It had been a bit of time since Sayuri learned that her own teacher, Harichimo, was in fact the Tsuchikage. That information had caused her a mild amount of distress, being that she hadn’t figured it out on her own, but rather an assassin had been the one to divulge the news. She had certainly been confused, and more than a little embarrassed, that the person she had spent nearly all of her time with was the highest ranking official in the whole village. And what’s more, she had encouraged him to go on her ridiculous adventures with her, like climbing the statues in the University. It was amusing as a concept - but not exactly something that most people would consider ‘proper’. And the only reason that her social faux pas had been on her mind as of late was that she had been told that she needed to take on a squad. By the Tsuchikage. Which made sense - he was one of the few people that she actually spoke to in Iwagakure no sato. But with it being all official like it was a daunting request. If it even was a request - she wasn’t sure that it was. They had spoken about it at length, with Harichimo being as patient as ever with her concerns over the responsibility. She had tried to get out of it of course, not that she didn’t want to help people because she most certainly did. Rather that she felt that she wasn’t qualified to be teaching anyone anything. With his usual kind smile when she voiced her fears or doubts, he simply told her that if he didn’t think she was capable he wouldn’t have assigned her a squad. It had done a lot to allay her fears, but the nervous energy that filled her at the thought of the task to come had kept her from sleeping well for a few days.

She had sent out summons to her four students; Kuroka Tamae, Uzumaki Takashi, Uchiha Ayame and Kanetsu Ryota. She wasn’t given much information about them other than their names. And while she had made great strides in overcoming her fear of strangers, it was still nerve wracking to think of having to be in close proximity to yet more new people. Although as fortune would have it, they were not all strangers to her. Takashi she had already met in the library of her home, the Diamond Heights University. She liked him well enough, and hadn’t been very nervous around him - so that was something. Sayuri had told them all to meet on the grounds of the University that morning just as the sun rose past the first pillar on the walkway. She realized that her instructions were somewhat bizarre, but she still hadn’t quite figured out how to tell time, so she used what she knew. She had also told them to be dressed for the outdoors. She wondered now though if that had been enough information. She knew what she meant, but she had also noticed a distinct difference in what she thought was appropriate for going outdoors, and what other people thought was appropriate. “Well there’s nothing you can do about it now.” she said to herself out loud as she got up to go about her morning routine.

After making her bed, in a somewhat haphazard way, she laid out the clothing she had picked out the night before onto her rumpled and asymmetrical bedding. She had a loose fitting linen sundress, white with tiny pale blue embroidered birds scattered across the fabric. It was much warmer in Iwagakure than it had been in Konoha or Kumo, and she had learned to dress in lighter colours and fabrics to help mitigate any potential heat stroke. She also laid out her Iwagakure head protector, and a pair of soft leather boots. She would have preferred to be barefoot, but if they ended up climbing any rocks she didn’t want to get cuts on her feet. Again. Heading into the washing room she started singing even before she got in the shower, leading to her absentmindedly washing her hair twice. She laughed aloud at her own ridiculousness and spent a couple extra minutes styling and restyling her hair in the mirror, trying to make the white strands stand straight up, and various other silly things. She knew she was cutting it close as far as timing went, so finally decided on her usual slightly messy braid that fell over her left shoulder. Quickly changing into her chosen outfit for the day, she bounded out of her room and up the stairs to the main University lobby. She saw the hustle and bustle of students heading to their classes for the morning, and did her best to stay out of the way as she danced her way out the large front doors and into the fresh air outside. The sun had not quite risen to the designated spot so with a sigh of relief for not being late, she wandered over towards a comfortable looking patch of grass and wildflowers. With a smile on her face she nestled down into the greenery, sitting on her knees with her feet slightly out from under her to the side and waited for her new students to arrive.

