look like the weaker target since none of them knew her, and she had not charged at them immediately. Rather she advanced slowly in comparison, her eyes intensely focused on the group in front of her. She wanted them to come to her, as close as they could get since her weapon was so short. But a tanto still had more reach than a kunai, and she doubted that these students would recognize that before it was too late.

Her size and stature, and choice of weaponry had always made her seem like an easy target, so she had learned to use that to her advantage. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you perceived it, one of the genin decided to throw their kunai at her. She noticed a hair too late and while she dodged the piece of metal sticking into her it still managed to cut a nice clean line across her left bicep. The cut along her arm burned as she moved swiftly in to attack the now weaponless student. Laughter shook her unbidden as she would lunge down towards the students midsection, effectively avoiding his punches, before coming up with her left hand firmly on his throat and smashed her tanto’s pommel into the side of the boys head. He looked dazed as the blunt weapon struck him, and she barely had time to maneuver him so that he was now acting as a human shield between her and the remaining Genin. He wasn’t difficult for her to move, she was much stronger than her small frame would suggest. The other students were now left to figure out how to get to her and not injure their friend. Two of them did not seem to be that concerned and struck out at her regardless, missing her entirely and making short work of the boy she held. He slumped to the ground out of her grasp, groaning and with some minor cuts, but otherwise fine.

Using the momentary distraction of the boy falling as an opportunity to take them unawares, she would release the boy as he fell and dash towards the two that had attacked their team mate. She lunged low again, hitting the side first student’s knee with her sheathed tanto, and as their knee bent from the pain she would put her foot on it and launch herself up and over towards the other one. Her tanto came down again, squarely into the spot where their neck met their triceps. Using her full weight and the momentum of her leap she would push both of her feet into the Genin’s midsection and upper thigh, forcing them to the ground. She was feeling fairly successful as another stinging burn of a cut found the back of her left thigh. Howling is pain she would turn on the assailant with fury in her eyes and release a wave of lightning at the young attacker. They were not quite fast enough to dodge it, as they had not been expecting a jutsu and managed to take the full brunt of its effect, burning him slightly and throwing him back into the remaining group, toppling most of them to the ground.

With an extreme amount of self control she managed to remember that she was not supposed to be severely hurting these Genin, and she would leap back away from them all leaving about 15 meters between the collected bodies and her. Focusing raiton through her left hand again, she would watch with mild amusement as four large earthen pillars rose from the arena floor, nearly all the way to the ceiling and ropes of crackling lightning spread between them caging all ten of the students within a prison of raiton. As she stood and concentrated on keeping the cage active, she watched as one student had the bright idea to touch the lightning and was immediately thrown back from the force of the shock, dropping their kunai in the process. She could see panic setting in to the remaining five that stood, and two of them attempted to use the supernatural walking practice to climb the pillars. “Clever” she murmured and she intensified her use of chakra and forced even more raiton into the pillars themselves. The two ingenious students both yelped and dropped their kunai to the ground, slightly before they dropped themselves. The smell of ozone hung in the air, along with the faint odour of singed hair and burnt flesh. Confident that her group was subdued as she observed the remain three standing awkwardly, anxiety clear on their faces, she would turn to look for Harichimo. She would give him a pained smile, and then a nod of approval towards his group of students that were now akin to a pile of kittens on the floor; mewling and groaning while curled up with each other.

1168/4569

Chakra 165/200:

Harichimo looked on at the scene of Sayuri flawlessly and easily corralling all the genin into her trap. The pillars rising to a point where it was impossible to even jump or climb out of. He watched the genin inside try to walk their way out only to be stopped by a rush of Raton energy and fall like bugs caught in a lantern. They did tumble for quite a way but seemed to land relatively unharmed. Sayuri showed much promise for being thrown into the fray without much warning or even knowing what was going to happen. And she seemed to follow instructions to the letter with the genin seemingly unharmed or at least not worse for wear. When Sayruri would signal to him with a smile that she was done he would stand at ease and wipe the dirt from his bandages as he walked back to his coat.

Once he got his coat on, he would give a shake to loosen the fine dust from its fringes. He would start to give a slow clap as he walked into the center of the arena. The instructor even seemed to join in as he prepared to address the piles of genin. "Alright everyone get up play time for us is over. Now we hope you all have learned a valuable lesson from all of this. This isn't meant to have been a deceit to you all but rather a very important chance you may never get again. We came up with this initiation to teach you all to respect your opponents and to take a lose when it is handed to you in order to retreat or come up with a better strategy. If you were to lose to someone out there on a mission or in hostile lands they might not be so inclined to keep you alive. But now get yourselves off the ground and I will take care of all your bumps and bruises." Harichimo would wave everyone over including Sayuri to stand in the center of the arena under the central crystal.



"Now everyone join hands with each other and I will use one of my many parlor tricks to make you feel better." Once everyone had joined the circle Harichimo would close his eyes and start channeling his healing aura through all in the circle. He could feel the healing energy enter, repair, and erase all the damage that had been done during the short scuffle. After a few minutes he would let the energy dissipate and look to Sayuri. "Thank you very much for your help and being ready to train on such a short notice. We should be all good to return to the university and see what the great chefs have made for us."


465/3504


2500/2500 Mission
1000/Extra Ryo +250ryo
Remaining WC 4


Exit Thread

As Sayuri watched Harichimo begin to dust himself off she would release her jutsu and begin to examine her injuries. She had two cuts but not much else, unfortunately her blouse sleeve was ruined as it now had a cut through it and had a crimson stain spreading across where it once was white. She would sigh sadly as this meant that yet another article of clothing was likely beyond repair and now she would have to replace it. It was not the worst thing that could have happened though and she was glad when Harichimo began to explain to the students the purpose of the ordeal that there had been an important lesson. It was a lesson she had learned early on top of a mountain in Kumo, and one that had been difficult to forget. When her teacher indicated that everyone should stand in the center of the arena in order for him to be able to heal everyone's injuries, she hesitated. She did want to be healed, as the cuts did hurt, and the bleeding was not fabulous, but she also did not want to hold anyone’s hand. The thought of it caused her to feel ill, and become hyper aware of the underground nature of the area they were standing in. So instead of gathering with the students she would stand next to Harichimo and murmur her apologies quietly, so that only he would hear. “I appreciate the healing, but I’ll just bandage the cuts later, I’m not very. . . I mean to say, I don’t like touching people, or well, being touched. It’s not that I don’t like anyone, it’s just uh, complicated.” After everyone appeared to be healed she felt infinitely better with the reminder of food waiting for them at the University. “Oh right! Yes, we should go eat. I’m starving!” And she would follow Harichimo back to her new home to indulge in hopefully many sweets.

332/4900

{Exit Thread}

B-Rank Mission 2500/2500 = 500 ryo
Extra Ryo Payout 2000/2000 = 500 ryo