Team 22 Convenes the gathering of the Genin

[Director]

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Fanho had sent out a scroll to each of his team members to convene at coincidentally training field number twenty-two. How fitting for the same team number to receive the same training field, as ironic as it was Fanho was able to convince the training field registrar to let him have it because of his training number. With that in mind the field was a simple blank field with a creek flowing through in the back just twelve feet deep. With a flat surface, surrounded by trees on all sides but the creek it was quaint and nice. Despite this nice field, Fanho kept in bed still asleep with his foot hanging off the edge of his bed as he snored away despite the risen sun and the birds chirping from the surrounding trees he had fallen late to his own team meeting.

Despite this it'd give his team a few moments to all meet each other, and get introductions out of the way. Perfect way for Fanho to make a spectacular entrance to meeting his team. After becoming a Bannin and growing a bit older, the council saw it fitting to assign him a team despite his Mamorinuku responsibilities. It was certainly something Fanho was capable of keeping up with now able to manage the work of Mamo with his secretary in tow maintaining the paperwork and mission responsibilities, and also Fanho saw the team as an opportunity to perhaps recruit some fresh faces into the org. Even if they didn't join, he could still help train them as he was multi-faceted in all aspects of Mamo being able to act in any branch he's was able to build each member of the team's skills they desired.

Fanho snored away and dreamed about the team meeting being smooth and him showing up on time. Reality was quite cruel at times.

[TheLegendaryCrabman]

Kotarou had never felt so stupid before. What kind of Genin brings flowers for his first team meeting? With determination and a slick tongue he'd managed to argue his mother until she accepted to only have him take one for each member, and yet he felt it was a pyrrhic victory at best. He didn't get any strange looks on the way, thankfully, as most were used to his deliveries for the shop, but that would probably be outshined by his future teammates' reactions.

A carnation, a chrysanthemum, belladonna and a sunflower. The carnation was for himself, symbolizing fascination, distinction and love. He knew of course that it actually symbolized motherly love. He was thankful of the fact that most boys his age didn't speak flower, because presenting himself as momma's boy would probably not do wonders for their mutual respect. As for the rest, the sunflower conveyed longevity, the white chrysanthemum signified honesty and the belladonna expressed self-confidence and pride. All the flowers also symbolized loyalty. A quirky little coincidence he was sure his mother was very proud of.

The things I do for love. With a broad look at the plains that spread in front of him, he wondered if he'd reached Training Grounds #22. The creek flowed gently in the background, accompanying the lovely birdsong. Well, lovely for anyone else who could hear it. Kotarou found it hard to take in the scenery with the harsh sunlight battering his eyes. He adjusted his jacket to make sure he was covered, trying to avoid yet another sunburn.

Despite his pouty mood, he felt joyful and eager for the future. He wondered what his teammates would be like, who their leader would be. Purely professional and friendly thoughts, of course, he did not suspect anything of the brazen shenanigans their destinies held in reserve.

With one final look across the landscape, he conformed himself. It seemed for once he had been the first to arrive.

[TheLacarix]

“Nobu!” The strong, deep burly voice of Nobu’s Father Enya rang through the farm house, “Get up!” his tone a touch more aggressive than before. Nobu was notorious for sleeping in. His loud foot steps bounded up the steps, almost eerily. Enya’s large, meaty, hand, pressed against the door pushing it open. His eyes widened with confusion; his gaze darted around the room. Puzzled, wondering where his son was?

---

Nobu stood nervously outside the training fields, his hands trembling and his breath heavy. In and out, in and out, rapid and through pursed lips. He’d being up for hours, since the early hours. So many young boys and girls, trained for this moment to finally become a ‘Ninja’ the first real steps were joining a squad. Nobu wouldn’t just be training anymore, he’d get to take on missions, contribute to the village.

He slowly stepped onto Training Field 22 and apt name for the new team. He looked out towards the horizon, taking in the entire field beautiful lush green trees, bright blue water and a vast mountain far behind it. Infront of it all, a small thin, incredibly boy stood. His appearance was quite visually striking, an albino? Seems likely.

Nobu’s hand gingerly raised upwards, as though to be saying hello, as he tenderly walked over to what he assumed was his new teammate. He took in a breath and mustered some courage, Nobu couldn’t appear nervous. He had to be strong.

“Hello!” he blurted out, incredibly loud a bit too loud, he chuckled nervously then quickly pulled it back. Nobu’s nostrils flared, with annoyance “Aizawa, Nobu.” He muttered his name, introducing himself. The Aizawa name was rather renowned in Konoha, not simply for the fact that Nobu’s older brother was a Bannin of Konoha before he passed, but the Aizawa Ranch supplied most of the stores, restaurants and cafes in Konoha with meat and produce but the fire country. Nobu hoped, eventually he’d be able to move away from that.

[hobnob]

'I don't even see the point of me going mum,' the youth said before taking another spoonful of porridge, 'they'll just move me to another squad soon.' he finished once he swallowed the mundane breakfast that was going to provide him with plenty of energy.

'Stop arguing, you're going! That's the end of it.' his mother let out as she begun doing morning routine before she headed out to work for the day. It was the third time Izaki was going to head out and meet his team. So far he has been assigned to teams and ended up being moved, this is the reason behind him being so unwilling to get out there and make an appearance. He carried on making his way through the porridge, not showing any signs of haste. This made his mother very annoyed. She made his way over to him to give him some encouragement, but before she could, he stood up.