898

The words "meet on the grounds of the University that morning just as the sun rose past the first pillar on the walkway" played over and over in Ayame's mind as she got ready for the early morning. Unfortuantely it always came to the same answer. "What the fuck does that mean?" Ayame would say to herself audibly, or at least she did the very first time read it. She had gotten the letter the night before, shortly before she had decided to head to bed, which she was thankful for as it meant she knew to get up early. The directions raised more questions than it answered. Why was there Sensei giving them such odd measures of time? Was it a test? Ayame couldn't know for sure, but she did know one thing, that she was confused. Luckily there was enough to go off of that she didn't think she'd be way too early or too late. She might be a tad bit early, but she figured that if she arrived around the same time that the sun was rising, it wouldn't be much longer that the sun would rise over the first pillar. "Doesn't that change depending on where you're standing?!?" Ayame would say as she set the letter down, frustrated. She had spent a sizable portion of the morning attempting to decode the letter, and not coming up with any single answer. Thankfully the letter had a lot of other exciting information, even if her sensei was a bit of a nutcase. This information of course being that she would be joining a squad, and one fairly recently at that. She hadn't gotten the chance to be a part of the Sunagakure shinobi force, but she knew that squads were an essential part of any ninja's early career, as it really helped develop teamwork and gave some early competition for Ayame to try and outmatch. Something her mother had told her would be healthy for her, when she decided that Ayame was ready to become a shinobi.

Either way, today would be the day that she would start on that journey, and so she'd prepared all about all she could before the sun's light would be visible over the horizon. She'd be wearing her usual outfit of the white tee, with her black miniskirt, and black spandex underneath, with her boots and finger-less gloves, adorned with her Hitai-ate around her neck, and her Kunai holster on her left thigh. It was standard for how she dressed when dealing with shinobi business or training as she felt the outfit was rather comfortable and flexible. With everything set and ready to go, Ayame would head out of the small apartment the village had given her when she joined the shinobi for Iwagakure. A sort of compensation for aiding the village, and also to help get her off of her feet after her home had been destroyed. It was a nice system, but she figured that some of the expenses for the home would likely come out of what she was payed for from her missions. Not that she really minded, it made paying her bills easier in a way. Either way, she was set for whatever her new sensei had in store for the teenage'd genin, and her new squad, and as Ayame stepped out into the fresh morning air, her mind was rife with ideas about what the day would hold, and needless to say Ayame was excited.

The streets of Iwagakure would be relatively baron at this early of an hour. Which honestly wasn't that surprising to Ayame. She had wandered the early morning streets of the city several times before in order to reach the training grounds before anyone else ha really gotten there, so she could get a peaceful work out in. And while a few were out and about, it wasn't near as much as would come out once the sun was up. And that almost wasn't comparable to the number of people that roamed around the streets around mid-day. It was almost the opposite to what she had experienced in Sunagakure. As the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, less and less people wanted to be outdoors in her homeland, as the desert heat wasn't friendly to anyone, prepared or not. However here the sun was nice and kissed your skin instead of scorched it into the nine hells. It was forgiving and warming. Ayame could easily understand why the market's most popular hour was when the sun was the highest in the sky. Regardless, in the early hours of Iwagkaure people were scarce. This worked in Ayame's favor however, as she wouldn't need to push past people to get to the university, and her travel was relatively unhindered by people. Plus, she'd get to enjoy the nice quiet morning, with the fresh smell of dew in the air and all. It was a pleasant experience. One that was a bit cold at times, Ayame would admit, but one that she couldn't really understand more people not wanting to enjoy.

Just as Ayame thought, she arrived at the university grounds just as the sun was cresting the mountains off in the distance. There was obviously not many people hanging out in the front yard this early, though a few people were taking morning strolls, and others were heading into the buildings for their morning classes. It appeared that Ayame would be the first one here. However, it wasn't but a few minutes or so that a girl who looked to a bit older than her strolled out the front doors of building in a white sundress. Someone who clearly wasn't a member of her squad, as she the letters had clearly layed out that the squad was meant to dress for the outdoors. Something Ayame could only assume that meant they should be prepared for either combat, or outdoor activities like hiking, or climbing, or even just training. Something a sundress definitely wasn't suited for. Even still, as the girl found a patch of greenery to lay herself in, and Ayame found no one else showing up to the scene, Ayame figured she might as well ask if the girl knew who her Sensei was, and where she could find her. So Ayame hopped off the wall that she had been sitting on, landing rather gracefully, and strolled up to the girl who seemed to be enjoying the nature around her. Ayame would approach cautiously as to not startle the girl and simply pipe up "Ummm, excuse me" She'd say attempting to get the girls attention. If she succeeded, and it was obvious she'd gotten the girls attention she'd simply say "Yeah, sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you knew a 'Sayuri'? by any chance, or maybe know when 'the sun rises above the first pillar'?" She'd patiently await the girls answer. If she couldn't get her attention, Ayame would slowly increase her volume, and decrease the gap between the two girls continually calling out to the girl, waiting about 4 to 5 seconds between call out hoping to get the girls attention.

