How Many Nindo Are There? (M&M 3e, Naruto, IC)

[appending_doom]

The headband still feels heavy and unfamiliar on your head; it has been less than a day since the graduation exam, and the reality of it hasn't become comfortable. Whether expected or not, you are a genin - a ninja. You can be called upon to due for the sake of your village, your only defense your own skills and the dedication of your teammates.

And your jounin.

You can't forget that.

The letter left at your home dictated you would wait for your mentor at Training Ground 7, at nine AM. There was no other explanation or direction.

Training Ground 7 is largely unimpressive, a flat plain with few obstacles or features beyond the short-cut grass. The day dawned early and clear, a bright spring morning that seems an auspicious greeting.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

crapcrapcrapcrapcrapCRRAAAAP!! Asuka was panicking. Normally, she would be out the door by now, but one major problem. She couldn't find her crossbow. She was looking all around her room, searching for it. It's not on her desk. It's not under the bed. It's not in her closet. WHERE IS IT? She hurriedly rushed to her door and opened it. SHe was just about to rush out of her room before she saw it on the ground next to her door. She let out a breath of fresh air and picked it up. It looked like it was new, not worn at all. She checked to make sure the mechanisms worked and sure enough, they did. She smiled. Mother must have had this fixed. She then slotted in a clip before heading out the door. She began running to the Training ground to make sure she arrived on time. She passed by her mother on the way, quickly saying as she passes by. "Thanks, Mother!"

[Infernally Clay]

"So today, it begins..." Sachi thought to herself, "My path to achieving my destiny."

Trained to distrust everything, Sachi was perched a short distance away from the training ground an hour before the time specified. She kneeled atop a nearby building and watched, waiting patiently for the other Genin to arrive. The last time Sachi was among a group of children that had been called to a training ground together, they were forced to fight until only one was left alive. Even though she had told herself, and been told, many times that Konohagakure was not the Bloody Mist, some part of Sachi was... hesitant.

In spite of that, however, Sachi's excitement was bubbling. Whether it was the fact she was about to meet her rivals or whether it was the fact she was finally an officially recognised ninja, she couldn't say. Regardless of why she was excited, today was the start of a new life for her - and one she was fully looking forward to.

[Anyr]

Kai arrived just a little before nine. He'd carefully timed his approach to the training grounds, so as not to arrive noticeably early or late. The young genin strolled casually onto the training grounds, with hands in the pockets of his fashionably baggy clothes. Eyes surveyed the area from behind a pair of decent (though bland) sunglasses. He looked relaxed, but not sloppy; Ready, but not impatient. Every aspect of his appearance was carefully tuned to the 'okay, I guess' setting. It took serious effort to look so generic.

Especially when armies of butterflies were fighting a war inside your stomach. Good gods he was nervous.

[tonberryking]

Sitting up against a wooden post, her cane resting in the nook of her left arm, the blind girl everyone knows as Soramaru gently brushes her hand over the metallic surface of the headband. Tracing the pattern etched into the surface again and again with a fingernail. Staying silent.

Given the few accoutrements of the field, she may have picked a solitary spot to ruminate on things, but most of the academy avoided her for various reasons already; it's not something she was unused to. Soramaru supposes it fortunate she can get along with at least half of the other students milling around, but for now, she stays quite, like a statue, seemingly out of tune with the world she cannot see...

...Or is she?

"Mn.. I wonder if I can weave this into my obi," she says quietly to the first person approaching her, her tone ambiguous to whether she's talking to them, or herself...

[Anyr]

Kai's spirits rose when he saw Soramaru. She was usually good at lightening his mood. Her unique sensory jutsu were a joy to copy. From a distance, he fixed his gaze upon the blind girl. He'd done this many times before.

[Haitei Raoyue]

And just like that, Kai's world expended. He could suddenly feel the training ground around him, without needing to look. Its every vibration resonated through his feet. What a brilliant ability. Kai often wished that he could copy it in a less, well, stalkerish way. After all, this girl barely knew he existed. Ah well, such was the way of things.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Akane Kaegrou was more excited than he'd remembered being at any other point in his life. He was a Shinboi now. He'd passed the test, gotten his headband, and now he was going to meet up with his team. His first team...
That was something that seemed to excit him and terrify him in equal measure. He was going to be a part of a team; people were going to rely on him. He only hoped that he wouldn't do anything to


As he walked towards the grounds, Akane pulled out a book on jutsu, hand-signs, how they related together, and how to use one to decipher the other. It was a fascinating subject, and was absolutely worth stealing it from the chuunin section of the Library.