'Alright, alright... I'm going. Happy?' he said, realizing he was about to get a scolding if he did not get a move on. She smiled as he walked towards the door. He grabbed his belongings and walked out the door. A nifty little trick by the youth. Once he was outside, he ran round the corner, climbed up the wall and scaled into his room, quietly so that his mother would not hear. He then led on his bed and tucked his hands behind his head, beginning to day dream how he was going to spend the day instead. The problem with Izaki being in la la land, was that he did not pay any attention to what he was doing; his hand moved to the bedside table to grab a drink, knocking a couple of figures off, this resulted in a loud thud that carried through the house.

'Oh no...' he let out and then sat perfectly still, listening for any foot steps. But none came, so he relaxed. And as he did, his mother burst into the bedroom, fuming.All that his face showed in that moment was fear, and he acted on it. The youth jumped out of the bed and hopped out of the still open window before his mother could get to him, and with his heart still racing he ran towards the training grounds, beating himself up about his clumsy mistake.

Eventually he arrived at the training grounds, in the distance he could see an individual stood outside the gates before making his way in. Soon enough he found that it was the same training grounds that he was looking for, it must have been one of his team members. He looked up at the sign that hung above the entrance and let out a small sigh. This was yet another attempt at joining a squad, he hoped that this was going to be the one. He made his way in and immediately he saw two individuals stood near each other, one was ginger and the other appeared very pale. Izaki made his way to them and once he got near enough, he realized the clothing and height of the ginger boy resembled someone he had already met.

'...Nobu?' he let out once he was in hearing distance.

[TheLegendaryCrabman]

His ears perked up as he heard the call. Betraying both his anxiety and enthusiasm, Kotarou quickly turned his head to spot the reluctant boy that approached. His hair was somewhere between a dull red and a vivid orange and his eyes a bright blue. He was a good couple of inches taller than himself, and yet he seemed as small and uncomfortable as himself. Kotarou didn't know what to make of it, but felt a strange tranquility in the fact he wasn't the only one who felt flustered.

"Hey!" He eagerly replied, trying to make himself seem as confident as possible even as he struggled with extending a welcoming hand while holding all the flowers. Finally, he just gripped them all in one hand, holding the free one out as a welcome. "Morishige, Kotarou. Team 22, right?"

He would wait until his future teammate took the handshake - or didn't - before pulling his hand back and looking at the clouds, meditating on what to say next. The sun was still coming down onto his skin, giving him the perspective of an ant under an amplifying glass. He rose his hand to shield himself from the sun, before proceeding with their first impressions.

"Aizawa, right? I think my mom works with your family. She runs a flowershop, you see. I think you guys are the only reason we can make the delivery deadlines." He said, ending in a chuckle that came both from amusement and the full conscience that most kids didn't give a rat's ass about such trivial matters. He then suddenly rose his eyebrows as if he had remembered something. "Speaking of which, here you go."

He reached for the first flower he could grip, which turned out to be the belladonna, before thrusting it in Nobu's direction as an offering. "I know it's kinda weird, but my mom would probably kill me if I didn't go along with it. This one's for you, think of it as the twentieth pair of shorts your grandmother gives you at the festival of lights. You know, the one's you smile and act excited for but really don't care much for."

Suddenly, a voice called out to his new teammate, and he turned to spot the third member of their little rendezvous that boasted weirdly-coloured hair.

[TheLacarix]

As the boy known as Kotarou came closer into view, it was more apparent to Nobu he was an albino his appearance was visual striking, incredibly pale skin, his hair even paler lacking any colour at all, his eye were an eerie bright red a stark contrasts from his porcelain like appearance. His small white hand gestured out towards Nobu, who grasped it firmly and shook it hard. His farther ‘Enya’ had always said when meeting someone, it was always best to greet them with a firm, strong handshake. Nobu wasn’t sure why, but he wasn’t going to ignore his father’s advice now.

“Yes, team 22!” he replied with a gasp of relief, glad he was at the right place. It would be embarrassing if he turned up at the wrong place. He was surprised that the young man spoke of his flower shop and that the ranch was connected, it made sense the manure had to go somewhere. Nobu always found it amazing how interconnected the Aizawa family was to Konohagakure. His own fingers grasped around the purple belladonna that Kotarou offered, he pressed it to his nose and took a whiff “Lovely.” He said with a soft smell, shaking his head in disagreement “No it’s really nice.” He pushed the flower into one of the buttonholes into his jacket.

His ears perked up as his name was yelled from across the field, turning his head his eyes squinted trying to make out who it was, as the figure come into sight, he realised who it was “Ah Izaki!” Nobu yelled across the field, was the final member of their squad? Nobu stepped slightly to the side, so the two other genin could introduce themselves to one another. Pressing his hands into his pocket, Nobu realised their was someone missing, their Sensei. He pondered which of the Jounin it could be, as the other two started to make their introductions Nobu would start to search the field, could their new sensei be planning a surprise attack? Jump out and test them from the get to go? Nobu’s finger twitched ever so slightly, ready to withdraw a kunai at any moment.

