[Mission] Leading Men

[Kaku]

It was a cold, snowy day in Iwa, and the men patrolling the walls were cursing their luck at having drawn the shifts that they had. Just beyond the giant monolithic rock that was the wall of Iwa was a small platoon of soldiers waiting for their leader to come along. The squad consisted of three promising young upstarts, each from completely different walks of life but with one common goal in mind: becoming the best they could be. With that similarity and not much else, the three were able to form an uneasy friendship based on mutual respect. Well, two out of three of them were. The third one was a little different from the other two. A tad bit easier going, a slight bit more relaxed. Compared to the stiff, professional approach of the other two, he could be described as an unorthodox slacker. But his talent was undeniable, and his record meant that he could get on such important missions as the one being undertaken at that time.

The slacker's name was Takumi. He was a 17 year old Chuunin of average height and build with a mess of black hair on his head that just stretched beyond his neck and a fringe that just about crept over his green eyes. His garb was rather ordinary for one as eccentric as he, consisting of the typical chuunin flack jack, combat trousers and boots. Additionally, due to the cold and the mission, he wore a dark blue cloak over his standard attire. Two shapes could be seen protruding from the cloak at the side of his midriff.

Along with him was another Chuunin, this one a 16 year old girl of the Ayatori clan. Sekine was her name, and she was a dainty little thing, being roughly 5ft. She didn't say much, and with her cloak and hood on, not much could be made of her appearance, other than the fact that she had big teal eyes.

Lastly, there was Rouga. He was a ridiculously tall samurai who, according to his files, was much more graceful than his hulking size would suggest. He had brown hair shaved into a buzz cut, and with his tired looking dark brown eyes and stubble-covered jaw, he had quite a mature appearance, despite the fact that he was only a year older Takumi. The sheath of his sword could be seen poking out of the base of his hilt. Due to his natural size advantage he utilised a longer, heavier katana than the average samurai, compensating for close range with his wakizashi which couldn't actually be seen under the black covering. All three stood quietly and waited for their mission leader to arrive. Each of them had taken care to arrive earlier than the designated time (even the slacker Takumi), as they wanted to be seen as responsible. After all, each of these were promotion candidates, and there was no need for them to risk that for something as silly as poor punctuality.