With one foot hovering in the entrance of the training grounds, Hayashi hesitated. One glance was enough to show him that the area - mostly open field, with some scattered foliage and scarred rocks here and there - was empty. Annoyingly so. He turned around and sighed heavily, shaking his head. What were the chances that the heavens had aligned and there were in fact three dedicated and talented shinobi already hiding in the field, waiting for him? Next to none, of course; it was far more likely that not one of them had bothered getting out bed yet, or was intentionally dawdling in the hope of being “fashionably late”. He’d been hoping to get a moment to see his prospective students together before they saw him, but that wouldn’t happen if he just strolled in and sat there waiting. Instead, he began calmly walking away, curving around the path that ran around the outside of the training grounds until he came across a suitably tall and well-canopied tree. It looked like a perfect place to rest, watch, and wait, so he hopped up into a shaded bough and, making sure he was concealed to the casual observer, sat back and did so. If anyone was hiding in the field, he’d test their patience from here; and if they were just late… Well then, he’d have to test their nerve instead.
And yet, almost as soon as he’d seated himself, a flicker of movement from the field revealed one of his future students.
One of the boys, he realised,
Senju Yῡku. Hayashi was surprised to realise that one of the three had in fact been there, and tucked the welcome knowledge away for later as a point in the lad’s favour. The boy seemed alert to the point of visible cautiousness; while that wasn’t strictly necessary here, he couldn’t know what he’d been summoned for, so a measure of wariness was just as commendable as his promptness. On top of that, if the personnel files of Yῡku’s two brothers were any accurate gauge, he wouldn’t be one to slack off and let himself get carried by the rest of the team. With this in mind, Hayashi continued to watch and wait until the next student, if any, arrived - though eventually he’d have to go down now that one was present.
Not too long afterwards he noticed a second figure approach at speed. That was both good and bad - it was unfortunate, particularly for her, that she was late, but slightly redeeming in that she was clearly concerned about that fact and was hurrying to make up lost time. She stopped nearby Yῡku and the two apparently began talking pleasantly while Hayashi watched from his hidden vantage. Side by side, the clan resemblance between them was astonishing; the slight tan to their skin, the similar shade of brown hair, and a familiarity that spoke of some small kinship beyond that of their similar ages and heights. The sight of them reminded the Jounin of his old friend, Senju Toshiaki - the very man who’d set Hayashi on this path of mentoring students - and he smiled at the feeling of warmth in the memory.
Now that more than one was present the time was right to make his own appearance. He moved to get up and descent from his vantage point, but the memory of Toshiaki lingered in his head. One of the first pieces of advice the Senju had given Hayashi was how to get to know the inner workings of new people.
’You can learn a lot about a person by the way they treat their inferiors,’ the man had said. At the time Hayashi hadn’t quite listened, but now, with decades of hindsight, he knew the truth in the words. Smiling, he placed his hands together in a blurringly fast set of seals and initiated a transformation jutsu before he entered the training grounds properly. When the other two caught sight of him, all they’d see would be a young child, perhaps ten, who was running up to them with an excited grin.
“Hey! Hey! Are you guys ninja?!” The child-Hayashi would ask as he skidded to a stop beside Yῡku and Touka,
“that’s so cool!!” He hopped up and down with excitement, trying to mimic how his son had acted a few years prior when they’d first told him he could go to the academy to learn.
“I’m learning too! I’m gunna be a ninja too! Just like you! Hey, do some ninjery stuff!” he splayed his arms wide as if mimicking a blast of ninjutsu, then laughed. At the same time he examined the two Genin closer, and quickly took in the oddities of each. Given that he was trying to act like an annoying under-classman, he voiced them immediately and carelessly.
“Hey! What’s up with your eyes?!” He levelled a finger at Yῡku and leaned in, squinting as if he was trying to see through a disguise.
“Are you evil or something?” But before the boy could get a word in to reply, Hayashi had turned his accusatory finger on Touka instead.
“Why do you have two headbands? Does that mean you’re better than him?” He took a step forward and leant in to examine the headband at the girl’s waist that bore the defaced symbol of the village.
“Hey, isn’t that what bad guys wear? Hey, are you a traitor then?! But don’t you love Konoha?! I don't get it!” Doing his best to annoy the two older ninja in the way that only an excitable child could, Hayashi continued to pester them until one responded.
*[Basic Jutsu • Transformation Technique]
E-Ranked Ninjutsu
After completing the needed handseals, the user of this technique will be able to alter their physical appearance to match that of another person. By consistently emitting chakra throughout their body, the user is able to keep their appearance adjusted at the cost of their stamina draining over time. As this technique is quite strenuous to uphold, experienced shinobi may see more clearly through this delusive disguise. This technique lasts for a number of posts equal to that of the user's stamina.