[hobnob]

A smirk appeared on the youths face as his Nobu confirmed his identity. Now he hoped that this was not going to be moved to yet another team. Once he arrived beside the two, he turned to face the boy whom he did not know, he was awfully pale, almost as if he had never seen broad daylight. Izaki extended his arm, offering the pale boy a handshake and also taking notice of the flower he was holding in his arms. 'Oh? I didn't realize our sensei was a girl...' The idea came to his head and he thought he should probably say something to break the ice between the two. 'I'm Shimada Izaki,' he'd say after a moment, 'It's nice to meet you.' he finished and after the other boy accepted or rejected the handshake, he'd allow both his arms to rest by his sides as they waited for the last member of the team to arrive. He looked over at Nobu who seemed to be scanning the field and took note of his finger twitching by his kunai holster, this was not the Nobu he met some time ago.

'What's wrong with Nobu?' The youth said as his gaze returned to Kotarou.

[Director]

Fanho's eyes fluttered open as he came around from his slumber. As he rolled over looked at his clock, a loud groan echo'd from his house within the walls of the Awai compound. The young man was already running late for his team meeting, either he was incredibly early or late, a middle ground was never found between them. As he rolled out landing on the floor with a loud thump laying there for a minute he decided to fulfill the responsibilities he took on. It wasn't that he bemoaned having a genin team, but rather that they had arranged the meeting so early. Didn't they know the Bannin's of the village needed their beauty sleep. With a final sigh out of the way, Fanho crawled to his feet as he got dressed draping himself in his hoodie, and slipping on his pants before tucking his feet into his boots. Strutting out of the house with his belt thrown over his shoulder.

As he trotted through the village greeting the villagers, and giving a wave. He primarily targeted the back alleys and lower income streets to deter crime. Hardly any smart criminal aware of the military structure of Konoha would harass anyone if a Bannin strolled through the area frequently. Luckily the rates had shown to improve, but they we're getting smarter timing his walks. He'd just have to shake the structuring of his walks a bit to combat this new tactic of the underbelly.

Not long Fanho had come up upon the training field of Team 22 with the three genin stood before him conversing among themselves. He had stumbled right up when he had heard Izaki mention that their sensei was a girl. The Bannin chuckled at their theorizing of who their sensei was. He noticed one of the team members was feeling quite anxious as his finger passed not so gingerly over his kunai holster. All would be revealed as of now, and what their meeting had brought them to.

"Are you guys all team twenty-two? And to answer your question, your sensei is a dude."

[TheLegendaryCrabman]

Kotarou turned to the approaching boy, finding the colour of his hair and eyes to be curious. It seemed like their entire team was an amalgamation of strange hues and postures. At least he seems confident. Kotarou thought to himself. He raised his hand to shake Izaki's, putting firmness into it so as to not appear anxious. Kotarou looked down at the flowers, before rolling his eyes into the back of his head. "Trust me, I wish these were a "Fall on teacher's good graces" thing. That would be way less embarrassing."

Letting go of his teammate's hand, he prodded at the bundle of flowers until he could separate them. He attached the carnation to a belt grip by his left hip, before thrusting the white chrisanthemum outwards, gifting it to Izaki.

"Courtesy of our flower shop. Each of us gets one. It's supposed to signify that I offer good faith and friendship, but if you ask me it just makes me look like an idiot. I think this one fits you best, though." He held it out, waiting for the bold boy to take it. Ok, just one more to go and I can get over this silly business. He once more mused to himself. "I'm Morishige Kotarou, by the way. Nice to meet you, Izaki. Glad to see you guys look good with your hands, because I'm nothing special."

As he finished referring to their equipment, Izaki managed to turn his attention to Nobu. The redhead was off to the side, his eyes sweeping the area several times, his hands fidgety and alert. He shrugged, tilting his head to the side as he tried to make sense of the boy's behaviour. "I mean, I ain't no mind reader. What are the odds a Jounin is late to a team meeting, though? It's kind of unsettling, but what if he's setting up to jump on us? I'm not excited about getting a "1000 years of pain" if that's the case-"

His attention was quickly diverted as a fourth voice cut through the idle chatter. As his eyes met their target, Koutarou stiffened up with a quickness that would put any elite soldier's salute to shame. With messy light grey hair, grey eyes, skin like porcelain and a surrounding atmosphere of absolute dominance despite his casual approach, Koutarou easily recognized the figure from the festivals of lights and the gossip of the village's people.

"S-scratch that. Make that a Bannin." He whispered to Izaki. "Dude, that's Awai Fanho."

"Y-yes sir! Team 22 reporting."

[TheLacarix]

Nobu ignored Izaki’s question, though it was directed to him, so it was likely he wasn’t expecting an answer. It seemed Izaki's sense of deduction seemed quite low and that irked Nobu. He rolled his eyes, hearing him speak. Though he’d supress those thoughts, at least for now, he needed to try and be friends with his newly formed squad.

Kotarou seemed to be switched on however, hitting the nail on the head. It wasn’t that Nobu was paranoid or that he thought their newly found sensei would have any malicious towards them, but he could spring out and attack them, see how they’d react.

Luckily the young Genin’s anticipation was put to rest as their Sensei bounded over rather haphazardly. His gaze fell over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the man, immediately knowing who he was. A former teammate of his elder brother and one of the most famous men in all Konoha, second only to the Hokage.

Awai, Fanho.

Kotarou answered for the group, as Nobu’s hand moved away from its holster as he turned on his heels and returned to the group. He wondered if the two Awai of the newly formed group knew one another, they were related at least in some way. Though Nobu didn’t like to think of how clans and their relations worked.