"Hai Soramaru" he called out with a small smile when he discovered that his friend was going to be on squad. He was slightly disappointed that Akitora Uchia (who was likely his 'best friend') didn't seem to be here, but atleast he had one friend on the squad.

He pops up ontop of a wooden post next to one occupied by his blind friend and continues to read, still holding a conversation with Soramaru. "I know how you feel. The weight on my head makes me feel slightly unbalanced."

[Anyr]

Kai sent a friendly wave in Akane's direction. He wasn't especially close to the Kagerou clan's sole Shinobi; But he wanted to be. The two of them had a lot in common. Kai had tried his best to cultivate a friendship, with mixed success. It was hard to earn someone's trust when you had so many secrets.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Looking up from his book to see Kai's wave, Akane returned it with a small, and slightly half-hearted, smile. It wasn't as if the Shinboi was rude, but Aakane never truly felt comfortable around him. He seemed... fake in some way. And it felt like more than just a typical's shinobi's attempt to hide some portion of their real self.

But still, it appeared as though he would be the third member of the squad, along with Akane and Soramaru, so it would play to act nice. And maybe, after a few missions, the veneer would come down.

[Fearan]

Nuryoha arrived to the training ground at the very moment when it seems that a second more - and she would be late. But no, she was on time, clad in ninja gear looking on her better then any dress. Or so she thought, apparently. Anyway, she came via the main road, not bothering with tree walking and whatever other ways of getting there. - Greetings to all of you - she nodded to the crowd and calmly sat near the rock.

Note: Nuryoha is using extremely formal language.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka arrived next, darting into the scene before immediately applying the metaphorical brakes and stopping next to the group. She smiled at them, saying. "Hey, everyone. Glad I'm not late." She then took out her crossbow and looked at it again, this time making sure everything was working fine. She noticed the refurbished Crossbow was harder to pull. It must have gotten an upgrade. She then checked her clips before putting the clips away and slinging the crossbow over her back.

[tonberryking]

Nodding with a serene express to Nuryoha, Soramaru then turns up in Akane's direction, putting her headband over her eyes. "What do you think? Would the jounin find it too disrespectful if I wore it low? Or would that give away too much, maybe?" she doesn't seem to be asking it as a joke, though it's hard to say, really, what her intention is...

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Akane couldn't help but perk up from his book when Soramaru asked about where she should wear her headband. It was something he'd been considering ever since he'd gotten the shiny metal accessory, so he'd developed a few options on the matter.

"Hmm... Well, most people around the village know about your condition, so I don't think anyone would think you covering your eyes would be disrespectful. Plus, I've seen some of the cuunins and jonin's wear them in really weird places. Eye coverage probably wouldn't raise any eyebrows."
"But anyone from outside the village would be getting an advance warning about your abilities."
"On the other hand, it does look really cool." He added with a grin. It was only a half-joke though; most shinboi tried very hard to find the line between style and practicality. After all, if used correctly, an eccentric fashion choice could let you win a fight before it ever started. But, if used incorrectly, that same choice pice of clothing could give your opponent an opening you never intended. And sometimes the only difference as to whether or not you had 'used' it 'correctly' was whether or not you'd won the fight.

After a moment of thought, something suddenly occurred to Aaken. There had been two genin at the field when he'd gotten the traing spot, making him the third of his squad. Atleast that's what he'd assumed. But now there were two more recent academy graduates on the field with them.
"Wait a minute. We've got five genin here, but the average squad if 3 genin and 1 one jonin. Something's up." He looked around at the other genin, trying to figure out what was out of place "We're all supposed to be here right? Training Ground 7?"

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka never thought about the size being high. She was curious, no doubt about that. It seemed strange, but this may be something else. She looked back at Akane, saying "Maybe we are going to have some sort of quad v. squad thing to see what we're capable of or something else that requires us together."