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WC: 1227
Total WC: 1227

It was almost the morning of the day that Takashi was supposed to meet his squad and their leader. Most people in his situation would probably be rushing to get out the door so that he could be where he needed to be on time. But he knew he could take his time. Slowly pulling on his pants and shirt, Takashi took a deep breath and shuffled down the stairs in his house, trying to come to grips with what he was about to be exposed to. See, he knew exactly who the leader of his squad was going to be. He had received a message from her the day before and had gone over it five or six times before he had realized why it was written the way that it was. Se, the name of his squad leader was Sayuri. It was a name he had recognized at first upon reading the message, and for an instant he had believed it was the same Sayuri that he had met in the University Library on his one day off the previous week. He had quickly dismissed the notation, certain that the young woman he had met was no more of a shinobi than he had been back in Sunagakure no Sato. She had been far too innocent, and she knew so little about basic ninja theory that it was impossible, or so he thought.

It was then that the young Uzumaki had turned his attention to what was actually written in the letter. He had to read it over three or four time sin an attempt to understand what was being said and why it was being put in such confusing terms. At first, he had thought it was a code of some kind that was meant to test the intelligence of their leader’s new squad. But the more and more he read the words on the small scroll, the more a small bout of dread washed over him. It was her. It had to be her. The way the sentences were put together…the way the direction did not make any sense to a normal person…the way that he could read it in her voice. It was her. Sayuri from the University was going to be his sensei. It made next to no sense, that the grown woman who had crawled onto the arm of his chair so that she could read along with him could possibly be a kunoichi of Iwagakure no Sato. Of course, he had not seen her in action at all, but even so, the way that she had acted accompanied by the way she had written the meeting message proved to him that she had never really led people before. On top of that, he had no idea what he was supposed to learn from her, especially since he had been teaching her basic principles of chakra and ninja specializations the first time they had spoke. She had not even understood what fuuinjutsu was, and yet now she was supposed to be teaching him.  It boggled his mind to say the least, and as he threw on his jacket and stepped out the door, he could not help but feel a little disappointed in the decision-making skills of the Tsuchikage.

The walk to the University was not a very long one, and despite him taking his time in the morning, Takashi knew that he would make it to the exterior of the University right on time if he kept moving. It was early enough that the only people out and about within the village proper were men and women that were either heading out to their jobs for the day, or opening up stores that they owned themselves. It was not an unfamiliar sight to the young Uzumaki, who liked to get up early like this most days in order to get in some training before the hustle and bustle of the village could interrupt him. It was usually at this time of day that Takashi would practice his sealing techniques. They required a lot more concentration that his endurance and speed training, and so the quiet mornings were ideal. But it was hard for his mind to stay on thoughts like that this particular morning, as he came to the realizeationt hat even though he knew what to expect from his sensei, the rest of his squad would have no idea what they were walking into. He had read the names of his ne squad members on the message as well, and was happy to see the names of two people that he had previously met; both of which were refugees of the fallen Sunagakure no Sato just like himself. He actually smiled ever so slightly as he thought of Tamae speaking with Sayuri, and how the contrast between the way the communicated was bound to make for some hilarious exchanges. Ayame, on the other hand, he was worried might distract him ever so slightly. After the display of power she had shown off at their first meeting, he would be lying if he said his mind had not wandered to the thought of her once or twice. She was talented and strong, that much was clear. And on top of that she was cute. Takashi had no problem admitting that to himself in an inner monologue; in person was another story all together.