“Aizawa, Nobu.” Introducing himself as his gaze fell upon the notorious Bannin. He was tall, slim and had shaggy grey hair and looked far too young to be a Bannin. Nobu pondered why he was their sensei, it wasn’t the norm for a Bannin to lead a squad of Genin it was normally a Jounin, though perhaps Nobu was putting too much thought into it.

[hobnob]

The handshake the boy returned carried some form of confidence; whether it was real or fake would be revealed in due time. The youth took note of the eye roll and let out a small chuckle before the older boy began justifying the reason for the bundle of flowers he was carrying. Izaki thought this was a little different from the norm, but if it didn't have an effect on their sensei, then at least he did have Izakis good graces. A few moments later, Kotarou held out his arm; presenting Izaki with a flower. The youth smiled and both his hand moved, to gently receive the gift. 'Thank you.' he spoke and his tone of voice carried truthful gratitude, it was not often that Izaki received gifts. Even his mother very rarely rewarded him with any for of praise or physical gift.

Izaki looked at the flower which he had cupped in the palms of his hands. He brought his hands up even higher, up to his nose. The flower emitted an aromatic fragrance, it carried the sweetness of summer. Izaki enjoyed it, but after a short moment, his hands lowered; the boy stood before him began to speak once more, finally explaining the reason behind the flowers and finally stated his name. The youth acknowledged him with a gracious nod. Then his attention shifted to Nobu who appeared very anxious.

'Well, you don't seem to be anywhere as anxious as he is.' the youth said as the other boy finished speaking. This was a fantastic demonstration of the youths deductive prowess, he was young and enjoyed being silly from time to time. But, he was not an idiot; he paid attention to what was going on around him, even if he appeared not to be. A moment later, he heard a voice that he recognized instantly and was reassured by Kotarou who appeared to be amazed by the appearance of the Banin on the training grounds. Izaki let out a small chukle and with his back facing the Banin, began forming a string of handseals, with the flower tucked between his thumbs and index fingers. A few moments later the flower began to radiate with chakra, wind violently gushing out of it; strong enough to send the flower Kotarou was holding into the air if he did not hold them tight enough.

The youth maneuvered the flower, now holding it between his index and middle fingers of his right arm, using the thumb for support. He spun around on his heels, keeping his hands close to his chest, extending the arm that held the flower at the peak of the movement; transferring all the kinetic energy into it and sending it flying rapidly at the Banin.

'Fanho Senpai.' The youth said through the wide smirk on his face. It has been a long time since the young boy had seen the Banin; one could almost say that he'd missed him, his actions spoke for themselves.

JutsuShow

Fuuton • Chakra Flow
B-Rank Ninjutsu
This technique enables the user to transfer and coat an object like a sword, projectile or a part of their body with their fuuton chakra. Jutsu speed and strength is equal to the users [Control]. The user is able to keep the technique active for as long as the user is in touch with the object. However if the object is thrown, the chakra dissipates by the end of that turn.

[Director]

Fanho watched as each kid had a different level of varying reaction. The first who he presumed was Kotaro due to his own fair skin and white hair. Albeit of no clan descent he had unique features that made him stand out from the others. The sheer nervousness of the genin permeated the air making it clear he knew who Fanho was. The second with a bit more discipline was much calmer now that he was aware of where there sensei was, and that there was no ploy hidden in the trees. Just a Bannin running late due to his own ability to sleep through is alarm. Nobu was Yoru's little brother, presumably dead, but unbeknownst to Nobu his brother was alive and well. In-fact Fanho had traded blows with the older Aizawa as he made an escape attempt out of Fire Country with a Hyuuga. It was a discussion that would be held at a later date when they could find out more info, and when Nobu was in a better mindset to accept it.

Last but not least the knucklehead of the group who thought he could get the drop on the Awai with a fuuton whirlwind around his flower. With a sigh and roll of the eye, all in a flash before the flower would make contact with Fanho the Bannin had already snatched the flower of the air vanquishing the fuuton winds with a single swipe before tucking it behind Izaki's ear, and then holding the genin's head from behind with a single hand clutched over his head while the other still stuck to the his belt he had slung over his shoulder. For the three genin in his team, the move would be done in a flash as if instantaneously from one end of the training field to behind the trio particularly behind Izaki. "Keep your flower to yourself, looks like Kotaro's family worked hard to make a good impression."

As the Bannin's grip released from Izaki's head he walked over to a rock just behind the trio as he sat on it laying his belt on the rock beside him. "Well it seems you all know me, but just in-case. I'm Fanho, I'm from the Awai clan, I run Mamorinuku, and I'm a Bannin of the leaf. To answer any potential doubt, I am indeed your sensei for team twenty two. My strengths are being the fastest in the village, punching things the hardest, and overall an expert on Ninjutsu related things. In my free-time I like to try random hobbies regardless if I'm good at them or not, take pottery for example. I'm awful at pottery." Fanho did a little performative bow as he gestured out to the rest of the team. "Please introduce yourselves, I'm sure you guys had a minute or two earlier, but tell me a bit about yourself, your goals, your talents, and whats one non-shinobi thing you do in your free time."