[Infernally Clay]

"Maybe they have too many Genin and want to weed out the useless among you," Sachi said, after using the Shunshin no Jutsu to instantly leap from where she had been perched to a few feet from the gathered group. A wicked grin crossed her face, revealing her razor sharp teeth as she continued, "The last time I saw a group of Academy graduates gathered on the orders of their superiors, we ended up fighting until only one was left standing."

Pausing for a moment for theatrical tension, she finished, "Naturally I won, so I have nothing to worry about."

[appending_doom]

"Maa, don't worry about that." A flurry of leaves heralds the arrival of a squat woman dressed in grey and green and the Konoha headband. She is no more than five feet tall, and just about as wide around. Her clothing is close and flexible, although for what purpose you can't tell. Her headband ties up an elaborate weave of black hair, and she takes in the collected students with an easy smile, dark brown eyes watchful. "This isn't the Village Hidden in the Mist, Sachi. And no, we're not making anyone fight. We're trying something...new this year, and this is going to be your opportunity to prove you've got what it takes." She sits on the ground with a light movement, still smiling. "But we don't have to get started with that just yet. We should get to know one another, first. Sit down!"

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka looked at the jonin as she appeared. She looked at her distinguishing figures, seeing if she recalls learning about the jonin while they sit down.

[roll0] Medicine, Current events, Jutsu, History, Military, Nature, and Politics. Take your pick

I also have Eidetic Memory, so if you want to add that bonus, go ahead.

[Space Lawyer]

Akitora Uchiha jumps down out of the trees, and lands in a kneeling position in front of the broad woman. "Flak jackets aren't usually a bad choice either, Aka. They're the standard for a reason."

He slings around the massive fan he habitually carried on his back to stand beside him, the steel casing settling with a thud. "Good morning, sensei."

[Anyr]

At the Jounin's invitation, Kai finally approached the group. He nervously took a seat near (but not too near) his new sensei. That talk about 'getting to know one another' had already set him on edge. How much did this woman know about him? What had the Hokage told her? For now, all Kai could do was watch and wait.

"Greetings, Sensei."

[MichaelGoldclaw]

It finally hit her. She remembers who she is. She is one of the Uchihas. Just which one? Judging from her appearance, it most likely is Kiriko Uchiha. Yes, it's definitely her "You're Kiriko Uchiha, aren't you? I remember hearing things about you. It's an honor to meet you, Kiriko-sensei."

[Fearan]

Nuryoha shifted from her casual sitting pose into a proper seiza and bowed to the Uchiha in an annoyingly formal manner. - It's an honor to work under you, sensei - actually, she didn't mean these words, but the etiquette required at least this kind of a respect. The Uzumaki heiress wasn't happy about suddenly being chosen as a guinea pig for some experiments of the Hokage, but since it was never her choice, all that left was to accept the inevitable with the proper grace - for some reasons such behavior was extremely annoying to the people around - which was a really pleasant icing on the cake.

OOC: Since Asuka kindly spoiled the name of our sensei - what does Nuryoha know about this Uchiha Kirika Rolling Expertise (Clans) [roll0]

[appending_doom]

"Ha," Kiriko chuckles. "I've been pulled off of what some jonin would believe are much more important duties to make sure you seven can work your way up to being passable ninja." There's something odd about what she says, but then she presses forward; Uchiha are used to thinking quickly, and she seems to have let it flow into her speech. "Not alone, of course. You'll meet your other sensei in a while. Me, I'm a little more hands-on, so we're going to get to know each other a little better."

She drops to a crouch and waves the rest of the group down. "As I said, I'm Uchiha Kiriko. I'm 30 years old, a jonin, and quite fond of distilling. I hope to retire in comfort to start a shop in the village."

She then looks around at the group. "So who's next?"

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Akane looks at the kunochi for a few seconds, masking a shocked expression, after it's revealed that she is a member of the Uchiha. Physically she doesn't resemble a Uchiha, at-least in terms of his mental image of the clan's looks. In fact, she seems to have more in common with the Akimichi. But, the shock fades as Akane reminds himself that the Uchiha, like all other families (including his own) come in a variety of colors and shapes. After all his best friend is a Uchiha with red hair, an anomaly in and of its self.