As Takashi walked onto the ground of the University, the sun peeked out over the mountain tops in in the east. He glanced off toward it for a moment and took in the view before turning back toward his destination. Glancing about, he caught sight of the woman he had been sent to meet, as well as his fellow Suna refugee Ayame, though the two women were not standing together quite yet. Sayuri was sitting on the grass, waiting patiently and innocently, much like Takashi had expected, while Ayame looked like she was searching for their new master. Little did she know that she was about to meet her. Takashi chuckled to himself as he approached the pair and overheard Ayame call out to Sayuri, asking if she knew herself. Before Sayuri could reply, Takashi called out and waved at the ladies to get their attention, hoping to score a bit of a reaction form Ayame.

“What are you talking about Ayame? Can’t you see that the sun is peaking over the first pillar right now? Thank goodness you made it on time.” He winked as he laughed before turning toward the child-like woman that was to teach him how to be a ninja. “Good morning Sayuri! Who knew I would end up learning from you after you learned form me the other day?”

WC:1131

Sitting in the grass Sayuri breathed deeply and watched as the sun rose. It was a wonderful morning and the sky was an explosion of colours; red, orange, yellow and pink with just the barest tinges of bright blue starting to make themselves seen as the night sky faded. She was so wrapped up in watching the sun rise that she was surprised when a voice called out to her. Looking up towards the female voice she had to squint just a bit to see her clearly as the girl’s back was to the rising sun. She was a very fit looking young woman, black hair and eyes from what she could make out - it was difficult to tell if that was just an effect of the light or if her eyes were actually black. Her attire, a skirt and short tank top made Sayuri think that perhaps this was one of the students from the University - she often saw them in clothing like that, fashionable and showing off a decent amount of their body. All in all she thought the girl looked rather nice, and she sat up straight and smiled wondering if perhaps she might be make a new friend. ”Yeah, sorry to bother you, I was wondering if you knew a 'Sayuri'? by any chance, or maybe know when 'the sun rises above the first pillar'?” As the girl asked her questions Sayuri’s smile broadened, she knew that this had to be either Tamae or Ayame, though she couldn’t be sure which. Which meant this was one of her students. She felt her stomach clench as the nervousness came again, if this girl was here looking for her then that meant her job as a sensei was real. If she was being completely honest with herself she was secretly hoping that none of them showed up. It’s very difficult to fail or embarrass yourself when there’s no one there to witness it.

Just as she opened her mouth to answer the girls question another voice rang out across the University grounds. This one she recognized. She had met him here at the University some time before, and was glad to see a semi familiar face. She saw he was dressed similarly to how he had been when they’d first met, and while she could appreciate a very nice coat, she wondered if he cared if it got damaged at all. She hoped it wouldn’t of course, but she had destroyed many an article of clothing on her many misadventures in the past and she doubted that today would be any different. “What are you talking about Ayame? Can’t you see that the sun is peeking over the first pillar right now? Thank goodness you made it on time.” As he teased the dark haired girl, who she now knew to be Ayame, Sayuri would rise from her comfortable spot on the grass and verify that Takashi was correct - the sun had just risen high enough and at least two of her new students were on time. She enjoyed Takashi’s laugh and gave the two standing in front of her the opportunity to banter while she smoothed out the wrinkles from her sun dress. “Good morning Sayuri! Who knew I would end up learning from you after you learned from me the other day?” She turned and smiled up at the two students, both of who were taller than her; as most people usually were. “Good morning! It’s so nice to see you again!” She was sincerely glad to see Takashi, it made the exchange cause her less anxiety. “And you are Ayame Uchiha? I’m Sayuri, and I’ll be your teacher. Well, uh I guess I already said that in the letter. I see you both found the place alright, that’s good. I’m not too sure where the other two are, I guess they’ll catch up sometime. Have you eaten breakfast? Do you want to?” She would pause and let them both answer, she hoped that they hadn’t eaten and that they could go eat something. She couldn’t remember a time when she had ever turned down food. Whether they answered or not she would continue in her usual sing-song voice. “Leaving aside the idea of food for the moment, what did you both want to do?”

754/1652

Exiting thread -
1227 words
1k used for training
Taijutsu Feigned Step: C-rank