[TheLegendaryCrabman]

Although it seemed as if Izaki had actually bought his confident-guy act, the Bannin was a completely different story. Just looking him in the eyes was enough to feel the pressure of the world on his own shoulders. There was no danger, no clear threat, he was their comrade and their teacher. And yet, Koutarou couldn't help but feeling the air grow thicker, his lungs having to work harder for their fair share of breath. It was as if a hundred monks sung from their throats and no sound came out, only the vibrations that could be felt shaking one's own heart. Fanho was a force of nature, there was no doubt about that.

And then his new teammate attacked him. Izaki's new gift went fast. Faster than anything Koutarou himself could get even close to. The flower danced through the air at such speeds that he found it hard to even trace. He's good. But if Izaki's attack was as swift as a hawk diving down on its prey, then Fanho's reaction had the celerity of lightning striking the earth. Before any of the Genin could even react, the chrisanthemum was already on Izaki's ear, and Fanho in the perfect position to lay waste to all three.

Despite this, however, he simply moved towards a large stone close to them. As he introduced himself, he came across as very relaxed. Confident in his extreme abilities of course, but very relaxed. Almost casual, even. Koutarou almost let out a chuckle at his remark about pottery. Twirling a lock of white hair around one of his fingers, Koutarou prepared to introduce himself, almost unsure of what to say.

"Well, I am Morishige, Koutarou. My father's a pretty good Chuunin, though none of you have probably ever heard of him. My mom runs a flower shop that I help her with as you can see. Oh, by the way." He threw the sunflower up in an arc towards his teacher, in order to preserve the flower and avoid any accidental aggression. "To be honest, I'm nothing special really. I was pretty average in all three ninja arts. I've gotten pretty good at throwing stuff, though."

As he spoke, Koutarou's eyes focused in the distance, spying the landscape little by little as if he was daydreaming. The exact same type of behaviour that led a lot of people to brand him a lazy boy with his head-in-the-clouds.

"I don't want anything flashy. I'm not really aiming for the Hokage spot or to be a legendary Bannin. I just want to serve my village, help my neighbourhood, maybe find a pretty wife to shack up with when I'm all grown. I spend pretty much all of my time helping out with my siblings or my neighbours, really, but I really like to paint. I suck at it. A lot."

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Flawless Aim Style • Arcing Shot]
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The practitioner can launch projectiles in arcs up and over most obstacles, being able to accurately hit a target that is behind obstructions as if they were in the open. The practitioner must still be able to locate their target by some other means to ensure the projectile will hit its target.

[TheLacarix]

Nobu’s eyes widened with shock as Izaki blasted out a powerful stream of futon chakra towards the famed Bannin of Konoha, the young genin stepped back and placed his hands in front of his eyes in case anything dislodged. It was all over in a matter of moments, though perhaps moment would be a better word. Nobu had only seen one man ever move as quickly as Fanho and that was his own brother Yoru, perhaps Fanho was even faster? Though it was hard to tell, both Yoru and Fanho appeared and disappeared at the blink of an eye, something mere genin couldn’t keep up with. He certainly didn’t expect Izaki to keep up.

Nobu sighed and slammed his palm against forehead as he watched the disaster unfold, he pondered why Izaki had even attempted this, was he trying to show off his ninjutsu? Attempting a humorous joke? Either way it hadn’t worked. The young red headed genin rolled his eyes and pushed his hands into his pocket, as events seemed to now move on.

Fanho seemed to speak in a direct tone, though with a sense of humour at the back of it. Which Nobu appreciated, he wasn’t one for nonsense. He decided to relax and gently sat on the grass of the field as Koutaro began to respond to the questions Fanho asked, it was interesting he and Izaki both painted, he wondered if either of them used Ink Style a style he heard that could bring paintings and drawings to life.

All of his new comrades answers seemed perfectly fine, perhaps slightly self damning but it seemed more modesty that disbelief of himself. It was now Nobu’s turn “Aizawa, Nobu.” Introducing himself, though everyone knew his name and they all knew one another so it seemed like a pointless task. Though Nobu wasn’t going to argue.

“I’m the son of a farmer, Aizawa, Enya who runs the Aizawa, Ranch they supply most of the village with a variety of good and a lot of the fire country as well, so I get to meet a lot of people. My goals? I guess to serve my village, I owe them a lot.” He answered honestly, he was indebted to Konoha they had saved his family for a life of servitude to a tyrannical slaver known as Raye, Mogi “Though I guess my personal goal is to move out of my brothers shadow, it’s quite difficult being in the shadow of a dead man.” His tone seemed quite cruel, but his brother had being dead for at least two years now and he’d come to accept it.

“I’d like to eventually become a medical shinobi at the moment, I don’t know any yet in all honesty, though I do intend on enlisting in the Medical Corp and learn there.” He produced a gentle cough as he cleared his throat “I specialise in Katon jutsu and ochiba, eventually I plan to learn Sankaton though that’s a bit beyond my means at the moment.” He paused for a moment trying to think of what he did outside of being a shinobi “I like to read, I ride horses and I work on the farm, though I said that already.”