Akane raises his hand with slight hesitation before speaking up. "I'm Akane Kagerou. I'm 13, I like reading books and experimenting with jutsu. I guess my hope is to the first in a line of Kagerou shinboi." His voice doesn't have much volume and is rather hurried, as though he's trying to get over with the process as soon as he possibly can.

[Infernally Clay]

"My name is Kaminari Sachiko. I like cutting things... Food, wood, people. My hope is to prove myself and one day become as famous as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

Sachi sat on the ground, crossed her legs and gently rested her sword with such care on her lap as she said this. While she began speaking in her almost arrogantly casual tone, when she mentioned Kirigakure, her voice changed. Was that longing in her voice, homesickness, or was there uncertainty there? Speaking the name of the Seven Swordsmen, Sachi beamed with pride. They were strong and commanded respect. Respect they had earned, individually and as a group.

[Anyr]

Akane wasn't the only one to be shocked by their Sensei's lineage. A flicker of worry momentarily passed over Kai's face, before being smothered. Having an Uchiha teammate was bad enough, without adding a Jounin as well. He'd have to be extra careful here. Those red eyes of theirs could see far too much. Thankfully, only a little of this anxiety found its way into Kai's voice; No more than you'd expect from a young Genin introducing themselves.

"Hey everyone, I'm Kai. I enjoy learning new things, listening to music, and making friends. I'm here to earn a home for myself in Konoha."

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka listened to them speak, hearing what they had to say about themselves. When Kai was finished speaking, she spoke up, saying. "I am Asuka Mazaki. I like boating out on a river, admiring the beauty of nature, but don't let my soft side fool you. I also like competition, especially sparring. I use the same style as my father." The moment she said that, she used tricks she learned to block out the memories. "Who I will try to honor with my life."

[Space Lawyer]

Akitora could recall seeing the jonin around the compound once or twice. "I think we've met once before, cousin. I'm Uchiha Akitora. The rest of this group was a collection of odd ones it seemed. Most of them he had met before, and Akane was probably his best friend. The one who called herself Sachiko was an exceptionally interesting case. What was the Hokage thinking, allowing an outsider into the Leaf's training like this? Mom was technically a foreigner, but she still generally wasn't trained in some of the more secretive of the Leaf's techniques. Still, they were going to be working together, so an introduction was in order. "I, ahhh, have some skill with jutsu and thrown weapons, I guess. This is my fan; in case you're wandering with that and the hair, my mom is from the Sand."

[tonberryking]

"My name is Soramaru." Some of her closer friends may note that she purposely left off her surname. Even if she'd act ignorant, and ask what surname if pressured.

Having walked over with gentle steps and delicately assumed the seiza sitting position herself, now with both hands resting atop her bamboo 'cane' Soramaru slightly tilts her head. Puzzling... This Uchiha woman has, from what she can tell, a rather unorthodox body shape compared to most adults. To such an extent, Soramaru wonders if it is hiding something... an illusion or some measure of technique. Best not to outright ask, she imagines, and instead continues:

"Some say I have a measure of fighting skill, yet I merely wish to repay Konohagakure for what of ability, respect and freedom I've been given so far. For that, my coinage is loyalty. I suppose my hobbies would be the tea ceremony and onsens, when I can afford them, but please forgive my unorthodox bearing, should it bother you."


Can Soramaru's tactile senses--which pick up chakra-- tell if the jonin is using something right now?

[Fearan]

Nuryoha let herslef to drop a sigh - another ritual. She was pretty sure, jounin-sensei have read the personal files, and her would-be teammates allready knew her more or less. But oh, well, what could she possibly do with it. It was clerly something aboud team-building or something like that. After everybody introduced theirself, she followed:
- My name is Uzumaki Nuryoha. I'm 14. I like dresses, music and poisons. My hopes are irrelevant to my service of Konoha

[appending_doom]

"Well!" Kiriko claps her hands and hops to her feet. "I suppose you're a little concerned about what's going on here. The Hokage has decided to have this group of ninja experiment with forming a strike force - something larger and a little more powerful than the small teams we're used to creating. He hopes that he can teach you all to learn to work together with a mix of other ninja right from the start. He asked us, however, to test to see if that idea's going to work, and so you're going to be going through another little test."