[hobnob]

The arm was still semi-extended in the air and the fingers that were once holding the glimmering flower were still pointing in the direction of the banin. But the flower and the banin were no longer there. The flower was carefully tucked behind the youth ear, and his head was held by a powerful hand of the banin. Izakis breath slowed down as he composed himself to try and figure out what the next move was going to be, but Fanho simply began speaking. Making Izaki look ungrateful in the eyes of his team mates as he mentioned keeping the flower to himself and the efforts Kotarous family had put into cultivating it.'Hm, I wan't expecting him to be this serious. I'm going got have to watch it.' Izaki thought as he bit his tongue. He saw no point of speaking about what he has done, it has already happened; he was simply going to take care of the flower. So, when Fanho made his way over to the rock and placed his belt on it, Izaki followed in his footsteps and gently placed the flower beside it; it was unlikely that any harm would come to it, where it was. The youth then fell back into the ranks of the team and listened to the members of the team introduce themselves one by one; Fanho too.

Kotarou spoke about his family and what they did. His father being a chuunin of the village which was a respectable rank. His mother being in charge of running the family flower store, that he helped out in when he had some spare time. Thinking of this made him realize that Kotarou was a very laid back character, being willing to help out his family in running a botanic store was not something every boy was willing to do. Most were too busy messing around with their friends, improving or studying hard to gain a well respected job in the community. Kotarou was an outlier, and made the team more interesting. Definitely bringing skill to the team; witnessing the gracious and accurate toss of the flower towards their Sensei made him realize that Kotarou was not pretty good at throwing things, he was very good; better than himself.

And then there was Nobu; the genin born into a well respected family, rooted in agriculture. Younger brother of the well know banin, Aizawa Yoru, the man who saved his life many years ago. A boy who is stuck playing the victim, saying that he wishes to grow out of his brothers shadow, but does not seem to do anything that would lead him towards achieving his goal. Maybe it was the routine life he has been living, expecting something to happen of it own accord. But that is not how life worked; shinobi life would most definitely give Nobu the wake up call he needs, a wake up call Izaki had during a dark and sorrowful night.

'Shimada Izaki.' the youth declared. He was about to reveal a story of a night only four people knew about and one of those people was in this very field, stood before them. 'I was born to two vagabonds, in a forest somewhere in the Land of Fire.' he said before taking a deep breath. 'We used to roam the lands, we lived wherever we pleased. We made our living by hunting, and small labor wherever we could; we helped others, we tried to do good. Not everyone who didn't belong shared our way of life. My father was killed by some gang while he was trying to gather food for us... right before my eyes. And so would I and my mother, if it wasn't for three shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.' at this point Izakis gaze rose from the ground, he looked directly at Fanho. 'Our Sensei, Awai Fanho, his wounded team mate Taouta, and-...' Izaki suddenly stopped at this point and his gaze briefly reverted back to the ground and his face became sorrowful, before a side glance at Nobu. 'And... Aizawa Yoru.' finally, he finished his sentence before once again taking a deep breath.

'Those three brought me and my mother back to Konoha, and ensured me and my mother had a future. I want to one day be able to do, what those three did to me. I want to be able to help those that are in need and can't protect themselves.'

[Director]

As Fanho sat on the rock leaning back relying on his hands to prevent him from laying completely down he listened to each of the genin's aspirations, talents, and stories. The stories ranged from average to tragic, all but Koutarou having a chapter involving Fanho somehow. It seemed like the council took Fanho's involvement as a meaning to assign him the two. After shaking the thought of the story unbeknownst to Nobu and Izaki's story of that same person in Nobu's life, Fanho listened and mulled over Koutarou's story. "Ain't nothing wrong with being average and living a normal life. Although some say those seeking normalcy find anything but it." Fanho shot a finger gun in Koutarou's direction as his eyes widen at the word normalcy. It was a modest goal, a respectable one, a realistic one that most genin at his age lacked the foresight to see. A little wise beyond his years Fanho mulled to himself.

As Fanho listened to Nobu's goals and desires, he came to know Yoru a little bit more. While the two had certainly talked about his family farm, he lacked to mention how much the village depended on it. Albeit shivers ran down the Bannin's spine as he let out an exasperated breath thinking about Yoru and the walking tragedy that had become of it. If destroying the village was going to be something of Yoru's legacy he feared that his brother Nobu would get caught up in, accused, blamed, hidden further in that shadow of shame that he unwittingly wanted to escape. "Well Nobu, life is what you make it, and you are your own person. Focus on who you want to be, not who others think you are."

As it came Izaki's turn he could see what comfort Izaki had initially on the realization it was Fanho had quickly dissipated, but he could tell the boy struggled to utter Yoru's name. It must've been awkward for Izaki to confront such a moment with a person's dead brother, but it was a good memory of Yoru. A time when Yoru fought for the good things rather than what he had grown to become unknown to the trio standing before him. Yoru was still revered as a hero, and Fanho dreaded when the word would be let out about Yoru's deeds. "Well Izaki as long as you behave yourself and stop throwing jutsu at me I won't throw you off the wall." Fanho let out a large yawn as he teetered backwards before hoping up to his feet.

"Alright now that we've warmed up our vocal chords, lets do some other exercises. This time I'll give you permission to throw things at me, but I get to throw them back." Fanho threw three kunai at the boys, each with a different color. He had given red to Nobu, blue to Koutarou, and yellow to Izaki. Each of the kunai's paint was slightly wet, enough to mark a person or object if need be. "You each get a kunai with some paint on the blades. Don't worry the blades are dull so there's no real danger. You guys have thirty minutes to put as many marks on me as you can, limbs are worth five points, body is worth ten points, and the head is worth thirty points. However if I mark you guys get marked in those same locations with the paint, you lose that many points too. You can go in the negative too, so try really hard not to get marked. I'm sure your parents won't like getting your new class clothes all dirty in the first day."