@tonbery

You can't pick up anything unusual about Kiriko's chakra

[MichaelGoldclaw]

"Test eh. What kind? Multiple choice, short answer, or ass-kicking? I'm good with the first and the last, especially the last."

[Anyr]

"Ready and waiting, Sensei."

And scanning, as it turned out. While staring attentively at his new teacher, Kai took the opportunity to learn more about her. What sort of jutsu did she know? He'd have to be careful about actually using them, of course; But the knowledge alone might come in handy.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

"Another test? I thought we'd finished with those once we left the academy"

"I'm just kidding. I love tests. "
As if to prove his point, Akane pulls out a pencil from his kunai pouch.
Not that he'd ever say it out loud, But tests were his favorite for a very simple reason; his social standing couldn't affect his odds. All he had to do was complete the test to the best of his abilIties.

[Space Lawyer]

Akira tilts his head and raises an eyebrow at the answers his new teammates were giving. Aka wasn't surprising; there was a reason Akitora tried to copy his homework whenever possible, after all. Asuka was. . . high-spirited, as ever.

"Seems a little odd, unless we're expecting a war sometime soon. Still, what the Hokage wants, the Hokage gets."

[Fearan]

- An experimental detachement and special tests, am I right? Well, I guess that at least will save us from the D-ranks

[tonberryking]

"Ara ara... how... special we've become in such a short time." Soramaru rubs her chin for a moment before resuming her sitting pose, seemingly drifting in and out of cohesion by the sound of levity in her voice, "What's the test?"

[appending_doom]

Kiriko grins widely. "You've got one hour to get together any gear and meet me at the north entrance to the village. I'll fill you in there."

With that, she vanishes in a whirl of leaves.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka already had her gear, so she didn't need to go home. She was curious as to what they will be doing. "Well, I already have my gear, so I'll be heading there then." She then began to leave, heading to the designated location.

[Anyr]

"What? Oh, um, yes. Ditto."

Kai suddenly seemed a little unfocused. Getting a flood of new jutsus usually had that effect on him. Kiriko certainly had some interesting tricks up her sleeve: Although sadly, Kai had been too scared to keep any of them. He'd stick to copying his fellow Genin for now. Shaking off the last of his bloodline-induced haze, he rushed to catch up with Asuka.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

"well, I've already most all of my gear with me already" Akane says, mostly to himself, before heading off towards the north gate.

[Space Lawyer]

Anitra checks his own gear. Confident that he has everything he needs, he sets off with Akane. "Well, this will certainly be interesting," he comments dryly.

[appending_doom]

Kiriko is perched on a post just inside the gate when the genin arrive. She is sipping from a small cup - likely sake, if her penchant for the brewery was truthful. She does not take any apparent notice to her students, although it is certain she is aware of them.

[Anyr]

Kai hovered awkwardly a few feet from Kiriko: Unsure of whether he should announce himself to someone who already knew he was there. He didn't want to seem overeager (or undereager, for that matter). In the end, he settled for waiting in silence. With Kai, the middle path was his default setting. 'Don't make waves' and all that.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka noticed Kiriko did not pay them any attention, but she knew that a Jonin would most likely know of their presence, so she just leaned against the gate door and waited for her to speak

[Space Lawyer]

Akitora sits on the top of the gate, fanning himself with his gunsen. He couldn't really recall much about this particular cousin. Then again, there were so many of them that recalling every single one was rather difficult.

When Akane arrives, Akitora says "This seems just like most of the big military campaigns they taught us about in the Academy; hurry to a point, then wait for orders."

Jeez, I just noticed how bad autocorrect messed up my last post.

[Fearan]

Nuryoha arrived to the required location in last moments. She didn't looked any different from before, as she strolled casually towards the rest of the team.
- Uzumaki Nuryoha reporting for duty - she saluted to sensei with the same casually relaxed expression on her face.