Fanho pulled out some paracord as he wrapped one of his arms tying it behind his back. "I'll be playing at a disadvantage though, I won't get to have my super strength or speed. I'll be more on par with you guys to make this fair. Only thing I can have is taijutsu at my disposal. You guys can use whatever you want to try and get me."

"Better aim to kill, otherwise this won't be fun for me." Fanho ushered his final word of warning as a grin grew across his face before taking his place at the edge of the training field near the deep creek flowing behind.

"Begin whenever you guys are ready to lose." The bannin ushered a chuckle as he waited for the genin to approach to their imminent loss.

[TheLegendaryCrabman]

Koutarou's head was still tilted to the side, his eyes on the sky and clouds, his fingers still twirling his hair over and over as he listened to Fanho's take on his short introductory pitch. His reactions weren't that off from the norm. Most people teetered on the balance of "nothing wrong with a more modest life" and "a little ambition will take you a long way". Fanho did however say something he had never heard before. "...those seeking normalcy find anything but it..." The albino couldn't help but feel a chill course through his spine. Something deep in his gut told him his new sensei might be more right than he himself thought.

Food for thought... He noted to himself, before focusing on his colleagues' own stories.

Nobu was sitting on the grass as he replied. The Aizawa family were known not only throughout the entirety of the Leaf, but as well as across the entire Land of Fire. They were ranch giants that supplied not only the most famous of restaurants to the most modest of flowershops. Nobu himself was who he was interested in, however. The boy seemed, much like himself, set on repaying his village for raising him and awarding him with the opportunity of becoming a shinobi.

He couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable as the boy expressed his feelings regarding his own older brother, while still gaining a small ounce of respect towards his new teammate. Not many men had the guts and self-awareness to admit such a thing. With that aside, he seemed to, much as himself, specialize in traditional Konoha skills such as Katon and Ochiba. He definitely looked more the part of a close-range combatant, and his interest in medical ninjutsu somewhat relieved Koutarou's concerns towards their future as a team.

And then came the turn of Izaki. Koutarou showed no indication of noticing his colleague's concern towards the flower, though the small ghost of a smile that appeared on his lips was indication that he appreciated the gesture. He was another tortured soul. Perhaps more so than Nobu. The Land of Fire was a relatively safe place, much more so than many other countries. Still, the shinobi of the Leaf couldn't be everywhere at once and that unfortunately meant that boys like Izaki had to suffer such things. That meant that boys like Izaki bore a hatred in their hearts that couldn't be easily put out.

And yet there it was again. Aizawa, Yoru. One of the strongest Bannin in Leaf history, dead in the line of service. He was a popular hero, with many drinks being named after him in sake houses, as well as some auburn bouquets in certain shops. Something that all three of his new teammates had in common. Something of a good memory to most of those from the Leaf. Koutarou couldn't help but feel strangely unsettled. The way he and his siblings felt sitting at the table when the grown ups try to avoid a part of the subject.

There was no time for day-dreaming, though. Fanho finished off the introductions and issued them their challenge. Koutarou caught the blue-paint Kunai, inspecting it as their new sensei explained the rules of the game. On paper, it seemed pretty balanced. Three on one, relatively within the same overall ability. The real difference was sheer experience. He doubted Fanho would miss all that much. Besides, he had given a single colour to each of them specifically, which indicated that they would only get the points based on their kunai. However, he could hit them with whatever colour kunai he so desired. As the sensei retreated to his position next to the creek, Koutarou spoke to his nearby colleagues.

"Quick question, how do you guys want to go about this? Maybe I'm too used to the Academy but I don't see us getting anywhere going on our own. Myself especially."

[TheLacarix]

Kouta had simple, modest yet honourable goals. So many shinobi searched for power or notoriety, it was a nice change of pace. As Izaki revealed that Nobu’s elder brother had saved his life, it didn’t overly come as a surprise. Yoru was an important member of the Konoha community and had touched many peoples lives, just like Fanho and Takeo, even the Iwa missing Ninja Saigo. Someone Nobu didn’t agree with being in the village, but nevertheless, that wasn’t his choice. Though something did stick out in Nobu’s mind, he pondered why Izaki hadn’t mentioned his brother before, they’d broke bread together just a few days ago and spent time together at the farm. Though it wasn’t something he was going to dwell on.

He nodded as his sensei offered the simple, straight forward advice. He was going to thank him, but he didn’t feel as though Fanho was looking for any gratitude. Fanho through them a kunai each, Nobu’s was drenched in red paint as he explained the task. The paint, still wet and ever so slightly dripping there had to be enough paint on it so that it wouldn’t dry in the half an hour they were tasked with.


As Fanho was giving the instructions, Nobu began to calculate a strategy, how could they possibly keep up physically with a Bannin of such speed. Nobu knew Fanho wouldn’t go at full power, that was obvious, if he did it would be next to impossible for a powerful Jounin to complete this simple task, specially after seeing his amazing display of speed just moments before. Before Fanho had finished talking, Nobu had pulled out his own kunai and rubbed the painted knife across the back adding a slight bit of paint to the edge of each. He never said the marks had to be made with the kunai Fanho had given them. He grabbed the two genin and pulled them back out of the way.