[Yodas_Free_Boat]

Akane can't help but laugh at Akitora's comment on waiting.
"And it goes even more than that. We hurried to the training ground and then waited. And then we had to hurry to a different spot and wait yet again. Wouldn't surprise me if the rest of the day is just hurrying and waiting." Of course Matt speaks in a low tone, hoping that their new sensie doesn't hear him.

"Oh well, It's not too bad. Gives me more chances to read my book" He adds with a smile, pulling out the jutsu book that he'd been reading earlier at the training ground.

The young shinboi reads quietly for a few moments, before his head pulls out itself out of the book and turns to face his friend.
"Hey Aki, would you mind showing me the hand signs for a fire jutsu? "
To all most anyone else it would seem like a strange request, but for Akane and Akitora it's almost common place for Akane to make some out of left field request. Whether it's to make a slight modification to the seals on an exploding tag, asking to see what happens in he activates the sharingan in a different way, or to try and combine two jutsus in a strange way, the young Kagerou has a reputation for slightly odd questions.

"The book shows off a few basic hand signs for some fire jutsu. But I could have sworn your fire jutsu were different" Of course Akane has an idea was to why the signs would be different; the Uchiha clan is notoriously tight lipped when it comes to their techniques. So it wouldn't be surprising to find that even something as well known as basic fire techniques would be done differently by the Uchiha

[Space Lawyer]

Akitora looks at their sensei, but then says "Sure, no problem." There was no telling if the sensei might be one of those ultra-conservative types that believed everything the Uchiha did should be some sort of closely-guarded clan secret, but she didn't seem like it and besides, it was unlikely she would have been assigned to lead this group if she didn't already know about Akane and Akitora's friendship.

After a moment of thought, Akitora's hands go into a blur of motion. The hand seals for fire jutsus were a basic part of every Uchiha's childhood education, and they had been thoroughly ingrained in Akitora's mind and body. "See? Start off with tiger first, to set the chakra in a powerful and aggressive tone. Then you usually add in snake to give some control over that sinuous motion, and for a fast strike. The a few more depending on what you're doing and . . ."

Whoosh! A stream of many fireballs erupts from Akitora's open palms, leaping into the sky before exploding with a series of pops.

[Anyr]

As Akitora's fireballs vanished, enthusiastic clapping could be heard. Kai was applauding from the 'audience'. He took this opportunity to approach the pair of Shinobi.

"Now that is a fire jutsu! Do you mind if I try?"

Without waiting for an answer, his hands started mimicking the jutsu's seals: Or at least, they tried. He kept fumbling the sequence partway through. It looked as if he was trying too hard to mimic Akitora's blinding speed, instead of taking it slowly. After several attempts, Kai gave up.

"Augh! I guess my mimicry has its limits. Ah well, I'll get the hang of it sooner or later. Just you wait!"

There, now he had an excuse for throwing fireballs later. Kai hadn't enjoyed 'fumbling' something he could actually execute perfectly; But it didn't pay to be too much of a show-off.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Asuka watched as Akitora performed the demonstrations of the fire jutsu. Asuka watched as she performed it. "Interesting." she stated, intrigued by the performance. She took note of that, planning on picking up some fire jutsu from the scrolls her father left. She knew she couldn't become a master ninja just learning from those scrolls, but still, there were some nice abilities she had already knew about.

[tonberryking]

Soramaru spent the walk from the training grounds to the meeting spot alone, and it certainly took her awhile to even leave her spot on the grass. She'd gotten this far on her own, and now more than ever she could feel the pressure to succeed...

But until now she only had herself to lookout for. She only understood teamwork to the extent that she was on a team; a downside of becoming so reliant on her sensory powers and self-serving training, perhaps. But that was an adaptation and by the time she gathers herself up and walks off, she realizes she needs to adapt more... And after all, she is not without friends.

"ah, Nuroha-chan, wait up" she whispers behind the Uzumaki girl, slowly keeping pace with her as they arrive, even going so far as to use her cane in its intended use...

"I have a feeling I won't be fooling anybody clever enough to be a jonin; but I fear that whatever the test will entail, it will be expected that i try to act on my own. You, I and Akane should stick close during this..."