“Izaki, get out your ink.” Nobu said with a firm, slightly commanding tone, assuming that Izaki did as he was asked, Nobu would gesture for the two genin to give him their kunai with the paint. Once Izaki used his scroll to create the ink, Nobu would run his index finger down the back of each kunai dropping half of the paint onto the ink mixing it. He hoped Izaki would understand the plan, the ink would now have the paint and perhaps Fanho wouldn’t count this as a mark but it was worth a shot. “Kota, you said you paint. Do you have any with you?” He pondered if this would be allowed “He never said the marks had to be with this paint, do either of you have suiton or anything to move this liquid around?” Assuming that one of them did, his plan would still be able to come to fruition. “If not, we can just cover more of our weapons in paint.”


He nodded to the young Awai Genin “I agree, we have no chance on our own. But now if Izaki’s ink has our paint mixed with in it we can keep splashing him with that, we can put it on our shuriken’s if any of us can manpiualte it, that would be ever better though.” He continued with his barrage of words “Fanho is too fast and too powerful, we need to try and defend ourselves and keep him pegged in.” he blurted out as quickly and as quietly as he could, he knew Fanho would hear them no matter what but it was best to try and keep their plans to themselves.

“We need to keep him in the centre of us, all three of us will be points of a triangle and as we move keep that shape and close in on Fanho giving him nowhere to go.” Nobu would keep still for now, wait to see what Izaki thought and hoped that everything would go to plan. He knew his plan had come out a little too quickly and flustered, but it could be a sound plan if they worked together. He hoped they'd understand.

[hobnob]

Izaki stood contemplating what has been said; what he has said; what Nobu had said; what Kouta had said. They all had and interesting past, they were definitely not the average squad; seeing how they worked together would definitely be interesting. With the challenge that Fanho had placed before him, Izaki let out a little chuckle, three versus one; even if he was a Banin, it was not going to be impossible to land an attack on him. Especially that he was doing planning on going all out, and was even tying one of his arms behind his back; the man was definitely under-estimating them. Although young, they were all shinobi and they were given that rank for a reason, it would all be soon revealed.

The youth made his way over to the yellow kunai and grabbed it, inspecting it closely; noting the texture of the liquid that the weapon of war was coated in. Suddenly, Izaki felt a hand grab him and pull him off to the side; it was Nobu. He showered them with a barrage of words that Izaki had found rather interesting; he might have been aware that Izaki painted for recreation, but he did not know anything about the way he used his ink in battle. Why did Nobu think that he brought the ink with him to a training session? it felt as if Nobu knew something he had no way of knowing; so what is it that lead Nobu to developing a strategy that required his abilities to be even remotely useful? was he really expecting him to run around the training ground, after mixing the paint with his ink and trying to splash Fanho with it? especially after stating the fact that Fanho was too fast and powerful; he would have known that trying to simply splash him was, simply put, a silly idea. So, what was it that Nobu was trying to get at? With no knowledge of his abilities, Nobu came up with a plan that was based around manipulating the paint, with even mentioning the water element, almost as if water would actually work in favor of manipulating the paint and not simply dilute it. So what was the origin of Nobus plan? how did he come up with such a plan on the spot? how did Nobu manage to come up with a plan that, without his abilities was a waste of time; but with his abilities it was near enough error proof; a plan that could guarantee them success over their sensei in the matter of minutes; a plan that would simply not work without prior knowledge of his abilites, just how did Nobu think of this? how did he think of this plan without having prior knowledge of his abilities? he was not sure he would ever figure it out; peculiar it was; very peculiar it was; so very peculiar; so so very peculiar; peculiar enough for the youth to contemplate how someone who has not been told something can know about it; very peculiar indeed.

Izaki watched as the the young farm boy was about to make the biggest mistake of the day, and extended his arm in an attempt to stop him. 'Wait, we need as much as possible.' The youth let out and then extended his arm in the direction of Koutarou, in hopes that he understood Izaki was requesting his kunai. He looked across the field towards their Sensei who appeared to be ready to go. 'I have something tht will do the trick.' The youth let out before a brief pause to figure out how long it would take him to have the technique ready. 'The two of you will have to keep him busy while I get everything ready.' upon finishing speaking, the youth took a step back, with his hand still extended; awaiting for the other kunai to be handed to him. With the amount of paint that was used to coat these kunai, he would have to be very efficient; not allowing any of the paint to go to waste. Assuming that both the other kunai were handed to him, Izaki would proceed and place them in his pouch, where they would lay and wait to be used. He placed his yellow kunai between his teeth and performed a a string of hand seals that the team had already seen once that day. His hand radiated with wind energy; upon grabbing the kunai, he transfered the energy to the kunai. However, the kunai did not start glowing with chakra like his hand did, the paint appeared to be bubbling; he was using his wind chakra to force the paint down to the tip of the kunai. With his free hand, he reached into his pouch, retrieving the brush he used on a daily basis. He held the tip of the knife above the brush and allowed the paint to drip down onto the fibres; they sucked up the paint like a dry sponge sucks up water. With the last drop of paint landing on the fibres, Izaki placed the knife in his pouch and got his scroll, and unravelled it; it was time to reveal his abilities to those who should know nothing about them.

'Don't let Fanho get near me,' the youth commanded the two, 'if he does, we're screwed.'